Hello, i have been all over this site for 2months now. Did the school, demo traded, did ok, got lucky most of the time. I try to spend 3 to 5 hours a day reading and studying forex trading. I know it takes alot of time and practice. I have traded some of the systems here on Babypips, which is the best site ever!! Anyway i think ive gotten way to much information at one time. Need advice on a System that gets me about 15 to 30 pips daily. I like the cowabunga but i trade in the slowest part of the day, any advice would be helpful. Im not really ready for long term trades yet, i do on the other hand dont mind sitting in front of the computer, i just have to many systems going through my head! IF there is close to a solid system that gets 15 to 30 pips daily, i love to try it for a year or two, i really want to go full time, i only need about $3,000 month to live off of, thats about 20 pips day!! Thanks Oh and i have a $10,000 standard live account
I have 2 suggestions :
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you could try a simple MACD and nothing else. Trade when the crossover is confirmed. There is simplicity in this. But be prepared for up to 3 losses in a row.
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Introduce yourself to candlestick trading. As I see it, the best traders here have long abandoned indicators in favour of candlesticks. The advantage of the patterns (use 3 candle patterns only) is that you get [U]up to the second data[/U] and the pattern automatically tells you which direction to trade in.
I am a candlestick scalper - and very successful at it. (boast, boast!)
I traded systems with indicators and lost continuously.
I suspect that most of the systems you have in your head do not really work well in the long run anyway. Thats why there are so many of them. 
Whoa there, $3000/month??? Time to sell that mansion because the money you’re using for the high life could be going towards account growth which will set you up nicely a few years down the road. I’m living on a quarter what you are and putting every penny into my account. In a few years, I hope to be making that much too, cept by then it will only be 5% growth per month, not the 30% you’re talking about! Realistic goals my friend, otherwise you’re gonna get burned, I swear!
And seconding the candlestick idea, I’ve had a lot of success with it recently, and the whole idea behind it gives me a lot of confidence in my trades, rather than some indicators coincidentally lining up before a move, only to leave me out in the cold when the market doesn’t play by the rules!
I totally agree with Tymen, c.s. are as real time as it gets. Tymen, can’t wait for your expected strategy in Jan. A scalping strategy I’m sure and eagerly anticipated. d.
Thanks for the info on the candle trading, i need to learn more about candletrading, how to read and react. Yeah i see myself as more of a scalper/ use cowabunga system person. Just need to focus on that. As far as the $3000 dollar month comment i have a wife and two kids that stay at home, plus house and 2 car payments, sold 1 car for the money for forex. Thanks for the help, im gonna go learn more on candlesticks.
Hi tymen1,
I’m totally new to fx and would like to ask if you would expound a bit on (use 3 candle patterns only) please as well as “the pattern automatically tells you which direction to trade in”. I assume that watching candles in real time developing rather than relying on historical data?
Thanks
Mansion? On $3,000 a month? I wish.
If you’re truly living on $750 a month (1/4 right?), then prices must be pretty cheap in “oil country”.
Unfortunately for the rest of us, that’s not the case.
I live in Niagara Falls (the ripoff capital of Canada) with my wife (no kids). We live in a 1 bedroom townhouse and our rent alone is over 2/3 of the total you say you’re living on – and this is one of the cheapest places in town (if we had to move, we’d be paying at least 50% more for rent). Add to that the cost of gas, electricity, Internet, phone, and food, and there’s no way it’s possible for us to live on what you’re living on. And, this doesn’t even take into consideration transportation (we don’t have a car) or “little things” that come up from time to time.
My point is not to put anyone down, but to make everyone realize that circumstances and prices vary from person to person and location to location. Just because someone wants/needs more money to live on, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she is living the high life. It may simply be that they have a family and/or the cost of living is considerably higher where they live than it is where you live.
As packerpip said, he has a wife and kids, a car, and normal, everyday expenses. So, to him, $3,000 is probably a bare minimum to function. To me, it would be more than “necessary” but provide a good cushion for any unexpected expenses.
It’s all relative, people.
My first advise is go from a standand to mini account. That way you can manage your risk more precisely.
Second–pick one pair and back test as far as you can. Then look at the results and do it again. Keep the following things in mind:
When can I trade?
What time periods give the best signals?
Was my stop loss too close?
Was my limits too conservative?
Could I exit half my position and let the other half run?
These are basic questions. The truth is in the #'s and how you crunch them.
After testing, most folks look at total pips i.e +1150, -480 = 670 in positive pips! Right?
Wrong. In the real world it is not that simple. 5 things screw this up…maybe more
- News
- Profit taking to early (Greed)
- Moving stops (Fear)
- Time available to trade
- Spread
Be honest when you test and be honest with yourself about when you can trade. If your particular trade entry signal works best between 0500 and 0700 est you need to know that! Because you may want to risk more during that time frame. Sounds cool but you have to test it many times and understand your system.
Record as much as you can when you test and then compare it to higher time frames. If you have 6 loosers in a row, go to a longer term chart and try to find out why. This is tough. I focus on price action but there may be something else your comfortable with.
Hope this helps
OK Here is a system…pick your pair…then test.
15Min chart
Plot the 10 SMA
Plot the 55 EMA (trigger line)
When the 10 sma is above the 55 ema you buy on pullbacks to the 55 ema.
When the 10 sma is below the 55 ema you sell on pullbacks to the 55 ema.
S/L=-20
T/P= +10, +15, +20, +25, +30, +35, +40
Record the following in your test:
Date
Time of day
Buy or sell trade
If the trade was +10 trail stop to -10
Take profit results for all trades. T/P= +10, +15, +20, +25, +30,+35, +40
This is a good start.
try ichimoku clouds - a complete trading system. google ichimoku kinko hyo charting system
I do apologize, I should say that I’m living pretty cheaply out of necessity (because I’m a student) so I’ve got 400/month for Rent/Utilities/Internet simply because I split it with the people I’m living with. The other ~400/month goes for food (I don’t really eat much), car expenses, and some fun money. But that all isn’t realistic, I understand.
But I didn’t really intend to make a point of how he should be living like me to save money, but that I’m worried his goals are too high, and will cause him to fail when otherwise he could have succeeded. Plus the stress of having to come up with that much money seems like a cruel load for a new trader.
If he needs to make that much money to live, I think he should be spending more time building his account through saving. He can still practice a trading strategy, even if he’s not risking real money on his trades. Then when he’s got the neccessary capital, he’ll have a well-tested strategy that should give him the confidence to be making his 3000/month, using a larger account.
I understand what you’re saying and it just goes to show that everyone’s circumstances are different. You’re single and sharing a house with others, while packerpip has a wife, kids, and a mortgage to worry about.
Your advice is solid, though. Spending some time practicing trading skills and saving money for his live account while keeping his job and then building to the point where he can support his family through Forex makes sense.
On the 3,000 dollar a month thing, i dont intend on quiting job anytime soon, what i meant was to get a good 15-30 pips day average over a year or two to know what im looking at. I think those goals are with in reason, after i find a system thats fits me. Thats what this thread is for. I agree that i need to build up my account, i was doing good early on, but got over my head had some bad losses. So im back to learning and setting up proper money managment. I thank all of you for your help and thoughts, keep them coming!!!
Good lesson learnt packerpip
You’re on the right track. Keep up the good work.
hi
was reading pick of the day. how does one set up more than one profit take on a particular order on metatrader 4? or do they mean make a new order after the last profit take?
can anyone help?
Please don’t hijack threads.
Start a new one with your topic.
my apologies.