Gringinho, I noticed from prior posts about you talking about TKD. You'd probably kick my ass, haha. I started training Hapkido several months ago, but due to a couple of injuries it's been a bit rather frustrating lately. I injured my neck, and well... I was stronger than I was 10 yrs ago. Just hard to get back into it... My nationality is korean, so I've been kind of considering living in Korea for maybe a year or two. Not anytime soon though. My main reason to go there are for booze and women, but if there is a tax incentive... could be a possibility. I don't know if I could live there permanently though. With north korea being so close... and well the states is home to me. A trader friend of mine is planning on moving to Germany. I loved Germany, but I hear their taxes are one of the highest in Europe. well anyways, good trading, Andy
Yes, I don't think I would take too kindly to all that stretching now - a few years after I stopped practicing regularly. I can still do some high kicks etc, but I would probably get some major injury if I tried to do some of the things of the past. Once I had a groin-, combined with knee-, injury which lasted for almost 3 years before I didn't feel it anymore; it was unnerving. I also started the first Hapkido club in my region, but there was little interest at the time - mostly university students attending. I kept it up for a little more than a year, before beginning to work too much. I am impressed by the korean and japanese economies as well as the korean language - especially writing language, which is perhaps the most logical in the world. Also, a lot of new technologies are very quickly adopted in that region, e.g the best broadband saturation, new GSM technologies quickly adopted as well as the DoKoMo system etc. On the trading side I think the Kospi 200 was proof of how bleeding edge Korean markets might be, and soon we'll be able to trade it on IB as I understand (maybe not for US citizens though?). US tax laws are quite strict, and they never let go of a tax-payer ... You will need to renounce you US citizenship as I understood the ordeal Vince Cate in Anguilla wrote about. As long as you're within the Schengen system you're pretty much free to roam around.
Gringinho, I didn't start martial arts as a kid, so it's a bit harder for me to pick things up... due to flexibility issues. My dad went to the best Hapkido acadamy in Seoul, and was the best in the school at the time. He shared some crazy stories, haha. My dad suggested that I take Judo because I can use that even at an old age, but I liked the idea of breaking bones instead. My korean is ok~ I do agree, japanese and korean's language is very simple. One of my cousin just got his BA at UCLA, and is now attending seoul university. He's having a good time there, and I wish I could be there as well. Yes, I hear their electronics are much more advanced than the states. Especially with cell phones. I don't think I'd want to give up my citenzenship, haha. I suppose I could always visit Seoul and trade from my laptop. Well I better shut up, before this thread goes to chit chat
I was just testing a position on the first dip into the 1.2450-area and was watching it for around 6 hours ... It grew into 14 ticks profits at max - I had a target of 30 ticks and stop of 16 ticks. Later I gave in to my old scalper, tape-reading, and bailed out on 4 ticks profits on european open. Then I did 3 quick scalps for 2,4 and 4 ticks. I think that there are of course a lot to gain on having a successful position, but sitting through EZ numbers, low liquidity, sleep-inducing hours and boredom doesn't seem to be the way to do position-trading. Studying the charts, setting trailing stops and scaling in, out actively according to proven systems are the better ways - although more complicated - to handle the positions safely. Using my tape-reading "skills" to shepard the position does not exactly help a lot. It's better to have a type of fire'n'forget system with these positions, where you're not watching it constantly - and especially not the orderbook, T&S to get superflous information which only brings very-short-term "noise" into the decision process for medium-, short-term positions. Having rigid, trailing stops which are not easily, often changed is perhaps better ... I'm a scalper - pure and simple - what do I know about this type of systems trading and positions ? I do think I can make some short-term calls for positions - esp. for the entries .. but the exits are just not my cup of tea. I get very frustrated of letting some profit top go, and see my entry getting up close and perhaps even passed. My impulse is to exit with profits - see how far it extends and get in again at a better entry as long as I still think the trade is viable. The danger is that the first entry was made with chart-reading decision, while the decision about getting out with profits was made using tape-reading decision arguments - as was the evaluation of whether a new entry still was viable. So, mixing strategies and techniques are probably not a good thing ... it leads to conflicting and confusing signals, arguments. Of course a system could probably incorporate several techniques, signals - but getting such a mixed system into shape could prove quite painful and costly. Some simpler additional rules would probably do my style of scalping some good and letting profits run a little more, enjoying the benefits of some of the best of position trading, trying to avoid the more destructive effects of mixing, and position drawdowns. I do not feel safe in a position while using my tape-reading signals ... I don't like taking some hurt - letting profits go back much etc. It doesn't feel right when scalping is working so good for me. I'm still willing to try other stuff - but the safety net of taking profits will probably filter down many of my attempts. Well, the experience wasn't completely wasted, although frustrating ... Going into larger timeframes is something I'm not ready for yet, it's just too daunting as long as I haven't practiced the system into some small level of perfection. Changing a winning formula is also not something worth doing without some seriously positive reasons. The reason I'm trying this is to find ways to grow my profits larger, because I can't really up much size with my style of quick scalping; I already scale in, out of trades. The moves I go for many times requires very quick decisions and getting out on specific opportunities which normally don't return. For bigger profits it's obviously necessary to take the plunge into short-, medium-term positions, but I prefer it at a slow, slow, safe speed. I've already doubled my funding base trading FX, but I see that further big, relative increases will not come any easier - it's going to be twice the work every time ... actually probably twice the time. Doubling the base means - double work, double time - as long as I can't really scale much more size into my style. Therefore, the scalping style has it's limits when size becomes "a problem". edit: I guess I'll not be watching the numbers later on (11 GMT, 08:30 EST etc).
I think that's why it's important to trade a system that fits one's personality. I really dont know much about scalping, and I'm more of a swing/position type trader. I like it... but I think this would be tough for anyone with discipline problems, because a lot of my trades may go 20-40 pips against me before it makes a move. Kind of hard to sit tight in those situations. I haven't had any problems though. I did a lot of backtesting, demo trading, mini, etc. That's why in my opinion I think it's best to start out that way for a newbie. I like the idea of going for larger profits. My exit strategy tries to capture as much of the move as it can, but in the process it does leave a lot of money on the table... but no exit strategy is perfect. There are pros and cons to my method, so I've been working on something else. I'm going to apply it to the pound, but not to euro. I think the pound moves great ... much better than the euro in my opinion. I basically look at the same timeframe, but after a certain type of pattern I zoom in and look for my entry at a smaller timeframe. So far so good... I think I'll apply it new years. But yea... lot and lot of waiting for me. That's why I often come here and kill time... instead of working on new ideas.
Gringinho, From what I see the market depth and T&S are good for at most 10-12 tick moves. Beyond that for larger moves, as you said, it introduces "noise" into your system. Usually these nice intraday "trends" moves come with many pullbacks some up to 20-25 ticks deep. The best one can do is to enter a position with a relatively small position size and scale in an out. I can't do very active scaling in and out too. This is also quite intensive and requires constant babysitting the charts. For me what works best is this. Enter with x # of contracts. Trail my stop then enter another x number of contracts after a 15-16 ticks pullback (eventually it'll happen) then maybe scale out half the position after reaching a resistance level or major stalling. I'd hang to to the other x # of contracts until I get stopped out perhaps leaving 10-15 pips on the table.
TradingWise, It depends on your profit level of course but it'll be around 30% for futures products for about $100k capital gains.
I'm still in simulation mode just for the purpose of re-training myself to properly trail my positions. I'm trying to see if there's something holding me back from trailing properly according to what I came up with and wanted to do it without interference from P/L.
Does it make a difference if you made this gain as a daytrader, or as for example somebody who manages his own pension funds?