Soultrader

No problem Moneda, do you currently trade Forex only? Im no currency trader... I trade emini futs mainly. But Im very open to learning about Forex... as this will be my next challenge.

Excellent posts! As a student of NLP failure is a common topic in this field. NLP views failure as feedback. It is simply a setback in which we need to spend the time to reflect on. It is just another step towards success if you view it in the correct way. Over the course of my life, I have altered failure into positivity many times. This is why I truly believe nothing is impossible. Trading talent is not from birth... trading is a skill that can be learned through dedication, determination, passion, practice, and experience. Im definitely in this business for the long haul. One other thing I hate doing is waiting. Why wait when you can just do things NOW. I spent 2 years of my life in the past relying on others and waiting for things to happen. When I finally stepped up and just did it... what a relief! Alot of traders jump from methodology to methodology always trying to seek the Holy Grail. What they reallly need to do is to look in the mirror. All the answers lie in front of us... but some will always look elsewhere. Best of trading.

Thanks texxas. I am starting to fall in love with your trading style. I am a strong advocate of keeping trading as simple as it can be. I rely on price action: tape, market internals, pivots, and market profile. I use ZERO indicators on my tick chart. I absolutely hate indicators. Keep us posted!

Hi Moneda, Its been an interesting strategy for me which I just recently picked up from Raul. I am testing it out (still new to Forex) and will start applying it once I enter the currency arena. Have you done any backtesting on this strategy? Its amazing how traders share the same strategies. Everything we know has already existed in the past. The new breed just try to improve whats already there. Soultrader

Sounds exactly like Raul's methodology. Might want to take a look at this: Forex Chat Seminar

From my own experience with two different mentors, they showed me the ropes to trading. Also each mentor had their own trading style and both taught me to trade through their trading styles. One was based on S&R levels using fibs and moving averages (cluster points) while the other was more scalp based using tape and market internals. I picked up market profile and pivot clusters on my own. Mentors should answer questions, teach you to trade, and help one develop as a trader. Although it takes time to fully absorb the mentors methodology, a real mentor should be willing to commit his/her time to help one become a profitable trader. I think a mentor is very helpful for new traders who have yet to develop their own style. However, once a trader knows what he needs to do to succeed.... a mentor can not help a trader with this problem. It is all up to the trader now. Psychological aspects of the game can also be improved by the trader himself only. (just my opninion) If you know how to trade and know what it takes to become a profitable and cosistent trader, just stick with gaining experience. Experience is the true teacher in this game.

Its turning out to be an interesting week. Just a note for our scheduled chat session tomorrow. I will be in from 9:00am eastern and will go over a quick premarket analysis for the YM for those who are interested. Feel free to join us during trading hours. Please reply here or show up in the room. Thanks

Excellent comment Texxas.... alot of years and experience in your words. Price is KING. For new traders.... learn to trade price action and you will always remain in this game. Very nice charts you posted there as well Texxas. My old mentor was a fib based trader so its nice to see Fib traders here

Reversals often take place in the opening 5-10 minutes as well. It seems as if the markets want to test one level to see if there are enough sellers or buyers. When they are not present... it will then reverse. The opening to the point of reversal is a scalp play. Im currently working on timing these reversal points as I tend to get in at a much higher/lower price.

Hi texxas, Here are some links to feb's strategy: Morning Breeze Strategy Forex Chat Seminar Hope this helps

This is a short video on pivots and premium. When looking at key level for a breakout, using market internals can help confirm the breakout. In this case price broke above a critical key level: R1 pivot, globex high, and previous days high. The breakout occurred with two buy programs back to back as well. CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO Charts created by Tradestation Presented by Traders Laboratory

Funny you mentioned that... I always thought the YM tape was slow

Holy cow.... thanks for the data Raul. I was never interested in currencies, but this is all about to change.

Hi guys. Once again, I thought Ide notify members to join us in the chat room on Monday. We have traders trading currencies and index futures. I will be there from 9am to around 11am. Please leave a reply here or feel free to just show up. Thanks!

Some traders choose to stay away from the opening action while others seem to trade the open just fine. Comments such as the opening is unpredictable and better to stay away is fairly common. One traders methodology may not be suited for the opening while another traders methods may be suited. I personally find the open and the initial 60 minutes the only real action in day trading the eminis. I have a simple method I use to trade the open and offers a fairly good scalping opportunity. What are your thoughts on the open? Do most retail traders stay away at the open? Are they mostly insitutional orders coming in? Any thoughts/comments are welcome.

I am starting to place further importance on the S1 and R1 pivots. They seem to be good reversal points for price lately and I will start keeping data on them from now on. Here is a little setup which I found interesting in hindsight. I had personally exited way too earlier. It combines a S1 pivot with Torero's core of understanding higher lows or lower highs. Price tested the critical 00 level smack at the S1 pivot. Then it went to to make a second test failing to test the 00 level and instead made a higher low. Price then took off towards the weekly pivot, broke it and used it as support. Then it went on to rally for 50 pts (S1 to VAL) towards the value low pivot. Pretty impressive.

Thank you for the charts Texxas. Alot clearer now

Hello texxas, Thank you for the input I currently do not trade currencies but have been interested for quite some time. I just recently started studying a bit about them ( I trade eminis mainly). In the index futures, the S3 and R3 pivots are often a favorite pivot for fades by professionals. This is because price tends to stay within these two pivots 80%+ of the time. Im curious to see if there are pivots or fib ratios that are usually faded by the professionals. You mentioned the 78.6% being a key fib number in the FX instruments. Do you think prices tend to stay within certain fib extension ratios such as 161.8% above/below the previous days high/low? Im personally not too crazy about fibs... more into market profile and pivots. But just a little curious to see how the FX markets work

Veryyy interesting texxas. The 35% and 50% points basically act as S1,S2,R1,R2 pivots. So you would play them as if a pivot based trader would trade pivots? The way you categorize them makes perfect sense. I have studied methods kind of similar in which fib ratios are applied to the high/low of the session to predict the following days range (for futures.... not my method). Very interesting indeed....

I thought I'de start a thread discussing some of the mistakes new traders make when starting off with online trading. There are obviously hundreds (which I have committed all of them myself) so please feel free to add on to the list. 1. Undercapitalization - One of the first mistake I made when beginning to trade was being undercapitalized. I started with a $10K account without any idea on how to trade. You need enough capital to learn and gain the experience. Some like to call the initial stake "market tuition." If you can avoid paying your dues, great for you. But most new traders will lose their money. Just make sure you learn from every loss. 2. Having the approach to trading as a "learn as you trade" - Big mistake. "Learn as you trade" = losing money. Losing money can lead to emotional and financial stress and may even create enough fear in you making it hard to trade. Make sure you come prepared to the battlefield. Be a strategist. Sun Tzu said, "The battle is won before it is fought." Think about it. 3. Trading as a hobby - Take a look at your hobbies. Do they make money? Hobbies in general are entertainment that cost money. Do not approach trading as a hobby. Treat it like a business. Develop a business plan, have goals, and understand what you want out of trading. 4. Thinking that you know it all - The moment one thinks he knows it all is the moment he has become a fool. Its impossible to know everything about the markets. This is a lifetime learning process. Find your niche.... find your speciality and be an expert in it. In other words, find your edge. One thing I learned in trading is that niche = money. 5. Trading without a plan - One of the worst things you can do as a trader is to trade without a plan. Trading without a plan is like driving in a new area without a map or a navigation system. You are lost. 6. Not following your trading plan - Okay so now you have a trading plan. Why dont you just follow it? A common mistake among traders is not following a developed trading plan. This leads to impulse trading or emotional trading. 7. Wanting to be right - Are you trying to be right? Or are you trying to make money? This is a hard one... I personally have to battle myself to avoid this bad habit. Our egos interupt with our trading and we tend to want to prove something to ourself or someone else. The markets do not care what you think. You are in it to make money. 8. Money Management - Strict money management is a necessity. Set your risk parameters for all your trading setups. A common rule is to risk no more than 2% on one trade. I prefer 1%. Being long 10 different stocks at 2% risk per trade is not a good idea. In fact you are risking 20%. Know your size and do not double up your position after a series of losses. Be a grinder and not a cowboy. 9. Have realistic goals - Too many traders come into this arena without unrealistic goals. Questions like "Can I make a million my first year with a $10k account?" Sure you can..... but is that really realistic? Focus on crafting your trading. When you know how to trade the money will flow naturally. 10. Not analyzing yourself and your trades - This a poker habit I have. I tend to analyze every losing and winning hand to learn from it. Traders need to do the same and analyze every trade. Think about it after the trading hours and focus on what you can do to improve. Trading is a constant journey of soul searching as well. Understand yourself and you will significantly improve your trading. I know there are tons of trading wisdon. Ill end it with just 10 and leave room for others to add. Best of trading.

For those interested in leasing a seat at the CBOT please check this link here: CBOT - Lease Ranges The current rate is $83 a month plus an initial one time fee of $1500. You are looking at saving over $2 or so roundtrip per contract.

Thank you traderix, Here is the link to the transcript: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f55/chat-script-nov-7-2006-forex-746.html Welcome aboard as well. I hope you stay with us Look forward to your participation. Soultrader

Hi traderix, Im not a currency trade but our member feb2865 in our forum is a season Forex trader. He held a chat seminar a few days back and I was informed he used the time: 6:00pm to 5:00pm next day to plot the high/low. This applies to both the EUR/USD and the GBP/USD. Hope this helps. Soultrader

Hi Raul, TS charting package comes with the option to change the font size on the time of sales. Im quite surprised to see your platform does not have that. Torero, Please keep me informed on how the 100 tick charts work out. Im going to be testing this with several other tick charts as well. Will also test this on the YM. I will keep you posted.

Thanks Raul. Ill definitely keep you posted on this strategy if I find anything new. Im probably going to start looking at it with the tick charts... possibly 100, not sure yet. It seems like momentum is ultra key to the strategies success and I will need to get good at this opening setup.