Any young newbie traders out there?

[infodine]

Hello,

I have been trading demo for a year now. I have a computer/math background and trade penny stocks. I'll tell you what is probably why 90% don't make it.

Discipline.

You have to be able to keep emotions in check and have discipline. 6-8 months went by last year and I was getting killed every month. Then things started to change, with some guidance from an associate, the demo started to make money. In the last few months I am feeling very confident. I think it is because mistakes are being spaced farther and farther apart instead of every 2nd day

Learn learn learn. I took a beginners and advanced course with continued support and it has helped me greatly.
They had online mentors discussing the market as it happens in web casts, refresher courses, and great support.

I will be putting up a currency site soon and hope to see many of you there when it is completed.

Cheers,

Infodine
http://currency.stockjunction.com

[CynicalTrader]

Patience is the key to any game. Nothing happens overnight. Keep at it until you get it right.

[comenow]

[quote]Originally posted by FXAnalytics
[b]This isn't directed to anyone specific, I just wanted to drop in a note about account funding etc. There are a lot of new traders that want to earn a living in forex; it has been marketed in such a way (due to flimsy regulation) that unrealistic expectations are being assumed across the board.



Hi There,

While you make a lot of good points, you are a bit too pessimistic about fx trading. Trading is simple but not easy. The difficulty comes, IMO, from the fact that most of us are not suited psycholigically to making money in the markets. It is impossible to explain the failure rate by refrence to position size and systems and so on.

Think about it. When you look at the strong trends that we see in the currencies, you have got to ask yourself why, with all the TA that would allow us to catch those trends, 95% of us fail in this business. It clearly can't be because we are unable to get aboard those trends. My guess is that a lot of people probably do but there is a lot more to trading than putting on a winning trade. Here is my theory.

1- Once a position starts to make a profit, most people take it way too soon. In order to be profitable, you have got to be prepared for a position sometimes to go in your favour, and then come back and take away all your profits. The reason is that most of the profit is gonna be made from those trades where you wait for your profit targets to be hit.

2- I am told, but don't really understand why, that people don't cut their losses.

3- People put on a position, place a sl and tp target, then don't allow the trade to take its course.

Now, intellectually this are really easy problems to deal with, but it seems people cannot play consistently to avoid these pitfalls. How can we explain that?

For someone who is able to overcome and put their emotions, mostly fear, in check I think trading forex will easily be a lucrative career.

[vette74]

I too am a 26 year old engineer in Houston just getting into trading fx, very interesting posts.

[Burtakus]

Originally posted by vette74
I too am a 26 year old engineer in Houston just getting into trading fx, very interesting posts.

I amin Houston as well. Almost in Galveston. What side of town are you on?

[pumpkinpie78]

I do landscaping for a living, now, that's hard physical labor, exspecially when it hits 90+ degrees outside. But trading, it's 10x as hard. I've been trading on and off (demo and mini accounts) for the past 2 years. From my experience, I think, trading is as hard as you make it. You need 3 things for success - system, money management, and discipline. There's probably a lot of workable system out there. I'm saying probably because I haven't tested them all out. What you need to do is find one that fits your trading style. Test it out, and if it works, you've got the first ingredient to success - a workable system. Then, you need to formulate a money management plan that's going to work with your system. After that, it's just a matter of discipline and applying what you know. If you want to test out a new system or technique, ALWAYS do it on a demo account. This might sound easy, and maybe it is easy for some people, but for me, it's been a roller coaster ride. Here's an interesting link:

http://www.moneytec.com/forums/_showthread/_s-/_threadid-7253

[Maji]

Gosh, it sounds like most wannabe forex traders are engineers, myself included. I think being an engineer is a disadvantage when it comes to trading. I don't know about others, but it is my experience. As an engineer, I believe that everything (or nearly everything including the markets) is rational and follows some logic. With my analytical skills, I believe that I can analyze the markets perhaps using some kind of backtesting software, and bingo... I have got the secret to making N thousand pips a month. Well, at least this is what I thought when I first started five years ago. It has been a constant battle with my emotions, and I realize that the markets maybe rational, but my emotions are irrational. My ego is irrational and that leads to irrational trades, and losses. I am still trying to convince myself that I don't have the power to analyze the markets, but all I have to is to react to what the market does. However, my ego as an analyst forces me to think that I can analyze the markets and predict... and that is my problem.

Just another example of my indiscipline... I got an email for a forex system, cheap one though... $39...and I blew $39 on that garbage. I can't resist buying that garbage, even though I knew it was garbage before I bought it. I think I have an addiction, and maybe trying to find the holy grail from the snake oil salesmen. Didn't even read the whole thing, after I read a couple of paragraphs and checked out the chapters, my instincts were proven right again, it was pure garbage. I won't even bother with the refund process, it needs some 6 weeks trading or something like that. I can't waste my time for that period with garbage.

By the way, one of the most successful forex traders that I know started with a fishing trawler in Alaska. All he told me is that he reacted to the market. Of course, he uses money management and a good system. His discipline is admirable and that is something that helped him to succeed as a trader. I hope I haven't offended anyone, but have tried to express my thoughts and personal experiences. Maybe some people will recognize that they shared some common problems and will avoid the pitfalls.

Have a great weekend.
Maji

[firedave]

Originally posted by Maji - Just another example of my indiscipline... I got an email for a forex system, cheap one though... $39...and I blew $39 on that garbage. I can't resist buying that garbage, even though I knew it was garbage before I bought it. I think I have an addiction, and maybe trying to find the holy grail from the snake oil salesmen. Didn't even read the whole thing, after I read a couple of paragraphs and checked out the chapters, my instincts were proven right again, it was pure garbage. I won't even bother with the refund process, it needs some 6 weeks trading or something like that. I can't waste my time for that period with garbage.

Another engineer here I just like to confirm this offer with Maji. I got the same email yesterday, about discounted price from 297$ to 39$ for Rapid Forex System complete package. The email sounds like the author mis-send it to non-client email address and for the site grand opening he droped the price from 297$ to only 39$. Well, 39$ seems too cheap for a system containing 6+ manuals and people won't think twice to just buy the package. I'm considering to buy it until I saw Maji's post. Hi Maji, is it the same offer you bought ? If you dont want to post your answer here, you can contact me to firedave@fx-review.com .

Just for information, Rapid Forex is a bundled manual of Amazing Forex System and 4XTrend manual, same content with higher price.