renner1984

Mmmmm! Who would use a chart like that? That's just ridiculous! Yes, it does have to be suited to the personality of the trader. Honestly, I'm caught between the daily chart and the 1 hour. The daily is great since it's smoother and I work full-time, but I'd have to really "milk the market" to reach my goal. The hour is great since it'd be easier to reach in less pips, but is a lot more erratic in movement. $1/pip per $1000 is what I'm comfortable with by default, assuming I only try to net 100 pips a week. The daily chart would make this impossible; so, I've thought about compensating by making it $0.20, but going for 500. Either way, it's a stretch but doable. I wholeheartedly agree about the "scared money" which is why I'm a big believer in a more mechanical approach. We are our own worst enemy. Exactly, though I've no problem looking at the "odd" pairs, though precedence given to those above. I am open to any indicators, have studied many and feel I've a pretty good idea of why they work, though less is more (contrast the "pizza chart"). I'm open to program something to enter and exit based on a system derived, though I don't have to. It could always be semi-automated. I even offered Fuller personally an indicator I wrote to alert us to pin bars and inside bars on every pair simultaneously; he rejected it as he is against such things. Yes, it's more or less a compilation of everything I've learned, it is nowhere finished, taking my time to build it. Moving averages especially interest me. Forget crossovers, but bounces and in conjunction with other indicators works wonders. I also like Bollinger Bands since it tells you multiple things about the market. Absolutely! Right now, off the top of my head, an ideal system would be this. It may be realistic, maybe not. Take any pair, just a set time of the day (i.e. London Open, U.S. Open), set a fixed SL/TP, and enter according to the trend. The questions needed are: 1) How to define a trend (or lack of)? 2) How to judge if market could hit TP, or NOT hit SL? 3) What time of day to enter? Of course, that's pretty mechanical, set-and-forget, but it could be done, or it might be a pipe-dream. It is something I'm playing around with. Let's keep this going! Ingot54, I'd love to hear more how you incorporate your indicators!

Ingot54, I appreciate your candor but thoughtful response. Of course I do not expect anyone to hand me or anyone else "the key to the city". I'm always looking for new ideas; I think any system that works has to be fitted to one's personality. In answer to your questions: It would depend on the fixed stop loss and take profit I'm most comfortable with. The higher timeframes are more reliable, such as the daily, 4 hour, and 1 hour. The less trades taken, the less exposure. I would probably consider myself a swing trader, though I have looked into scalping. The trouble with scalping is lots of exposure and the spread is one's worst enemy. I cannot speak for anyone else, though for me, I'd use $1/pip per $1,000. I answer this question like this because I intend to compound and would keep the lot size proportional to this ratio. Yes, my personal goal is quite high; I know that no one else will do it for me. I welcome new perspectives from those who have "been around the block". After years of consistency, absolutely! I'd say at least 1:2, though I'd prefer 1:3. It's said professionals have at best a 50% accuracy in trades; to compensate, one must have such ratios to remain profitable. Anything less, especially those like 2:1 or worse will blow accounts. I've traded the major pairs, primarily EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, EURJPY, GBPJPY, though I've touched on the exotic pairs. Honestly, I've touched on many in forums, though I've not stuck with them long. I'm the type of person who wants to know exactly why a system works, why it's profitable, where it may go wrong. This can give one an idea if it will work long-term. I know sticking with a system is crucial, but it must be a system one is comfortable with. There is one I've been using with a trading group. It works well in trending markets and for most of the year, though in the summer it can be disastrous due to ranging, erratic movement. Much of it depends on subjective judgment, I've looked at how I can make it a bit more objective and fixed. Actually, most of my trading journey has been "study". I have traded live and on demo, but learning "how everything works" is important to me. I've even started a website of my own on technical analysis. I prefer candlestick charts, maybe moving averages and/or Bollinger Bands. I believe simplicity will work best. After all, indicators merely reflect price action. Absolutely. In all fairness though, you said it yourself, it's easy to get lost in a sea of "systems". Perhaps I've created a pond a mile wide an inch deep. I hope those answers will suffice. While this challenge is my own, I'm sure I'm not alone in it. I'd like others to benefit from this post, should bear great fruit from all the input it receives. Finding my system has been my burning obsession, something I think about everyday, always looking at the charts or seeing if I can find my edge. I have many other traders who are encouraging towards me who know what I want to do. I hope one day to be able to reach out to newbies like I am now and return the favor. I look forward to hearing your response, whether it is for or against my answers. Thank you. P.S. In answer to Arthur, the output is how many trades you'd need to take to reach your goal, given the minimum win accuracy. Suppose you have a fixed SL of 20 and TP of 55, you'd have to take 10 trades (4 wins, 6 losses) if you had at least a 40% win accuracy, with a goal of 10% ROI.

Hello all! I've been in the Forex industry for 18 months and have learned a lot, though I am still at a dead end in settling on a system. However, I've concluded risk/reward ratio is everything. Considering that most professional traders are right at best 50% of the time, it is best to have a good risk/reward ratio. For those of us who want to make Forex a way to put food on the table, I'd like to present a challenge to come up with a mechanical system (doesn't have to be automated, per se), which given a minimum "win accuracy" and a weekly goal (i.e. percentage of account), and a certain risk/reward, how many trades it would take to reach it and to find a reasonable system in which to implement it. I've attached an Excel file which allows you to play around with the numbers. You can change the fixed stop loss & take profit, minimum win accuracy, return goal, lot size, and initial balance. For me personally, I'm looking at a weekly 10% gain. For those interested, any ideas? Any input? Thank you all. moneymanagement.xls

Hello all! I've been in the Forex industry for 18 months and have learned a lot, though I am still at a dead end in settling on a system. However, I've concluded risk/reward ratio is everything. Considering that most professional traders are right at best 50% of the time, it is best to have a good risk/reward ratio. For those of us who want to make Forex a way to put food on the table, I'd like to present a challenge to come up with a mechanical system (doesn't have to be automated, per se), which given a minimum "win accuracy" and a weekly goal (i.e. percentage of account), and a certain risk/reward, how many trades it would take to reach it and to find a reasonable system in which to implement it. I've attached an Excel file which allows you to play around with the numbers. You can change the fixed stop loss & take profit, minimum win accuracy, return goal, lot size, and initial balance. For me personally, I'm looking at a weekly 10% gain. For those interested, any ideas? Any input? Thank you all. moneymanagement.xls

Thanks for the feedback and wasn't really expecting a system (one with no strings attached anyway). Such suggestion above might suit me well since I'm going for 100 pips a week anyway. For me, I want something that can give consistent wins, as much as that's possible in this wild market. Consistency in pips is important because I have goals to compound my gains in a systematic manner. Any ideas how to devise a system, such as finding optimal ratios and times? Analysis-paralysis is my position right now. Thanks.

I am seeking thoughts and ideas for a system that is simple, can withstand the changing market conditions (including summer conditions), and one which can gain consistently. I ask not only for myself but for many who are in a similar position in these forums. I'm looking for something in which I can set pending orders, or place orders at a given time (due to working a full-time job). A breakout system comes to mind, but am interested in finding something during ranging markets as well. I would risk $1/pip per $1,000 (adjusting the lot size accordingly). Ideas for money management would be a big help too; I don't like anything less than 1:1 risk/reward. I've been studying what's out there the past year; I'm very familiar with the basics and beyond. Yet, I cannot settle on any system I'm comfortable with. I am also a MQL4 programmer and can program a system if it works and someone here is willing to share it (for anyone interested). Anyone have any idea for something that might be what I'm looking for? Please do not send affiliate links; I am looking for a system I can manually trade or one in which I can program on my own. Thank you to anyone who responds!