Sledge

Not wanting to stir the pot- just provide backup to the slimy tactics of RETAIL spot brokers. This VERY scary flyer was discovered some time ago and is making its rounds on the web. Do you all see why you almost are scared to trade with any of these people? Credit to "Burgerking" on the "Forex Factory" Forum (Thread here http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=70582)

Anna- $7.5K is absolutely alright. I was sure to start with at least $10K when I started anyways. So this absolutely is OK and I would advise anyone who does get into FX to seed their account with at least $10K. ANYONE READING THIS ASIDE: Just because the bucketshops LET you open an account with $500 does NOT mean it is a good idea! They will be glad to get you in as a client, overleverage yourself, take your $500 and wait for the next sucker, all while turning you off of the market. Ok, back to Anna: Thank you for your post & links. I will be sure to look at the sites you gave and look to making some phone calls! Yes this helps, this helps a lot! Thank You! Sledge

Torero- I did demo their platform at one time but unless something changed--when I did- they had no charting to go along with it. Some folks didn't care, but it was too cumbersome for me to have a charting program running and alt+tabbing over to EFX to make my entries and monitor trades. I'm a longer term trader now so I may look into it, but at the time I was scalping and it was nearly impossible to do it with no charts Sledge

Anna- I am most apprciative of all of you that are actually in the market and on the side that you are. As you and Milliard seem to be open and honest about contributing to this conversation- Would you elaborate on this? With so many people out there who WANT to get their feet wet, but don't want to go to a "bucketshop" can you give more details on the info in the quoted text above? Are you saying that on the high-end spot brokers you have to lay out a plan (like a business plan) to them before they would take you as a customer? What do they want to know? How much of my actual trading "strategy" would I need to reveal to them?" Also- what is the minimum account size at these larger "non-retail" sopt firms? This is a whole new world for me, so hopefully my questions do not seem like "no-brainers" to you. If I could find a reputable spot firm that would work with me, or allow me to trade with them without a huge account. I'm all ears to know more info! Thanks in advance. Sledge

Milliard- I think if nothing else my initial "comment" shed light on a subject that is hard to know unless you have lived it from this side of the trade. I remember when I started I said- "Damn I know how to trade, but where I park my money and feel safe about it is the hardest part of trading." Taking all of my hard work to seed my account and to have it stolen by a shady broker would yield results that I cannot and will not mention. So sadly for me (even still) I just don't have the money backing to play in your arena. I'm not sure what brownsfan's account trading size is- but if he wants to play the spot fx market and isn't a VERY LARGE monetary holder- I am warning him to the pitfalls of the "bucketshop" I know there are honest brokers, I know that the comment was general and sweeping. I am not here to offend, but I'm also not here to pander to anyone I don't know and am honest about what is out there. Would I be a good contributor if I said "Yeah go to FXCM they are the largest broker out there- that makes them good" Hell no- they are one of the biggest thieves. That is HOW they are the largest. Your post sheds light on the other side of spot- a side I cannot speak from as I am not in that ballpark. So no offense intended. Sledge

Millard- Fair enough, I am VERY interested in learning more about an honest and reliable broker, as would thousands of other people if they were to see this thread. You are talking to Joe Average here though- I don't have a $500,000 account. If you would point me to a spot broker who: 1. Doesn't claim a NDD and is not lying 2. Won't ban you, like Livermore, if you end up actually succeeding 3. Have the platform "fail" when their is high volitility and not give you a B.S. answer that it is "slippage" (in reality they probably didn't have the liquidity to actually cover so they time the trade out or offer it too you 10 or 20 pips away at a loss) I would Honestly be very happy to demo their platform to give them a test-run to see! I was banned from one broker twice! After the third run at it they changed their currency out to 1.XXXX decimal places and were STILL stealing my swap $ (i.e. on a GBP long I should be getting PAID at EOD if I hold my position not have that amount taken from my account) - I bailed on their program days later! Right now the best answer I could provide Brownsfan is what I have lived and what I know. If you have a third option. I personally would like to know more about it and as said, I'm SURE others would too! Sledge

Brownsfan: A. EUR/USD is the Flavor of the day currency- every noob and their brother is riding the rocket. GBP/USD- Our old soul and my personal favorite USD/CHF- The inverse Euro USD/CAD- I'm not even going here! USD/JPY- Get your feet wet with EUR/GBP/CHF first! Each currency pair has its own personality (took me months to figure this out) 1. Euro- is our resident toddler, exploring every day but continually growing for the most part. 2. GBP is the grandfather, he has had his wild days and is a bit more tame- but with enough movement to keep the party going and plenty of opportunity to make pips! 3. CHF- Pretty much the Euro twin (in inverse) 4. CAD and JPY- Both these currencies are the resident "Wild Teenagers" They whip and dip on a whim, they give you 50 pips and then steal it back before you can say "YEA.... Oh no!" B. Each Pip is worth $10 on a 1.00 lot on the GBP, EURO and CHF, somewhere in the $9.90 range for the CAD and JPY. C. Your best bet is to trade on the Globex. Any of the "bucket shops" even the big boys- you are trying to trade against their "dealing desk" They will tell you that you are "out in the market" but in essence- you are buying and selling against their other clients. Do well? You can and will get banned- not outright, but you'll see crap like bad data feeds, lagging, charts that don't update or "outages" Think it isn't possible? I was banned from the same brokers "demo program" TWICE! I was not a customer they wanted! The BIGGEST reason to trade on the Globex is the following- if you get into a "bucketshop" and they go bankrupt- if you have a $100,000 account- you stand in line in bankruptcy court behind their landlord, or any other creditor. You ARE NOT protected with YOUR money if they go belly up! You say "but wait isn't the NFA overseeing them" Yup. But the spot FX market is the wild west of the trading landscape. Full of cowboys and thieves! In The Globex you are trading out in the actual market with the rest of the world (not a brokers client list) and they are regulated by the CME, your funds are safe! This site will give you the scare of your life and verify everything I stated above: nondealingdesk.com D. Bucket Shops will allow you to leverage to the hilt! You'll see everything from 100:1 to 400:1. As you are no doubt a seasoned trader- you know darn well the basics of money management and protecting your capital to "live to trade another day" so I won't expound on this one at all. Sledge

Candle- I would indeed like your $0.02. Please do tell us what you see on your chart-I think that anything you see will help people learn from the knowledge you have to offer! Sledge

W- Platform is a Metatrader4. As far as timeframe: I actually use a much larger timeframe to get a "feel" of the overall market first and then "drill down" It was much easier to illustrate the amount of volume and those bars significance using a 15 minute chart instead of say a 4 hour or Daily Chart. Where you decide to enter the market or how many bars you use to make your determination is strictly a matter of personal opinion. Since I use a larger timeframe and know that I am looking only for shorting opportunities (presently,) I look for particular bars or sequences of bars- when they appear I am poised and ready. You may be different. I'm learning not to be scared to let a trade ride overnight or carry over past EOD. I only care about being right with the trend. As far as target and stoploss- same trading personality traits apply. If you see $200 profit plop into your lap- do you take it and close out? Do you feel strongly enough in your analysis that you know you will eventually make $1000 on that trade? I personally "roll with the punches" If I'm in on a short and I have cleared 85-100 pips at EOD, I can do one of two things- either move my stop loss to protect capital or close out and look for another entry if I anticipate a pullback. As with any system you have to realize that it MUST be flexible. YOU must be flexible. Anyone who tells you that you bailed early and are a "wuss" is a moron. If you are happy with the trade- you are the only one who makes or loses the $. No person on a message board is going to pay your bills. When I started trading I was a blitzing moron, I got in, grabbed 4 or 5 pips and closed out. I was trading 20-30 trades a day! I did well at it, but talk about mentally exhausted! My best advice to you or anyone new trying to learn this is the following: Learn to read the bars, what do they tell you? What does that bar with its related volume tell you? Tom Williams isn't B.S.ing you when he says all you need to do well is a chart and volume associated with it! After a while- if you stick with one or two things you trade, you will get to know that instruments "personality" (i.e. how it reacts, how it moves.) Hope this helps! Sledge

wunderlich: I'm not sure what you are trying to say. Sledge

Brownsfan- I went in the opposite direction. I started a Trade Show Consulting business and worked and worked to gain customers, I knew they needed the help- they ASKED me for the help. They even asked me what I charged to help. Telling them the "average hourly fee" never phased them- until they realized that I couldn't build them a marketing direction, pre-show training, boothmanship training, etc. etc. in say 1 hour! Hit them with a proposal that is LESS than they would spend for 1 more BAD show- to learn it for life. 95% of them caved and said "Whoa that is way too much." I was working to teach them "how to fish" rather than "be given a fish." I got so frustrated at their short-sightedness that I gave it up all together. I moved onto trading. I control when I pull the trigger, I take my wins, I take my losses- but I don't rely on anyone but me to do it. Sledge

Brownsfan: Ok, Here is a real-time chart. I'll make a "live call" 1. You see the Wide Spread up bar The bar was absorbed heavily (closing where it did) 2. The next bar is further absorbtion 3. You see the herd wet their pants on the drop at bar 2 and sell-off thus producting supply into the market which is why it rides up say the next 3 bars for simplicity. 4. Markets do not like supply, so now the market is ranging heavily. Herd is getting out, pro $ is setting up for the eventual 5: 5. This market will DROP. This is a 15 min GBP chart. Sledge

http://www.dukascopy.com No DL necessary.

brownsfan019: I just can't imagine anyone that possesses such a grasp on this subject (as MANY folks in this thread do) that would be able to make such detailed and informative posts on the subject matter- but sit at home and not actually use the theories and system they have perfected. Call it a hunch. I personally, as with any other human being by nature will get in, let ride and post results after-if I post any at all. I'm not some "Market Master" and feel it arrogant to jump in and say "I'm in- going to NAIL 150 pips- Whoo, put it in the bank." I read at an early point in my trading somewhere that the beauty of trading is that it is not absolute, you can roll with the punches. If you are short and see a pullback transpiring, but it did not hit your intended target? You are able to close out, wait for the pullback to be finished and attempt a short again- if you want too, the market may tell you otherwise and you may be happy with where you took your profit and got out. You can let a trade linger for days, minutes or hours- depending on you and your style. The beauty is that every system is personal, someone with a 100K account can pull off things and ride longer than someone with a $1K account. If you are watching for a set-up- are you really heading over here to post about the set-up or are you going to pull the trigger on your trade, and then talk about it after you are "in?" Look at any of the "broker" sites out there- one is particularly comical to me. I won't name any names but it rhymes with BailyFX. The "experts" make their calls public after they have already rode the majority of the move (in their own accounts)- and then toss their "followers" the scraps- all the while preaching a far greater top or bottom of the move than EVER transpires. The noobs who read it think the broker is actually "helping them" when in essence they are just herding the sheep into whatever pen they want. About 2 weeks ago I saw them post a message that was absolute it said: BUY NOW at "XYZ price" Target was 1000 pips above their "BUY IT NOW" price. Results of this wonderful advice: The market dropped like a rock for over 100 pips (which would have taken the advice takers to the cleaners) and then spiked the next day. Sad part was- the rally never made it even close to their "target" the rally fell short by 400 pips. Long story short, most everyone watches their trades first and their posting boards second. I can see why people don't post their set-ups here before they get in. Makes perfect sense to moi' Sledge

It is sad though. Maybe they can take a cue from the Enron folks who sued after their greed destroyed the financial lives of thousands! Sledge

This is a take off of a picture I saw and became inspired. Thought a few folks may get a laugh.

dandxg- Thank you! Just want to be sure I'm on the right learning track! All beginning to sink in! Sledge

Eiger- So this is a "Polar Bear in Hawaii" then? To be completely disgarded- yes? Thank you- that is helpful! Sledge

Ok, I have an elementary question that I have been scratching my head about lately in real-time trading. It is about a "No Demand" bar or more certain a bar that looks like an upthrust in a downward move. I am borrowing the chart from the "VSA - No Demand/No Supply & Squats" Thread to illustrate below. My question is on the "No Demand Bar" is WHY IS THIS NO DEMAND- we clearly see the market rise in the next few bars- and not only rise- but rise ABOVE where the supposed "no demand" bar ends. Can any veteran VSA'ers out there give me a technical breakdown of THIS particular bar? I see it quite often and it is termed "no demand" but the market always rises above it. Thanks! Sledge

Seems interesting, may be worth a rental!

Question: Ok the background gives us a large up move indicating weakness. Then Professional $ has stopped supporting the market and it dives. The question is, when you see (for simplicity sake) 2 Wide Spread down bars on ultra high volume. Followed by two or 3 smaller spread up bars, then the market plows downward again, and again they are followed by 2 or 3 smaller low spread up bars. Are these "mini pullbacks" a result of: A. Profit taking and traders closing out of their positions? B. Stop Losses Triggered? C. Both? Both "A" and "B" would introduce supply into the market correct? Sledge

Seb- This is great news! Is this a customer only event? Sledge

So what you are saying is that even though a retrace is imminent. You would let it go? A perfect set up to make money, a quick turn to make your account grow by potentially thousands of dollars- You'd sit on the sidelines and let that downturn just unfold to be looking for your next move to go long? Sadly, some of us just don't have the capital you must have to endure a potential 500 pip retrace and not only survive- but ADD to the long as you plan to do. I guess you play at Yankee Stadium while I'm still on the neighborhood sandlot. Sledge

Db- Ok, now that we have that defined and we are on the same page. Now that you know that I'm talking about a Long Term Bull trend to come, but you have seen weakness come into the market and are expecting a re-trace. You are seeing blatant signs of weakness on a Chart. How do you personally go about defining your entry on this Short trade? Sledge

Db- I would agree with Ed in my questioning. I would want to know more about the trivial buying and selling cycles. My question would lie in say the Top of a Wave 1 Bull Trend. Where the longterm (Months) outlook is Bullish, but you will see a re-trace to do a multitude of things (trap the herd, take profits etc.) Am I correct in saying that you would define Accumulation as the professional money accumulationg longs at the end of a Bear Cycle ready to distribute at a later time and higher price in the Bull Cycle. Sledge