[dpaterso]

Hi,

Tell you what I'm doing: I have my charts set to the 'middle' price i.e. not 'bid' or 'ask' and then I'm placing my orders 1.5 x the spread + 5 points (which I supposed is equal to the spread + 5 pips on a 'normal' chart). This is keeping me out of most bad trades along with the 'wait for a test and a retraction' 'action'.

As far as the 1 hour is concerned I sit here in front of this stuff from anywhere around 06h00 in the morning until 03h00 the next morning (but do take a nap most afternoons though of course AND THEN spend most of the weekend sleeping)!!! That's how I cope!!! Not much of a life I know BUT prepared to do it while I'm still 'loving the game'!!!

The SI System will work on anything and any timeframe. The longer the timeframe the more sure you have to be that you have a lot of free margin if things go 'pearshaped' and of course you have to wait for 24 hours to find out if you're in a good trade or a bad trade BUT the system still works.

The GCI thing is still pending i.e. I would have you and one other person so far to open accounts there. I'd say to give it another three or four weeks and I should then have enough 'clients' (you know what I mean) to justify the deposit account. I know I've said this before BUT I'm saying it again though: if I do this 'deal' with them and people can open accounts with a minimum of $500 then 'be it on the account holders head' i.e. to me the ABSOLUTE minimum should be $2 000 and I personally would recommend $5 000. Just ALL bear that in mind. I know that's not 'child's play' money BUT I can assure you that you will not be sorry WHEREAS with a $500 account no matter HOW good ANY of these systems are you're 'skating on thin ice' I can assure you. All you need is one really big spike up or down during a day (especially on something like Soybeans) and your account is 'done for'. I cannot force you but can only give you advice based on what I have learned the VERY hard way. Even the Dow has been known to move 400+ points in a day and remember: if you're working on the daily charts that means that you have to be able to be $400 DOWN if you're on the wrong side of the trade that day and although this MAY change the next day the possibility always exists that it won't and you have to stop and reverse and realise the loss. If that happened you're now ALREADY down $400 and let's say the next trade is also bad: down ANOTHER 300 points or $300 let's say. See my point??? Put it this way: I'd say the bigger your account balance the longer timeframe you can trade but I would NOT even LOOK at trading the indices or commodities on a daily timeframe with under $5 000 at GCI. To be honest: I'll get commission on your trades either way but my intention here is to help new traders to NOT wipe out and end up in the 'sh*t'.

Edit:

Sorry: I'm not trying to put anyone off here i.e. it's just that it's happened to me MORE than once (last year). Remember that at GCI EVERTHING is traded with a 200:1 leverage and the lot sizes are 'fixed' ($50 or $500). I've seen single positions on the DAX 30 (for example) turn to $500 or so profit in a matter of hours and I've also seen those same positions turn into a $500 loss in an even shorter period of time (on $50 lots)!!! I've seen Soybeans drop limit down for the day and a $50 position go from $100 profit to $500 loss in MINUTES!!! I've MADE (thank goodness it was 'MADE' and not 'LOST') $840 or whatever it was in FIVE MINUTES on the Brasilian Bovespa Index on a $50 lot (something which I would not attempt to do again any time soon)!!! THIS is the REAL 'game' in town but this is POSSIBLY ALSO the reason why everyone sticks with forex pairs BECAUSE of this type of 'action'. Never thought about that until now.