For people that think they want to trade currencies

Beginner Questions
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It’s been maybe a year since I’ve visited and not much has changed. Slews of people giving fx a go.

I want to be the sobering voice that tells you what people, this website and similar won’t.

                           You are destined to fail

You’ve already failed, I don’t even have to know your background it doesn’t even matter unless it’s that of a professional trader or professional in a performance driven arena like that of a professional athlete.

Most people would never attempt to trade FX if they new how much work is involved. If this upsets and confuses you I’ve proven my point and you’re feeling the results. If you say it doesn’t you’re lying and don’t even realize it. Think about what that means.

Don’t even begin to call yourself a trader. It cheapens the designation and opens you up to false ideology. It has to be earned.

Technical, indicators and trendlines…all bullshitt - let them mod that out. I don’t use them and they aren’t imperative to profitability at all. They are backward looking. I’ve maybe drawn a handful of horizontal lines in the past couple months. I don’t even use candles.

Leverage…it’s a thing of beauty, but it’s to be deserved. Nothing like being able to leverage your money and not having to worry putting too much with one broker. To you it’s like giving a toddler a loaded and charged 9 mm.

Ten percent is my target - a day. Not a month, not a year. I shoot for it every day.

Stop loss. If you never learn to be consistently profitable with one - you’ll never learn without one.

Humility in my trading and ever diligent. That does not change.

Trading social media is a vacuum of losers. It isn’t necessary and you should inevitably wean yourself off. Some more than others are siphons of peers stuck in vicious cycles with low quality knowledge. Leave these people in the past.

You don’t need to be a genius, have a masters or even work in the industry. I’ve done so and will tell you it isn’t necessary. I take little from it to be consistently profitable. I’ve worked with some of the dumbest people. Most of them can’t trade retail, it itsn’t the same thing. It doesn’t matter how nice you are or have the greatest intentions the markets don’t care.

You need to make your attempt meaningful. Forget the micro account, it’s the same as trading demo. You need capital that is going to make an immediate psychological impact as soon as possible.

I said Psychology - not positive thinking and upbeat mantras etc That’s all bullshitt. It goes even deeper than that. You’ll know what this means if you ever get there.

If you want a hobby, then my post isn’t for you. This isn’t for the retiree having a little fun or anyone likewise. This isn’t for the someone “trading” on the side.

If you want to be a fx trader than take it seriously.

Journal, doesn’t matter what. Make it real though. Some of it you’ll look back and maybe even laugh, but do it.

As I said before, you have already failed and don’t even know.

              I'm writing this for that one young man that may make it.

All of what I said is enough to start. If you’re asking yourself “how do I do this then?”…I will tell you - it’s that hard. If you’re looking to be spoon fed from some mentor or something then you need to take what little energy you would’ve spent to somewhere else and save a few dollars in turn.

I really hope this gets to you bud. I really wish everyone specifically like you could read this. Good luck

Maybe the moderators didn’t censor this post away from it’s original form. I tell it like it is. Ass patting and adulteration has no place with me or any trader…

1 Like
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Whoa there Mr. (or Ms.) Sobering Voice. Not sure how much you’ve read on this website but they’re pretty straightforward on the challenges of trading.

Just to mention a few, the failure rates have been written about, as well as common causes for failing, and even a warning that trading isn’t suitable for everyone.

Many of the things you’ve mentioned have already been discussed on the site.

Whether forex, stocks, crypto, etc., trading is a challenge. It’s like a casual basketball player trying to play in a game against NBA players. Heck, it’s so hard that a lot of institutional traders who trade directionally lose money. Hedge fund closures are getting worse every year.

So while the success rate is low, failure is not destiny.

But one does have to find that edge (positive expectancy), be disciplined about risk management, manage their emotional/mental states, etc. It’s definitely not easy.

Regarding trading approaches, while you may find them “all bullsh*t”, there are multiple ways to trade a market. What may not work for you, may work for someone else.

For example, in the most recent Market Wizards book, I won’t spoil the names but there are at least two traders interviewed who utilize some form of TA (trendline breakouts).

The interesting thing is one only uses horizontal trendlines and thinks angled (uptrend or downtrend) lines are ineffective. The other trader only uses angled lines and thinks horizontal lines are ineffective. Both have opposite approaches, but both have excellent track records. Then there’s another trader who doesn’t use TA at all and is also successful.

Another example, I may disagree with your need to target profits of 10% each and every day since trade opportunities tend to be sporadic. Some days, the market may provide nice opportunities, other times, days may pass without one (or very few).

In my opinion, trying to force consistent profitability on a regular schedule makes one susceptible to becoming impatient, and forcing trades that are suboptimal, which would hurt overall profitability.

But that doesn’t make your approach wrong. If it works for you, fantastic.

The point is everyone can have their own methodology. Trading boils down to personal fit. We all have differing views. You may have a strong belief about the effectiveness of trendlines or indicators but it’s all a matter of opinion. There’s no need for such aggressive language.

5 Likes
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Dear Sir,
You have my well wishes that you soon come out of your depression. If you are not in depression, how is your post meant to help any new member? By telling them to give up before they start? I love it when I see such posts. It just reminds me why so many people AGU instead of NGU.

Welcome (back) to the forum

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The issue is that it is marketed as a quick way to make easy money so it lures in the wrong crowd…

The type of people that don’t want to put in the work and most likely have zero previous financial literacy leading to such a high failure rate and swarms of disgruntled people.

It’s easier to believe that it is impossible, as opposed to just ‘too hard’.

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“Trading with a micro account is equivalent to a demo practice”, yeah I keep telling em that.

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It’s unfortunate to see people losing their money in forex. But that’s how the market is. You have to be apt with your money management and risk management strategies.

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Hi Kevin,
I disagree (somewhat). Yes, on a personal basis, it is unfortunate. But for any potential newcomer, the question needs to be asked “why do such a high proportion of newcomers lose money”? And the answer is that those who do make money instead of losing money have learned (I am sure by investment of a significant amount of time and effort) to tip the scales in their favour instead of against. On this matter, I am a kindergarten kid, compared with some more seasoned traders on this forum. But it has taken me over a decade to realize that if you can’t create your own edge, instead of relying on others to copy their decisions, you are doomed to remain in the poor house. But does that not apply to all other pursuits in life? Think about the job market. And think about experience and formal qualifications. The individuals most likely to be less affected by changes in our society are those who have both experience AND have maintained the currency of their niche specialisation. There are no guarantees, but updated and relevant qualifications are like an insurance policy. You don’t know at the time you are paying an arm and a leg for formal education how it will affect your future. All you know is that most people you know who have a higher level of education seem to earn more than those who don’t. So translating that to the pursuit of trading (with the assumed objective that making money is far more satisfying than losing money), the first objective of any new trader should be “I am not going to lose money”.
And what I love about BabyPips is that it is all there for the taking. Education by associating with a large number of dedicated forum members that want to understand the key to making money with Forex. Create a strategy, make a plan, backtest your results and make sure that edge is there. What could be simpler than that?

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Dear aceofspace. Your post will rub a lot of traders the wrong way. Did you make it that way purposefully? If so, what is the point?