This week’s fascinating feature lets us in on the life of a Polish trader with 15 years of exceptional experience!
When @ProfessorPips first started out, forex trading was such a new industry in his country. There were barely any resources available to him, and only a handful of traders who were familiar with the field. And rather than being discouraged by the lack of information, his curiosity fueled his drive to learn. As crazy as it sounds, he used a trial and error method to acquire the knowledge and skills he needed to become the profitable trader he is today!
Unsurprisingly, this approach came with its fair share of challenges. The biggest one was finding the strategy that would allow him to minimize the involvement of emotions in his trading. But after years and years of hard work, he now has a portfolio of automated strategies designed to reduce risks in trading.
He’s been actively sharing his journey with the rest of the community. In his self-titled journal (My journal- Greg Pawlak) he gives a glimpse of his strategy portfolio, and the results he gets from them! Recently, he created another topic about a research on indicators trading on EUR/USD.
I’m sure you’re eager to know more about his strategies, and how his trial and error journey flourished through the years!
Without further ado, let’s welcome @ProfesorPips!
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? What are your hobbies, interests, favorites?
My name is Greg Pawlak and I am from Poland. Currently, I am working in local government. I like playing strategic games and listening to music.
2. How long have you been trading and how did you get into forex trading?
The beginnings of my trade go back to the time when I graduated from high school. It was 2006. Forex trading in Poland was not very popular. Unfortunately, the poor availability of information in Polish meant that most of the knowledge and skills had to be acquired by the method of trial and error itself. The more I got into the subject of trading, the more I saw the huge role of emotions in influencing the trading decisions I make. So I was looking for such a method that the participation of emotions was as low as possible.
3. What was the biggest challenge for you when you started to trade?
The biggest problem was finding a method that would minimize the involvement of emotions in trading. I asked myself, "What if the depreciation is 50% of the deposit? Will I still stick to the established rules? "(This question you should ask yourself in particular when you have a family and trade is your only source of income). Smaller or larger) are part of the trade, the question is how will you deal with them?
4. Can you tell us more about the strategy you use to trade the market? How did this strategy come about?
It is basically not one strategy, but a portfolio of several automated strategies designed to reduce risk in trading. The portfolio was created as a result of research carried out by me over the last few years, however, it is necessary to continue gaining knowledge in order to remain profitable in the long term in a changing market.
5. How do you balance your trading and your life?
I am involved in algorithmic trading, which means I can freely organize my strategy development time and my life. The automatic strategies I create work like employees in the company.
6. If someone tells you they want to get rich from trading forex, what would you tell them in response?
It is possible, but without proper preparation, capital and patience, it is impossible.
7. What’s the thing you enjoy most about working as a trader?
Discovering new profitable strategies is satisfying for me.
8. What would be your advice for the members of BabyPips.com community?
If you want to be a profitable long term trader. Grow these 5 elements:
- Build and test strategies
- Develop yourself, gain knowledge
- Manage your capital properly
- Adapt your trading strategies to the changing market
- Reduce the influence of emotions to a minimum.
I also have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you have to master each of these elements. Imagine these 5 elements form a chain. If one element is weak, e.g. money management, even the best strategy will not help you, sooner or later you will wipe your account.
The good news is that it can be learned, it takes time, so the most patient are successful.
9. If you didn’t need to work for money, what would you be doing instead?
I think I would travel the world, there are many places I would like to see.