My Forex experience

Long story short:
for a few months now I've been looking into forex. It started probably in the same way as with most people -> how to get a little more money.
I stumbled across articles about forex and so on. I started to learn about forex, brokers, indicators systems and all that. I learnt about MT4, EAs, 'holy grails' and vendors. I found and devoured review sites(about brokers and EAs).


I must say that last few months have been very interesting. I've learnt a lot and found out that I still know very little. But most importantly I found out what I want out of forex(I suppose that is a lot in itself 😄).

I want

A. automated trading to gain
B. steady and
C. monthly income

Automated, steady and monthly. Easier to say than achieve and I can hear some of you laugh there 😁 But that is what I want and I suppose most of us want the same thing in that respect. I don't expect to get rich but I don't mind getting rich either.

So I started to gather EAs(free and commercial) to try them out. I backtested a lot of EAs and I've done dozens of forward tests too. I tried out different brokers to see differences. Actually I'm still doing these. I want to be thorough in these 'investigations' of mine to avoid the results of far too many others -> lose money and then lose some more money. I don't have that much of capital to use...

And I noticed something. Yep, most of the EAs are total crap. Like bat-shit-crap 😡 Most meaning well over 95%. I suppose some of the more expensive ones could work but I can't afford them so I have no idea. These $77-$299 ones and freebies tend to crash 'n burn or just slowly eat their way down. Me no likey. I've asked a refund on every EA I've bought and I've got refunded every time. At least something works... And settings can make a huge difference too.

I noticed something else too. Brokers are quite different from one another. There's a lot of things to take into consideration when choosing a broker. And there are hundreds of brokers out there offering their services. Spreads, off quotes, spikes, scams and so on... lot's of things to think about. And there's tons of broker review sites that have old information, wrong information, are in some way biased or something else.

I came to the conclusion that choosing the right broker can make a BIG difference. Even when you use the same EA on different brokers you can get VERY different results.


So, choosing the right broker and the right EA. This is what it is all about.

I have decided to use Blessing 3. My 'research' regarding B3 is still undergoing but this EA shows great potential plus it's very, very diverse and free! Thanks to all who have contributed there! Amazing work.

Then the broker issue. I suppose there are lots of opinions about what's a good broker.

My opinion of a good broker in a nutshell:

- MT4 - must offer
- EA - must allow all EAs(scalping, hedging)
- Regulated - must be regulated but cannot be regulated by NFA(hedging rule)
-Micro account(0,01 aka micro lots) - must offer micro lots since most ppl dont have a capital of $10,000 or more to start with and good MM and risk settings require the use of 0.01 lots with smaller account sizes
- NDD(STP/ECN) - must not have dealing desk
- Offer leverage up to 200:1
- Good reputation and no restrictions on accounts(max lot size, max account size etc.)


These demands really eliminate lot of brokers right away. Sadly it seems that most brokers that offer micro accounts are not STP/ECN brokers or do not offer those services to micro accounts. I'm currently still looking for a good broker to start my live account on. ATM I'm doing all of my forward testing on Alpari UK(have tried dozens of brokers).

Ah, I suppose I've ranted enough here and have let my thoughts run wild. I'll let you know when I find a good broker 😄

Hope you don't think this is going to easy or quick. I did about 6 years ago....man was I wrong.

Heh, I suppose everything worthwhile in life is hard :)

K, be aware of the stats though.

Only about 10% of those who try will be profitable and only about 10% of those will actually make a living out of it, so 1% of everyone who tries makes it.

It's not easy money, it's a long hard slog. Only reason I kept going is because I'm hopelessly addicted to it. My poison of choice. But many lives have been ruined by it, same as a casino ruins lives.

I am aware of these statistics. That is the reason why I am testing and researching.

I believe that far too many of those who have lost money in forex have just plunged into it without proper research or guidance -> this I call stupidity.

Some have done their homework and still lost money -> this I call streak of bad luck.

Some have had success, even with smaller capital -> these people I haven't met 😁

Few around here. Sure they'll pop out of the wood work soon enough. I've met a few guys through the years who are really, really good at this. But that's after years.

You approach seems good though, so welcome to a life of masochism...!!

Elkart posted:
so welcome to a life of masochism...!!

Thanks for the welcome 😄

I am rather new to forex and trading in general but it seems that backtests(at least 90% accuracy) are only good for finding out if EA is any good in the first place and see what kind of effects different changes in settings do. If they seem to work as intended then they are worthy of forward tests :)

Forward tests are used to confirm backtest results.

If EA survives or manages to achieve something other than utter failure on demo account it should be TESTED on real account. Preferably with very small capital on micro account. This is the real test of any EA.

So in general I think one should approach all EAs like this:

1. backtest = just to see if it actually works as it's supposed to and to try different settings
2. forward tests = confirm backtest results
3. real account(micro) = confirm the two previous steps
4. standard account or whatever after that

And no set 'n forget stuff here, always monitor your results on live account! It's a roller coaster!


P.S. I do have to admit that I myself have not gotten to step three yet. But if things are going as they SEEM to be going I will in a week or two open 1-3 small real accounts. I'm considering using Alpari UK for this but I'm still open to all suggestions as I'm looking for other options too.

Don't use Alpari in my opinion, certainly not for a Martingale system.
You have two options with Alpari one of which doesn't allow smaller than a 0.1 lot and the other which does allow 0.01 lot but does not allow you to open more than I think 2 lots at any one time. Neither are ideal for Martingale.

Yeah, I know about the 2 slot limit and how it can seriously cripple especially a system based on martingale.
Thought demoing there is no problem since there are no slot restrictions on demo accounts.

But that´s the reason I´m still open to ideas and looking for other brokers. I thought about FxOpen micro account too(a true micro account, penny for pip that is). Will be open to suggestions...

Forex.com is one option, not a brilliant one but they do allow 0.01 lots and have no maximum lot limit.
It really depends what your starting lot size is going to be.

To be honest I would not use any broker that is not an ECN or an STP, especially not for a martingale. Get a requote or some other kind of order rejection at the wrong time and you are in the deep stuff.

One of the reasons Martingales are such a dicey proposition on live accounts.

steve,

forex.com is simply a wonderful company to deal with, in all aspects.

thank you,

zero/.

Their spreads aren't that brilliant though

stevetrade posted:
To be honest I would not use any broker that is not an ECN or an STP, especially not for a martingale. Get a requote or some other kind of order rejection at the wrong time and you are in the deep stuff.

One of the reasons Martingales are such a dicey proposition on live accounts.

I dislike dealing desks too. And martingales are tricky ones.

Thanks for the suggestion, both of you. I will try it out.

its on;ly game, but i am up 148% in on;ly three days/.

i have been working on this project nonstop since 2004/.

i think that i am fina;l;ly on homep;late/.

yay/.

btw, i simp;ly ;love the myfxbk widgets, the post up to the oanda forum so nice;ly/.

kudos to the myfxbk fo;lks/.

i am gonna be so effing rich/.

damm/.

and, yes, i understand that i need a new keyboard/.

i spi;l;led coffee on my netbk two days after i bought it/.

@Siitar One of the brokers I use is Interbank FX. You can get info on their accounts here:

https://www.ibfx.com.au/Promo/Account-Types

This is the Australian site, and since I'm Canadian my account here is up to 400:1 leverage. My US Interbank accounts will be dropping to 50:1 when the new regulations go into effect later this month, which really sucks so I'm moving a few of them over to IBFX AU and Alpari UK.

Cheers

MaryJane posted:
steve,

forex.com is simply a wonderful company to deal with, in all aspects.

thank you,

zero/.

Yes, you are right but their spread can be a big issue.

Dictiony posted:
Yes, you are right but their spread can be a big issue.

For tight spreads you can try ICM and fxview