Featured MeetPips.com Members: April's Picks!

April’s finally here and now that all the pranks around here have finally died down around here, I found the time to poke around MeetPips.com for a bit to find a couple of active members to feature. While some people were busy with their immature prank attempts (I’m looking at you, Big Pippin!!!), you probably would’ve found these guys blogging about their latest trades or commenting on others’ posts on MeetPips.

Thought I’d ask 'em a couple of questions but feel free to answer them yourselves! I’m particularly interested in finding out which hobbies actually help you guys out as traders. I hear DrawSomething’s a pretty popular way to de-stress nowadays?


Konata Izumi

1. Tell us a little bit yourself and how you got into forex trading!

[I]I got into forex trading when I heard about being able to make money while being at home, with the illusion of “easy money”. But that soon changed after a few weeks and months after trading in Demo. But that got me excited to try again and again. Soon, I found out about Babypips.com from the forex IRC channel and got myself a few friends that would help me out here and there, while giving me tips as to where to improve.

Personally, I hate reading. I actually had to read Babypips a few times before I got things into my head because there will be a time where I start to skim through the pages.
I also get really get agitated and frustrated after a few losses. But I suppose thats part of the ‘game’ of Forex. ^^"[/I]

2. Forex trading obviously isn’t for everyone, what motivates you to stay in the game?

Well, there are a few things. One of it is to prove people who have talked bad about Forex that they are wrong. Forex is just a business like any other. Its not a 9 to 5 job, and its not a fix income, but I believe that it would work out sooner or later. I have not been ever dedicated to anything I ever do as much as Forex. To me, doubling my account and being able to treat my family to a meal and showing them that I made it is the current goal I have in mind.

3. What are the top 3 things EVERY forex trader should know?

Well, I believe that every trader should always “Have a Plan”, “Stick to the Plan”, and “Trade in terms of points, not in terms of money”. The first two, its basic, but as for the third, I believe its important because when 1 pip is starting to worth USD10 or USD1000, getting 10 pips will change the how a trader feels when we think in terms of Money and not Pips. So, I believe these 3 are the most important things a trader should know.

4. What’s the strangest reaction you’ve ever gotten after you told someone you were a forex trader?

Well, not many people know that I do forex trading. But, the strangest but true in a sense, would be that Forex Trading is gambling, while at the same time, they do so by going to money exchange booths to exchange money believing that a certain currency will gain in value in the future. To me, that’s just strange.

5. Care to share a few highlights of your trading career so far?

Well… I have not been successful at all so far. I am still a demo trader. I’ve already lost USD500 the past year. I guess finally I’m not as jumpy as I 1st was when I saw the chart spike at 30pips or more than I 1st was. And with enough chart experience now, I finally am able to ‘try’ to plan my trade properly based on how I feel and see the market. It’s ‘my’ plan which fits my way of trading I suppose.

6. How do you rebound from losses in terms of the stress?

Losing hurts. Losing is frustrating. Losing gets me at the edge of my seat and makes me really agitated over every small thing. I guess I deal with it by playing some games. Casual games like Osu. Its a music game which kind of relaxing and allows me to release some stress. Other than that, I usually just go out, or munch on something. Basically, just do anything which is not trading related. That way, I won’t doubt my system by going “since this doesn’t work, I’ll go look up another strategy that works”.

7. Got any hobbies or other activities you would say help you out as a trader?

While I’m not trading, I play games. The only game which helps me out as a trader is my Formula 1 game. How does it help me? Well, pushing too hard in a race car is like forcing the market to go your way. You need patience to get what you want. In the game, it’s to wait for the right time to overtake and be 1st place. In trading, it would be waiting for the setup and win pips. I don’t have many hobbies or other activities which actually help me out as a trader, but only some minor things which I can relate to, which helps…

8. How important do you think networking or getting advice with fellow traders is?

I believe its important when starting out. They encourage you and notify you on news related things which you may miss out. But, I would say that they should not influence how you trade if you are following a plan, because they could be just as wrong as you in their plan. So, use their advice to integrate into your plan where it fits best, but not influence your trade when your plan says “long” but they say “short”, no matter how right they are.

9. Just throwin’ this one out there… if you could be one or the other, what would you pick? A world-famous rockstar or a pip-hauling full-time forex trader? Why?

Haha… Well, definitely a full-time forex trader. I’m a pretty boring person, definitely not fit to be a rockstar. However, if you say a Formula 1 Driver, I would do that instead. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:


Keith Harrington II

1. Tell us a little bit yourself and how you got into forex trading!

Well, I’m a mastering engineer and have been for 14 years and also private english teacher (after moving here to Chile) for 5 years. A student actually got me interested into stocks (which I did not like at all) and from there I ventured into the world of Forex…and that was all she wrote! lol

2. Forex trading obviously isn’t for everyone, what motivates you to stay in the game?

Obviously the potential to earn money is part of the reason, but I’m really intrigued by the amount of discipline and patience one has to have. I also love a good challenge. Trading will definitely make you a better and HUMBLE person if you can stick with it.

3. What are the top 3 things EVERY forex trader should know?

I’d say how to determine a trend/range, how to determine support/resistance levels and when NOT to trade.

4. What’s the strangest reaction you’ve ever gotten after you told someone you were a forex trader?

LOL from people who actually know what it is I’ve gotten many blank stares followed by some type of gambling remark. But for the most part most people don’t have the slightest idea of what forex is let alone a forex trader…and I love it!! :smiley:

5. Care to share a few highlights of your trading career so far?

Sure, the first thing that comes to mind is when I almost blew out my account. That was one of the WORST feelings for me and that’s what helped me turn things around. Another highlight was having my first positive trading month with my live account. That was definitely a feeling of progress and it felt great! :slight_smile:

6. For the people also on MeetPips.com, who would you recommend as must-follows?

Well, I follow a lot of traders via twitter, so I’d have to say that the first 3 that come to mind are @johnkicklighter, @brasil61 and @pipczar. All 3 have very different styles so I learn something different from each of them.

7. How do you rebound from losses in terms of the stress?

Easy, I take a break immediately so that I’m not tempted to revenge trade.

8. Got any hobbies or other activities you would say help you out as a trader?

Actually for some reason trading has helped me out in learning to enjoy my other activities, as weird as that may be. But one thing I try to do is put on some good music while I trade to keep me focused.

9. How important do you think networking or getting advice with fellow traders is?

I think it’s important for a trader to network and ask other traders for their opinions, but it’s even more important to be able to filter the good advice from the bad. At the start of my trading career I quickly learned that most people have no idea what they are talking about. Now I’m very careful about which traders I ask opinions or advice from.

10. Just throwin’ this one out there… if you could be one or the other, what would you pick? A world-famous rockstar or a pip-hauling full-time forex trader? Why?

Definitely a pip-hauling full-time forex trader!! A rockstar has too many commitments. Trading forex I would have enough time and money to enjoy life with my family and still lead a normal quiet life. Being famous is overrated in my opinion hahahahaha. I’ve also been actively involved in the music industry and it’s not what most people think it is :wink:


Kazman Kassim

1. Tell us a little bit yourself and how you got into forex trading!

I am in advertising film production, and the thought of slogging to put food on the table in my old age sent shivers down my spine, so I looked up an alternative means to put food on the table.

2. Forex trading obviously isn’t for everyone, what motivates you to stay in the game?

The reward. Finding my edge will mean I don’t have to worry about money. Thats a HUGE burden off my shoulders, not to mention the amount of people I could help.

3. What are the top 3 things EVERY forex trader should know?

[I]For me I would say:

  1. The chart is alive, therefore nothing is certain.
  2. When you trade live, you will discover inner demons you never knew you had.
  3. The best traders (so I’ve read), keep things simple, so don’t over complicate your system with useless indicators.[/I]

4. What’s the strangest reaction you’ve ever gotten after you told someone you were a forex trader?

I’ve never had strange reactions because I am still not at a level where I can say that I successfully trade currency for a living. But if I do mention that I trade forex (which I rarely do), the common reaction is “Well, I know someone who traded forex and lost a lot of money…bla bla bla blaaaa…”

5. For the people also on MeetPips.com, who would you recommend as must-follows?

I would recommend the dudes already featured in the fantastic Babypips website…namely Big Pippin, Pipcrawler and Cyclopips, who unselfishly make the effort to bring to our attention possible trade setups. Their charts are simple and easy to understand, just the way I like em.

6. How do you rebound from losses in terms of the stress?

I don’t. In fact, that is my weakness. After a loss, I cannot stay away, and feel I MUST enter another trade to make up for that loss. It all goes downhill from there.

7. Got any hobbies or other activities you would say help you out as a trader?

I ride my mountain bike on weekends. Yes, that is totally unrelated to trading, but overall, a healthy body results in a sharp mind that is required of trading.

8. How important do you think networking or getting advice with fellow traders is?

This is a tricky question. It all depends on how you interpret the information that you receive from others. It’s always interesting to know what your fellow trader is doing, but (so I’ve read) the best traders never follow the herd, so if you’re the type who will jump from one system to the next every time another trader boasts of making a gazillion pips a week, i don’t think it will turn out well.

9. Just throwin’ this one out there… if you could be one or the other, what would you pick? A world-famous rockstar or a pip-hauling full-time forex trader? Why?

I would rather be a pip-haulin full time trader any day! Why you ask? Because fame can be a pain-in-the-backside. Curt Cobain wasn’t a happy man.