Soul Trader Quits Day Trading

I've been following Soul Trader's blog for some time now.  He is a forex trader from England and announced on his blog today that he is quitting the day trading game.  One of the big reasons for him quitting is that he just cannot take the frustration and pain of discretionary trading.  He states that he will continue to trade his mechanical system but will give up on being an "active" day trader.  His post today is actually a good read as he gives the following advice for all of us:

The only way to make it in Forex is to trade with a completely mechanical system

That's it.  It seems like 5 years of day trading has taken its toll on Soul Trader and I cannot speak from experience or even disagree that a totally mechanical system is the only way to go.  I've only been doing this for a little less than a year now and I still don't know what the best way to trade is.  I know that is is totally possible to do this for a living but the chances are pretty damn slim.  It been a educational ride so far and as the months carry on, an expensive one.  

Read Soul Trader's Post

Popularity: 2%

May Issue of Currency Trader Mag Here Now

The May issue of Currency Trader Magazine has been released.  The highlights of this month's issue include the following:

•  Trading the Mexican Peso
•  Interview with Money Manager Peter PanHolzer
•  Forex Money Management Strategies
•  The Euro Index
•  Japan and the Yen: New Era or more of the same?

Content Removed: Download from http://www.currencytradermag.com

Popularity: 2%

Limiting your emotional exposure to the markets

There is a good common sense post from a fellow forex trader about how to limit your emotional exposure to the markets.  Some of you may relate to constantly checking your positions out of curiousity when you don't have to!  Check it out.

http://www.forexforays.com/2006/05/limiting-your-emotional-exposure-to.html

This trader must have gone through what I am right now because he has another post about depriving yourself of sleep to catch the more volatile times the forex market offers.

http://www.forexforays.com/2006/05/trading-at-all-hours-get-some-sleep.html

Popularity: 1%

Currency Trader Expo

I wanted to mention that FXCM is hosting a Currency Trader Expo in New York on June 3rd and June 4th.  I've heard of this before but I just got something in the mail about it so I decided to take a closer look.  

It looks like there will be a lot of traders/authors that a lot of us have heard of including Rob Booker, Alexander Elder, Jack Schwager, Kathy Lein, Boris Schlossberg, Steve Nison, and more.  Most of the workshops are free (40 of them) except for a four that are under $200.   The schedule looks packed with some great stuff.  

I will certainly be attending for 3 reasons:

1. I want to see the faces behind the words of these "successful" traders
2. It may help in improving my trading
3. I am 8 miles away from it so it's convenient

If you cannot make it, I will try to be your reporter.  I'll take pictures, notes, and whatever else I can.  We still have a couple of months to go though so I'll remind everyone beforehand.

Read more about the currency trader expo

Popularity: 3%

I Signed Up For Forex 1 on 1 Training

I have felt totally lost over the last couple of months.  I have books, charting software, a blog where I receive numerous helpful comments from all of you and yet I don't really have a trading strategy.  I've dedicated a lot of my time to this and though I'm in the early stages, I feel like I need to head off any of the "giving up" feeling that may be entering my mind.  I know that going forward if I don't do something to stimulate my learning process, my blog will be yet another sitting around with stale content because I'm off working for the man again with no thoughts of being free.

So what did I do?  I signed up for 1 on 1 training with Rob Booker.  The training will officially last 5 weeks.  I trust Rob Booker and have been exposed to his recommendations and articles in the past. Here is a quick course overview.  I will keep everyone updated on the training.

Anyone interested in reading more about it can visit: https://www.robbooker.com/training.html 

Course Overview: 

1 on 1 training is exactly what
it sounds like: it's where you and I work every day, by
instant message, phone, videoconference, and email, and
we turn you into the kind of trader that your mother (or
spouse) would be proud of. We work together officially
for 5 weeks — following the course outline below — but
I will work with you for as long as it takes for you to
be a consistently profitable trader. I
guarantee it.

This is not some ridiculous
course that you buy and read and then find impossible
to profit from. It makes me sick to my stomach when
I hear that someone has spent $2,000 or $3,000 for a book-based
system. You don't need a book. You need a mentor.

During the training, I become your
mentor and your coach with one mission: to dramatically
improve your trading results.

Training officially lasts 5 weeks.
But we will not stop working until you are successful,
or we're both dead. Note: no one has ever died. Every
one I've trained has been successful.

You will have my phone number.
This is about getting personal advice from someone who
has been in the market. I can help you correct your mistakes
and speed up your path to trading success.

You will receive course materials,
30-40 assignments, and at least 80 hours of total instruction.

I worked with 41 traders in 2003.
All of them are still going strong.

You will always be able to contact
me, even after the training is complete. You will be part
of a growing network of people I've trained, all across
the world.

I have training references. You
can request them from me if you are thinking of signing
up.

Popularity: 3%

Come into my trading room

I was interested by some of Alexander Elder's comments in his book, "Come into my trading room." For those of you who have never heard of him, he is a professional trader who at one time was a psychiatrist.  

He states that a successful trader needs to stand apart from the crowd and one way to do so is to be unique in choosing your timeframes.  I've always used the 60-minute, 180-minute, 240-minute, and the Daily timeframes.  Elder says that it pays to use uncommon parameters for charts and indicators.  Most traders use the default timeframe configurations in their trading software but since thousands of people use half-hourly charts, why not be the minority that use 25-minute charts.  The benefit to this also is that you may get signals a little faster.  

I was reading more about his Triple Screen Strategy not really because I'm looking for a brand new strategy to use (I'm always open-minded) but because it stresses the use of multiple time frames for entering and exiting positions.  I've always treated each timeframe as a totally separate entity mostly because it simplifies entries and exits and also because I adopted this style after reading Raghee Horners first book.

Elder seems to have a lot to offer in the way of trader psychology and money management.  I'll continue to post anything interesting if I come across it.

Popularity: 2%

Technical Analysis of the Currency Market

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There is yet another Currency book being released at end of April titled, "Technical Analysis of the Currency Market: Classic Techniques for Profiting from Market Swings and Trader Sentiment" by Boris Schlossberg.  Boris is a currency strategist for FXCM and the release of his book follows his fellow colleague, Kathy Lein's release last year.  The book is described as a comprehensive guide that demonstrates how technical analysis can
generate profit-making strategies in the foreign exchange market.

It's amazing how the Foreign Exchange market continues to explode in popularity.  There is a constant influx of book releases and new brokers seem to be flooding the market.

Popularity: 2%

April Issue of Currency Trader Magazine is Here

I love this online magazine.  There isn't anywhere else you can go to read a full-length magazine exclusively on Forex Trading.  In addition, the content is all exclusive and hasn't been seen anywhere else.  The April issue was just released 4 hours ago and contains the following top stories and more:

1. Battle of the Bucks (US Dollar vs. Canadian Dollar)
2. Top Forex Traders of 2005
3. Hedging Overseas Investments with the Dollar Index
4. Candlestick Reversal Patterns
5. Understanding Forex Supply and Demand

Content Removed: Download from http://www.currencytradermag.com

Popularity: 3%

Are you a Fisherman or a Snow Boarder?

There's a new forex article on Investopedia about trading your own trading style. 

Are you as patient as a fisherman or do you thrive the downhill thrills of finishing a snow boarding run?  Fisherman are trend traders and Snow Boarders are faders.  The point of this nonsense is that you have to trade to your style.  If you hate fishing, why trade like a fisherman.  The conclusion is:

Whether you are a long-term fundamentalist or a short-term technician, the FX market can accommodate your style. Although the argument between the two camps will probably never be resolved, the one undeniable truth of trading is that you must use the style that best suits your personality. Otherwise, you are unlikely to succeed, regardless of the soundness of your approach. Therefore, the first question an FX trader should ask him or herself is not " Is this pair going to go up or down?", but "What kind of a trader am I?"

Trade to your Taste

Popularity: 1%

Get Back on the Horse

So the question is, When Will I Get Back On The Horse? 

I've been out of it for weeks now.  I do think I'm in the latter stages of tearing it all down and now I need to start to build it back up.  Some things have kept me busy though, like baseball season, stomach bugs, XM radio, and my full-time job as a Linux Engineer.  I think I was so involved with the currency market for the last 8 months or so that I neglected other aspects of my life. 

I have to be honest with all of you. I want everyone to know that I do have a lot less optimism about the prospects of trading full-time than I did in the past.  A lot of people in my shoes probably would have already quit but instead of quitting, I'm taking some time to think through this.  I AM NOT QUITTING.  I will continue trading and posting on this blog.  The Forex Project is not dead.  It isn't unusual though to go to a forex trader blog and just see that one day in 2005, the posts stopped.  I don't want that to happen to this site.  I've put too much time, energy, and dedication to both trading and blogging.  

I hope to hop back on my horse next week and I think at this point I have no choice.   Fight or Flight.

FIGHT. 

Popularity: 1%

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