Forex Strategy - E

Point : 56
I have people asking me all the time why I don't post my trades in real time, or why they can't call me while I am involved in my own trading activities. The answer is quite simple. This page is dedicated to my belief in the old adage: "Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day - teach him how to fish, and feed him for a lifetime!"

Plus, it would be very stressful and time consuming for me to take time away from my own work (and quiet time) to interact with a discussion forum. I am sure you will understand my position on this. I have customers in over 30 countries, and it would be a nightmare for me to react to each and every nuance that came along. A chat room is in our business plan, but at this writing, I don't have any idea of when that might happen. When it does, I will certainly give you lots of advance warning.

I teach people how to fish. I don't give them the fish. I can remember when I first learned how to trade. I had my mentor sitting right by my side each and every step of the way. Then one day he upped and moved, and changed cities. He actually moved to a remote and secluded island to get away from city life. Nice move for him, but it left me in a state of panic. How could I possibly survive on my own? I can tell you, ladies and gentleman, that I really learned how to trade when I had to do it on my own, and those were real drops of sweat rolling down from my forehead all over my face.

This is about you and the market, and you mastering your innermost psyche. Anybody can learn to trade the forex my way. But, what will get you every time is that little inner voice doubting your every move. And, then there's fear and greed that will bite you real hard too. It's the psychology of your mind that you must master. You must become disciplined and patient to a fault. You must react only to bona fide signals, that I teach here. Otherwise, you would be better off heading out to your local casino, and taking your chances there.

The forex is not about gambling. It is about running a business, where there will be gains and losses. Your every effort and constant struggle should be to get a grip on those times when price goes against you. You are in charge. You can get the upper hand on price by trading "smartly," and using good money management techniques, that I also teach here. You won't win every time. But, with my system, you should come out ahead seven out of 10 times. The trick is to limit your losses to small ones, and let your profits soar.

Getting back to going solo without an instructor at your side during each and every step of the way, I recall a friend of mine telling me how he learned to fly. After several practice flights with his instructor in the cockpit with him, they landed back at the airfield, and the instructor turned to Pal and said, "Now, it's your turn to take it up. I'm getting out. You're on your own buddy." Talk about anxiety and stress.

Well, Pal took off and landed all by his little 'ole lonesome. But, he was pale and his knees were knocking when he got out of the plane back at home base. He has soloed ever since. It's his passion now. There's something about being able to do it yourself, without a partner holding your hand all the time. It's called "confidence boosting." If you can fly or trade by yourself successfully, there probably isn't anything else in life you couldn't do equally as well. Actually, Navy pilots who land on aircraft carriers make the best traders. But, that's another story for another time.

I can tell you my friend learned more about flying in that one solo session than he did all the times his instructor went up with him. Same with trading. You can do it. Just believe it so. Dedicate yourself to becoming a master at it. Analyze, read, study, think. Ask questions. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Become passionate about your trading. Don't think of it as a get-rich-quick scheme. Do it because you love it. Do it as if you would do it anyway, even if you weren't making money. There has to be an element of fun in it for you. If it's all work, and no play, well you know the answer to that one.

Don't get me wrong. I am here to answer your questions whenever you need my help. I am dedicated to your success, and your happy times with your family. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to get an e-mail from you telling me how this has turned your life around, and that you are now happily making money trading the forex my way.

Point : 57
Don't get hung up on reading bars when you think you have caught the major trend. Once the trend is unfolding, you then look for a place to enter - around a pivot point. You look to reading bars to signal a change in the direction of the major trend.

A double top in a downtrend means nothing. A double bottom does. So, a price rejection bar or double bottom in a major downtrend would signal a short-term reversal, and that's all. But, once you see the major trend unfolding – say, on the short side – you pretend you don't know how to spell the word long. Stick with the overall major trend that is unfolding.

These comments relate specifically to the beginning hours of London trading, which is when the major trend reveals itself.

Point : 58
You need to get to the point where, when you look at a chart without any visual aids, you see indications as to where price is going. This has to become "second nature." At that point, you can trade with ease. And, your stress level will go down, because you will be in control of the market, not the other way around. This only comes with practice, day after day. This takes patience, and staying power. You must hang in there until you get it. Winners never quit; quitters never win.

Point : 59
At first, if you are fearful, don't trade until you see what you consider to be an ironclad set-up that you are familiar with – an easy one. That may mean waiting out a session or two, but that's okay. There's no rush. I find with some people they seem to have to prove something to themselves or someone else. Some people think they have to scalp all day long for some reason that is beyond me. After all, you are in control. Take your time.

Relax. Enjoy it. Sooner or later, you will see a bona fide set-up that you recognize, and bingo you're in. When in doubt, do nothing. When there is no doubt, do something, do anything – pull the trigger.

Point : 60
Unfortunately, you will not always get all the signals you need to pull the trigger. After all, this is as much an art as it is a science. You cannot always be 100% sure that you are doing the right thing. If you wait forever to get all your ducks lined up, you may wait a long time. My favorite analogy goes something like this: Pretend you are sitting in your garage at home wanting to go to work, but you are waiting for all the street lights along the way to turn green before you pull out of the driveway.

Guess what folks? You'll never get to work. Same with trading. Sometimes, you just have to make an educated guess (based on the currency trading strategy recommendations contained at this site) and go with it. You won't always be right, but this isn't about being right. It is about making a decision, sticking with it, and reversing course if you have to. Accept getting stopped out as God's way of kicking you to a higher level. Just one more step to success.

Point : 61
Thanks to Tom for this: There are two choices to be made – LONG or SHORT when a certain point in the session(M1, S1, R2, Pivot ... etc.) is reached. The BASIC rule is BUY (go long) below the pivot in the S1, S2, M1, M3 zone and SELL (go short) above the pivot in the Zone R1, R2, M2, M4. Obviously it isn’t as simple as this and other indicators such as MACD divergence, reading bars, trends, and patterns all add to the question LONG or SHORT. Bang on Tom! Way to go!

Point : 62
I have said previously that you should make your buy/sell decisions around pivot points. However, for example, if price is meandering in between pivot points and then does a double top, that would lead me to believe that price is going down. So, there are times when you would want to make your move before waiting for a pivot point to be hit. Of course, there's nothing wrong with waiting for price to do so and then reacting.

Point : 63
Thanks to Harry for this one: He indicated that I sometimes refer to "price rejection." And, what does that mean. It simply means that a price reversal bar has formed, causing the bar in the middle to have a higher high than the bars on either side of it. The price bar in the middle is essentially a key reversal bar. And, what you have is a "swing change." That is, price is reversing course, and heading south. The same holds true when price is reversing and heading north. You then have the bar in the middle of the three-bar pattern with a lower low than the two on either side, and the one in the middle is the key reversal bar.

Point : 64
Repetition is the key to success in any endeavor in life, including trading the forex. The more you practice trade, the more you trade real money, the better you get. You just have to keep at it - over and over and over again. Persistence is the key. You're bound to get better at something if you do in constantly and don't quit. Don't let the market psyche you out. When you have a down day, just treat it as experience. Lessons learned. But, try to learn from your mistakes. Keep those journals going. If it's not written, it doesn't exist.

Point : 65
I get the impression that some of you are not paying enough attention to trendlines. They are very powerful. Price WILL change direction when it breaks the trend, regardless of what other indicators may be telling you. So, draw them, and let them be your guide. REMINDER: In an uptrend, as we saw June 25/03, as long as the trendline holds, buy the dips. In a downtrend, sell the rallies. In an uptrend, don't look to go short EVER! In a downtrend, don't look to go long EVER! Plain and simple.

Point : 66
Thanks to Stu G. for this one. I have been harping on using MACD only for divergence. But, Stu is right. I do on occasion, as I did June 26th/03, use MACD to confirm the trend. If the price trend has been consistently down over a period of time, then it could very well be that when price tries to go counter-trend, it may just be a retracement or a temporary move in the opposite direction. I usually like to stick with the major trend. In a downtrend, sell the rallies; in an uptrend, buy the dips.

Point : 67
I was asked by some of my readership what happened Friday, June 27, with all the wide-range bars on the 15-min chart. That was a tough day to trade, even for seasoned professionals. Lots of whip-sawing. Lots of stops got taken out. Trading patterns were dominated by end-of-quarter positioning. A good day to stand clear. So, be prepared for the next end-of-quarter, and the one after that, and the one after that, etc. Mark those dates on your calendar. Trading is as much about being organized and prepared, as it is about being good at it.

Point : 68
Marathon runners have only one thing on their mind when they are running – to cross the finish line. They NEVER look back. Same too with trading. You should focus on surviving for the long haul. Sure, you will stumble and fall. But, just pick yourself up, just yourself off, and carry on. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.