Additional explanation on the system being traded: On the Activity Log snapshots you'll notice a smooth increase to the account Balance with no losses. This is the objective of this trading structure, to avoid having huge, jagged, up and down swings in profit/loss. So far I've gained over 10% ($545.71 - seen in the Balance column) on the money "exposed to market," i.e., exposed to margin ($5267.13 - seen in the Margin Used column). This low-risk progressive increase will continue until the I effectively "beat the forex market," i.e., when the account Balance is GREATER than both the Unrealized P&L (currently at -$386.46) and the Margin Used. As a successful currency trader this is basically what you want to do, beat the forex market in a low-risk way. So that, eventually if the trade no longer makes sense for you to be in it, you can close it and still be in profit. This system makes "Stop Losses" essentially obsolete though you do have to manage your risk tolerances and cap factor. The Coin
OK, guys, I was debating whether to start a whole other journal for this or to do it right here. What's a forex trader's journal without an Interview section? That's right, you got it, I'm going to interview, Market Wizards style, traders from Elite Trader. [enter audience gasping in awe here] So, YOU may be called upon to be interviewed. If you want to be, I'll ask you questions, you can talk about yourself and your trading. If you don't want to be, simply do nothing. I won't be using anybody's real name (unless you want it used) so you can give as detailed replies as you wish. Readers: You'll know it's an Interview because the post will have a little I up in the corner. Remember, no I it's not an Interview. It has an I it IS an Interview. First interview coming up soon.... sKaLpZ
I commit to trading a demo account until Dec 2005. I need to practice a lot b4 I take the money from my brokerage and use it in Forex. My approach will be to anticipate/watch/wait for breakouts at the 50 cent marks. My biggest weakness is over trading and trading on emotion spontaneously hitting the buy/sell buttons so I'm using this exercise to retrain my charged beliefs about things. By the end of the year I am looking forward to learning the discipline necessary to sit tight on trades. I opened this new demo account a few days ago and here is my activity so far. <IMG SRC=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=758890>
Here's the platform. I included a bunch of the background useless space in the pic because it's always interesting to see what stuff is on other ppl's computers (at least I like to see how other ppl's organize their computers). I was using IQfeed with Quotetracker along with the main platform a few days ago to get some FX data with Quotetracker's charts but it was screwing me up because there was just too much information. I am doing it totally opposite this time of what I did with stocks. I ignored the price levels of stocks (like when VEXP found support at the even $10.00 mark) and gave way too much credit to indicators in the past. Therefore it's needless to say that when I'm actually trading QT will be OFF. This time I'm keeping it as simple as possible with no indicators and placing lots of attention on psychological price levels. <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=758902>
I OK, today we've got Avadon, a trader who is currently advancing in forex trading, self-taught and getting the hang of things quite nicely. He's agreed to be interviewed so we'll begin. _______________________________ Avadon, thank you for taking your time to answer a few questions for our readers here on Elite Trader. How did you first get interested in trading currencies? What is it about trading that appeals to you?