Haven't been writing much lately, and there's a good reason.
My mother has been in and out of the hospital fighting an infection. She suffers them sometimes due to chemotherapy. It is times like this that put a perspective on the important things in life.
Again....99% of the time, I don't give a shit what the Euro is worth. You shouldn't either. That's my advice. In the end, it doesn't matter.
I have been doing some thinking about these high-finance types we all "admire". Some genius decided that hiding his bad bets in the markets from his boss at Societe General was a good idea. He didn't want to get fired, after all. Bam! Now there's a write off of something like 8 billion. Is this the type of idiot we need to look to for advice in the markets?
These parasites will spout off tirades like the following: "CPI in the U.S. came in .1% lower than expectations. Coupled with losses in the building sector, this should be bad for the Dollar, as people run to the relative safety of the Euro."
Meanwhile, this same dipshit is buying Euros, and hoping you do the same, increasing his profits.
Here's a analysis for you: The EUR/USD pair goes up because more people want Euros than fucking Dollars. It's that simple. Supply and Demand. Economics 101 in it's purest form. I don't care which way it goes, just as long as I am with the movement. I couldn't tell you what so-and-so said about the implied rate of something in Belgium and how it effects the Brazilian Real. I don't know, and the longer I trade, the more I understand I don't need to know.
I don't mean to sound overly angry, but there has been a lot of crap being posted on the net lately. Let's be honest: It's because nobody knows where this all ends up. Recession, Depression, The Mets winning the World Series next year? What does it all mean? Nothing.....nothing at all.
It is no wonder this business is so hard for the new guy.....so much noise. Just keep it in perspective.
As a side note, yesterday on Bloomberg's front page, there were the usual 5 videos at the bottom. 2 said something about recession being inevitable, and 2 saying that it should be a slow-down, but nothing major. The other story was something much more interesting involving some deal with alternative biofuels, I believe. I don't know, can't remember. Wasn't recession talk is all I know.
Have a great weekend, and tell someone you love them. There is real value in that, not the Euro, Pound, Franc, or even Dollar.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Please help, on fire!
Alright, maybe not quite.....but having a hell of a month.
7.02% gain so far.
British Pound/Japanese Yen pair has been good to me. So has the Euro/U.S. Dollar, and the U.S. Dollar/Japanese Yen pairs as well.
The nice thing is that I have already hit my monthly target. I am trying to keep it at about 4% per month, and I am getting better and better now. I am presently up 19% total since late October. (When I opened this account, and joined the James16 group.) I cannot tell you how it feels to see this hard work paying off finally.
The Eurodollar has been somewhat choppy in the last few days, so I have made money selling and buying Euros, for small gains. I was lucky enough to be on the right side of the British Pound/Yen pair. (That one can hurt you, with the way it moves.)
I almost got long Euro/Swiss Franc, but it never confirmed the move I was looking for. (It might have by now, I don't know....closed the charts at noon.)
All-in-all, I have to say that I am quite pleased, and finally am starting to gain some confidence. Thank God all that work wasn't in vain, as it would have been devastating. So there is a message in all of this "gloating":
Never give up.
It is impossible to become successful at anything by quitting. Just do me a favor, don't trade large amounts until you become profitable on a consistent basis.
I once read a great post by James16 saying that this is a business. Most of us get into this thinking of quick riches. And guess what? It isn't.
But with compounding interest, it can grow your money fairly quick. I know it's not what some of you newer traders want to hear, but it's the truth.
Remember - the truth will set you free.
7.02% gain so far.
British Pound/Japanese Yen pair has been good to me. So has the Euro/U.S. Dollar, and the U.S. Dollar/Japanese Yen pairs as well.
The nice thing is that I have already hit my monthly target. I am trying to keep it at about 4% per month, and I am getting better and better now. I am presently up 19% total since late October. (When I opened this account, and joined the James16 group.) I cannot tell you how it feels to see this hard work paying off finally.
The Eurodollar has been somewhat choppy in the last few days, so I have made money selling and buying Euros, for small gains. I was lucky enough to be on the right side of the British Pound/Yen pair. (That one can hurt you, with the way it moves.)
I almost got long Euro/Swiss Franc, but it never confirmed the move I was looking for. (It might have by now, I don't know....closed the charts at noon.)
All-in-all, I have to say that I am quite pleased, and finally am starting to gain some confidence. Thank God all that work wasn't in vain, as it would have been devastating. So there is a message in all of this "gloating":
Never give up.
It is impossible to become successful at anything by quitting. Just do me a favor, don't trade large amounts until you become profitable on a consistent basis.
I once read a great post by James16 saying that this is a business. Most of us get into this thinking of quick riches. And guess what? It isn't.
But with compounding interest, it can grow your money fairly quick. I know it's not what some of you newer traders want to hear, but it's the truth.
Remember - the truth will set you free.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Sometimes they give money away.....
Sometimes this trading deal gets pretty easy. Not often enough, but sometimes it's just like getting free money.
The first chart is the Swiss Franc vs. Japanese Yen pair, daily time frame. Click on it to enlarge. Notice anything dead obvious? Yes, it's been in a box forever. Why? Probably because most people don't care. (The weekly chart is even less exciting.)
So last night, I bought this pair.....the second chart is a 4 hour chart of the same pair. You can see at the circle, and green line, I got in. The top line is where I got out. I don't know if it will reach the top of the channel, or "box", but it doesn't matter to me. I just wanted to take profits where it would be reasonable to expect it to go, without holding on to it for a few weeks possibly.
So I decided to buy it at 97.60. My profit target was 98.30. The best part of this trade is that I got in 5 minutes before going to bed. I woke up this morning already out with the 70 pip profit. This is the best kind of trade in the world. Had to love this trade mainly because of the hammer on the four hour. All while sleeping. I love this game sometimes!
So far the month is going well, as I am up 5.13%. Nothing to bitch about here.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Random milestones and "Great Traders".
This post is going to be a little different than most. Probably a bit longer too. Sorry about that.
Ok, first things first: I decided to go "Balls Out" on Non-Farm Payroll this last Friday for my "Mini-Account Challenge" account. I suck, and now I know it. ;-)
I was somewhere around 49th in the standings, now I don't know where I am. I let it run wild all day. I have no idea if I still even have that money. I did it more as a psychological exercise. After putting in the order, I decided to go to work. This was very, very, reckless. But, what it DID DO, was to show me I would survive no matter what happened. Guess what? I'm still alive.
As far as my normal account goes, I wasn't so bold. I am up 2.75% for the month so far. Not too bad.
***As a side note, don't ever try to scalp the market in one of these challenges while quitting smoking. It doesn't work.***
Of course, the quitting smoking is part of why I didn't care what happened. Naturally, I would have loved to come home to a $15,000 profit, but let's be honest here.....it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter for a couple of reasons actually.
Reason #1 is simple. Some idiot is up 478% after one day into the competition. Guess who's going to win it? Besides, I find this a little suspect mainly because I don't see how that could have happened on the 1st. There just doesn't seem like there was enough action. I could be wrong, but this seems suspect. Either that, or I am up against the best traders in the world. (Cough......**bullshit**....Cough.)
Reason #2 is just as "interesting". Last month, on the very last day, suddenly the leader was eclipsed by a huge margin. Not by one trader, but two. I wrote this off as some people closing huge winners at the end of the contest. I thought, "Fair enough".
However, as reason #1 shows.....I am suspect about this. In fact, his name was "Akam IBFX", which makes me even more suspicious. I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but these kind of things smell of conspiracy to me.
I am thinking of using the account to high-leverage scalp only, and not bothering with the "challenge". I like to stay under the radar. I am working on something right now to see if I can turn $250 into $1,000. (A challenge to myself.) So I may keep the account....I don't know.
Ok, on to more important things. (Easy to say since I am finally a consistent winner in my normal account.....I am sure my broker doesn't like that.)
So anyways, I quit smoking. I have now saved over $65 in the first week alone. (Hey....I will have that mini-account money back in like 3 more weeks!) This has been the smartest trade I have made in my entire time trading.
I have traded the cigarettes for the following:
$65 in my first week.
I feel 100 times better in the morning when I wake up.
I actually wake up mentally before noon now.
I get to see my son grow up without a fear of getting cancer.
My mother gets piece of mind. (Who DOES have cancer.)
My house smells better.
For the first time, I actually smelled fabric softener at the end of the day on my clothes. (Who knew it lasted that long?)
Things taste different. (Man, I really love some odd things all of the sudden.)
I am not as pissed off. (This one has really surprised me.)
I can face adversity a little easier. (This cannot hurt trading at all.)
Oh, and a ton of other shit I can't remember.
What a great trade. And to think I was paying for the honor of killing myself. I have decided that if I want to kill myself, I want it to have something to do with explosions, and gardening tools. Death by smoking takes too long, and I hate waiting around.
Another milestone is my first month of being married. It hasn't killed me. Huh.
Oh, and I am through my first full year of trading. To quote a few hippies, "Suddenly it occurs to me.....What a long, strange trip it's been." I don't like that particular band, but they sound like closet traders to me. ;-)
But it really has been an interesting journey. As a trader, you have to really face your fears. I have learned more about myself in the last year than I think I ever have. The profit and loss of trading really isn't about money at all sometimes. Sometimes it is intangibles that suddenly are added to the "Wealth of your existence." There are certain things I have learned that cannot be measured in monetary terms. I have had to take a hard, long look at myself.
As traders, we are the some of the most evolved people on the planet. I truly believe this. Mainly because we delve into the last frontier on a daily basis: Our own psyche. Most of the people walking around really never do this. They never get to know themselves. Sad really, as I believe if you don't know yourself, there are plenty of people out there willing to tell you who you are. (Normally in the form of what to buy, but that's a totally different conversation.)
Friends, this post sadly isn't going to be very technical in nature, but I think somewhere in this rambling there is some knowledge.
However, I have an exercise I think you should try:
List ten things that are truly important to you and why. I'm not talking about things like "To have a bitching car." I'm talking about real things. Things that truly matter. For example, although my mother is getting better, (This time.) one of the biggest things for me is her to be alive in June so she can meet her new grandson/granddaughter. That my friends, truly matters. (And puts that question of "What's the Euro trading at?" in perspective.)
Another thing might be your freedom. I believe that is very important to most traders. However, somewhere in the middle of learning all of this new trading stuff...we forget that the chase for money is about freedom. (In it's purest form.) If you don't understand how money can equate to freedom, you really don't get it. If the trading is all about getting rich, you never will. It's about learning the game, and being rewarded by the dollars. It's a way to measure how you did. Nothing more. Just like having a ton of money just means that you don't have to worry about the cable bill. That's all. It's about freedom.
Besides, I have posted before that if you are sitting in front of your computer 23 hours a day - you aren't free. I don't care if you are making $15,000 a day.....you're still broke. But in a worse way, broke spiritually.
Take the time to work on this list. If trading is one of the first things you list, you may need to rethink what matters to you.
TRADE TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO TRADE.
Cheers.
Ok, first things first: I decided to go "Balls Out" on Non-Farm Payroll this last Friday for my "Mini-Account Challenge" account. I suck, and now I know it. ;-)
I was somewhere around 49th in the standings, now I don't know where I am. I let it run wild all day. I have no idea if I still even have that money. I did it more as a psychological exercise. After putting in the order, I decided to go to work. This was very, very, reckless. But, what it DID DO, was to show me I would survive no matter what happened. Guess what? I'm still alive.
As far as my normal account goes, I wasn't so bold. I am up 2.75% for the month so far. Not too bad.
***As a side note, don't ever try to scalp the market in one of these challenges while quitting smoking. It doesn't work.***
Of course, the quitting smoking is part of why I didn't care what happened. Naturally, I would have loved to come home to a $15,000 profit, but let's be honest here.....it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter for a couple of reasons actually.
Reason #1 is simple. Some idiot is up 478% after one day into the competition. Guess who's going to win it? Besides, I find this a little suspect mainly because I don't see how that could have happened on the 1st. There just doesn't seem like there was enough action. I could be wrong, but this seems suspect. Either that, or I am up against the best traders in the world. (Cough......**bullshit**....Cough.)
Reason #2 is just as "interesting". Last month, on the very last day, suddenly the leader was eclipsed by a huge margin. Not by one trader, but two. I wrote this off as some people closing huge winners at the end of the contest. I thought, "Fair enough".
However, as reason #1 shows.....I am suspect about this. In fact, his name was "Akam IBFX", which makes me even more suspicious. I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but these kind of things smell of conspiracy to me.
I am thinking of using the account to high-leverage scalp only, and not bothering with the "challenge". I like to stay under the radar. I am working on something right now to see if I can turn $250 into $1,000. (A challenge to myself.) So I may keep the account....I don't know.
Ok, on to more important things. (Easy to say since I am finally a consistent winner in my normal account.....I am sure my broker doesn't like that.)
So anyways, I quit smoking. I have now saved over $65 in the first week alone. (Hey....I will have that mini-account money back in like 3 more weeks!) This has been the smartest trade I have made in my entire time trading.
I have traded the cigarettes for the following:
$65 in my first week.
I feel 100 times better in the morning when I wake up.
I actually wake up mentally before noon now.
I get to see my son grow up without a fear of getting cancer.
My mother gets piece of mind. (Who DOES have cancer.)
My house smells better.
For the first time, I actually smelled fabric softener at the end of the day on my clothes. (Who knew it lasted that long?)
Things taste different. (Man, I really love some odd things all of the sudden.)
I am not as pissed off. (This one has really surprised me.)
I can face adversity a little easier. (This cannot hurt trading at all.)
Oh, and a ton of other shit I can't remember.
What a great trade. And to think I was paying for the honor of killing myself. I have decided that if I want to kill myself, I want it to have something to do with explosions, and gardening tools. Death by smoking takes too long, and I hate waiting around.
Another milestone is my first month of being married. It hasn't killed me. Huh.
Oh, and I am through my first full year of trading. To quote a few hippies, "Suddenly it occurs to me.....What a long, strange trip it's been." I don't like that particular band, but they sound like closet traders to me. ;-)
But it really has been an interesting journey. As a trader, you have to really face your fears. I have learned more about myself in the last year than I think I ever have. The profit and loss of trading really isn't about money at all sometimes. Sometimes it is intangibles that suddenly are added to the "Wealth of your existence." There are certain things I have learned that cannot be measured in monetary terms. I have had to take a hard, long look at myself.
As traders, we are the some of the most evolved people on the planet. I truly believe this. Mainly because we delve into the last frontier on a daily basis: Our own psyche. Most of the people walking around really never do this. They never get to know themselves. Sad really, as I believe if you don't know yourself, there are plenty of people out there willing to tell you who you are. (Normally in the form of what to buy, but that's a totally different conversation.)
Friends, this post sadly isn't going to be very technical in nature, but I think somewhere in this rambling there is some knowledge.
However, I have an exercise I think you should try:
List ten things that are truly important to you and why. I'm not talking about things like "To have a bitching car." I'm talking about real things. Things that truly matter. For example, although my mother is getting better, (This time.) one of the biggest things for me is her to be alive in June so she can meet her new grandson/granddaughter. That my friends, truly matters. (And puts that question of "What's the Euro trading at?" in perspective.)
Another thing might be your freedom. I believe that is very important to most traders. However, somewhere in the middle of learning all of this new trading stuff...we forget that the chase for money is about freedom. (In it's purest form.) If you don't understand how money can equate to freedom, you really don't get it. If the trading is all about getting rich, you never will. It's about learning the game, and being rewarded by the dollars. It's a way to measure how you did. Nothing more. Just like having a ton of money just means that you don't have to worry about the cable bill. That's all. It's about freedom.
Besides, I have posted before that if you are sitting in front of your computer 23 hours a day - you aren't free. I don't care if you are making $15,000 a day.....you're still broke. But in a worse way, broke spiritually.
Take the time to work on this list. If trading is one of the first things you list, you may need to rethink what matters to you.
TRADE TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO TRADE.
Cheers.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
My first "Contest Session"
I just finished my first session with this contest. It went fairly well, although I have to admit I don't really enjoy trading like this. Man, I forgot how nerve-racking high leveraged scalping can be.
But the good news is that I went up 5.73% in the New York Session. Still a long way to go though.
I assume I could also be at somewhat of a disadvantage because I cannot sit here glued to my monitor everyday. I am sure somewhere there is a trader doing just that. He is probably a good trader, does it for a living, and has this account for just pure fun. So, he has the advantages. But then again, he could also make that fatal error.
Truth be known, it doesn't really matter if I place in the top 5 or not. The point is to be positive. If I turn $300 into $500, and don't qualify for the prize money, I will survive somehow....
I had someone ask me what I am going to do with any winnings or gains. To be honest, I don't know. Maybe I will put it back into my normal account, or possibly just some of it. (The more likely scenario.)
I have earned enough so far to go to the Japanese Steakhouse. Hell, sounds good right about now....I really don't know what I will do with whatever is left.
One thing is for sure, I could never go back to scalping all the time again. It didn't take very long to feel that burn in the pit of my stomach!
Will update soon, hope all is well in your world.
But the good news is that I went up 5.73% in the New York Session. Still a long way to go though.
I assume I could also be at somewhat of a disadvantage because I cannot sit here glued to my monitor everyday. I am sure somewhere there is a trader doing just that. He is probably a good trader, does it for a living, and has this account for just pure fun. So, he has the advantages. But then again, he could also make that fatal error.
Truth be known, it doesn't really matter if I place in the top 5 or not. The point is to be positive. If I turn $300 into $500, and don't qualify for the prize money, I will survive somehow....
I had someone ask me what I am going to do with any winnings or gains. To be honest, I don't know. Maybe I will put it back into my normal account, or possibly just some of it. (The more likely scenario.)
I have earned enough so far to go to the Japanese Steakhouse. Hell, sounds good right about now....I really don't know what I will do with whatever is left.
One thing is for sure, I could never go back to scalping all the time again. It didn't take very long to feel that burn in the pit of my stomach!
Will update soon, hope all is well in your world.
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