Boy this forum is a hoot! Pivots & Indicators....come on now folks. Firstly, pivots can be calculated with different formulas on different time frames, rendering them completely inconsistent from one to the next. Most often they are just obvious support and resistance levels, why bother with some magic formula when you can plainly see it on the chart anyway?
Indicators only tell you history and they lag. Using that history as information to weight in the market is the key, not the pulling the trigger based upon the indicator itself. For instance, A simple macd can mean a lot more if it has reversed from a long period around a support or resistance break. Averages can be utilized as stop loss areas more effectively than cross buy or sell triggers. It's all in how you use the tools at hand, then you need to pray your brokerage isn't manipulating price or taking the other side of the trade.
Remember, anytime someone is controlling large amounts of cash on behalf of someone else, corruption is inevitable.
Pip goals are nice to think about in terms of measuring success over determined periods, but traders who think in terms of opportunities over infinite time frames are more successful, because they are consistent in methodology to the point of taking a position in the market knowing their system will work over time. They know the market will provide them the edge they need and mange their risk accordingly. Quite simply they WIN!
Just look at price, it's trying to tell you everything you need to know. Then build a case for what you think it's telling you by supporting your decision with an indicator of your choice that conveys the weight of the market most clearly and that you are comfortable in using. Avoid all of the nonsense out there and software based systems and books based on them. All indicators are just mathmatical representations of history, so what's out there already and freely available will suffice if used properly. Just because some software designer makes the math look pretty or fresh doesn't mean it will do any better than any other. He is Selling software, not the key to the market.
It is important to realize also that all data feeds are not created equal.
If two people are watching television and one individual has a 30 Second lag in receiving the programming, he knows before the other that the his favorite team made the free throw to win the game. Forex data at most brokerages is much slower than the big guys receive. This I know for a fact, and have witnessed with my own eyes. This is why many of the retail forex brokerages will not allow scalping. They also don't allow anyone with common sense to trade News announcements anymore. If you bracket trade an announcement through a retail fx broker these days they will rob you by not honoring your stops. To sum it up, anytime there is a weak link in the game they offer you they quickly react and repair it.
Traders to often disregard the tried and true because they haven't developed a true understanding of how to utilize it themselves. Support and Resistance, basic indicators, price patterns all work and are easy to understand and in most cases are free to use. If you can't make those work you are not ready to trade yet and certainly not with more advanced indicators.
So if you want 100 pips a month, that is fine, but the reality of any market dictates that it can give you 500 in a month and then not give you anything for the next. The key is in knowing that it will pay you more than it takes from you by exploiting a consistent edge and controlled losses over time. There are many, find one that works for you.
Licensed Brokers
Linear Mode
