02-19-2019, 06:45 AM
(02-17-2019 12:45 AM)EuroTrader Wrote: [ -> ]How to trade professionally: I will give you (and everyone else who reads this) the answer to trading for a living: Decide what approach works best for your personality (micro-scalping, scalping, intra-day swings, daily swings, or position trading) -- knowing the required account size grows with each type but they also start from hardest to easiest. In other words, micro-scalping requires the smallest account but is the hardest way to trade. Thus, most people start with micro-scalping, are under-capitalized, and lose their accounts. Anyway, after deciding on approach and account size, then find one (1), single repeating price pattern -- that consistently works more than 50% of the time. Study that pattern and when you think you've got it mastered -- study it some more! Then trade that pattern and ONLY that pattern. Look for it until you can see it in your sleep -- or as you drive down the highway. LOL! Make sure your risk:reward is at least 2:1 (twice the profit compared to the risk). Trade on a demo only until you are consistently profitable -- and I don't mean you made money 2-3 days this week on some pattern you found last Saturday. You need to be profitable for weeks, at least. If you can't make consistent profits over time on a demo I can GUARANTEE you will lose, lose, LOSE when trading real-money. Take emotions out of your trading -- someone mentioned revenge trading and that's a big problem, and maybe he/she should be spending more time on a demo . . . Anyway, once you're ready and start slow, with real-money, build-up your account and keep studying the markets and you will #1 master your first pattern and #2 start noticing other patterns that repeat. You simply repeat the process and add those to your arsenal and before long you will be doing like I've done for awhile -- trading price action and making a living from the markets.
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20 Pips A Day: Since I don't trade Forex I started looking for ticks (the same as pips but in CME futures). Years ago, I wanted 10-ticks a day = $100 for a 1-lot. Contrary to what cchr syays, you can make a TON of $$$ on just $100 a day -- or 20-pips. The secret is to master making that small amount consistently and then slowly increase size....
Good Luck!
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Very capable piece 'EuroTrader'! Obviously, you've traded a lot over the years.
I only have a few choice things to add to this discussion.
Looking to "make" so much per day - when you are talking about the markets - tends to be a "fool's errand".
As 'EuroTrader' so clearly explained, being an "auction affair", markets do what they want, and trying to force the markets to give up any amount of pips/points/ticks, (much less a fixed amount like 20 pips/day) is going to be a combative process.
Here's a question to consider:
How about examining the market as a "composite human" (perhaps a sociopathic one) with strong tendencies, habits, likes and dislikes and work with it - thereby letting the market enrich you (with little struggle) because you are its cohort?
Much easier. Less struggle.
And you don't even need 20 pips/day profits. Even 2 pips profit/trade is terrific with the leverage available. Make 2 pips on 50 lots - make $1000.
The key is having a true mathematical edge. There are numerous methodologies available on this site - and others - that have a definite edge. That edge is contingent on identifying a solid behavior of that "composite human" - the market.
The market is made up of numerous parties who due to their concerted efforts expect to profit on a weekly and monthly basis. Some of them have government funding, others "big business" funding. The "money" suppliers are not executing the trades. Their traders are. Those traders are following "systems" based on information parameters they've mathematically proven.
Therefore, you "should" be able to make fairly consistent profits by "trading the traders".
Just by discovering a couple of key habits of those "money" traders, and devising robust systems to ride the capital flows you've discovered.
There are so many ways to accomplish this. And as 'EuroTrader' indicated, it starts by you figuring out what kind of trader you intend to be.
If desired, you can check more of my views about profitable trading from my past posts.
Below is an simulated equity run of a principle I discovered years ago in the currency markets. I'd been mostly trend trading 2 - 3 day swings previously. One Tuesday morning I saw a movement that I'd seen repeat before, then back-tested it - again and again and again. Then did 3 months of research to find out "who" was moving the market and why. The 'principle' I discovered was real enough that 3 months of 'torture testing' didn't kill it.
![[Image: Natural-Edge-Method-640.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/1t4vyD4s/Natural-Edge-Method-640.jpg)
Long story short - I've been trading it for years. Through strings of both losses and winners. Losses SUCK!
Lately the principle's been working better than average. (Since we got a new President - hmm, wonder why?)
Nothing to sell here.
Just wanted you to realize that there are significant edges available for anyone out there determined enough to research, think about what they see - and then be willing to execute risking significant sums when you determine your edge.
AbeLincolnBart