Trading for living

[sr2]

The penny drops...finally!!!

I can honestly say that I have not found a better thread than this on getting started in the Forex makets. I have read several books and been to countless websites without joy. Maybe it just wasn't explained clearly enough. If there is a holy grail of information about Forex then this thread is it. I would advise anyone, newbie or otherwise, who is having trouble getting started to read this thread carefully.

I've been trading in demo accounts for a while now. Impressively made anywhere between 20% and 80% PER WEEK!!! Decided it was my time to get started in the live Forex markets, make some serious money, buy an Island and a private jet. But I am sure youc an all guess what happened next. I managed to wipe out 50% of my capital in 2 days chasing money which I should never have chased. You can imagine what that did to my confidence. I am back on the demo accounts now and am having difficulty making money in them too. But I will not give up. This is the path I have chosen for myself and I WILL make it. I started reading this thread last night and ever since I have had this feeling of calm :-) its quite bizarre but I can only believe it is a good thing. I will now look at my strategy, enhance it and try again.

Thanks...I am about to start on a new path!!!

[redart]

Hey phreak...

A few points to consider before you open your account. Most people will tell you that you should only risk 1-2% on any given trade. With a $1,000, one lot (minimum) is 5% of your account, and thats with a 50 pip stop loss. $4,000 is the lowest balance you should start with in my opinion, and many others. That doesn't mean you will not succeed. Just want to inform you. Good luck.

[watchdaride]

Trading full time and over trading

I have been trading for a couple years now and do this parttime ,trading in the morning in the euro hrs . I have tried 3 times going fulltime and always loose by over trading. Now I put a trade on and when i feel its a winner i put a break even stop and try for 50 pips limit and go back to sleep.I try and average 70 -100 pips a week . Any one else had that problem? I hate my fulltime work and hope to leave it soon.Real soon !

[mikead_61]

you can open an account with oanda and trade in miniscule/fractional lots.

also 2% per trade should be calculated from the potential pip loss not the other way around.

that is if your capital is 10,000 and 2% is $200 and based on this you go with 1 lot for 20 pips sl - that's wrong

you should look at the chart and decide where you want your stop first. the say you decide that you want your stop at 57 pips. than you go and calculate your lot size - 1*20/57 = .35 lots or 3.5 mini lots (.1 lots)

[Mkcky]

Originally Posted by watchdaride

Trading full time and over trading

I have been trading for a couple years now and do this parttime ,trading in the morning in the euro hrs . I have tried 3 times going fulltime and always loose by over trading. Now I put a trade on and when i feel its a winner i put a break even stop and try for 50 pips limit and go back to sleep.I try and average 70 -100 pips a week . Any one else had that problem? I hate my fulltime work and hope to leave it soon.Real soon !

Hey Watchdaride,

I am in same boat as you. Started trading two years back. Tried to trade full time in between jobs but didnt make enough money for living so got back to job. Now I am trading partime. I trade ero session for 3 hours between 2-5 am est and then go to bed. Its hard but I got to do it. I to make 70 to 100 pips per week. I hate my job too but I have no choice till my capital is build up.

[chriss]

Try a search on google "worst case scenario for loosing trades/period"