Enquiry from a new trader

A new trader (who will remain anonymous) has contacted us to ask for some help. I’ll deal with each point, as it is of value to other new traders but largely for my own reflection. This is what we do, and we do this stuff for free and no obligation – ever! Note that I (or we) am/are as brutal as the markets will be. I (or we) am/are not here to encourage or facilitate anybody entering what is essentially a Loser’s game. None of this is advice – it is opinion. READ THAT again! The issues are dealt with based on the words used in the e-correspondence. I (or we) cannot know what the new trader ‘really meant’ other than words on the page.

I am a new trader and seeking to learn. I have seen your interesting charts, advice and updates on [xxx platform]. What percentage would you advise someone with a £10k to risk per trade?

That’s nice. I don’t give advice – unlike many who set themselves up as gurus, trainers and the like. I have no need of your following, approval, your money or anything else you might have. It’s a strange question – ‘…with a £10K to risk per trade‘. Perhaps you meant ‘what should one risk in a position size if one has an account size of £10K?‘  As I don’t advise – my knowledge is that – contrary to popular belief, the 1 to 2% rule is not a really a rule. By way of analogy it’s like asking how fast should I drive my car? It  depends on a large number of variables e.g. what car, engine condition, what road, what tyres, weather conditions, how much points on your licence already etc etc. Seemingly simple questions when thought about actually aren’t that simple to answer. Expert traders can sometimes risk 50% of an account size across several trades at once – sometimes more. It depends on the mathematics of what’s known as an expectancy ratio – individualised to each trader – based on past performance. So no straight answers. And I dare say anybody who gives a straight answer is a con artist. As trading is like 1000 times more complicated than driving a car, it is not possible for me to answer.

I have started trading Forex but cannot seem make a net profit over a given time frame (week or a month..).

Nobody asks a medical student or student pilot how much money they’re making! Why should it be any different with trading Forex. Students of all sorts lose (spend) money like nobody’s business. Their investment of time and money, is what eventually leads to acquisition of the right knowledge, skills and experience to make the money – in employment etc – over the next few years. Markets are a different ball game – no university, no degree, no true teachers, loads of misinformation and loads of  con men. In case you’re clutching your wallet – read our FAQ. Would you fly a plane without the right knowledge, skill and experience? Why are you trading a live account? Looking to burn cash? May I offer you a match?

My biggest problem is accurately entering a trade at the correct time and identifying signal confirmation successfully.

Yes – this is a very big problem indeed for novice and even so-called seasoned traders. There are several methods of doing this. Signals and confirmations are pure nonsense and this is not up for debate. The trouble for new traders is that they want a simple answer. It don’t work like this in a surreal chaotic world of Forex (or any other market). If there was simple answer, then everybody would go do it and make millions. That’s never gonna happen. All of trading in markets is about training yourself, finding methods that work for your personality style. Huh? Yes – it all boils down to personality and individual psychology. But the latter is only discovered much later on, if new traders stay long enough. Note that over 80% of new traders get stung and move on swiftly. Stung? Yes – they jump in with real money expecting to make a fast buck. Instead they lose money like nobody’s business. How rewarding is that?

Can you kindly provide some advice on when to accurately enter Forex trades?

No – is the short answer and there is no accuracy anywhere. There is no ‘correct’ time but there is a ‘wrong time’. The long answer is that Forex is not one ‘thing’. Each chart (aka instrument) has a very different set of characteristics, so there is no one formula to ‘attack’ Forex. Different methods may need to be used for different instruments. No ‘one size fits’ all – the dream of people (even if undisclosed) yearning to make a fast buck.

Can I trade weekly charts?

Sure! You can do whatever you want. You are your own boss! Do you really understand the risks involved on such a time frame or how long it’ll take to make some decent profits? Are you saying that you’re on par with central banks in trading such a macroeconomic time frame?

OR where I get good/better sources of information to help me learn?

Right here on Newtrader.club would be a good place – even though we teach nothing, give no advice, do no hand-holding or encourage anybody.  Time is your first enemy! We can’t help you with that.

What can I use to become more profitable?

There’s the easy answer and then there is the more difficult answer. The easy answer is to use your brain. The more difficult answer is rewiring your brain from 300,000 years of evolutionary history in your genetic code, to avoid risk, to react to fear, to follow ‘herds’, and be driven by hope or greed. Who are your true enemies in this business? You came here for the truth – and I told you as it is. I did warn that there was a difficult answer.

Surely there is a set of indicators you use that extracts profits from the markets – that’s what I’m asking about.

Indicators are useless without a brain that is well rewired to cope with total chaos and high risk in the markets. Caveman never was programmed to deal with this stuff. We may have evolved physically but our evolutionary inheritance in psychology still carries patterns of behaviour and thinking from thousands of years ago.  This business has very little to do with indicators. 80 to 90% of all traders are losing money consistently, simply because they think that there is some magic formula hidden in the use of indicators.

I wish you the best of luck with your own trading.

Thanks for the kind ‘wish’ but luck is not part of the equation towards achieving successful consistent profitability in trading. Read our FAQ if you can find the time.

Have you got the right mindset or individual psychological characteristics? If not can you rewrite your own psychology? Do you need a therapist? You won’t find one on this site. The markets are your therapists and your punisher! Sorry – it’s not about courses. How mad is that? Very! Note that the markets are ‘mad’! And they don’t care what you or I think.