Random Musings The headlines blare, "There are over 12 Million Online FOREX Traders today!" Look a little closer and you'll read, "95% of traders lose money!" Look still a little closer and what do you see? Courses, of course! Courses that, for a chunk of your money, promise to teach you how to traverse the forex successfully. *ahem* Well, Uncle Sam is here to remind you... Don't give your money to any of these courses! Why? Simple, if there WAS a system (being mass-marketed) that was any good, YOU would be the LAST person it would be sold to. Why? Because a trading system that supposedly makes more money than it loses would be currently being traded by its designers, making them so rich they'd hire Bill Gates as their dog-walker and Warren Buffett to clean up! Instead of throwing your capital away on useless trading courses, here's what I want you to do.... and take it from someone who... 1. Trades the forex live daily with his own cash (apart from the time he is being paid to walk dogs). 2. Has completed initial training on demos for 6 months without paying a cent for some two-bit, overrated trading course (it's called being poor, or really cheap.). 3. Has survived live forex trading for 18 months (although, I admit, some of that time was spent trembling in the corner in a fetal position covered by a blanket). 4. Who has developed a number of original currency trading systems from scratch since, when I first started in forex, I knew nothing. 5. Who has progressed and advanced, himself, in his trading and is not ashamed to state that fact because, due to the nature of high liquidity in the forex, making it highly tradable, I was able to. 6. Who is not charging you a penny for any forex-trading instructions. Let's see, where were we...? Oh, yes, here is what I want you to do... Realize that if you are, or are going to become one of these 12,000,000 people who trade forex (by the way, that did NOT say 12-million people trade the forex successfully!) that you will need to dedicate yourself to learning the ropes. Know for certain that there is no one person or "course" that will hand you the Holy Grail. Commit yourself to your undertaking to be self-taught and to advance yourself as a trader, trying different strategies until you find one(s) that work for you. This does not mean you won't ask questions/gain knowledge and understanding from others, you will! It means YOU are the one who will ultimately put it together and make sense of it all. It means YOU are the one who will be responsible for developing your own system of trade based on your own common sense. Based on trading rules and sound, effective principles you've studied and applied. Based on diligently reading and studying good books on trading, pulling useful, practical and effective trading principles from these and other sources. Knowing that for YOU to progress as a forex trader, you are the one who will put the hard work in, and the market time in that's required of all those who ultimately make a success of themselves. That you will account your times of losing (on demos, hopefully) as effort, not as failure. That YOU are going on to win because you're a winner! (then again, maybe you're not a winner - if that's the case please let me know your next trade so I can take the opposite side - hey, I need the money!) To become profitable. To build your own original system(s) that provides you with not only winning tactics but good, aggressive defense mechanisms along with proper money and risk management techniques. Because YOU are the one who is going to put in the time it takes and to do what it takes to know WHAT you're doing and why you're doing it, and not doing it. Because YOU know that if the 12-million Online FOREX traders each sent me $1.00 for writing these curency trading lessons, I'd retire in Tahiti, so YOU should really be the one to start the trend. sKaLpZ
What a day !! I'm beat. good thing I woke up early today!! I can call my chevy dealer now!! Today was not a day to Learn to trade..For all those intersted.. I would have wiped out my acct. a few months ago.. Now I take advanage .. Im learning to cut them losers early. Finally trades ran away in my favor ( for a change) L8R
Thursday, May 12, 4:11AM PST Way to go, Adrian! Getting more accurate, after time spent trading, to gain profits is always good. This market's been tough to earn anything in! With the EUR/USD taking a somewhat unexpected tumble to 1.2743, it seems like it sure can do surprising things sometimes. This current drop may be due to RMB (Chinese yuan currency) talks. Current speculation apparently thinks the RMB will soon be either unpegged from the USD or re-pegged to a basket of currencies (source). If it happens, further presumption is that RMB revaluation will be GREAT for the US economy because of the ensuing fairer global import/export playing field, thus possibly substantially reducing the US trade imbalance. As, it is seen that China is playing quite a role in the massive US trade gap. Of course, ALL this is still 100% speculation because nothing has materialized. And even if the RMB (Renminbi) was unpegged, the sentiment is that yuan-buyers WILL turn out in groves, strengthening the yuan. Market reality, though, may bite a chunk out of USD bull trading speculators as an automatic yuan-spike in value may not occur, as was the case when the euro was first introduced, it was the object of bears. Nations had to save it by doing massive currency market intervention as the currency spiked down into the 0.8000s against the USD after it was brought to market in the 1.1700s (if I have my facts right). All this RMB talk is just short of being a mere market rumor almost setting off a minor global mania, the USD has gone up close to 4 cents (against the euro) since reports first breezed in. Nevertheless, whatever causes volatility in the forex is good for successful currency traders. Next up, retail sales. If the numbers are way off estimates (contrary to the USD) look for a possible spike in EUR/USD. The Coin current market: 1.2766
hello, i hope you don't mind another question from me. My question regards risk / reward. I pretty much understand the risk part. It is the reward part which for the life of me I don't quite comprehend. Can you give some simple examples of how you determine the reward part when you enter a trade? Lets say that for the risk part I will exist a trade if I lose 100 dollars. Based on this 100 dollar loss, I can calculate pretty easily the approximate amount of shares or whatever and thus the exist price. How do you determine the exist price for the reward part to make sure you have a decent risk to reward ratio? I am assuming that you will enter a trade if you think that you can earn 300 with a risk of 100 but you probably wouldn't enter a trade where you feel that you can earn 50 with a risk of losing a 100. How do you determine if you will earn 50 or 300? Thanks again.
Hey Imagine. You always seem to ask questions that get to the very heart of trading! While a general reply may be too vague, instruction-wise, I'd like to get the focus off of me and, if I can, back on trading. The thing is, with how I (me in particular) trade, is that, I'm a dangerous trader. *buffs his nails* What I mean is, I trade dangerously so I would not want a new forex trader (or an old forex trader) trying to replicate my trades, especially if they're using live money. Even though I teach only low-risk currency trading, live one-on-one for free: In my private trading account I take positions that may be too precarious for traders in general, because I've worked out tactics where I can trade out of what may make others turn white with fear and get smoked in the trade due to their not knowing of, hence not implimenting my full trading structure. For example. I just closed a trade today that I was in for 8 months. A EUR/USD short that took me from the 1.2100s to the peak of 1.3665, then back down. At one point I had more than 50 short positions opened. I got out fairly unscathed but would not recommend that trading technique to anyone. I've actually already developed another system that is the progression of the one just mentioned, that is even more dangerous... *wipes the sweat off his brow* But the profit-taking potential is astonishing. It's not suitable for even heavy-weight institutional use. (Unless the institution is an insane asylum) I mean, I'd hate to see the Russian Central Bank go up in smoke right before they were ready to triple their currency reserves. I'm not trying to make this system out to be hot or anything, but it melted the last 3 demos I used it on. It didn't get a margin call, it's not that, it actually melted the demos. Either that or my RAM went bad. Let me think over the elements of your question and see if I cannot give a fitting, applicable to all, reply. Though keep in mind that there are many and varied trading styles out there so what may work for one may not work for another. regards, Sam current market: 1.2628
Skalpz Dont forget to save this thread for Buffet & Gates? Wonder what the drawdown is now? !.25 next? Wow u were holding for 8 months Thats a long trade !! Wish I still had my shorts from the 1.30s Missed the last few runs down. took profits then some time off. see ya sun.. thanks for the detailed posts. I like to read em..
Adrian, check out this chart, dude. <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=748323> That clearly shows the USD going straight UP in price over 1000-pips (over 10-cents). According to sources, Gates and Buffett are sitting SHORT the USD (they have SELL positions!) They MUST be staring at $100s of MILLIONS in drawdown now. They should have me trade their forex accounts! Adrian, you think EUR/USD is going down further? Could you imagine being Bill and Warren and waking up each day to seeing your losses stacking and stacking and stacking.... Those two... the great forex traders! Their problem is they trade reality but don't trade market reality. Market reality being, they need to give me their money. *BUSTS UP LAUGHING* Check this out. sKalpZ
Lesson on The Fly I get (and welcome) emails from new forex traders wanting to know what to do once they've mastered setting up a demo and maybe learning a few technical indicators. "I'm still losing, sKaLpZ. What do you recommend?" It's very simple. If you want to be a currency trader, trade currencies! What I am NOT saying is, "learn more indicators." What I am NOT saying is, "take more courses." What I am NOT saying is, "read more books." What I am NOT saying is, "ask more questions." What I am NOT saying is, "read more news." A simple way to advance in forex is to TRADE MONEY! Make 100s of trades. Don't worry about blowing up demos you can always get more. Make trades! Winning ones, losing ones, break even ones, but trade! Ultimately your job as a forex trader will be to trade forex! Not be the greatest analyst, not be the next economist-extrordinaire! Not be the greatest technical trader in the world! You got to get raw market exposure time under your belt (or, skirt, as the case may be). The common thing for new traders to do is to try to make perfect trades. Well let me tell you something... There ARE no 'perfect trades' when you're first starting out. But, there ARE trades! Trades you'll make and keep notes on why you think they were good or bad. You need to get to know major pairs. The best way to do that is by getting in and opening and closing trades! When you run out of money on one demo, get another one - there's no law against it, guys, they're free! But don't leave off the most crucial part of being a forex trader and that is trading the forex! Demos are there - Pairs are there - fluctuations happen - open trades! It's a good way to learn to capture pips and build a trading system: Trial and error. When you get pips you get money. It's that easy. The more pips you net, the more money you make. And, winning in forex is all about making money! So get in there and rip those demos up! sKaLpZ
Ok so far this week. short from 1.2953 EUR this afternoon now 1.2615 Hope it doesnt drift up to my 12625 stop Id like more. Its tryin to bust that 1.25 nut. Can you post Buffets losses again. makes me smile thinking when posted a few weeks ago & started this thread. Big hit on ES today. Made up for yesterdays losses. Cant seem to win everyday but the few winners are large. ( I post the top results just to rember the good days. ) Today was my 3rd biggest day.) Im gonna forget the Chevy Dealer & Check out the Benz dealer 4 months trading so far. A few thousand trades. I rippin up my live acct.. But I did spend a lot of time in the demos. BUT not enough time before I went live. It takes time. So I went live too early & got clocked. That will teach you like nothing else is losing money. Made me mad But you will succeed if you spend a few MONTHS in the demos EVERY DAY..ALL DAY. Now I think I can do this for a living. and bust my a$$ in a new way for myself. no employees no BS. Good luck to all.. Seee ya in the pit.( PS Ive been watching GBP JPY CHF AUD) trying to learn these guys.Made a few on JPY spike up then down.last night. should have held longer down but hit my target.) big run on GBP I wish I was short from the 190s last week. Shoot Iwish I still had my EUR 12950 short I gave it in 12850. Missed all of 127 took that day off. L8R