This is not a method that I have used before. I prefer taking a directional bias when I trade. Do you find spread costs are high though if you have to pay spread on both sides of the hedge?

MY Trades journal

I think I may be misunderstanding your approach to the markets. Are you saying that you enter a long and short trade at the same time (using 2 different brokers or accounts I assume) with a 20 pip stop loss on each trade and and a 35 - 40 pip profit ...

MY Trades journal

I have always been a fan of ATR based trailing stops - multiplying the ATR by 2 or 3.

Stop Placement

Cool ! 2% sounds small and you will be tempted to increase size especially when you are on a winning streak or when your capital grows. Resisting this temptation can be difficult but by sticking with 2% you can stay in the game and trading like ...

MY Trades journal

My losing trades generally last 24 hours. Winning trades anywhere from a few days to a year. The longer the trade the more profitable it is for me.

How long do you hold your position..?

I don't have the indicator for metatrader to be able to post it unfortunately but I am sure that one must exist for mt4 and if not it probably would be easy to create.

Steviet's Live Trades!

Most charting packages have an ATR indicator. Some charting packages allow you to add a multiple to the ATR and then it plots this line on the chart. This line becomes your trailing stop. Example with USD/CAD: Nov 14 Long trade at 1.1379. ...

Steviet's Live Trades!

I think using an ATR based stop is effective. It seems to keep you in the winning trades much longer. The USD/CAD has been the worst performing pair so far in this journal but using an ATR based stop multiplied by 2 or 3 this trade would still be ...

Steviet's Live Trades!

Again I don't know the rules of your trading system. If you don't have any hard entry/exit rules I suggest you work on that. 2% of $1000 is $20. So we shall assume that maximum risk is $20. Next we need to determine the size of your position. This ...

MY Trades journal

Without knowing how you trade I would suggest that you risk no more than 1% - 2% of your account on any individual trade. I would also say beware of over trading as the transaction costs (spread) have a way of adding up. Monaco

MY Trades journal

The simple answer is no they would not - at least not serious investors. Maybe friends or family would trust you with you a few grand - probably would be your best bet. Good luck with trading real money - you would be better off to start with the ...

Jumping onto the professional arena

There are numerous different types and styles of trading but in an effort to keep this simple I would suggest that the first step would be to learn some generalist areas which are applicable to all trading in general. The generalist areas that you ...

Do you have to specialise?

This has been a good thread to read. Nothing wrong with a defensive strategy - good for the nerves and preservation of capital is the name of the game. All the best for 2007. Monaco

Steviet's Live Trades!

I am not familiar with these people.

Excellent book worth reading

It is not a book that describes specific detailed trading plans. Rather it is a compilation of interviews (similiar to Market Wizards series) with today's top hedge fund traders, fund managers etc that covers how they trade, what type of general ...

Excellent book worth reading

Edward Allen Toppel in his book Zen in the Markets: Confessions of a Samuri Trader has an excellent quote simply saying that "Price is the language of the market". 'Listening' to where price is NOW and not being influenced by what different ...

Does 2.0000 Cloud Your Judgement

Alot depends upon the personality of the trader as to what time frame they are most comfortable with. For myself if I trade the 5 minute charts I will have cardiac problems, if I trade the 15 minute charts I will experience panic attacks, if I trade ...

Full Time Trader..

Here is my live experience with Martingale from a long time ago with horse racing... When I was very young I heard about a way to gamble that was guaranteed to win. This guy I met told me that in British horse racing all you have to do is choose a ...

Probability System Theory and Money Management