A Forex Trader's Journal

Last September, I quit college (after switching my major 3 times over 3 years and changing colleges twice) and was wondering what I was going to do with my life since I hadn't found anything career based yet that I thoroughly enjoyed. I had done a computer business but I started hating it when people wouldn't pay up and they'd call me every 15 minutes for tech support when I was in the middle of trying to eat at restaurants & stuff, etc.

So I was sitting at work one day when a friend called me up and told me he had made such & such profit trading stocks. I went over to his house the next day to watch him trade and when I seen the #'s go up and down on his unrealized P/L something clicked inside of me. Something deep down, I can't really explain what it was but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would be doing this the rest of my life. To put it short: I just *knew* I could, no matter the length of time it would take. I made a decision that day to pursue it until the day I die. Perhaps a large part of it was because so much of my identity was embedded in computers that the confidence that I had with computers overflowed into a *knowing* that I could eventually make a career out of trading too (still on that path) since being really good in one thing that depends upon another makes the transition to the other not as rough. It's strange in life how when you are actively seeking something it finds you, you don't find it.


I first got interested in trading currencies by your constant posting in "skalpz forex journal", heh. I had previous plans to trade every market and knew I would eventually come to curriencies as part of the process. This forum triggered that pre-set motive. Also, because I don't have to configure my life around it, I can trade anytime. Sometimes I felt like a prisoner waiting for the open everyday on the NasdaqSC. I really like the lack of regulation in FX too, more than anything else because ... no dodgy, money hungry brokers and the lack of public knowledge opinion about it. Like when I tell my friends that I trade stocks 80% of the time they start going off about how their friend or someone they knew lost all their money in the market. I don't want to hear their negativity. When I trade currencies though, it's newer, purer, you can put ppl in their place when they try to categorize it since they tend to have more of a lack of familiarity with it.

FX has no ceiling either. The top 10 wealthiest ppl in the world are either into computers or trading markets. George Soros made 2 billion in 1 day. Is there any better way to make money than FX in existance? I don't think so... that is unless of course, you just don't want to, etc. Personal preference and all that. I'm still doing the stock thing, that just isn't my primary focus anymore. I'll eventually settle down into a single market but that is probably many years away before I have enough experience to know which trading vehicle best suites me.

When I got into aggressive inline skating (where you grind down rails & stuff), it took me 1.5 years and $1500 to finally come to the conclusions about which skate is the best (out of about 5 brands). This will probably happen with the types of trading vehicles that are out there as well.
 
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Avadon, very well put!

I especially like the way you astutely answer people now about trading vs trading "currencies." It can indeed shut naysayers up. :D

Let me ask you somethings regarding your reply.

Your friend that trades stocks, did he offer you any kind of tips on how to start trading, or on trading in general? If so, what did he say?

Electronic trading does lend itself to computer-savvy people. You should do well in the cross over relation between the two.

So it sounds like you were an entrepreneur even before you started learning forex. They say, "jobs are for those who don't want to work" (or, at least I say that).

What you describe some may call "fate." Seemingly out of the blue your friend calls you up and tells you he made money in such and such stock trade!

Do you believe it was your destiny to be a trader? If so, how much time do you dedicate per week to learning how to trade better?

Do you think other people can do well in trading by embracing their own destiny, or do you think trading well can be learned by anyone?

It sounds like you like the freedom the open forex market provides you.

Do you take this additional time to enable yourself to work and study harder, i.e., spending more time pursuing progress as a trader, or do you fit in the extra time to simply do the other things in life you never had time to do on a more restricted schedule?

You mentioned, "The top 10 wealthiest ppl in the world are either into computers or trading markets."

Is there anyone(s) in particular (besides me, I presume :D) that you look to for any kind of role model for achievement?

If so, what are the traits and qualities you feel you'd like to develop in yourself in order to become more like that person(s) and to be successful trading money?

Quote from avadon:

Last September, I quit college (after switching my major 3 times over 3 years and switching colleges twice) and was wondering what I was going to do with my life since I hadn't found anything career based yet that I thoroughly enjoyed. I had done a computer business but I started hating it when people wouldn't pay up and they'd call me every 15 minutes for tech support when I was in the middle of trying to eat at restaurants & stuff, etc.

So I was sitting at work one day when a friend called me up and told me he had made such & such profit trading stocks. I went over to his house the next day to watch him trade and when I seen the #'s go up and down on his unrealized P/L something clicked inside of me. Something deep down, I can't really explain what it was but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would be doing this the rest of my life. To put it short: I just *knew* I could, no matter the length of time it would take. I made a decision that day to pursue it until the day I die. Perhaps a large part of it was because so much of my identity was embedded in computers that the confidence that I had with computers overflowed into a *knowing* that I could eventually make a career out of trading too (still on that path) since being really good in one thing that depends upon another makes the transition to the other not as rough. It's strange in life how when you are actively seeking something it finds you, you don't find it.


I first got interested in trading currencies by your constant posting in "skalpz forex journal", heh. I had previous plans to trade every market and knew I would eventually come to curriencies as part of the process. This forum triggered that pre-set motive. Also, because I don't have to configure my life around it, I can trade anytime. Sometimes I felt like a prisoner waiting for the open everyday on the NasdaqSC. I really like the lack of regulation in FX too, more than anything else because ... no dodgy, money hungry brokers and the lack of public knowledge opinion about it. Like when I tell my friends that I trade stocks 80% of the time they start going off about how their friend or someone they knew lost all their money in the market. I don't want to hear their negativity. When I trade currencies though, it's newer, purer, you can put ppl in their place when they try to categorize it since they tend to have more of a lack of familiarity with it.

FX has no ceiling either. The top 10 wealthiest ppl in the world are either into computers or trading markets. George Soros made 2 billion in 1 day. Is there any better way to make money than FX in existance? I don't think so... that is unless of course, you just don't want to, etc. Personal preference and all that. I'm still doing the stock thing, that just isn't my primary focus anymore. I'll eventually settle down into a single market but that is probably many years away before I have enough experience to know which trading vehicle best suites me.

When I got into aggressive inline skating, it took me 1.5 years to finally come to the conclusions about which skate is the best (out of about 5 brands). This will probably happen with the markets as well.
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"Your friend that trades stocks, did he offer you any kind of tips on how to start trading, or on trading in general? If so, what did he say?"

I let him talk a lot about it but I knew he was still new at it so I just took everything he said with a grain of salt. I do remember asking him to write down the names of some books where I could learn how to get going with it. I had developed a bit of hatred for misinformation over the years of messing with computers because I learned after getting really good at computers that it is far too easy to BS people and get them hanging on your every word. I didn't want that to happen to me with trading and I was already a loner, so....

One thing I've learned about stocks that appears to be more important than anything else is to get a feel for the amount of capital that traders are taking satisfied profits on within a particular stock. That pattern makes stock movements follow subjective cycles but... is it because of the because or just because of itself? People move stocks and people tend to be satisfied with a 2K or 3K profit, etc, so that's why pros tell ppl to stick with 3 to 5 stocks and get to know them really well.


"What you describe some may call "fate." Seemingly out of the blue your friend calls you up and tells you he made money in such and such stock trade!"

Who knows how these things work (I'm thinking maybe like the way spaghetti lays on a plate) but yeh... I had been seriously searching for something I would enjoy doing the rest of my life. Then when I seen what's possible my eyes lit up.


"Do you believe it was your destiny to be a trader? If so, how much time do you dedicate per week to learning how to trade better?"
I think it's something that will tremendously help me get to know myself better. I mean, isn't that the point of all personal growth? I think it became my destiny, but not necessarily that it was supposed to be. Like, I can either 1. make something my own by my choosing/deciding to, or 2. It chooses/finds me, or 3. because other people choose it for me. Those are the 3 options in pursuits.

"Do you think other people can do well in trading by embracing their own destiny, or do you think trading well can be learned by anyone?"
I think trading well can be learned by anyone as well as only a few. The reason for the paradox is because the individual chooses to believe what they are capable of and then again chooses to follow through with that belief once they think about it enough (since enough thought leads to action). I think the biggest reason why some ppl feel that they don't have control over their lives is because they don't realize that choices are momentum based. Life is like a 10 second drag-car race, where you spend what feels like 9 out of 10 of those seconds just rivving up the engines anticipating the wonderful glee of actually racing your car (your life) and yet once the race actually begins, it's over before you know it. Aka we spend the majority of our lives preparing (the 9 seconds) ourselves for challenges that are incoming. Incoming again, because of either our own decisions, other people's decisions for us, or time and chance's decisions for us.

"It sounds like you like the freedom the open forex market provides you."
Yeh, and the fact that it moves slow enough (if you aren't dumb with too much margin) for me to keep myself under control so far. Also, the accessibility of it. I don't have to deal with the "extras" that come with the other markets I've messed with. It's very pure. Like you can't hype the dollar.... not like a stock. Also, I've seen pics of inside ppl's homes and the meeting places that are chosen for groups that gather in RL (real-life) to talk about stocks or currencies and the pics for the currency trader groups were meeting in what looked like castles and manner of dress was sort of like "the typical millionaire" whereas the stock traders were all different types and had pics of the meetings being in hotels and coffee shops, hehe.

"Do you take this additional time to enable yourself to work and study harder, i.e., spending more time pursuing progress as a trader, or do you fit in the extra time to simply do the other things in life you never had time to do on a more restricted schedule?"

I'm trying very hard to spend more time doing other things simply because I've spent almost all day everyday studying markets for the past 6 months and I need more balance lately. It's difficult pulling myself away from this wonderful game/business. Plus I work full-time night audit at a hotel so I get to sit on my butt and watch the trades all night long. The Euro really gets to kicking starting around 2am. I bring my computer to work with me since we have a T1 here. Only 65 rooms (no one to check-in) so if I wasn't here trading I'd probably be at home trading as long as I can have my computer (computer=2nd car) near me=)

You mentioned, "The top 10 wealthiest ppl in the world are either into computers or trading markets."

"Is there anyone(s) in particular (besides me, I presume ) that you look to for any kind of role model for achievement?"

Yeh, Jesus, but I'd prefer not to get into that for too many reasons to state here. I tend to keep that to myself because any effort or any of my own words wouldn't have a lasting effect on anyone anyway in the area that would really matter and not be show. My own logic says, why not be weathly (or at least make effort towards it) in this life PLUS the next? Anyways, stop me on that before I go too far, heh.

"If so, what are the traits and qualities you feel you'd like to develop in yourself in order to become more like that person(s) and to be successful trading money?"

Patience and discipline but more than anything else combined: The ability to trust my-self.
 
trades closed this morning before leaving work:

I had to close out one of them (I forgot which) because it was hitting a support line which it had previously bounced off of 3 times in the past combined with that it was near a .50 PIP price resistance.

usd/eur was a good run...
2 trades got stopped out at a loss of 12 pips (includes the -2 pips to get in) since my stop losses were at 10 pips

I didn't want to take profits this soon because I'm trying create the habit of holding positions longer and not overtrading but when I see 4 resistances at once fighting against the price and 70 something PIPS profit it's hard to sit tight.

BTW, Skalpz, in case you didn't know, you can resize pics from within "Paint" just...press ctrl+w or goto "Image" and click "stretch/skew", then just put it to 80% of original size or something like that so that text is still ledgible of course. I remember you saying something about it.

I'm in the green but for how long?
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Adjusted my stops to 15 pips instead of 10 after this happened.
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In the chart the orange down arrow is short entry and the red circle is stopped out for those who don't know.
 

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Whew, the market noise this week!! :D

Here's my update for the contest.

(Note to Magna: I've done away with the multiple posts for a single update, but this is as good as I can do, sizing-wise, I have tried to reduce the size but clarity goes out the window.)

Note to Readers: I limited the post on the Activity Log to a single entry. As mentioned earlier if you want the whole Log from the time of last update, email me and I will send it to you in .pdf format. I am trying to limit space on this thread.

I was able to take some profits this week on the massive EUR/USD price slide. I don't suspect that kind of significant profit-taking will continue next week.

Hence, the account Balance went up, on all the EUR/USD short profit-taking (apart from the initial $100,000) to $892.27.

But so did the drawdown, to - $1044.02, with the biggest pairs in drawdown being the GBP/XXX currency crosses.

Pairs and trade size have remained constant, as has the Margin used, pretty much, it is currently reflecting as $5235.97.

Balance increase since last update is +$346.56. No losses have been sustained. Overall trade tactic is still the same.

Note to contestants: Please continue to limit updates to once every two or three weeks if possible. Thank you.

sKaLpZ


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Note about Interviews.

Trading this week has taken a lot of focus, and I do the interviews between trades.

I am still in the process of interviewing Avadon.

Elite Trader members who said OK to being interviewed, please have patience - we will conduct the interviews - it is just going to take some time.

Thanks,

Sam
 
Change to contest time-line.

With most the world hung up about "annual" return measurements, and with forex being generally seen as some sort of hotrod super-charged trading vehicle, good for short term fast profit runs, but WAY too volatile and unpredictable for steady, long term gains, I'm extending the contest time-line out 6 more months.

Therefore, the competition will end 06-01-06, that is 1-year from the start date of 06-01-05.

This way we'll be able to get a better look at what forex is truly capable of in terms of "annual returns."

As stated in the rules, you can join at any time but must be willing to commit to the end.

The Coin
 
Update 06-19-05

OK, here's my 2-week update.

I dropped out a pair I realized I didn't want - GBP/JPY - it was down 35 pips when I closed it so I took a small hit, quickly recouping the loss.

Other than that, things have been going well (oiy, if only this was a live account! :D).

I've run this demo between trading my live accounts, so I may not have picked up every point available.

Balance has gone up to $1,758.84, an increase of $866.57 over last update.

Margin Used has dropped $1657.02, representing the GBP/JPY trade being backed out, getting me in a healthier overall position.

Although my understanding is, GBP/JPY had a significant run of over 200 points(?) - those profits I missed entirely.

I was able to increase the number of AUD/JPY units as well, this pair has had a good run-up mostly accounting for the increase in the balance.

NZD/USD also had a good climb, alas I don't have open trades in that pair so that money was missed too.

EUR/USD continued getting hammered so I picked up a large number of points on the swing down.

I like using as little money as possible to make the most money. This maintains a lower risk, user-friendly trading environment that is preferable. It enables me to have some control over the trades.

Because if you lose control of your trade you're as good as dead: You're living on borrowed time.

sKaLpZ


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