Thread Banter Continuum

[cowpip 10]

This is my earlier point on news/fundamentals. Just because at face value, you'd expect one thing, to those moving the markets, there could be so many underlying and knock on effects that we don't consider that its hell trying to trade off funnymentals alone.

 

Yes. And THAT is why virtually every analyst out there is wrong - they rely on the fundamentals to make sense of the markets, and they're almost always wrong when they give guidance (they lag the market).

[myrtleturtle 10]

guess you guys were right about the longs after all!

[wasp 10]

What a gorgeous 24hrs this has been

[pipMonster 10]

I'm guessing you had a good time on the ride up?

 

I hope it's made up for the market drivel and indecision we all had to go through earlier in the week.

[JT1 10]

Yesterday was a good day for me. EU dropped 300 pips, i hadn't really noticed how far it had dropped as i was engrossed in milking it - up and down.

Also, i didn't really care why it had dropped, just as long as it was moving and i could trade it. It wasn't till late afternoon that i read the Meryll Lynch etc. headlines.

Besides the standard news release times, I feel pretty secure in trading what is tradeable, despite what may be going on.

 

 

I now just need to ban myself from all internet distractions during the session, so as not to miss opportunities/make errors.

[wasp 10]

Mornin'

 

I personally have had the shittest 36 hours I've had for I don't know how long....

 

As JT1 suggested, I am taking what I have and legging it. I have far more interesting things to do for the rest of the year and I don't want to give back what I have made so, I won't!

 

Plans for skydiving, travel to tequila land in Mexico, a trip to abuse FW in Belgium and a surf comp in December are all going to keep me busy plus my studies, its time for a break...

 

Hope the rest of the year is good for everyone...

 

Cheers

 

Chris

[pipMonster 10]

Sorry to hear trading sucked for the last couple of days, but it's great to hear you're taking a nice break into the new year. Your trading last week was truly inspiring.

 

This week has been down and up for me. I started off with three nasty losses in a row before I got things turned around and into profits. Last night and today have been absolutely fantastic for me. What's made such is huge difference is two things: Wasp's suggestion of hourly trend lines, in particular the way they are drawn, and adding some additional horizontal S/R levels to the 240-min chart from my ProRealTime charts.

 

See you next year.

[JT1 10]

Have fun wasp/slbf with your time off.

 

 

Good news is i have my gold star at the other place now, so have no reason to continue to post inane dribble or reward pip buddies. lol. only reason i web surf when trading is like a distraction/escape from a bit of boredom & nervousness. it has to stop though.

[wasp 10]

Have fun wasp/slbf with your time off.

 

 

Good news is i have my gold star at the other place now, so have no reason to continue to post inane dribble or reward pip buddies. lol. only reason i web surf when trading is like a distraction/escape from a bit of boredom & nervousness. it has to stop though.

 

Trading can be boring at times and a distraction from over trading and allowing patience is handy but I have come to the conclusion for optimum performance, posting on BB's is only a hindrance.

 

Cheers

 

Good trading

[JT1 10]

I agree. Especially if posting charts etc.

 

The trick for me i think is to become a robot like being, and just have a chart open, broker tab open & a tab for the economic calendar and nothing more (during trading hours).

[firewalker 10]

Mornin'

 

I personally have had the shittest 36 hours I've had for I don't know how long....

 

As JT1 suggested, I am taking what I have and legging it. I have far more interesting things to do for the rest of the year and I don't want to give back what I have made so, I won't!

 

Plans for skydiving, travel to tequila land in Mexico, a trip to abuse FW in Belgium and a surf comp in December are all going to keep me busy plus my studies, its time for a break...

 

Hope the rest of the year is good for everyone...

 

Cheers

 

Chris

 

Wow, a lot on your plate by the looks of it

Don't know what happened in your last 48 hours but I guess it wasn't good!

 

I wish I could say "I quit for a couple of months and come back when I feel like it". The again, I'm always a bit fearful that when I come back the markets will have changed (to my disadvantage).

 

Anyhow, since your practically live by trading 24/7, who can blame you for taking some time off. Look at me, I only try to sit in front of the screen trading for 4 hours on average... pretty lazy I know...

[firewalker 10]

Trading can be boring at times and a distraction from over trading and allowing patience is handy but I have come to the conclusion for optimum performance, posting on BB's is only a hindrance.

 

Cheers

 

Good trading

 

Try posting in non-trading threads, it helps!

 

I wish we had a "puzzles" thread on this forum tbh... would keep me busy waiting for a decent setup.

[firewalker 10]

Have fun wasp/slbf with your time off.

 

Good news is i have my gold star at the other place now, so have no reason to continue to post inane dribble or reward pip buddies. lol. only reason i web surf when trading is like a distraction/escape from a bit of boredom & nervousness. it has to stop though.

 

Ha! another gold star runner...

 

I finished after I got my first place there. Unfortunately some forum-addict (who's now going cold turkey ) took my place!

[cowpip 10]

I personally have had the shittest 36 hours I've had for I don't know how long....

 

As JT1 suggested, I am taking what I have and legging it. I have far more interesting things to do for the rest of the year and I don't want to give back what I have made so, I won't!

 

Plans for skydiving, travel to tequila land in Mexico, a trip to abuse FW in Belgium and a surf comp in December are all going to keep me busy plus my studies, its time for a break...

 

Hope the rest of the year is good for everyone...

 

I suppose knowing when to hang up the towel is an important trait of any good trader. But if you're quitting for the year just because you've taken a bunch of consecutive losses that you're not used to (something that happens even to the best traders), then maybe you're not accepting the losses as readily as you should? Yeah, I know - I'm not one who should be talking - but you yourself told me that accepting losses is part of the game. I just want you to be sure you're making the right decision based on sound reasoning.

 

Still, I must admit that your plans sound a whole lot more attractive than sitting in front of a laptop for the rest of the year.

 

Hey, poke your vacationing head in here now and then and say "Hi" to us poor saps who are still struggling to "make it" sufficiently to have a decent vacation!

 

Thanks for everything, Wasp. Have a good one!

[myrtleturtle 10]

How was your week myrtle?

 

only got back to trading with real money recently after a few bad weeks, which dented my belief in my rules.

frustrated, as I would have done fairly well what with the volatility.

still using indicators, so dont know if my calls are valid compared to you SR junkies.

might post a few indicator-derived calls for comparison. (queue disastrous week).

thankfully, ended up in the black, but could have done much better.

[wasp 10]

only got back to trading with real money recently after a few bad weeks, which dented my belief in my rules.

frustrated, as I would have done fairly well what with the volatility.

still using indicators, so dont know if my calls are valid compared to you SR junkies.

might post a few indicator-derived calls for comparison. (queue disastrous week).

thankfully, ended up in the black, but could have done much better.

 

Post away, more views the better and IMO, this private group is to help each other out so you cream every pip out you can.

[Phil Mibbutz 10]

How do you condense 15 years of experience into one post................ hmmm

 

Here are some essentials that I have picked up along the way for you. Some through experience, trial and error. Some through sweat and tears, through, just nuggets in posts on BB's and other random bits from I don't know where!

 

4 essentials when watching a chart:

 

 

• Support and Resistance
  
• Trends (trendlines derived from HrH's and HrL's or vica versa)
  
• Fibs
  
• News
  

 

The news moves the markets. The chart tells that story better.

Trends are paramount in FX especially.

S/R and fibs then finish it off.

 

When I view a chart, I have all this in mind. Why....?

 

Dave, a market stall owner sold fruit. He sold a lot of oranges. When he first started trading, he sold them for 5p each. They sold better than whisky at an alcoholics anonymous meeting. He put them up to 10p, still sold... 20p, 30p... Obviously good oranges.

 

At 30p the sales started slowing down, he dropped them to 25p and they were selling again. Dave, being a greedy bugger went to 35p and business was okay. Jumped up to 45p and only a few went here and there. Things started to peak. He dropped back down to 40p, then 35p... business was still slow... He went back down to 30p, things picked up and he saw all his old customers come back. He kept them there for a little while, then as things stayed constant, he started to push prices up again. The same thing happened at 45p as they were again, too expensive.

 

This time, a stall opened next to him with even juicier oranges. Dave had to drop prices to 30p again but still no good, he had a bit of interest.. but he had to go back to 25p...

 

Economists and bloomberg analysts said after the event that it was the new stall, the fact it started raining oranges and something else to do with America probably, technical analysts looked at the stats in a chart, saw key levels sat at 25p, 30p, an 45p.

 

Supply, demand, support, resistance. Call it what you will and view it through FA or TA, but at the end of the day, TA always works.

 

That, is essentially, it.

 

Other little things that have helped shape me along the way are posts by other traders. I won't say who as they aren't even on this board but things that have always stuck in my mind;

 

I picked a bank traders mind for a while - he told me that EVERYONE he knows, looks at S/R and fibs. Nothing smaller than 1hr, normally 4hour / dailies.

 

Another person said 'think of S/R as more of a zone'.

 

I'll add more to these but 2 that stand out. With all this in mind, the ideal thing, for me anyhow, is KISS, and 2 of the 4 essentials. S/R and trends on 4hr and 1hr charts.

 

Another thing that helped me was a journal on T2W. It helped from a psych POV originally but also, as things progressed, the HMA's (Hull Moving Averages) I used with the S/R, it taught me that, that is simply how it moves.

 

Price won't rise and rise, then drop in one and vica versa (making MA's pretty useless, it did show that price trends via HrH's and HrL's) so, with the right timeframe for the right pair, the combination of S/R and trends on the charts, works beautifully.

 

The old saying... If I have to explain it, you won't get it' is quite true I think as this probably hasn't helped as much as I'd like (not great at explaining it - its just ingrained in my think head!) but if there was on thing I could tell any new, eager traders, it would be....

 

Watch the charts till you can truly say you are in tune and can understand what the 2 biggest players are doing (IB's and HF's)... I could explain nearly every candle and what is happening (and likely to next) on that chart and could do so in RT, once you can do that, then its like riding a bike, you'll never forget.

 

 

Any questions?!

 

 

 

That'll be $5000 thanks!

 

Agree with most of that, Wasp, but I think Fibs and longer-term EMAs can be useful. The more lines coinciding, the more important the level, I reckon.

 

Having said that, I gave up on FX a while ago, so my theories/delusions only apply to index trading.

[cowpip 10]

Sweet, nice one. I try not to pay attention to news and factor it in so took the loss, SAR'd on the next candle lower and ran it till the next long signal (187.25) and been long ever since.

 

As important as the news was, it means a loss but half the time it is of no consequence and hell, I ain't perfect and its still an absolutely blinding week again! Got to take a loss here and there!

 

You said you SAR'd on the next candle lower? You waited for the next candle to completely form before you SAR'd?

 

Yeah, and when you don't pay enough attention (as I did this morning), you end up taking crappy entries.

 

Ah well. I'm still up +170 for the day, despite this last loss.

[cowpip 10]

Here's how I saw the last trade, Wasp. Did you see it that way as well? And if not, why?

[cowpip 10]

You said you SAR'd on the next candle lower? You waited for the next candle to completely form before you SAR'd?

 

Never mind this question, Wasp. I figured it out from your chart.

[wasp 10]

You said you SAR'd on the next candle lower? You waited for the next candle to completely form before you SAR'd?

 

Definately. Partly for a better idea of where next, and partly I try to only trade on the hour to reduce screen time / overtrading.

 

Here's how I saw the last trade, Wasp. Did you see it that way as well? And if not, why?

 

Nope, I had my S/R slightly differently.... I was still long and only just SAR'd on the last candle and watched 150 retrace to +1

[wasp 10]

Decided to close for -7. I'm not seeing a good signal anymore. In fact, I can't see a signal at all now. Decided to take the risk off the table until I can see something more solid.

 

Wasp, what are you seeing?

 

Mostly old classic Boris Johnson on HIGNFY on youtube but also still short. Either a higher low will print or I will reverse over the high. Same old, same old. I tend not to think about it all too much. The beauty of a cunning plan. Losses are inevitable but the plan is paramount.

[pipMonster 10]

I tend not to think about it all too much. The beauty of a cunning plan. Losses are inevitable but the plan is paramount.

 

That is a fantastic way to look at trading. So true, so true.

[cowpip 10]

Anyone have a NoDoz ?

 

See what happens when you let politicians into the fray? We lose the pulse entirely!

[wasp 10]

Not very exciting this is it!