Trading Performance Update and Ramblings

October 31, 2006

The H-system has performed well since I started trading it again; it looks like October may be one of my most profitable months trading.  On Friday, I was up 287 pips.  Yesterday, I captured 90 pips and today I'm up 40 pips on my closed lots with a guaranteed profit of 30 pips on my only open lot.  That brings the total to 447 pips for October.  

I've been working on a couple more systems to add into the mix.  The goal for me right now is to trade multiple systems and to incorporate additional currency pairs instead of just the GBP/USD.  One system that I just finished backtesting on 5 years of data uses the USD/JPY only and trades during the Asian and European sessions.  It certainly loses more than it wins but the average reward/risk on each trade is 2:1. 

As this journey continues going forward, certain things that I was told when I first started trading become realized more and more each day.   All of these things are based on what I personally have noticed over the past year and don't necessarily mean they are true to you.  Remember that I've only been trading currencies for a year.  I may look back at this post a year from now and roll my eyes wondering how I could have ever thought this.  

  1. I have to keep discretionary trading to a minimum.  This doesn't mean that I won't use any bit of discretion when trading but my personality is more suited to trading systematically with a touch of discretion.  The systematic part is present in each and every trade but the discretion may or may not be needed in a particular trade.  
  2. You don't have to win more than you lose.  This means making money management the most important part of your system.  In fact, I shouldn't make winning or losing my #1 goal.  The #1 goal should be to preserve my capital. 
  3. Searching for the holy grail is not fruitless.   This may sound contradictory but there is nothing wrong with trying to find the holy grail as long as you remain realistic.  Trying to find that perfect system helps one come to that realization that there may not be one.  Searching also provides one with experience and motivation to find the best of the best.   The holy grail to me doesn't have to be a system that wins 100% of the time.  It can be a system that suits me best and produces an outcome that is favorable to my trading experience. 
  4. I don't need a mentor because I have you and you have me.  I'm not saying that I can provide you with advice on how to do this for a living nor am I saying that a mentor won't help you.  I'm saying that you have every other trader at your disposal either through forums or emails that you can tap to get you back on track.  Everyone that has every sent me an email or comment has helped immensely no matter what the question was.  It's actually unbelievable how helpful and honest most people can be.  It helps restore my faith in humanity.  I've also tried to answer every question that was ever posed of me because it's just another nugget that you or I can use to come to our own conclusions.  Rob Booker or any other mentor won't tell you how to be profitable.  Booker will give you advice based on his understanding but it won't work for you until you can put it all together on your own.  For instance, he tries to get his students to trade breakouts of the European session high or low during the US session.  I don't think he expects you to continue trading this forever or continue to follow everything he has to say for the rest of your life.  All he is doing is giving you the discipline to follow a system, tweak a system, and make decisions on your own. 

I have a lot more realizations but I think this is enough for one day.

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Forex Mentor Reviews

May 19, 2006

I stumbled upon yet another useful website if you're looking for a mentor or just want to know which were reviewed well or poorly.  Reviews are provided by users who post comments and a rating of SCAM, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

Scam sites that I've seen in the past either via advertisement or Google Search:

Reputable mentors?

Take user comments with a grain of salt.  Some of the comments are really good though.  They range from really ANGRY users who had their accounts blown up in a matter of days to users that are extremely grateful.  

My mentor, Rob Booker was reviewed so-so.  Here are some comments about Rob that I found interesting:

THIS ONE I CAN RELATE TO.

"He was busy with too many
clients, with his own trading, and with some
side projects."

"Apparently Rob also
started a managed accounts service, which is a
nice proof that he actually trades himself. 
His results from January 2006 to March 2006,
haven't been too impressive at only 3% gain for
three months, but what's encouraging is that Rob
is honest about it."

"…This is a very
expensive program for offering not much more
than rehashed information from so many trading
texts."

You can check out the reviews and comments for yourself.  If anything, it opens your eyes even wider to the fact that you have to be responsible for your own account and analysis.  If you have had enough experience and have learned what works for you, it's much more beneficial working on your own or with friends than ever signing up with a mentor.  Would you be more angry if someone else told you to make a trade and you lost big money or if you told yourself to make a trade and lost big money?

Personally, I'd be a lot more steamed if I listened to someone else and lost. 

http://www.forexbastards.com/education_reviews.shtml

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