Does having a mentor in FX trading help?

Hi Folks

I have been trading a couple of weeks now. Truth to be told i haven’t been very successful. A pal of mine told me that getting a mentor to help with my trading might be a good idea. I haven’t done any searches yet. Wanted yo get some feedabck and maybe suggestions from you folks first befoe i plough my money in.
Any comments welcomed and thanks in advanced!

Have a read through the thread below, pay particular attention to
what Jocelyn has to say.

http://forums.babypips.com/newbie-island/17456-personal-coaching.html

Hi there, well I haven’t considered the fact of using a coach before. However reading and making some deep analysis has helped understand much better, I think that being self taught has its advantages and disadvantages. I personally recommend you to open a demo account, and read the school section on this forum. Also browse a lot on other forums, ask whatever question comes to your mind on the threads. That should help you on your fresh start, it works, at least it has worked for me so far.

The best way to learn anything has to be pretty much what is stated below by Reggie — it is amazing how, as time passes, you pick up the culture and knowledge of trading, although it does take TIME.

Shortening the learning curve tremendously is working with a GOOD mentor, as you will now have an overflow of information that you will become able to decifer faster because someone can EXPLAIN what is going on.

A good mentor can explain the “whats”, “hows” and “whys” of things happening, including the TIMES that the currencies reverse, what times do they reverse DEEPLY as opposed to simple 23 fib retraces and how to pick your trends and timeframes ---- these are things a good mentor knows innately and that take so long to learn on your own.

Much is said about trading with indicators, but only in a few situations are they to be relied upon completely, but a good mentor will be able to tell you what they are POINTING TO, as opposed to what they say now.

Trading is no great shakes, once one has the experience stored away ---- its a matter of GETTING that experience that leaves so many would be’s lying by the side of the road, broken and bleeding, holding out their palms for the money to buy a cuppa !

Do remember, like anything else, Forex has its own culture, rules and regs and contains the greatest land sharks known to man just ready to take a huge bite out of your pocketbook and nether regions and you best LEARN, LEARN, LEARN ---- before you open the door to the REAL arena and attempt to prove your manhood, cause those sharks will bite that part off also !

hope to see ya around in a year

enjoy and trade well

mp

There you have a point, the thing is whatever strategy you get should be developed by your own means and experience. You will know there are indicators, and techniques, or simply those wrongly named holy grails that may work for their appliers but not everybody will find them useful or just applicable to your way of analyzing the market.

A mentor? What for? And are you going
to pay this mentor? And how successful
is the mentor going to be? Is the mentor
making a decent living or is he going to be
just another book and technical analysis
junkie who is a miserable trader? Nobody
needs a mentor or a guru in their trading
life… all they do is screw you up with
utter BS.

Aside from JonnyFX’s blantant obstruction of assisting the productivity in this forum…

A mentor is a great thing to have. It’s always good to pick the mind of someone who is in a position where you want to be and is willing to help you get there. When I reach the level where I desire to be, I too, will in turn share my knowledge and experiences with someone who is eager to learn.

The only problem is that a good mentor is hard to find.

a mentor, WELL CHOSEN as you would a significant other, is of prime importance should one choose to go that way.

the concerns raised are very serious, as many will proclaim but few will produce — one searches for a mentor as one does anything else of value and importance to ones life.

in a past life, I lived very well in the world of Film and TV and found newbs CONSTANTLY wanting to get in, but rebuffed by the union situation ---- BUT, along the way was always ONE newb who wouldnt take NO for an answer, attached him/herself to a successful person and did whatever needed to be done, at best if not asked and done of their own volition. These people SUCCEEDED in getting into the union thru the sponsorhip of their MENTOR because the newb WANTED to gain that entrance and thru dint of their hard work, it came to pass !

to be a bit zennish about it, when the student is ready the mentor shall arrive !

RESULTS from the mentor is what one seeks, and one will be surprised at the number of mentors who will take on a student at no cost, simply to pass on information to the next generation and while scarcer than the type who advertise and tout, they are out there and available IF one looks and seeks and is SERIOUS about the venture.

there are many ways to skin a cat, but having a TEACHER seems to be the way things work best in this world, going back to the beginning of time as I seriously doubt you LEARNED much of anything without one in your lifetime !

enjoy and trade well

mp

The option of having a mentor is probably something that might give a good insight of what trading is, as any other tool, it works only if you are able to develop your own criteria. You won’t have a mentor for the rest of your life, so probably a good chosen mentor will help you, as long as you are willing to enhance your style day by day. Keep it in mind.

true indeed, as i left my grade school teachers far behind when i learned calculus and algebra (WHY on earth did i bother ?) (ok, there some enginneering types out there that gobble that stuff up !)

but with a decent mentor, as any decent teacher, you discover how to play the game, but one grows and ideas grow along with age and forex not being a very difficult subject matter, you find most ideas gel fairly soon after you learn how the game is played and if most people who use a mentor are winning, then they tend to stick with what works !

so much for the "how many angels can dance . . . . . " routine and on to more and better trading !

may the turkey be done to perfection, the cranberries that wonderful bitter/sweet, the yams bursting with perfection and you and yours as secure and happy as can be

trade well and enjoy

mp

Well my firend, there are a couple of things in life you need to bother about; despite you won’t use them in the future. About the mentor, let’s say you’ll need a mentor as long as you get to know how to play the game. Best regard for you and your family on this holiday.

Absolutely agreed with you Sir, the best way to quickly become a consistently profitable trader is, one of them, I think, having a good mentor.

And the best mentor is oneself.

Don’t kill the passion, enjoy the passion.

Having a mentor is not a bad idea, it is like hiring a specialist (in this case, analyst) for your line of business. But, let us remember that every one of us has their own ideals and aspirations. Always remember the poem invictus.

Regardless of the spreads, commissions, number of hours that you have practiced on the demo, and your mentor, it all boils down to how committed you are to invest in FOREX.

Knowledge and experience can make you intelligent, but MONEY can make you rich.

In totality, FOREX is not a game…It is a business, a form of investment. Investments require time and money. I would rather hire a seasoned analyst than my finance professor in college.

“If you want to make money in FOREX, open two big accounts and hedge…”

mentor or no mentor…

[B]enjoy and trade well

mp[/B]

[B]refer to my most recent post ---- “YOURSELF” makes a lousy teacher until you already have been taught — “yourself” can take your teachings of how to write complete sentences into the realm of an accomplished novelist for example, but without the ORIGINAL teaching, you would never have come close !

“yourself” only becomes worthwhile after “yourself” has learned the ropes, rules, culture and machinations — THEN your own abilities can take you further ![/B]

enjoy and trade well

mp

[I][B]Within the great hall at Elfinore stands a wondrous coffer, precisely four cubits square and securely latched against the outside world. Inside that repository, shut away from impertinent eyes, abides many an intriquing trading secret garnered from around the world and over the ages !

As a child, i used to watch from the darkness as the secrets were debated and annotated by the elders. No one there held a single thought of my presence – BUT I KNOW WHERE THEY HID THE KEY !![/B][/I]

You know what I want. But past, present and future is destiny, sometimes what I don’t want, sometimes what you don’t want and sometimes what many don’t want. I know what you want, people know what they want. However, everything is only up to God’s desire. Wait and see.

[B]only one problem — WHOSE GOD ???[/B]

mp

I dont know but God doth have a sense of humor.

Also I suspect he does not care much about forex, what with his billions he made in the short selling stock just before the 2001 tech bust.
:smiley:

I believe she was into REIT’s also !

mp

Lol yeah right. She does seem to have some degree of prophetic capabilities after all.