Systems Trader turned discretionary

Discussion in 'Forex' started by ElectricSavant, Feb 9, 2006.

  1. The NAV has hit an another all time equity high and held it throughout most of the day. All of this while maintaining the current 2.19% drawdown. The Balance is up after 82 days of trading to 9.37% and the NAV is at 6.97% Do I change the way I trade? ....no!...do I become over-confident?...no!...I am sort of hybrid-systems-discretionary trader.

    How many scalpers do you know that have carry trades over the weekend...lol My carry trades net me about 11% a year...and I goose that with these scalp trades.

    Over the weekend I am carrying some interest earning pairs...at 2.28:1 leverage. I get about 0.03% interest each of these next two days on the particular pair that I choose. This fortifies my balance as my marketmaker deposits directly to it. Most dealers adjust your price, so you would need to liquidate to get the actual dollars...

    My system and drawdown continues to guide me and I do not want to fall into any traps. Any advice that the veteran traders can give me would be greatly appreciated.

    Michael B.
     
    #21     Feb 10, 2006
  2. By the way the long term portion of this system uses a ,"sort of" grid trading methodology to inject dollars in the balance too...

    So there are three ways to pull profit out of the movement, cycles and flow that the market presents.
    • Scalping
    • Griding
    • Carrying

    As long as I can keep the injection of dollars to the balance while keeping leverage in check...the sky is the limit :)


    Michael B.
     
    #22     Feb 10, 2006
  3. Traders the point with all of this...use ALL that you know....do not trade in tunnel vision...its a cumulative effort ....

    I know I am not a high yielding trader....but I do want to be consistent first, with a low drawdown, and those high yields will come...I just need to put time on my side...:)

    Please if you feel you must PM me, then do so...but do not ask me about the specifics of my system and my discretionary choices.

    I wish you the best and good trading to you....

    Michael B.
     
    #23     Feb 10, 2006
  4. bvam1

    bvam1

    I used to be a discretionary trader. I could guess market direction correctly around 60-65% of the time(don't remember exactly). When I trade like this, I processed everything in my brain, which took into account all my past knowledge and experience. I realized a while back, that this is like trading with a blind fold on. Processing everything in the with your mind is to require too much of your brain. The human brain can only process so much info. It can only focus for so long. Furthermore, memories and knowledge fade through time.

    When you use your knowledge and experience, and quantify them into a useful methodology, you are more likely to become successful and consistent. Whenever something goes wrong, you can apply fixes to patch up your system.

    In other words, a discretionary trader often follow certain set of rules (although may not have those rules written down). It is easy, in many situations, for a discretionary trader to not follow the normal rules. When you write your rules and turn it into a system or technique, you can be more discipline and consistent. Plus, it is harder for you to forget important info and experience you have accumulated over the years.
     
    #24     Feb 10, 2006
  5. achilles28

    achilles28


    This is what I believe. Both discretionary and system traders follow a rule set that dictates when to take trades.

    Granted, a discretionary trader can generally implement a more complex rule set that would otherwise require a genius programmer.

    However, coding some of the most basic market indicators - trendlines, support resistance - appear relatively difficult to quantify (for me).


    I've concluded perennial market moves (range, breakout, the trend, pullback) are timeless in their occurrence. The key is how these major moves manifest themselves over time. If one can change and adapt their systems to the evolving nature of each move, one should be good.
     
    #25     Feb 11, 2006
  6. I believe it is a segment of time....The 33 pair that I watch are all linked and can reveal much....


    I've concluded perennial market moves (range, breakout, the trend, pullback) are timeless in their occurrence. The key is how these major moves manifest themselves over time. If one can change and adapt their systems to the evolving nature of each move, one should be good.
     
    #26     Feb 11, 2006
  7. polestar

    polestar

    I am a little clueless as to forex pairs and interest.

    You are collecting interest on an arb? Or is there directional risk?
     
    #27     Feb 11, 2006
  8. Directional risk...


     
    #28     Feb 11, 2006
  9. polestar

    polestar

    so when you say a pair, are you talking like buying USD/EUR and selling CAD/EUR?
     
    #29     Feb 11, 2006
  10. That is two pairs


     
    #30     Feb 11, 2006