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[mysteri]

hey all,

jus had a quick question. i know it may sound silly, but i woke up from a dead sleep to write this post, so bear w/ me(besides, my mom said there's no such things as stupid questions-just the stupid people who ask them ). in any case, as i was dreaming about my FX journey, i realized that i would only need to average about 10 pips/day(let's say 1-pip=$7-10USD) to match my daily income for a 5-day period, equalling btwn $350-500 weekly profit(i know, it sounds pathetic ). well during my first day of trading, just BS-ing around w/ a $50k demo account, i profited about $93 within about 90-minutes(yes, i know it was likely about 100:1 leverage though). in any case, i realize that if i could "snipe" a few pips here and there over the course of a few hours(given some positive patterns), i could discipline myself to that goal for the day, win or lose.

so my biggest question is, do other people do this or something akin to it? it's obviously MUCH easier dream of than said or done, but please forgive me showing my naive novice face. thanx in advance for your replies...

PS- i labelled it "sniping" b/c it reminds me of the last few minutes of eBay auctions...(those b*stards!)

[Truville]

Plenty of people do it. It's called scalping. A totally viable way to trade, if you can do it. Just remember that there are losses as well as gains. Making 93 is great, but losing 93 (and more) happens too.

[TheWolf]

What I find real tough about scalping is knowing when to exit when you have a bad trade. If not done right, it's easy to be in the -ve even if you have 90% successful trades.

[mysteri]

hey guys,

thanx for catching me up on the lingo(i'll be saying that a lot for a while ). i mainly thought about it b/c i'd like to start out w/ some very simple, short-lived active trades, win or lose.

wolfe- that's a good comment. it seems like the discipline and humility of gracefully bowing out would come into play here. strategically and less emotionally, a serious trader would expect losses anyway. if i set a stop at say -5 pips, i would just consider those pips as good as gone before the position is assumed. in this way, u can attempt to detatch ur emotions from the process and focus more on sticking to a sound exit strategy. in actuality, i think a healthy trader should consider whatever capital they choose to invest(gamble) as good as gone in the first place and look to it more as a fun learning experience, that just happens to be expensive .

overall though, i was thinking to purchase the information off of Peter Bain's website(www.forexmentor.com) as a starting point just to get a feel for a basic system. i don't believe in quick money, just examining things for myself and allowing things to show themselves effective or not after consistent effort. thanx again for ur comments, guys.

[mysteri]

the reason i started posting here was b/c i read a thread started by u last year about "trading as a business". it was a new idea and very informative, something i'll keep in mind for the future. i just wanted to thank u for the post. i see that u now provide signals, is this working out alright for u? i've just seen a lot of good and bad and curious as to ur experiences personally as well as ur clients.(if i'm not being impolite about it)

[Truville]

Thank you, Mysteri. Although I do not talk about my signals on this board.

One of the things to keep in mind is the spread. If you are going for 5 pips, are you talking really going for 8 (accounting for the spread)? Or are you grossing 5 to really make 2? And is your stop accounting for the spread?

If you are risking 5 to make 5, you are really risking 8 to make 2. I'm not one to propose risk/reward ratios, but you need to keep it in mind. When scalping, the spread means an awful lot more than to a long term trader.

[mysteri]

hey truville,

thanx for the input, certainly necessary points to always acount for. hope all continues to go well for u here and abroad. see u around the boards.

[Nightcat]

overall though, i was thinking to purchase the information off of Peter Bain's website(www.forexmentor.com) as a starting point just to get a feel for a basic system. i don't believe in quick money, just examining things for myself and allowing things to show themselves effective or not after consistent effort. thanx again for ur comments, guys

_____________________________

-----excellent beginning-system --PB has a wealth info. in his tutorials as well
His take on Tom Demark trend line drawing also excellent to dev. good TL habits ----While his word should not be taken as sacred, you can achieve decent conservative results in the 20 to 50pip range daily and can build into longer term positions-------Dont hook up with his recommended trading platform though. FX Solutions --they nickel/dime you to death --tech support limited.

Well spent $---reasonable----split it with a friend --------NIghtcat

[Coder]

Originally Posted by TheWolf

What I find real tough about scalping is knowing when to exit when you have a bad trade. If not done right, it's easy to be in the -ve even if you have 90% successful trades.

I totally agree. I have the exact same problem. One technique that I have started using is to remove some of my position as it's approaching my stop.

Example: I'm in a long position 1 lot. As price moves against me 10pips, I sell half. The price moves against me another 10pips & i'm stopped out.

Instead of a $200 loss, I've only incurred a $150 loss. Over 10 trades, that's $500!

Just some food for thought. This also works great with larger stops.

Coder

[mysteri]

nightcat,

thanx for the advice. originally i was thinking that i would purchase the system(ca. $400usd) and let my partner front a little capital ($1000) and see how we faired. though after careful (and much appreciated) research, i'm thinking that we'll just open a demo account(i like the one offered on this forum) and learn the ropes for a while. but since u say that FX Solutions might try to nickel-and-dime me to death, who might u all recommend as reliable trading platforms for intraday traders?

yes, and conservative 20-50 pips/day would be well worth whatever time invested it takes to learn(i really wouldn't want more than that). of course that means some losses as well, but that's life. even one losing day for every two gaining days would be worth the experience right now to me. i think we might be able to purchase it in september if not sooner, so i would hope to be rolling along a couple of smooth trades by early next year or so.

[reflections]

Originally Posted by mysteri

nightcat,

thanx for the advice. originally i was thinking that i would purchase the system(ca. $400usd) and let my partner front a little capital ($1000) and see how we faired. though after careful (and much appreciated) research, i'm thinking that we'll just open a demo account(i like the one offered on this forum) and learn the ropes for a while. but since u say that FX Solutions might try to nickel-and-dime me to death, who might u all recommend as reliable trading platforms for intraday traders?

yes, and conservative 20-50 pips/day would be well worth whatever time invested it takes to learn(i really wouldn't want more than that). of course that means some losses as well, but that's life. even one losing day for every two gaining days would be worth the experience right now to me. i think we might be able to purchase it in september if not sooner, so i would hope to be rolling along a couple of smooth trades by early next year or so.

Just a note, I really think consistantly achieving 20-50 PIPs/ day (400-1000 month) is WAY better than most professional traders I know.

[Nightcat]

If you're a beginner, keep it simple------simple is good

And you can achieve 20ps a day----after some demo work (1 to3 mths)
The system you seek should focus on Trend lines drawing --it's proper application,---- basic indicators like Macd, slow stochs -pivot lines and /or fibo. studies( use of the golden mean levels--where to use them)
Throw in some basic candle recognition patterns (Railroad traks, shooting stars, hammers, dojis, engulfing, etc) they're easy and simple and many free sites avail them.

The above give you the basic parts of a puzzle from which to base your tech. knowledge-----PB will take you by the hand if you need a mentor.
You can ridicule him later once you've absorbed how to enter /exit and hold on to some easy set ups and momentum runs while acquiring no or little bias re: where the big picture is headed.
One can develop into a decent intraday trader w/o being a scalper.

While some platforms offer better spreads-----One of the simplest biggies w/ 24hr. tech supp. is FXCM-----you can set up a demo via call or on their website --over and over as long as you need w/o an acct.

Start with a mini-acct. and snipe the small steps way.

-------------wont belabor this----but you seem like a careful new FXer where we've all been----------wish I'd learned my licks the easy/low cost

way.--------------------------GL ---Nightcat

[mysteri]

hey all,

thanx very much for the inputs and replies. i think that FXCM would be an excellent platform from what i've seen so far to start from. as a novice, establishing some bases from which to generate some consistent momentum i feel is paramount to proper initial development(which i've learned the hard way as well from other ventures). so with like a fixed 3-pip spread, that's certainly reasonable for me to be able to gain some experience... quite naturally, half of what u wrote is greek to me(), but that will change w/ some study and experience. also, i don't believe there is an "easy" way per se, more like less laborious. thank u for the great encouragement i'll need.

reflections- maybe my math is a bit off.. 20-50 trades daily will typically yeild about $400-1000USD? as an aspiring daytrader, i suppose i'd need to get a part-time at McDonald's(where it seems i'd actually make more lol). i'm working off of an expected $7-10/pip average, but i'll learn the ropes soon enough. thanx again for the input.

[reflections]

Originally Posted by mysteri

hey all,

thanx very much for the inputs and replies. i think that FXCM would be an excellent platform from what i've seen so far to start from. as a novice, establishing some bases from which to generate some consistent momentum i feel is paramount to proper initial development(which i've learned the hard way as well from other ventures). so with like a fixed 3-pip spread, that's certainly reasonable for me to be able to gain some experience... quite naturally, half of what u wrote is greek to me(), but that will change w/ some study and experience. also, i don't believe there is an "easy" way per se, more like less laborious. thank u for the great encouragement i'll need.

reflections- maybe my math is a bit off.. 20-50 trades daily will typically yeild about $400-1000USD? as an aspiring daytrader, i suppose i'd need to get a part-time at McDonald's(where it seems i'd actually make more lol). i'm working off of an expected $7-10/pip average, but i'll learn the ropes soon enough. thanx again for the input.

If you trade 1 mini lot then each PIP will be worth around 1 dollar (some less) as you stated. 1 standard lot will make each pip worth 10 dollards (a little less on some pairs).

[mysteri]

hey bro,

thanx, i actually realized that a little while after i posted(during my continual study). didn't mean any disrespect, just wasn't sure. that's correct, a mini would be a nice start and a full lot(or more) later down the road would be worthwhile for those types of results. as a matter of fact, i was looking at some numbers last nigth on FXCM for the "king of the mini's" contest and i was taking particular notice of the profits and losses. i mean, i think i would be happy hovering at around a few $25-50USD profit/loss trades throughout the day until i could get used to the bigger losses. i see where the psychology and discipline plays a HUGE role when making or losing like $800-900 in one trade.

the main ovious rules i see there is that u don't trade what u can't afford to lose and relatively small risks help to temper the emotions. so $800-900 in one trade to me and i'd have to be trading like 30 lots.lol