The learning cycle for a newbie trader

[Persiankiwi]

Originally Posted by Soul-Trader2004

Hi folks.


Stage 3 - The Eureka Moment

Towards the end of stage two you begin to realise that it's not the system that is making the difference.

you realise that its actually possible to make money with a simple moving average and nothing else IF you can get your head and money management right

You start to read books on the psychology of trading and identify with the characters portrayed in those books.

Finally comes the eureka moment.

The eureka moment causes a new connection to be made in your brain.

you suddenly realise that neither you, nor anyone else can accurately predict what the market will do in the next ten seconds, never mind the next 20 mins.

You start to work just one system that you mould to your own way of trading, you're starting to get happy and you define your risk threshold.

You start to take every trade that your 'edge' shows has a good probability of winning with.

when the trade turns bad you don't get angry or even because you know in your head that as you couldn't possibly predict it it isn't your fault - as soon as you realise that the trade is bad you close it . The next trade will have higher odds of success cos you know your simple system works.

You have realised in an instant that the trading game is about one thing - consistency of your 'edge' and your discipline to take all the trades no matter what.

You learn about proper money management and leverage - risk of account etc etc - and this time it actually soaks in and you think back to those who advised the same thing a year ago with a smile

you weren't ready then, but you are now.

The eureka moment came the moment that you truly accepted that you cannot predict the market.

Then comes stage four

Soultrader.

Hi Soultrader

Just came across your thread. Very interesting stuff. Really useful too. Good analysis of the human thought process. The sooner we all realise this is a job and not a money making machine the better. You can live off your day job and with the same motivation you can live off Forex, but it is not 10 minutes a day in front of your computer screens as many would have you believe. Some days my eyes are coming out the back of my head from staring at screens and watching moves!

I think I'm wavering stage 3 somewhere here. I'll let you know in a few months.

pk

[Persiankiwi]

Originally Posted by Whathell

conquering self is the hardest thing though

just get married - If you cant conquer yourself - she will!

If that does'nt work - have kids... they conquer everything!

pk

[AlphaTrader]

Originally Posted by Persiankiwi

just get married - If you cant conquer yourself - she will!

If that does'nt work - have kids... they conquer everything!

pk

Nice one PK LMAO

Very true.......

[jmichaelrush]

Whenever I first read this thread I thought, "I am gonna defy this and be ahead of the curve." And then I found out the hard way that noone can break these rules. Now, I am following them to a T, and guess what, it is working! I am slowly moving up the learning ladder. Great post, BTW

[educatedfool]

good thread, very good... gone through all 20 pages on one breath... i've realised, that i need at least two months more to start my first mini account... and then a year on it to learn how to do it with real money... lots of work... 2 demos blown, 3rd +200 pips and growin'... 3 months in the "game" and i'm beginnin' to believe... it can be a way of life, despite all people i know tell me that is only a "toy" for rich...
mind my english, next posts will be better
wish me luck,

edu

[RedDuke]

Similar here. A lot of my friends think I am insane. Getting up at 2:15am to stare at some charts. Time will tell.

[keniadeniyi]

Originally Posted by Persiankiwi

just get married - If you cant conquer yourself - she will!

If that does'nt work - have kids... they conquer everything!

pk

The kids eventually leave you but a conquered you needs to make money to foot the bills while the wife and the kids are there and when they leave. Sop conquer self. Very important to win in this game.

keniadeniyi

[Persiankiwi]

Originally Posted by educatedfool

good thread, very good... gone through all 20 pages on one breath... i've realised, that i need at least two months more to start my first mini account... and then a year on it to learn how to do it with real money... lots of work... 2 demos blown, 3rd +200 pips and growin'... 3 months in the "game" and i'm beginnin' to believe... it can be a way of life, despite all people i know tell me that is only a "toy" for rich...
mind my english, next posts will be better
wish me luck,

edu

yo fool

demo's are great but they do not come close to the real thing. Once you start trading with real money, even if it's mini money, you really start to learn. I spent 2 years demo trading and blew out approximately 1million in monopoly notes. How, well simple, I knew it was not real money so I did stupid things and on some occasions I nullified a $50,000 account in 3 days.

But since trading my own money I take a different approach. I too sit up all night reading charts, drawing fibs, reading reports, analysing trend, plotting pivots and now when I enter a trrade I can give you a reasoned reason why, even if it fails, whereas before I would read something saying 'go long on EUR' and I would go long on EUR. I read everything including news stories. When they say trading is a job not hobby it is true. But for me it is both because I love it. I started trading when I was 13 and at the age of 14 I made more in the stock exchange than university grads in employment. Then some time later came the big crash of 1987 and I went took a collosal loss in under 30 minutes. I burnt my fingers, went away and became a lawyer instead. Now I've done that, seen that, and I re-entered the market, this time with Forex and modern computing and internet. At 14 I scalped and account traded like a pro. But I always knew that if I had the facilities of a screen and instant access to the markets then, I could have made millions.

You can not play this game without knowledege of charts and indicators. The market is unpredictable, but she is also logical. Read Larry Pesavento on Fibo's - incredible book and a great place to start your trading career!

pk