Anyone here into FOREX?

[elfin buddy]

Good to see you again, ~Shard~! Welcome back!

I think the news came out momentarily before 3:15 (my time, anyway), so probably around 3:14:45 or so. Oanda FXNews was quick to the punch though, so I didn't miss out on too much of the action

 

[macbookpro10]

Wow this is crazy. I didn't know that many people did forex. I used to do stocks for a while now I am hooked on forex market. For me it is more lucrative and very very very fast. Which I like becuase I am a day trader. I use FXCM's trading station for the mac and it works fine.

 

[~Shard~]

Thanks guys, good to be back. Hopefully I'll be joining in the trading action with you in the next couple of weeks once I get back on track.

 

[~Shard~]

Well, I carried out my first few “pretend trades” with Oanda last night, just to become more familiar with the platform and things in general. I traded the EUR/USD a couple times, once long and once short, and made a cumulative 6 pips on a 100,000 lot size ($10/pip). Not too shabby for my first go. Oh, and keep in mind I was obviously not trading on any news – this was just more of an exercise to execute and close a trade. I called on some of my charting expertise from all the stock trading I’ve done to try and predict very short term dips and peaks, and managed to hit them fairly well. I didn’t panic when I was temporarily down, as you can never buy at the absolute bottom or sell at the very top.

My better trade was the AUD/JPY. I actually bought this as a long term hold for the interest benefits, however when I woke up this morning, I logged in and saw that I had realized a 50 pip gain during the 6 hours I was asleep! So, I closed the position and took a nice profit. Of course I realize it could just as easily gone the other way, but in this case, I just closed the trade, didn’t get greedy, and perhaps I will put another order in tonight and see what happens.

Here is the chart for my trade. The blue arrow is of course where I bought, and I closed the position just after taking this snapshot:

 

[~Shard~]

Oh, and one question Music _Producer (or anyone else who knows the answer). You mentioned something a few posts about having two trade windows open to expedite trades – which windows are you referring to? The order windows where you buy or sell, or what exactly? I'll have a re-read of the thread myself, since I've been away for a few weeks, but thought I'd ask as well FWIW.

 

[elfin buddy]

Oh, and one question Music _Producer (or anyone else who knows the answer). You mentioned something a few posts about having two trade windows open to expedite trades – which windows are you referring to? The order windows where you buy or sell, or what exactly? I'll have a re-read of the thread myself, since I've been away for a few weeks, but thought I'd ask as well FWIW.

I believe he was talking about the buy/sell windows. The reason it's good to have two of them open is that when you're trading the news, you don't know what the news will be in advance so you don't know whether to buy or sell. Seconds count, and it takes time to click the radio button to switch between buy/sell. Having two market order windows open let you have one of them set to 'buy' and the other to 'sell' so that you can just click whichever one would benefit from the news.

To save space on my little screen, I overlap the windows so that I have the buy window on top, and the sell window behind it with only the 'submit' and 'cancel' buttons showing.

Congrats on the lucky JPY trade! Sounds like you're doing quite well already

There was a housing announcement for Canada this morning at 9:15 (Atlantic time), and I got up earlier than usual hoping to trade it. Funny though, Oanda gave signs that there was an announcement pending on the USD/CAD (i.e., the spread increased right before 9:15), but there was no announcement on Oanda FXNews, the market didn't budge, and the spread went back to a normal level a few minutes later.

I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It was rated orange by the good folks at ForexFactory, and they report the figure as having come out above expectations. I finally got a bit of real money deposited into my Oanda account, so I was really looking forward to screwing around with it a bit

 

[~Shard~]

I believe he was talking about the buy/sell windows. The reason it's good to have two of them open is that when you're trading the news, you don't know what the news will be in advance so you don't know whether to buy or sell. Seconds count, and it takes time to click the radio button to switch between buy/sell. Having two market order windows open let you have one of them set to 'buy' and the other to 'sell' so that you can just click whichever one would benefit from the news.

Ah, now I understand, thanks for that! I thought it was perhaps 2 windows open to execute and then subsequently close a trade. But yes, that makes total sense. Thanks.

Congrats on the lucky JPY trade! Sounds like you're doing quite well already

Thanks, but I do realize it was more luck than good management, and it could have just as easily gone the other way. Let’s just say I’m not going to let myself get overconfident or cocky because of my initial luck, as that could get very dangerous very quickly. I’m too smart for that and have learned too many lessons the hard way in this respect on the stock market over the years.

 

[elfin buddy]

Ah, now I understand, thanks for that! I thought it was perhaps 2 windows open to execute and then subsequently close a trade. But yes, that makes total sense. Thanks.

No problem

Thanks, but I do realize it was more luck than good management, and it could have just as easily gone the other way. Let’s just say I’m not going to let myself get overconfident or cocky because of my initial luck, as that could get very dangerous very quickly. I’m too smart for that and have learned too many lessons the hard way in this respect on the stock market over the years.

With that kind an attitude, you just might make it into the "elite 10%", as they call it on BabyPips

 

[~Shard~]

With that kind an attitude, you just might make it into the "elite 10%", as they call it on BabyPips

Well, that sure would be nice. I am hoping that my years of experience in the stock market will assist me in some of my future Forex endeavours. Even though they are different beasts, I believe there are a lot of fundamental principles which spread across both domains, so hopefully that will be an asset to me.

 

[Music_Producer]

Hey Elfin.. the Canadians are getting notorious for not being punctual.. the CAD report that was supposed to come out at 8.15 am EST, came out at 8.20 am EST

Anyway, there was not much deviation from the expected results.. and the USD/CAD spread was 10 pips.. so i didn't trade.. and the USD/CAD barely moved enough to make a profit.

I think I'm quite proud of the GBP trade that I carried out today.. (the UK trade balance came out at 4.30 am est) The spread on GBP/USD was 15 pips.. 15 damn pips! And there was hardly any deviation but i went ahead and made 1 pip profit I traded a huge lot, so I made $200.. pitiful amount but I was quite tripping on my skills, since I managed to eke out 1 pip from a 4 pip drop, *and* a 15 pip spread.

Of course if the spread was like EUR/USD.. 3 pips at the most, I could have made 14 pips. Stupid spreads

 

[Curren~Sea]

There's a whole slew of JPY announcements this afternoon. I wouldn't be surprised if the JPY strengthens considerably. Not sure if I'll trade it, maybe in my alternate account. I'm sticking with ultra-conservative Euro only trades in my main Oanda account.

a 15 pip spread is nasty, but at least you could get in and out of trades. Many other platforms would not let you trade during a volatile period. Speaking of which, I am looking hard at the ACM platform. Looks very good to me at the moment. When my account gets up to the hundreds of thousands, I will probably move funds over there, after all, it's Swiss!

 

[~Shard~]

Speaking of which, I am looking hard at the ACM platform. Looks very good to me at the moment. When my account gets up to the hundreds of thousands, I will probably move funds over there, after all, it's Swiss!

Indeed, that would be a nice position to be in.

 

[elfin buddy]

Hey Elfin.. the Canadians are getting notorious for not being punctual.. the CAD report that was supposed to come out at 8.15 am EST, came out at 8.20 am EST

Anyway, there was not much deviation from the expected results.. and the USD/CAD spread was 10 pips.. so i didn't trade.. and the USD/CAD barely moved enough to make a profit.

I think I'm quite proud of the GBP trade that I carried out today.. (the UK trade balance came out at 4.30 am est) The spread on GBP/USD was 15 pips.. 15 damn pips! And there was hardly any deviation but i went ahead and made 1 pip profit I traded a huge lot, so I made $200.. pitiful amount but I was quite tripping on my skills, since I managed to eke out 1 pip from a 4 pip drop, *and* a 15 pip spread.

Of course if the spread was like EUR/USD.. 3 pips at the most, I could have made 14 pips. Stupid spreads

The report came out at 8:20 instead of 8:15?!? Bastards! I closed down FXTrade at 8:19 (or, 9:19 my time). Oh well, I didn't expect to make much of a profit anyway, so I'm not crying.

I started playing with real money today, regardless that I missed the announcement I was waiting for. I made about 10 small trades today, just here and there in a bunch of different currencies, trying to shake the butterflies that came with losing my forex virginity Even though I wasn't even trading the news or doing any real analysis of the markets, I still came out barely on top, so nothing lost

I'm getting very comfortable with trading real money now, which should be a good thing in that my trading practices won't differ too much from when I did well with fake money. I'm having a lot of fun doing this!

 

[Music_Producer]

I made about 10 small trades today, just here and there in a bunch of different currencies, trying to shake the butterflies that came with losing my forex virginity

Lol.. good to see you guys are having fun doing this... and it is fun, if you know what you're doing! I remember the awful times when I lost all my money because I didn't have a clue.. and just used to stick to 'charting' techniques. All the charting theories go straight out the door during these news events. For me it was always a mystery as to what caused those 'spikes' .. lol what an idiot

Curren Sea.. yeah, I'll be looking at the JPY today as well.. and the boj interest rate thing is tomorrow.. but onbiously they won't do anything. *if* they do raise rates.. it'll be totally out of the blue and the JPY will be spanking every other currency's ass. But they won't raise it.. besides, the carry traders will get screwed..and basically the entire world does carry trading

 

[Music_Producer]

Hmm.. everyone I see here (almost) is from Canada.. how's it like living there? Just a general question.. I'm really tired of the American government and all the idiots out here.

I bet Canadians are not punctual though.. like their finance ministry

 

[elfin buddy]

Hmm.. everyone I see here (almost) is from Canada.. how's it like living there? Just a general question.. I'm really tired of the American government and all the idiots out here.

I bet Canadians are not punctual though.. like their finance ministry

I absolutely love living in Canada I like it less now than I did before on account of Stephen Harper, but overall it's a great place to live. I still can't wrap my mind around all the empty space and wilderness!

There's really a noticeable difference between Canadian and American psyches too. There's none of this "culture of fear" that seems to flourish so well in the US. Of course, if Stephen Harper has his way, that'll all change

I am of the opinion that on average, Canadians are much more laid back than Americans. I support this with anecdotal evidence from my girlfriend who's a call agent for Budget's International Call Centre (yeah, the car rental place). The majority of her callers are American, and apparently they are always the ones throwing fits, swearing at her, and generally not nice people to serve. She says she's never had a single bad call from a Canadian I'd love for some grad student in psychology to do a study on that...

Ummm....yeah Sorry about that tangent, haha. Even after that, I feel obligated to point out that I've never met an American I didn't like. Maybe I choose good company, maybe the horrible Americans never leave their country...who knows? All I know is that all Americans I personally know are awesome people

 

[Music_Producer]

Yeah.. when I deal with most americans during business.. they're horrible compared to foreigners. I love Australians.. they seem to be the most polite and friendly bunch. Canadains are a lot nicer too.. Americans think they're the frikkin elite bunch.. and hence the attitude.

Thanks for the info Elfin

 

[~Shard~]

I love Canadians and Canada, but what can I say, I'm biased. It's an amazing country Music_Producer so if you're ever thinking of a change, let us know and we'll point you in the right direction in terms of where to move to suit your needs and all that good stuff.

Oh, and Curren~Sea, too bad I just realized you lived in Vancouver.
I just spent part of my vacation there visiting friends and family. It
would have been fun to have met up in person with ya, chat about investing
over drinks, and all that good stuff.

Next time?

 

[Music_Producer]

Thanks Shard.. will definitely take a look at Canada.. sooner than later!

I'll be trading the US trade balance report at 5.30 am PST. Seeing how other reports have been, I expect this one to be more negative than expected.

 

[Music_Producer]

No trade on the US data for me, hardly any deviation on the US trade balance.

 

[Crimson]

Nice week!

I'm finally back after a sleepless week - btw, it's a girl! Some nice action on the market while I was gone. Now I'm thinking I should start taking advantage of late night feedings - maybe get my laptop set up in the nursery So you guys who started out with a live account - at $50 do you feel you get the same "excitement" over the trades? Curious if anyone recommends an amount to start out with for practice with "the real deal".

Glad to see Shard back - and nice to see some new names!

 

[Curren~Sea]

The big move today was, of course, the terrorist plot. I am in a long-term sell from my "wave" account and it's over 100 pips in profit. I will probably trade the BOJ announcement in my "announcement" account because the JPY should move.

Start small with your live account. Small is relative, though, for some people small is $50, for others small is $5000. The main thing is that you will feel completely different when you're trading real money compared to trading demo. After some time, however, you will lose that emotional attachement and you'll become a better trader.

And congrats to Crimson!

Shard - Let me know next time you're in Vancouver and we can hook up. I also do some real estate investing so maybe we can compare notes on investment styles and strategies.

 

[~Shard~]

Shard - Let me know next time you're in Vancouver and we can hook up. I also do some real estate investing so maybe we can compare notes on investment styles and strategies.

Sounds great Curren~Sea - it's too bad we missed the perfect opportunity a couple weeks ago! My wife would have enjoyed it too, as she is even more into investing than I am - she has her Canadian Securities certification and is a Director of our Strategic Business Development department here, and is thinking about getting into the Venture Capital arena. She knows her stuff as well.

I honestly don't know the next time I'll be out there (probably not until next year) but when I am you can be sure I'll let you know.

I find the real estate market in places such an Vancouver and Calagry fascinating right now, what with rising interest rates, the recent gains people are seeing, people's debt load in those centers, and the impending housing market correction (as the USA is starting to experience already) so I would definitely like to talk more about it with you. And yes, investment strategies in general as well.

If you like, you could always PM or e-mail me as well.

 

[Crimson]

Withdrawl

For you who use live accounts; have you withdrawn money from Oanda? Are there concerns with withdrawing profits, considering tax laws? I saw Oanda made a comment regarding the amount:

Funds may be withdrawn from a Customer's Account at any time, providing that the value of the customer FXTrade account is equal to or greater than the margin requirement.

Does that just mean that they won't pay out what you currently have in a trade? (That would be obvious!)

 

[~Shard~]

For you who use live accounts; have you withdrawn money from Oanda? Are there concerns with withdrawing profits, considering tax laws? I saw Oanda made a comment regarding the amount:

Funds may be withdrawn from a Customer's Account at any time, providing that the value of the customer FXTrade account is equal to or greater than the margin requirement.

Does that just mean that they won't pay out what you currently have in a trade? (That would be obvious!)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the way I read that is as follows: Your margin is based on how much actual funds you have in your account. Drawing on that margin is fine. But you can't draw on that margin then withdraw the actual funds that margin amount was calculated on.

Example: You deposit $5000 in real money, margin is 10:1, so you have $50,000 of buying power. You buy $40,000 of something using margin, but then withdraw $4000 of real money. Now, if you only have $1000 of real money left, your margin should only be $10,000, but you've "spent" $40,000.

Does this make sense, or am I on crack again? It's happened before, and it is getting late here...