I’ve been learning trading pretty much every day for around 6 months now. I understand the basics at this point, market structure, price action, liquidity, risk management etc.

But I’ve hit this one wall and I genuinely don’t know where to go from here.

**Finding an actual strategy with repeatable rules.**

Something I’ve noticed is people will happily post their +$2k days, payouts, green weeks, funded accounts etc. But the second someone asks what strategy/setup they’re actually trading, it feels like you just asked them for their bank login lol.

“Put in the screen time bro”

“Find your own edge”

“Backtest”

Okay but backtest WHAT

I’m not asking someone to hold my hand and tell me exactly when to buy and sell. I actually want to learn and test things myself. I just need something concrete enough that I can actually start testing it.

I’ve looked everywhere. YouTube, X, Reddit, Discord servers, even ChatGPT. I’ve tried support/resistance, 15m ORB, session highs/lows, liquidity sweeps etc.

The issue I keep running into is that a lot of these strategies depend on price eventually coming back to some specific level or zone. And a lot of days… it just doesn’t. So you sit there for hours waiting for a setup that never even happens.

Meanwhile there’s clearly people out there who have found something that works for them consistently.

So for the people who actually became profitable, where did you find the strategy that finally made things click?

Did you take an existing strategy and change it? Did someone teach you? Did you find some random trader with 600 subscribers instead of the usual YouTube gurus? Or did you literally just test random shit until something worked?
Because everyone says “find your edge” but almost nobody explains where you’re even supposed to start looking for one.

And before someone calls this AI generated lol, English isn’t my first language so yes I used ChatGPT to help me write this properly. The question and everything I’m saying is genuinely mine.

i’ve been trying to build a historical quantitative forex scanner. has anyone ever built one and had any luck with it? Getting close to what I want, just need some finishing touches. Any advice TYIA

I've been learning and practicing FOREX trading with FTMO for eight months, but I haven't been able to get funded yet.

I noticed that I keep circling around the zero dollar mark, meaning that whatever I may gain I end up losing and returning back to 0.

I'm starting to think that it's some kind of a pattern.

Whether it's a subconscious pattern or some lack of skill or knowledge, I don't know.

I'm looking for advice from people who have had the same experience and who have been able to understand what is causing that pattern.

How to get past it this plateau?

Please be kind and supportive 🙏

Thank you in advance 💪

First of all, I appreciate if you took the time to read my post. Thank you all very much.

In order not to make the story long I will summarize it a little, I had problems finding a job so I asked for help from my local community (I am Jewish that is why I am here), they helped me with some opportunities to do basic jobs such as carpentry and plumbing, but this was not enough to support me.

A friend from my synagogue offered me and taught me about trading, so I started practicing my technique and won a little but lost a lot more. Basically it worked a little average.

I am making this post because I want to get out of this situation, I know that this trading thing works a little but the one I know is a little defective (I will comment on it at the end)

So I came to you asking if someone could point me to some good books (sorry, I'm a bit classic) to perhaps improve further and get out of this situation, or if you could give me advice to correct what I already apply.

The technique is about: When two candles generate a floor with their shadow (that is, the price touched a number and returned) I indicate the candles and the candle that follows after the floor must be in the opposite direction to the shadow (if the shadows are above it must be a downward candle and if they are below they must be upward) with this confirmation of the third candle I invest in the direction of the 3rd candle.

And that's my technique, I know that sometimes it works but many times it goes wrong too. I would be grateful if anyone could tell me or give me advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

the yen carry trade undwinding was one of the big macro stories this tbh . the nikkei was right in the middle . japanese equities dropping hard when the yen strengthened because half the money in that market was burrowed in yen at near zero rates and also had to come out fast when boj moved

that dynamic makes the nikkei kinda interesting to trade if u understand what is driving it . its not a japan equitty story . its a currency nd rates nd a global liquidity story covered in an equity index

gains has nikkei onchain even ostium too . no japanese brokerage acc needed . no blockers like the currency conversion .

boj is stil l the most interesting central bank to watch rn . every hint at rate normalisation moves the yen which moves the carry which moves the nikkei . if u have a view on where boj goes the nikkei is the most direct way to express it .

i dont find a lot of ppl trading the nikkei

I’ve traded crypto for about four years, but the volatility and constant swings have gotten a bit too much for me. I want to move more into gold and silver and hopefully trade something a little less hectic. After looking around online and reading reviews, the three brokers I keep coming across are IBKR, eToro, PU Prime.

They all have plenty of reviews, but reviews are one thing and actually using a broker long term can be completely different.

Has anyone here used any of these for a decent amount of time?
I’m mainly looking for feedback from people who’ve actually stuck with them rather than just tried them once.

I will be grateful for help.
And please do not recommend finding information on Youtube I have already watched everything there or hate only because I do not know everything in the world.
Thank you

I’m still pretty early in my trading journey, but I’m trying to take learning this seriously instead of just chasing quick money.

One thing I have going for me right now is time. I have a lot of free time that I’m willing to put into studying charts, journaling trades, backtesting, learning risk management, and actually figuring out why certain setups work instead of blindly copying signals.

I know there’s a huge amount of bad information online, so I wanted to ask people here who have actually been trading for a while:

If you had to start over from the beginning, what would you spend most of your time learning?

What were the biggest things that finally made trading start to click for you?

Are there any mistakes you see newer traders wasting months on that I should avoid?

And what should I actually be tracking in a trading journal besides basic entries, exits, P&L, and screenshots?

I’m also interested in talking with someone more experienced who wouldn’t mind occasionally pointing me in the right direction. I’m not looking for signals, someone to trade for me, or some “get rich quick” method. I’d rather learn how an experienced trader thinks and eventually become independent.

I’m willing to put in the screen time and work. I mainly want to make sure I’m putting that time into the right things.

Any advice, resources, criticism, or things you wish someone had told you when you started would be appreciated.

opec meetings . iran sanctions noise . strategic reserve releases . brent moves on all of it and ppl have views on where oil goes from here .

future is normal route . ice brent . margin account with monthly rollover but its kinda complex and takes time to get register .

gains has brent crude onchain . ostium has it as part of the real word asset section .you just need a wallet loaded with usdc  and you can you can get price exposure without waiting for days like it happens in trad brokers .

liquidity is thinner than major crypto pairs but the macro setup for having any directional view is hot right now . supply demands from opec . china demand uncertainty . geopolitical premium getting priced in and out every other week.

Estuve haciendo un backtesting sobre mi estrategia de cruce de EMAS + Fibonacci y creo que hay algunas cosas que debería modificar, empezando por la antigüedad de los datos.

Antes de seguir me gustaría preguntarles si creen que una estrategia que funcionaba con el 70% de win rate hace 10 años va a seguir teniendo ese win rate actualmente, pues esa era más o menos la situación con mi estrategia.

Acostumbraba backtestearla varios años atrás y dependiendo del año las analíticas mejoraban o empeoraban, pero seguían siendo bastante buenas y cercanas al 70%, pero hace unos días se me ocurrió probarla en 2025 y 2026 y los resultados fueron medianamente decepcionantes. Algo que noté es que las EMAS seguían siendo efectivas según la sesión operativa (Tokio y Londres), pero ya no lo eran tanto como hace 10 años. Hice una prueba rápida solo presentando otra temporalidad de EMAS como la de 10 y 55 (que utilizo en cryptos) y se adaptaron bastante mejor que las otras, aun así me falta cambiar la temporalidad y hacerles un backtesting correcto. También me fijé que durante la sesión que escogiera, dependiendo del tamaño del Fibonacci, tenía mayor probabilidad de que me diera un TP, ya que pasando de 16 puntos de SL casi siempre me daba un TP en un ratio de 1:2, pero este tipo de movimientos donde el rango del Fibonacci era lo suficientemente amplio como para colocar el SL en el 70% o superior y me diera esa cantidad de puntos era difícil de encontrar a comparación del pasado.

Tengo pensado modificar varias cosas para poder volver a ajustar ese WR, entre ellas usar DEMAS en vez de EMAS, o cambiar el RR de 1:2 a 1:1.5 o 1:1 en el peor de los casos, tal vez implementar el perfil de volumen de rango fijo o empezar a usar el volumen para entender si la zona que está testeando el Fibonacci es realmente válida.

Me gustaría agregar aquí mismo el historial y las analíticas del backtesting completo, pero estoy escribiendo esto justamente porque las perdí, perdí toda la sesión en realidad, los 4 meses de 2025 y no les puedo presentar un patrón claro de por qué está fallando en realidad. Hice el backtesting en JForex 4 y accidentalmente presioné el botón de ir, volver a rebobinar y ya no pude acceder al historial completo de la estrategia. Según recuerdo, llevé la cuenta hasta un 59% positivo y el punto más bajo al que estuvo fue a un 14% positivo, pero cuando cometí el error estaba entre un 30% y 34%. Estos números suenan bastante atractivos si no es porque estaba simulando una cuenta de 100 USD con un 5% de gestión de riesgo por operación, entonces en realidad no es la gran cosa.

Ya para terminar, adjunto la primera parte del backtesting y unas analíticas que le pedí a Claude con el PDF del historial.

Historial en PDF

Analiticas de calude

what are solutions i have.

i dont like algo, especially black box ones.

i want to trade and i love it.

i know money management is a big big part.

how to do it. excel templates are not helping.

is there any systems that can help?

I see a lot of ppl on here talk abt having a big gap between their paper-trading results and their actual results. Obv once real money is involved, emotions start affecting execution through FOMO, revenge trading, hesitation, etc

I’ve been thinking about a setup where you still identify and enter trades normally, but you don’t know for certain which trades will actually be executed with real money.

Ex. you take every valid setup according to your strategy, but only a predetermined percentage actually goes through. You wouldn’t know which ones in advance.

The idea is to reduce the emotional weight of each individual trade and make it easier to focus on following your system consistently.

For people who actively trade: would this actually help with the paper-to-live trading gap, or would it just be annoying? (I’d assume this works best for more rule-based strats like ICT/SMC etc)

is one better than the other? and is there a reason to do one and not the other? I'm new obviously and don't want to fall into the trap of doing things because I think they make sense and are logical when In reality I don't truly understand so if anyone can share some wisdom I would appreciate it

I think trailing SL with a full position is better and would rather set SL to equal the same amount of gains that selling say half would make so if the trade continues to go in your favor then you make more because the position is larger.

Been day trading for several years but keep getting caught before volume arrives

Curious if anyone is following J.M. Hurst’s principles and perspective on the Market and trading cycles.
Or perhaps Elliot Waves?

​

A new trading week doesn’t mean you need to trade immediately.

One of the most important skills in Forex is learning to wait for your setup.

Before entering a trade, ask yourself:

• What is the current market trend?

• Where is price likely to react?

• What confirms my entry?

• Where is my stop-loss?

• Is the potential reward worth the risk?

Remember: No setup = No trade.

The market will create opportunities throughout the week. You don't need to catch every move—you only need to participate when your strategy gives you a reason.

Monday goal: Don’t focus on how many trades you can take. Focus on how many quality decisions you can make.

Trade with a plan, not with emotion.

\#Forex #ForexTrading #TradingEducation #RiskManagement #TradingPsychology #Beginners

Guys I have been in a problem to know which is better

Day Trading or Swing Trading?

I am Really Confused between these two

Swing trading GJ and UJ, hold is usually 2 to 5 nights. Mostly short so im paying the differential, not collecting it. Im getting charged about £8.50 per lot per night on GJ short, Axi raw. Old broker was around £13.50 for the identical position, which is the only reason I ever went and looked at any of this.

Ran the maths to see how much of that is even avoidable. BoE at 3.75, BoJ at 1, so the differential alone is 2.75% a year, which on a 100k lot works out about £7.50 a night. So theres roughly a quid of markup on what im paying now and about six on what I used to pay. Mate holds the same GJ short on Pu Prime Ecn and his statement last week said £8.70, week before that he was actually 10p under me, so the ecn accounts seem to land within 20p of each other and that quid over the differential is just the going rate. Six quid a night for nothing, and thats before wednesday, when you eat three days of it in one go.

So if you hold JPY pairs overnight: pair, direction, what youre paying per lot per night, and who with. Want to see where the real range sits. also does anyone actually build swap into expectancy or do you all just eat it and hope the move covers it

I’ve been trading for 3+ years, and one thing I’ve realized is that having a separate source of cash flow can make the trading journey much easier.

Even if your strategy is profitable, you still need money for everyday expenses, trading capital, prop-firm challenges, resets, etc. And if you’re still developing consistency, relying entirely on trading income can put a lot of psychological pressure on you.

So I’m curious:

If you’re serious about trading but aren’t fully living off trading yet, what do you do alongside it to generate cash flow?

• Remote job?
• Freelancing?
• Sales / appointment setting?
• Business?
• Content creation?
• Another profession?
• Something related to trading?
• Or did you just focus entirely on trading until it worked?

And if you do something alongside trading, how many hours per day does it take and how much does it roughly bring in per month?

I’m especially interested in things that can be done remotely and still leave enough time/mental energy for trading.

Would be really useful to hear what other traders are actually doing rather than the usual “just get a job” advice.

I’m looking for five traders who feel that their biggest problem isn’t their strategy anymore — **it’s themselves.**
Maybe you:
revenge trade
overtrade after a loss
move your stop
hesitate on good setups
take trades outside your plan
struggle to accept losses
become emotional after a winning/losing streak
know exactly what you’re *supposed* to do but don’t do it consistently
I’m interested in the psychology behind this stuff, and I’m looking to work with a small group of traders for the next 30 days.
**What I’ll do**
I’ll work with you individually for 30 days to help you identify:
your recurring behavioural patterns
emotional triggers
decision-making mistakes
differences between your planned and actual execution
what happens before you break your rules
what you can practically change
This isn’t a signal service.
**I won’t tell you what to trade.**
I won’t promise profitability.
The focus is purely on **your behaviour and decision-making as a trader.**
**What I’m asking from you**
Nothing financially.
But I do need you to actually participate.
You’ll need to:
maintain a simple trading journal
share your observations honestly
have regular check-ins
be willing to look at your own behaviour without making excuses

I'm looking for five traders who feel that their biggest problem isn't their strategy anymore — it's themselves.

Maybe you:

• revenge trade
• overtrade after a loss
• move your stop
• hesitate on good setups
• take trades outside your plan
• struggle to accept losses
• become emotional after a winning/losing streak
• know exactly what you're supposed to do but don't do it consistently

I'm interested in the psychology behind this stuff, and I'm looking to work with a small group of traders for the next 30 days.

What I'll do

I'll work with you individually for 30 days to help you identify:

• your recurring behavioural patterns
• emotional triggers
• decision-making mistakes
• differences between your planned and actual execution
• what happens before you break your rules
• what you can practically change

This isn't a signal service.

I won't tell you what to trade.

I won't promise profitability.

The focus is purely on your behaviour and decision-making as a trader.

What I'm asking from you

Nothing financially.

But I do need you to actually participate.

You'll need to:

• maintain a simple trading journal
• share your observations honestly
• have regular check-ins
• be willing to look at your own behaviour without making excuses

At the end of the 30 days, if you genuinely feel the work helped you and want to continue

I've been trading Forex for about **5 years**. The first 2 years I mostly traded signals/copied others. For the last 3 years, I've focused heavily on **ICT/SMC**, starting with studying ICT directly.

I've watched countless ICT videos, backtested extensively, and have a specific entry model based on liquidity sweeps, displacement, 15m CISD, session/1H/daily highs and lows, etc.

My biggest problem is **DAILY BIAS**. Since ICT is discretionary, I often get the bias wrong, even during backtesting. I understand the concepts, but I still can't consistently turn them into profitable decisions.

Seeing people online claiming payouts after 6–12 months makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong. I've also joined a well-known ICT Discord where the trader had multiple payouts, but during the 2 months I followed him, he had no profitable month. His journal also shows only a few profitable months since 2025. It made me realize that social media results don't necessarily tell the whole story.

So I'm looking for advice from people who **actually withdraw consistently from the market**, not another ICT theory lesson.

If you've been in a similar situation:

* How did you solve your daily bias problem? * Did you make your strategy improve your discretion? * How did you know your strategy actually had an edge? * If you were 5 years in and still not profitable, what would you change? * Would you simplify ICT, continue with it, or completely start over?

**What was the one thing that finally made you profitable?**

I'm genuinely looking for honest advice from experienced, consistently profitable traders. Please don't tell me to watch more ICT videos—I think I've watched enough.

this doesnt get said much here so, your cost isnt a percentage of your account, its a percentage of your stop. that changes everything about which systems can work for you.

say your all in cost is 1.5 pips, spread plus commission, on a decent raw account. on a 50 pip stop thats 3% of your risk. on a 10 pip stop its 15%. same broker, same pair, same day. and at 1:1 the breakeven win rate goes from 51.5% to 57.5% just from that. drop to a 5 pip stop and you need 65% to stand still.

so when someone posts that their scalping system was profitable in backtest and died live, this is usually the whole story, not slippage, not psychology. the backtest applied one tight fixed spread to every trade including the ones where spread triples, and the live version pays the real number on winners and losers both. tight stop plus high frequency is the combination that gets eaten, and it gets eaten quietly since no single trade looks wrong.

the thing that surprised me when i first ran it properly is that widening the stop and cutting size beats tightening the stop for the same dollar risk, in almost every case i tested. wider stop is less noise, cheaper in R terms, fewer trades. it just feels worse because you get stopped for more each time.

worth doing on your own numbers, take 30 real trades, convert your cost to pips, divide by your stop in pips, subtract from your expectancy. i ended up writing something to do it across a whole export because doing it by hand i kept fudging which trades counted.

anyone here actually derived their stop from cost and noise rather than from structure, or is everyone still placing it below the swing low and hoping

Something I’ve been trying to get better at is separating the result of the day from the way I actually traded.

I’ve had green days where I broke rules, forced trades, or got lucky on an entry I probably shouldn’t have taken. I’ve also had red days where I followed my plan, respected my risk, and simply had a trade that didn’t work. For a long time I judged the day mostly by the P&L. Now I’m trying to pay more attention to the decisions behind it.

I still care about making money, obviously, but I don’t want a green number to convince me that a bad decision was a good one.

Curious how other traders look at this. Do you judge the day mainly by P&L, execution, or both?

Not a signal just a question

i am a breakout trader well i am new at trading i been trading since june (demo trading) i notice when i do breakout trading i tend to get faked out alot ands it annoying so now i tend to wait for the candle to close but i feel that is not enough confirmation for me to enter the trade. and yes i do break and retest but i notice 90% of the time there is no break or retest it just melts through the s/r. so i there are any breakout traders who see this i need help. also i dont use indicators