Oanda and pip values

Beginner Questions
1

So I’m currently still practicing with Oanda, but it’s going pretty good.
But there’s something that I’m still not really sure about and that’s PIP VALUES.
I know Oanda is different since they don’t work with lot’s, but with units.
When I open my real account with Oanda, I will start with �8000, with which i’ll have pip value of about �3.20 like in the practice account, but is that really right??
Because according to their way of doing, the pip value will increase every time my balance increases since i’ll have more units.
So I calculate it (but not to the decimal) and the pip value = balance * 0.0004.
example:
8,000 * 0.0004 = �3.20
10,000 * 0.0004 = �4
25,000 * 0.0004 = �10

But can this really be?
What if you’re able to make approx. 40 pips daily or higher ? [I](which I can, when I trade for a couple of hours, but only when I have no classes )[/I]

So I did some more math for if I made a constant 40 pips daily, 5 days a week, compounding it a whole year starting January.

[I]Don’t look at the tax part…it’s not the actual amount, just a example.[/I]

That can’t be right, can it?
That would be insanely much, insanely fast :eek:
20 pips a day would earn a lot less, but still about �6000 a month by December.

SOMEONE PLEASE TELLL THIS IS TRUE !!!

2

The math is right. The reality of the outcomes you suggest are another thing. I understand you’re excited about this and everything seems very doable and easy. Thats good. All I ask is that you understand if it were that easy, there would be a LOT more successful traders. 99% of traders lose money.

Keep sound money management, DO NOT FULLY FUND YOUR ACCOUNT. Put half in… if you lose it you can reevaluate and refund if you want. Trust me, this part is important.

address ALL OF THE EMOTIONAL TRADING ISSUES BEFORE YOU GO LIVE. Buy the book “Trading in the Zone” by Mark Douglas. Read it twice… no 3x’s. It will save you THOUSANDS. I personally made every single mistake he outlines in his book due to trading psychology.

If your method is sound, and you have consistent trading practices maybe you can make that chart a reality. But I don’t know of any traders that actually compound their earnings consistently and reinvest all of them.

Good luck to you.

If this is completely disjointed, its only because i’m drunk, i’m watching a movie, and typing this all at the same time.

Cheers!

3

Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t get to excited just yet.
Thanks for the advice on the book btw! I’m bidding for it on eBay right now.

So but just to be sure…in a perfect world, the above scenario is good, so it really is like that?

PS:
LOL :rolleyes:

4

Looking at your chart reminds me of, well, ME, about 6 months ago. Actually, I still make similar charts, but I try not to let them get me overly excited. I use them to set goals and gage how I am doing compared to those goals.

I created a massive chart 6 months ago and developed system to allow me to become a millionaire or multi-millionaire within years. It was so exciting … I would get a rush just looking at the charts! I demo traded for a few months, and jumped right into live with $3,000. It didn’t take long for my system which seemed to work fine for 2 months to explode in real life and I lost most of my inital $3,000.

With a new found level of respect, I restarted with another $3,000. Again, it worked fine for a few weeks until I did something utterly stupid. I left a trade with USDCHF open without a top loss (something I said I would never do). USDCHF dropped like a rock, and instead of taking losses, I prayed it would go back up. I hit a margin call and was out.

Now I restarted with $330, instead of $3,000, and I am learning slowly. Instead of your 40 pips a day, I look at how many 10% increases can I make in a year (or a month). I conservatively estimate I can make 13 ten percent increases in a year. If things are better, I hope I can make 26 ten percent increases in a year (and I have charts showing how fast I’ll become a millionaire).

In the beginning, things are slow. Be conservative and NEVER EVER forget to use a stop loss on your trades. Don’t get upset if you cannot make your “40 pips” right away. Don’t get upset or impatient if you aren’t meeting your schedule … that’s when you make stupid mistakes and you lose everything.

Remember, you are riding the market. It’s like a small boat in the ocrean. The boat doesn’t direct the ocean … if the boat wants to move far, quickly, it has to work with the ocean. From my limited experiences, 40 pips a day is a lot … I think 20 is do able, but expect about 25% of your trades to go south even when you become experienced.

On average, look for 15 pips a day … just my opinion, and I’d start with something very small, like 100-200 pounds and see how I live trade for a month, or two. I’d hate to see you loose a lot like I did right up front because of impatience.