Why I'm Proud of Myself (Now)

Last fall I blew my entire account thanks to a non-existent money management strategy. That and emotional trading-- staying up for literally 24 hours watching every market tick etc etc but still missing the big moves whenever I napped. Needless to say the market really taught me a lesson and I exited Forex with my tail tucked between my legs.

Two months ago, I became interested in Forex again and got together another small pile of cash. But this time I was determined to do things right. So I spent one month doing nothing but 'reeducating' myself, watching Forex videos and reading guides etc. On top of that, I discovered an excellent risk calculator that calculates SLs TPs etc for each trade. It has been a lifesaver. Then I spent a month trading demo, some would suggest longer but I have more than a year previous trading experience. And the month I spent on demo was actually longer than I practiced last time.

Long story short, last week my emotions creeped out again. I had been doing OK so far, but only gaining 3%. I made a huge mistake in position sizing as well as when and where I placed the trade. Broke virtually every rule of my system, and I paid dearly for it. Just in that one trade I lost nearly 20% of my account, subsequent losses brought that total almost to 25%!

At this point, most people would say to stop trading before you lose any more. 25% loss is a big deal no matter how big or small the account is. But I was determined not to give up or let one bad day get to me. Needless to say I learned my lesson.

Starting May 1st, I began trading multiple positions and using hedge-like tactics to protect my positions. I also employed the money management strategy I should've used all along. The last 2 days I've dropped the hedging tactics and simply reduced position sizes, only increasing them (and decreasing SL) whenever I could ride on a breakout. Now I'm proud to say that about 5 hours ago, I closed the 'second to last' trade that will bring me >= break-even.

Only 3% out of that disastrous 25% loss remains to be recovered. When you put it in perspective, had I not lost it in the first place, then I would have a 20% gain just for this week! Maybe I'm just having a good week, or maybe I am becoming a better trader. I hope to continue this improved trading. Only time will tell for better or for worse.

Thats great to hear, I don't think that anyone who trades ever stops learning; constant evolution in ones system, recognizing old and new emotional pitfalls and avoiding them, etc etc.

I don't think that i'll ever feel like a veteran trader, just because the more i learn the less i realize i know!

Congratulations on a great week, are you give your self a long weekend?

psy

Thanks! Yeah I thought I knew a lot, but the more I trade the more I realize there is so much I don't know. lol

Yes, I will be staying out of the markets the remainder of the week. I think it's great to end a week strong and early so I can go into next week feeling refreshed and ready for more adventures. Usually I avoid NFP trading unless I can catch a breakout and use extra-small position and SL. But I definitely plan to sleep in late tomorrow :)

I do have a couple limit orders open right now but they are far from being hit and will be expiring in the next 2 hours.

Hi Splexin,

I thought I saw you wrote you turned a $50 000 account to $14M in a short period of time, no?

I don't know you, but i think that is too much money for an ordinary individual to have. Did it happen that you gave this large pile of cash back to the market, or you just went frenzy spending it for fun and party? Btw, also if you don't mind, this small pile of cash you use to re-start your trading is less than 50K?

Happy trading!

traderlight posted:
    Hi Splexin,

I thought I saw you wrote you turned a $50 000 account to $14M in a short period of time, no?

I don't know you, but i think that is too much money for an ordinary individual to have. Did it happen that you gave this large pile of cash back to the market, or you just went frenzy spending it for fun and party? Btw, also if you don't mind, this small pile of cash you use to re-start your trading is less than 50K?

Happy trading!

That was on demo. Now that you remind me I probably should've never mentioned it. I turned $50K into $14 million in less than 1 hour. It was a fluke. I achieved this by recognizing a minute delay between my demo broker and a real-time feed. I was just curious to see how much I could rack up. On a live account the delay would not exist.

I have never traded live with more than a few grand. But I am going to see if I can double my account every month by setting a goal for every week every day etc. It can be done. I traded stocks and gained 400% in 3 months on a live account. Obviously forex is much different than stocks but I do have a knack of achieving large gains in little time.

My bad.....$20 milllion......lol

Ah right, that must've been easy because that's like knowing the future in precise detail! I sometimes daydream that I have this power lol.. Anyways, hope you do well with your new trading!

Regards

my opinions are almost completely unpolluted by real knowledge.

z/.

Splexin posted:
I have never traded live with more than a few grand. But I am going to see if I can double my account every month by setting a goal for every week every day etc. It can be done. I traded stocks and gained 400% in 3 months on a live account. Obviously forex is much different than stocks but I do have a knack of achieving large gains in little time.

Hm... well if you do have a knack, let's see how it's done. Double your account every month sounds quite challenging. Don't know why but I see people decimating their accounts much more often than double it. I wish you a lot of luck - please keep us updated!

speki posted:
Hm... well if you do have a knack, let's see how it's done. Double your account every month sounds quite challenging. Don't know why but I see people decimating their accounts much more often than double it. I wish you a lot of luck - please keep us updated!

Had I been awake at 5 AM my time I could've doubled my account already...
LOL @ EUR/USD

Ah well, steady wins the race!

P.S. If you want to know what stocks I made the 400%--- back during the peak of the stock crash I purchased $300 worth (all I could afford at the time) of AIG @ $0.40(?)/share and PNX at $0.33/share. I made about $150 on AIG, but PNX was the big winner-- it rocketed to nearly $5.00 but I got out when it was around $3.50. Both companies have been around for ages and I knew AIG would be bailed out.

Had I had about $5K to invest at the time I would've come out with $75K at the end of those 3 months.

What goes down must go up!

Hey everybody, just wanted to let you know that I have successful erased ALL my losses and am in profit now!!! Wooohooo! I am so thrilled at how my trading has evolved recently. Before, when I was reckless, my losses would only grow worse. But now I think I 'get' it. I know it's a long road to success, but given my new-found ability to stay in the game I think I have a pretty good shot at this!

😄

**** OK take that back, stupid emotions just got ahold of me.....as well as impatience....tried scalping, got ahead $30 and was ready to quit but 'No,' my head told me, 'Let's try to get a little further!' So I did and guess what? Erased all my gains for the week and back down 12%.....and what's even worse....I think the market is teasing me....because had I WAITED I would've gained much MORE......ugh!!! Now it's going to take me another week just to break even 😞

Emotions, emotions, emotions. I hate them! lol

Sean my friend, give me a number. How much you think trading success is luck and how much knowledge. I reckon it's around 50% - 50%. Maybe 49 - 51 or 55 - 45, don't matter that much in the long run.

It's kinda funny.....about an hour before the EUR took off I told my whole family that it was going to go up at least 100 pips....and I was going to take advantage of it.....

But then when it started happening, a doubted myself and kept entering and exiting trades. Completely out of control. It's crazy, because here I knew what was going to happen and had a trading plan for it, yet I didn't follow through with the plan.

Ugh....I nearly erased half my losses but then the price turned against me (oh and guess what, it ended up going my way after that!!!!) and I chickened out with only a few bucks profit.......

I wish I had a time machine to go back about 6 hours....... 😳

I give up for the night.......it will take me another 2 weeks to erase those loses......but I can't give up....sigh. I thought I learned my lesson 2 weeks ago but guess not! That or I need to learn to trust my first instinct and stop doubting myself!

Hey buddy,

Its probably not a great thing for you to hear, but i'm gona tell you anyways! its so good for me to find someone else with exactly the same problems as me! it feels like everything is falling into place and for a couple of days / a week, everything works just so! then for no explicable reason it all falls apart! i'll be damned if i can figure it out!

if you figure it out pls gimme a shout and let me know what worked for you?\

keep your chin up

psy

Splexin posted:
    It's kinda funny.....about an hour before the EUR took off I told my whole family that it was going to go up at least 100 pips....and I was going to take advantage of it.....

Don't do this, ever. Don't talk about trading with family, friends, etc. they have no idea what you are really going through anyway. Save trading discussion for the forums, otherwise it 'messes with your head'.

Don't critique your results based upon what happens after you get out of a trade or after you stop trading for the day.
Likewise, don't say 'I should've stopped trading for the day'. You take trades because of your system/method, either they are valid or not. You don't avoid VALID trades because you are 'up xxx pips for the day'.

Set your available times for trading... try to be consistent, take all valid trades during that time. Then stop. Start again the next day... same time. It'll help you get familiar with volatility during your trading time. London is different than US afternoon, which is different than Tokyo.

Don't erase your results just because you have had bad draw down. It is so helpful to look back on 6 months of trades, even if you were losing during that time. It's nothing to be embarassed about, over 90% of everyone loses (at least some of the time). [I, myself, am guilty of this.]

Make sure you have an 'edge'. Are you really doing something that will make money over time if applied consistently?
This is where reviewing your trading can help. Even if you have 'blow ups', times of lack of discipline; do you have periods of rising equity curve with managed risk? If so, then manage the discipline. If not, then keep working on a method that will show some kind of consistent profit.

This is my best advice.

Losing is difficult. I know because I've done it for a long time.
Separate yourself from your account balance. Admit that you are not going to take any money out for a long time.
It is a tool to help you trade better, and ultimately make more money.
Devote the time, regularly. It may take months (or longer).

Good Luck!