Posts Tagged ‘ Dubai ’

Honesty


I’m getting a lot of emails asking, if Cash-master gave such a positive review of my e-book, why am I struggling and making a loss? A very fair question. Since the trial ended the Dubai Strategies have performed modestly. At the advised risk settings, February 5th (when the trial ended) until yesterday I should be around 5-10% up using just the Dubai Strategies. GBPUSD has been a long slog and March has started off very poorly but EURUSD has been motoring along. The scalping method continues to tick along, I just haven’t had the time to watch these closely enough to make any real gain from them. It’s a little disheartening to read people think it’s all a scam and the results must be false. My retort would be this; why on earth would I continue to host my results and progress on myfxbook if it was all a joke? Having a minus growth figure is hardly the smartest thing to do if I’m trying to scam customers is it? I could easily take down the myfxbook widget and potential customers would be none the wiser as to my progress. However, that isn’t how I work and I have explained before that I trade a mixture of strategies including TUFXP but my real downfall has been my own discipline and trade management. I keep this blog open and honest to help keep my emotions and discipline in check. If people don’t believe the results from the trial, then that is fine and dandy, the truth will out eventually and the real winner will be seen.

Whether I fail or succeed is merely down to my own ability to keep discipline and emotions in check. Up to now, they have gotten the better of me but I’m not a quitter and quitters will never win so as long as I keep everything in check, I will make this a success.

Thanks to everyone who has left a comment, some very useful advice and all taken on board.

2010
03/09
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Forex
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11 comments

Tough Week


It’s been a long, tough grind this week with most of my strategies under performing and giving me all sorts of problems. However, on a positive note, I have managed to stick to my rules and I’m pleased with that. I can’t change the results but I can keep my confidence in the fact I kept to the rules. I did make a costly error yesterday though with EURJPY. I had a signal to enter long and had the opportunity to enter 6 pips better but by the time I clicked I got a requote and the price had gone, I tried two more times to no avail and then the price had rushed up. So a missed opportunity but at least I didn’t lose anything on the trade!

GBPUSD continues to vastly under perform for me and it’s a gaping big hole in my trading right now, I’ve written off the extra losses through carelessness but still GU is giving me cause for concern. From reader other traders thoughts on various forums, it seems they are struggling with it too.

NFP later today and with the snow storms expected to affect the figures, I don’t anyone can call it with any conviction as the effect of snow storms is highly subjective. I suspect we’ll see some deviation from forecast and the markets will go bonkers for a few minutes before settling down. If I’m in any trades pre news, I’ll leave the profit off just case the news motors for me in the direction I’m in.

Fingers crossed for a positive finish to a tough week..

2010
03/05
CATEGORY
Forex
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2 comments

Pleasant Surprise


It’s been an okay week so far, yesterday was a little disappointing with a couple of near misses and missed opportunities.  The GG  TUFXP method operates on a 3 bar qualifying window, so it has 3 candles on whichever timeframe the signal came on to qualify. A GU trade expired by a matter of seconds then went on to qualify and hit the profit and it certainly was tempting to keep the order open but this month for me is all about following my rules and keeping to the plan.

A pleasant surprise came from TUFXP this week with their upgrade to version 2. It’s going to be released to the public pretty soon I imagine. The upgrades are small but meaningful with a couple of very helpful additions. If you’ve bought ATM-FX and already have TUFXP, you’ll be a little annoyed as now you can trade the ATM strategy using TESS software. It’s still lacking some upgrades which I’d of liked to of seen but I’ll see what happens over the following months.

That’s about it for now, hope everyone is having a pip filled week.

2010
03/03
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Forex
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Lost..


I cannot begin to tell you the day I’ve had. Remarkable doesn’t even cover it. Yesterday was a whirlwind also. I literally am lost for words..

Yesterday was a ‘nearly’ day. Several trades were almost perfect but ended up being stopped out by the finest margins. I had set an order to open at 1.5290 on GBPUSD, around 5 pips beneath the support that had been in place for nearly 36 hrs. My thinking was if/when it broke, it’d fall nicely to a minimum of 1.5250. I usually like to operate on a decent risk:reward factor so set my SL at 25 pips, so 1.5315. I trundled off to bed feeling ok about things but also weighed down by recent events. I woke up to a losing trade as GU tested 1.5290 and retraced to 1.5320 before finally dropping sharply overnight and continuing the downtrend today. A disappointing result but in a way, I was pleased to see the theory worked.

After evalating results from the TUFXP method, GG, I decided I would continue, but on a smaller risk. The numbers don’t lie. I’ve tracked results since April 09 and it hasn’t had a single losing month, not many strategies can lay claim to that. Yes, performance has dropped off in January and February and the swings have been bigger than usual but profit is profit. Through my own recklessness I have made a mediocre position worse than it should be. Looking at Myfxbook figures, I am down substantially on GBPUSD, by far the worst pair I trade, results wise. Looking at the paper results, I should be no worse than breakeven; so where have all those losses come from? Greed, fear, pointless trades, bad discipline, chasing to name a few. Having myfxbook really is an invaluable tool and really does hit home. It shows weaknesses in your trading. I can’t hide from the truth and the fact I’ve cocked up a lot on GU. I can blame it on x, y and z but the real matter of fact is, I did the trades and I need to realise I am wasting good opportunities to make good gains.

Today got off to a hideous start with EURJPY messing about in a tight range and TUFXP triggering me into two trades that lost. -50 on the board before I’ve had lunch. I also tried to get cute with a GU trade and instead of taking 30 pips, I ended up with nothing. Talk about breaking my own rules! Where this awful habbit of greed has come from, I’m not sure but I refuse to let my weaknesses get the better of me. A couple of slack, nothing trades cost me another 40 pips and I’m staring at a big losing day wondering if I should take a few days off and evaluate the whole situation and trading.

Then I got insanely lucky. I was in two TUFXP trades pre US data release and I can only thank every lucky star that the news plunged big time and helped me rescue an awful situation. Relying on luck is not something I should have to be doing but today I’ll take it and run.

With what’s being going on outside of trading and having a long, hard look at things, I’ve realised several important things. I have a golden opportunity to make something of trading, I have the strategies and on occassions, the skill required to go with it. However, I also realise, I have acted poorly on numerous occasions, and this is my final warning to myself. If I don’t stick to my own rules, then I shouldn’t be spending 9-10 hrs a day trying to make it work. So, for the final time; sink or swim?!

On a final note, I do actually have some meaningful content which I want to post up later or tomorrow left by Steve regarding ATM-FX. Thanks for the info Steve, much appreciated.

2010
02/25
CATEGORY
Forex
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2 comments

Difficulties.


Trading continues to be difficult for me with any gains quickly wiped out putting me in a loss for the day for each day this week. I’m definitely noticing that I’m exiting trades in poor positions; I’m exiting profitable trades too early and letting bad trades run when I have  a good sense that they’ll hit the full SL. A couple of trades have hit their SL by less than 1 pip then reversed and hit the profit which is always highly frustrating.

Jon left a truly helpful comment the other day; ‘I told you this before but you thought I was being rude, it simply does not work. Trade another strategy.’ He’s talking about TUFXP. I have two problems with this comment…firstly he didn’t say TUFXP doesn’t work and secondly, the comment is of zero use to me.

Family problems continue to worry me and right now trading really is on the back foot. Hopefully a bit of normality will resume soon. Keeping my chin up either way so fingers crossed my luck will turn around soon.

2010
02/24
CATEGORY
Forex
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6 comments

Confidence Issue


So far this week, all I’ve managed to do is repeat last weeks dose of bad discipline and other shocking efforts of trading. What makes it all the more galling is the fact if I had stuck to my strategies, I’d be doing just fine this week. My ability to control trades has apparently jumped out the window along with my confidence. Trading with low confidence is always a bad mindset and it’s sorely hurt me this week. I’ve exited several trades which were in loss positions simply due to me believing they would continue to edge further into loss. They didn’t and ended up winning.

This is a critical stage for me and my trading as I need to regain my confidence if I’m ever going to get back to previous levels of achievement. I have the plan just not the right psychology at the moment.

I’m hoping this huge rut that I’m currently in will end and I can start enjoying my trading again. I’m not a quitter for better or worse so my aim is to continue and make the best of what I can. Apologies for the downbeat nature of the last few posts, I’ll try and bring some good news soon…

Also; has no one taken the risk test? Would of liked to of seen a few scores.

2010
02/10
CATEGORY
Forex
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6 comments

Contrasts


I received two very contrasting comments yesterday, one left here and the other via email. Both of them had an effect on me and I’ve certainly given them a thought or three. Jon said that I shouldn’t be live trading yet alone trying to sell a Forex e-book due to crazy drawdown and risk sizing etc. Yes,I can see his point but I have always made it clear that I am trading TUFXP and my strategies together and using my own risk management. In my e-book I advise no more than 3% risk and as it’s been tested for the best part of 5 weeks by Cash-master blog, the results are encouraging. I’ll continue to update them monthly even when the trial has finished. I understand there is a reflection in my trading in my e-book but that shouldn’t take away from what is I believe, a good solid foundation for Forex strategies.

Just before I went to bed I thought I’d check my emails and found a very sincere and honest email from Andy. I’ll paste his email below:

Hi John!

Been reading your blog everyday recently – really sorry to hear about the tough days you’ve endured recently  – especially yesterday. Be glad if I had five quid for every time I’ve felt like you obviously do after doing something really daft myself – I know that ‘gutted’ feeling all too well.

However, the reason for writing is just to say thank you for your honesty in these recent blogs – it’s never easy to confess your mistakes to the world but, as far as I am concerned, it’s refreshing to know there are other fallible human beings out there making the same mistakes who, nevertheless, hang on in there and don’t give up.

Good on you sir – may you soon succeed beyond your dreams…

It was a welcome sign of friendliness and understanding and I’m glad to have some great readers. The whole point of this blog is to help me along my journey of mastering these incredibly tough markets and if I have a bad day I certainly want to express my disappointment and frustration. I am human and will always make mistakes but if I can learn one thing from them then I consider it a lesson learned.

So thank you to Andy and Jon for some thought-provoking comments, I appreciate it.

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2010
02/04
CATEGORY
Forex
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2010 Challenge


Hopefully I’m going to look back at this post at the end of year with a smile of satisfaction. I’ve decided to end the trial of myfxbook demo account and switch to my recently opened live account which is now displayed on the right hand side. The balance is open to public and during Monday-Friday will be constantly updated. Now that I have all the account details I’ve been able to verify the neccesary things on myfxbook and I’m good to go.

There are literally hundreds of challenges that appear on forums, websites and blogs but this is a personal challenge as much as anything. My Dubai strategies e-book has a bold title of 2,300% profit in one year. So considering that I use those strategies and a couple of TUFXP ones, I should be able to replicate my bold claims. Therefore my target by Friday 17th December 2010 is £150,000. Myfxbook is not only a great tracker of results it’s also an incredibly useful tool which shows any weakness in a traders strategies.

As you can see by the chart it has been less than ideal start with various circumstances going against me but I am ready for the challenge and confident in my ability to succeed. Due to looking after my daughter this morning I was late to the trading desk and unfortunately missed out on a nice GBPUSD winner but not to worry there are plenty of days ahead of me. It is a very high target I’ve set myself and there is always a chance I’ll miss it but I do believe deep down that it is achievable if sticking to my rules and methods so let the games begin…

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2010
01/22
CATEGORY
Forex
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6 comments

Who pulled the plug?


Well I was moving along nicely with a 5% gain on the day and BANG! the electricity goes off. It turns out the there was a system error with the electricity company here and it caused a block on supplying electricity to the whole building for two hours. When I was finally able to get back online and get everything fully loaded, lo and behold I’d missed two winning TUFXP trades for 50 pips! DOH! Still, a winning day is a winning day and learning to take the rough with the smooth is all part of becoming a better trader. 

Tomorrow sees the BoE rate and QE program which usually brings plenty of excitement to the market and as always I’ll be looking to take advantage of some decent moves. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) continues to free fall and has now fallen over  25% since Dubai World announced their request to delay debt repayments. Bad times for many investors who are claiming to of lost all of their life savings. My estimation of 1,800 has been easily passed.

On a more positive note, I’m feeling happier with how things are progressing and I’m very much looking forward to the New Year and a fresh start. It’s been a massive rollarcoaster journey the last few months and I’ve been tested to the absolute maximum within inches of crumbling but with support of trading friends and the ability to write down my thoughts has helped enormously. If you’re ever struggling with trading or anything, I thoroughly recommend starting a blog. 

Friday should be a great day as I’m doing another 24 hr karting event and it’ll be nice to clear my head and pound the tarmac!

2009
12/09
CATEGORY
Forex
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1 comment

Dark Days for Dubai


Late last week saw some major, major news from Dubai with DP World asking for a 6 month reprieve from their loan repayments. This has huge ramifications for Dubai and the rest of the Gulf region. They decided to make the announcement after the DFM (Dubai Financial Market) had closed for Eid so the major selling of Bank shares and Construction shares will start tomorrow. I personally think DFM will sink to 1,800 or so from its current 2090 level. It will be very interesting to see. It’s also getting a lot of press worldwide with some reports suggesting that if DP World default, it could bring on a double dip recession; strong words indeed. This is also bad news personally as I have interests in a Geotechnical company that is owed a lot of money from Nakheel which is under the DP World umbrella. Payments are already 6 months late and this latest news is utter heartache. I’ll be watching very closely the next few days.

Forex wise, Friday was very quiet for me, I made a quick 10 pips on the initial plunge on GU but apart from that I was a spectator and a bored one at that. I knocked off early as I wasn’t in the frame of mind to watch sideways movement and I wanted to clear my head. Keeping fresh is extremely important to me and my approach to trading.

I’ve had a fair few emails regarding the Zulutrade setup and thanks to Stevetrade, he’s given me a few more options to look at as we are both aware Zulutrade does have it’s weaknesses. I’ll keep everyone up to date for those who are interested in following my trades. November has seen me have incredible highs and incredible lows, to say it’s been tough would be an understatement. However, I feel I am still moving forward with my learning and trading and hopefully I’ll continue to grow into the New Year.

2009
11/29
CATEGORY
Forex
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