Tag Archives: Back Testing

The 50 Trade Challenge

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Life is full of challenges, some are thrown at us and others we undertake willingly to test our metal/resolve/abilities etc. Climbing a mountain, running a marathon, completing a an assault course (done a few of those!), sitting an exam to achieve a qualification, doing a cryptic crossword, playing a game of chess or scrabble, you get the idea. If and when you achieve a challenge you have set yourself, without doubt one normally feels a sense of achievement and in the process you may well have learnt more about yourself and grown as a person. Learning to trade is challenging too, but there are some things we can do which include minor challenges to help us learn and progress as traders..

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To Trade or Not to Trade?

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(With apologies to William Shakespeare in this 500th anniversary year!)

ShakespeareTo Trade or NOT to Trade?

To Trade or NOT to Trade, that is the question;

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The drawdown and losses of unplanned impetuous trades,

Or to wait with patience for higher probability setups,

And then to plan and trade them with discipline and calm,

Whilst managing your Risk and being focussed on the process,

And as a consequence, reap fine rewards for one’s labours!

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Do You Suffer From FOMO In Your Trading?

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Do you try and force trades and have to get into a trade no matter what the set up or market conditions?  Do you over trade? Has your trading account suffered as a result?

If so, then maybe you suffer from FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out on a market move or trading opportunity. Continue reading →

Focus on the Process of Trading

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A common mistake made by novice and aspiring traders is to get starry eyed about the huge profits they are going to make, this often leads to disaster because it distracts them from focussing properly on the actual process of trading.

The more pressure you put on yourself to make money trading, the more likely it is that you will make poor trading decisions and make less or lose money.

Experience in the live markets has taught me that by focussing on the actual process of trading regardless of ‘potential’ profits, one’s trading can improve significantly and as a result so does one’s profitability.

So how does one do that? Continue reading →

New Year’s Resolution into Reality

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So Christmas is over and the New Year has started and you’ve made your New Year’s Resolution:

‘I’m going to learn how to trade Forex!’

Then what? If, like many others, you are psyched up and raring to go but don’t know where and how to make that resolution become a reality, then stick with me and read on:

Firstly, you might want to tweak your resolution and add ‘and be consistently profitable’ on to the end, because you no doubt are doing this to make money.

Around 90% of people fail in their attempt to become consistently profitable Forex traders for a myriad of reasons, please don’t let that be you!  Also, you will probably need to temper your expectations regarding time scales to achieve your goal, as it may take anything from a year to as many as 3 years or so, to really make the grade.  One way to fast track your Forex Training is to get yourself a good Forex Mentor, someone who is a successful Forex trader and also an honest straight talking teacher and mentor, they do exist! This will cost, but it will be money well spent, plus you will get to see what they are trading too.

The key elements to learning how to become a consistently profitable Forex trader are: Continue reading →

Key Steps to Forex Trading Success

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The following are my thoughts on what I believe are the overall key steps to Forex trading success:

  • Realistic expectations:
    • There is no quick and easy ‘Golden Button’ to trading riches.
    • Set realistic time-scales to achieve consistent profitability.
    • Temper your expected earning potential in the first few years.
    • Set realistic targets.
  • Determination, Patience & Discipline:
    • Determination to succeed and not giving up at the first, second or third hurdle.
      • Stick-ability.
    • Learn to ability to be Patient and wait for high probability trades to come to you rather than try and force the market when it is not yet ready.
    • Develop the Discipline to adhere to your Trading Plan to the letter. Continue reading →