[chdorry]

Hi all,

Thought I'd share some info on live trading, as I just started Friday of last week (July 11th). For starters, I closed a position out for a profit that day. Ok, so the truth be told I was dorking around with the Delta interface, and accidentally opened up a trade without any system or reason behind it. (Note to self: Don't mess around with the live platform, if unsure test it on the demo). Anyway, that trade went almost instantly in my favor, so I set a stop at 2pip profit in the unlikely event that it would work out better. Almost immediately after setting the stop, the pair dropped like a rock which left me with $3 extra in my hand.

As for starting on a Friday, there's good and bad to it. The good is you setup your positions and LEARN to not touch them for a couple of days. Of course the reason being is that markets are closed, but I feel like it was beneficial in getting the mindset where you don't have to constantly check your positions. Just set them up properly and then let the systems run their course.

I have to say while I've been doing a good job of keeping my emotions in check, there's definitely a world of difference between the demo trading money and your real hard earned cash. I was actually joking with Dale on Friday that I needed to go real quick and close out a position for a $5 gain. While it was a joke, in some ways it was odd as I can equate it to seeing a $5 bill sitting on the ground, and letting it sit there while you hope the wind brings a much larger bill to replace it. Ok, so that's a bit of a stretch, but human nature and conservative side of most people makes it hard to let the positions run their full course. Since Friday, both positions I had tanked and were down as much as $100 (remember that's paper loss as position wasn't closed), but as the Wilder systems seem to do, they are both up about $20 as we speak, and hopefully will hit TP Monday or Tuesday of this week. I also have a 3rd position based on the SIS (EUR/CAD) that is currently bouncing between $15 profit and loss, but have to wait this one out and see if the trade turns my way or not. Will provide additional details on the SIS trade as it continues to develop.

I think people need to heed Buffett when they are going to move to live trading - here are a few of my favorite Buffett quotes:

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.

If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.

In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.

And this one is spot on regarding investing advice from CNBC or any other tv analysts:

Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.

Well in any event, I'm currently having fun and gaining additional faith in the systems. I can say that now that I'm beyond demo trading, I can see how people can easily be their own worst enemies by not being able to keep objective and level headed regarding their trades. I can't remember where I heard the quote, but I think it applies to being successful in forex (and in most other areas of live). It goes something like "If you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right."

Edit: Just came across another good one from Vince Lombardi -
It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner.
Vince Lombardi

Wishing everyone the best on their trades.

Craig