I have to say, it has been, probably, one of the most informative and productive weeks of my trading education so far. That might be because I’ve been putting in between 5 to 9 hours daily of solid note taking. It has been tough.
It’s been really difficult, but not because the curriculum is particularly hard.
I just never realised how hard it is to just sit down and do deep work.
I can become easily distracted and keeping a steady and focused concentration level is more challenging to me than doing a 4 hour session at the gym.
Here’s just a brief list of what I’ve learnt this week:
The correct way to use the ATR indicator.
ATR stands for Average True Range and this indicator is used to determine how many pips the currency pair has moved (on average) over a specified time line in the past. Default setting is 14.‘Scaling Out’ your trades, to mitigate losses.
’Scaling Out’ in Forex simply means: Splitting your trade (and risk) into 2 or more trades that equal that same amount of original risk. Apply a Take Profit (TP) or Stop Loss (SL) to one of the 2 orders, and once your TP or SL successfully executes on one of the trade orders, let the other order ride the trend and move its SL to the break even level.What chart to use for the most success.
The Daily Chart, because according to the curriculum, Technical Tools work better in the daily chart and news events have less overall impact on your trading. Intraday is possible but I guess the Daily chart has a more solid trend to take information from. More reliable maybe?Don’t trade the news!
It’s too volatile. You’re basically gambling at this point.How many currency pairs to trade, max.
So far, from the resources I’m using, multiple educators have suggested staying away from the Exotic Pairs because of their reliance on more Fundamental measurements, than technical. So far, they’re a bit out of my knowledge range right now anyway.How much money you actually need to start trading Forex.
Quick Answer: Thousands, if not Hundreds Of Thousands of Pounds.
Deeper Answer: Trade the funds of a Propriatary Firm.How long should you be trading a Demo Account before comitting to a live account?
Minimum: 6-Months of consistant, repeatable profit. More than you could make if you just stuck your money into an index fund, because what’s the point in trading if you can’t make more than just putting your money in an ISA?Why 20:1 is the best leverage for a beginner.
Even as an amateur, it’s easy to see why you shouldn’t be using 1000:1 or 500:1 leverage. Drop it down to 20:1 or 30:1, tops.Buying indicators is a waste of time.
If somebody said “I can show you how to win the lottery, just buy this software from me for £250 and it’ll show you how” would you purchase their product? You’d be an idiot if you did, so why would you do it for the financial markets? Working hard trumps any quick fix out there.Correctly keeping a journal, and why.
The point of keeping a trading journal is to establish what your negative habits are, in relation to trading profitably, and slowly eliminating those mistakes from your trading. Simple really, and you only need to keep track of: The Currency Pair, Long/Short, Pips Gained/Lost, Screenshot of Entry/Exit, Reflective Comments.Currency Price (and why it moves).
The Interbank Network basically moves it where it wants to, and there’s nothing you can do about it. E.g. Pegging and Unpegging a currency whenever they feel like it (in essense).
A Question to Anybody Reading:
Are there any good methodologies to use, to self-evaluate your mistakes if you don’t have have access to a coach or mentor to point them out? (In Terms of Trading)