One particular practice chart was difficult. Price reversed bullish, then hit resistance. I seriously didn’t know what to do. I decided to hold this time, and I was right. But I really don’t know why.
I had a similar chart in which price continued bearish. WHY? Well, this is the point of practicing. So, I started collecting the confusing charts, so I can analyze them later.
I watched the movie Dumb Money, and one thing that bothered me was watching people trade on their phones. It just reminded me of when I had the same bad habit.
Also, the supporting actors in the movie, who bought the stock, aren’t traders. They just bought some stock. They didn’t study anything prior. It’s not a serious venture for them. It’s just a side thing to dump unrealistic hopes and dreams.into. They didn’t study charts or TA/FA. They didn’t study trader psychology.
There was so much anxiety for some of the traders in the story, and it reminded me of when I was that way. It was awful.
I’m proud to say that for a recent set up, I followed my strategy, and it worked out well.
The pair some hit resistance, gave a bearish sign, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Hold my long position, or close it and go short? I thought about it, and my strategy said that it was a fakeout. Two days later, yup. It was a fakeout. I’m glad that following my strategy served me right!
I have a strategy that includes counter trend trades. I haven’t practiced it yet. But after studying more trends, I’m starting to wonder if counter trend trades are something I should avoid altogether.
I can’t be attached to that strategy. I have to be open to possibility that trading counter trends the way I want may be unprofitable.
A friend was talking to me about Bloomberg Terminals.
I found this article.
Then I came across this thread.
I think the Bloomberg terminals look cool.
But, after all the books I’ve read, I’ve learned that more information doesn’t necessarily make you a better trader.
We’ve all heard that 90% of traders lose money. Sure, that number is debateable, but it would still be rather high. So, if there are more books, indicators, and news sources available than ever before, then that number should be going down.
Apparently, that’s not the case. I mean, look at this guy!
What the hell is he doing? Maybe I’m being naive. You know, I probably am. I imagine that tons of institutions have Bloomberg terminals. Like it’s an industry standard. You must be a serious fundamental trader to need all this information.
This certainly does NOT fit my style of trading. Then again, I’m not a trader at a hedge fund or bank. I have no idea what goes on within those walls. But, I’ve learned that just because something is normal/common, that doesn’t mean it’s good.
And if everyone is doing something that is not healthy/constructive, that doesn’t mean I should do it. It’s possible for everyone to be wrong. Just look at the housing market crash and that whole story about the mortgage bond market. Lots of banks were recording tremendous profits in their books while they were actually losing money.
Think about when traders are on the floor, yelling, buying, selling, just because the next guy has a hunch. Do you think those guys are making better decisions because they have more screens and more data?
At what point does it start to become nonsense? We think something is professional because someone in a suit said so. We admire it. We respect it. We pedestalize it.
I understand how some people who trade H4 or H1 could have multiple screens. You get tired of switching between M1, W1, D1, etc. Just have a dedicated screen for each one. I get it.
But $30k/yr for a Bloomberg terminal? How much news could you possibly be getting to justify that? Where could that news possibly be coming from? How much faster do you think you’re getting it than everyone else? What data could possibly be worth that much?
Or is it about the convenience of all that news in one place, from one source? So basically, you subscribe to a monopolized news source? Sure, it’s supposed to be more transparent, but if one company feeds all your news, that sounds like a monopoly to me.
What do I know? There’s a possibility that all the pros use this, and it makes a huge difference. But there could also be a possibility that they use it because they think they’re supposed to.
The guy has this many screens, he has all the information any human could ask for, and he still trades from 8am-4pm?
What kind of life is that? In my eyes, that’s a sad life. You quit one job, just to have another job? That’s a lateral move. You’re not gaining any time. You’re just inside all day staring at screens.
I’m not impressed. But, hey, that’s his life. If he loves trading all day, just like some people love gaming all day, then great for him.
But dude, look how many screens he has!!
OK, just think about it like this…
What kind of setup would you rather have?
50 screens? Or a mobile setup with a tablet and keyboard? Do you want the freedom to be mobile, and travel and trade? Or be chained to your office?
I think not necessarily?
For some, it can still be a huge improvement?
Maybe far more convenient than going out to work, especially if you have a bad journey to/from work?
Maybe far more flexible hours, also?
Maybe better pay?
Maybe more independence?
No, I would prefer one.
I now have peripatetic work and hate it. I would love to work from home.
Perhaps more easily using a VPS? I don’t know. Many seem to think so?
I just recorded my monthly statistics for my December account balance. My account balance is the same as last month. Well, slightly less…but by a hair. It’s basically the same.
It’s not an increase, but the decrease is so small. I’ve never had such a small decrease before. That’s a good sign.
Nice with it!
Fantastic to hear!
I just finished practicing contradictory signal trades. I wanted to finish this part of the strategy before the new years. I worked hard yesterday and instead of practicing 4 charts before taking a break, I practiced 10. Did the same thing today.
I needed a break, so I rested for about an hour and ate a snack.
Next, I’d like to start S/R bounce trades, but I think I should study retracements. I’m kinda dreading it because retracements can do so many things.
Medicine never tastes good. Here I go.
I’m comparing entry signals, and it’s difficult to quantify the signs. It’s not just about the sign, but the surrounding conditions.
It’s not just A+B+C. It’s not that simple. I can’t just look at four candles and jump in. There are conditions and signs that must accompany each other.
And the signs/conditions vary so much from chart to chart, it’s never exactly the same. It’s similar, but never the same.
This’ll sound weird, but I gotta ¨feel¨ it.
I’m not gonna go crazy trying to quantify something that I’m starting to develop an understanding for. I often recognize it when I see it. I’m not gonna confuse myself now.
I’m preparing my charts for my retracement strategy. This time, I’m adding an arrow to mark where I would have entered prior to the retracement.
This may sound like nothing, but while practicing my contradictory signals, I felt a little confused. Am I practicing holding? Opening and closing trades? Pyramiding? So, I wasn’t sure what to do.
This time, to avoid such confusion, I added an arrow to show that I have a trade running already, which ideally should be the case anyway.
This is a small detail, but that’s how growth happens, right? Little by little. Toiling upward in the night.
I finished my trading for the day. There was a trade I wanted to take, but it’s a strategy that I haven’t practiced yet. I’m gonna be patient. This strategy is a bit tricky, and I’d like to practice some patience, and practice it before I start using it in demo.
I’m in a rush, and because I’m in a rush, I want to take my time with this.
This is me sharpening my axe.
I like your approach of systematic trading while you understand and confirm with a discretionary style. This appears to teach discipline and a trader’s “sixth sense” 
Crazy how if you compound these smaller details and filter in and out what works and what doesn’t you’re left with an efficient system!
Sounds like you’re making some serious strides. Hope the charting keeps rocking away!
Cheers friend 
I gotta be honest…I saw a trade that I wanted to take last week, but I didn’t take it. It was a retracement trade, and yes, I didn’t want to take it because that’s the strategy I’m working on now, and I wanted to practice the strategy first.
BUT, the MAIN reason I didn’t take it was because I was scared of being wrong, getting stopped out, and watching my account drop more. I really wanted to take it. I saw it and wanted to trade it, but conveniently I’m going to practice it first.
This is a problem that has haunted me for a while. And you know what? It’s ok. I’m not gonna allow it to haunt me forever. That’s why I’m practicing these strategies now. I’m training myself to trade despite the fear. Once I can improve my patience and trade through the fear, my account balance will take care of itself.
Sometimes, I make mistakes because I see a setup, and instead of thinking about my strategy, I think about a similar setup in the past that tricked me and I got stopped out. Of course, this is impractical because I don’t remember the complete details of the older setup. This triggers my fear of losses, and then I don’t know if I should follow my half memory of a trade that caused a loss, or my strategy.
I’m finishing up the preparation for my one of my retracement strategies. I’m feeling a bit nervous because the first few charts, I make mistakes. And this retracement strategy is difficult because it’s a counter-trend strategy. Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it’s not. Knowing the difference could mean whether you should close or hold.
I had some paperwork and bills to take care of today. These are the kinds of things that I’ve procrastinated in the past. This one paperwork task I’ve procrastinated by three months, in the past. But this time, I managed it punctually. And right after that, I took care of a bill that I could have waited two more months to pay, but I decided to pay it right away and be finished with it.
This is not directly related to forex, but it’s indirectly related because trading and being more responsible are part of my personal development. Being financially responsible has been difficult for me. Well, procrastination has been a tough challenge for me.
Instead I try to run towards it, instead of away. I have another bill I wanted to pay, but the office closes early, so while at the bank, I took out the money. This way, I can go later this week directly to the office, and save myself a trip to the bank. Sure, I couldn’t pay the bill today, but at least I can get ready to pay it.
This may seem insignificant, but this is quite a change for me. It’s a shift in my own paradigm. Whenever there’s something I don’t wanna do, I push myself towards it. Particularly when it comes to finances and paperwork.
My internet data was getting low, so I wrote several entries on my laptop. Here are a few more entries:
I finished preparing all my practice charts, and I wanted to relax before eating and going to bed. But I also knew that instead of relaxing I could practice just one chart. I procrastinated for a few minutes.
Then I forced myself to get to work. I practiced one chart, and I did better than I expected this time. It wasn’t perfect, but it was ok. I was a bit too jumpy and nervous about missing my entry signs. I jumped in too early and got stopped out. In the end, I’m glad I squeezed in some practice before calling it a day.
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I practiced a few retracement charts, and I did well. I was feeling confident. Then, I crossed paths with some tricky charts, and my confidence experienced a few setbacks. That’s the reason why I didn’t just include easy charts in my practice charts.
I threw in some fakeouts, and some tricky charts. That’s what the market is really like, right? So, that’s what I should train for. Here’s the odd part. I noticed the fakeouts and the tricky setups, but I failed to trade them properly because of doubt.
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I got caught up in the routine of trading the same signs from the previous charts, and I wasn’t responding correctly to the signs particular to the chart in front of me.
You know what? Prior to those tricky charts, my confidence was going up, and I started wondering if I even needed to keep practicing these charts. I thought I should go back to live soon. Well, reality busted that bubble fast once those fakeout charts got me. I still have a ways to go.
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The frustrating part for me is that when I make a mistake on a chart, I can’t say ¨Ok, next time I see this, I won’t make the same mistake.¨ And I try to remember what I experienced in that chart. I try to remember those candles.
The problem is that in the next chart, the setup is similar, but not the same. I can’t do in one chart what I should have done in another. The lesson isn’t ¨go long whenever you see this candle¨. The lesson is ¨follow the strategy and trade the chart, not my feelings¨. That’s the real lesson.
