Oh Man, I'm Flat

Discussion in 'Forex' started by oldtime, May 8, 2013.

  1. at anyrate, if you are long eur.usd and long usd.cad, at 1:1 you are just long eur.cad if you are keeping score in usd

    when one pair gets larger than the other one then I don't know what you are
     
    #111     May 14, 2013
  2. Very true, but after giving you the same argument the other day, I just realized something. Yes, I could just go long, EUR.CAD, but to do that would require me to exit EUR.USD and renter with two EUR.CAD. Its less expensive to simple add on the USD.CAD.

    We each money manage in our own way. In my case, so as to ensure I lose no more than 600 pips on this trade, forced me to transfer money out of my account into my other trading account.

    Also, since my trading account is in USD, I think there is a value to maintaining the USD base in each traded pair. I could be wrong on this, however.
     
    #112     May 14, 2013
  3. so for instance, all 4 pairs I have on now are showing me a loss, and except for 1 they are all 1:1

    now what?

    it's unusual for all 4 to be losers

    so about all you can do is put in a limit to add to losers and stops to add if it moves in your favor

    just don't ever let that one big loser become your largest position

    and it isn't that easy, it can happen before you know it
     
    #113     May 16, 2013
  4. so far MAY is profitable, but not by much. At this rate it will take me all of 2013 to take out the 2012 high.

    started running my old system in the paper account with some new tweaks, so far so good,

    the old system just puts it on with a stop

    the drawdowns are severe, but it allows me to trade larger size, and get more lopsided on the spreads

    profits are taken when they get so large that if they were losses, I'd be sick to my stomach

    size is constantly increased or decreased

    otherwise it's about the same as what I have been doing

    trades 10 pairs

    aud.cad
    aud.usd
    eur.aud
    eur cad
    eur.gbp
    eur.usd
    gbp.aud
    gbp.cad
    gbp.usd
    usd.cad


    with 4 on a time

    sometimes there is some pretty ridiculous cancelling out

    downside is, it requires a long strong trend from time to time, and you have to buy a bottom or sell a top

    downside is, you enter at the market and exit on a stop, and that spread can really add up

    upside is, you are protected from getting on the wrong side of a rare long, strong trend

    it's still all 90% money mangement

    and money management is just a polite way of saying "size"
     
    #114     May 24, 2013
  5. you just never know how these things are going to turn out

    at the moment, my best position is short aud.cad

    not something I would put on if I was in my right mind
     
    #115     May 27, 2013
  6. So size matters? urrr.... Money management matters? Funny, that money management is the primary cause of fights in marriage. .... or was that size?
     
    #116     May 27, 2013
  7. like the whore said to me

    It aint how big you are

    it's what you do with what you got
     
    #117     May 27, 2013
  8. Forex Traders,

    I just wanted you Oanda users to know how easy that platform makes it to trade with Oldtime. This is a classic thread.

    As you read take away this:

    the whole idea is to never let your largest loser also be your largest position (and it can happen before you know it.)

    You know I miss some of the veteran traders that visited here. Oldtime may have been the greatest Forex trader on earth.

    ES
     
    #118     Jun 17, 2018
  9. This post from "Truth_" might be a great read to put together with "Oldtime" street smarts.

    ES

    https://www.elitetrader.com/et/thre...half-your-thoughts.314846/page-3#post-4542756

    The second, seek to add to an existing profitable position, in a long term trend, in order to multiply the profits of the trade. Key to this strategy is moving the stop loss along with the trend (not a trailing stop) so that the amount at risk never exceeds the risk of the first entry. In other words the stop loss has to move beyond the break even of the previous entry, so it has zero risk, and then another risk can be added. Applied judiciously in a long term trend, this strategy produces overwhelming results. Best case I ever had was 9 trades, maintained the nominal risk of the first entry throughout. Approximately a five times better result compared to a single entry trade (8 of the entries are closer to the exit, so there is diminished effect). 500% increase in profit, with no additional risk.
     
    #119     Jun 17, 2018