new trader - HELLO! and help

Jan 12, 2012 at 20:47
2,657 Views
22 Replies
Member Since Jan 05, 2012   25 posts
Feb 25, 2012 at 11:40 (edited Feb 25, 2012 at 11:43)
polder, I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Ever since I managed my risk I do see some consistency, at least protecting my capital and not having massive draw-downs. Each time I open a trade, the first thing that comes to my mind is how much I can afford to lose instead of 'this will likely go up, just go!' mentality.

I am now trusting my system more as I followed rules but I can only focus on 1 currency - EUR/USD. This also encourages me to learn to trade in all market conditions - trending, non trending, range etc.

I come out with this new rule for my SL :
1-30 pips (1 mini)
31-40 pips (1/2 mini

As you can see from my recent trades, my maximum risk is up to 3-4% per trade and some positive ones can go up to 8-9%. So I hope this risk to reward ratio is reasonably ok.

I read it from somewhere that in order to trade well.

1st. learn protect your capital
then 2nd. start making consistent pips
finally 3rd. consistent pips with occasional bonus ( eg. sudden 100 pips rally etc.)

Now, I putting more focus on getting my win rates higher from 45% to 50% and I hope my equity curve will slowly and gradually form a CUP and HANDLE pattern. hehe.

Thanks for spending time giving me valuable advice :)
   
Let the market come to you
Member Since Feb 21, 2012   6 posts
Apr 02, 2012 at 13:41
Hey Callen! hi nice to see other singaporeans trading haha.. I just started trading a live account recently and i realised that i was too quick to jump into trades or wanting to find new trades everytime i come onto the computer...

Everytime i try to force a trade i ll most like feel super uncomfortable and unsure if it will work out... making me do alot of emotional decisions which usually lead to loses..

Managed to stabilise my account after a few weeks... you can take a look! but i guess we got to control our ego too and emotions so that we can make calm collected trades evertime we go in... and wait for the right entries! and not trade if there is no good opportunities... guess the hard thing im starting to realise about trading is to be consistent for long periods of time...

i guess i helps to try and distract your mind from thinking how much value the money we are trading is worth... like just assume they are numbers without any value ...

im still super new so thats the advice i have... i have much to learn...
Member Since Mar 29, 2012   2 posts
Apr 04, 2012 at 06:56
Well well singaporeans are here too! :) Majulah Singapura! haha

I just joined myfxbook as i was looking for a new publisher, was previously publishing on mt4stats and also i changed my broker so was looking at other options in publishing. Looks like a great community here as well.

I think most of us would have gone through that period of and like some say its best to have a defensive approach sometimes and stay out of a trade, sometimes our hand itchy and just jump into a trade. This is my 2nd year of trading and i started out by blowing my account 3 times fairly quickly and didn't know what i was doing frankly. Basically i was gambling my money away without any proper knowledge and was being greedy and trying to get rich quick.

In my opinion:

-1st step is to have a proper risk-reward system. For instance i'm mostly at a 1:1 or 1:2(risking 30pts for 60pt reward)
-to have a defensive mindset and look for reasons not to trade, that according to your trade entry rules gives you a reason not to trade.
- increase your knowledge continuously (candlestick patterns, fibo extensions/retracement, ichimoku patterns etc)
- keep your trading simple and not clutter with too many indicators etc. Learn 1 or 2 and keep to that. (i trade mostly on support/resistance n fibo n RSI)
-learn a few pairs and i only trade two pairs mainly euro/usd and usd/yen at times
- i keep a diary on mistakes i make on a particular trade, whether is listening to others opinion or not follownig my rules of entry.
- Always have a stop-loss i think of me its important as i only risk 3% of my account at any tradde.
- i also use low-leverage as i use it in a way so as to not overtrade or take excessive risk

Ultimately i tell myself that noone can tell where the market is going and its still pretty much like gambling! We're just increasing our probabilities with certain skills sets.

Gambling definition:
1)To bet on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest; to play a game of chance for stakes.
   To take a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit.

Haha just my personal opinion! Cheers all! Happy Pipping
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