Hi I have a problem here I have been trading for almost 3 years now but my problem I’m struggling to make profit sometimes I make profit then after few days I loose it all like last month I made a 29% profit but at the end of the month I lost it up to -7% I like to take forex trading as my primary business but it is hard sometimes I get luid by this easy mony making pop advert what should I do?
practice more risk management
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That means spending more time on demo or ?
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most definitely, practice that on demo before even going LIVE again
No, it does not mean that. @justshell is correct that you need to look at your risk and equity management.
If you are swinging from +29% to -7% then it suggests you are a) trading position sizes that are too large with respect to your equity balance and b) that you are carrying too much risk per trade.
It may also be due to your trading style. I.e. are you trading a systematic method with defined entry and exit criteria or are you trading intuitively and just shooting from the hip whenever you see something that “looks promising”?
If you really wish to trade forex as a prime income source then you need to look at these issues and identify any other things that may be contributing to your erratic results. Try keeping a journal of your trades and analyse each one regarding what went right and what went wrong. Earnings from forex are rarely very stable because of the nature of the markets themselves - but that does not alone account for the wide swings in your results that you are indicating.
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he can do all that while on demo, no need for him to do it on a LIVE account right away, and people’s issues comes from not following there plan and just doing whatever when they become frustrated to be honest. I remember overtrading like crazy when I first started out
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Of course he can. Depends on how long one has already been trading whether it is worthwhile. Otherwise a more realistic feel for what is going right and wrong is gained from trading live but with small lot sizes - even microlots.
Demo trading is emotionally passive compared with live trading - which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a handicap, depending on what one is trying to achieve.
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I agree. I haven’t started my LIVE account as yet, so I can’t really speak on how different it is from demo lol but like you said, starting a small micro account is a good idea for any new trader, because it’s definitely a great way to practice your risk management. you got this! @dumidumi
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You are right, of course, that demo trading is a good tool if, for example, one needs to adjust or develop one’s trading method. It allows one to concentrate on experimenting without concern about the results! 
My first thoughts were that after trading for three years, as @dumidumi mentioned, it might be hard to go back to demo! And if it is solely a risk management issue, like you mentioned, then it is quite simple to correct that whilst still continuing with the live account.
But let’s see what @dumidumi has to add now and if he has anything else to reveal! ;D
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There are several reason why a trader is not consistently profitable.
- risk management
- trade management
- do you have a detailed (with rules) written out strategy?
- do you plane a trade target and exit
- do you keep a log of your trades
- do your review your stats
This is a starter list but with out theses items it is a plan to fail or at best brek even.
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Thanks for all comments I think if I can follow my strategy rule while I’m reducing risk I can go somewhere.
I’m currently trading a systematic strategy that allows me to get only 1 signal per day on 15 min chat, I’m trading it on a micro account the only thing that add failure is a support and resitance line sometimes I get a sell signal exactly on support and sometimes get buy signal on resistance line so when I place a buy or sell stop it just hit my oder and reverse to stop loss which is 20 pips away.
The only rule I have trying to deploy on my strategy was not to place buy or sell on those line. So the problem I get tempted when a signal appeared on those line.
For now I’m trying to practice a 5 min strategy on demo in my mind I’m thinking that if I can have a scalping strategy to supliment the this strategy if its having a proper signal so that I won’t be tempted.
The other thing I’m struggling I don’t have a calculator to calcute my risk. Because I’m placing two orders with same entry and same SL but different To. That’s the issue I’m facing I’m not going toward but with your comments I’m learning something.
Its quite interesting to see the handwritten trading journal - it is a useful practice helping to analyse information better.
At the same time, Excel document has several advantages. Most important is that it allows to sort data and use filters.
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That’s the the best I have for now since I have tried lot of excel trading journal and failed
1st off risk is usually based on potential loss, in most cases that means where is you stop loss. BP prides a good risk calculator.
You state you do not have access to a calculator, yet you can trade online. Anything and everything is available online from MS office, Google Office and many similar programs. Also many brokers provided back end tools that area great help.
Paper or automated, while I have excel I’m not very good with using it and often I use the spreadsheet as I would a ledger storing the data in the little blocks.
This you can do with even a pencil, paper and simple math. And is a basic for improvement of you trading system. Take you last 100 trades or 50 but enough that the results are meaningful.
OK how many winners vs haw many losers.
This is your win loss percentage.
From the total trades how much sis you earn or lose after fees etc.
Now divide by the total trades and that will give you your simple edge.
An edge is what you expect to earn every time you hit the enter button to take a trade.
Now how many winners did you have?
Toss out the high and low outliers or 10% of the trades.
Now from what is left, what is you average winning trade in pips or money.
Do the same for the losers.
Most likely when comparing the results the simple answer is how to increase the winner’s profit and decrease the loss of the losers.
Armed with that info do back and plot your trades, both winners and losers. The goal here is your pattern, what is good and what is not so good with your system.
You now have the basic metrics for adjustment to your system.
There is a lot more that can be done with trade analysis but I don’t have enough information and apparently, you do not have the tools but the above only needs a pencil, paper, and a chart to plot your trades on.
Thank you @midwest I will work on your strategy because I really want to take my trading very serious with a discipline.
YW, that is not a strategy, it is a set of tools that you can analyse your trades and trade history to become more profitable.
Read The universal principles of successful trading by Brent Penfold. It has a detailed chapter on different types of risk management, each with simulations and results and it is easy to read. You will see how these different approaches affect overall trading results and how risk management combines with other variables. very useful.
29% gain is a lot in one month. I agree with what the above advice is here but I must add that I hope you aren’t expecting that kind of gain every month.
Sorry for that, it happens to traders every now and then, the only problem is when a trader fails to learn from past mistakes. One thing you should learn to avoid in this trade is the mixing of emotions with trade. It never works here. Forex is not a ‘Get rich quickly’ kind of business. Change that mentality and work on your strategies.
Totally agree. Risk Management is key. I would recommend two things.
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If your account balance is less than $1000, then contact your broker and lower your leverage to 1:200 or 1:400.
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Then your trade lot sizes should be no more that 0.1 anything more then you are risking too much.
When you do this you will reduce your risk significantly and it will give you increased opportunities to make profits.
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