An insight into a Forex trader

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.

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.