The Race

[Attila 10]

Statement for 5-18........

[sicktrader 10]

Statement for 5-18. Today I have had one losing trade, and one that I am in now that is playing around even.

[fxThunder 10]

No trades today and will probably not trade for the balance of this week.

 

Will post statement/s if I trade.

 

cheers,

fxT

[yeaheah 10]

A very bad day.

Tried and wanted too much.

One order still open.

 

[fxThunder 10]

Ended up taking one trade after all.

 

Cheers,

fxT

[thalestrader 14]

Thales,

 

I just want to express my appreciation for your efforts in getting this event going, as well as the admin work of keeping it running. I think this was a great idea, and expect it will be fun and an interesting learning experience both for participants and onlookers...

 

Like I said, if it isn't fun, it isn't worth doing. I presume those who have joined as participants are enjoying, or at leats expect to enjoy doing so. I suspect many who have subscribed to the thread, though choosing not to participate, also find some enjoyment here. I know I hope to learn a thing or two along the way, or at least have some fun trying.

 

Good luck to you, fxcowboy, I hope you, along with everyone else in The Race, reached the million!

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[yeaheah 10]

Closed the open trade.

 

 

Today i showed how you shouldn't be trading, guys. :doh:

 

Still searching for a profitable strategy, so i will try a new one.

Hopefully it will work better.

[sicktrader 10]

These constant reach-around with the EU are really fvcking with my trades. Seems like an announcement always comes 10 minutes after my set up. My other system would be solid, but due to outside work pressure I can't watch the comp all day. Heck, I'm in CHina now and fortunate to be getting as many trades as I am. Anyway, have 3 trades possible this day, will get it all back and then some.

[FX_Cowboy 10]

Trades for 5/19. The images overlap by one row for continuity.

[Attila 10]

Statement for 05/19.......

[amswak 10]

Here's my statement from yesterday.

[yeaheah 10]

In the night a litte trade.

 

[amswak 10]

....and I am out of the race again. It is sad, the position would have recovered and in the positive right now, but I exceeded the draw down limit for this tiny account and got shut down by the broker. New account balance: $173.

 

This is a near impossible challenge with ES when I am only $200 from a margin call as soon as a position is opened. I will be back in the race later, but I need to figure out what I can afford to put in this account that won't end up with me prematurely kicked out...

 

Hope the other racers are having a better trading day!

 

-Hunter

[sicktrader 10]

Not me. Was up 43 on a trade, 7 more to my target, then went 50 points the other in what seemed like seconds.

[fxThunder 10]

Todays statement..

 

Cheers,

fxT

[Attila 10]

....and I am out of the race again. It is sad, the position would have recovered and in the positive right now, but I exceeded the draw down limit for this tiny account and got shut down by the broker. New account balance: $173.

 

This is a near impossible challenge with ES when I am only $200 from a margin call as soon as a position is opened. I will be back in the race later, but I need to figure out what I can afford to put in this account that won't end up with me prematurely kicked out...

 

Hope the other racers are having a better trading day!

 

-Hunter

 

 

Let me guess.. as the cutoff nears you feel your hands are tied as you need it to come back over to avoid the call.. M6E or even NQ can let you breathe more than ES. A sub $500 account probably better to swing trade initially like M6E. The closeness to margin complicates an already difficult business. I feel your pain..

[amswak 10]

Let me guess.. as the cutoff nears you feel your hands are tied as you need it to come back over to avoid the call.. M6E or even NQ can let you breathe more than ES. A sub $500 account probably better to swing trade initially like M6E. The closeness to margin complicates an already difficult business. I feel your pain..

 

Yes. this is exactly what happens. By the time my system indicates a solid "get out," I am already so drawdown that there is no point in acting on it (i.e. a few dollars from a forced close anyways), so I have to just wait till it happens and hope for a miracle...btw, the market is atheist and doesn't listen to prayers or grant miracles...

[dam5h 10]

 

I have been watching the Tokyo AM session, but there just has not been anything there based on the system I am using in this small account with respect to the 6E, and even the 6J has not yielded much by the way of opportunity during those few hours. The 6A has done some moving, but I hesitate to try day trading a contract that I have always used for swing trades. The one thing that has been moving is my daughter's beloved EURJPY. We have two FXCM micro accounts, one that she trades, and one that she and I had done some things in last year. Perhaps, if there are no objections, I could fund that account and at least trade the EJ while I am unable to trade the NY AM. The only other choice I have would be to get up at 2 AM and trade Frankfurt/London. But I like sleeping, and do not like exhaustion. If I were to add the micro account, I would count each account as a separate entry. How's that sound?

 

 

Thales, I'm in a similiar situation. Starting a new gig on Monday that will become my primary focus during the daytime here on the east coast. I've never traded forex but am contemplating it for the same reasons you mention. How do execution costs differ from the futes on FXCM? Currently pay 4.72 a rt on currency futures with velocity.

 

BTW, this race is pretty cool; I may have to jump in. Will need to figure things out with new hours though.

 

thanks

[Gabe2004 10]

Yes. this is exactly what happens. By the time my system indicates a solid "get out," I am already so drawdown that there is no point in acting on it (i.e. a few dollars from a forced close anyways), so I have to just wait till it happens and hope for a miracle...btw, the market is atheist and doesn't listen to prayers or grant miracles...

 

Of course there is a point in getting out when you think you should, even if it is close to your automatic stop loss.

Getting out will hoan your instincts and preserve your capital.

 

Gabe

[thalestrader 14]

How do execution costs differ from the futes on FXCM? Currently pay 4.72 a rt on currency futures with velocity.

 

I did this one just for you. This screen shot is from an FXCM demo showing the implication of the 3 pip spread on a 125K (one 6E equivalent). You are immediately in the hole by 3 futures tick equivalents, more or less. While the spread on the 6E does sometimes widen to three (and I have seen the spread go 15 a few times during run away panics), the typical spread on the 6E is 1 tick.

 

 

So, in a word, execution costs with a bucket plain old suck compared to futures. You need to take this into account when you decide upon how you are going to trade spot if go with a bucket.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[dam5h 10]

thanks Thales, that makes sense. seems awfully pricey. i guess the advantage for small accounts with fx is the ability to trade smaller size (10k rather than 100k lots) and scale. as well as the obvious non dollar denominated crosses. like the freaking eur/cad today; good lord the thing moved what looks like 5000 ticks after the first flag!

 

would you consider an ECN forex broker a bucket shop as well?

[Cory2679 11]

i guess the advantage for small accounts with fx is the ability to trade smaller size (10k rather than 100k lots) and scale. as well as the obvious non dollar denominated crosses. like the freaking eur/cad today; good lord the thing moved what looks like 5000 ticks after the first flag!?

 

If you want to trade smaller size and crosses, I would suggest going with MB Trading for a small account...spreads and commissions are competitive with futures, it's an ECN broker, the minimum initial deposit is a mere $400, they offer 100:1 leverage, and they offer flexible lot sizes...I don't think this is well known...under their settings, you can turn off fixed lot sizes and trade whatever number of units you like.

 

I've been trading live with MB Trading every day for a week now and I'm very pleased. Also, the largest spread I've seen all week is 2.5 pips (news spikes), which is reasonable...99.9% of the time the spread is around 1 pip or less (you can watch their spreads on their home page).

 

would you consider an ECN forex broker a bucket shop as well?

 

I know you asked thales, but I thought I'd share my thoughts:

 

It depends what you call a "bucket shop"...if you mean market maker, then no...ECN forex is not a bucket shop. But, if you mean a market that has no central exchange, then all spot forex is a bucket shop. Personally, I think market maker when I think bucket shop.

 

Be sure to check out the link I posted in another thread, ECN brokers list | ECN/STP Forex brokers ...scroll down and read about the different types of forex brokers.

 

Futures have the added comfort of a centralized exchange and tighter regulation.

[sicktrader 10]

Well, I am currently in a JPY trade that would put me to close to even for the week or absolutely crush me. Actually it could have crushed me at the get go, but now the stop has been reduced a bit. I did not post a statement today due to travelling, but I had 1,507 and change in there I believe. For the record, my target is at .11065, and my stop is at 11137. I am in at 11115. Let's see what happens.

[sicktrader 10]

New stop is around my entry point, so I will either be close to even for the week, or will be near where I started the day.

[FX_Cowboy 10]

Trading activity on 5/20. As usual, one row overlaps. I am considering taking tomorrow off. If so, I will just forward my weekly results to Thales at the end of the day.