Another new Trader thread :(

Hello fellow members,

I have been looking around the website and so far I'm fairly impressed with the tools that I can use to track my performance, as well as share it with others. So I've taken the leap and decided to join.

I would like to do two things now;

1) Introduce myself: My name is Tate, I have been looking and playing with trading for a while now - I hold a full time job but love to experiment with ways I can generate additional income.

2) Ask a question: I have been looking at Manual and Auto Trading (It's really two questions). People claim that it is indeed possible to trade throughout the day, in the morning, breaks and when you've finished for the day and still turn a profit. Is this really the case? It seems that attention is required 100% and I just can't see how it is doable. Now with Auto Trading, I have seen loads of things on people who have made a living from Expert Advisor's - but then I see lots of people who have lost everything using Expert Advisor's. Is there really a EA to generate a good solid income?

AT this moment in time, I am not looking to commit real money, I guess I am still in the experimenting stages. I have bought quite a few EAs, not because I want to be a millionaire over night, but because I am intrigued by how they work and I want to play with them to see if I can get them to generate an income. (Which is why I'm here - I love the tracking feature ).

Thanks for reading - hope you can shed some light on the two questions.

Tate

2. It's possible to trade whenever, even random. I do. Just sort out the portfolio every time I'm inclined to or walk past the machine. But you have to have the right sort of system for that. And generally the guys that can do that is not selling or telling. Took me 8 years to figure out fx properly and program it and I for one am not selling for $50.

You'll have to figure it out yourself.

I believe any EA you can buy will lose your money. So there is no EA that will generate money for you. Rather go for a managed account and go for it on a broker like Oanda. Not some island based bucket shop.

Trading is tedious and mind numbing. Takes forever to figure it out and then unless you rich already, takes so much time to build wealth that it's almost not worth it. Only get involved if you are prepared to write off a significant portion of your life.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I agree to the 'tedious and mind numbing' bit, for some reason that's the kind of thing that I like to partake in :). It required a lot of skill and practice as well as understanding. All of which I am looking to learn. I've gone through baby pips which has awnsered a lot but I think I need to double read it to get a proper grasp of everything as it's a lot to take in.

Many Thanks,
Tate

   TheCyclist posted:
   2. It's possible to trade whenever, even random. I do. Just sort out the portfolio every time I'm inclined to or walk past the machine. But you have to have the right sort of system for that. And generally the guys that can do that is not selling or telling. Took me 8 years to figure out fx properly and program it and I for one am not selling for $50.

You'll have to figure it out yourself.

I believe any EA you can buy will lose your money. So there is no EA that will generate money for you. Rather go for a managed account and go for it on a broker like Oanda. Not some island based bucket shop.

Trading is tedious and mind numbing. Takes forever to figure it out and then unless you rich already, takes so much time to build wealth that it's almost not worth it. Only get involved if you are prepared to write off a significant portion of your life.

 

That is very true. Thanks pipgnostic.

Trading does not take forever to figure out. Just like any profession you have to been properly trained by a successful professional currency specialist that has years of experience. Its overcoming greed and fear that is difficult and that is something unfortunately that cannot be taught.

   forexboy posted:
   Trading does not take forever to figure out. Just like any profession you have to been properly trained by a successful professional currency specialist that has years of experience. Its overcoming greed and fear that is difficult and that is something unfortunately that cannot be taught.

I agree. I don't consider trading to be extremely difficult... It's discipline and emotions that are the main stumbling blocks for most people.

   dlathrop posted:
   

   forexboy posted:
   Trading does not take forever to figure out. Just like any profession you have to been properly trained by a successful professional currency specialist that has years of experience. Its overcoming greed and fear that is difficult and that is something unfortunately that cannot be taught.

I agree. I don't consider trading to be extremely difficult... It's discipline and emotions that are the main stumbling blocks for most people.

You wouldn't believe how true this is. The system I'm using can be taught to an 8 year old. Its the discipline and emotions that are hard to master. The fear of loss and the euphoria of a win can be so overwhelming. The worst part is that it creeps up on you, and most people don't realize till its too late !

   lkwong posted:
   

   dlathrop posted:
   

   forexboy posted:
   Trading does not take forever to figure out. Just like any profession you have to been properly trained by a successful professional currency specialist that has years of experience. Its overcoming greed and fear that is difficult and that is something unfortunately that cannot be taught.

I agree. I don't consider trading to be extremely difficult... It's discipline and emotions that are the main stumbling blocks for most people.

You wouldn't believe how true this is. The system I'm using can be taught to an 8 year old. Its the discipline and emotions that are hard to master. The fear of loss and the euphoria of a win can be so overwhelming. The worst part is that it creeps up on you, and most people don't realize till its too late !

I agree also. I learned more than what i need to know about charts in less than a couple of months. and that is only an hour or so after my full time job. I even created my own simple strategy with 2 and sometimes 3 indicators wihtout cluttering my charts. What was and still is hard for me is 'sticking to my strategy'. I'm still learning to control my emotions and be patient for the trade to hit its target or exit when rules say so.. Had i been disciplined and followed my own system. i'd be very rich right now with my 70% winning rate.
Oh and another thing that helped me stopped losing money is I stopped trading the 5, 15 min charts as i dont have the time to look at charts constantly with my full time job. I now trade 4hr with and entry on the 1hr. and go for big pips but realistic targets also.

I tested about 40 Expert Advisors, but only one of them survived in the long run... but with huge drawdowns, so I would not recommend it. From my point of view, you should focus on manual trading. If you have not much time because of your fulltime job, you could try trading daily and weekly timeframes.

You can have the most perfect system but if you don't have the right mindset for it, you will keep on failing guaranteed. Also, demo and real money are totally different. You can demo trade for years and be profitable and once you go live, everything goes haywire. So, my advice to you my friend, get a trader coach or mentor. Trading is like sports, if you want to be an elite athlete and be the best, get a trainer, train hard, work hard, perform, and the result will come. Check out www.estetrader.com if you are looking for a trader coach. They know what they're doing in the mindset arena.

Good luck with your trading

Yes your mindset/expectation/your goal of trading must be realistic. If not you are bound to fail.