Naked Forex: High-Probability Trading Without Indicators (PDF)

High-Probability Techniques for Trading without Indicators nak e d forex FREE Trading Software and Video Tutorial Included alex nekritin walter peters , phd Foreword by Abe Cofnas P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 P...

High-Probability Techniques for Trading without Indicators nak e d forex FREE Trading Software and Video Tutorial Included alex nekritin walter peters , phd Foreword by Abe Cofnas P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford i P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford Naked Forex i P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons is the oldest independent publishing company in the United States. With offices in North America, Europe, Aus- tralia and Asia, Wiley is globally committed to developing and marketing print and electronic products and services for our customers’ professional and personal knowledge and understanding. The Wiley Trading series features books by traders who have survived the market’s ever changing temperament and have prospered—some by reinventing systems, others by getting back to basics. Whether a novice trader, professional or somewhere in-between, these books will provide the advice and strategies needed to prosper today and well into the future. For a list of available titles, please visit our Web site at www.WileyFinance.com. ii P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford Naked Forex High-Probability Techniques for Trading without Indicators ALEX NEKRITIN WALTER P ETERS, PhD John Wiley & Sons, Inc. iii P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford Copyright  C 2012 by Alex Nekritin and Walter Peters. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or oth- erwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748- 6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies con- tained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Nekritin, Alex, 1980- Naked Forex : high-probability techniques for trading without indicators / Alex Nekritin, Walter Peters. p. cm. – (Wiley trading ; 534) Includes index. ISBN 978-1-118-11401-8 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-22435-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26244-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-23749-6 (ebk) 1. Foreign exchange market. 2. Foreign exchange futures. 3. Speculation. I. Peters, Walter, 1973- II. Title. HG3821.N45 2012 332.4 5–dc23 2011043306 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 iv P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford For all gun traders as well as those rude and cute possums of the world. v P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford vi P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford Contents Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii PART ONE Naked Forex Trading Revealed CHAPTER 1 The Fundamentals of Forex Trading 3 CHAPTER 2 Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 9 CHAPTER 3 Back-Testing Your System 25 CHAPTER 4 Identifying Support and Resistance Zones 39 PART TWO Naked-Trading Methodology CHAPTER 5 The Last Kiss 73 CHAPTER 6 The Big Shadow 95 CHAPTER 7 Wammies and Moolahs 111 CHAPTER 8 Kangaroo Tails 131 CHAPTER 9 The Big Belt 151 vii P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-fm JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:10 Printer: Courier Westford viii CONTENTS CHAPTER 10 The Trendy Kangaroo 163 CHAPTER 11 Exiting the Trade 177 PART THREE Trading Psychology CHAPTER 12 The Forex Cycle 203 CHAPTER 13 Creating Your Trading System 209 CHAPTER 14 Becoming an Expert 229 CHAPTER 15 Gaining Confidence 239 CHAPTER 16 Managing Risk 249 About the Trading Software and Video Tutorial 261 About the Authors 263 Index 265 P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-Foreword JWBT642-Nekritin January 7, 2012 11:24 Printer: Courier Westford Foreword he Internet engendered the online trading phenomenon. One can T trade anywhere there is a connection to the World Wide Web. The re- sult has also been the creation of instant experts, trading gurus who offer modern versions of snake-oil cures for traders. The web is flooded with trading alerts, systems, and blogs that promise returns that will lead to instant wealth. Most of the books in the field fail to provide actionable knowledge. In this environment, Alex Nekritin and Walter Peters in Naked Forex: High-Probability Techniques for Trading without Indicators pro- vide an honest and effective presentation about forex trading that certainly beginners need, and that more experienced traders forget they need. Naked Forex makes some powerful points about trading forex that re- ally apply to other markets as well. First and foremost, price is the most im- portant indicator of all. All indicators are derived from price. Many traders have forgotten this fact because computerization has made it easy to gener- ate new indicators. Indicators work more like training wheels for learning to ride a bicycle. They are temporary in their capacity to help traders build their skills. They actually limit the evolution of a trader’s performance be- cause they provide a disincentive to “listen” to the market. Naked Forex goes into detail on how a trading signal that is indicator-based is inferior to what Nekritin and Peters call a “naked” signal. Another key insight that the book provides is the importance of know- ing one’s personality in trading. Trading systems that are based on untested algorithms that are purely technical will surely fail. Nekritin and Peters ar- gue that trading systems should reflect decisions that traders would make that are based on looking at charts. Manual backtesting, they suggest, is an effective way to identify a trading system’s strengths and weaknesses. A third major focus of Naked Forex is the concept of identifying sup- port and resistance zones. The fact is that with the trillions of dollars that float each hour through the currency markets, prices reach certain levels and stop. One can try to figure out why they stop rising or stop falling. But the job of the trader is to observe accurately where the price is and where it came from. Price zones provide the naked truth about market sentiment. If ix P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-Foreword JWBT642-Nekritin January 7, 2012 11:24 Printer: Courier Westford x FOREWORD a price breaks through a zone, no matter what the reason, it is a signal—and a more powerful signal than any indicator. Nekritin and Peters call these points of price action market scars. It is a good metaphor because markets have memory and so do traders. The authors introduce the “last-kiss trade” as a powerful tool in identifying when breakouts have occurred. The book is filled with gems that provide visualizations of price action, such as the big shadow, kangaroo tails, and the big belt. As someone who has been training people on how to trade forex for nearly 13 years, I welcome this book as one that stands out as a basic man- ual on how to evaluate and trade the increasingly chaotic forex markets. I will use it for my students. Abe Cofnas author of Trading Binary Options (Bloomberg) and editor of The Fear and Greed Trader Newsletter, Agora Financial, Inc. P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-bprefae JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:12 Printer: Courier Westford Preface nfortunately, most forex traders lose out. Profitable trading is re- U served for the select few. Expectations drive reality for many things in life, and successful trading is no different. Most forex traders have three preconceptions about successful trading. These are the three myths of successful trading, and the structure of this book is based on each of these myths. Myth 1: Successful trading must be indicator based. The first part of this book dispels this myth. There are many ways to profit in forex, some of them do involve indicators, but indicators are not necessary for suc- cessful trading. There are professional traders around the globe, many of them good friends of mine, who use “naked” charts to make trading deci- sions. In some ways, indicators delay the progression of the trader because the focus is on the indicator, rather than price action. Indicators become the scapegoat for losing streaks and often keep losing traders in a hold- ing pattern. It is much easier for the novice trader to begin trading without indicators from the beginning. Myth 2: Successful trading must be complex. The second part of this book is about naked trading systems. These systems are incredibly sim- ple. Do not confuse simplicity with ineptitude. Although these systems are simple when applied correctly, they may also yield big profits and build confidence in your trading. You may view this as the meat of the book, the most important section, but I disagree. I think the third section is the most critical to your trading success. Myth 3: Successful trading is dependent on the trading system. This is probably the most widely held belief among traders. This is precisely why there are thousands of trading systems on the market, all promising great riches to the brave traders who pony up the money for the next Holy Grail. Many veteran traders understand the importance of trading psychology. Personal beliefs and attitudes toward risk are the greatest predictors of trading success, and the trading system is not nearly as important as many traders assume. For most traders, after years of trading, this fact becomes apparent. The third section of the book concerns trading psychology and xi P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-bprefae JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:12 Printer: Courier Westford xii PREFACE how you may both identify and change your thinking, because this is the real driving factor in your trading success. Many readers will continue to hold onto these myths. In fact, some readers (those who believe trading success depends on the trading system) will simply read the second section and begin trading the naked trading systems. This is unfortunate. The first section is critical because it offers reasons for price action trading (a new belief system) and a course of ac- tion for becoming an expert at naked trading (new trading habits). The third section is where breakeven and slightly profitable traders will learn to move into the realm of the true professional trader. All sections of the book are important, and it is my hope that by reading it you will find simple methods for extracting profits from the market. You can trade successfully without indicators. For many traders, naked trading is both refreshing and easy to apply. You can trade success- fully with simple trading systems. Simple systems are robust and powerful. However, ultimately, your success as a trader will depend, not on the trad- ing system, but on how you incorporate your beliefs and attitudes about risk into your trading routine. I hope this book will aid you in your journey to trading success. I also hope that you keep in touch by stopping by the compan- ion web site for this book, complete with live market trades, additional tools, and new naked trading systems. You will find this on the Web at www.fxjake.com/book. Walter Peters, PhD Sydney, Australia October 2011 P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-back JWBT642-Nekritin January 7, 2012 11:28 Printer: Courier Westford Acknowledgments here are many people who deserve acknowledgment for this book. T The list includes but is not limited to the following: Meg Freeborn for patience and unique ability to turn rough stones into polished gems (I know because I have seen her do it). Eddie Kwong deserves credit for putting this book idea in front of the right people. Sean Lydiard is living proof that six degrees of separation is fact. Arshia Bolour, who is a true brother in every sense of the word. Abe Cofnas, for his patience and kind- ness in helping me with the conversion from trader to trading author. Evan Burton for believing in the book idea and making it happen. Colin Jessup for his unique perspective on naked trading. My brother Ashkan Bolour, who introduced me to the world of forex so many years ago. My parents for unconditionally supporting me in every endeavor. My dissertation com- mittee (and Dr. David Estes in particular) who taught me years ago how to write so that others could understand me. My sister for always being there for me. And to the first-line editor Melissa McConaghy—without your help, I am certain this book would not have happened. —W.P. xiii P1: OTA/XYZ P2: ABC JWBT642-back JWBT642-Nekritin January 7, 2012 11:28 Printer: Courier Westford xiv P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford PART ONE Naked Forex Trading Revealed 1 P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford 2 P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford CHAPTER 1 The Fundamentals of Forex Trading Gregory: “Draw thy tool...” Sampson: “My naked weapon is out.” —Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet elcome to the world of forex trading. Forex is the largest market W in the world. Forex traders exchange $4 trillion each day, but is forex the best market for you? The answer depends on what you are looking for. If you want a market that never sleeps, if you want the opportunity to trade at any time of the day, if you would like to make a boatload of money in a short amount of time, forex may be for you (it should be noted that you may also lose an incredible amount of money in a short amount of time). Traders with very little money can begin trading forex. In forex, you may take relatively large trades with small amounts of money because of the favorable leverage requirements. There are many reasons to become a forex trader, but before jumping into the reasons, perhaps we should take a closer look at the characteristics of a forex trade. A QUICK LESSON IN CURRENCIES “Forex” is simply an abbreviation for “foreign exchange.” All foreign ex- change transactions involve two currencies. If an individual trader, a bank, a government, a corporation, or a tourist in a Hawaiian print shirt on a tropical island decides to exchange one currency for another, a forex trade takes place. In every instance, one currency is being bought and, 3 P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford 4 NAKED FOREX simultaneously, another currency is being sold. Currencies must be com- pared to something else in order to establish value; this is why forex trading involves two currencies. If you and I go to the beach and I tell you the tide is low right now, how do you know this is true? You may decide to compare the current water level to the pier. If there are starfish and mussels exposed on the pier, you may believe me because you can compare the current water level to the previous water level. In forex, we compare currencies in much the same way, currencies are traded in pairs and, thus, one currency is always compared to another currency. An example may be helpful to illustrate how currencies are traded. If you are a hotshot forex trader, and you believe that the EUR/USD is going to go up, you may decide to buy the EUR/USD. Thus, you think that the Euro currency will get stronger, and the U.S. dollar will weaken. You are buying the EUR/USD currency pair, another way to look at this is to say you are buying Euros and simultaneously selling U.S. dollars. The unique (and often difficult to understand) aspect of forex trading to keep in mind is this: Each forex transaction involves the buying of one currency pair and simultaneously the selling of another currency pair. If you have experience buying or selling in any market—the stock mar- ket, a futures market, an options market, the baseball card market, or the used car market—then you understand markets. For any market transac- tion a buyer wants to buy something and a seller wants to get rid of some- thing. The forex market is simply a money market, the place where specula- tors exchange one currency for another. In many ways, the forex market is no different from the stock market. The major differences between forex and the stock market are as follows: A forex transaction involves buying one currency pair and selling another, also, the symbols to identify forex pairs are consistent and systematic, unlike the symbols used to identify companies listed on a stock exchange. Forex traders buy and sell countries. It is true: Forex traders are ba- sically buying “shares” in a country, just as a stock trader buys shares in a company. For example, if forex trader Emma decides to sell the EUR/USD, she is essentially selling the European Union (and buying the United States). To be even more specific, we might suggest Emma is buying the economy of the United States, and selling the economy of the European Union. Does this mean that Emma must keep tabs on all the economic data for all the countries that she is trading? The short answer is no, but we will talk more about news and trading based on economic news and data a bit further on in this book. Just as a stock has a symbol, so do currencies. Table 1.1 illustrates the most popular currencies and their symbols. Do you notice a pattern? There is a secret code for currencies. The three-letter code for each currency pair is composed of the country (first two letters) and the name of the currency P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford The Fundamentals of Forex Trading 5 TABLE 1.1 Major Currencies of the World Country Currency Symbol Nickname Euro Zone Euro EUR Fiber United States Dollar USD Greenback Japan Yen JPY Yen Great Britain Pound GBP Cable Switzerland Franc CHF Swissy Australia Dollar AUD Aussie New Zealand Dollar NZD Kiwi (last letter). So, for example, the Japanese yen is JPY, the “JP” stands for Japan, and the “Y” stands for Yen. The currencies listed in Table 1.1 are the major currencies; these are the most widely traded currencies. PLAYERS OF THE FOREX MARKET The forex market is an enormous, growing market. Forex trading doubled from 2004 to 2010, and today the amount of money traded in forex each day is staggering. The New York Stock Exchange, the world’s largest stock mar- ket, turns over about $75 billion each day. Forex traders trade five times that amount each day. You often hear people claim that because the forex market is so large, it is relatively easy for forex traders to jump in and ride the trends in this gigantic market, the world’s largest market. However, most forex traders trade what is called the retail forex market; this is a different market (akin to a parallel universe) to the “real” forex market in which $4 trillion is ex- changed each day. In essence, there are two markets in forex. There is the interbank market, where banks, hedge funds, governments, and cor- porations exchange currencies, and there is the retail market. Most forex traders trade in the retail forex market, an entirely different market to the “real” interbank market. In the retail forex market, your competition is the other forex traders trading the retail forex market, and, believe it or not, your broker. When you make money trading forex, these other traders in the retail market lose, and so does your broker. Most retail forex traders do not make money. In fact, your forex broker will assume that you are going to lose money in the long run. This is a perfectly reasonable assumption, since the large majority of forex traders lose money. Would you like to know about the secret that forex brokers don’t want you to know? Here it is: Forex brokers divide all traders into two groups. There are the winners—these are the forex traders who make money—and P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford 6 NAKED FOREX then there are the losers—these are the forex traders who lose money. Guess which group all new forex traders get put into? Retail forex brokers believe that all new customers are unlikely to make money, so all new ac- counts are placed into the loser group. After several months of consistently profitable Forex trading a trader may be placed into the winner group. It may sound surprising, but it is true. If you start making money trad- ing forex over several months, you will join the winners. Your retail forex broker will begin to hedge your trades. In other words, if you are in the winner group, your retail forex broker will take trades in the real forex market, the interbank market, to offset the profits accumulated by the win- ner group. For example, if most of the traders in the winner group have decided to buy the EUR/USD, then the broker will put in a trade to buy the EUR/USD in the interbank market in the hopes that, if the winners are cor- rect, the forex broker can use the profits in the interbank market to pay the winning traders. This is how your retail forex broker deals with winning traders. What about losing traders? Since most forex traders are losing traders, your forex broker assumes that you will not make money when you open up an account. Only after you have consistently made money trading forex will your broker become concerned with your trading. Guess what hap- pens to all of those losing trades? Those losing trades fatten your broker’s pocket. All losing trades are “business profits” for your broker. This is be- cause your broker takes the other side of your forex trade. Although it is true that some retail forex brokers match up trade orders so that a trader with a buy trade order is paired up with a trader with a sell trade. How- ever, the overwhelming majority of retail forex brokers do not do this. Unless you are a consistently winning trader, your broker will take the risk on your trades, and assume that your trades will lose money in the long run. This is not something that is widely discussed, but it is true. Your forex broker wants you to lose, because your losses are your broker’s profits. How would you like to make the jump from the group of losing traders to the group of winning traders? Would you like to join the 5 percent of winning traders? I know you can join the 5 percent, and I will show you precisely how you can leap into the group of winners in later chapters. TOOLS OF THE TRADE: FUNDAMENTAL VERSUS TECHNICAL INDICATORS So, how do forex traders decide when to buy or sell? There are basically two schools of traders, and you must decide which school fits your trading P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford The Fundamentals of Forex Trading 7 personality. The first school is the school of fundamental analysis. Fun- damental traders use economic reports and news reports as the basis for their trading decisions. Forex traders who have a fundamental approach will closely examine world events, interest-rate decisions, and political news. Fundamental traders are concerned with properly interpreting news, whereas the focus for the technical forex trader is quite different. The technical forex trader uses technical indicators (or “indicators”) to properly interpret price movement on a chart. The forex trader who adopts a technical, indicator-based approach will examine the price charts. So, while the fundamental forex trader is concerned with interpreting news and world events, the technical trader is concerned with interpreting price on a chart. What are technical indicators? Indicators are simply another way of looking at a market price. In much the same way that it is possible to examine the speed of a car in many different ways, it is possible to examine price charts in many different ways, with indicators. Just for a moment, consider how many different ways you may measure the speed of a car: r Measured in kilometers per hour. r Measured in miles per hour. r Measured in the time it takes to travel one mile. r Measured by the time it takes to accelerate to 60 mph. r Measured by how quickly the car can stop. Likewise, there are many ways to look at price on a chart. There are more technical indicators than telephone call centers in India. WHAT IS NAKED FOREX? It can be very confusing for the novice trader, and this is one reason why naked trading, trading without indicators, can be liberating. When starting out, many traders focus on the indicator. This is completely understandable since nearly 90 percent of the forex trading books, the vast majority of forex sites on the Internet, and forex trading seminars focus on indicators and indicator-based trading. Indicators encourage “secondary thinking,” which is a real handicap for traders looking to acquire expertise. Secondary thinking involves ana- lyzing the indicator, spending time considering where the indicator may go, rather than focusing on the market. Naked traders, by definition, focus on the market, which is very different. P1: OTA JWBT642-c01 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:16 Printer: Courier Westford 8 NAKED FOREX Focusing on indicators may be one of the primary reasons that some forex traders do not make money. Indicators can be confusing, unhelpful, and just plain wrong. In the next chapter we take a look at technical trad- ing, and some of the tragic trading mistakes forex traders make, and how to avoid them by adopting the naked-trading approach. P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford CHAPTER 2 Avoiding a Trading Tragedy Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge. —Winston Churchill f you are reading this book, you are probably a technical trader. You I may have spent time, money, and effort learning about indicators. You may have learned through experience that trading with indicators can be very difficult. In some ways, trading with indicators makes it difficult to find profits. Perhaps a close look at why indicator-based trading systems have difficulty finding profits in forex is in order. All indicators are created from price data. This is what all indicators do to price data: Price data enters into an equation and is spit out as something else. Sometimes the end product is a squiggly line, sometimes a straight line, sometimes a color or a number; it depends on the indicator. The end result is always the same: The indicator changes price data via a formula. The form of this end result (the indicator) may vary, but the process is always the same. These very same indicators, based on price data, are meant to hint at future movements in the market. Stated another way, an indicator will suck in price data, massage and process these data, and then spit out a graphical representation of these data. Indicators offer price data in another form. Perhaps this new form of price data is easier to interpret; perhaps this new form of the price data will hint at what the market may do in the near fu- ture. All indicator-based trading systems are founded on the idea that price data is in a better form when presented as an indicator. Trade decisions 9 P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 10 NAKED FOREX based on indicators assume that the data in indicator form is more valu- able than raw price data. INDICATOR A metric derived from price data. Historical price data—such as the open, close, high, and low—are entered into a formula to calculate the metric. This metric is then represented graphically to anticipate and interpret market movements. Traders want to know where price will go in the future. Traders pay millions upon millions of dollars for educational seminars, DVDs, website lessons and, yes, even books such as this one. The great hope for most traders is that there is a valuable indicator (or recipe of indicators) that will hint at where the market is headed in the future. Millions upon millions of dollars are spent each year by traders (and also investment companies, hedge funds, banks, etc.) because a slight edge may provide millions of dol- lars in profits. In forex a slight edge may mean billions of dollars in profits. IS THERE A “BETTER” INDICATOR? Which indicator is best? Which suite of indicators offers a clear edge in the markets? Perhaps it is best to find out who is making money in forex, and then do what they do. Which is the magic formula? Unfortunately, the an- swer to this question is “It depends on who you ask.” This may very well be the correct answer. As we will see later in the book, trading is often relative and rarely, if ever, a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Some indicators are considered shams, others are misinterpreted by the masses, and still oth- ers are best used contrary to their original design intent. Indicators may be incorrect. What if the indicator is correct, but a bit slow to hint at the direction the market will take? The indicator might provide valuable infor- mation, but might also be slow to the party, and thus not of much value. Perhaps a slight change to the indicator formula will speed it up a bit. Perhaps indicators are similar to a wristwatch, constantly improving, more features available as needed, but would it be possible to take a wrist- watch, and manipulate time by running a formula through the hours, the minutes, and the seconds displayed on the wristwatch? Would the wrist- watch keep better time once the formula manipulated the actual time of the day? Using a formula to create a better time on a wristwatch may seem weird and counterproductive, but this is precisely what indicators may P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 11 accomplish by changing and massaging price data. Indicator-based trad- ing is taking a wristwatch and changing the time with a complex formula in the hopes that the wristwatch will somehow tell time better. Who wants a wristwatch with something other than the real time displayed? Do indi- cators (all of which are calculated using price data) allow us to understand price better? Perhaps it is best to put aside any philosophical differences with tech- nical indicators. Let us assume that our indicator is based upon a magical formula and this formula allows us to get a glimpse of the future. Our in- dicator magically transforms price data into some other number, color, or line, and suggests where price is headed in the near future. Unfortunately, even if our indicator is able to accomplish this, difficulties may endure with indicator-based trading. Indicators are inherently slow. The market will be moving up long be- fore an indicator suggests it is time to buy. Likewise, an indicator will sug- gest it is time to sell long after the market has started falling. This is one of the main complaints with indicators: they lag behind price. This is a fair concern. Figure 2.1 contains an AUD/USD four-hour chart with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator. Traditionally, there are two RSI signals. If the RSI is above the 70 level, the market is overbought, and once the RSI falls back down below 70, a sell trade is initiated. Likewise, if the RSI falls below 30, the market is said to be oversold, and, traditionally, a buy trade is signaled once the RSI moves back above 30 (see arrow in Figure 2.2). In these examples we see that the RSI indicator suggests a trade at about the right time. The market turned around near the RSI signal in both examples. However, the RSI did not signal a trade at the precise turning point in the market. To find these turning points, an indicator of a different type is required. One of the primary reasons why naked trading is so attrac- tive to forex traders is because naked trading allows for early entries into trades. Indicators may alert traders to the fact that the market has turned around after the market has turned around, but naked traders may find turning points in the market as they occur. Naked trading strategies are based on the current price of the market, and, therefore, they allow for an earlier entry. Indicator-based trade signals will lag because it takes time for the price data to be processed through the formulas that make up the indicator. INDICATOR LAG Significant moves in the forex market occur before a technical indicator provides a signal. P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 12 NAKED FOREX 0.98400 0.98020 0.97650 0.97280 0.96910 0.96540 0.96160 0.95790 0.95420 Relative Strength Indicator Sell Signal 0.95050 0.94680 100 Relative Strength Indicator 70 30 0 08:00 9 Jul 00:00 9 Jul 16:00 10 Jul 08:00 11 Jul 00:00 11 Jul 16:00 14 Jul 08:00 15 Jul 00:00 15 Jul 16:00 16 Jul 08:00 17 Jul 00:00 17 Jul 16:00 FIGURE 2.1 Traditional RSI Sell Signal on AUD/USD 4-Hour Chart. © 2000–2011, MetaQuotes Software Corp. Naked traders have an incredible advantage. Entering a trade early of- ten means the entry price is closer to the stop loss price. A tighter stop loss may mean more profits, the precise reason for this is examined later in the book. After mastering a few simple strategies, naked traders find it very difficult to move back to indicator-based strategies simply because naked- trading strategies remove the lag time that is inherent with indicator-based trading. Here is another example, this time with the EUR/USD daily chart (Fig- ure 2.3). In this example the indicator at the bottom of the chart is the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). The construction and theory behind the MACD is not important, the MACD consists of a few moving averages. The critical signal for the MACD is when the two moving averages cross (see the dark circle in Figure 2.3). A traditional buy signal P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 13 0.79385 0.79120 0.78855 0.78590 0.78320 0.78055 0.77790 0.77525 0.77260 0.76995 0.76730 100 Relative Strength Indicator 70 30 Relative Strength Buy Signal 0 Feb 00:00 26 Feb 16:00 27 Feb 08:00 28 Feb 00:00 28 Feb 16:00 1 Mar 08:00 2 Mar 00:00 2 Mar 16:00 5 Mar 08:00 6 Mar 00:00 6 Mar 16:00 7 Mar 08:00 8 Mar 00:00 8 Mar 16:00 9 Mar 08:00 FIGURE 2.2 Traditional RSI Buy Signal on AUD/USD 4-Hour Chart. © 2000–2011, MetaQuotes Software Corp. occurs when the MACD has been traveling lower for some time and then turns around, and the faster-moving average crosses the slower-moving average. In Figure 2.3 the EUR/USD daily chart has been falling for some time. Price starts to turn around and trade higher, and consequently the MACD moving averages start to creep upward. Finally, we see the faster-moving average on the MACD has crossed above the slower-moving average. This signals a buy trade for the MACD trader. After crossing upward on the MACD, the market does indeed move higher (see Figure 2.4). Although this trade looks like a nice trade, the naked trader would have entered this trade earlier than the trader using the traditional MACD trading strategy. The naked trader and the MACD trader both profit, but the naked trader is able to enter the trade sooner and use a tighter stop loss. P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 14 NAKED FOREX 1.49405 1.47005 1.46350 1.44605 1.42130 1.39730 1.37330 1.34855 1.32455 1.30055 1.27580 1.25180 1.22780 0.0145 0.00 MACD Buy Signal MACD –0.0441 17 Sep 2008 23 Sep 2008 29 Sep 2008 3 Oct 2008 9 Oct 2008 15 Oct 2008 21 Oct 2008 27 Oct 2008 31 Oct 2008 6 Nov 2008 FIGURE 2.3 Traditional MACD Buy Signal on EUR/USD Daily Chart marked with a circle. © 2000–2011, MetaQuotes Software Corp. Tighter stops mean more money. The naked trader and the MACD trader could have both exited at the same price, but the naked trader captures more profits because the stop loss is placed closer to the entry price. The money-management section of this book will have more information on how naked trading strategies enable traders to make more money simply because naked signals appear earlier than indicator-based trading signals. The MACD and the RSI are not the only indicators that lag. All indicators lag. The stochastic is a popular indicator used to time trades according to the natural rhythms of the market. One traditional stochastic trading method is similar to the RSI strategy. A sell signal is indicated when the stochastic falls below the 30 level and then crosses higher (see Figure 2.5). P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 15 1.48095 1.45290 1.42485 1.39680 1.36875 1.34070 1.31265 1.28460 1.25655 1.22850 0.0342 MACD 0.00 MACD Buy Signal –0.045 Oct 2008 10 Oct 2008 16 Oct 2008 22 Oct 2008 28 Oct 2008 3 Nov 2008 7 Nov 2008 13 Nov 2008 19 Nov 2008 25 Nov 2008 1 Dec 2008 5 Dec 2008 11 Dec 2008 17 Dec 2008 FIGURE 2.4 The EUR/USD trades higher after the traditional MACD Buy Signal on EUR/USD Daily Chart. © 2000–2011, MetaQuotes Software Corp. PIPS A “pip” is a percentage in point. One pip is equal to 1/100th of 1 percent. It has traditionally marked the smallest move a forex pair can make. Forex traders track trades in terms of pips. However, many brokers are now using “pipettes”—these are 1/1000th of 1 percent units. The EUR/USD 1-hour chart shows the stochastic falling below 30 on the stochastic. A few hours later, the stochastic crosses upward and rises above 30, a clear buy signal. The stochastic is moving up, so price should follow. However, the market then falls a further 90 pips. For most traders P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 16 NAKED FOREX 1.47795 1.47650 1.47505 1.47360 1.47220 1.47075 1.46930 1.46785 1.46640 1.46495 1.46350 1.46205 1.46060 1.45915 1.45775 1.45630 1.45485 1.45340 1.45195 100 Stochastic 70 30 Stochastic Buy Signal 0 Dec 14:00 4 Dec 18:00 4 Dec 22:00 5 Dec 02:00 5 Dec 07:00 5 Dec 11:00 5 Dec 15:00 5 Dec 19:00 5 Dec 23:00 6 Dec 03:00 6 Dec 07:00 6 Dec 11:00 6 Dec 15:00 6 Dec 19:00 6 Dec 23:00 FIGURE 2.5 EUR/USD 1-Hour Chart—Traditional Buy Signal on the Oversold Stochastic. © 2000–2011, MetaQuotes Software Corp. this trade would be a big loser. What about the naked trader? In this in- stance, the naked trader gets a very clear buy signal after the stochastic buy signal (see Figure 2.6). What happens after the naked trading signal? The market jumps more than 40 pips immediately. The naked trader avoids many losing trades by waiting for a price action signal and quickly finds profits. Not all naked trades are winners, of course, but this trade is an example of how the naked trader is able to avoid some of the very common indicator-based mistakes because the naked trader uses the price action of the market to determine entry signals. Notice how the naked trader avoids the drawdown with this trade signal. The market immediately moves in the expected direction, upward, after the signal. Contrast this entry to the stochastic entry signal. The P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 17 Stochastic Naked Buy Signal Stochastic Buy Signal FIGURE 2.6 EUR/USD 1-Hour Chart—Naked Buy Signal versus Stochastic Buy Sig- nal. The traditional stochastic buy signal occurs immediately before the market falls. The naked trader has a buy signal at the market turning point. © 2000–2011, MetaQuotes Software Corp. characteristic indicator lag associated with the stochastic means that the stochastic trader not only enters a losing trade, but immediately after the stochastic signal the market trades in the wrong direction, and the trade enters into a protracted drawdown. In fact, it is unlikely that the stochastic trader ever had profit on this trade. Naked-trading strategies enable the trader to enter a trade based on current market price action, and often avoid the severe drawdowns associated with indicator-based trading. Most traders believe severe drawdowns are a part of trading. This is simply not true. Severe drawdowns are characteristic of mistimed en- try signals, and most traders use indicators to find entry signals, so most traders mistime entries. P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 18 NAKED FOREX TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSING TRADES All traders experience drawdowns. All traders experience losing trades. However, naked traders take responsibility for losing trades. Indicator- based traders often blame their indicators for unsuccessful trades (e.g., “the MACD looked like it was going to cross here,” “my indicator did not load correctly,” “maybe I should change the settings on my indicator be- cause the market has been choppy lately,” “that moving average crossover was a fake out—whipsawed on that one,” etc.), but the naked trader does not have this excuse. There is no scapegoat when you are using market data (price action) to take trades. Trading with price action, that is, the ac- tual price on the chart as the basis for all trading decisions, means that the naked trader has no excuse for losing trades. This is extremely liberating for many traders. The indicator-based trader also has the added advantage of an indi- cator to blame when things go awry; the naked trader can blame no one but the market for losing trades. This is a subtle but very important dif- ference point of reference for the naked trader. All trading involves an as- pect of luck. All traders experience a lucky streak of winning trades and an unlucky streak of losing trades. Without the crutch of indicators, naked traders are more likely to take responsibility for their trading results. Perhaps we should take a close look at this idea of trading responsibil- ity. If you decide to trade a new trading system, you may have put the sys- tem through a screening process. After spending time testing the system, you have convinced yourself that the trading system is worthwhile and will indeed make money over the long run (at this stage your research may far exceed the effort that 90 percent of forex traders put into their trading re- search). If, after all of your research, when you start trading live you see the first seven trades turn out to be losing trades, you may be discouraged. What would you do? Perhaps you decide to maintain trading the system, and you suffer through an additional three more losing trades. After 10 consecutive losing trades what would you do? Would you stop trading the system? Would you create a new rule to filter out some of losing trades that you have experienced? Would you decide the trading system is no longer profitable, and give up on trading the system? There are many possible ex- planations for the reason why the trading system failed after you launched it into live action. Maybe the market has changed. Maybe the system no longer works. Perhaps the 10 losing trades were just an unlucky streak. Your decision, after faced with the 10 losing trades, will place you into one of two groups: the terrible-system group or the bad-market group (only naked traders can avoid these groups). If you are unsure about your group, P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 19 pay attention to what you think about the next time you have a string of losing trades, you will quickly learn which group is yours. Terrible-system traders, after a string of 10 losing trades, blame the trading system. Terrible-system traders will say “the trading system is not working anymore” or “this trading system must be modified to get it back on track.” Terrible-system traders decide to modify or give up on the trad- ing system after a losing streak. Often, terrible-system traders will suggest adding another indicator or otherwise slightly modifing the trading system to help filter out some of the losing trades recently triggered. The other strategy employed by these traders is to give up on the trading system. “The system is broken,” they say, or “This trading system worked well be- fore, but now it is breaking down, all systems have a shelf life, and this trading system has expired,” or “the system may have made good profits in the past, but it simply doesn’t work anymore.” If you find yourself saying something similar, you are probably a terrible-system trader. If you are constantly changing trading systems, par- ticularly after a losing streak, you are a terrible-system trader. All terrible- system traders blame the system when finding profits becomes difficult. Bad-market traders take a different approach. Bad-market traders an- alyze the losing trades after a drawdown and instead conclude that the market has changed. Bad-market traders can come up with many reasons that this market is structurally very different from before, and may be heard muttering things like “the Bank of Japan’s intervention has changed the market,” or “things have changed with the Euro since Spain went bankrupt.” The precise reasons may vary, but the essence of the argument remains the same. Sometimes the bad-market trader will use subtle argu- ments such “the market is too volatile,” “there is not enough volume today,” “my broker is unable to execute my trades fast enough.” The latter argu- ment hints at a common scapegoat for the bad-market trader—the broker. Bad-market traders are often identified by their willingness to engage in broker conspiracy theories. The fact is that dishonest brokers are found out, and forex traders will eventually abandon the dishonest brokers. Word spreads quickly, particularly among intelligent, Internet-savvy traders with high-speed Internet connections. But for the bad-market trader, the broker offers the perfect excuse for a failing trading system. Bad-market traders place blame on the broker or the market, and thus have a reason for aban- doning a losing trading system. Many bad-market traders engage in fundamental analysis, but not all fundamental traders belong to the bad-market camp. The interpretation of economic data and engaging in fundamental analysis is often an opportu- nity for bad-market traders to further their argument. These traders will decide to give up on a trading system after a series of losing trades, just as the terrible-system traders decide to abandon a losing system; it is only the P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 20 NAKED FOREX reason for giving up on the system that varies. The terrible-system trader places blame on the system, and the bad-market trader is convinced the market has fundamentally changed. Both bad-market traders and terrible- system traders will end up searching for an entirely different trading system. Interestingly, the difference between a terrible-system trader and a bad-market trader is often conscientiousness. The conscientious trader is usually the bad-market trader. This is because the conscientious trader will spend time testing and ensuring that any trading system employed is viable before risking money in the market. The end result of the system testing is confidence in the system for the bad-market trader. For the bad-market trader, the experience of a drawdown is quite harrowing and unexpected, because the trading system has been tested and seems viable; if the system cannot be wrong, the market must be “wrong.” Our terrible-system trader is unlikely to have spent the same effort test- ing the trading system. The terrible-system trader probably found the sys- tem on a forex Internet forum, purchased it from an Internet marketer, learned it from a friend, or perhaps heard a circle of forex traders dis- cussing the system in hushed tones at a party. The terrible-system trader may be trading a profitable system, but without spending the time testing the system, the terrible-system trader is unlikely to hold the system in high regard. So how might you avoid falling into the terrible system or bad-market groups? What might you do to change your fate? You may want to carefully consider adopting naked trading. Trading naked means trading without in- dicators, and removing indicators from your chart will make it difficult to adopt the attitude of the terrible-system trader. Also, if you decide to trade naked you will be trading on price action or the market movements. You could blame the market for a string of losing trades as a naked trader, but that would be a bit like blaming the river for being wet. Naked traders find trades based on market movements, so, unless the market is moving “incorrectly,” there is no such thing as a bad market for the naked trader. Naked traders may only blame losing trades on poor ex- ecution (the trader’s fault) or poor luck (sometimes you flip a coin seven times and it lands on tails every time). Naked traders may find that trading without indicators is extremely liberating. Traders around the world have found that adopting naked-trading strategies means letting go of a trade. There are no indicators to give false signals, there are no settings to tweak; there is simply the market price and the trading decision. Naked traders have a true advantage because the focus of the trade is the current market price. There is no better indicator of the sentiment, attitude, or exuberance of the market than the current market price. Naked traders make the current market price their indicator. P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 21 In fact, for many naked traders, the current market price is a bit like a biofeedback machine. I certainly look at the market price as biofeedback. A biofeedback machine will allow you to tune into the physiological changes in your body, in the hopes that you can better control your physiology. For example, if I am an anxious person, and I am always suffering from stress, I can hook myself up to a biofeedback machine. The machine will alert me if I become anxious (blood pressure increases, heart rate increases, etc. would cause the machine to produce the sound) by sounding off an alert. I can then pay attention to the sounds of the machine and use relaxation techniques to decrease my anxiety. The machine simply alerts me when I need to recalibrate my physiology. Over time, I should be able to wean myself off of the biofeedback machine and reduce my anxiety on my own, without the aid of the biofeedback alerts. LEARNING FROM MARKET BIOFEEDBACK TM It may seem strange, but you will eventually be able to do the same thing with your trades if you decide to adopt naked-trading strategies. In the be- ginning, the market price is your biofeedback machine. If the market is going in the wrong direction, you have valuable feedback on your trade. Learn from this. Was the entry too early? (Most traders I know are much more likely to jump into a trade too early than to wait too late.) Was the entry too late? The market will tell you how your trade rates. Why is it important to pay attention to the market biofeedback? Because you will learn more from Market Biofeedback than you will learn from any guru, any trading book, or any online course. Another way to state this is as fol- lows: Paying close attention to how the market behaves after you enter a trade is one of the best learning tools available to you. MARKET BIOFEEDBACK A psychological, behavioral, and trading response to the market price after a trade has been entered. Market Biofeedback involves two distinct domains, The first is how the market reacts (price action) after you enter your trade, and the sec- ond is how you react to the price action in the market after you enter your trade. Both parts of the Market Biofeedback equation are needed for P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 22 NAKED FOREX you to get a clear picture of what you are learning, and more importantly, what you should learn, from your trading experiences. You should learn from the price action the market offers after you enter a trade. You should also learn from your reaction to the market after you enter a trade. Even if you do not consciously intend to learn from Market Biofeedback, it is important for you to recognize that Market Biofeedback will yield all your important trading decisions. How you approach your trading, which trad- ing systems you employ, whether you give up on your trading or go on to a long and successful trading career, all these things are determined by Market Biofeedback. Most traders allow Market Biofeedback to completely dictate their trading approach, even without realizing this is happening. For example, some traders start out trading the five-minute charts and then slowly grav- itate toward longer timeframes, such as the four-hour or daily charts. Why do these traders do this? The answer is Market Biofeedback. Other traders, after several losing trades, will give up on a trading system and search for a new one. This change in trading strategy is, once again, due to Market Biofeedback. Other traders may trade the exact same trading system and will experience seven losing trades in succession and hold steady, knowing that the current drawdown is simply an aberration. Market Biofeedback is the difference between the traders who give up on a trading system and look for a new strategy and those traders who maintain confidence despite the losing streak. How you react and respond to a drawdown, to a windfall of pips, or something in between is exceptionally valuable information. The eas- iest way to see Market Biofeedback is to record your thoughts as you trade. You can record your voice before, during, and after a trade. You can take screenshots of the trade before, during, and after. You may also record video of the trade before, during, and after with a desktop-computer recording software. Here are the important questions to answer as you record Market Biofeedback: r Where has the market moved since I entered my trade? r If I looked at the market now, would I take the same trade? r How do I feel about my trade? r What do I like about this trade now? r What do I dislike about this trade now? r On a scale of 1 (poor decision) to 10 (great decision), where would I rank this trade now? r If I were not in a trade now, would I take the opposite trade? If you ask yourself these questions and record your answers before, during, and after the trade, you will have built up a database of your P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford Avoiding a Trading Tragedy 23 personal Market Biofeedback—an invaluable tool. More importantly, you will bring into conscious awareness how you react to the market. Most traders will trade their whole lives without recognizing that Market Biofeedback dictates how they adapt and change as a trader. By simply acknowledging Market Biofeedback, you can understand how you react to the market in general, and how your trades, in particular, mold your ap- proach to trading. Market Biofeedback is the one area that most traders neglect, most traders are not quite aware of this process. By paying atten- tion to Market Biofeedback over time, you will be able to become aware of, and eventually control your trading behaviors. This will allow you to take a big step towards consistent profits. If you would like to learn more about Market Biofeedback, please go to www.marketbiofeedback.com. P1: OTA JWBT642-c02 JWBT642-Nekritin January 9, 2012 11:33 Printer: Courier Westford 24 P1: OTA JWBT642-c03 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:18 Printer: Courier Westford CHAPTER 3 Back-Testing Your System You need to continue to gain expertise, but avoid thinking like an expert. —Denis Waitley he consistently profitable forex trader is an expert. Just as an expert T farmer understands seeds and soil, and the expert mechanic can hear the difference between a blown gasket and loose muffler, the expert forex trader knows markets. Where does this expertise come from? How does the novice forex trader become an expert? This is the million-dollar question. Make no mistake about it, when you step into any market, including the forex market, and decide that you want to make money, you have decided you will outwit and outperform some of the most determined, intelligent, and well-resourced people in the world. All these impressive people have one goal: to take your money. How can you make money in the markets, knowing whom you are up against? The answer is simple. Perhaps the an- swer is much simpler that you would believe. You must practice. Practice your craft. Practice your trading. This is the simple way to become an expert. Simple does not mean easy, because many traders ex- pect to become experts without practice, and sadly they never achieve ex- pertise. Consistently profitable trading is yours if you practice trading and become an expert. You now have the secret formula to achieve consistently profitable trading. Will you use this secret? The best estimates suggest as many as 74.8 percent of traders do not use the secret. This is because 74.8 percent 25 P1: OTA JWBT642-c03 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:18 Printer: Courier Westford 26 NAKED FOREX of forex traders do not consistently make money trading (Forex Mag- nates U.S. Forex Brokers Profitability Report for Quarter 2, 2011). The 25.2 percent of consistently profitable traders practice trading to get better at it. Only 25.2 percent of all of the traders reading this will decide to prac- tice trading to become an expert. It is no coincidence that about 25.2 per- cent of all traders are consistently profitable. Practice helps achieve ex- pertise in nearly every sport and vocation. It is interesting to see how the vast majority of aspiring traders expect to immediately become successful without putting the effort into becoming an expert. Expert traders put the effort into becoming an expert. It is ironic that many traders are attracted to the trading lifestyle, thinking that trading will allow passive income to accumulate. This is certainly true, any trader can make money while sleeping, but expert traders are much more likely to achieve consistent, passive income from trading. Trading is like any other job: Practice and effort must be well-placed in order to reap the rewards. The expert trader may be able to quickly make trading decisions and place trades, but these decisions are the fruits of many hours of practice, in nearly every instance. Traders must earn their pips through practice. Practice means confidence. Practicing your trading system will enable you to keep trading your system, and avoid all distractions and excuses (e.g., terrible-system traders and bad-market traders) along the way. Prac- ticing your trading system will allow you to enjoy the confidence of know- ing when you place a trade how likely you are to be successful with that particular trade. Would you enjoy trading more if you had a quiet, unshakable confi- dence in your trading system? Would you find it easier to walk away from your computer if you knew the precise likelihood that your trade would be a winner? Would it be nice to know that you will avoid the excuses bad-market traders and terrible-system traders make? What would happen if, from today onward, you maintained confidence in your ability to extract profits from the market even through the ups and downs that are inevitable in any trader’s life? Consistently profitable traders, otherwise known as expert traders, have one thing in common: They test their trading systems. These traders practice their trading systems. There are many methods for testing a trad- ing system. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages. Depending on your personality and how you approach your trading, one of these approaches is likely to resonate with you more than the others. Decide which of the three methods you will adopt to become an expert trader. Each of these methods are back-testing methods. Back-testing is a common term used in trading that simply means “testing a trading system P1: OTA JWBT642-c03 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:18 Printer: Courier Westford Back-Testing Your System 27 through historical data.” All traders know that using historical data is not the perfect solution to testing a trading system. A much better alternative would be to have future data to test our trading systems. Failing that, his- torical data is the next best thing. There are many pitfalls and problems associated with testing trading systems on historical data; however, the consequences associated with trading a system in live market conditions when it is not tested on historical data are much more problematic. THREE GOALS OF BACK-TESTING Your back-testing will allow you to do two things: First, you will identify how suitable the trading system is for you. This does not mean you are discovering whether the trading system is profitable, but, rather, you are examining the fit between you, the trader, and the rules of your trading system. Second, you will learn to trust your trading system and learn to let go of your trades. You may trade in a more relaxed manner once you have taken thousands of trades over years of market data. The confidence gained by trading your system repeatedly will show up in the form of a relaxed approach to your live trading. Third, you will gain expertise with your trading system. This may only happen if you take many trades, and back-testing is a quick way to accumulate many trades. A close look at each of these three goals may help you to get the most out of your back-testing. Is the System Suitable? How suitable is your trading system? The first goal of back-testing is to find out how suitable the trading system is for you. I have a good friend, who in- troduced me to forex, named Ashkan Bolour. Bolour is a well-known forex trader, you may have read about him in the Millionaire Traders book by Kathy Lien and Boris Schlossberg. Bolour trades the three-minute and five- minute charts. He does exceptionally well trading these charts. No matter how many times I watch him trade his systems on these charts, I always fail when I try to trade as he does. I fail because his trading system does not fit with my view of the markets. I prefer the daily, weekly, and four-hour charts. I have great difficulty watching my trades fluctuate, which is pre- cisely what Bolour does when he trades. I have learned to trade systems that make sense to me. I am better at extracting profits from the longer- term charts. Your job is to find out how you should be trading, and trade only what makes sense to you. Perhaps you have traded several trading systems in the past. Most of these systems probably looked outstanding at first glance. Maybe you paid P1: OTA JWBT642-c03 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:18 Printer: Courier Westford 28 NAKED FOREX for the trading system, and the website you bought it from painted the sys- tem as an invincible profit-collecting machine. Or maybe you read about the system on an Internet forum. Or perhaps a friend told you about the trading system. No matter how good the trading system appears, it is re- markable how your trading results often differ from your expectations of the system. How can a perfect, profitable system fall apart in your hands? Why is it that a system that sounds good does not work once you start trading it? The answer is fit; if a system does not fit your view of the markets, your approach to trading, your ability to execute trades, it will not make money for you. A system must fit with your understanding of the markets. If you believe the five-minute chart is “random noise,” you may be better suited to trade the daily chart. If you believe moving averages are useless indicators, you will not be comfortable with a moving-average-based system. If you think that the USD/JPY is a terrible pair to trade, you are not going to trade a system on the USD/JPY. Your beliefs about trading must fit your trading system. Your lifestyle will also determine the types of systems you may trade. If you have a full-time job, and spend 10 hours of the day at an office where you will not have access to your trading platform, you probably will be drawn toward longer-term charts. Daily, weekly, or four-hour charts may be best for you. This way, you may take your trades and manage them by checking the charts once or twice each day. Your makeup as a trader will also determine how you should trade. Perhaps you freak out when you are in a trade on the lower-timeframe charts, such as the five-minute charts. Perhaps it is torture watching the profit and loss fluctuate greatly with each pip gained or lost on these lower- timeframe charts. If this is the case, you will probably want to trade higher- timeframe charts. If you are risking the same percentage of your account on each trade, it is likely that a trade on a lower timeframe chart will risk more per pip because the stop loss is closer to the entry price than a trade on a higher-timeframe chart. Your back-testing experience with the trading system will show you whether you will be able to find profits with a system. Testing will also show you whether your lifestyle will fit with the system. Perhaps most of the trade signals for a trading system occur during the European market, and you are fast asleep during that time; this may mean that the trading system is not for you. Confidence Is Letting Go After you have found a system that fits your personality, your view of the markets, you need to get comfortable trading this system. This will be the second step you take on your way to consistent profits in forex. The key P1: OTA JWBT642-c03 JWBT642-Nekritin January 11, 2012 21:18 Printer: Courier Westford Back-Testing Your System 29 here is to gain experience over a broad range of market conditions. Relax- ing while you are in a trade will often help you manage the trade better. Just the simple fact that you are relaxed means your decision-making will be better. Relaxation will come for you once you have confidence in your system, a confidence gained by trading your system repeatedly, over years of mar- ket conditions and a variety of signals. You will learn to trust your trading system and learn to let go of your trades. Micromanaging trades, particu- larly trades on higher timeframes, is a common mistake of novice traders. If you can walk away from your computer after making a trade, you have confidence in your system. This confidence is only available to traders who have back-tested extensively. Accelerate your learning curve by back-testing. It does not matter your method of back-testing; it only matters that you do it. Testing over thou- sands of trades will enable you to be better prepared to make a decision on your trading system. Once you deem your system profitable, you can begin to get comfortable with the system by testing extensively, slowly building your database of trading experience w