My Forex experience

Siitari posted:
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 😄

shaunmarsh posted:
Try using that much leverage that you think you will be able to afford to lose. Don’t go beyond that.

Adribaasmet posted:
For me; successful trading means making consistent result in a long run! The return percentage doesn’t mean much; but again consistency is the key.

Adribaasmet posted:
For me; successful trading means making consistent result in a long run! The return percentage doesn’t mean much; but again consistency is the key.

shaunmarsh posted:
Try using that much leverage that you think you will be able to afford to lose. Don’t go beyond that.

SofieAndreasen posted:
When you initiate a forex trade you go long or short. You have a 50/50 chance of being right or wrong.