Schmiedelnyc, Having been a member of this forum for several years, I have seen some trickery go on here at ET. When someone has only one post - I tend to be skeptical right from the start. When you shared that you were down 75% on a trade in your first post here on ET, I rasied an eyebrow. This type of post is very rare, for a first post. I've never seen it happen before. Then several members shared with you and you had not yet replied to any of them, which raised my eyebrow again. I have seen quite a bit of trickery go down on this board over the past 3 years, so my mind is automatically trying to figure out the validity of new member posts. I have seen existing members that will sign up under a different name and start a thread with a question, just to see what kind of reaction they can get. (I call this type of behavior trolling) Since you provided a second post, I no longer doubt what I thought I might have seen going on here on this thread and I humbly apologize for doubting you. You seem to be the real deal after reading your second post. Also your english is great and I'm quite sure exceptionally better than I would be at speaking your native tounge Peace and good trading to you and I hope that you will accept my apology for intially doubting the validity of your thread. plumlazy
I saw the title to this thread and I thought Victor was finally done averaging... What ever happened to Victor? I wonder if he is living in a cardboard box.... Sorry for the off topic post. Banker
Tom, your hit could be attibuted to a few things. "I was heavily short EUR/USD ." Two things: 1) "heavily" ?? Bad. You invited a margin call and it showed up for the party. 2) "short EUR/USD." What? Long term? Short term? No plan? Never short the EURO (long term) during this downward USD trend. It's a recipe for disaster! Similar to longing USD/JPY. Don't feel so bad though, you picked a horrific period in which to start trading - we got a mixed market right now with most traders/investors not knowing which end is up. Most guys are taking losses. Only way to survive is to A) already have traded successfully through a similar period B) reduce your trade size way way down - granted you won't get rich on one trade but most successful traders don't. Gain Capital? I see nothing nothing out of the usual for them to fold your account to cut both your losses and theirs (thank God so far I have been spared such a fate in live trading - I liquidated more demo accounts than I can remember) - but they lock you into trading a minimum of 10K units with a wider spread. I suggest you close your account and open an OANDA account where you can get some trades under your belt with a little as 1 unit trade size. OANDA is 2 points wide on EUR/USD - the tightest in the industry - even tighter than Commerce Bank. Regarding your trade plan: Questioning why you lost will only make you a better trader. You should use a demo for at least a few months before you go into real battle. Most (loser) traders abide by the "set small stop losses" doctrine. They think that getting chewed up by cutting their losses will replace thinking. It doesn't. Those guys never get anywhere. Better solution: Wire each trade to NOT lose before you pull the trigger. Meaning, you need understanding. You need education, not only on how to trade effectively but on basic market economics so you can successfully identify trends both long and short term. Trading is both simple and complex. Winning is simple. Avoiding losses is complex. Relying on setting a stop loss just makes you lazy. Trading successfully is a thinker's game. It takes a lot of hard work and long hours to succeed. Most loser traders don't want to put in the effort. You need to trade in right proportion to your acct size. Most loser traders trade WAY bigger size than their account allows for, set stops and get banged away on until they go broke. They equate success with being able to lose less before they get entirely wiped out. Don't lose at all. Only win. There's a chief loser trader here by the name of rezco_s. Read what he suggests then trade the opposite. Until you get a fix on what it takes to win consistently, trade a demo. Then trade small for at least a year before you increase your size. Then begin with OANDA making 1 to 10 unit trades. Try to determine what it is that causes losses, then delete those things from your trade structure. If there is anything I can ever do for you to assist you in coaching to help you lose less - pls don't hesitate to contact me at gamalruach@yahoo.com. A very successful trader once said, "We learn by our losses, not by our wins." Remember, too, the market is always wrong. Sam
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Another possibility for your broker taking you out of the position is that your margin requirements may have changed. Brokers are at the mercy of the regulating bodies when it comes to how much leverage they are allowed to offer. After initiating the position you may have had your margin requirement changed. Dunno, but it's possible. BTW, you might want to consider moving away from a java based platform to a stand alone platform as offered by CMS or FXCM, etc.