Forex Trading

[ScarElbow]

Just curious, anybody has traded or is trading forex currency? If so how was your experience like? I've been trading options for a few years and having some success. But the leverage is only 10:1 where as forex is somewhere from 50:1 to 100:1. So it makes sense to get my hands on it.

[steveo]

I've done it. The available margin is massive. I came out about even in the wash but I think it's really hard. You get taxed on your profits but your losses you have to suck up. You can I realise use those losses against profits made in subsequent years but for me when I made about 20k and then was taxed 10k and then over the next couple of years I lost say 5k I thought it was smarter to just take out the money and pay down our mortgage.

At best I think you can view it as an income and then invest the money into stocks or houses or something safer. The problem is I doubt anyone makes a consistent income from trading Forex and therefore you have to have a job as well.

Now I just save and invest into index funds.

[bwall]

If you enjoy B.A.S.E. jumping, race car driving, and paragliding, then trading forex is for you. No need for drinking coffee in the morning, but you might need a few beers before noon.

If you enjoy constantly second guessing yourself, correctly picking the direction of the market-moving news but having the market move against you, or margin calls, then by all means get started asap.

As you may have surmised, my forex trading days are behind me. I still engage in options, which is like taking candy from a baby compared to forex.

[Michael in ABQ]

Go light a pile of money on fire. It will be easier than watching it disappear trading (read: gambling) on forex.

I tried it a few times in my younger years. All told I probably lost about $2k. That and some other significant losses in individual stocks were an expensive lesson that broad market index funds are the way to go.

[ScarElbow]

Steveo & bwall, since you both have traded forex in the past and lost, can you give me example of a trade and what mistakes you made and what was the strategy within the trade (risk management, profit taking, cutting losses, etc.)

[bwall]

Steveo & bwall, since you both have traded forex in the past and lost, can you give me example of a trade and what mistakes you made and what was the strategy within the trade (risk management, profit taking, cutting losses, etc.)

Easier said than done, in the sense that it all sounds easy until you're in the middle of the trade. #1 rule, imo, is to have an exit strategy ("Im gonna take this position until X occurs") and then once that even happens, get out no matter what; up, down or sideways.  Because when you're in the middle of the trade, it is extremely difficult to think clearly.

As Mike Tyson said "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." If you decide to trade forex, you'll have a much greater appreciation of that statement.

 

[ScarElbow]

If you already established rules for exiting at 'X' , and then 'X' happened why was it difficult to exit? Was it because you couldn't control your emotion? Was it because you wanted the market to move the way you wanted it to move and not because of you letting the market dictate how you want to trade?

[bwall]

If you already established rules for exiting at 'X' , and then 'X' happened why was it difficult to exit? Was it because you couldn't control your emotion? Was it because you wanted the market to move the way you wanted it to move and not because of you letting the market dictate how you want to trade?

It sounds to me like you are ready to start forex trading. Please start with a few trades and come back and let us know how it went. Then we will be able to have a better conversation with more symmetrical information and experiences.

[ScarElbow]

No I'm simply trying to understand how your thought process worked during that rough time of indecisive exiting. Did you put in place a sound trading principle before making a trade (entry/exit point, risk management, profit taking, etc). Trading not unlike investing requires doing your homework and practice your butt off. Nothing more

[bwall]

It's hard to explain the thought process. The words that I'd choose wouldn't/couldn't accurately portray the situation.  The saying "There's no substitute for experience", is particularly accurate here.

Sound trading principle is absolutely necessary, but it's really hard to pull off, which is what prompted the Mike Tyson quote.

The best advice I can give is to read the book about Jesse Livermore "Reminisces of a Stock Operator", the best trader the USA (world?) ever produced. He made over $1billion in the stock market crash of 1929 and yet died broke ten years later.

Then, read about how George Soros broke the Bank of England in 1992 and precipitated the 1998 financial crisis in S.E. Asia.

These guys were/are the best in the world. Their insights far surpass anything I can provide.

[ScarElbow]

What about trade setup? What method did you use? Leading and lagging indicators or just pure naked chart pattern recognition? Did you take profit at a certain amount of pips movement and did you put in a stop loss when it went against you? I just need more details on the trades themselves and why you lost particularly when you already established rules for yourself to exit at 'X'

[Blueberries]

It's hard to explain the thought process. The words that I'd choose wouldn't/couldn't accurately portray the situation.  The saying "There's no substitute for experience", is particularly accurate here.

Sound trading principle is absolutely necessary, but it's really hard to pull off, which is what prompted the Mike Tyson quote.

The best advice I can give is to read the book about Jesse Livermore "Reminisces of a Stock Operator", the best trader the USA (world?) ever produced. He made over $1billion in the stock market crash of 1929 and yet died broke ten years later.

Then, read about how George Soros broke the Bank of England in 1992 and precipitated the 1998 financial crisis in S.E. Asia.

These guys were/are the best in the world. Their insights far surpass anything I can provide.

Great book!  Jesse Livermore's problem was that he didn't follow his own rules.  In his own book (How to Trade in Stocks) you can read some of his rules and see that he abandons those rules and lets his emotions take over. 

[EricEng]

Had couple friends that thought they could spot direction trading forex.  They gambled with it, got ahead a few thousand and started going larger amounts and then both lost about $5k.  They realized it was a great way to lose money and left them constantly stressed watching the market all day and world events.  They were scared to go an hour without checking if they needed to bail from a position.

[ScarElbow]

Two important rules in trading but not everyone follows are: let your profit run cut your losses short, and keep your trade size to 1% or 2% of your total account. As a trader you certainly will lose sometimes just as long as you don't lose the opportunity for another trade.

Keep your greed in check.

[foobaz]

There are a lot of tips on this thread for trading but I've seen people both make money and lose money by following the same rules. It still feels like luck to me so perhaps it's better to treat this as entertainment as if it were gambling, if you're into that.

[ScarElbow]

Well in gambling there are two sides to every table. You and the house. Who will most likely be the loser? You, as in alot of you who keep coming back to play again and again. Statistical probability will absolutely be against you the more you play. The casino knows this and probability is on their side to win over the long run. So let's shift our perspective to think like the house where we put probability on our side to win over the long run, shall we? Risk small trade size, let your profit run, cut your losses short. Even at a 50% win rate you'd still come out ahead in the game. Ah all of the sudden gambling is indeed VERY entertaining.

[Blueberries]

There are a lot of tips on this thread for trading but I've seen people both make money and lose money by following the same rules. It still feels like luck to me so perhaps it's better to treat this as entertainment as if it were gambling, if you're into that.

Yes, you will make money and lose money, but if you utilize risk management (and stick to your plan/rules), your wins will far outweigh your losses; you are the casino, not the gambler.  People have been trading in that manner since the beginning of the market.  The reason people struggle is because the stock market is a psychological game of probabilities. 

[EricEng]

let your profit run, cut your losses short. Even at a 50% win rate you'd still come out ahead in the game.

Not sure if you are being serious or sarcastic.  That is far easier said than done.  Let your profit run too long and it suddenly stops being a profit.  Cut your loses and you miss the recovery.  This is textbook timing and in money trading there isn't reliable long term growth back by a business.  You are just straight gambling on the direction.  If it was so easy, people would be doing it reliably and with software (I know there is some algorithms used for robo trading).

[steveo]

What about trade setup? What method did you use? Leading and lagging indicators or just pure naked chart pattern recognition? Did you take profit at a certain amount of pips movement and did you put in a stop loss when it went against you? I just need more details on the trades themselves and why you lost particularly when you already established rules for yourself to exit at 'X'

I learnt little bits from an extremely successful trader. He develops a feel for the market based on charts and news. He then takes big positions and let's them run - up or down. He doesn't believe in stop losses. He doesn't take profits early. When he loses he just picks the wrong way and it hurts. To him that is part of the game and it's one of the reasons he is successful. I'm not sure top level traders are at all like you get sold in the books - i.e. technical only traders who use stop losses and rigorously manage their risk.

My experience of trading - i.e. profits and losses were exactly as per what I was taught. It's hard getting the trade right. Your gut can stuff you up in that you can get out at the wrong time but the key to making money is getting into a big position and picking the direction right when you get a big market movement.

I doubt anyone can be a successful trader over the longer term. You can make a fortune (the guy I learnt from is a multi-millionaire) but typically you make money from working in the business (as per the guy who taught me). You can still be a profitable trader but the only way I've seen it work is very different from the book knowledge and it's also really really inconsistent. It's having a good feel for the market and being able to bet big (which entails losing big).

[steveo]

let your profit run, cut your losses short. Even at a 50% win rate you'd still come out ahead in the game.

Not sure if you are being serious or sarcastic.  That is far easier said than done.  Let your profit run too long and it suddenly stops being a profit.  Cut your loses and you miss the recovery.  This is textbook timing and in money trading there isn't reliable long term growth back by a business.  You are just straight gambling on the direction.  If it was so easy, people would be doing it reliably and with software (I know there is some algorithms used for robo trading).

The guy I learnt from set up a algorithmic trading approach. He was the trader and someone must have hired a programmer to somehow create a programme to trade like him. It was another in a long list of failures. I remember going out for lunch, his shout because his position had just broken even after holding it for a long time - something like 18 months. He had been down close to 2 million dollars.

As I just stated he doesn't believe in the idea of cutting your losses. You go in and put your balls on the line.

[ILikeDividends]

It's having a good feel for the market and being able to bet big (which entails losing big).

It's like having a "good feel" at the craps table.  You could win big or you could lose big.

Sure, it could work.  Or it might not work.

[EricEng]

It's having a good feel for the market and being able to bet big (which entails losing big).

It's like having a "good feel" at the craps table.  You could win big or you could lose big.

Sure, it could work.  Or it might not work.

I feel like we are going in circles.  Can we all just agree it is gambling based on "hunchs" "feels" and "gut"?  As long as you are aware it is gambling going in, then your choice.

[ScarElbow]

"Bet big entails losing big" is simply a terrible strategy and just flat out horrible risk management. When you accumulate profit you do whatever necessary to protect it and not give it right back. That's why risk to reward ratio in every trade should be 1:2 or 1:3, you take the profit at 127% Fibonacci extension or at the depth at whatever pattern the price breaks out at. Then put a stop loss past the support/resistance line at the measured move against your directional bias. There are tools to do this, it's not that difficult to learn. Sure trading is not a simple discipline, but is any worthwhile discipline simple? Of course not. Is it worth it to learn these skill sets and in turn learning so much more about the market(stocks, options, futures, forex. etc) and in turn learning so much more about the world? You bet.

[EricEng]

That's why risk to reward ratio in every trade should be 1:2 or 1:3, you take the profit at 127% Fibonacci extension or at the depth at whatever pattern the price breaks out at. Then put a stop loss past the support/resistance line at the measured move against your directional bias. There are tools to do this, it's not that difficult to learn.

You are now talking "technical analysis" which is not accepted as a sound basis, even considered myth/bunk by many.  You are looking for a pattern among noise.
https://www.fscomeau.com/why-technical-analysis-is-bullshit/

The problem is technical analysis in stocks for instance is looking for patterns when the direction is determined by companies individual performance and stock value.  A stock does not go up or down because of imaginary shapes and support lines.  Unless of course everyone started trading by these imaginary rules.

Now technical analysis in forex is even more worthless.  There isn't even business performance backing it. 

[bwall]

When do you start trading?

It seems like you have an edge, I'm excited for you.

[ScarElbow]

Whether technical or fundamental analysis, these are techniques used to gather data for investors/traders to make an informed decision on a particular security, be it from the long or short position. At the heart of chart patterns are historical data that paints an incomplete picture behind the psychology of buyers and sellers' . Then it's up to the individual trader to pull the trigger and stands 100% behind his/her conviction on the trade while using risk management mentioned above. The more experienced you are as a trader the more you are in tuned with the pulse of market, and yes in this sense you do have to 'feel' it out, not blindly but with current supporting breakout pattern similar to past pattern. And remember, past performance doesnt guarantee future result, therefore bet small and have risk manangement in place. Now by doing this technical analysis, am I forgetting about market moving events? Absolutely not, it's part of trading. And as a trader, am I gonna be 100% right all the time? Absolutely not. This is simply a tool to help you make an informed decision along with using risk management to align with your financial goal.

[EricEng]

Where do you get these precise and accurate risk/reward ratios?  Last I checked those weren't include in company SEC filings.

What I love is how these pattern's always break when you zoom in and out.  You can always zoom to smaller or larger time periods which have totally different shapes.

Best of luck with your gambling/market timing/technical analysis.  You won't find many that share your passion on this forum.

[SubL stache]

I don't know anything about Forex trading, but I clicked on this thread bc I have a client (I'm a CPA) that started trading Forex after retiring early with multi millions.  We've only filed one return since this new trading has started and it was for a loss of over $300k.  Good luck.

[steveo]

"Bet big entails losing big" is simply a terrible strategy and just flat out horrible risk management. When you accumulate profit you do whatever necessary to protect it and not give it right back. That's why risk to reward ratio in every trade should be 1:2 or 1:3, you take the profit at 127% Fibonacci extension or at the depth at whatever pattern the price breaks out at. Then put a stop loss past the support/resistance line at the measured move against your directional bias. There are tools to do this, it's not that difficult to learn. Sure trading is not a simple discipline, but is any worthwhile discipline simple? Of course not. Is it worth it to learn these skill sets and in turn learning so much more about the market(stocks, options, futures, forex. etc) and in turn learning so much more about the world? You bet.

One thing that I learnt was that this line of thinking doesn't work in the real world. I'll try to explain why this doesn't work. When you have a stop loss it's likely to be triggered and right when it's triggered the market could even move your way. If you get a good position and the market is starting to move and you get out you could leave a bunch of profit on the table and you aren't going to make a good amount of money to make up for the losses.

The guy I learnt off was the Treasurer of a big Bank in two countries and then ran a hedge fund for a billionaire. He has also made a tonne of money on his own accounts and takes positions of 20 million. He can have multiple positions going. I only personally know one successful trader but monetarily he has been extremely successful. I know people who have also thought they understood technical analysis and risk management and they could make money from trading. They failed. I actually put myself into this bucket as well. I used to think that there were ways to automate trading to some logical rules.

One more point I'd make is that we were discussing finances the other day and I mentioned that my approach is to just buy the index whenever I have the money and we both agreed how hard it was to time the market. He has a really strong opinion that it is exceptionally difficult/impossible to get the market right consistently and he doesn't believe that anyone should have to rely on trading income to live.

[reeshau]

The problem is technical analysis in stocks for instance is looking for patterns when the direction is determined by companies individual performance and stock value.  A stock does not go up or down because of imaginary shapes and support lines.  Unless of course everyone started trading by these imaginary rules.

@EricEng ,
I *almost* agree with you.  Yes, technical analysis means zero about the company behind a stock.  What some of the most successful stock investors I know consider is this:  the technicals show the market psychology about a stock.  So, they are fundamental investors who inform their buy / sell decisions with the technicals.  They are not using the shapes, which do sound like tea leaves or crystal ball reading.  But they do use indicators like RSI to understand if the market reaction to some news has played out, or if conditions of trading explain why a stock is not reacting to news as a fundamental analysis would show.  In this sense, it is useful tactically, as supporting information.

[ChpBstrd]

Risk small trade size, let your profit run, cut your losses short. Even at a 50% win rate you'd still come out ahead in the game. Ah all of the sudden gambling is indeed VERY entertaining.

I've heard the cut your losses and let your winners run advice many times before and it has never made sense to me.

Are we saying:
(a) The performance of my trade on day 1 affects its performance on day 2? I.e. if I'm up today it makes a loss tomorrow more likely due to mean reversion or whatever. Or...

(b) Trade performances are independent of the past, like a coin toss or roulette wheel, but there is some behavior/algorithm that will increase the odds of winning repeated trials of a game beyond the underlying odds of the game. I.e. In a 50%/50% repeated coin toss game, if you are down 2 flips you can stop playing and then start a new coin toss game to reset the odds? 1

To me, neither possibility makes the slightest sense.

If A, what is the theoretical basis to expect mean reversion or consistent back and forth motion in things like currency exchange rates? Does some force hold their values within some range? Also, if we are referring to means, wouldn't "let your losses recover" be equally valid advice as "let your gains run"?

If B, and I decide to accept odds of x% in day 1, why would I not accept the same odds in day 2 (other than being broke)?
Suppose I take a position today. I then look back at how the position would have performed had I bought it yesterday and learn the position would have made money. Does that make it a mistake to have bought it today or an even better idea?

[ScarElbow]

LOL you're way overcomplicating it with unnecessary logic and amazing display of verbiage. Here's a simple math:

1:2 risk to reward ratio. If I'm trading @ $2. It goes up to $4 I'm taking profit. It goes down to $1 I'm taking the loss. Pretty much sums it up.

[BicycleB]

@ScarElbow, you sound like you have a lot of answers. You sound dismissive of answers that don't accord with your own, and questions that imply your own answers need elaboration. Most importantly, you seem to view forex trading as an adventure, a learning experience. This suggests that indeed, what is needed is experience.

I've never traded forex, but I've been the kind of person who thought the kind of things you've written in this thread. At the time, I didn't have the guts to take action on them very often. But the few times I did take action, it was super informative.

Based on my personal history, the best thing to do next is make a series of small but exciting forex trades. Test your theories. Find out how it feels to get in the game. I am very curious as to the result, but win or lose, you'll learn something. Good luck!

[ScarElbow]

No what I have been using is a simple strategy that says if this --> do this, if that --> do that. And I'll show you what I mean. I'm currently in a short position of a 10,000 mini lot on the USD/JPY selling at 112.73. Because on the 10 day chart it shows it's at an overbought level at the +2 standard deviation zone, I'm willing to take profit at the 127% fibonacci extension zone or around 112.35 price level (~40 pips). And if it goes up to make a measured move against me my risk tolerance is around ~20 pips, at that point I will take the loss.

You see, by laying out all these numbers ahead of time before I even made the trade. I am pretty mechanical from this point on out regardless of where it moves. I will exit at my predetermined rules. I'll post it when I exit.

[ScarElbow]

Well the price alert triggered at 112.95 as it went against me and I exited with a $23 net loss. There it is. Now I'll wait for the next trade opportunity

[steveo]

Well the price alert triggered at 112.95 as it went against me and I exited with a $23 net loss. There it is. Now I'll wait for the next trade opportunity

Honestly I would just give up now. You've read these books on trading that tell you how to make money trading. The problem is that those books wouldn't need to be written if that was a successful trading approach. It doesn't work. You lose consistently small amounts and never make a large amount. If it worked the guys writing those books would just make money rather than sell books. It's heaps easier.

The guy I know is a multi-millionaire who has made real money trading. He knows the business really really well. I reckon the stuff you read about is just a scam. Do you think George Soros trades with a stop loss. Read up on what happened when he shorted the pound. Paraphrasing but a whole bunch of people in his trading house or whatever sold their positions quickly - he held on and took their positions on as his own. I'm pretty sure he also lost a tonne of money not long after this because he picked the wrong position. That is the game that the professionals who actually make money play. These people are extremely rare.

I've traded and I learnt that the automated approach doesn't work. Being a successful trader is really really hard. It's significantly harder when you can't even view the game accurately. I honestly think that the standard approach is designed to rip amateurs like yourself off.

[steveo]

"Bet big entails losing big" is simply a terrible strategy and just flat out horrible risk management. When you accumulate profit you do whatever necessary to protect it and not give it right back. That's why risk to reward ratio in every trade should be 1:2 or 1:3, you take the profit at 127% Fibonacci extension or at the depth at whatever pattern the price breaks out at. Then put a stop loss past the support/resistance line at the measured move against your directional bias. There are tools to do this, it's not that difficult to learn. Sure trading is not a simple discipline, but is any worthwhile discipline simple? Of course not. Is it worth it to learn these skill sets and in turn learning so much more about the market(stocks, options, futures, forex. etc) and in turn learning so much more about the world? You bet.

I really think you need to revisit this understanding of the markets. What you call horrible risk management is the way to make money trading. You can't accumulate profit and somehow protect it. The markets don't work that way. Fibonacci extensions mean nothing to the markets. Those stop losses that you think make you money actually lose you money. Support/resistance gets broken but then reverts. Reality is simply very very different to theory that isn't empirically driven. Even worse than this you may think you have an empirical approach to make money but it's simply data mining which works on historical data but the patterns never repeat.

If you change your whole perspective to accept it's gambling without set patterns (so it's not akin to like playing blackjack or poker) that you can understand you may have a chance. A really really low chance but a chance.

[steveo]

It's having a good feel for the market and being able to bet big (which entails losing big).

It's like having a "good feel" at the craps table.  You could win big or you could lose big.

Sure, it could work.  Or it might not work.

Correct. It's better though to accept the reality of the situation rather than make up fake rules that you think will work logically but they don't work. The guy I know is really really wealthy but the kicker is that he made that money trading for others. Yes he takes massive positions on his personal account but the reality is he has losses as well as wins. What set him up was trading for other people (including companies).

When I made a great trade (my only one) and made really good money I remember him stating I had a good feel for the market. I sure did - the problem was it only happened once.

I wouldn't recommend trading for anyone who wants to increase their wealth unless you are trading other people's money. Trading is cool especially the Forex markets if you use you own account and consider it throw away money. It's fun. Just keep your trading account to a small amount and never listen to people's advice who haven't made money on the markets or sell you books or advice because they can't make money themselves.

[ScarElbow]

LOL I don't understand the persistence behind this flood of trading dissuasion. Ive been doing this for years so clearly it's intended for other readers. All I can say is do your homework, control your emotion, have risk management in place, and most importantly have some fun doing it. Cuz trading is fun.
 

[steveo]

LOL I don't understand the persistence behind this flood of trading dissuasion. Ive been doing this for years so clearly it's intended for other readers. All I can say is do your homework, control your emotion, have risk management in place, and most importantly have some fun doing it. Cuz trading is fun.

I suppose my take in the way to trade is very different and I see you making the same mistakes I've seen all amateurs do. I thought the same until I learnt from someone who has actually been successful.

Good luck to you though.

[Blueberries]

LOL I don't understand the persistence behind this flood of trading dissuasion. Ive been doing this for years so clearly it's intended for other readers. All I can say is do your homework, control your emotion, have risk management in place, and most importantly have some fun doing it. Cuz trading is fun.

People who take a different path can sound like religious proselytizers.  I understand how...annoying that can be.  People will see it when they believe it. 

[ScarElbow]

I mean come on. It's like trying to scare kids away from sex instead of viewing it as a natural biological impulse and perhaps maybe possibly put some kind of sex education in place, talk honestly to your kids about sex, both the pleasure and pain, learn from previous mistakes, put a condom on, use lubricant, toys maybe. Or if youd like to swear to a life of celibacy be my guest, but I guarantee sex would still come across your mind. Sex is healthy folks. Have some

[steveo]

LOL I don't understand the persistence behind this flood of trading dissuasion. Ive been doing this for years so clearly it's intended for other readers. All I can say is do your homework, control your emotion, have risk management in place, and most importantly have some fun doing it. Cuz trading is fun.

People who take a different path can sound like religious proselytizers.  I understand how...annoying that can be.  People will see it when they believe it.

Good point. Don't worry about facts. Just believe.

[steveo]

I mean come on. It's like trying to scare kids away from sex instead of viewing it as a natural biological impulse and perhaps maybe possibly put some kind of sex education in place, talk honestly to your kids about sex, both the pleasure and pain, learn from previous mistakes, put a condom on, use lubricant, toys maybe. Or if youd like to swear to a life of celibacy be my guest, but I guarantee sex would still come across your mind. Sex is healthy folks. Have some

There is no similarity at all to what you are stating and having sex. Sex is something that is pretty easy to explain. Forex trading and most trading is something that a lot of people think they understand because they read the wrong advice which gives them a false picture of the market. They typically fail. That is why you are taking tiny positions and failing to make a profit whereas a very small percentage of people actually make big money. You have false confidence because you think you are playing the game via some rules that actually help you but those rules actually hurt you.

I'll tell you another story that may help you. When the guy I know managed a big trading operation he told all the traders to only take big positions. He wanted them to only trade when they had some confidence in the position and to hold onto that position. I think you should try that - forget about all the rules you think you know. Just take a big position and either lose or win. You will at least give yourself a chance to win that way.

[Blueberries]

LOL I don't understand the persistence behind this flood of trading dissuasion. Ive been doing this for years so clearly it's intended for other readers. All I can say is do your homework, control your emotion, have risk management in place, and most importantly have some fun doing it. Cuz trading is fun.

People who take a different path can sound like religious proselytizers.  I understand how...annoying that can be.  People will see it when they believe it.

Good point. Don't worry about facts. Just believe.

I find it hard to believe you would communicate with someone like this in person.  No, I didn't say that.  At all.  If you believe it is impossible or highly unlikely, you are less likely to believe it even if you saw it. 

[ScarElbow]

Really, there's no similarity with trading and sex? You're constantly in and out of the market with long position, short position, naked puts, spreads, straddle, strangle. If these words don't give you a pornographic visual I don't know what does.

[Davnasty]

Really, there's no similarity with trading and sex? You're constantly in and out of the market with long position, short position, naked puts, spreads, straddle, strangle. If these words don't give you a pornographic visual I don't know what does.

That's nice.

But seriously, do you think it's a good analogy? If your goal is to get a rush from the thrill of gambling, maybe it is. But if your goal is to make money I see no similarities at all.

[ScarElbow]

If you already made up your mind about it being gambling, you're right from your skewed perspective and risky strategy. If you think of it being a long term business, you're also right in the way you approach the overall strategy with a sound business plan in mind. But the hard stance taken by rigid thinking where there's no grey area whatsoever to explore is very troubling in this thread.

[ILikeDividends]

“There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin’. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”

― Will Rogers

[BicycleB]

OP, I just re-read. Apparently you've had a good run trading so far. Best of luck going forward.

I suspect that the trader's mindset is still a contrast to the thrift-and-hold steady approach of most on this board, so persuading others is a high bar here. But a friend of mine started a trader's website (specialized in stock options, not forex) and developed a good living from it. Your enthusiasm reminds me of his. Maybe a more profitable outlet for your enthusiasm would be a publicly available website where you discuss your experience and ideas, linked to a paid newsletter or advice program or some such.