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Category Archives: Self Assessment
What aspiring traders can learn from an Olympic athlete
Tales of great traders like Jesse Livermore, Paul Tudor Jones, or George Soros are inspirational. But there may come a time when a trader look at their trading performance over the years and say to themselves, “Why am I wasting my time with these average returns? I could never be like them!” [...]
What to do when life gets in your way of trading?
Sometimes, things in life will get in the way of your trading. From down with a cold to your internet service provider acting up, there are times when your are not able to trade in your ideal zone. What do you do in these disadvantaged circumstances? Do you take some NyQuil or [...]
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January 2010 Trading Performance Review
2010 didn’t begin well for me. I experienced my biggest drawdown so far at -3.95% (see Figure 1 for my account balance graph) in my demo account. Given that I only risk 0.2% per trade, this is a relatively substantial setback.
Ironically, I was in the process of filling paper work to open a live account [...]
Closed EUR/CHF and GBP/CHF Shorts: Best. Trade. Ever.
As I was saying earlier this week, I have been stockpiling in EUR/CHF short in my demo account (Fig. 1). Aside from that, I’ve also stocked up some GBP/CHF shorts this week (Fig. 2). Both positions are now closed because of my adjusted stops. These positions have single-handedly lifted me half way out of a [...]
Also posted in European Crosses Tagged CHF, EUR, exit, FTC, GBP, good trade, paper trade Leave a comment
First 2010 trading drawdown analysis on the verge of a new record
I am close to passing my biggest monthly drawdown ever in my forex paper trading endeavour. My account drawdown is at -3.34% now. My record was set in last November at -3.44%. And it’s only the 13th! To make matters worse, this isn’t one of those transient, surprise drawdown. It is a slow and steady [...]
Early bird does not get the worm in forex trading
[This post was updated on January 13, see addendum below.]
I have discussed my enthusiasm in shorting the Aussie a few times this week. First trade was shorting AUD/JPY at 84.53. After that got stopped out, I re-tried at the same level the next day. My trade history in this currency pair is shown in Figure [...]
December 2009 Trading Performance Review
I have set 2 goals back in November for December. 1) Think more, trade less; and 2) Be more aggressive on winners. With 276 trades in December, I have failed miserably for goal #1. I couldn’t meet my second goal either as I’ve missed most of the big moves from failing to recognize the bigger [...]
My name is Paul and I am a full-time engineer, part-time trader. Back in 2000, I deposited my $5000 interest-free student loan with an online broker. Since then, my interest in trading has become an obsession.
February 2010 Trading Performance Review