Wed 2nd December

Hi John

It was good chatting to you this afternoon. Since our last chat I can happily say that my trading is improving by the day. Gone are the indicators like stochs and MACD. All I have on my charts are a couple of moving averages and support and resistance. Since the removal of the indicators I don’t feel distracted by wavy lines telling me when things are oversold and overbought. I now look at my candles and take it from there. I have studied candles quite extensively . I am going for smaller runs and concentrating on getting around 15 pips per pair per day. I am currently trading 3 pairs and hoping to increase this eventually to 6. When I have reached my target I stop trading and study charts and try to predict movements and what will happen. The charts I trade are 15m and 1h.

My confidence has grown. This is partly due to taking a psychology course for traders and working on my mindset. I have joined a South African trader who has the most amazing approach. He used to give trade calls but I never took the trades. Taking trade calls doesn’t suit me as I don’t feel in control. It’s not so much a system he teaches but a whole package that includes teaching me discipline, how to prevent over trading, starting small and working my way up to my full potential when I am ready for it.

He uses blank charts but the folk who are with him trade their own systems and use his approach to trading. I used to look for big runs and would miss smaller runs and by doing so not trade. Now I don’t look for tops or bottoms and get in when the trade looks set to make good pips generally getting in on a pull back. I trade between 6am and 9am and what has not been done by then doesn’t happen.

When in the USA this will mean trading from 1am EST till 4am but that’s ok. I am prepared to do this and most mornings just after Frankfurt opens I reach my targets and then can carry on with my work day. When I have my 15 pips I lock them in and let the trade run but I still have a problem staying in a trade and tend to close too early. If I see the trade winging off without, I am not bothered by it. I have my pips.

This has been a gradual change and the last few weeks my predictions have been right. I still have more winners than losers and now I need to work on reducing the size of my losses. Today’s trade was better. I set a limit and closes when price reached it. My stop loss is 1% tops. If the trade doesn’t allow for this I don’t take it.

The psychology course has stressed that you trade at your own pace and not allow anyone to pressurise you. No two traders are the same. What takes one trader a year can take another 3. There is no contest as to who will make the grade first. I have finally lost this sense of pressure. I am more relaxed and the results are noticeable.

Just because I have not gone to school to learn to trade I find I am not taken seriously and I am constantly asked when I will be making big money. I have had comments like I am wasting my time and should rather concentrate on something else. It’s just ignorance as few understand the time it takes to become a good trader. I have a few trader friends who are taking so much flack from their wives it is affecting their trading. Thankfully Leigh doesn’t hassle me. The group I’m with is over 50 traders yet there are only two women in the group. At first I felt intimidated by this but now I could care less. Everyone is very supportive and helpful and I am able to contribute and even made trade calls which have turned out well. When I trade I switch off and concentrate on my trading. Chatter distracts me.

Looking back a year ago I was nervous, had frozen finger syndrome and terrified of taking losses which eventually stopped me trading for several weeks. Now I understand losses are all part of trading and losing doesn’t hit me like it used it. I have only been trading live since the end of October last year. I think the biggest improvement in my trading started around June/July this year.

And that’s my news. Hope you have a super Christmas in the sun.

Kind regards

Desiree