Welcome to Andre's Forex Journal

Basic of Candlestick.

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:34:00 +0000

They must be combined with other forms of technical analysis to really be useful. For example, when you see one of these patterns on the daily chart, move down to the hourly chart. Does the hourly chart agree with your expectations on the daily chart? If so, then the odds of a reversal increase.

The following patterns are divided into two parts: Bullish patterns and bearish patterns. These are reversal patterns that show up after a pullback (bullish patterns) or a rally (bearish patterns).

Bullish Candlestick Patterns.

Engulfing:This is my all time favorite candlestick pattern. This pattern consists of two candles. The first day is a narrow range candle that closes down for the day. The sellers are still in control of the stock but because it is a narrow range candle and volatility is low, the sellers are not very aggressive. The second day is a wide range candle that "engulfs" the body of the first candle and closes near the top of the range. The buyers have overwhelmed the sellers (demand is greater than supply). Buyers are ready to take control of this stock!

Hammer: As discussed on the previous page, the stock opened, then at some point the sellers took control of the stock and pushed it lower. By the end of the day, the buyers won and had enough strength to close the stock at the top of the range. Hammers can develop after a cluster of stop loss orders are hit. That's when professional traders come in to grab shares at a lower price.

Harami: When you see this pattern the first thing that comes to mind is that the momentum preceding it has stopped. On the first day you see a wide range candle that closes near the bottom of the range. The sellers are still in control of this stock. Then on the second day, there is only a narrow range candle that closes up for the day. Note: Do not confuse this pattern with the engulfing pattern. The candles are opposite!

Piercing: This is also a two-candle reversal pattern where on the first day you see a wide range candle that closes near the bottom of the range. The sellers are in control. On the second day you see a wide range candle that has to close at least halfway into the prior candle. Those that shorted the stock on first day are now sitting at a loss on the rally that happens on the second day. This can set up a powerful reversal.

Doji: The doji is probably the most popular candlestick pattern. The stock opens up and goes nowhere throughout the day and closes right at or near the opening price. Quite simply, it represents indecision and causes traders to question the current trend. This can often trigger reversals in the opposite direction.

Bearish Candlestick Patterns.

You'll notice that all of these bearish patterns are the opposite of the bullish patterns. These patterns come after a rally and signify a possible reversal just like the bullish patterns.

Ok, now it's your turn! I'll let you figure out what is happening in each of the patterns above to cause these to be considered bearish. Look at each candle and try to get into the minds of the traders involved in the candle.

Kickers.

There is one more pattern worthy of mention. A "kicker" is sometimes referred to as the most powerful candlestick pattern of all.

You can see in the above graphic why this pattern is so explosive. Like most candle patterns there is a bullish and bearish version. In the bullish version, the stock is moving down and the last red candle closes at the bottom of the range.

Then, on the next day, the stock gaps open above the previous days high and close. This "shock event" forces short sellers to cover and brings in new traders on the long side.

This is reversed in the bearish version.

Truly inspiring.

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:45:00 +0000

Mental Fitness For Traders.

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:48:00 +0000

I personally think this way every time I seat on my chair and watch those graphs; "I'm at war against my own emotion, not the market!". Read 'The art of War' from Sun Tzu, it will help you a lot!

My biggest challenge in trading is to keep the same winning mindset every single second. Losing
is part of the overall winning. Accept the loss, and wait for the next signal routinely. Most beginners wait for the next entry to revenge the previous loss and yet, making more losses.

(Other challenge : Shark brokers and how not let them eat you alive. More on this later. There is one broker which still decline to process my withdrawal at almost $40,000 USD and it has been two months! All my middle fingers for them!)

In my first year in trading, I printed out some rule that I need to obey every time I put a position. (There's always 3 to 7 entry in a day). First few positions, I follow all the rules... Wait until I made my first loss in that day. I started to panic, hate the market and take on revenge. My emotions started take on my trading, the beautifully printed rules just now has became useless and margin call for that day! Tomorrow; New deposit to my trading account and the rules became useless again, again and again. I was pretty messed up, and honestly, YOU TOO! Lol! :p

You see, I have encountered lots of living soul who have given up in trading FOREX. You know what's their profession? They were engineer, lawyer, high rank government servant, morale teacher, math professor, business owner, super genius student & you name it! They loss in head, and the market eats them for lunch! It's the battle WE should win in the very first place!

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Bill William's method is among the best method to set your mind to be the winning mind in trading. You can download his book here in my blog. Just keep scrolling down, and this is another good reading for you. ---> http://www.ziddu.com/download/17549836/mental_fitness_for_traders.pdf.html

If you are using metatrader, this is the broker for you!

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Check it out here --->HOTFOREX

Hot Forex is a worldwide STP/ECN online forex broker.
Headquartered in Mauritius and supported by our worldwide customer
management centers, HotForex offers Retail & Corporate Clients the
opportunity to access interbank bank spreads via state of the art
automated trading platforms.
Licensed and regulated by the Financial Services Commission
(FSC). Compliance Office based in Mauritius.

This is what they offer :
•Minimum deposit for Micro and Islamic accounts — only $25.
•Minimum deposit for Standard Accounts — only $500.
•Margin leverage from 1:1 up to 1:500.
•Free unlimited demo accounts available. It is risk free and cost you nothing.
•Islamic Account.
•Currenex Account. (SPREAD FROM 0.3 PIPS!)
•Only for HotForex clients! Tradesignals.com services for FREE.
•Straight Through Processing STP/ECN Broker - we are trading with you.
•Technical research and market news available regularly.
•Trade through Forex trading software - HotForex Metatrader Terminal.
•Web-based access to your Metatrader account.
•Trade Forex on the go - Mobile Forex Trading.
•Experienced and helpful support 24/5.
•Scalping and Expert Advisors Allowed.
•Bonuses on new accounts and existing accounts.
•Trading contests.
•PAMM accounts.

ADVANTAGES :

• Straight Through Processing
• No Dealing desk
• Transparency of platform. Real market execution
Straight forward process for opening live accounts
• Spreads as low as 0.3 pips
• Fast executions
• Automatic Deposit and Withdrawals system
• Best commissions program up to 60%
• Converting traffic from any Industry in all four Continents
like no other brokerage.
• High rated customer service.

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For those who knew me, they know I took advantage of all 3 types of position; Long term, medium term and short term. It's a very tiring and time consuming to wait for medium term or long term trading to hit any of my Take Profit point (or very rare occasion, Stop Loss).

To fill the gap, I bag some cash with scalping technique. It fast, averagely below one hour to close the position, easy money and my most favorite technique. The take profit point, usually range between 5pip to 30 pip while stop loss, I consistently use 20pip safety precaution. (You never know what happens inside that ocean!). SCALPING IS VERY RISKY, NOT EVERYONE CAN WELL ADAPT WITH THIS TECHNIQUE.

I have tried so many brokers before, and I must say, they are lots of brokers out there really want to see you loss! Not until 7 months ago when I registered live account with HotForex. The currenex account is being really helpful. With tight spread, I think I can have everything I want here. The 50% bonus offered is just another gift. ;)

Get a few minutes to explore their website , and have a chat with their customer service. Click this link, and it will direct you to the website ---> Link to Hotforex.

Below is among my scalping screenshot. For personal reason, I have to hide some information there.
The graph only shows the basic support, resistance and pivot level, which are very useful to be combined with my scalping technique. You can click the picture to resize. Happy pippin'!

When Alpari's 'Autochart' comes in handy. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 21:41:00 +0000

Both beginners and experienced traders are concerned about the right time to enter the market and when to close a position. Which technical analysis patterns are appropriate to use? And, most importantly, how does one trade effectively on Forex?

Alpari offers a service which can help you answer these questions. This service is Autochartist, which combines different methods of classical and technical analysis and allows a trader to make use of it without possessing in-depth knowledge of the sphere or spending hours at the computer trying to make sense of patterns that are just forming.

Autochartist recognizes technical analysis patterns on charts, assesses them and predicts future market behavior, giving timely signals of any significant trends.

You can use this service to confirm your trading results as well as to develop your own approach to the market and your understanding of methods of technical analysis.

This service will alert me on development of certain pattern in different time frame. It's easier for me to plan any possible position, most of the time I use hedging technique. I love to hedge the position in trading, it's set and forget technique. Get your Automated Identification of Technical Analysis Patterns HERE.

Here is one of my trades based on Autochartist.

This is Autochartist service from Alpari. It's a complete pattern. This service will alert you when certain pattern is emerging. I set all the pending order and went out for some shopping with my wife. ;)

As in Autochartist shows the interval emerged in 15 minutes time frame, open up TF15m and look for the support and resistance. In the picture above, I may mistakenly wrote support at above and resistance at below. But, what the hell. I set 3 pending order as usual at resistance and set take profit with the most lot at first take profit (TP1), second most lot at TP2, and the least lot at TP3. So did for pending order sell.When I back home, I feel like I am actually get paid for shopping! Voila!~

The image above shows I put TP 3 (for buy!) at bigger support in time frame 1 hour. The chart does not show any indicator as I want to keep my indicator stay hidden. Remember what Bill William said? "The best indicator is our two eyes." Happy trading! :)

Register with Alpari today and try this amazing service for free! Click HERE for registration.

Bought my first DSLR, Nikon D90.

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:53:00 +0000

Travelling has been my lifetime passion. Getting one of the best-suit-me DSLR is a bonus to me. I have Sony HDR - XR550 Handycam for video capturing, but, DSLR is something else. Saying it once is not enough, SOMETHING ELSE. LOL!

To be a good photographer, first we need to know from which view is the best to capture the object. The best view here is subjective. Looking from photographer view, has been always a better perception. It's not different from life. When you say, "this is the worst thing happened in my life...", well, look again, you might miss the best spot to view the matter. :)

p/s : Selamat menyambut hari Merdeka, Malaysia.

Happy Ramadhan 1431 Hijri / 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 02:40:00 +0000

"And He gives you all that you ask Him : and if you count Allah’s favors, you will not able to number them...” The Holy Quran [ 14:3 ]

Assalamu'alaikum (Peace be upon you) everyone.

My family and I wish you all for a happy and prosperous life on this Ramadhan and always.

How about we spend for the whole month to chase all the chances to do all the good deeds. Helping the less fortunate one, do a lot of charity works, be a good child to our parents, be a good brother and sister, well, I don't have to list all the good deeds here as Allah S.W.T gave us lots of choices, chances and ability to do that. But remember, let all the good things we do kept only with us silently. HE is THE ALL KNOWING.

I started this post with a very meaningful phrase from The Holy Quran. When I learn about the law of attraction, the law of connection, the psychology of trader, art of war, how to be a success people or even how to get rich (I just quoted some of the idea or book that I like), I found that ALL this idea is in The Holy Quran, explained in the way Allah S.W.T wants HIS servant to learn. Bless for Muhammad Rasulullah, PBUH, HIS last messenger.

It kept coming to my head, for Allah S.W.T everything has the same value to HIM except the people who have the soul of taqwa. So, there is no different in value to Allah S.W.T, either it's Ferrari, Big Mansion, USD $90 billion worth of bonds, or the old broken lamp in the dumpster. Allah S.W.T is The Creator for everything. We could ask for everything in this world, HE gives us the way to get all that with certain ways, but in the end after we get it, we dare thank to other than HIM....?! All HE asked us, the servant, are only to worship HIM and nothing else, do what HE asked us to do, and leave everything HE asked us not to. If, every breath we took in life here on earth (one of HIS planet), and HE charged $1 Euro, could we pay that??? That's only two pleasures, the ability to breath and oxygen. I'm not talking about other pleasures, provided by Allah S.W.T The Merciful, like family, technology, knowledge, eyes, hands, sense, feeling, water, sun, air, food and all. What is right or wrong to us? Just because, other said it is right, so it's right? or because the majority believe it is wrong, so it's wrong? or what Allah S.W.T told us what is right and what is wrong? One of Allah's pleasure is our brain, now, feel free to use that.

I've came to various blogs, condemning that Islam taught people to be terrorist. Oh my... This kind of people by far still unable to use the thing inside their head (It's call brain, got it?). Let's us use some logic;Muslim population. There is a problem with the population part because different sources show different numbers but at times vary greatly for instance Wikipedia shows 1.57 billion Muslim population as an estimate for 2009 while http://www.islamicpopulation.com/ show a staggering number of 1.82 billion Muslim population in the world. The world population now is estimated 6.8 billion people. I rounded for easy calculation, 1 Muslim in every 6 people (1 : 6) and counting. Well, if Islam taught Muslim to terrorize the world, is this the same world we know it today? Or would I write this post and you read this inside some bunkers or something? Allah S.W.T The Loving, gives us 'Time' to be one of HIS pleasures. Every tick is an opportunity for us to learn. One of human best behavior is curiosity, so keep learning, use all the senses you got. The first word in Quran revelation is 'READ'.

I'm so grateful for a wonderful journey in life to Allah S.W.T The Generous. I ask only from YOU. Keep me as YOUR good servant.

Subhanallah. Alhamdulillah. La ila haillallah. Allahhuakbar.

I am an official Introducing Broker (IB) for Alpari

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:09:00 +0000

Hi guys.

I'm the official IB for Alpari.

You can check more about Alpari here at www.Alpari-Forex.com

There are lots of reason why I trade with Alpari. The main reasons are :

1. THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON SCALPING AND HEDGING.

2. ISLAMIC ACCOUNT/SWAP FREE ACCOUNT IS AVAILABLE.

3. NON-DEALING DESK/ECN TRADING.

4. LOW SPREAD.
5. REGULATED.

Anyone who register with me, I will provide with some very useful materials. ;)

Skype me @ Andrenoidx .

=========================================================================

Salam sejahtera.

Kepada traders daripada Malaysia,
Saya adalah IB representative kepada broker Alpari.

Sila add saya pada skype untuk apa-apa pertanyaan. ID Skype saya adalah Andrenoidx.

Check out Alpari website : www.Alpari-Forex.com

Good advice to all newbie; I mean all of us! =)

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:32:00 +0000

One of my colleagues sent me a very interesting email about how he starts his trading session with reading all these tips/advice first. Hope we can LEARN something here. I said "LEARN", not "COPY" am I clear enough? :)

MY DAILY GOALS

1) Try to get at least 100pips and more
2) Take risk 5% each trade
3) Never change Stop Loss that I already setup
4) Break even or lock at +1 when in 20pips profit
5) Always put Trailing Stop after in profit condition

MY VISION

1) Discipline with my rules
2) Positive thinking
3) Positive mindset and attitude
4) Act with my own best interest
5) Responsibility the result taken
6) Learn to accept the risk
7) Mental flexibility (flow with the market and cut my losses)
8) Make myself available to take advantage of opportunity
9) Action on my belief
10) Remove negative charge mental (fear, pain, anger, frustration)
11) Don't afraid and hesitation

MY GUIDELINE IN FOREX

1) I objectively identify my edges
2) I predefine the risk of every trade
3) I completely accept risk or I am willing to let go of the trade
4) I act on my edges without hesitation
5) I pay myself as the market makes money available to me
6) I continually monitor my susceptibility for making errors
7) I understand absolute necessity of these principles of consistent success and therefore I never violate them

MY PROBABILISTIC MINDSET

1) Anything can happen
2) There is random distribution between wins and losses for any given set of variables that define an edge
3) An edge is nothing more than an indication of a higher probability of one thing happening over another
4) Every moment in the market is unique

Forex brokers: ECN vs STP vs NDD vs DD

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:03:00 +0000

DD — Dealing Desk — Forex brokers that operate (route orders) through the Dealing Desk and quote fixed spreads. A dealing desk broker makes money via spreads and by trading against its clients. A Dealing Desk Forex broker is called a Market Maker - they literally "make the market" for traders: when traders want to sell, they buy from them, when traders want to buy, they sell to them, e.g. they will always take the opposite side of the trade and in this way "create the market". A trader doesn't see the real market quotes, which allows Dealing Desk brokers (Market Makers) manipulate with their quotes where they need to in order to fill the client.

NDD — No Dealing Desk — NDD Forex brokers provide access to the interbank market without passing orders trough the dealing desk. With true No Dealing Desk brokers there are no re-quotes on orders and no additional pausing during order confirmation. This, in particular, allows trading during news times with no restrictions on trading. An NDD broker can either charge commission for trading or choose to increase the spread and make Forex trading commission free.
No Dealing Desk brokers are either STP or ECN+STP.

STP — Straight Through Processing — STP Forex brokers send orders directly from clients to the liquidity providers - banks, which trade on the Intebank. Sometimes STP brokers have just one liquidity provider, other times several. The more there are banks and liquidity in the system, the better the fills for the clients. The fact that traders have access to the true market and can execute trades immediately without dealer intervention is what makes the platform STP.

ECN — Electronic Communications Network — ECN Forex brokers additionally allow clients' orders to interact with other clients' orders. ECN Forex broker provides a marketplace where all its participants (banks, market makers and individual traders) trade against each other by sending competing bids and offers into the system. Participants interact inside the system and get the best offers for their trades available at that time. All trading orders are matched between counter parties in real time. A small trading fee - commission - is always applied. Sometimes STP brokers are discussed as if they were ECN brokers. To be a true ECN, a broker must display the Depth of the Market (DOM) in a data window, let clients show their own order size in the system and allow other clients to hit those orders. With ECN broker traders can see where the liquidity is and execute trades.

Broker types and revenues: fixed vs variable spreads vs commission

ECN Forex brokers always have variable spreads. Only ECN brokers charge commission for trading Forex. Commission is the only revenue/profit an ECN broker receives. ECN brokers are not making money on bid/ask (spread) difference.

An STP Forex broker is compensated through the spread (spread markups - to be explained in details below).

STP brokers have a choice of offering variable or fixed spreads. STP brokers route all trading orders to the liquidity providers - banks. These brokers, as intermediaries between their clients and banks, receive prices (spreads) posted by the banks on the Interbank market. Most banks, in fact, offer fixed spreads and are market makers.
An STP broker therefore has 2 options:
1. Let spreads be fixed.
2. Leave the spread at 0 and let the system take the best bid and ask from the number of banks (the more the better) and in this way provide variable spreads.
How an STP broker earns its money? Since STP brokers (as well as ECN) don't trade against their clients, they add own small markups to the spread quote. This is done by adding a pip (or half a pip, or any other amount) to the best bid and subtracting a pip at the best ask of its liquidity provider. All client orders are directly routed to the liquidity providers at original spread quoted by those providers while an STP broker earns its money from own markups.

Forex market maker - a broker with a dealing desk earns money on bid/ask difference as well as when a client loses a trade, since market makers are trading against their clients by hedging - entering in an opposite trade.

Conclusion:

ECN brokers are the purest breed among all Forex dealers. They don't profit on spread difference. Their only profit comes from commission. ECN brokers are interested in their clients to be winning, otherwise there will be no commission to earn.

STP brokers make money on spreads, thus even though they do not have a physical dealing desk to monitor and counter-trade client orders, they are still able to set their own price - the spread markup - for routing trading orders to liquidity providers and providing their clients with advanced trading services, lower account deposits, faster execution and anonymous trading environment with no dealing desk. STP brokers are also interested to see their clients trading profitable, so that a broker can continue earning on spreads.

Market makers make money on spreads and by hedging against their clients. However, if a client becomes "too" profitable, it can directly "upset" the broker. While this may be tolerated and professionally managed by a larger reputable market maker, with a smaller dealer such client will be soon asked to leave.

Benefits of trading with No Dealing Desk brokers

Among the main reason why traders look for NDD brokers is transparency, better and faster fills and anonymity.

Transparency means that a trader enters a true mark

et instead of the market being artificially created for him.
Better fills are a result of the direct and competitive market bids and offers.

Anonymity means that there is no Dealing Desk watching who has come to the market and is asking for an order to be filled, instead client orders are executed automatically, immediately through the market network and totally anonymously.

On the opposite side is a Dealing Desk broker, who is able to profile their clients. In the worst case scenario, such broker can split clients into groups and put less successful ones on auto-execution and trade against them because on average they will lose, while clients that show signs of successful trading will be put on "slow-down" mode and can be provided with frequent re-quotes, slippage and/or slower execution especially during fast moving markets while a broker tries to offset own risks. The transparency of a Dealing Desk broker depends on the rules inside the company.

Forex Brokers aren't bad on general, whether a Dealing or Non-Dealing Desk, they aren't there to be against any particular trader. They look to make business, not just work for traders in terms of cooperation in the market environment. Many large Forex brokers who have lots of clients tend to try to help their clients become profitable as much as they can, but once a trading order is placed, its everyone for themselves.

Source : www.100forexbrokers.com

Broker... Broker... Broker...

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:19:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

How's 2010 been so far for you guys? It is my hope that you guys having a consistent profitable trade so far, could be double, triple or more your account than last year. It's been great for me too, life, business and trading. FYI, I've just married last June and now my wife shows a great enthusiasm to be a fulltime trader. Keep on working toward that, honey! ;)

I got many emails, asking me about which FOREX broker that I use and which one I most likely recommended. I try to answer them all here at once. First, I need to emphasize here that Meta4 is the best reference platform so far, so I use Alpari's and ACM's for my graph reference. For trading, I'm using Oanda (www.Oanda.com)platform since last two years and Oanda has been a reliable broker for me, UNTILL I fall in love with a strategy calls 'Hedging'. As a U.S broker, Oanda tied with NFA (National Future Association) new rule, NO HEDGING! You can check that policy here : http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/newsNotice.asp?ArticleID=2273

To execute the position, I highly recommend to use any broker with ECN (Electronic Communication Network) or STP (Straight Through Processing) so it wont be any requote problem. I will discuss this matter in next post. By the way I never use instant execution to open position, I only use instant execution to cut loss.

Yeah, there is a loop hole for NFA rule, to hedge the position by using two different accounts. One account for buy, and another for sell, but that also means I need to split up my capital, and there it goes margin calculation all the way. I found that, using this way makes me not really interested to hedging. One solution now is LOOKING FOR ANOTHER BROKER.

I started to list down main criterias : Islamic account (No Swap), Regulated by government body, PayPal or Credit/Debit card transaction, Outstanding Client Service(Oanda has been so great at this), NDD (Non-Dealing Desk), no restriction to hedging and scalping, low spread and ECN or STP brokers. So far, some brokers caught my attention, they are Alpari, ACM, Instaforex, & Marketiva.

Starting on May 3rd, I give myself three months try out with real account for all four brokers. By the end of this try out, I will pick one broker. For now, Alpari, ACM and Marketiva have been great. But, let's see how thing is going on for another month. :)

Happy New year everyone! May 2010 gives us more opportunities to make money. ;-)

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:43:00 +0000

Hi there!

How's 2009 for you guys? I hope to those who already trade the real account reached the profit target, and to those who still in demo account or new in FOREX, keep it up and all the best in trading for 2010.

2009 has been a great year for me. FOREX has given me the unimaginable things (At least it's to me few years back!) ; Freedom of time, financial freedom, positive thought, strong mind set, expanding my circle, and the life which I really grateful. Thank you Almighty God!

I still remember when I was new to FOREX, I spend the whole day and night researching about 'what is FOREX?'. I just like a kid who just find out what the video game is. This process continued for the whole month and then for the whole semester in university. I have been to some Forex mentor classes and I must say, most of them are making money from the class instead the trading itself! Don't fall for these scammers.

Most of the knowledge I gained are from some forum sites which give me lots of useful knowledge, updates and a place where I can discuss all the matters with others. I have spent countless hours reading from my PC's monitor and to me at that time, sleeping is only waste of time. Most of the time, I wake up with a headache.

I have traded with lots and lots of strategies or systems or not to forget, the robot! Some are very profitable in a good market move and then the disaster comes; swipe all my money in the bad move. The consistency of the system has always be an issue for me at that time. I changed my trading systems frequently. The process of testing all the systems has taken for almost a year for me. I call that year as ' the year which I actually learn something!'.

After a while, with all the bad thought started to come, I make a move on the chapter of psychology, which the chapter I always avoid to read. This is when I found Bill William's book. Then slowly I realize that psychology is the most important factor to win the trade. I learn how to combine the right psychology with the right trading system can be very profitable. Good psychology (Emotion) + Good money management + Good trading system = Lethal combination!

I think of myself, I'm lucky enough to live in Malaysia. Tokyo open is at 8am here, London open is at 4pm and New York open is at 8pm. FYI, I make most money at all the three market open and you can bet I can sleep soundly at night.

Today, I glad to say, I finally live my life. I have a strict financial target which usually goes like this; "This year alone I'm going to make $---,---.-- and if not, I better think about 9 to 5 job.". I will do everything within my power to reach the target. At the moment I allocate some of my fortune investing in some conventional businesses and properties under my company 'Think Big Enterprise'. Reading 'Rich dad, poor dad' really open my mind about the importance of financial knowledge. Whatever businesses that I'm currently involve, trading the currency market has always been my passion. Yes, it has been less interesting nowadays for me, but hey, I can make money every single day now!

Borrowing the words of wisdom from Robert T. Kiyosaki : "It is not real estate, stocks, mutual funds, businesses, or money that makes a person rich. It is information, knowledge, and know-how, a.k.a financial intelligence, that makes one wealthy."

p/s : To those who still doesn't know : Since I already use Trader's Log software (handy one!), I record all my trades there and not really has the enthusiasm to update my trade here in this blog anymore. I'm thinking of changing this blog's title to my life as a trader. For personal reason, I put some pictures of my life in 2009. It reminds me of how wonderful the life can be. The weekend car, close buddies, my first condo, and my girlfriend who stands by me through thick and thin all this time. Great GOD, thank you!

Have a good day everyone!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! :D

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Happy Eid Fitr everyone!

Strategies under development.

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:05:00 +0000

I'm in a process of researching, testing and developing some other trading strategies to make my trading time more organized, routine and very very profitable. So, I can have more time get my ass out of my room. I already gathered lots of crucial informations and statistical based data from all my gurus and managed to short list some key points regarding timing, suitable indicators, and currencies. After all, I need to claim my reward from all the books I read.. and I must say, investing in knowledge is the best investment! Now, it's time to gain a bonus of knowing the fundamental of FOREX. Trade like the Big Boys! ;)

Trade review from 13th - 15th July.

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:44:00 +0000

Last week (13th-17th of July), was a really profitable week for me. I'm so exited to review my trade here. Remember, I only review this with primary purpose of my own revision. I also made several losses, mostly from Wiseman 1 signal and with a very strict money management, I'm able to minimize my loss and maximize my profit.

This is GBP/JPY 4 hour timeframe.

As you can see, GJ TF4h shows a consistent upward move after Wiseman 2 appeared. The 1st Wiseman 1 signal (3rd downward fractal from your right) hit my 5 bar stop loss. Then another signal appeared which was can be both Wiseman 1 & Wiseman 2 appeared at the same time than you can see in third candlestick before the upward green arrow. It's a pretty strong indication of reverse move after two weeks of bearish market in GJ TF4h.

These are GBP/JPY 1 hour time frame, with and without pivot level indicator.

As I make more money using Wiseman 3 as it consistent with the cliche; "Trade with trend" and "Trend is your friend", the best and most of my entry points are took in a smaller time frame, usually 15 minutes or 30 minutes time frame. So, you can see the point why am I using daily pivot level to indicate support and resistance level in a larger time frame.

I make most profit from Wiseman 2 here. ;)

Below is GBP/JPY 30 minutes timeframe.

Well, there were 11 Wiseman 3 signals appeared which you can see as the upward fractal in the graph.

Trade review on 16th-17th June. GBP/JPY.

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:12:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last update. I try my best to keep this blog updated. I feel sorry for myself.

I just come back to my place last Monday from my 2 weeks vacation, and no trade from last two weeks. I started to trade on 17th (Wednesday) and I miss a very good opportunity to set a pending order for Wiseman 1 on Monday in 4 hour and Daily time frame.

This is Daily chart which I miss a wiseman 1 signal which appeared on Monday.

This is 4 hour chart which shows the downward movement since last Friday (June 12th)

This is 1 hour chart which shows the market condition which is not good for trading as the bars are in and close to alligator's mouth. I personally prefer to trade using 1 hour time frame, but with this market condition, I have to look on other time frame.

I decided to trade using 15 minute time frame which is giving me more potential opportunities to make order. As you can see, I take out more pips using wiseman 1 and wiseman 2 rather than both wiseman 3 signals.

I did make some money yesterday, and hopefully this downward condition to continue. I was only trade GBP/JPY as it's the only pair with a clear trend in 4 hour timeframe. Happy trading! =)

Trade review on the last week of April. (27th - 1st of May)

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:11:00 +0000

I only trade GBP/JPY for last week as it was the only pair with a market condition fits with my criteria. (EU also made a good move by the way.) Usually, I will close all orders on Friday, but not this time. I put all the stop loss @ 147.116. Let's see what will happen on this coming Monday either it will hit the stop loss or continue the trend.

All my pending orders were made on TF1h and referring to TF4h. (Most of all to avoid the whipsaw!) I also was trying to assimilate wave reading in my trade and probably in TF1h, from 28th of April to 1st of May, it's in 5th wave.

I move the Stop Loss to the next bar chart with downward fractal that touch the green line or also called the lip of Alligator. It slightly broke my own rule but I have the nerve of steel. =)

The result if the price hit Stop Loss so far :

Wiseman 1 : 723 pips
Wiseman 2 : 596 pips
1st Wiseman 1 : 438 pips
2nd Wiseman 1 : 343 pips.

Total : You do the math! =)

Money Management For Trading Chaos System

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Ever did to watch your capital wiped out right in front of your eye balls and nothing you can do to save the situation? If you did not, well I did! I already came to various of systems (if not thousand of them!), which I can say some were really profitable in a good market condition and it's left the wrong money management which differentiate between profit and margin call. I tell you what, the importance of money management is crucial, and experiencing the margin call will never please you. Learn from my experience.. Sigh!

Asset allocation is one of the toughest jobs for investors. It's the art of minimizing your loss and maximizing your profit. In Trading Chaos 2nd edition book, there is one sub-chapter regarding money management called 'Reverse Pyramiding'. Always ask yourself how much you are willing to risk. I myself, will risk 5% in a good market condition (Wave 3 and 5?), and 3% in risky market condition (Wave 2 and 4?).

This should help you (and me!) with a better understanding what 'Reverse Pyramiding' is.

1. Wiseman 1 = 1 contract.
2. Wiseman 2 = 5 contracts. (Only after W1 is in profit.)
3. Wiseman 3 first signal = 4 contracts.
4. Wiseman 3 second signal = 3 contracts.
5. Wiseman 3 third signal = 2 contracts.

Always remember, preserve the capital is more important than making money. Happy trading! =)

A choice of a currency pair for a trade

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:09:00 +0000

When I was reading Beat The Odds In Forex Trading by Igor Toshchakov, there is one chapter about the idea of 'What currency pair should be traded for short-term intraday trader'. You can read that particular chapter here. Happy reading!

When making a choice of a currency pair for a trade, no other reasons except the practical ones should be taken into consideration. It always surprises me when I see that some traders choose a currency pair for making a speculative trade, based on patriotic or geographical reasons. I have noticed that many traders from Australia, for example, basically trade an AUD against USD or NZD. New Zealanders, Canadians, Frenchmen and many traders from several other countries frequently prefer to trade their national currencies also. They trade it against the American dollar, or against other national currencies of neighboring countries of the given geographical region. It seems to me, though, that our basic purpose of participation in this business is not to certify our patriotic feelings and pride but only to receive the greatest possible profit. From the point of view of a speculative trader, the patriotically geographical approach to a choice of currency pairs for speculative operations on FOREX cannot be considered rational and justified. The choice of a currency pair for the following speculative transaction should be done according certain parameters, and patriotism and residence are not among them.

The basic criteria for a choice of currency pairs should be their liquidity, activity and average amplitude of fluctuations (trading range). The higher all these parameters, the more preferable such currency pairs are from a speculative trader’s point of view. The list of currency pairs most suitable to such a definition first of all includes the following: USD/CHF, USD/JPY, EUR/USD, EUR/JPY, GBP/EUR, GBP/JPY and CHF/JPY. You may be surprised that I have not included in this group Cable (GBP/USD). The reason is that this currency pair has almost ideal liquidity as well as all other “majors”, but the average day amplitude of Cable fluctuations is lower than would be desirable. Also, the small cost of a GBP/USD pip is from my point of view better for an intermediate term positional trade, than for short-term intra day speculations. (Sometimes I also trade it, but not very oftern.)

The most important and final criterion when making a choice of a currency for short-term speculative trade should be maximum conformity of a current technical picture, and how it fits to a trading technique and/or to a trading system which you’re going to use. As in this course we talk particularly about my trading technique, just the maximum conformity of the chart to one of the templates used by me becomes a determining factor for a choice of a particular currency for a particular trade. It is especially important if in the given moment the market is in immediate proximity to some key technical level. I accept diversification and, from my point of view, it’s possible and necessary to trade various currency pairs. However, my personal practice shows that having simultaneous positions on various currency pairs disseminates a trader’s attention. It’s rather difficult to follow all the currency pairs at the same time. Therefore, I simultaneously hold open positions on no more than two or (very seldom) three currency pairs. In some cases (for example, trading USD/CHF and EUR/USD), I frequently use “substitution”. By substitution I mean analyzing one of them, but (on the basis of this analysis) trading the other one.

The Swiss franc basically doesn’t have its own brightly expressed identity in the marketplace. On a large scale, it is not more than a “proxy” in relation to Euro. At the same time, it has high activity, large amplitude of fluctuations and perfect liquidity. These “qualities” allow USD/CHF to be one of the most attractive currency pairs for speculative trade.

p/s : You can download Beat The Odds In Forex Trading by Igor Toshchakov ebook at Download Section in sidebar.

European Banks Are Off Business. I'm on! =)

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:40:00 +0000

Today (Monday, April 13), Most of experts are not suggesting any open position to be made as all the European's bank are off business. I disagree! (I'm not a big fan of Fundemental analysis anyway.) LOL!

If you check the TFH1 & TFH4 graph on USDCHF, there is Wiseman Signal 1 appeared from the last hour of Friday's market. W1 on USDCHF is VALID as it fulfill the rules ; Bearish Divergent Bars (Bar inside the eclipse), have the angulation line(yellow line), & valid Divergent Bar satisfied the Green AO (red arrow in AO indicator).

Check out on EURUSD, W1 also valid, but to lower the risk in abnormal move expected in market today, I only place a contract order on USDCHF.

USDCHF already cross the pending order I made. If you use metatrader platform, I believe you are not able to execute any position. I'm using Oanda (www.oanda.com) as my trading platform, and meta4 from Interbank (IBFX) for graph reference. Trade at your own risk.

UPDATED :

I managed to win 197 pips only by using Wiseman 1 signal! =)

p/s : I have some computer problems this week, motherboard and Hard Disk issue, need to change both. Sigh! Technically, I only trade on Monday and Tuesday. There are at least three Wiseman 1 signals appeared this week on GBPJPY, GBPUSD, EURUSD & USDCHF. Dont need to say about Wiseman 2 & Wiseman 3. I miss a lot of opportunities to grow my capital this week. Really sick on this PC issue. =(

Important times of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:29:00 +0000

In his book "Beat the Forex Dealer", Augustin Silvani lists

important times of the day that all traders should be aware of:

00:00 Sydney Open (good time for an ambush)
11:00 LIBOR Spot Fixing (manipulation)
15:00 London FIX (corporate and "must do" flows)
17:00 NY options cut (manipulation)
18:00 Europe closes their books (reversal time)
19:15-19:30 Close of IMM (last minute positioning by Chicago traders)

All times are GMT

Manipulation and abnormal moves are common during these times, so keep your eyes peeled and watch your stops!

EU Trading Station

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:56:00 +0000

Good trade last week. I make more profit in pair EU, as I managed to take all wiseman signal (W1,W2, & W3).

Check out the picture above.

1st W1 = 320 pips
W2 = 300 pips
1st W3 = 135 pips
2nd W3 = 110 pips
3rd W3 = 30 pips.
2nd W1 = 90 pips. (I just let it go until Friday, and decided to close the position at some points.)

6 positions, 6 wins.
Total pips = 985 pips.

Forex Trader Must-Go-Through Stages

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:42:00 +0000

You may have heard the saying "'Forex trading is simple, but not easy." ??
Article below is written by a trader goes by nickname SoulTrader on website which I do not remember. You may notice which stage you are currently and perhaps you may speed up your process to final stage by reading this. Enjoy it.

===============================================================

Stages Leading to Successful Trading

Step One: Unconscious Incompetence.

This is the first step you take when starting to look into trading. You know that it’s a good way of making money because you've heard so many things about it and heard of so many
millionaires. Unfortunately, just like when you first desire to drive a car you think it will be easy- after all, how hard can it be?? - Price either moves up or down - what's the big secret to that then - let’s get cracking!

Unfortunately, just as when you first take your place in front of a steering wheel you find very quickly that you haven't got the first clue about what you're trying to do. You take lots of trades and lots of risks. When you enter a trade it turns against you so you reverse and it turns again ..and again, and again.

You try to turn around your losses by doubling up every time you trade - sometimes you'll get away with it but more often than not you will come away scathed and bruised. Well this is stage one - you are totally oblivious to your incompetence at trading.

Stage one can last for a week or two of trading but the market is usually swift and you move onto stage two.

Stage Two - Conscious Incompetence

Stage two is where you realize that there is more work involved in this and that you might actually have to work a few things out. You consciously realize that you are an incompetent trader - you don't have the skills or the insight to turn a regular profit. During this phase you will buy systems and e-books galore, read websites based everywhere from Russia to the Ukraine. And begin your search for the Holy Grail.

During this time you will be a system whore - you will flick from method to method day-by-day and week-by-week never sticking with one long enough to actually see if it does work. Every time you came upon a new indicator you'll be ecstatic that this is the one that will make all the difference.

You will test out automated systems on Meta-trader, you'll play with moving averages, Fibonacci lines, support & resistance, Pivots, Fractals, Divergence, DMI, ADX, and a hundred other things all in the vein hope that your 'magic system' starts today.

You'll be a top and bottom picker, trying to find the exact point of reversal with your indicators and you'll find yourself chasing losing trades and even adding to them because you are so sure you are right.

You'll go into the live chat room and see other traders making pips and you want to know why it's not you - you'll ask a million questions, some of which are so dumb that looking back you feel a bit silly. You'll then reach the point where you think all the ones who are calling pips after pips are liars - they can’t be making that amount because you've studied and you don't make that, you know as much as they do and they must be lying. But they're in there day after day and their account just grows whilst yours falls.

You will be like a teenager - the traders that make money will freely give you advice but you're stubborn and think that you know best - you take no notice and over leverage your account even though everyone says you are mad to - but you know better.

You’ll consider following the calls that others make but even then it won’t work so you try paying for signals from someone else - they don't work for you either.

This phase can last ages and ages - in fact in reality it can last well over a year - My own period lasted about 18 months.
Eventually you do begin to come out of this phase. You've probably committed more time and money than you ever thought you would, lost 2 or 3 loaded accounts and all but given up maybe 3 or 4 times.

Then comes stage 3.

Stage 3 - The Eureka Moment

Towards the end of stage two you begin to realize that it's not the system that is making the difference. You realize that its actually possible to make money with a simple moving average and nothing else IF you can get your head and money management right.

You start to read books on the psychology of trading and identify with the characters portrayed in those books. Finally comes the ‘eureka’ moment.

The eureka moment causes a new connection to be made in your brain. You suddenly realize that neither you, nor anyone else can accurately predict what the market will do in the next ten seconds, never mind the next 20 mins.

You start to work just one system that you mould to your own way of trading, you're starting to get happy and you define your risk threshold. You start to take every trade that your 'edge' shows has a good probability of winning with. When the trade turns bad you don't get angry or even because you know in your head that as you couldn't possibly predict it it isn't your fault - as soon as you realise that the trade is bad you close it . The next trade will have higher odds of success because you know your simple system works.

You have realized in an instant that the trading game is about one thing - consistency of your 'edge' and your discipline to take all the trades no matter what. You learn about proper money management and leverage - risk of account etc – and this time it actually soaks in and you think back to those who advised the same thing a year ago with a smile. You weren't ready then, but you are now.

The eureka moment came the moment that you truly accepted that you cannot predict the market.

Then comes stage 4.

Stage 4 - Conscious Competence

Ok, now you are making trades whenever your system tells you to. You take losses just as easily as you take wins. You now let your winners run to their conclusion fully accepting the risk and knowing that your system makes more money than it loses and when you're on a loser you close it swiftly with little pain to your account. You are now at a point where you break even most of the time - day in day out, you will have weeks where you make 100 pips and weeks where you lose 100 pips - generally you are breaking even and not losing money.

You are now conscious of the fact that you are making calls that are generally good and you are getting respect from other traders as you chat the day away. You still have to work at it and think about your trades but as this continues you begin to make more money than you lose consistently.

You’ll start the day on a 20 pip win, take a 35 pip loss and have no feelings that you've given those pips back because you know that it will come back again. You will now begin to make consistent pips week in and week out 25 pips one week, 50 the next and so on.

This lasts about 6 months, and then comes Stage 5.

Stage Five - Unconscious Competence

Now were cooking - just like driving a car, every day you get in your seat and trade - you do everything now on an unconscious level. You are running on autopilot. You start to pick the really big trades and getting 100 pips in a day is becoming quite normal to you. This is trading utopia - you have mastered your emotions and you are now a trader with a rapidly growing account. You’re a star in the trading chat room and people listen to what you say. You recognize yourself in their questions from about two years ago. You pass on your advice but you know most of it is futile because they're teenagers - some of them will get to where you are - some will do it fast and others will be slower - literally dozens and dozens will never get past stage two but a few will.

Trading is no longer exciting - in fact it's probably boring you to bits - like everything in life when you get good at it or do it for your job - it gets boring - you're doing your job and that's that.

You can now say with your head held high "I'm a currency trader."

I hope you've enjoyed this text and can recognize yourself in some stage or another – personally.
I'm at stage four now and am constantly making good amounts of pips - I've been trading in total for about 3 years and the first two were hell on earth.

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p/s : Hope you learn something out of this! All the success traders know that in success trading, it takes 70% of Psychology, 20% of Money Management & 10% of Trading System. I will cover more in this Psychology matter next time. Now you can guess why 95% of trader failed. Happy trading! =)

GJ Trading Station

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:27:00 +0000

Good start in the beginning of the week. I just missed Wiseman 2. Managed to take away total 609 pips from GJ only. I was trading only on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday this week, as Alligator's mouth seems pretty close on Thursday as a result from the bank Holiday on Friday. Cant wait for next week!

My Workstation : When I was still undergraduate student. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Andre) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:18:00 +0000