I honestly cannot recommend that anyone develop, or follow up an interest in trading.

[123 Trading]

What do you mean by longer term trading? For some people on this site, that would mean holding a position for a couple of days..

I think nowadays "long term" or "short term" are "deceiving" definitions.

I have been talking to some proprietary trading firms about the possibility of trading through them and found out that which is short term for ones is long term to others...

 

[meanreversion]

Right, but Tradefutures is talking about longer term trading meaning trades of a month or two in duration. I think some people here might see "longer term trading" and think "yeah, great idea, I'll move from 30 min bars to 1hr bars" ...

 

[leonarda]

This game is not difficult at all. No disrepect intended to those that are struggling.

The key is to do less work. Sitting infront of a screen 14 hours a day does not make good trading. Risking more than 1.5%-2% on any trading idea is just plain silly. Exposing more than 8-10% of your trading account in a period of 4 weeks is silly.

Intra day / short term trading should be considered a hobby...not an occupation, unless you're flipping 8 to 9 figure transactions, which is highly unlikely if you're a retail player.

There is good volatility and bad volatility. Avoid bad volatility...and yes thats intra day volatilty that must be avoided otherwise you will lose again and again even though your view of the market will probably be spot on.

Harness and exploit good volatility, and yes i'm referring to setting yourself up to capture larger moves in a multitude of markets over periods of weeks and months.

Setting yourself up for good volatiilty means that you must make drastic changes...1st change is to STOP intra day trading.

2nd. Cut your stakes right down.
3rd. Utilise much larger stops while ensuring that no more than 1-2% of your trading account is at risk for any given trade.
4th. Expect to be holding positions for potentially months...yes this is boring...but successful trading is boring...if you want thrills go to the casino or start to day trade with leverage (tight stops / high stakes).
5th. Do your research and analysis when the markets are closed.
6th. Make your descisions & Order your trades on the weekend - its really OK to ONLY order 1 trade a week.
7th. Let your losing trades stop out at the predefined risk tollerances.
8th. Let your winning trades run...yes expect them to run for potentially months.
9th. NEVER manually close a winning trade. If the trade is in profit, move stops up to eliminate risk. Move stops up to lock in profit...but there is no rush to do this as you will be relaxed knowing that you only have 1-2% at risk. This 1-2% risk can potentially return 5-25%..maybe more.

TAKE SOME TIME TO BUILD A SMALL PORTFOLIO TO WORK ON. - Research / analysis should not take more than 2-3 hours on the weekend.

AIM TO BUILD A PORTFOLIO OF 'OPEN' PROFITABLE POSITIONS...LET LOSING TRADES STOP OUT.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WATCHING THE MARKETS DURING THE WEEK.

DON'T EVEN WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO TRADE THE MARKETS IF YOU HAVE LESS THAN £15K-£20K OF CASH FUNDS THAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO FORGET ABOUT FOR ATLEAST 6-12 MONTHS.

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRADING AS A MEANS TO PAY FOR ROUTINE EXPENDITURE SUCH AS LIVING EXPENSES FOR ATLEAST THE FIRST 12 MONTHS.

90-95% of intra day / short term traders lose...This is a realistic statistic

The 5-10% that succeed and that will continue to succeed...well you know how they trade now!...expect 150-300% annual returns...day traders / short term traders try to make 150-300% returns quarterly...thats why they blow up time and time again....

peace!!!

yep, I totally agree with all this and is what I have learned, ie.trading equities for me, over trading periods of 1-3 months typically. And you spell it out nicely with:
"i'm referring to setting yourself up to capture larger moves in a multitude of markets over periods of weeks and months"
For example i've done very well this year capturing some decent trades on the run up to the high in april, and then some very decent "shorts" from mid-april to june.
My stops are typically 5-7%, but my profit run winners are up to 30+% on trade.

 

[leonarda]

o, and I forgot to say, I spend about 2 hours a week (if that sometimes) researching etc..
So I agree with you there too.

and also re-previous posts, yes, we need to be clear on what medium/longer term means, to me it's about 2 months.

 

[Splitlink]

Right, but Tradefutures is talking about longer term trading meaning trades of a month or two in duration. I think some people here might see "longer term trading" and think "yeah, great idea, I'll move from 30 min bars to 1hr bars" ...

You have to be careful not to get out of your depth. The leverage necessary in those cases is not for me. I don't have that kind of capital and would prefer to, actually, buy shares as an investment.

If you are trading forex or indices it is possible to make a good profit with manageable risk levels working on a day-to-day or weekly basis.

 

[leonarda]

You have to be careful not to get out of your depth. The leverage necessary in those cases is not for me. I don't have that kind of capital and would prefer to, actually, buy shares as an investment.

If you are trading forex or indices it is possible to make a good profit with manageable risk levels working on a day-to-day or weekly basis.

You're right, but I think the "leverage" is only an issue if you make it one, by trying to achieve 1000% per year etc..!! If you set a reasonable 20 to 30% annual return, you're not over leveraging (if at all). And if you do well and make 50+% you're laughing...

 

[oildaytrader]

You're right, but I think the "leverage" is only an issue if you make it one, by trying to achieve 1000% per year etc..!! If you set a reasonable 20 to 30% annual return, you're not over leveraging (if at all). And if you do well and make 50+% you're laughing...

Whad a load of tosh.

If you know how to trade managing risk with leverage , you can make 1,000 % a year with 10 to 1 leverage.90 % of my account is never used for trading..It is all about knowing the craft.

 

[meanreversion]

Whad a load of tosh.

If you know how to trade managing risk with leverage , you can make 1,000 % a year with 10 to 1 leverage.90 % of my account is never used for trading..It is all about knowing the craft.

1,000% a year with an exposure of only 10%? Yes, that sounds very achievable.

What ... a ... numpty ...

 

[meanreversion]

You have to be careful not to get out of your depth. The leverage necessary in those cases is not for me. I don't have that kind of capital and would prefer to, actually, buy shares as an investment.

If you are trading forex or indices it is possible to make a good profit with manageable risk levels working on a day-to-day or weekly basis.

This is precisely my point.

Tradefutures' post is referring to trades lasting a month or two. Everyone is recommending this post despite the fact that their interpretation of "longer term trading" is completely different to Tradefutures. In other words, people are recommending a post they don't actually agree with!

 

[meanreversion]

Whad a load of tosh.

If you know how to trade managing risk with leverage , you can make 1,000 % a year with 10 to 1 leverage.90 % of my account is never used for trading..It is all about knowing the craft.

I mean, seriously, this comment is so bad it's not even funny.

What kind of drawdown might you expect whilst trying to achieve 1,000 pct a year? Any idea?

 

[oildaytrader]

1,000% a year with an exposure of only 10%? Yes, that sounds very achievable.

What ... a ... numpty ...

Yes and it is a Pity you ain't smart enough to know how it is done.

Ignorance is bliss .Knowledge is power

 

[meanreversion]

Yes and it is a Pity you ain't smart enough to know how it is done.

Ignorance is bliss .Knowledge is power

you're boring. stop pretending that you trade or know what you're doing.


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[leonarda]

Whad a load of tosh.

If you know how to trade managing risk with leverage , you can make 1,000 % a year with 10 to 1 leverage.90 % of my account is never used for trading..It is all about knowing the craft.

what are you on about?! So let me get this right, you joined T2W in 2007, so in the 3 years you've been trading since then you have turned say £10,000 into £10,000,000 ? yes? and next year you will have a cool £100,000,000 ? watch out Bill Gates...!

 

[leonarda]

I mean, seriously, this comment is so bad it's not even funny.

What kind of drawdown might you expect whilst trying to achieve 1,000 pct a year? Any idea?

exactly !

 

[meanreversion]

Oildaytrader is a strange person. He/she likes to make ridiculous statements with no basis in reality or fact. It's unlikely that he/she is even a trader. He/she is best ignored, I don't know why I bother rising to the bait.

 

[oildaytrader]

Oildaytrader is a strange person. He/she likes to make ridiculous statements with no basis in reality or fact. It's unlikely that he/she is even a trader. He/she is best ignored, I don't know why I bother rising to the bait.

The only way you know how to make 1,000 % with drawdown < 10 % , is if I give all the details of method on a free message board.It would prove to you guys it can be done , only if I let it all out.

I respect your intelligence and don't expect you to ask for the details , because nobody with that grail is going to let it all out.

It can be done and I am doing it.Be as abusive and rude as you like.

 

[leonarda]

The only way you know how to make 1,000 % with drawdown < 10 % , is if I give all the details of method on a free message board.It would prove to you guys it can be done , only if I let it all out.

I respect your intelligence and don't expect you to ask for the details , because nobody with that grail is going to let it all out.

It can be done and I am doing it.Be as abusive and rude as you like.

Honestly, all respect to you if you can do that.
As a matter of interest, are you worth millions now?

 

[leonarda]

Although, I must admit using my method i'm currently 64% up YTD, so at that rate i'm going to hit 118% for the year, which ain't bad for a couple of hours effort a week!

 

[oildaytrader]

Honestly, all respect to you if you can do that.
As a matter of interest, are you worth millions now?

No.That is the truth.

I am implementing mercenary trading on a live 6 figure account, soon the whole method will be fully trading on live .Believe me it works , and for your info I have spent 10 years looking for this holy grail.

 

[TRADEFUTURES]

Okay....

Mindsets need to change pronto.

Treat any given trade as a 'discrete' event.

What I mean by this is that it is wrong to co-relate markets from a trading execution standpoint, even though correlations do exist, By using correlations to make a judgement on any given markets, this only dilutes one's conviction to take a position and then fiddle with stops a position size.

Clarity : when I say that traders should try to set themselves up to capture larger moves over weeks and months...means that some trades can run for 9 months...in fact my record for longest running trade to date has been nearly a year....why close a good trade?...if you need the money then you don't have to close out the trade...just move stops up locking in partial gains.

This doesn't mean that all trades work out like that where they run for a year....It just means that you should be prepared for draw...and be prepared to hold discrete trades until they knock you out with locked in gains.

Under capitalisation is another problem. It is better to stop trading if you are under capitalised, that is until you have the correct level of funding....otherwise you'll only end up over dosing...this is a vicious cycle / trap once an undercapitalised trader gets slammed.

Holy Grail of trading???...there is no such thing...dodge these kinds of people like the plague....sooner or later they will as you for money...the best instance i've heard of lately is someone asking for donations.....now these kind of frauds are trying to appeal to the charitable side of human nature...disgusting!!!