MadMarketScientist

If you missed our forex training webinar good news! You can watch it on replay here: http://traderslaboratory.s3.amazonaws.com/TlWebinarFeb2311/TlWebinarFeb2311.html Enjoy! MMS

I like Renko charts when I want a nice, super clean look at the markets. There are oddities with renko you have to be aware of when you're trading off of them of course. The hardest for people to wrap their heads around is it won't plot every price move of the market you're tracking -- plot points "disappear" if they are not part of a completed renko brick. But, that's what makes it so visually clean...also, not all indicators will react the same way as a result. MMS

Regardless I'd rather here from the poster himself since only he knows the strategy and people do make errors in their trading all the time so an occasional misstep on a post or even a trade is fine -- it's still putting it out there for all to see. MMS

I took a look at my stuff for today and was looking to buy at 1.6267 but has since faded sharply off those levels so very unlikely to happen. 1.6200 seems to be the line in the sand right now. I'm definitely getting close to seeing a short opportunity on a 30 minute chart on the break below the 1.6140 area from today.

emg, Good to see you back. Agree with TN above -- would help if there was a little bit of a discussion the 'why' -- I realize you don't want to disclose all your rules of course but sharing some tidbits would be good for the community. Thanks. MMS

peterjerome, Now there's something I agree with. You make a great point. No matter how "good" the trading system, training or strategy most people will still blow it. It's how it has always been, it's how it always will be. But, that's important -- you can't have everyone do well if ou expect to profit - there has to be some easy money to be had. I think it's part of the reason many don't even realize that the training/strategy/course they have might actually really be good -- it just won't be in their hands. Not to say there isn't plenty that isn't worth anything, but even the good ones get bashed because in the wrong hands they are worthless. MMS

You really should join us. We'll have our resident forex expert "Mysticforex" leading the charge. Plus we'll have more of the team on hand to answer ANY forex or trading question you have. In our free Traders Laboratory Forex Webinar you'll learn great techniques you can literally use today in your forex trading (or really any trading style) including some exclusive insights on utilizing pivot point strategies in your trading. Plus, our dedicated team will be on-hand to answer any questions you have about forex trading. Take advantage and attend this live, free webinar! The price? Zilch. Nada. Nothing. It's quite a deal. No money back guarantee needed. Feel free to share this with your trading buddies eve if they are not currently part of TL. Any interested trader is welcome to attend! You need to register though: There's only 100 seats so grab yours now. Time: Wednesday February 23rd @ 12:00pm EST (New York Time)/11am CST/10 am MST/9am PST https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/145756302 .

I second what Mysticforex says above. Jump in on the free forex webinar we're holding on Wednesday Feb 23rd Here's the link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/145756302 How often do you get pro level training and a Q&A session with real traders and it's costs.......zilch.....nada.....nothing. Nothing to be pitched but good information. Hope to see a lot of you there! MMS

If you're in the area be sure to stop by the TL booth and say hi. Brian, Kori, Chris -- you never know who you might meet there. Say hello! MMS

Great thread. Lots of insight for not even 'new' traders. I just got done reading an email from a new trader who talked about what made the difference for him. His top breakthrough was putting in the work. And not shaking himself out from some initial trouble. Since he "believed" in the system, felt it was proven and others had success he did not get discouraged when in the first two weeks his equity curve went down. Rather than b'ching and moaning about it and saying the strategy/system stinks he realized that he was in learning mode and not doing everything right. And, he did this all in SIM mode. Not putting real money on the line pushed him through. After about two weeks his equity curve then went sideways for a couple of weeks. Again, many would quit right? After all that's no way to get rich quick a flat equity curve but it's clearly huge progress to go from losing to flatlining. You know what happened next? Him putting in the time and not quitting and then the equity curve literally exploded to the upside. I guarantee 90% would have quit in phase 1 or 2 of this. Few can make it through. But now he's got a strategy he's mastered and a skill for a lifetime and in the single percent I'm sure of those that get there. Sure, you have to have a system/strategy that "should" work - not going to help if it has no chance but if you do -- you've got to put in the work and stop thinking the results should be perfect in the beginning. MMS

My escape is definitely travel. If I don't have several trips on the agenda upcoming I'll go crazy. For working hard there has to be a reward right? In between definitely all the trials and tribulations of being a sports fan (college basketball, college football, pro football primarily) And anything to decompress after a rigorous day of trading! MMS

Do your research for the week coming up. Trade off of weekly charts and determine what your trades will be starting Monday. Start trading forex Sunday evening when the market opens -- though usually it's quiet except in the JPY crosses. Review the week's prior trades and go over your trade plan. Other than that, and all those can be valuable use of your time you're not going to be trading for dollars over the weekend. MMS

A number of fascinating posts and feedback here. I will therefore weigh in just briefly. My take has been in trading for the last 20+ years I can get about 90% of the way mechanical. But unless I deploy about 10% trading instinct and adjustment - however moderate, I will not maintain consistent trading over any longer period of time. A few months? No problem. But the longer the data series, the more likely a 100% mechanical will break-down. Which brings me to my second point, even where I've been locked in on rules 90%+ -- I have had to "tune-up" the trade plan on occasion since I have yet to find a market that literally never changes its pattern/behaviors. So, I have found going for 90% mechanical far easier to find than 100%. MMS

Dee50 - good point -- always worth testing to be sure. Keep in mind NT 6.5 is going away so you'll likely have to find a way to make it work with NT 7. Contrary to the post above it IS an issue with Tradestation on the reconnects. TS handles it just fine when they are the cause - when they are not it is a problem that their software does not handle the reconnect automatically. MMS

I'll be there! We look forward to meeting some of our TL community. Come by and say hi. MMS

Great thread so far on the AUDUSD - learning some good things. I had a swing trade set-ups for a short from 1.0099 - target #1 1.0061 and target #2 1.0022. Only little twist there was that spike up at the 7pm EST with some news to 1.0138 which was exactly where the stop was -- so had to re-establish trade after that sucker punch. Since then at least though it has broken lower and am flat. Nothing else for me to do on it at least until tonight.

For me with stocks when daytrading no more than 2-5 stocks -- and usually more like 2-3. When swing trading I like a hot list of about 10 stocks to keep it interesting and not boring - provides just enough regular trading. MMS

For me, I am limited on time but what I always do without fail everyday is record my trades -- whether I was around to take them or busy. I also will go back and if I quit early, I'll record the "missed" trades to ensure I'm keeping track over a longer length of time how my system is holding up. I want to be able to spot any trends or difficulties and this keeps me confident taking the "next" trade signals the very next day knowing what has come before. Also, I ALWAYS check the economic calendar. Can't tell you how many times I've gotten lazy with this and then forgotten and paid the price. I try to always know which of the reports could be market moving and trade/adjust accordingly. Those two things for me are my minimum for preparation each day. MMS

I'm right there with you guys. I think 100 trades typically encompasses almost all scenarios. Obviously any system over time is going to need some tweaking on occasion since it's just the nature of all markets do decide and change their behavior. As long as you make those adjustments based upon what you see over 100 trades and not 5 or 10 trades usually I find that pretty safe. I also like to stress my trading systems by seeing how they would do in the bad times of the day -- times I usually would not trade due to the ranges/volumes/success being tougher. I find if it holds up at least acceptably, like a scratch than I'm onto something good. MMS

You guys nailed some of the ones I would say (Douglas, Van Tharp) and I'd throw in Alexandar Elder unless I missed him being mentioned earlier. In particular the Mark Douglas books that should be re-read several times as your trading progresses -- whether for the good or the bad -- it can sometimes get you back on track or keep you there. Then be sure you understand if nothing else the tables that Van Tharp shows on what you'll need to "make back" depending upon your drawdowns. It's completely eye opening and will get you to trade with far less risk/leverage than you would and most people think they can when they start out. MMS

Here's my problem -- I "believe" wholeheartedly in the benefit. Do not need any convincing. What I can't seem to figure out is how to step back and actually have the time to do it without being wracked with stress and guilt over what I'm not doing on an already endless to-do list from 3 different companies I have to run/help run. I find the moment I step back and try to relax and do this the stress of the "undone" drives me crazy. Consider I'm the one usually with the sandwich at lunch hunched over the keyboard going through email since I'm stressed how many people are waiting for a reply from me! I figure out that and then maybe I can meditate! MMS

Cool thread -- AUDUSD is one I sometimes do like to trade - wouldn't say consistently like the EURUSD/GBPUSD but it definitely has its opportunities. I had a long today from 1.0159 which I would have adjusted to 1.0161 to get around that "xx60" level which I don't like to buy in front of. Target 1 was 1.0188 and Target 2 1.0217. Unfortunately I slept right through this trade :crap: It "only" hit the first target then I exit even in a perfect world where I can stay awake 24/7. So with that said I would try the exact same trade again should it rally back up from where it is now which is 1.0145 at his moment though with a little less conviction on a second attempt. MMS

Hi Traders, please help us welcome Matt from Optimus Trading Group who is a recent advertiser with us on the site -- we like to support the advertisers who continue to make Traders Laboratory a 100% free resource for active traders.... www.optimusfutures.com Optimus main choice for its feed is Rithmic and it fuels the majority of their platforms: NinjaTrader SierraChart MultiCharts R|Trader They have chosen this solution (Rithmic) because of it’s fast capability in execution and stability. They Also offer mac based solution, web based solutions and free trading applications. Please use this thread to ask him questions about any trading application they offer and their services in general. Matt has agreed to answer any questions you may have about the datafeed, the various platforms, futures trading, etc...take advantage of his offer to help - he'll be answering here... MMS

I had what I thought was a nice short going post the employment report but it didn't quite stretch to my target -- it's still got a chance as you can see from the attached but it has bounced -- I need to hope it resumes that reaction move down....... MMS

Yeah, good point. I got distracted and got away from doing it periodically. I am still trading Crude Oil Futures on a daily basis, I also trade Natural Gas most days. Toss in an occasional foray into a silver daytrade. Plus my usual forex stuff. Today on CL I made a LOT. You might want to brace yourself when you see my net for the day. +4 No, that's not 4.00 in Crude which is worth 4K. That's truly 4 as in $4. I was actually quite happy since I started 1 win - 3 losses today then recovered to 3-3 and quit there while I was barely ahead. Next trade worked to so a little regret not continuing but recovering beat the alternative....I tend to start at 8:50am EST, sometimes a bit earlier and brace myself for the 9:00am pit open when things either go quickly to target if I'm onboard or to a fast reversal.... MMS