Successful traders ? ...I'm guessing you're not all liars...right?

Beginner Questions
1

Hi everyone…I have many questions to ask you guys.

First of all , sorry for my bad english (it’s not my native tongue).

Anyway , i have yet to even try a demo account. I’ve recently been obsessed for the last week with forex trading. I’ve learned a lot of things , (i haven’t tested anything yet though). From the Gartley Pattern to the price action signals…candlestick charts etc…Like i said , learned a lot , i haven’t even begun to try a demo or playing on a live account.

From what i understand , many traders tend to use “ninjatrader” on forex…Others don’t…(btw , which is your favorite trading platform ? )

I’ve listened to the tips…(the crucial ones)…Money management , position sizing , risk-to-reward ratio and so on…

I’m also aware of the fact that some traders are multi-millionaires , while others are not , but still make money…and actually make a living trading on forex. I also realise that 90 if not 95% are losers.

So it begs the question. Are any of you. (just talking about the babypips community) actually having any success doing this ? are you part of the 10% ? Can any of you really say that you’re making enough money to consider yourself a “winner”. Is it profitable ?..or are you forced to have a job on the side to survive ?

Maybe i should’ve posted a poll about this. I’d be curious to know if most of you successful traders are:

  • scalpers ? (1 minute , 5 minutes ? 30 ? , 4 hours ? other ? )
  • daily traders ?
  • swing traders ?
  • other ?

Maybe you also do some investing ?..

I mean , i realise that there’s got to be some kind of success for a bunch of you guys…
There’s living proofs…nial fuller comes to mind.

But something bugs me , why would any of these successful traders even bother selling their tutorials ? or special technics , or why even create a “trading school” ?..

Who can you trust ? I’d really love to read your opinion on this. Better yet , if you actually make a living trading on forex, can you confirm it here ? lol You don’t have to be a multi-millionaire , even if you’re just an anonymous guy , who happens to make a great living doing this…What’s your monthly or yearly income ? Do you think all these so called trading schools are absolute rip offs ?..Any particular , legit tutorials you’d suggest ?..(free ones on youtube , which you think are helpful)

According to this guy…There’s no such thing as a successful day trader or scalper… (unless you just focus on longer term trends)…

search for : “Facts on Forex Trading - Facts You Need to Know to Win” by user “fxinfoonline” on youtube (sorry , i’m not allowed to post links)

Is this guy correct ? are all daily traders deluded ?..Or is he exaggerating ?..

I’m sorry if i’m asking so many questions , and i’m not trying to offend anyone…( i’m not insinuating that you guys are all broke or deluded or anything). I’m sure there’s got to be a bunch of you people who do make a living doing this…

And i’d love to read your responses…or suggestions…and know a bit more about what type of trader you are.
Maybe you’re a swing trader and you think daily trading is a waste of time?
Or maybe you’re even a successful scalper ?..And still manage to make a living doing this…

How many hours do you spend in front of the computer ? maybe , just a few minutes ?..
What type of trading do you think is more profitable ?
Monthly ? week ? day trading ?..or are they all the same as long as you have a perfect method ?

Finally , which is your favorite broker ? (most trusworthy)

  • Oanda ?
  • fxcm ?

Other ?

Ps: is the only way to train on a trading platform , is to first go on Oanda (or another) ? and open an account? Is there a way to have an unlimited test before the real thing ?..

Sorry for this long thread…

2

I can’t possibly answer all your questions with anything that would be of benefit to you really so I will shut up.

I am one of the people that is not reliably profitable.

Have I made money consistently over a significant period of time with methods that are repeatable?
No.

Has anyone? I do not know.

These threads tend to bring in a lot of people that will claim to have made XX% in XX time. I would take those claims all with a large pinch of salt. “On the words of no-one” and all that jazz. It’s not hard to provide proof of profit many brokers offer records of trades and everyone records their profit/loss in some way.

3

I understand the newbie doubt, but the trouble with questions like this is that noone on an anonymous internet forum is ever going to be able to provide 100% reassurance that currency trading works. This is one argument for getting involved with a trading company, finding a coach, going on a course, whatever it is that gets a beginner alongside traders who are trading profitably.

I could fall back on the old argument that this whole industry is too big to be built entirely on something that does not work, but again there are many arguments deployed by people to counter that.

It is a steep learning curve, it takes a lot of time and commitment, but I personally am entirely persuaded that this stuff works as long as one is prepared to go through that learning period and has a certain aptitude. While I was learning I saw proof that it works, and now I am my own proof as I am a profitable, full time trader. But no, I don’t have a myfxbook account and have no interest in having one - even if I did, the true conspiracy theorists would come out of the woodwork and claim that I faked it or something.

My point to OP is: I don’t think that anything said on a largely anonymous forum is ever going to provide proof positive that currency trading works. It requires an element of faith to start out investing the sort of extreme time required - personally I believe that the only way to be 100% convinced if you have these doubts is to see a trader trading real time over a period of time (even a string of wins does not mean that a trader is consistent in career terms), or to get there yourself. It is one of the key advantages of mentoring.

So my answer to your headline question would be no, we are not all liars (!), this does work and some of us here are full time and profitable, including me. But that on its own is not enough, given the nature of an internet forum.

Your other, more specific questions, are helpful but not essential - the choice of broker is rarely going to make the difference between profitable trading and losing trading. If you post which country you are in you will get a more useful range of opinion.

In terms of which trading style works, each has its advocates, and most can be made to work. Personally I trade both intraday and end of day, favouring one, the other or both depending on market conditions. The only thing I don’t do is scalp - 20 pips is the absolute minimum I target in a trade. You need to get a certain way along the learning curve before you discover which approach suits you.

In terms of my hours in front of the computer, I do an evening scan four days a week, straddling midnight, that takes anything from 20-40 minutes depending on the market, I work first thing in the morning (0530-0830 generally but it varies), four days a week, and available to be at the PC during the day when my youngest is at preschool, which is generally Tuesday to Thursday, but I only bother when the market is favouring intraday (for instance Tuesday and Wednesday this week) or when I am studying (today). My hours vary wildly, which is one of the many reasons I got into currency trading in the first place.

I was profitable within my first year, made a decent return in my second year, and proper money in my third (this year).

But really, I would strongly advocate that you try to find an experienced trader, sit alongside them, and see them make live trade calls, back that opinion with cash, and then make money over time. Watching a trade play out live will convince you over time.

Once you have your own style down, then you can find blogs etc that occasionally include calls, which can help round out your confidence network.

Anyway, I’m rambling, post your location and I am sure that people from there will give ideas on brokers etc, but I am afraid that on the wider ‘does currency trading work’ question my sense is that you will either have to take a leap of faith, or get to know some traders personally and watch them ply their trade, as a largely anonymous internet forum is unlikely to give you that ultimate confirmation. This place is more about technical and practical assistance than strategic reassurance - after all, there are only a few hundred active posters, so we could all be in on the plot…

ST

4

(And sorry did not realize how long that ramble would look on the screen!)

5

Excellent post ST as always :slight_smile:

Always good to have your input and I’m sure, that other newbies like myself will appreciate it (and benefit from your words of wisdom)…

Happy Thanksgiving all :slight_smile:

Jessey

PS. Good questions OP though, definitely the stuff that goes through the minds of newbies and ST, you are right - I am sure that having a genuine mentor or, paying for a course (as ST himself did) is the preferred way to go - just my two cents!

6

ST - marvellous ramble :slight_smile:

7

No need to apologise: despite it being a long & complex post, your post made more sense than ones that I’ve seen from people who’s first language IS English. Well done!

8

Welcome valid,

I believe there is the opportunity to make a wealth of money from forex but it takes time.

I am almost 2 years in and I’m a slow learner but I’ve now gone live from September 2012 so I can’t judge my own profitibility just yet for maybe a year or two but stick with it and have a look around, there is plenty of help.

I don’t like to push anything on people but my biggest learning curve was looking at Michael J Huddlestone’s material (ICT) on here along with actual trading. You can learn the concepts with enough time but the trading brings the physcology to the fore and without the money management and a clear plan on entries and exits it increases the odds against you IMHO.

So basically read as much as you like and listen to what makes sense to you and ignore what doesn’t. (Although sometimes we ignore the wrong things because we dont understand) but that’s where patience comes in, take the time to understand.

Good luck with it either way!

9

I won’t ramble :wink:

I’ll get straight to the point, follow ICT, you can see from his material that he totally profitable, put it this way, in 5 years, I’ve gone from a typical newbie, losing money hand over fist, to being marginally profitable, to then being quite profitable but now following ICT’s material, I’m now watching the market unfold mostly as expected.

The key to it all is Market Profile, it’s all Elliot Wave, Wyckoff Schematics, Accumulation and Distribution of profits, but ICT breaks it down much better than anyone else I’ve come across.

Try this for starters - Livestream Video 19 Nov 2012 - (Market Structure & Market Profile)

It’s a bit in-depth for a newbie, but you’ll still learn a heck of a lot.

10

Excellent question. It doesn’t make sense to me either. If somebody is selling their system for a couple of hunderds dollar I ask myself WHY?. If he is so successful and want to share, why not give it a way? Probably because they have a rubbish system, but you will see that only when you bought it, or they are too scared to commit themselves to it to actually trade the system.

But, I also belief that there are a bunch of okay guys that do it for different reasons. They want to leave a legacy, or honestly want to give beginners what they lacked. These guys won’t sell their system, because they know that each have to develop its own.

And, there are honest wannabee traders, who really want to be a trader, know their stuff but it didn’t work. This way they can be close to the fire without being burned.

The last two categories are good to learn your basics and to ask you questions. The money spend on these is saved money as it saves you time to gather all the information yourself. But if you are on a budget, invest the money in your trading account and start reading.

The first category are the ones that you should stay away from. Seriously, even their smell can taint you.

11

Lol, you’re an example to us all!

Trading can be pretty solitary, running a training programme is quite a different life structure, I can absolutely see the appeal of trading to give an income but wanting to run a more diverse business alongside it. But once one is set up with a website, taking time out to do videos etc., it makes sense to me to charge for it, partly to weed out the timewasters and partly because it just seems reasonable. If it moves from being helpful on an internet forum to running it as a business then it makes sense to charge like a business, to me. And full time trading is far from full time, so leaves plenty of bandwidth to do both.

12

Well , you’re the living proof that it works…That’s good enough for me.
Anyway , i’m located in france (paris) right now. Maybe i should be posting on a french forum instead…But , i tend to lurk a lot more on english speaking forums , because they’re filled with interesting tips and tutorials.

I’m looking for a mentor , but i’m scared to get riped off…Maybe i should just watch as many free tuts on youtube as possible , and train my ass off on a demo account. Then eventually try the real thing. I know some of you experienced traders will say that it won’t be the same…(obviously , your adrenaline rush , emotion , can’t be the same when your money is on the line)…But i have to start somewhere…

13

lol…thanks!

14

Ok thanks. But what do you mean by : not being able to “judge my own profitibility just yet for maybe a year or two” ?

Are you already making any kind of profit ? or were you already forced to put even more money in your live account ?..
And if you’re already making a bit of profit…Are you just waiting a few more months to confirm that you’re in it for the long run ?

15

Thanks for this detailed info…I’ll check it out for sure.

16

I know right ?..And yet , some people are actually successful at it , but it seems like too many frauds are trying to take advantage of the credulous noobs. Maybe some are legit and have noble intentions but they must be pretty rare.

17

Be wary of falling into the forum trap: I’m not proof of anything, I haven’t proved anything to you. All you will get on here is opinion and discussion, treat it all with a pinch of salt. Plenty of ‘gurus’ and others on here have been outed as not being as capable as they claimed… if you hang around on here, though, you should develop a reasonable sense of who is what they claim and who is, erm, exaggerating. I’m not trying to shake you - plenty of us are honest, and my posts are off a straight bat - I’m just saying take your time to weigh everything up.

This forum is properly international, there are members from all around the world on here, so I personally don’t think that you will improve on it by looking elsewhere. Your grasp of language seems plenty strong enough for that not to be an issue, and between us I’m sure the forum speaks most languages!

Demo is a decent place to start in terms of teaching you the mechanics of placing a trade. But as you say, it is consequence-free so does not replicate everything. There are plenty of demo millionaires out there who can’t string three profitable live months together! I would recommend making your demo account match you eventual live trading approach as closely as possible - account size, risk per trade, frequency of trading etc. It is too easy to pick up the bad habits associated with overtrading on demo.

And don’t assume that because most on here love him that ICT’s approach is the only one that works, there are simpler options out there.

ST

18

Maybe i’m too naive…lol , you seem honest enough but then again , you’re right.
This ITC character seems to be quite popular around here…I’ll check his posts just in case though.

Speaking of “simpler options”…Do you think i’m wasting my time learning about things such as Gann angles ,Gartley Pattern , Parallel & Inverse Pairs etc… ? Am i complicating things too much ? Should i just concentrate on price action ?..Or are all these things legit (useful enough to increase your prediction accuracy)…

Also , what’s the best trading platform ?

And where can i download a free demo platform ? (with unlimited tries)

19

Lol - that’s exactly my point, I know that I am honest, entirely honest, but you have no way of knowing that. it’s like boxing - defend yourself at all times! I was in law enforcement for a few years and I’ve seen enough scammers, crooks and blaggers over the years to know that sometimes they’re pretty well polished. We have had a few on here during my time.

You will get a range of views on each aspect of trading, personally I am a PA/S&R trader but while I know that Gartley, Gann etc are, what they look like and what they are supposed to do, I don’t trade them myself. I just trade PA out of Support and Resistance. I use various things to give me those S&R zones - EMAs, Fib, Pivots, trendlines etc - but the various patterns I always find nice to spot afterwards but not helpful at the time. But they do have their advocates, so I’d try to get a basket of views and distill your preferred approach. I find patterns easy to apply afterwards, but at the time I just find pure PA combined with some horizontal and diagonal levels to be more useful.

I’m not sure that there is a ‘best’ trading platform - I’d go with one of the big, popular ones, that gives decently fast quotes. Personally, ETX Capital is my broker and eSignal do my charts, however I don’t know whether ETX do international (I’m in the UK) and I pay for eSignal because I like them and as my only unique overhead (I’d have a PC and internet connection anyway) I find it good value. I have not tried most of the others, though, so do look around.

I’m sorry, I never demo traded (I prefer ‘train hard, fight easy’) but I’m sure that others can recommend a good, free demo platform.

ST

20

For more proof…run a google search for “Xtrader101”

You’ll find the trade explorer profile for that FXTurtle guy. Not too shabby. If your account was $10,000 just 90 days ago…today it would be…