EUR/CHF wipeout/margin call ... negative balance ... what to do?

[hyperscalper]

It's trading related, which is rare so

I do similar, I've got an area it should turn in, my SL exit but often take a 2nd position 1/2 way there, rude to turn it down, just got to keep that madness under control.

Surpised your still dealing with 10K ( $1 per pip right ? ) positions and not 100K positions, still building up I guess, spent too much on hitec computer equipment.

Hey, I looked at TradeInterceptor and have it running on my Samsung I9300, very nice.

Well, it is true that I try to push toward Standard Lots, but often I'm working at lower lot sizes due to various factors. One is that the software is early production version, so I might be in "test mode" or if we're around a News Event I tend to back off. I experience "fear" just like all traders, and I have to have "faith" that the computer software (which I wrote) will do what I expect in the heat of the battle. So far, so good, with LMAX. But "the plan" is to be more consistently up from 0.5 to 1.0+ Standard Lots peak equity exposure. That's the "greed" part of fear/greed. If it's working well for 10k lots, or 30k lots, then why not 60k or 100k lots? The liquidity is there, so why waste my time? Well, there's a difference, of course, as Exposure Equity levels move up, and I cautiously ratchet my average levels higher week by week.

I should point out the obvious that a 6E FX Futures trader commits at 125k notional currency, right out of the starting block. That's over-exposure, most of the time, which is why I left futures and moved to Forex.

A safer trade-off is just to do twice as many scalps at the lower levels of exposure; that can also be an effective and perhaps more consistently profitable approach. I'm not a "high roller" by nature, and want to be sure that I will very seldom be "wrong"... (that's the "fear" part tempered by the "optimism" I try to cultivate) LOL

Good Trading !
HyperScalper

 

[SimpleTrades]

Good questions. Well, I wish we could agree that "could" is not the same as having any significant probability at all, given my trading style, and given that I would be unlikely to choose a CHF Currency Pair due to its general lack of volatility (except once every decade or so...)

Yes, I reliably "grab" anywhere from 1.8 to 5 pips at a time, using highly specialized triggering software, automatic target placements, highly tuned analytics, all designed for "micro scalping" with "win rates" of about 97%. Yep, that's what I do... So, to make it "worthwhile" on each "strike" it's best to push up Lot Sizes. But I acquire Lot Sizes by stacking staggered Limit Orders, not all of which are filled. This is a VWAP optimization technique similar to what Market Maker does on the Book.

Yesterday one trade was in and out of the market with a 2 pip profit in 1.5 seconds. Now, that's ridiculous, but on LMAX this is what is possible. It's not the best way to trade, but sometimes things are just that fast.

So, yep, that is precisely what I do, but I invented all of it myself; there's nothing else out there anywhere, which can reliably permit micro scalping like that for "normal" "retail" traders.

Good Trading, or should I say, Scalping?
HyperScalper

EDIT: added the image of that scalp I referred to.

Good for you for finding a strategy that works for you. I personally can't justify a trade where the profit margin is less than the spread currently offered by Oanda.

I also don't have the stomach for it on a currency pair like usdcad which has been very volatile recently thanks to its petro dependency. Recently, I've been treating this pair like a long term investment believing very strongly that in the longer term oil is undervalued and therefore the usdcad is very overvalued. Currently cost averaging up deep into the red as we search for the top. Down 452 pips. This loss could rise another 1500 pips. Now if I were trading 1 or 2 standard lots like you, yikes, thats a big hit.

 

[hyperscalper]

Good for you for finding a strategy that works for you. I personally can't justify a trade where the profit margin is less than the spread currently offered by Oanda.

I also don't have the stomach for it on a currency pair like usdcad which has been very volatile recently thanks to its petro dependency. Recently, I've been treating this pair like a long term investment believing very strongly that in the longer term oil and therefore the usdcad is very undervalued. Currently cost averaging down deep into the red as we search for the bottom. Down 452 pips. This loss could rise another 1500 pips. Now if I were trading 1 or 2 standard lots like you, yikes, thats a big hit.

Well in trading there's a wide range of "valid" strategies, and the bottom line profitability is what validates your approach. So "apples" to "oranges" is no valid comparison, my approach is unique, and follows very different rules, not saying it's "better".

But, whether you are a Macro Scalper or a Micro Scalper, "Swing" trader or whatever, you need to have a reliable "technical" approach to determining the "trend" or "support or resistance" and such key values.

Trading is all about predicting the future, whether it's next week, or the next 10 seconds; there's no way for Traders to "flip a coin" and have a profitable business.

But Futures traders often take huge commitments on a single contract like Euro FX 6E and that's 1.25 Standard Lots equivalence. Crazy, man. These guys blow their retirement cash in a matter of weeks or months.

Good Luck on that trade. There's only so much "defensive averaging" that is possible, and if the market is just dead set against you, and this happens to me a lot, there's no way that "fancy" technique can save you.

Even I have to know "when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em" even though I am very reluctant to use Stops at all, since I'm always in control with a backup network, multiple ways of closing positions, etc.

Good Trading !
HyperScalper

 

[Turveyd]

Hey, I looked at TradeInterceptor and have it running on my Samsung I9300, very nice.

Well, it is true that I try to push toward Standard Lots, but often I'm working at lower lot sizes due to various factors. One is that the software is early production version, so I might be in "test mode" or if we're around a News Event I tend to back off. I experience "fear" just like all traders, and I have to have "faith" that the computer software (which I wrote) will do what I expect in the heat of the battle. So far, so good, with LMAX. But "the plan" is to be more consistently up from 0.5 to 1.0+ Standard Lots peak equity exposure. That's the "greed" part of fear/greed. If it's working well for 10k lots, or 30k lots, then why not 60k or 100k lots? The liquidity is there, so why waste my time? Well, there's a difference, of course, as Exposure Equity levels move up, and I cautiously ratchet my average levels higher week by week.

I should point out the obvious that a 6E FX Futures trader commits at 125k notional currency, right out of the starting block. That's over-exposure, most of the time, which is why I left futures and moved to Forex.

A safer trade-off is just to do twice as many scalps at the lower levels of exposure; that can also be an effective and perhaps more consistently profitable approach. I'm not a "high roller" by nature, and want to be sure that I will very seldom be "wrong"... (that's the "fear" part tempered by the "optimism" I try to cultivate) LOL

Good Trading !
HyperScalper

TI is good software, got a bit buggy for a while, cost me a few times, but all fixed and working well again, that's the S3 isn't it, Z1 Compact, Z Ultra ( 6.4" ), Ipad Mini I use FXCM takes orders routed through TI!

Build as it goes, forex has it's advantages, I trade Forex and the DAX, just took a hit on GBPAUD but made 1/2 back, 1 pip lower on the SL and I'd of been golden

Hit the gym before I do something stupid

 

[Turveyd]

Good for you for finding a strategy that works for you. I personally can't justify a trade where the profit margin is less than the spread currently offered by Oanda.

I also don't have the stomach for it on a currency pair like usdcad which has been very volatile recently thanks to its petro dependency. Recently, I've been treating this pair like a long term investment believing very strongly that in the longer term oil is undervalued and therefore the usdcad is very overvalued. Currently cost averaging up deep into the red as we search for the top. Down 452 pips. This loss could rise another 1500 pips. Now if I were trading 1 or 2 standard lots like you, yikes, thats a big hit.

He's a scalper, he doesn't hold 5pips against him, let alone 452

 

[SimpleTrades]

He's a scalper, he doesn't hold 5pips against him, let alone 452

I understand that and I'm not being critical. I'm just pointing out that I'm not setup for an approach like this. I'm also the iPad trader with another job on the side. Swinging or investing is more effective for me, but I do scalp from time to time as well.

 

[hyperscalper]

He's a scalper, he doesn't hold 5pips against him, let alone 452

Yeah, I'm always VWAP "cost basis averaging" to better my Entry position and Price Break Even point, but once I'm substantially deployed and my Analytics still don't look favorable, then I may ditch the position in a click. I hate to do that, and it's that reluctance to drop a position, that can get me into that kind of trouble, particularly on persistent "push downs" in price. That's where scalpers really make money, in the "dumps" where uptrends turn to downtrends.

But in faithfulness to the OP, this is all about "reducing exposure time" to the Market's movements, in a manner which is consistent with also making profits, of course. It takes "time" for markets to move, obviously, so that's an inherent tension in my style of trading.

G.T. HyperScalper

 

[Turveyd]

Yeah, I'm always VWAP "cost basis averaging" to better my Entry position and Price Break Even point, but once I'm substantially deployed and my Analytics still don't look favorable, then I may ditch the position in a click. I hate to do that, and it's that reluctance to drop a position, that can get me into that kind of trouble, particularly on persistent "push downs" in price. That's where scalpers really make money, in the "dumps" where uptrends turn to downtrends.

But in faithfulness to the OP, this is all about "reducing exposure time" to the Market's movements, in a manner which is consistent with also making profits, of course. It takes "time" for markets to move, obviously, so that's an inherent tension in my style of trading.

G.T. HyperScalper

Well it's about, crap I lost all my hard earned money and much more in 1second doh! and stay out of news events LOL

GA long for a bounce here, failing to move so far, buy a few Mil worth pls

 

[hyperscalper]

Well it's about, crap I lost all my hard earned money and much more in 1second doh! and stay out of news events LOL

GA long for a bounce here, failing to move so far, buy a few Mil worth pls

Sorry, prices don't move in Forex because some shrimp like me buys even several million (even if I could). They move because the SNB decides to protect its private investors and ditch its "peg" with no notice to anyone.... My condolences to the OP, it could be any of us, I guess...

It's a BIG market ! But I know you are just kidding LOL

G.T.
HyperScalper

 

[Turveyd]

Sorry, prices don't move in Forex because some shrimp like me buys even several million (even if I could). It's a BIG market ! But I know you are just kidding LOL

G.T.
HyperScalper

Volumes pretty low, might of made me $200 and cost you $2000 but it's a chance I'm willing to take

Took a loss as it turned back down, small, didn't really go anywhere and still isn't, odd!!