SamuraiTrader

In a sense I would say I am a scalper too. I take a lot of smaller 10p or so wins but I also try to be as adaptable as possible to take the swings when they come up for 20p+.

 

I guess I realized it about six years ago when I started to just get too bored and impatient with H1+ charts and started to dig into the lower time frames. Once I did, I found I was actually a LOT more comfortable there and my focus was greatly improved. That's what trading is really all about - finding your comfort zone where you can thrive.

Welcome to the forum. Hopefully you find what you're looking for here to help you on your trading journey!

This post mostly rings true. As someone who has been trading for almost a decade and a chunk of that full-time I agree with most of the above. It is a continuous battle with one's self and you must always strive to improve your mental game. I also have a number of friends who are professional traders and can attest that the above is true for them as well.

This simply isn't true, I'm afraid. Everyone can learn about forex trading, sure. But can everyone make money at it? Nope. Some people quite simply don't have the mental tools necessary to deal with an uncertain arena like trading and are unwilling/unable to develop them.

 

However I would say that *almost* anyone who is willing to put in the effort and who has considerable dedication over the long term can eventually make consistent money. The question really is how long are those learning curves going to be, and for some people it can be very, very long (prohibitively so).

Personally if I was just learning Technical Analysis all over again the most important tip I would use is that "less is more". Start with something basic like moving averages. Throw some on the charts, get some ideas for possible trade setups, test them out. Learn how the MAs might improve your trading.

 

Then try another like Bollinger Bands. Get a feel for it then move on.

 

I would recommend no more than two indicators on the charts though to start. Just develop a "feel" for the market and how these indicators work.

 

The worst thing you can do is overload your chart with indicators and cause yourself paralysis by analysis. So just work through one by one to increase your comfort level and understanding and then you can develop more complicated tests as your knowledge increases. Once you start to feel good about TA you can begin to look at others' systems. Most people do this step the other way around but I think you should have a good foundation before digging into other peoples' systems because until you do you will never truly "get it". A good foundational knowledge is the building block to later success, but it starts one piece at a time.

Is a mentor necessary? Not at all. Will it help reduce the learning curve considerably (assuming your mentor is competent)? Without any doubt.