If you dont know how to lose then you dont know how to trade.Trading successfully requires that you lose. You will have losses. Let me repeat that…You will have losses. Even the best traders have losses, yet most unexperienced trades think that they can find a system that doesn’t lose a trade. It is still beyond me how traders keep searching for holy grail systems. Sure, they’ll tell you “I’m not looking for a holy grail, I’m just looking for a system that has few loses but wins most of the time.” Here is the reality, the market moves on millions of different decisions being made by traders all over the world. You cannot predict a systems win/loss ratio based on its past performance.The markets are always changing, and with all those millions of trading decisions, tomorrow, the market will be different from what it is today.
So what should you do? Heres what…
[ul]
[li][B]Accept that loses have to come.[/B] You have hundreds, possibly thousands of trades to enter in the next few years, ofcourse some have to be losses.
[/li][li][B]Trade higher time frames.[/B] if you do this you avoid whipsaws and catch the trending big moves. This is where money is made in trading
[/li][li][B]Always know what the COT says. [/B]The COT tell you where the big traders are putting their money. You can use it as a map for your trading
[/li][/ul]
Final note.Last month I had 39 losses and 38 wins but my account was up 47%. I’m such a loser
Are you trying to wind us up with the title of your thread!? 
As a veteran trader on this forum who knows just about everyone, I can tell you that the traders on this forum generally know that there is no holy grail.
I know of no trader here that is looking for such.
Further, everyone here is mature enough to know that they will experience losses.
Everyone 'know’s they are expected to take losses on the chin now and again, but still it doesn’t always feel that way when you’re in a trade and it feels like this trade just has to be one of the winners. It’s easy to know with your head but not easy to do.
I agree and already know this AssetBuilder but it is always good to be reminded thank you
Very nice 47%. Now there are alot of opinions about the COT report. Can you explain how YOU use it in your trading? Be as specific as you can be.
Yes, please elaborate
I really wonder how COT Report could map us on our trading. 
:o
Well he didnt say forex so maybe he is referring to other markets. I too awaits his reply on the use of COT.
Hi guys,
We all know what the COT report is. I use it as a map.It is not the main tool I use, just one of them. The main advantage of the COT to me, is that it builds my confidence. I look at where the non-commercial traders are placing their money(long /short). There is a site that does this well on a graph for each currency pair but I may be breaking the rules here if I mentioned it:confused:
When my technicals give me trade signals in the same direction as the non-commercial traders, I take them. As we all know, institutional traders build positions over time they don’t jump in and out as we do. By doing this I always find myself on the right side of the market. If I get a signal in the opposite side and it seems valid (technically), I will take it but I’ll be more cautious since I may be going against the trend. I only trade 4h charts on EY & GY but you can also look at the cot reports on oil and gold and you will not be surprised by the way the markets have been moving. If you are trading anything less than 4h charts I dont think the cot report will be of much help to you, but as I said before it builds my confidence when I know I’m trading the same direction as bigger traders.
Don’t let a win get you high or a loss get you down.
Hopefully I’m not the only one that doesn’t, or until now, didn’t…lol :o
If anyone else didn’t, here’s something to read Using COT Report To Forecast FX Movements
I didn’t know what the cot report is, but then I’m still new. But now I do.
You learn something new every day.
Some people may be searching for the holy grail, just as some still try to design perpetual motion machines. There will always be someone who thinks it can be done.
In keeping with the ‘loser’ mentality of this thread, here is a formula I use for my trades to manage risk. I’m sure many of you have seen it before, just trying to help out the newbies. If you want to know what your trade size should be:
[B](Equity X Risk%) /(Pip cost X Stop pips)= Lot Size. [/B]
Now, apart from the COT I do have other tools that I use to inform my trades which are very helpful for swing trading. It is basically a sheet that states Short-Term, Medium & Long-term indicators of an instrument.This gives you the overall strength of currencies and which you should be buying or selling. I dont know how to get them to you guys (without breaking the rules of course) any suggestions, moderators?
COT is freely available in many places…
great thread assetbuilder … excellent work
DailyFx has posted in the board a news bulletin involving COT info
http://forums.babypips.com/analyst-arena/27845-fx-options-suggest-us-dollar-rally-continue.html
No indicator, report or anything else you did, read or have makes a difference after you enter your trade.
You will either win or lose.
How much you lose is up to you.
How much you can win is up to the market.
Failure to internalize these facts will cause you to fail as a trader.
That IS the Holy Grail.
As much as we may not like it, Frankenpip is absolutely right.You have little control over what happens to the trade after entry. From my trading experiences, Ive found that many systems that are very promising when it come to trade entries. What happens after is very tricky to many traders because exiting too early will not build sufficient equity to cushion against losses. Exiting too late may mean watching profitable trades turn into losses.
Too often we neglect an exit strategy… or we do not execute the exit according to plan hoping for more profit… only to have profits evaporate…
my personal approach to this problem is setting take profits just before/after significant support or resistance levels giving them a very high chance of getting hit, the market usually carries on maybe 10 pips or so but i’ve already exited with plenty more so im fine with that, if price continues to surge past the given support or resistance i may re-enter the breakout and set my stop on the other side of the support or resistance level again minimizing my risk and maximize my gains
lee
You don’t need the report to trade well!