Oanda as a forex broker

I don't have any words but praise for Oanda as a forex broker. They cut their already small spreads even further. Spreads are only cost in forex because there are no other fees or commissions. It's ludicrous that other traders pay 2 or 3 pips for eur/usd trade while at Oanda spread is 1.2 pips. On other less liquid currencies difference is even bigger. You can check comparison table at Oanda's page.

Now with usd/cad cut from 4 to 2.5 it's another pair suitable for easy intraday trading. Also gbp/jpy from 6 to 4, eur/chf 2 to 1, eur/gbp 1.5 to 1, gbp/usd 2.8 to 2.5, cad/jpy 5 to 3.5 and so on. So this is great news.

Those 1 or 2 pips difference can mean difference between loosing or winning trader. There is spread cost calculator at Oanda so you can check it for yourself, but for example 10X leverage and 3 trades a day with 10,000$ account you pay 7,500$ a year for spread if it's 1 pip, 15,000$ if it's 2 pips, 22,500$ if the spread is 3 pips.

Majority of traders trading with other forex brokers don't mind their spread because they think it's not important. They are in for 30, 60, 90 pips swing so it doesn't matter if they pay 1 or 2 pips more in spread. But to get 75% return on your money just in spread difference trading at Oanda and other trader is at break even at the same time it's madness paying so big spread and getting nothing for that.

Oanda doesn't spend money on internet advertisements but pass the savings in the most competitive spreads on market. Their advertisements are word of the mouth from satisfied customers like me. Oanda is the best forex broker for the small retail trader by my opinion.




Regarding my trading, I'm still busy with other stuff so no trading for me this and next month.

05/11/07

Yesterday low in gbp/usd was at 771. So after big decline yesterday and weakness today I shorted in anticipation of further downside. But after first big down 1min candle it stopped. It's absolutely unusual to have a stop in so much weakness, so things are not so weak at all. I traded with half of my size because that way I'm in smaller position if I add. I always add.
I exited and open reverse position.

After several unusual minutes of not moving at new lows I added new long position. For me those 10 minutes of nothing was the main clue to stay long and wait. It was such support, subtle but strong.

I was pretty patient by my standards and waited until I got some reward.
+6+22+24= 52 half size; +26 pips


It was hard to watch how 20EMA was resistance to 7 5min candles.


I didn't want to stay because I got to go off line shortly and I don't know will the downtrend be reversed or what.

05/10/07

Fooling around +2 pip

05/09/07

First I scalped some. Than I tried something longer term, but it didn't play my way. +4 pip for all.

05/08/07

I shorted because it looked to me that it will break yesterdays and the weeks low. Unusual for me to go with the trend. But it bounced of the support at low.

Bad thing is that I added to position while in loss. That way I was risking about 54 pips in three positions instead 25 in one. I didn't get much for that risk, loss of -2 versus loss of -8 if I exited in the same place with only one position.
I got to get more skillful in trend trading, lol, all I know is to trade against the trend.





I exited where I exited because it was to long by my count to go down if it means to go down. I was wrong. But somehow after trade I'm not fresh to enter another trade. Like I lose energy. I think that trading should be more automatic for me, without much thinking while in trade. I look at other trader blogs with few dozen trades a day and I just can't do it like that now, except If I'm averaging but for me it's only just one trade.


In the end eur/usd was better pair to trade than gbp/usd which I chose because it makes bigger moves.

Update

It's impossible to trade when there is no volatility. Rare chances with good probability trades should be utilized to the max when they arrive in markets like this.


My working schedule will go mad in next month or two so no trading for me probably for a long time. Then there will come summer holiday.

Fight or flight

I have a theory about adrenaline. It's a break down on how it's natural to let your losses grow bigger and cut your profits short.

When I'm in the loss and I mean bigger loss, or around stop loss level adrenalin kicks in my body and with it "fight or flight" mode for response. I'm in a loss and I have a chance to fight and win over a losing trade. Because my body is in fight or flight mode I chose fight and than I fight, fight, fight. I add new positions by averaging down, I move stops making them bigger and bigger, I risk enormous percentages of my account. All of that represents fighting. None of that I do because it's good for my trading account but because I chose to fight. Nothing matters, fight mode is chosen and I just fight.

I usually fight only in losing positions, than there is logic for it. Adrenalin is high in my body, I check around to see why and than I spot the reason, losing trade. I make a judgement that it's safe to fight and that it's worth it and I start fighting. Maybe it's safe to fight for my body because from losing trade and fight with it I can't lose a hair from my head. It's not safe for my account. Question is about what to make decision in that situation about body or account. Adrenalin is flowing in to the body and helps to respond because there is some kind of a threat. Nobody told to the body that threat is about trading account and profits. Maybe it would be a good thing to feel actual pain in my body with every down tick, than I wouldn't fight so bravely.

On the other side when I'm in wining trade, again there is adrenalin in some moment. Maybe because profit started to get big very fast or just big for my perception. It's not important, only thing that's important is that adrenalin is here again. Again I have flight or fight choice to make. Now is the question against whom I can fight, who or what is the threat? There is no losing trade. Winning trade with every tick make adrenalin flow bigger. I got to chose, it's hard for me to be in rising adrenalin flow, it's not pleasant feeling. Idea comes that I could lose unrealised profits and I respond to that as origin of threat. What can I do? I can flight from threat situation and save the unrealised profits. It's better thing to do than to stay and fight. The fear is not concerned with possible future gains, they are not in my conscious mind at all. Here is only unrealised profit that is real, and it's in clear and present danger. I don't have a object with what I can fight, I chose flight and in the moment I'm out of the trade. Profits are saved and level of adrenalin can fall.

I'm back and guilty, can't stand the profits

I usually scalp counter trend reversals. In this instance funny thing is that I faded my feelings. I asked myself would I like to buy it here "NO" inner voice said. So I bought it. I did it like this because in places where I'm sure that price will reverse it just continues the trend. So if I'm dead against reversal maybe it's time for reverse. Maybe it's just luck. +6 pips


After the bullish news for usd I shorted aud/usd because I made some trendlines before. It looked like if it don't break to the upside it would fall heavily. The reaction to the upside was to big, other pairs didn't show that as much aud/usd so position #2 was in. +17 +24 = +41 pips


I for sure can't stand the profits. When I saw that I have more than 20 pips on two positions each I just couldn't stand any idea about giving back even tiny bit of profits. I have about 30 pips a week target so this is big and I'm not giving it away. It doesn't matter in that moment that bigger swing idea from which this trade originated is still valid and even more it's working. I just couldn't stand in it. It's fine with me. I think that first of all I got to clean the house regarding averaging, moving stops, etc. Letting profits run is secondary problem and I think that sequence is a must. So one step at the time.

This is first trade in a two weeks, those profits pushed my adrenaline high. Maybe adrenaline just scared me, and thoughts about 30 pips target and not letting profit away are just mental explanations after the fact. I got big adrenalin high, I got scared or I got body reaction for adrenaline and I needed to get out to stop adrenaline flow some more.


I can say that analysis of bigger time frames can aid my scalping. Maybe I will never trade from bigger t/f and never take as much is wise to get, but I can get good things from even using it on level like now.


Greed is good. Whole idea of this trade was to catch aud/usd fall and get maybe 100 pips or more, it pushed me in. No matter the results are different, it's usually like that.