Balance $1520
Iām diggin that list of 37 whoever posted it (kinda lazy to go back and reread). That has got to be the best list I have seen man. I agree completely with it and I love the part trading becomes boring, that is 100% true. Itās all about having the system trade and taking out the you in the equation. The you is the system, just marketalized (nice term, i just coined it). Congrats on your success Henry, I been following. I have had a great month as well and I look forward to April. Will keep following, keep up the work!
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Hi Leg0nd. That list was shown to me years ago. Thought it would be worth sharing. Bit of a revelation to trading psychology.
Regards
Tyrone
Hi Tyrone
Yes - i did rather like that list. Would like to consider myself also refining that 36th step. This month has been good, apart from gaining around $200, in that im settling the psychological side of things, and yes - as you say - trying to remove myself from the process ina sense - just following my steps on a daily basis.
I now tell myself all the time. Its got to be boring. Boring means its working. Stressful means you are not managing risk, and exhiliaration means you are making a packet, but probably due to high risk - so in the end - yes - you want boring.
It must just be like brushing your teeth twice a day or whatever the case.
My risk management is much improved and my process is great, but a few points still nbot happy with - but at least i go into the new month on a good note.
I am gauging that by the end of the year step 36 will be solidly embedded, trading regularly boring, but success every day, more or less. (Where success means breakeven or gain)
Cheers
Very much so, I have gone through a retarded amount of those steps lol, Iām not at 36 or 37 yet but Iām on my way up there at a rate that has taken me by surprise. I lost all emotion from trading months and months ago which according to your list definitely puts me on track for that slot 37. The problem most new and experienced traders alike fail to understand, trading is not supposed to give you a rush. I mean if you make a very well placed trade and win, yes you feel good, but its not like that āgamblingā rush most new traders get. Itās a very definitive rush, kinda like a sigh of relief mixed with a pat on the back because the system did its job and got you paid like its supposed to do and its the day it won rather than one of the hopefully fewer days it cost you a little money to operate.
Well done. Looks like your on the right track. Keep up the good work.
Tyrone
Iām very confident you are already a successful trader, I like getting the input from you proās. The knowledge is priceless.
I came up with this equation I think that suits successful traders. Hopefully it goes along with your 37 steps xD.
Originality + Ingenious Practical Real World Ideology+ Constant Consistent Implementation = Success.
Sounds about right, but I would personally add in +years of back tested profitable data=success. But thatās just me.
What about forward testing? I do not back test very far back and instead focus mainly in live forward tested results. But thatās just me
Forward testing is exactly the same as back testing but you donāt have the luxury of knowing if your strategy is profitable over the long run (No long periods of data). If you have rules to follow then it makes no difference whether its past or present. You will build your own data one way or the other. I believe this is where a lot of traders my go wrong. The reason why is because they donāt believe in there strategy after a string of losses therefore tinkering or changing rules. I have learnt a lot just forward testing but back testing has saved me years of time. It also keeps me away from the live trading when I donāt need to be there. I can quite happily test any strategy to know if itās right for me & if its profitable in all market conditions. Its almost a kind of therapy for me.
However if you have found an edge in the market & are trading it now (forward testing), as long as you believe in it 100% you will stick to the rules. Time will tell if it is profitable or not. Going by your journal, you have stuck with it since last year. Not many can do what you are doing so you have strong belief in your strategy. You are on the right path whether you back test or forward test. Im only a strong believer in back testing because of my weakness. And without proof a strategy is profitable over the long run, I know I wont stick to the rules. I will tinker which is counter productive. Again running around in circles or so it feels.
This was my own personal revelation to trading. I know I want a 100% back tested mechanical strategy. I wont except nothing less. The testing whether forward or back is down to us individually, but sticking to rules has to be 100% or we are just gamblers with no edge.
Regards
Tyrone
Great insight! Love the input and Iām certain a lot of new traders can learn volumes from you, me as well. I backtest my ideas but typically only a few weeks to a month back for valid reasons. Mainly because unlike traditional strategies, I do not use a strategy tester therefore I do not have the luxury to backtest years of data in an instant at the click of a button. Each day I backtest, I have a full Microsoft Excel spreadsheet devoted to. So as you can imagine, it takes quite a lot longer to take the data from my broker, put it into excel, review the stats, save, then repeat for each day I backtest. On the bright side each night I am building up my database of spreadsheets for the pairs I collect data for 
I still have all my spreadsheets from when I first starting using excelā¦ From my first excel system, system 3 ;), all the way up to my current, system 13. Fortunately I have backups in case my computer crashed, but I have filled up my jump drive to the max (1 gb of excel spreadsheets) I probably had around 2 gbs now, but no worries. The endless tweaking of the system has since died down to only once or twice a month now it seems, the goal is never to have to update it or change it, thatās the dreamā¦ As time between updates continues to lengthen, Iām happy to say Iām getting closer and closer! Will see in the next year xD.
See now your the example of forward testing. Not many put the time & effort in like you are doing. I wish you all the luck. Keep up in touch & keep up the good work.
I could cheat and possibly write a program, but I think its more important to manually test each day because the more often you see something, the more likely your mind is to see new patterns as they emerge, and notice slight variations in the old patterns etc. The funny thing is, I have been using Microsoft Excel 2000 and a 4 year old laptop lol. I wouldnāt trade my excel for a million nor the laptop haha. When I do become rich, I will still use 2000 and the same laptop! Together my equipment and I have been through so much, it would be to hard to part with it for some new bells and whistles
I absolutely understand. Why change what works.
Balance $1572
all round not a great week, even though I made gains.
I am busy pondering the validity of trading both ways at the same time. I mean I know it can work and im sure many people do it. im not doing that right now but have done so with mixed success. I suppose like anything else. done right it works, done badly and its double losses
I know what you mean. I think the only time its worth doing that is if your trading the same strategy on 2 or more different time frames. i.e. position/swing/intraday. Each having different length of time & targets. If done correctly would diversify your overall average profit. This is why trading firms employ many different style traders. They get smoother yearly profits which is better than large erratic wins & losses every year.
Balance $1596
I just read up someones intro on this site claiming to have turned 10K into 100K in 2 months. Whaaaat!!
I dont doubt that its possble but jeez, at what risk!, anyway - seems they lost it as well, but multiplying your equity by 10 in 2 months - astonishing.
Balance $1706. Best day this year due to big falls in Dollar. Today was also the day āZEROā was reported have lost 10% of its stock value. Tech stocks fall on Wall street. Wow - glad I wasnt one of the folks who just lost on āZEROā
[QUOTE=āBlueHenry;619031ā]Balance $1596 I just read up someones intro on this site claiming to have turned 10K into 100K in 2 months. Whaaaat!! I dont doubt that its possble but jeez, at what risk!, anyway - seems they lost it as well, but multiplying your equity by 10 in 2 months - astonishing.[/QUOTE]
I did it in 14 days. Lost it down to BE then pulled my money out. Max risk of course, thatās how itās done. I donāt trade max risk anymore fortunately. But I am working on a new risk model.
Balance 1720. all round almost where I was a month back. Many incorrect decisions. Stress and frustration. adjustments to execution.
Market sentiment is an astonishing thing. Sometimes market will move greatly for āsmallā bits of news, and other times greatly for even smaller news. sometimes market moves opposite direction for a while, almost a pre-emptive panic.
I am now trading both ways, buy and sell, though not always at the same time, but will see how this develops. Within the last day, the buy made a few more dollars than the sell.
So anyway - lets see how I can cater for moves in the rest of May.