April, 2015 Month End Review 

Are You Kidding me?????

The month of April, started wonderfully, but ended going down in flames, and started the month of May off at loss. Yes. This is the 3rd straight month of losses. Am I concerned? slightly. Discouraged? Not one bit. 

How did this happen?

Since March, 2015, I have been trying to develop the perfect trading system.
Note, I did not say The holy grail. I said The perfect Trading System. The Perfect trading system must have have four (4) specific, non negotiable characteristics.
1. It must compliment the trading personality of the GBPUSD.
2. It must compliment the trading hours that we trade.
3. The trading signals ( Entry, Exit, SL) must be clear and unambiguous.
4.  The system must be simple to understand and apply.
Coupled with the Trading System, there must be the Perfect Money Management System.
Let's face it. It is quite possible to have the world's greatest, most profitable trading system in the world, and you can still blow up your account, and lose all of your money. How? In three (3) easy steps.

1. You bet the farm. ( Too much risk)

 2. You lose. ( Losses can and will happen. Even with a trading system that wins 99% of the time, its' that little 1% when the system randomly loses, when you bet the farm, is what kills you.

3. You're done.

 I, like Thomas Alva Edison, ( the inventor of the light bulb) have been experimenting to see what works, and what does not work, and I think I finally have put together the PERFECT Trading system. It satisfies all the requirements I have, and it confirms trade entries twice. That's right, twice.
Here is what it looks like.

I have changed the background color to white, highlighted the trading hours in grey, changed the moving average colors so they are easier on the eyes, changed the candle colors, changed the ma cross arrow to red, and I have added the secret sauce. You see that little black unassuming arrow? That, my friend, is the secret sauce. That is The Black Ops Trend Confirmation Arrow. This arrow lets me know when the trend change has been confirmed. Yes, I am quite stoked! After months of working 7 days a week to make this happen, I finally see the "fruit of my labor". I believe this trading system will be THE trading method, that will turn a small $1,000.00 account into over $ One. Million. Dollars.

My Black Ops Trend arrow identified the trend as being bearish, the entire trading session. The entire session.    

I cannot wait for the next trading week to start. I am so excited to see what May will bring. To get rid of these draw downs, and move into consistent profitability, will be a thing of beauty indeed. 

To my critics that say I can't do it, and  that it cannot be done, I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  You motivate me more than you will ever know, and besides, it is free publicity. :)

One more thing, how may traders, professional or otherwise, are willing to trade publicly?
It's easy to talk the talk, but things get a lonely when it actually comes time to come from behind marketing pages, slick advertising and teaching. Not to many of the so called gurus are willing to risk their reputations by actually doing what they teach others to do, that is. Trade.    

Have a great weekend. I have been working non-stop since Friday, May 1. It is time for me to get my weekend started.

Best, 

CII

Thursday April 30, 2015

I've Had Some Losing Trades, Now What?

Persuing Peace In The Midst Of Pain

Today, I have been rocked to my core. I've made 4 trades. 1win, 3 losses in a row.

I supressed the urge to system hop, and I suppresed the urge to just quit. I immediately put on the next trade.

Don't get me wrong- I am feeling the pain and the pressure, because I make a significant portion of my income from trading. I *MUST* make money trading, PERIOD. 

I am the primary trader for both The FAPWINNER Live Trading Room and The Million Dollar Trading Challenge. So, when I don't trade well, the whole world knows, and then they starting chatting in chat room, blogging and slamming me in forums. Geez, it's tough being "The Floyd". Everybody expects you to have winning trades all the time. Can I be honest, I secretly expect that same thing...

Todauy has been, up to this point, has been tough. I will go for a few days without losses, then, as if on que, the FOREX market becomes a pip collector and takes away my pips, simply because I have not been losing. I am sorry. I broke the code. Ther code that says if you are in the 95% that lose money, you cannot escape your class. What was I thinking? I will tell you. I was thinking that I actully had graduated to becoming a member of the elite 5% that actually make money. Silly me. The market is a great humbler.

But I still took the next trade. Becasue all I am really looking for is one good trade. Really? Yes. one good trade.  

So.. What happened? Why the string of losses Mr. Guru? 

Well. I took trades that I thought was going one way, and the market went the other way. Simple. 

That's it? Yep. That's it. I learned the following lessons, and they have served me well. Maybe they will help you, too, when you are dealing with drawdowns, and are thinking of system hopping, quitting or worse, taking some really stupid trades to try and "get your money back". 

1. Trade with a risk/lot size that you will not commit suicide if you lose. 

2. Don't trade with money that you cannot afford to lose. 

3. Trade according to your trading plan, and do not deviate from it during trading hours. 

4. Keep a trading journal, and review all won and lost trades. 

5.  Know when to quit before you start. 

6. Walk away if you feel like you are getting sucked emotionally into to trading. Just walk away. 

7. Accept your loss(es), and move on. Live to trade another day. 

8. If everybody could trade, they would. You are special, because you ARE a trader!

When I am done for the day, I will post the chart for the day, and update my stats. 

Thanks for reading and following my blog. 

Best, 

CII 

      

Wednesday April 29, 2015

Synopsis will post when all trades are closed. 

NEWS BLUES

A slow Death by 1,000 cuts

Today is a day that I will never forget to remember. Today was the release of The FOMC. It was one of the longest trading days I can remember. It was S....L.....O....W...... and the market went nowhere quickly.

Here is the chart of today.

I took 3 trades: 2 closed for a net loss, and 1, as of this post, is still open, and is BE+3.

The market basically whipsawed today. It was making so many updownupdownupdown  so much, I thought that I was listening to that song from the TV show, Empire.

Since the last trade of the day has not closed, I will wait to post the synopsis and tell you how dangerously close I am to falling over the proverbial cliff, with no possibility of making a million by the end of this year.

-Stay tuned.


 

Tuesday April 28, 2015

Trading Synopsis For Today

New Million Dollar Goal Date: 11-16 2015 (unchanged) 

Original Balance: $1,000.00
Prev. Balance: 776.04
Current Balance: $786.26

Session 1: 3:00-7:00 am
GPBUSD GDP q/q was released. Scalped the market for a quick +15 pips. Nice way to start the trading day.

ARGGGGHHH!!!!! I *ONLY* made 51 pips!!!! I am NOT HAPPY!! Let me explain.

I have an account manager that closes all trades when my equity (profit) goal is met. Today, the GBPUSD looked like a rocket ready to blast off with me in it. The last two times the ship lifted off, I was not in it. I am all set to have at least a 100 pip day, smiling to myself, breaking my arm patting myself on my back, and actually believing that I am in fact the guru of all gurus ( never believe your own press clippings...)... and then it happened. The EA closed my trades and loudly proclaimed "YOUR GOAL HAS BEEN ACHIEVED! CONGRATULATIONS CHARLES!". (Yes I programmed the speech part myself). The market is still moving up! AARRRRGGGHHH!

I am done trading in session 1. Let's see if there are any trading opportunities for the early US ( Session 2), or late US ( Session 3). Right now, I am going to sit in my corner, pout, and cheer on the guys that are still in the trade, in The FAPWINNER Live Trading Room.

If you would like to trade with us, or would like more info, please email livetradingroom@fapwinner.com.

Monday April 27, 2015

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims affected by the recent earthquakes.

New Million Dollar Goal Date: November 16, 2015 (-2) 
Original Balance: $1,000.00 Current Balance: 776.04

Today is a no news day, so trading may be in a slow gear grind. 

Session 1: 3am-7:00am- No trade setups.
There was a short continuation setupfrom Fridays bearish Bias, but the trade came while I was sleep.

Session 2: 7-10am. 

Shortly before 10:00am, I caught a beautiful bullish move, and I have locked in a bit more than +40 pips. I am letting the trade run. 

Session 3: 10:30-3:00 PM.

I closed the trade at 3:35pm CST. I almost bought the low of the day, made my goal, and shaved 2 days off my goal date! Happy Monday! Below you see our actual end of day stats for Monday April 28, 2015.

  

Million Dollar Trading Challenge Weekend Review

...It Begins.. My 2nd Trading Loss in 5 Days. 

New Million Dollar Goal Date: November 18, 2015
Original Balance: $1,000.00 Current Balance: 761.88 

 BB King, a blues legend, sings a song called "you might have made your move too soon". Obviously, he is singing about a woman that broke up with a man, just before things turned around for him. If she just had waited a little while longer, she too, would now be enjoying the benefits that he is enjoying without her. She made her move too soon. This applies not only to relationships, but also to Forex trading. How? A picture is worth a thousand words. Let me give you the picture.

The dotted white line to the right marks a new trading day. On the chart, that would be 11:00 pm CST/midnight EST. At the stroke of midnight New York time, the market took off. 

I went to bed at 10:00 pm CST. When I woke up at 245am CST to begin my trading day, this is what I was greeted with. I went to sleep at 2200. The market takes off at 23:00.  I made my move too soon.

I am feeling the blues right now. Here is Mr. BB King to help me lament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=436114vtQKU

Since the rocket has taken off without me for the 3rd time this week, I am going to wait and see if the US session will give me any opportunities to make those elusive +20 pips I need. Not only did I NOT get the 20 pips I needed, I LOST PIPS. There is no point in hiding it. I am bummed. Each day that I do not make my goal, the goal date is pushed further and further out. Bummer. 

Here is the entire chart for last weeks trading. 

So what now? KEEP TRADING!! 

The best way to trade your way out of a trading slump is to take the next trade, because all we are really looking for is just one good trade. 

What Happened?

The markets are largely random. Yes, the "Big Boys" do have a certain amount of influence, but that fact remains that the markets are largely random, moved by the twin towers of greed and fear. Looking back over the week, I added some trades that were not part of my trading plan. I saw some setups, and I fell off the wagon. I did something that I tell others NEVER TO Do- ( Physician, heal thy self) I traded outside of my trading plan, and it cost me big time. Lesson learned. Never again will I do that. I added in one fell swoop 5 days to by trading goal date. The idea is to DECREASE the days, not increase them.

I Have Only 2 Options Left To Earn $1,000,000.00 By December 31, 2015 

1. I must win  +20 pip each trading day until that date.
2. I must have winning trades that are at least 2X  larger than my daily goal to decrease the goal date. 

Trading Game Plan For The Trading Week of April 27, 2015.

1. Do not deviate from my trading plan.
2. Keep my risks small, and let the trades run to earn a min of 2.5:1.
3. Erase EACH individual loss to decrease days to goal, and increase equity. 

  

  

 

Thursday April 23, 2015

Trading Goal For Today: +20 pips. or $6.00 Prev. Goal Date: 11-10-15 (+4 days).
Current Goal Date: 11-13-15 ( +7 days) Pips This session: -25 pips  Goal Met? NO.

My First Loss in 9 trading days

Caution: Wet Paint Drying: Boredom Ahead 

Today was another one of "those" trading days, where you sit for long hours, waiting for that elusive setup that never comes. The GBPUSD has been quiet for the better part of the trading day. All sorts of thoughts have been running in my head-namely, look for another trading system. Why would I think that? I will tell you why. Here are the reasons why I should NOT be thinking of changing trading systems.

-1 net loss since I started trading my new trading method 1 week ago.
-It is highly mechanized, so it does reduces stress and emotionalism.
-It has audible and pop up alerts that allow me to step away from my screen.
-It is consistently profitable, and has given me my best recent trading performance.

Here is the one reason  that I am thinking of changing trading systems. Ready?
- I am bored and tired of waiting for a setup. Really? Yep. I know. Stupid.

The number one reason that traders "system hop" is because they get bored waiting for setups.
As traders, we crave action. We want to be "doing something". Let me push a button,  moving a stop loss, draw a line, bur please don't make me just sit and wait.  I would rather get into a trade and take a loss, than to sit and...wait.

It is during this space of time where we are doing nothing, because we are waiting for the next trade, that we start to think of "missed opportunity costs", and our minds wonder and wander over to that other trading system that we heard about.  We start to surf the 'net and "look around", and see if there is a system that will get us into more trades, so that we can spend less time, just...waiting. The truth is we get bored- plain and simple. Bored.
Guess what? Trading is boring, if you are doing it right. Today I was bored out of my skull, because I did not trade like a rapid fire machine gun buysellbuysellbuysellbuysellbuysellbuysell. I waited. 

A profitable trader is one that has mastered the art of waiting. Waiting for the right trade. Waiting for the target to be hit. Waiting for the swing to develop.

I heard a quote recently about guys that work on a bomb squad. These guys are notorious for being slow, and have mastered the art of waiting. Why? Because the next bomb they attempt to diffuse, may be their last, so they say, Slow down! Don't be in such a rush to die. That resonates with me. Rushing into trading can lead to that one trade that blows up your account. All of a sudden, waiting for the next trade, does not seem like a bad idea after all. Today, I lived to trade another day. Why? Because I learned to wait.

I still have a trade open ( Long GBPUSD), so I will wait to update the blog until my trade has closed.

I took my first loss in 9 trading days today. Here is the chart of today's trading.

 

Blast Off!

Synopsis For Wednesday April 23, 2015
Trading Goal For Today: +20 pips. or $6.00

Prev. Goal Date:11-10-15( +4 days) Current Goal Date 11-11-2015 (+5 days)                        Todays pips +3.47 Goal Met? TBD.  

Hello All! 

Today was another awesome trading session during London, and all the guys in the trading room made their goals, and then some....except for.. guess who? Me. Let me explain. 

When I first came online, (at 3:00am CST)I saw a long trade setup and IMMEDIATELY jumped on it. 

It tuned out to be a losing trade. Undaunted, I immediately took a loss recovery trade. If you want to know what that is, you will need to join the trading room. :).  I made back my losses, plus a few pips. 

The trade continued to move in my favor! I move my stop loss to BE +3, so it is now a RISK FREE Trade. So far, so good. I set my take profit for 2.5:1 ( I want to earn 2.5 pips for every 1 I risk).

The market goes almost vertical. I am already writing my acceptance speech for The Nobel Peace Prize for Economic modeling, for creating the Forex Holy Grail trading system, because we have NOT had a NET losing day since April 10, and I am feeling mighty proud of myself.

I began pontificating in the trading room about letting the trade run, blah blah blah... and then it happens...the market reverses. I count what I think is a 5th Elliot wave, so I justify getting out of the trade, when the truth is, I am seeing pips fly away, and I am afraid to take a loss, ( Never trade with scared money) so I IMMEDIATELY close the trade!  I look and feel like a rock star trading god- strutting and beating my chest, saying "yeah, we bad, uh huh".. and then it happened...  Again.. Yep. The market went vertical...again.. and like deja-vu ( see yesterdays post), that rocket took off again.. WITHOUT ME!  

The guys in the trading room are STILL IN the trade! TREASON!!! What? You guys did not exit with me? Nope... They are still in. Rene, Daryl, Chandra, Patrick, Carlton.. they stayed in.. and continued to make pips... while I sat, lonely, cold, and afraid....

Humbled. Here is the chart for the portion of the London trading session. 

So... What is the lesson that I learned? Follow the rules dude... Follow the rules. 

I did not make my goal. They did. Lesson learned. 

I am going to sit out the rest of London, and come back fresh ( and humbled) for the US session. 

The bright spot in all of this? There are several. 

1. I have spotted a recovery trade pattern to take to possibly win back lost pips. 

2. I have not had a net losing day since creating and launching my Evolution trading system. 

3. All of the traders in the room are profitable. 

4. I have proven that I am a real trader and not a salesman hawking products. 

5. The Million Dollar goal is still achievable for 2015. 

6. I am working with a great group of traders that are on this journey with me. 

Also, I am adding too many negative goal days. Each day I do not make my goal, I get a little further behind, and my system pushes the goal date further out. As of today, I have added 5 days to my goal date. That means I need to earn over 100 pips in one trading session to "catch up". I am starting to feel the pressure. So what do I do? I only have two (2) choices. 

1. Take a series of small scalp trades, which are NOT part of my written trading plan. 

2. Stay in the trades longer and try to capture larger moves and swings.

Let's take a poll. You tell me what should I do? I want to hear from you.     

I will have the final update after the US session has ended, or when I quit trading for the day-whichever comes first. 

UPDATE: 4:47 PM CST. I have a short trade open, and this time I am WAITING to let the trade play out. I will do a final update and post when the trade closes. 

Synopsis For Tuesday April 21, 2015

Trading Goal For Today: +20 pips. or $6.00
Prev. Goal Date: 11-9-15 (+3 days). Current Goal Date: 11-10-15( +4 days)
Pips This session: +3.23 pips  Goal Met? NO. 

Boy, I am really learning patience. I trade from 3:00am to 10:00am each day. Usually, I really do not need to wait too long for trade setups, but the first 2 days of this trading week have certainly broken my comfort zone. There were no trade setups during the London session. You try sitting for 4 hours and get nothing. Just sitting and wating with no results will test the mettle of any trader. Thoughts run through ones' head like:

-Is my platform on? ( I checked). 

-Is my chart working properly? ( I refreshed several times). 

-Did my trading method die, noever to give me another pattern? ( I reviewed the charts for previous setups to remind myself to relax.) 

And here is the big one: 

-Maybe I need to look for another system. ( I got up and walked away. I was ready to start system hopping!)    

Lesson for the 3 hour parking lot, better known as a trade-less trading time: Trust your system, and learn to wait. 

Trade Update: I took my first loss in 6 days. 

Commentary on Trade #1. The GBPUSD had a short bias since yesterday. I saw an opportunity to go long based on a possible trend change, and got clipped for -35 pips. So what do you do when you take a loss, the first loss in 6 days? Move on to the next trade! 

                                           Trade #2: Recovery Trade Recoups Trade #1 loss. 

Commentary on Trade #2. I saw a failure swing, aka 123 setup. This trade recouped the earlier loss.

Although we did not make our pip goal, we did not take a loss, and that is what's most important.

Monday April 20, 2015

Synopsis For Monday April 20, 2015
Trading Goal For Today: +20 pips. or $6.00
Previous Million Dollar Goal Date: 11-6-2015
Current  Million Dollar Goal Date: 11-9-2015 (+3 days)Pips This session: +4.3 pips
20 pip Goal: NOT MET.   

Hello all!
Today started off L_O_U_S_Y! My ISP was down the first 10 mins of the market! I assume it is due to the heavy rains in Chicago. When theinternet did finally come back up, the market ( GBPUSD) had a short bias, albeit a choppy one. So, I put my big boy pants on a took a short when the market re-traced enough for me to get a good and solid entry.

I moved my SL to BE+3, and was promptly kicked out of the trade! Fine! I covered my spread so I *STILL* made a profit of +3pips!

Currently, the market is ranging, and I am flat ( no current positions open), so, as the kids say, I am all good.

I strarted looking for trades @ 3:10am CST. It is now 7:00am CST. I have made +3 pips. To be a successful trader, you will need to learn patience and wait for the trades to setup. As traders, we do not get paid to trade, we get paid to WAIT.

I took 2 trades today- both were closed a little more than brekeven, and THAT is a successful trade!
Why? Because I did not LOSE any money. A break even trade is considered ( or should be considered) a WINNING trade.

The market is too quiet- almost stand still. If you can imagine a bird in mid flight thst just stops-frozen in the air, that is what the GBPUSD is like- it an't moving.

Its' 12:30 pm CST. I am calling it quits for the day. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

APRIL 17, 2015

                                     AN EMPTY ROCKET

Today, I missed an absolutely great trade, because I was sleeping. This was a 109 pips winning trade that rocketed off without it's payload... me. 

The *PERFECT* trade setup  formed at 2:00am CST (Chicago time), while I was out cold. Hey! I am not a robot. I need some sleep every now and and again! Well, when the trading room opened at 3:00am, I saw it, and decided to wait for a retracement. 

As I write this at 5:38am, I am still waiting for that retracement. Yes 2.5 hours and...nothing. Here is a quick tip to those of you that want to be traders, or those of you that are not consistently profitable traders: Learn to wait for your setups. Traders make very good money waiting for the exact trade setup to occur.  

Ah well....Another trade will come along.

Final post for today.

After sitting in front of  3 trading screens since 3 am, I called it quits at about 8:30am.

Final Stats for the trading week ending April 17, 2015
Pips Earned: +250.8
ROI: +6.78%
Million Dollar Goal Date: November 6, 2015

Trade Updates For The Trading Week Ending April 17, 2015

Start of Week Balance: $727.48

The goal is to do just +20 pips per day, with a starting lot size of 3 mico lots, or 30 cents per pip.

Monday April 13, 2015. +37 pips.

Tuesday April 14, 2015 +59.1 pips

Wednesday April 15, 2015 +22 pips.

Thursday April 16, 2015 +43.3 pips. 

I made my goal early today, so I rewarded myself with some well deserved sleep.
The current plan, in addition to making the required daily goal(s), is to systematically erase the losses incurred for both the month and the year.

Here is the 1st chart of today's trading. Short, sweet, and profitable! You see that rocket just to the right of the white line? Yes. I bought that, and rode it up! I picked up +43 pips on this 1 trade.

Guess what? I can show you how to capture moves like that as well. Why not join me in the FAPWINNER Live Trading room? Instead of watching me trade, why not trade with me? Interested? Email me@ livetradingroom@fapwinner.com, to get more info.

Current Million Dollar Goal Date: November 5, 2015.

Getting Started Again!

Hi, this is Charles.

I have one question: Do you know what it is like to be a millionaire? to have over $1 million dollars of cold hard cash in the bank? Do you know what it feels like not to have to worry about bills, knowing that you have "got it covered"? well, I do. I have achieved all of the above, and now, I am going to earn over $1 million dollars again...PUBLICLY, and this time, I am opening my doors for traders that have the time, resources and discipline to trade along with me, in the final stretch of my Million Dollar Trading Challenge.

On Monday April 13th, 2015, I began trading my newest trading method called Evolution, live, using real money, and it's worked flawlessly. I, and the traders that are trading with me, in The FAPWINNER Live Trading Room, have  made money. Couple a great trading method with session based trading, and marry that to solid money and trade management, and you have put yourself in a very good position to be a winning Forex trader.

Join me on the journey to earn $1,000,000.00 before the December 31, 2015. You will be glad you did!

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