I have to share with you my moment of realising that I am now a proffesional successful trader.
See, I was also struggling like so many on this forum. Trying this, trying that programming this indicator then that one then a combination of these then applying oil action to gold via forex etc etc etc etc. Above all else I really struggled with letting my winners ride, until I spoke to a veteran and told him my problem. He suggested I take the opposite position next time I decide to cut a positive trade. After three losers like this I found it very easy to hold on to my winners!
All the old-hands always told me to go with my gut - I never could, I always wanted some kind of confirmation. Until one day I was so fed-up with yet another "system" not giving the wanted results that I decided to start reading about the fundamentals. Now, just reading them does not help, you need to know what their implications are as well. By this I mean it doesn't help you just read that NFP was up so the FX MUST do this or that, I mean the NFP is higher than EXPECTED so this will fuels inflation so this will mean next week if the Empire State BCI does not confirm these figures we should see a slight pullback and hence a good entry level. And so on and so forth so you become a master of the art of understanding what the fundamentals mean not what it means when a number comes out thats why many a time a number will come out suggesting a certain direction but the opposite happen, it is due to the interactions that the opposite happen - in hindsight you can always say "ohhhhh, that why this figure caused this reaction" The truth is all the information was available before hand so if you really understood the figures you could have anticipated the direction.
After months of reading and learning I started taking my positions on "gut-feel" and lo and behold it proved to be a better choice than technicals. Not all trades were positive - there were still losers but because I backed my trade with a long-term view it was easier to manage it and let the winners really win. So one day I was driving home wondering how much I made that day. I just couldn't remember no matter how much I racked my brain - I had no idea how much I made...I knew I made some cash but how much I didn't know. That was when it struck me - the money doesn't mean anything anymore so I am one with the market rather than one with the bankroll.
I had a good evening that day...The next day was the worst...I was thinking - ok so thats the secret to trading - now what am I going to do with the rest of my life? I lost a lot of my passion for trading after realising its a job like any other in the world.
There are an old saying that something like 10% of traders "make-it" but its not entirely true. The success rate when trading for a firm is much higher while on these forums the success rate is maybe 1% because people aspire to become traders but they never really understand what it takes.
Its like a first year at university...out of the thousands of aspiring medical doctors only 1 or maybe 2 will become known in their fields as specialists. Many students change courses, drop-out, get pregnant decide to just become a GP and not specialise etc etc. I think it is fair to say that only about 1% of first year students ever become successful specialists. And only after very hard work and many long hours. The same is true for traders. The forums are the same as maybe first year students maybe not even so advanced...With one distinct difference: as a trader you can never become a GP you either specialise or go broke. Nobody can survive as a trader if he/she is just an average GP earning a steady income. You just don't have enough cash to be average, you want to live off the money you make from trading, you want to pay your bills with the money you make from trading, but unfortunately there is no GP's in trading, even if you just barely make a living from it, it still takes specialist skills to make this happen. It is no wonder that so many fail. When trading for a firm at least you have many things going for you like other traders and a bankroll and the support of a salary hence the higher success rate.
See, I was also struggling like so many on this forum. Trying this, trying that programming this indicator then that one then a combination of these then applying oil action to gold via forex etc etc etc etc. Above all else I really struggled with letting my winners ride, until I spoke to a veteran and told him my problem. He suggested I take the opposite position next time I decide to cut a positive trade. After three losers like this I found it very easy to hold on to my winners!
All the old-hands always told me to go with my gut - I never could, I always wanted some kind of confirmation. Until one day I was so fed-up with yet another "system" not giving the wanted results that I decided to start reading about the fundamentals. Now, just reading them does not help, you need to know what their implications are as well. By this I mean it doesn't help you just read that NFP was up so the FX MUST do this or that, I mean the NFP is higher than EXPECTED so this will fuels inflation so this will mean next week if the Empire State BCI does not confirm these figures we should see a slight pullback and hence a good entry level. And so on and so forth so you become a master of the art of understanding what the fundamentals mean not what it means when a number comes out thats why many a time a number will come out suggesting a certain direction but the opposite happen, it is due to the interactions that the opposite happen - in hindsight you can always say "ohhhhh, that why this figure caused this reaction" The truth is all the information was available before hand so if you really understood the figures you could have anticipated the direction.
After months of reading and learning I started taking my positions on "gut-feel" and lo and behold it proved to be a better choice than technicals. Not all trades were positive - there were still losers but because I backed my trade with a long-term view it was easier to manage it and let the winners really win. So one day I was driving home wondering how much I made that day. I just couldn't remember no matter how much I racked my brain - I had no idea how much I made...I knew I made some cash but how much I didn't know. That was when it struck me - the money doesn't mean anything anymore so I am one with the market rather than one with the bankroll.
I had a good evening that day...The next day was the worst...I was thinking - ok so thats the secret to trading - now what am I going to do with the rest of my life? I lost a lot of my passion for trading after realising its a job like any other in the world.
There are an old saying that something like 10% of traders "make-it" but its not entirely true. The success rate when trading for a firm is much higher while on these forums the success rate is maybe 1% because people aspire to become traders but they never really understand what it takes.
Its like a first year at university...out of the thousands of aspiring medical doctors only 1 or maybe 2 will become known in their fields as specialists. Many students change courses, drop-out, get pregnant decide to just become a GP and not specialise etc etc. I think it is fair to say that only about 1% of first year students ever become successful specialists. And only after very hard work and many long hours. The same is true for traders. The forums are the same as maybe first year students maybe not even so advanced...With one distinct difference: as a trader you can never become a GP you either specialise or go broke. Nobody can survive as a trader if he/she is just an average GP earning a steady income. You just don't have enough cash to be average, you want to live off the money you make from trading, you want to pay your bills with the money you make from trading, but unfortunately there is no GP's in trading, even if you just barely make a living from it, it still takes specialist skills to make this happen. It is no wonder that so many fail. When trading for a firm at least you have many things going for you like other traders and a bankroll and the support of a salary hence the higher success rate.
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