Do I go for it ?

Thanks for your best wishes darrenF - I have a kept a shortcut to this thread on my desktop - there is so much great advice in here that I often refer back to it.

Once I took the plunge the water was really quite pleasant (nothing to be afraid of)- and when I removed my 'indicators' it was like 'skinny-dipping' in the Caribbean LOL !

Besides I refuse to end up on my death bed one day thinking - "What if.....?"
 
Hey up Buk

Sorry just missed you there.

Yeah - a tough and sweaty road but you played a pivotal part at the beginning and your counsel was very much valued.

..Still every day presents its opportunities - that nice run down on cable today delivered the goods - straight through 7800 and past 7790 like a hot knife through butter...guess you filled 'yer boots on that one if I know you and those '00' trades !

H
 
;) same old, same old mate!!!!.....like ya say, patiently wait for the opportunities to come to you!! :devilish:
 
Well done, Hopefull !!

And thank you for taking the time to give an update on your progress - I'm sure it will inspire many people.

I've recently taken the plunge too and am now trading full time.

BTW, did you keep your membership at the gym ? (see message #92)

Regards,
 
No probs ivorm - Least I can do is offer an update after all the advice and help I have received from people on this site.

Good for you on taking the plunge mate - As I have mentioned before the hardest part (imo) is making that decision...after that its just a case of getting on with it.

I wish you every success in your new business venture.What are you trading ?

...and no I didn't keep the gym membership I prefer to get some fresh air when not at the screen nowadays so the exercise boils down to running,cycling and dog walking...basically anything that is the antithesis of trading !

Best Regads
H

...When I checked this thread last night I am sure there was another note ..has it been removed Sharky ?
 
Hopefull,

Great to hear you're succeeding. Any chance you could give a short run down of what methods you found useful?

You mention 'the Dark Side', what do you mean by this? You also write about losing your indicators, what prompted you to do this, and if you don't use indicators, what do you use?

Mute.
 
I day trade FX only - primarily GBP/USD (often referred to as Cable).There is plenty of action with this one currency pair alone to make good profits, imo eg. the range this morning since 8:00am is already around 125 - 130 pips/points

I am usually out of the market by 6-7 pm (BST) unless I choose to trade off a major news announcement from the 'US' ie. FOMC..Closing out at the end of the day does sometimes mean leaving a few points on the table if the trade is trending in my direction....but its a small price to pay for a good nights sleep and peace from Mrs H. !
 
Mutantcar,

the term "darkside" is used to describe trading WITHOUT indicators.....via pure price action & pattern recognition.

take a peek at the 'no indicators; thread for more info.
 
hopefull said:
I day trade FX only - primarily GBP/USD (often referred to as Cable).There is plenty of action with this one currency pair alone to make good profits, imo eg. the range this morning since 8:00am is already around 125 - 130 pips/points

I am usually out of the market by 6-7 pm (BST) unless I choose to trade off a major news announcement from the 'US' ie. FOMC..Closing out at the end of the day does sometimes mean leaving a few points on the table if the trade is trending in my direction....but its a small price to pay for a good nights sleep and peace from Mrs H. !
hi hopefull do you trade gbp/usd curr futures?
 
Hi mutantcar

Methods I found useful....

Pick one instrument/market only,put up a chart of this instrument,sit on your hands and watch what it does,get to know how it moves - do nothing - repeat exercise every day till your eyes cannot take anymore and your hands are numb..Take a short break and continue.This may sound flippant.It is not meant to;.This is how I began.There are no shortcuts - period. (if you find any please share them with me).

In my 'limited experience' price rules - so trade off it.I have received so many pearls of wisdom from others here..one of my favourites is this "patiently wait for the market to come to you, never chase it"

Here is a true account of my personal decision to relieve myself of 'indicator torture' (and I really do not wish to get into a debate on this, IF indicators work for YOU - great and fair play, long may that continue).

This is something that I was discussing with another trader earlier this morning.....


When I progressed from simple screen watching I moved onto trying to apply some structure to this 'chaos'..something that would assist me with my trading decisions..

I had my screen overloaded with indicators;RSI,Macd,Stochs,DMI/ADX etc.etc....you name it I had it.

At one stage I had that many bleeding indicators on my screen I could barely ready the price chart !


The nail in the coffin for my 'lower' indicators came one day when I was sitting at the screen ready to make an entry 'long' - I'll never forget this 'missed' trade.

Market was breaking out of a range up,trend was up on 5/15 and 60 min charts.Candle formation confirmed entry, good RR on trade - only one problem..my DMI's hadn't crossed !!!!!!

So there I sat waiting for these two damn lines to cross and get me 'in' ...and the market just raced away on me (it didn't wish to hang around until HopeFulls' lines had crossed -very unfair)...by the time they had 'crossed' the trade set-up was very different - RR now completely out of kilter etc.

I sat there there dismayed and my mind was made up - Drop these things.

Best Regards
H
 
Jimmy

Sorry for the delay - I trade GBP/USD Spot right now.I have very limited knowledge and no experience of trading with currency futures although I do intend researching this further over my Xmas break (sad,I know).

Do you trade the Futures market and if so how do you find it compares to Spot ?

Best Regards
H
 
hopefull said:
Jimmy

Sorry for the delay - I trade GBP/USD Spot right now.I have very limited knowledge and no experience of trading with currency futures although I do intend researching this further over my Xmas break (sad,I know).

Do you trade the Futures market and if so how do you find it compares to Spot ?

Best Regards
H
i trade short term interest rates (scalp them) but i like to build models i have one for the dax but like fx charts for models as they move nicely like the dax can, not for scalping but for more measured moves, which broker do you use?
 
Hopefull,

Thanks for that. I'm sure it's excellent advice given that a few months ago you were uncertain of your abilites - like many reading this I guess. Now you're almost a seasoned pro & doing well. Very encouraging.

From my limited experience of watching charts, I can appreciate the problem of conflicting indicators, and will also look at the KISS approach.

Best of luck (skill!)

Mute.
 
Thats interesting Jimmy - I use FXCM atm - I have my issues with them but no one FX broker appears to be standing out from the crowd just yet and in fairness to FXCM I have only had a problem with slippage and platform freezes during major announcements i.e the good old NFP figures release.

Mute - I'm not so sure about the seasoned pro mate but thanks for the compliment .lol. I guess a year of screen watching/trading is a long time when you are at it day in day out.

If my response was sharp/curt in any way then please accept my apologies - I simply have my trading hat on right now.

If you 'take the plunge' so to speak and wish to just chew the fat with someone else who can identify with recent experiences and sleepless nights, just drop me a PM mate.

All the best
H
 
Pick one instrument/market only, put up a chart of this instrument, sit on your hands and watch what it does, get to know how it moves - do nothing - repeat exercise every day till your eyes cannot take anymore and your hands are numb..Take a short break and continue. This may sound flippant. It is not meant to.This is how I began.There are no shortcuts - period.

Spoken like a true graduate from the Skimble (too Kool for) Skool. Not everyone realises how important doing the above is and even fewer are prepared to do it. Well done hopefull.

If you can trade successfully through FXCM you will find futures a joy.

Best wishes in your trading future :)
 
great quote Frugi. i wish i had done that when i had first started. would have saved me a packet.

why couldnt i have found this board 3 years ago!!

on another note, shouldnt it be Skimble "Skool"?
 
Hiya Frugi

Long time no speak - I trust all is well with you.

Glad you liked it - I could have flowered things up and said how easy all off this has been but that ain't true as you well know.

Its tough, very tough and you need tenacity,humility and the ability to keep coming back for more...but gradually the endless stream of weekly losses turns break-evens then into irregular gains...and then something a bit special happens...the weekly gains become more and more consistent...we can see there is light at the end of this tunnel...

PS. I hope you have also enjoyed the ride down on cable this morning I jumped on a bit late myself at 7943 (was posting here at the time) ! have scaled 3 out and 1 left open with a stop at 7911 (currently 7890) You'll see the minor swing high on the 15 min spot chart.

Right now Frugi I am in Doji central just waiting for direction ! (14:41)

Good trading to you too

Regards
H
 
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