"gaining Trading Experience"

[xXAtheistXx 10]

There are so many novice traders who get introduced into the "Forex world" and they hear about all the money you can make in this profession, but after 6 months, a year, or maybe even 2 years if you a persistent, they give up trying to master the markets because they say its impossible or too hard, does this sound familiar? Sadly i hear about this far too often...I am a piano instructor, and lesson after lesson i hear "Teacher, i'm so excited, i practiced for 8 hours this week!" only to be disappointed because the piece sounded exactly as it did last week. The students weren't lying, they did indeed play the piano for hours, just like they told me, notice how i changed the word from "practiced" the piano, to "played" the piano? Just changing a single word, can have a huge impact on its meaning. To PLAY the piano is something i do for enjoyment, just pleasure for myself or for others, not planning on improving much of my performance during this period, but to PRACTICE the piano, to practice is to take your time, go slowly, look at the bigger picture, fine tune the timing, the finger positioning, the accents, dynamics, muscle control, muscle movement, taking a step forward in your skill/performance level by improving something that will better you as a pianist. This can be directly related to trading, people think that if they make tons of trades, they are gaining "experience" yes and no, you do need to make trades, and get the feeling of what making trades is like, watching the market unfold against you or for you, BUT taking trades alone, wont give you the experience needed to one day have the financial freedom we all ache for. There is a saying that practice makes perfect, but i think PERFECT practice makes perfect. Anyone can learn to have financial freedom from the markets, but it takes time, dedication, and will. Take the time to get the knowledge needed, PRACTICE and apply this knowledge on the market, and then start building up your experience. There are no short cuts in this field, but take one small bite at a time, and eventually those bites will get smaller and smaller and smaller. Go make some pips!

[TheNegotiator 13]

This is very true indeed. However, in an industry which requires so much self-direction I fear that those who need such an important facet to their developmental process to be pointed out to them, may not have the appropriate character to succeed at trading in the long run anyway.

[SIUYA 11]

A little bit of semantics maybe....

 

additionally getting the wrong habits early on, from a poor educator, or a teacher who may be good at teaching but in fact teaches habits that dont suit all people is also a big issue.

 

As luck plays a big part in many vocations.....often stumbling not only on the right teacher, but the right teacher for that student, and prior to getting any ingrained habits is vital.

 

Poor habits can be overridden, but its makes it that much harder and even just practice might actually be considered harmful as well.

 

Perennial bulls and bears are often forged in particular markets under particular teachers and never really change or adapt. Scalpers find it hard to trade longer term, fundamental analysts often dont want to believe the market, maths whizzs might want too much certainty....etc;

[Obsidian 10]

Now new traders got more tools to learn...I am not talking about indicators-books-web sites only...

I think analyzing your traders help you to understand yourself...Checking statistical facts on your trades definitely would help you...

the pairs you trade..the pair that you are more successful...trading durations..average of winning and loser trades...getting all these type of info is so easy now...so use it

[Mysticforex 13]

IMHO... the best way to gain success as a trader is to develop an edge, My edge is confidence. For me confidence is gained by playing out a setup or scenario so many times via backtesting, forward testing, and live testing, that I have a reasonable expectation of how my trade should play out. With this edge I can eliminate, or at least greatly reduce the tendency to cut my profits short, or, let my losses run.

[xXAtheistXx 10]

Thanks guys for the posts, i agree with all of them, understanding yourself is a huge part of becoming a successful trader, knowing each pair individually, does this pair like to pay attention to pivots, moving averages, which moving averages etc...developing an edge is a big thing as well, all traders need an edge, and there are so many "coaches" or "classes" that "teach" Forex out there, some even with silly promises such as "can make a consistent 5000$ every month with this system!" Don't fall for these kind of promises, most likely if someone gives you a promise like this in an industry that is more or less a variable, is usually a scam, i have been very fortunate to find an outstanding coach, one of the best in the industry, but before paying for any kind of Forex mentor ship, make sure to do your research before spending your hard earned money.

[forexlady101 10]

You got that right! there's a simple rule to follow "when it seems to good to be true, it's because its not true". For god sake, forex is NOT easy money! It's not rocket science as well, but it demands time, discipline, patience, knowlegde and a lot of other skills!

[steve46 12]

In light of recent developments at Peregrine I have to suggest that people take a long look at forex and how its structured.....I never did get the attraction (I realize its cheaper to trade it but look at what you get "with the package")

 

with regard to learning how....the same impediments exist for forex as for any market...you still have to develop an edge (as others have pointed out).....since "guarantees" of performance are not permitted, what we see is the other alternative as vendors try to make trading appear simple and easy......the most interesting development is what I call "aggregating bars"...for this technique the vendor goes and finds a programmer and they "invent" a new way of displaying data where each bar is colored (and/or shaped) differently so that trending behavior is seen (in theory) earlier (and more accurately?) ah.....well that technique has been around for quite a while and as with all things it looks good in theory but in practice...it simply doesn't provide much of an advantage.

 

I think what I wil do is to provide some new info with regard to characterization of markets. With all these new vendors coming in to tell us the "top 10 reasons why traders fail" I think someone should provide some substance for a change.......

[zdo 20]

xXatheist,

you talking about distinctions like the following ?

practice <-> performing

explicit learning <-> implicit learning

quantitative <-> qualitative aspects of trading (see [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew1L6SLpHgM&list=FLv8kAMSj7njj14yvMwZY5WQ&index=3&feature=plpp_video]What Makes a Successful Trader? - YouTube[/ame]

)

etc?

[horace 10]

  steve46 said:

In light of recent developments at Peregrine I have to suggest that people take a long look at forex and how its structured.....I never did get the attraction (I realize its cheaper to trade it but look at what you get "with the package")

 

with regard to learning how....the same impediments exist for forex as for any market...you still have to develop an edge (as others have pointed out).....since "guarantees" of performance are not permitted, what we see is the other alternative as vendors try to make trading appear simple and easy......the most interesting development is what I call "aggregating bars"...for this technique the vendor goes and finds a programmer and they "invent" a new way of displaying data where each bar is colored (and/or shaped) differently so that trending behavior is seen (in theory) earlier (and more accurately?) ah.....well that technique has been around for quite a while and as with all things it looks good in theory but in practice...it simply doesn't provide much of an advantage.

I think what I wil do is to provide some new info with regard to characterization of markets. With all these new vendors coming in to tell us the "top 10 reasons why traders fail" I think someone should provide some substance for a change.......

 

much appreciated Steve

[obradovicmilica 10]

As luck plays a big part in many vocations.....often stumbling not only on the right teacher, but the right teacher for that student, and prior to getting any ingrained habits is vital.