Loads to do before I start my new job so I made today my last day of trading and thought I’d blog the last missive for what will be a little while. Looking at my trading journal I placed my first trade in the FX market 25th Jan 2010, almost exactly a year ago. Flicking through my screen shots of these last 365 days I can see how I have developed as a trader and in some cases not ! But by and large I have learnt so much this past 12 months to an extent that I am confident of being profitable at the end of each month – now that is some achievement folks ! And if I was to be brutally honest, the biggest skills I have found and honed myself, sure courses and discussions with other traders has helped to some degree but in the main these just lead to distraction. Everyone has to find their own trading strategy and style – it is 100% true what you have read about this. Its not what most new traders want to hear, but is about the biggest truth out there. If you copy someones trade ideas I can guarantee you fill fail eventually my friend.
So what were my stats ?
Total Live Trades : 457 Average Trades per Day : 2.3 (when profitable during last 5 months this was averaged at 1 trade per day)
Total Win – 41% Total Loss – 48% BreakEven – 11% (when profitable Win 31%, Loss 29%, Breakeven 40%)
Total Equity Growth for 12months tradiing Full-Time : -15%
Total Equity Growth for period when started to make money consistently (Sep 2010 -> Jan 2011) : +10%
I lost money overall as you can see, but hand on heart know if I traded another 12 months this would not be the case however with your own money the cash income depends on the size of your trades and the size of your trades depends on your size of equity. I don’t think that performance is shabby trading a £20,000 account in my first year of trading. What I didn’t do was lose it during all that time !!
My tips to any newbie reading this :
1) If you have less than £50,000 to trade with in an account – don’t bother. If you can manage 5% per month this will give you £2,500 income. More if risk more of course.
2) Anyone telling you they can get you more than 10% per month (every month every year) is complete BS.
3)As Jesse Livermore did and Dr Mike Burry of recent The Big Short fame did – don’t crowd yourself with market tips, and unecssary noise around your trading job. Focus on the job in hand and execute perfectly.
4)Don’t pay for data feeds
5)Don’t pay more than a few hundred £/$ for a course, online or whatever to get started.
6)Don’t trade real money until you know what you are doing and can make money on demo. You will lose as soon as you go LIve, but you will start to gain in confidence as long as you keep focused on doing the right things.
……yada yada yada…I could go on forever.
Well to those of you I have met on this journey its been great getting to know you and some of you luckily in person; you know who you are. I really am going to feel lost not getting up and wondering what happened in Asia overnight and having anticipation looking at those charts first thing in the morning and seeing the candles set my imagination alight. Creating my plan for the trading day and the warm feeling of satisfaction when it all went to plan. It has been an amazing time of my life and have learnt a skill I will certainly come back to sooner rather than later, but on daily charts like I said. Sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do but don’t be like the rest :
My Best Larson Cartoon
Until then bye bye NFP, slippage, My Blog, whipsaws, Pivots, Trend Lines, Price Action, Profits, Losses, higher hi’s, lower lo’s, lower hi’s and higher lo’s, London open, Nylon, Cable, Aussie, Loonie, Spreads, daily Ranges, MACD and finally whether to BUY or SELL. LOVE IT
Best wishes and good luck with your trading.
Jimmy 
