I am a beginner at trading, and don't know what are the norms. While playing with spread betting, I had plenty of occasions being a part of 10 pips or more moves. This is what makes me think moves like that are normal. Of course, while playing with real money I didn't have the balls to take the 10 pip rides. I usually exited them prematurely 3, or 5 pips. If I am playing with virtual money, my responses could well be different. I won't have to wait long to find out.
I have never traded before. I am not sure if I am a scalper.
My entire forex experience is one week of spread betting, in which I lost £1k. I made all the mistakes conceivable. So I feel I am now ready for the real thing. My next step is to trade 0.01 lots with Oanda. In the mean time I play competition and get the hang of things, and the lingo.
Your on the right track.. I like to see the drive in ya to get things right, and get your new career off to a great start. Its a process for sure.
Scalping is, well, just a forex phrase, and actually taken out of context. I say scalping, which i really mean, short term trading.. Holding a trade for 0-5 minutes, and under 10 pips gain, USUALLY.. I guess this is what I am, KINDA.. But this past week, I have actually learned to stay in the trade longer, and get the most out of it.. I have the short term "scalps" down pretty darn good.. I got really good at it.
BUT, something that needs to be inprinted in the brain, is each and every trade made, your paying more OUT to make the trade, hence " spread"..
I used to jump in a trade, take 4 pips, jump out, then jump back in, just to see the price reverse instantly, like as if the broker was playing with my emotions..
So, by doing that, even if the trade holds up, and I take profit again, I just lost out on 2 pips, where staying in, I gained 2 pips, see what I mean?
But having a general idea of a Exit goes a longgggg way..
I believe in, " No Pip should Be Left behind", LOL
If your waiting for things to get right to Sell, obviousely, its a Long trade in action, and there are pips waiting to be scooped up.. So why not scoop them up? Well, I learned why not to, lol..
I have come up with a pretty good strat, and cant wait to go live with it. But Im like this every Sunday..
Here is my routine.
Monday-Friday 5Am, est-- 12PM-- Trade, then have lunch, do my Hunny do list for my wife,
2PM-6PM, Trade and/or work on Expert Advisor, Then Dinner at 6:30pm
7PM-11PM, Trade
Friday, at market close, I take the rest of the day off to unwind, because by Friday morning, Im burnt out to the Max..
Sat, 7am up and at it again. Rework my EA, because it didnt perform properly over the week. EVERY SATURDAY IS TWEEK DAY. Because around 2PM on Fridays, I always Find something that might be key to my trading. Like it just falls out of the sky at that very time. So, It gives my 2 hours to throw together a EA, then 1 hour to test it live. Ugggg
So my Saturday, Im doing EA, and watching YouTube Videos, I like to follow one perticual guy there, his name is TradeArtist, also a few, but he is the main, I like his info. Because really, forex is more in the mind, then whats on the screen.
Then, to test my strat, I got into MT4 Strat tester, pick a date, set up my chart, then set the speed to low, and start paper trading. I do that for a few hours.. I do that till about, hummmm, 6PM, then spend time with family till about 9PM, then do more paper trading till 11:30ish.
Sunday, Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, finally.. 7am, Im at it again. EA testing, paper trading, reading some forums. Also, I spend sometime in the AM putting together my weekly forecast. Which, to be honest, should be a first step in learning Forex trading. IF you can forecast, even if not 70%, but get a general idea of whats going to happen, you will be ahead of the game, in a sense.. Its following your gathered data, and having confidence in it, which takes you to pay dirt..
I have 2-3 friends, i dont go out to bars, I dont drink. I dont have time for that crap. They dont pay my bills.. A good friend understands that, and I dont have time for jackass's that bitch and complain " Hey Dude, Why havent you callled me", i dont have that time.
Why am I working on a EA? Well, because my 2-3 friends arnt wired like me, and also, arent living with a silver spoon. We are a group, I guess, of underachievers. Meaning, we should already be set with money, but thru crazy times, things just didnt happen.
So, what if I can make a EA, that they can just attach to a chart, and let run. Even if it makes 5 trades a week, its better then putting your money in the bank.
See, I WONT show them how to do Forex, because, well, it just dont fit in thier lifestyle. And, there is a certain type of wiring in the brain, that makes it easier for us to do this, because alot will look at a chart, and be like , WTH is this,..
I need change in my life. I dont like my position thus far in my life, and need to make my move.. I need to cram 10 years of experiance in such a small timeframe, and thats what Im doing..
The biggest help, thru all of this, is my wife and 2 boys. They Know what Im doing. I explained it to my wife like this. A dude goes to college for 6 years, spends Thousands and thousands of dollars to learn to pull teeth. Then he graduates, gets a job, and gets to look into rotten ass mouths all day, TO MAKE LESS THEN ME, WITHOUT SPENDING A DIME FOR EDUCATION TO OBTAIN A SALARY 5 FOLD.
THATS, what Im talking about.. Get a job making $100 ahour, Wont happen. Not without a piece of paper listing your credits, and Thousands of hours of hands on training. Or 3-5 years experiance, WHEN YOU JUST GRADUATED, Hummmmmm, hows that going to freaking work.
There is no other opp in this world, that contends with Forex trading.
In the end, what makes it a hard career, is how fast you need it to happen, because that increases your need for Daily pip turnover, because Pips make this alllllllll happen.
OK, sorry for babblin on.. Its Sunday, I get fired up around this time every week,:clap:
O, and Like to add this. My account looks like crap, because mainly my EA. 2-3 times, I loaded templates up to my MT4 charts, and didnt know I had a EA attached to it.
This week, Im pretty much going manual, so the outcome WILL be better.
I hope you grow into a great trader, because in the end, we are all here for the same reason, TO MAKE THE CASH BABBBBBYYYYY, :cheesy:
Hey, fellas, Great Profits to all this week, Im out
