Hello to all traders either new or experienced.
I’m Parssa and I have started trading (learning about it) from June 2020 and during all of this long journey which still goes on and Probably it never will end, I’ve seen soo many advertisements about holly grail and what do a trader really miss to become successful (by successful I mean profitable by your own self in a long period ).
Well from person to person it changes but there’s surely something for every unsuccessful trader which needs to get better maybe journaling, technical , fundamental , entry technics , money management , psychology of being a trade , the plan its self and …
but my question for you is what was the turning point in your trading journey and when did it happen.
as I know for Al Brooks it was after nine years and when he started to improvise and discover his own price action patterns.
as Mark Douglas says in Disciplined trader ( Usually successful traders don’t know at which point they changed) but I wish you guys know the time you found your edge in trading.
At the end of the day it all subjective really, that maybe why trading is so difficult especially retail trading when your basically “on your own.” Everyones measure of success is different too.You have to have the right mindset which isn’t always easy for some .
Thank you Greenscorpio for sharing your opinion.
well I’m sure it’s so subjective but I wanted to hear what was it for every single person.
as I think yours was the correct mindset as you mentioned.
I think I had three events which together built my edge in trading.
I was using a ridiculous number of strategies cribbed from books, friends, forum chats, magazines, Youtube clips etc. The first breakthrough was realising that whatever strategy I used the outcomes were always better when the position followed the prevailing long-term trend.
The second breakthrough was realising that the entry signal was not critical, the trend was what was important.
The third was that when you have a winning trade, you can add to it, and make it a bigger winner, without increasing risk to your capital.
It will be very hard to find an edge unless you monitor and log and review what you do.
The 3 THEORIES are all good
Hey dear friend tommor.
Wow the three points you just shared are awesome. specially Trading with trend cause it always keeps moving till its last drop of blood
Thank you for sharing your great tips!
For me it’s a never ending experience and learning process, once I trusted my strategy to deliver more profitable trades than losing ones over a seven month consecutive period. Now, it’s fine tuning in a very difficult FX market.
For example, it’s order flow that drives price action, which allows me to make a suitable estimate where my T/P would be more likely to succeed - and which condones RRR to the dumpster.
From that I can open trades, set the T/P and S/L, and turn off the computer. No emotional challenge to respond to as I’ve learnt to have a ZEN detachment mindset. I have found in todays markets that major spikes are the only threats to continuing success.
Hey dear steve it’s nice to see you around and sharing this awesome experience.
Ye I agree with you that trust to your strategy is an important key and the set and forget method you use to scape emotional cycle is a good way actually.
thank you again for sharing your wisdom
I think I still haven’t found my edge. Lol I mean I do win trades but I feel I have a long way to go before I can call myself a trader with an edge. As of now, I am working on 2 things.
- Building Trading Discipline ( I used to go on and off but now I am much more consistent which is great)
- Becoming confident ( I think now I am much more confident than before about my skills as a trader. I finally feel like I can reach my goals which makes me thrilled)
Hey dear @ribspiece 🫡
Well there’s a border between a humble trader with edge and a trader which hasn’t still found his edge.
But it doesn’t matter as long as you don’t think you know everything and can’t be better, you are thriving and a day you will understand you are really a great trader (when people mention about it).
For me when I could open a successful trade, control myself to not close it, and gain a 4RRR trade hitting target I really felt successful in that moment. I know even if next 10 trades fail I can learn to do it again.
Anyway thanks for sharing your experience it’s necessary that traders share these points to inspire people. Specially being disciplined is so important I suggest you if you haven’t still read two books (disciplined trader and trading in the zone) consider to have glance on them.
These are solid truths.
Hi – Combined with the full Babypips course which was extremely helpful and a must for a starting point, the big gap up in my FX trading was due to 1-2 years of options trading on non-FX like ETFs/Single Stock. Really understanding options, the strategies, short and long risk and risk mgt, Volatility and Probability of upside and downside (probably controversy of which ‘guru’ or course to take but I used OptionAlpha) and finally having been disciplined for so many trades about only picking ‘high probability’ short and long option trades. The beauty of options is that strategies like Verticals have a fixed risk so you end up getting used to being protected with a max loss without needing your own intervention – I then applied this to FX trading later with a little more flexibility of the setups but in general – must understand volatility and max risk. Risk discipline is key and options trading taught it to me. The beauty of FX is that you can close and re-enter positions at will. So as a secondary thought, I would say I lost all hesitation to close trades that were losses and then re-enter at a better point or move on – or if I was busy doing my day job, let it ride and instead of daily loss make it a weekly; more risk but less day job risk of appearing like you’re busy doing something else.
Hey dear Ian.
thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom with us here.
although i’m not really familiar with ETFs and don’t trade stock but i believe there is potential in many markets. it’s just my opinion that trading FX is more difficult than stocks and crypto.
finally if you like to share i want to ask what are the standard levels in Win rate , pay off ratio and expectancy of a trader for you.
the turning point is when i start compare forex with stock and other game,asking myseld what is the different between ,and why ?who make these rules and what are broker trying to hide from us .
this is the period i learn more than past 12 years in forex ,and i eventually found my edge.im glad i didn’t follow "the common rules " and suspect everything i learn.
There are many strategies and methods out there in books and even indicators on most chart systems, all of which you can pick and use.
The important thing is to make screenshots / printouts of every trade with notes about your trading decisions (which trading signal did you pick?) and their outcome.
After a while you can then analyze the data and pick whatever works best.
Finding and maintaining an edge in trading is an ongoing process that requires dedication, discipline, and continuous learning. It’s also important to manage your expectations and understand that no strategy guarantees success in the financial markets.
Believe me that at this point i understand what you just said sooo much.
one of my biggest problems is i make profit but usually i have a lot of losses too that end up a low profit margin for example i make 10 percent per month but i also have 7 percent loss.
i think trading is a long way and you have to debug your problems constantly.
You will know you’ve found it when you’ve got more winners than losers. I’m on a 12 trade win streak this week. Basically using the Cowabunga system without the MA indicators. I’ve added pivot points to the mix and supply and demand. Sometimes I draw my own lines, both horizontal and/or trend.