Is this a system?

Hi to all

and a warning, I am extremely new to this!

Been trying forex for a while and just watching price action. I have been trading 1hr charts by taking long position above recent high if price action is above 200sma and the opposite for shorts. I usually get out after several hours but have found it to make some profit.

The problems I have is profitability drops when price action is near 200sma and also if I try SL of say previous high I get stopped out easily.

My question is this. Is what I am trying to do something that is already explored in this forum?
If not can anyone suggest how to determine a suitable SL without being chopped out all the time, and how can I quantify when the price action is too close to 200 sma and likely to not work?

Thanks for your patience

Bellamy

Almost anything you can imagine has been done to try and make a profit in the markets. The questions your asking is the same problem almost all systems have, and no one will be able to tell you whats right for you.

As humans we tend to see things we want to see…Is price less likely to do what you want it to just because its too close to the 200 sma?

I suggest you learn Elliott-Wolfe waves, Gartley, Gann and Murry Math & Lucas numbers. Once you get a grasp of these concepts you will know where to enter and exit with higher probabilities. Good luck on your forex journey!

Dude, the guy’s a noob, so take it easy with all these theories.

Wholeheartedly agree. Don’t try to cram 5 years of learning into a few months.

I believe that it’s better to point newbies into the right direction than get them caught up into chasing rubbish systems. Having greater understanding of how price waves work in all time frames is a good foundation to have. Trading is hard work and not simple.

I disagree.

The fact is, trading is VERY simple.

And to be quite honest, everything works. MA crosses, waves if you care to spend the time to get a grasp on them, fibs work, pivot points, and the time tested s/r lines.

But the key to any of it is a solid grasp of money management, and market positioning, with regard to momentum plays.

The dang thing only goes up and down…

I agree with Master Tang. A solid education about the markets and proper risk management strategies are absolutely essential to success.

I use to believe in simplicity and yes I use to only have 50 & 200 ema’s in all time frames and pivots on my chart. I did well, it was simple and effective. But I wanted to expand on my knowledge and become a thorough student of the game. I wanted more reasons why I took the trade or why I gotten stopped out. Once I engaged into Elliott, Wolfe, Gartley, Gann, Murry and Lucas my perspective of the market changed. Sure, it sounds daunting of a study but it’s all about making it your own. It’s how you can process the information and applying it. I completely have a greater appreciation towards the markets. I also day,swing and scalp depending what my bearings are in markets. A simple game plan has a good probability but if you want a greater chance then you need to dig deeper.

I’ve been doing a lot of studying, and many of the topics suggested by folks are so dry that it’s hard to keep with it. It may be that some of the methods just aren’t my cuppa. I don’t doubt a full understanding of the market has value, but so does the idea of finding simple ways to indicate what steps to take. A student learning music does better when they can see and hear actual progress being made by playing a simple song instead of just learning scale after scale.

In the end what works for some may not be for all. I was getting very frustrated trying to apply concepts and failing.

Thanks to all who took the time to read my post and then reply.

It has reinforced my belief that trading is a personal thing and I have to find what I am comfortable with and hence what will work for me.

Thanks for your collective wisdom and I hope all had a merry christmas and will have a prosperous new year!

I learned of this site in BPs so I shouldn’t be in violation of any admin posting policy. BUT, Admin., if this is in violation then please delete so i won’t have a violation. B. - go to wwwtradeprfitablycom and look at chap. #23. Easy, simple & it works very well on a 4H TF during the morning NY session. This strategy (they are NOT systems, we are in a chess match, a bridge game, a whatever against fierce well financed experts in their craft) is retoring my nearly depleted mt4 live account which had a disasterous summer and early fall. Give it a look and demo it - I also use the mt4 “zigzag” and volume indicator. One could add a 100SMA for trend but trend on the 4H should be pretty obvious plus the zigzag is very demonstrative re. trend. Good luck and enjoy the challenge. d.