Forex Profit Monster Results - September 2012 and 3rd Quarter

The September results are in, and once again there is a recurring lesson to be learned.  After two losing months in July and August, September is not only a winning month but wipes out the past two losing months and then some.  With September's win of 1,103 pips, that gives me a total of +62 pips for the 3rd quarter of 2012.

Some would read that last sentence and say, "Big deal, you mean you traded 4 Hour charts for 3 months and all you won was 62 pips... why bother???".  

If you find yourself thinking this way then you have A LOT of work to do as a trader.  The point isn't that I made 62 pips across 3 months, the point is I WAS PROFITABLE AT ALL.  To be honest, at this stage of my trading I don't really even think about how much I win or lose anymore.  I focus on my process (following my predetermined trading plan including my exit signal) and let the profits accumulate as they may.  I know from testing my system (and also trading it live for several years now) what to expect over the long term and I don't let any minor setbacks derail my thinking or my actions.  

As a trader this is the stage that you need to advance to if you want to become profitable for the long run.  There are going to be losing periods and you can't let these periods shake you out of your process.  Even if you're trading a system that will give you a "perfect" 45 degree equity curve, there are still going to be drawdowns.  If you backtest a system and see a 45 degree equity curve over several hundred trades, that doesn't mean there aren't negative portions of that curve.  If you look at the equity curve with the same inputs in a Monte Carlo simulator for a smaller number of trades (say 20 or 30 trades instead of several hundred) you could even see equity curves that look like mirror images of your "perfect" 45 degree curve that you would never want to trade because they look like they're making you go broke.  When this is happening in real time "live" trading you have to remember that these times won't last and if your system is robust and you are seeing the same types of forward results you saw in your backtesting then you just have to keep focusing on your process until the losing period ends and you catch the wins that will pull you out of your drawdown.  I believe I've shown this fact in "real time" over the past 5 years on this blog... and I've also seen the profit accumulation in my trading account... that's what keeps me going during losing times.

On to the details about September's results...  let's start with the equity graph updated for the 3rd quarter:

As you can see, not much positive gain for the 3rd Quarter, but no drawdown either.  Since I've started graphing the equity curve by quarter instead of by month there have been fewer drawdowns showing in the curve and I've recovered from them more quickly.  That's another lesson to remember... the higher the time frame, the less volatility that will show in your trading.  This is true in both the time frame you trade and the way you track your results... you need to ride out the small losing periods and stick to your game plan!

Here are the results for September on the 4 Hour chart across the 8 pairs I trade with Forex Profit Monster:

27 trades total

13 wins:  1,890 pips

14 losses:  787 pips

Total: + 1,103 pips

Win rate:  48% 

Avg win:  145 pips

Avg loss:  56 pips

Avg risk/reward:  2.58 to 1

And the results by currency pair for September:

EUR/USD  2W, 0L  +520

USD/CHF  3W, 0L  +349

EUR/JPY  1W, 2L  +160

GBP/JPY  1W, 1L  +145

GBP/USD  1W, 2L  +142

USD/CAD  2W, 2L  (-70)

USD/JPY  1W, 3L  (-70)

AUD/USD  2W, 4L  (-73)

The results for 2012 so far:

January: +891

February: +206

March: +1,667

April: (-293)

May:  +1,640

June:  +2,209

July:  (-343)

August: (-699)

September +1,103

That's a total of 6,381 pips, or an average of 709 pips per month.

For more information regarding purchasing Forex Profit Monster (or my day trading system Forex Day Monster), please visit the website at www.forexprofitmonster.com or my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less where I list one or two items per week at a discount.

Best of luck in your trading...

Jim

www.forexprofitmonster.com

Forex Profit Monster Results - December 2011

Here it is... the new equity curve for Forex Profit Monster. As mentioned in previous posts, the software that I use to plot the equity curve has a limitation of the number of data points you can use, and as of a couple of months ago that limit was reached. I decided to recompute the curve on a quarterly plot instead of monthly so that I can continue to post the curve on the results blog using the same software.

The funny thing is, the difference in the equity curve can teach a lesson as far as trading discipline is concerned. Look at the graph above and compare it to the last monthly graph:

Do you see how the drawdowns are more noticeable in the monthly graph than the quarterly graph? While technically the information is exactly the same, it shows that seen over a longer time frame the same results seem less volatile. While many small drawdowns can be seen in the monthly graph (every time there is a losing month there is a drawdown in the graph)... there are hardly any visible in the quarterly graph. The only one of any relevance at all is in Q3 of 2010... and even that is extremely small and lasts for only that quarter. Want to take it to the "next level"? Here's a graph of the yearly results:

See how there are NO drawdowns in the yearly results at all?

So what lesson is to be learned here as a trader? With a viable trading method that has a positive expectancy, you CAN'T allow the results of single trades (or even single weeks or months worth of trades) to cause you to lose your focus. If you become undisciplined because you have a losing streak or enter a drawdown, you may miss out on the profits that will help you to overcome the losses. You must keep focused on the "big picture"... or making money over time. Days, weeks, or even a couple of months of losses in a row don't mean anything over the long haul.

With that covered, here are the results for December:

29 trades total

11 wins: 1,251 pips

18 losses: 1,158 pips

Total pips: +93

37% win rate

Avg win: 113

Avg loss: 64

Avg risk/reward ratio: 1.76 to 1

Here are the results by currency pair on the 4 Hour chart:

AUD/USD 2W, 1L +268

EUR/USD 2W, 1L +239

EUR/JPY 1W, 0L +195

USD/CAD 2W, 1L +137

USD/CHF 1W, 2L +42

USD/JPY 0W, 5L (-118)

GBP/JPY 2W, 3L (-126)

GBP/USD 1W, 5L (-544)

And the totals for 2011:
January (-35)
February (-334)
March +869
April +2,168
May +503
June (-811)
July +225
August +221
September +2,227
October +2,634

November +1,286

December +93

That's a total of 9,046 pips in 2011, and an average per month of +753 pips. For more information about Forex Profit Monster (and my day trading system Forex Day Monster), visit the website at www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase either system (or both) at a discount, visit my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less where I list one or two items per week at a discount.

Best of luck in your trading!

Jim

www.forexprofitmonster.com

Forex Profit Monster Results - April 2011

It's been almost a year since I've had a "windfall" month like April. It always feels good to reap the rewards of being a patient trend follower... and when the pips come flowing in like they did last month, you can't help but feel good! After all was said and done, I finished April with a profit of +2,168 pips across the 8 currency pairs I trade on the 4 Hour chart. I'm at a new account balance high, a new equity high, and I have a few trades still open that have carried over into May with a current total of about 1,500 pips of profit!

I'll get into the exact details of the month's performance in a little bit, but first the time seems right to address a question I got about 2 weeks ago from a fellow trader. I'll keep this person's name anonymous because I didn't ask to publish his question, but I think it's important to answer it and discuss the subject matter he brings up in an open forum so that others who may have the same mindset can learn.

The question posed was regarding my year end results with Forex Profit Monster over the past few years and the "sub-par" performance of the first two months of 2011:

"With regards to decreasing ROI year after year (2008: 300%, 2009: 60%, 2010: 30%, 2011: ?% do you consider FPM to be slowly losing its edge?"

I don't mean to be rude, but if this seems like a good question then you have a LOT to learn, young Jedi. :-)

The fact that the ROI has decreased each year for the past 3 years is not because the trading system is becoming less effective... it's actually quite the opposite! This system is very robust, and it adapts to the current market conditions. The reason that I experienced a 300% return in 2008 was because of the global "market meltdown" toward the end of that year. FPM helped me to achieve the incredible results in 2008 (not only a 300% return for the year, but more than a 100% profit in the month of October alone) while many other traders and investors were losing 40-50% of their account values (or more... there were a lot of account "KABOOMS" heard toward the end of 2008!). It was the "black swan" event that drove the profits for 2008... those profits were extraordinary and they can't be expected EVERY year. However sooner or later they will happen again (with things the way they are more likely sooner than later), and if you're trading a sound trend following system like FPM you'll be in the same position I was in 2008 when they do.

As far as 2009 and 2010 are concerned, all veteran traders know that after a huge event like we had in 2008 it will always take some time for markets to "settle down" again while volume and volatility move from one extreme to the other... and because of this profits during these times can be squelched. I don't know if that's what you can call a 60% and 30% return, but I guess you can if you're comparing it to 300%. However, any way you look at it even 30% is a great year. Even suggesting that a 30% return on the year is "poor" performance (as the person who asked the question seems to think) shows someone who is far removed from reality!

Here's some "homework" for you if you think a 30% return on the year is poor performance... go to your local bank and ask them how much of a return they're willing to give you on a savings account; or better yet, tell an investment adviser that you think a 60% or 30% ROI on the year is poor performance and tell them you'd like to invest with them... I'd almost guarantee they won't take you on as a customer... in fact they may call security and have you escorted from the building LOL!

If you are a new trader (or even an experienced trader) who thinks the question asked was valid, then you need to adjust your view of the market(s). Trading systems can only deliver what the market allows them to under the current market conditions. If you think you have any control other than to follow your trading plan and accept the returns available then you should probably give up trading because you're going to lose all of your money in the long run. Find someone who is a good trader/money manager, give them your money to trade and let them make you some money... or just donate the money you were going to use in your account to a worthy charity... at least then it will do some good since you're probably going to lose it all anyway! As an added bonus of doing this you can claim the tax write-off!

And here's some more advice for those of you who might feel better selecting a professional to manage your money... invest it in a trend following fund... and do the opposite of human nature and buy in during a drawdown (when the fund is actually temporarily losing money) so that you can maximize your returns when the new trends kick in! If you buy in during the "good times" (like after a 300% ROI year), you may start out in a drawdown or during a long stagnant period while the market consolidates. If you're going to be successful even placing your money with someone else, this is the way you need to learn to think!

Now with that out of the way, here are the results for April:

19 trades

11 wins: +2,876
8 losses: (-708)

Total: +2,168 pips

Win rate: 57%
Avg win: 261 pips
Avg loss: 88 pips
Avg Risk/Reward ratio: 2.96 to 1

Here are the results by currency pair:

USD/JPY 2W, 0L +472
EUR/JPY 1W, 3L +444
AUD/USD 1W, 0L +421
GBP/JPY 2W, 1L +344
EUR/USD 1W, 1L +213
USD/CHF 2W, 0L +203
USD/CAD 1W, 1L +90
GBP/USD 1W, 2L (-19)

And the up to date yearly results so far for 2011:

January (-35)
February (-334)
March +869
April +2,168

That's +2,668 pips total so far for 2011, or an average of +667 pips per month.

I hope your April was as profitable as mine, here's to a successful May!

If you'd like more information about Forex Profit Monster (and my daytrading system Forex Day Monster), visit my website at www.forexprofitmonster.com. You can purchase both systems there on the "Purchase" page.

You can also buy each system individually on my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/ where I list one or two trading systems per week at a discount.

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/

Forex Profit Monster Results - February 2011

So far 2011 has been off to a very slow start, at least on the 4 Hour chart. There's been a lot of ranging, a lot of false breakouts, and a lot of world events that are lending a helping hand to the indecision in the markets. The good thing is that while February was another losing month, the loss was another small loss, this time of (-334) pips.

Many ask how I can continue to trade during times of loss. The answer is, if you're going to be a trader, you have to learn how to cope with losses. Losses in trading are a cost of doing business. The inability to cope with loss in trading is a serious psychological flaw. It's when the losing trader gives up on a profitable system and goes in search of the "Holy Grail". And this usually happens right before the trades that offset the losses and provide the new profits begin.

All trading systems have losses... the most important thing is that the system profits over time. And as you can see from the graph above, I'm well into profit since I started trading FPM live in 2007, and the current "drawdown" of just a few hundred pips can't really even be seen. Why would I give up on it now? This ranging can't go on forever... and the longer it does, the larger the breakouts and the longer the trends will be once they begin!

As of the writing of this post I have a few trades open and in profit, including one on the EUR/USD that has been open since mid February and is currently over 350 pips in profit. This means that even though the cash value of my account is in a drawdown, my equity is actually at a new high.


Here are the totals for February across the 8 currency pairs I trade on the 4 Hour chart:

29 total trades
9 wins: 847 pips
20 losses: 1,181 pips
Total: (-334) pips

Win rate: 31%
Avg win: 94 pips
Avg loss: 59 pips
Avg R/R: 1.59 to 1

Here are the results by currency pair:

GBP/JPY 2 W, 0 L +274
USD/CHF 2 W, 0 L +224
USD/JPY 2 W, 1 L +174
AUD/USD 2 W, 3 L (-69)
GBP/USD 1 W, 3 L (-153)
USD/CAD 0 W, 4 L (-184)
EUR/JPY 0 W, 5 L (-289)
EUR/USD 0 W, 4 L (-311)

Here are the results so far for 2011:

January (-35)
February (-334)

Total: (-369) or an average of (-184) pips per month.

Here's to great trading, and may the pips flow into your account!

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/

Forex Profit Monster Results - October 2010 - New Equity High!

The month of October's +1,717 pip profit was in the top 10 of monthly returns since I've started trading FPM live in the summer of 2007. It was a welcome month after the past few months where I've basically been treading water since May's 4,500+ pip win. While I'm still in a slight drawdown, I now have the chance to be at a new high in my account balance by the end of the year; because if you include 3 profitable trades from October that are still open as of this blog post, and 4 more profitable trades that I've opened in the first few days of November, I am at a new equity high!

Once again the lesson to be learned here is you must be persistent and disciplined in your trading. Even though my pip total for the year has always been positive, it wasn't easy to have a losing month 3 out of the last 4 months before the large winning month of October. If I had given up because of those losing months, I wouldn't have won the pips in October or opened the trades in early November that have me at a new equity high. Trading psychology is extremely important in your development as a trader! That's why information to help you learn about trading psychology is included in the material in the Forex Profit Monster trading system. The other thing to learn is to manage your money properly. Don't do stupid things like doubling down on your trades because you think you're due for a win. Stick to position sizes that are reasonable for your account size and learn to ride out your losing periods. You can't win at trading unless you learn to manage your money properly! Again, this is why I wrote an eBook on money management and include it with Forex Profit Monster (this information is also included with my day trading system Forex Day Monster).

Here are the results for October 2010:

31 trades taken

11 wins: 3,489 pips
20 losses: 1,772 pips

Total: +1,717 pips

35% win rate of trades
Avg win: 317
Avg loss: 88
Avg risk reward: 3.6 to 1

Details of results on the 8 pairs I trade on the 4 Hour chart:

USD/CHF 2 W, 0 L +514
EUR/USD 1 W, 4 L +470
EUR/JPY 1 W, 4 L +434
GBP/JPY 1 W, 1 L +212
USD/JPY 1 W, 2 L +158
AUD/USD 2 W, 4 L +116
USD/CAD 1 W, 2 L +17
GBP/USD 2 W, 3 L (-204)

Here are the results for 2010 so far:

January: +823
February: +669
March: +434
April: (-446)
May: +4,597
June (-1,870)
July (-185)
August +903
September (-1,737)
October +1,717

Total: +4,905 pips
Average: +490 pips per month

That's it for this month... hope your October (and so far November) has been as profitable as mine!

For more information regarding the Forex Profit Monster trading system (and my day trading system Forex Day Monster) visit my website at www.forexprofitmonster.com, or my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/.

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/

Forex Profit Monster Results - April 2010

April started off looking great with over 1,700 pips of profit in equity... but quickly turned into one of those ranging months that whipsaws your open profits away. The month's total loss was only (-446 pips), once again a blip on the radar screen according to the big picture (look at the chart above... can you even see the drawdown?) In fact as I write this results post the market has been moving fast and furious again and every pair I trade has an open trade that is well into profit... well over 3,000 total pips right now. While I obviously won't count these pips as profit yet (you only have to look at April to understand why you can't do that), I feel good knowing that these trades are there to help me reach a new high in my account balance before the end of May.

During months like April I inevitably get questions about why I don't close out the trades when they're "overextended" and take the profits before they can retrace. It's simple... you're looking at the trades with hindsight. You know now that they retraced and set up in ranges that cost the open equity... but you didn't know that when it was the present time and you had to make the decision. It's just as likely that the moves could have continued in the same direction and instead of losing 446 pips in April I could have profited 4,000 pips! But if you exited the trades early before getting an exit signal you would have missed out on these pips. A similar situation is setting itself up for May as we speak... if I close out the 3,000+ pips I have now will I be better off than waiting to see if the moves continue? Maybe, maybe not... but I don't have to make this decision... I let my trading plan/system make it for me. This removes my emotional attachment to the "paper" equity money that I don't really have yet and allows me to make intelligent decisions regarding my trend following. When you start second guessing your trading plan is when you invite disaster. FPM has proven itself to be extremely reliable and resilient (again, look at the graph above of my account value in pips since I started tracking my live trading). Have a good plan (including good money management) and stick to it... and forget about your small losses... they don't do any damage to your trading... only your emotions about them do!

Here's a breakdown of my April results trading the 8 pairs I trade on the 4 Hour chart:

42 total trades
14 wins - 1,932 pips
28 losses - 2,378 pips

(-446 pips)

33% win rate

Avg win - 138 pips
Avg loss - 84 pips
Avg risk/reward ratio - 1.64 to 1

Here are the details by currency pair (best to worst):

USD/JPY: 2 W, 2 L +252 pips
GBP/JPY: 2 W, 4 L + 88 pips
USD/CHF: 3 W, 1 L + 34 pips
EUR/USD: 1 W, 3 L (-28 pips)
EUR/JPY: 2 W, 4 L (-160 pips)
AUD/USD: 1 W, 5 L (-199 pips)
USD/CAD: 1 W, 4 L (-214 pips)
GBP/USD: 2 W, 5 L (-219 pips)

That's it for April... if we don't see a repeat of all of this open equity vanishing I'll once again be at a new account high by the end of May!

Here are the results for the year so far:

January: +823
February: +669
March: +434
April: (-446)

Total: 1,480 pips
Avg: 370 pips per month

For more information regarding the Forex Profit Monster system (and my day trading system Forex Day Monster) visit www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase either system visit my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less.

Thanks for reading this and best of luck in your trading!

Jim

www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Forex Profit Monster Results - February 2010

It's official... I'm back to a new total equity high as of the close of business for the month of February (as you can see from the graph above)!

Not only was February a profitable month with a total win of 669 pips, but I also carried 4 profitable trades forward into the month of March. These trades had a current equity value of over 1,500 pips total at the beginning of the month, which means the month of March looks like it will be another profitable month for me with Forex Profit Monster.

Here are the FPM results for the month of February:

26 trades
10 wins: 1,959 pips
16 losses: 1,290 pips

669 pips total profit
38% win rate

Avg win: 196 pips
Avg loss: 80 pips
Avg R/R: 2.45 to 1

Here are the details of the 8 pairs I trade on the 4 hour chart in order of performance (best to worst):

GBP/JPY- 2 wins, 0 losses: 326 pips
GBP/USD- 1 win, 1 loss: 312 pips
AUD/USD- 2 wins, 2 losses: 251 pips
USD/CHF- 2 wins, 3 losses: 148 pips
EUR/JPY- 1 win, 2 losses: 140 pips
USD/CAD-1 win, 3 losses: (-25 pips)
USD/JPY- 1 win, 2 losses: (-43 pips)
EUR/USD- 0 wins, 3 losses: (-340 pips)

I usually try to take some time when I post my monthly results to add some insight about my trading system or trading in general. It's important to understand that trading is much more than the trading system itself... and once again I'd like to cover this topic.

Each month when I post my results I inevitably get at least several emails from people also trading the system asking why their results differ from mine. These questions range from having a different number of wins and losses on a pair to a "discrepancy" in the number of pips won or lost. Sometimes the person contacting me has fared worse than I have, sometimes the person has actually fared better than I have... but they still want to know why their results don't match mine. Either way, the answer for the difference(s) is simple... you're trading your account, not me, so of course your results are going to be different than mine!

I know that may sound like a sarcastic thing to say, but there's no other way to put it. There are many reasons why no two traders will have the same results from trade to trade (or even from month to month or year to year) even though they are using the same trading system on the same time frame. Some of these include your broker's price feed, the time your broker closes the candle/day (therefore changing your entry/exit time and price), and a broker's spread and slippage. However the most important difference isn't found because brokers are different, but that each TRADER is different. While FPM is a mechanical system, there can be some discretion involved... especially regarding exits. There are three types of exit methods for the trader to choose from; which one a trader chooses is going to cause results to be different... and not every trader is going to exit at the exact same time even using the same strategy.

For instance, I personally trade FPM as a trend following system. I never use support/resistance as an exit strategy anymore, although I did early on in my development of the system. Now I mainly use the Fast Trend cross as my exit signal, but even then I don't always exit right away on the cross (this doesn't happen on every trade, most times the exit signal is clear and mechanical). However occasionally depending upon the current state of the trend (how established it is) and my analysis of the current price action (by reading candlesticks and monitoring price divergence from the indicators) I may tighten my stop (to avoid larger than necessary losses if I'm incorrect) and stay in the trade for a little bit longer before exiting. I especially do this to try and maximize my wins on an established trend. Sometimes this strategy keeps me in a trend for a longer period of time for more profit... sometimes it causes me to accept a slightly smaller win on a single trade then I would have had by exiting right away at the Fast Trend cross, but overall I find it has a positive effect on my profitability.

This is just one example of why my results may differ from yours. Another question that I'm asked about often that can have an effect on results is whether or not I take re-entry trades as defined in the User Guide. The answer to that once again involves discretion. If I can justify a reason for re-entering a trade I recently exited (again, reading candlesticks and using price divergence) I will enter the trade. If not, I wait for another large Entry Arrow (and for the Slow and Fast Trends to agree) before I enter another trade. I don't take re-entry trades often as many times the white arrows used as part of the signal for a re-entry trade can also signal that a currency pair has entered into a range. One rule I do have regarding re-entry trades is that if the first one I enter ends up in a loss I don't enter a second one (again because the pair could be entering a tight range). My advice to most beginning traders is to avoid re-entry trades until you have enough experience to use some of your own discretion... it's better to miss a move or two than to experience more losses than necessary due to extra whipsaws.

The last important item to cover regarding this topic is this... Forex Profit Monster CAN be traded as a completely mechanical system as explained in the User Guide and still show a profit over time. However, as you become more adept at using FPM and develop or increase your knowledge and experience as a trader you can occasionally add some of your own discretion to an exit strategy to increase your profits in the long run. But it doesn't matter if you're trading the system as a "black and white" mechanical system, or sometimes using a "shade of gray" exit strategy, you must understand that your results are YOUR results. Comparing your results to my results (or anyone else's results) on a pip by pip or even trade by trade basis has no real value. To become a successful trader for the long run you must focus on your own trading plan and become disciplined and consistent so that you may become consistently profitable... that is the real key to long term success in the trading profession!

That's it for February... here are the yearly results for 2010 so far:

January: +823 pips
February: +669 pips

Total for 2010: + 1,492 pips

For more information about Forex Profit Monster (and my day trading system Forex Day Monster), visit www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase either Forex Profit Monster or Forex Day Monster visit my eBay page at:
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Best of luck in your trading!

Jim
www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

FPM Results - December 2009 & Year 2009

Hard to believe it's time to post the FPM December results and the year end results for 2009!

First things first... yes, December was a "winning" month. I'll get to more details on that, but first I'd like to talk about what's been happening since I posted the November results.

Many people have been contacting me over the past couple of weeks asking how FPM is doing after having the "worst monthly results ever" in November. Most of these emails are from people who are genuinely interested in the system performance and how I'm personally doing in my trading because they are considering purchasing FPM, but some of them are from the "detractors" who like to come out of the woodwork every time I have a losing month (which by the way, isn't often). It's amazing to me that there are actually people in this world who get satisfaction out of what they perceive as the downfall of someone who is experiencing success. I guess it's due to their inability to achieve success in the first place and it makes them feel better to think that someone else isn't successful anymore either.

What these "detractors" don't realize is they're missing the point. One month's results doesn't make or break a good trading system. No one wins every month, and if this is what you think is necessary to be a successful trader you'll NEVER be a success. Winning more pips over time than you lose is what makes a successful Forex trader (and system), and a quick look at the equity graph at the top of this post and on the homepage of www.forexprofitmonster.com shows how successful FPM has been over the past two and a half years (actually more than 3 years since I started testing it).

The other point that everyone who refers to November as the "worst month ever" for FPM is missing is that the system has had losses of over 1400 pips in a month before. These types of draw downs are typical in a trend following system... it's just that this time the calendar month ended during one of these draw downs before the trends that supply the winning pips began.

This is evident if you change the time frame that you use in posting the results. By adding a week before and after the month of November into the results, we can reduce the loss by almost 50% to well under 1,000 pips. If we combine the months of September, October and November the results become positive... + 1,175 pips, or +391 pips per month on average. Do you see how the results can be manipulated by changing the time frame used? The only important thing is the end result... is the system profitable over the long haul? Again, look at the historical equity curve posted at the top of this post and the answer is clear.

This lesson also shows how important trading psychology and money management are to a trader. If you're unwilling to continue trading after suffering losses like I did in November, you will miss out on the profits that will negate the losses. And if you're not using proper money management you definitely won't be around to enjoy those profits because the money in your account will be gone by the time the trends start again. That's why it's so important that you read and understand the material supplied with Forex Profit Monster regarding those subjects.

Now on to the December results on the 4 Hour chart across the 8 currency pairs I trade, followed by the year end results for 2009:

December 2009

32 total trades
10 wins: 1,938 pips
22 losses: 1,536 pips
Total: +402 pips

Win rate: 31%

Avg win: 193 pips
Avg loss: 69 pips
Avg Risk/Reward: 2.79 to 1

Results by pair:

EUR/USD - 2 wins, 1 loss +461 pips
GBP/JPY - 2 wins, 4 losses +304 pips
GBP/USD - 2 wins, 2 losses +173 pips
AUD/USD- 1 win, 3 losses + 74 pips
USD/CHF- 1 win, 2 losses + 37 pips
USD/JPY - 0 wins, 2 losses (-197 pips)
USD/CAD - 2 wins, 5 losses (-222 pips)
EUR/JPY - 0 wins, 3 losses (-228 pips)

That's it for December... officially a 402 pip profit for the month, but since January has started I have closed out a couple of winning trades and have opened a few more that have moved well into profit... these trades show a current profit in equity of over 900 pips which is a good sign that January will end up as a profitable month as well.

Now for the final results for the year 2009 by month:

2009

January: 3,795 pips
February: 890 pips
March: 779 pips
April: 151 pips
May: 2,494 pips
June: 253 pips
July: 775 pips
August: (-230 pips)
September: 1,530 pips
October: 1,047 pips
November: (-1,402 pips)
December: 402 pips

10 winning months: 12,116 pips
2 losing months: 1,632 pips
Total profit: 10,484 pips

Win rate: 83%
Avg pips per month: 873 pips

These results translated into a 62% account increase for the year. While it's not the 300% achieved in 2008, it's certainly still an excellent year.

So there are the results... a good December and a good 2009. What will happen in 2010? As those of you who follow this blog know I don't allow any market predictions to influence my trading, but it's only human nature to wonder what will happen and to have an opinion. If I had to make one, I'd say that the U.S. Dollar is in a precarious position. The Fed will not be able to keep interest rates at or near zero through all of 2010... and this alone will cause some longer term trends to break out in the Forex this year as the monetary policy in the U.S. turns from focusing on boosting the economy to controlling inflation. Also, if the U.S. employment doesn't experience some real growth (as opposed to the "fake" growth being propped up and falsely reported by the Obama administration) the U.S. Dollar could be in for even more large moves. Hang onto your hats... it's going to be an interesting year in the U.S. financial markets.

For more information about Forex Profit Monster (and my day trading system Forex Day Monster), visit the website at www.forexprofitmonster.com.

To purchase either (or both) systems, visit my eBay page at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Whatever happens in 2010 I wish you and your family a healthy, happy and profitable New Year!

Jim

www.forexprofitmonster.com
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Forex Profit Monster Results for October

First things first before we get to posting the October results. Last month I added an equity graph to the homepage of http://www.forexprofitmonster.com/ to show my progress with the Forex Profit Monster trading system since I stopped testing it and started trading the system in 2007. The updated graph with the October results is below. I'll be posting it here on the blog each month to give a visual aid to show the total pips gained over time. That total as of the end of October 2009 now stands at 42,877 pips.

While I'm introducing the equity graph I'd like to take a minute to address a question I get every once in awhile. Some people ask me why I post the FPM results in pips instead of dollars. Well, that's easy. Pips is the only way to give an accurate representation of how any Forex trading system performs. You can adjust how much risk you're willing to take (and therefore how much money you'll make) and draw your own conclusions.

Forex scammers will try to appeal to your greed by telling you how much money you'll make when you trade their system. They'll cherry pick a good trade that gained a couple of hundred pips and tell you that you "could've made $2,000!!!". What they don't tell you is that you'd have to trade a standard contract and that this is crazy (not to mention pretty much impossible) for a new retail trader to do. If I wanted to operate this way I'd be posting dollar results based on some unrealistic value for most people. Instead of posting a 1,047 pip gain for October I'd tout "FPM generates over $52,000 in profits for the month of October!!!". Now that would be true if you were trading 5 standard contracts and had an account large enough to withstand the small losses until the profits were made. However most people who are attempting to become retail traders are starting with very small accounts and will be trading mini, micro or nano lots... and trying to prey on their hopes of making a lot of money by trading is disgusting and I won't be a party to it.

You also have to learn that different currency pairs have different volatility and you can't trade the same lot size on every pair. This is a key principle in proper money management and until you implement it you will never be consistently profitable if trading pairs with different volatilities. For instance, a single loss on a volatile pair like GBP/JPY can wipe out more than one win on a pair like EUR/USD if you're trading the same lot size on both pairs. This is why learning to manage the money in your account properly is so important and why I wrote an eBook that I include in the Forex Profit Monster (and Forex Day Monster) system to help people learn proper money management.

OK... let's get to the results. Trading is over for October and it was another great month for Forex Profit Monster! I was able to generate 1,047 pips of profit across the 8 currency pairs that I trade on the 4 Hour charts. Here are the details:

26 trades taken

12 wins - 2,717 pips

14 losses - 1,670 pips

Total pips won: 1,047

46% win rate

Avg win - 226 pips
Avg loss - 119 pips

Avg risk/reward ratio - 1.9 to 1

Here are how the 8 pairs performed individually (from best to worst):

EUR/JPY - 1 win, 1 loss: +431 pips
USD/CAD - 2 wins, 1 loss: +416 pips

AUD/USD - 2 wins, 1 loss: +363 pips

USD/CHF - 3 wins, 1 loss: + 52 pips

EUR/USD - 2 wins, 0 losses: + 48 pips

GBP/USD - 1 win, 4 losses: 0 pips

GBP/JPY - 1 win, 3 losses: (-50 pips)

USD/JPY - 0 wins, 3 losses: (-213 pips)

This was a great month, but it was almost better! I was up over 1,600 pips at one point before the Pound decided to become so volatile over the past week of the month. I ended up losing my profits that I was sure I would book on the GBP/JPY and GBP/USD for October in the last few days of the month. That's why you can't count on any money until you exit the trade!

This is an important detail to cover. I've mentioned it before but it's extremely important to reiterate. You have to make trading psychology a high priority if you're going to be a successful trader. You can't get upset when you lose. Sure, it would have been great to close out October with an extra 500 or 600 pips, but if I didn't have the grasp of my emotions like I do I never would have been in the position to make even the 1,047 pips this month! That's why I include this information with Forex Profit Monster (and Forex Day Monster), so new traders and unsuccessful traders can get a handle on how important it is to their success. While I'm only human and wasn't happy about losing those pips, I'm also in control enough to not let it affect my trading.

That's it for October. Let's take a look at how FPM has performed so far this year:

January - 3,795 pips
February - 890 pips
March - 779 pips
April - 151 pips
May - 2,494 pips
June - 253 pips
July - 775 pips
August - (-230 pips)
September - 1,530 pips
October - 1,047 pips

That's a total of 11,484 pips so far for 2009, an average of 1,148 pips per month.

For more information about Forex Profit Monster (or my day trading system Forex Day Monster), visit my website at http://www.forexprofitmonster.com/. To purchase either system visit my page at eBay at http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/.

Thanks, and best of luck in your trading!

Jim
http://www.forexprofitmonster.com/
http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less/

Forex Profit Monster Trading Results for February 2009

Sorry it's taken so long for me to publish these results, but there never seems to be enough time to sit down and post. I usually take the opportunity on NFP day to update the blog, but needed some down time last Friday so I'm forcing myself to take a little time towards the end of the trading day today to do it. I know it's important for those of you stopping by to get more information before purchasing FPM, so you'll find the results for February below.

Before we get to that though, I do want to take a few minutes to remind anyone who is considering purchasing that this system is NOT the holy grail. Every once in a while I have to bring this subject up again as new crops of unsuccessful and novice traders discover FPM. There's a lot of great feedback and testimonials about this system because when used properly it does work, but one of the problems with the great testimonials is that it gives people new to Forex trading the idea that it doesn't lose. I got an email just today from someone who purchased FPM over the weekend and was a little upset that his first trade was a loser and that he was "lucky" it was a demo trade and not a real trade. After looking at the trade he referenced the first thing I noticed was that it was still an active trade. No exit signal had been generated yet... although the trade was about 160 pips in the negative on a 4 Hour chart. First thing to grasp here if you're new to trading... if you're not willing to take a 160 pip loss on a 4 Hour chart then you're not ready to trade with real money. 160 pips is not a large loss on this time frame, no matter which pair you're trading. Oh, and I should mention this too... according to the system rules the trade hadn't generated an exit signal yet, so that means this trader bailed out of fear. Even if the trader ends up losing less on this trade by exiting early (if it does end up being a loser) he can still consider this trade a BIG loser because he didn't stick to the plan and follow the rules. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. This is still an active trade according to the system rules and there is a chance that it could be a winner (or at least a smaller loser).

Here's an example of why you don't want to do this from Febuary's results. The EUR/JPY pair had 3 losing trades and only 1 winning trade on the 4 Hour chart in February. Thats a 25% win rate. Pretty bad, right? How can you make money that way? Easy... as mentioned before this is a trend following system. Most of your winning trades will be much bigger than your losing trades... usually enough to cover your losses and still show a profit; and that's what happened in this example. The 3 losing trades came first, all in a row (this is important). The winning trade came last. The losing trades lost 18 pips, 186 pips, and 136 pips. The winning trade won 629 pips. If you had bailed out of trading this pair because of fear after the first loss (or first two losses, or first three losses...) do you see how you lose? By following the plan and accepting your losses you would have gained 289 pips on these trades instead of losing 18, 204, or 337 pips depending on where you bailed out of fear.

As a new trader you MUST understand the effects of trading psychology before you can be successful. If you insist on making discretionary decisions based on your fear of losing you will NEVER win. That's why I include information in my trading systems about this. It's also why I continue to post my monthly FPM results on this blog. You can see that there are losing trades and you can see that most months there are some currency pairs that lose... but by trading several pairs and following the system rules I've been able to generate a profit almost every single month with FPM since the spring of 2007. It's not a fluke... if you take the time to be realistic and learn to trade properly you can take profit from the Forex! Please do yourself a favor and (if you haven't done so already) and stop chasing the "holy grail" of Forex... take the time to learn to trade FPM properly (with the trading psychology and proper money management as taught) and you can be a success in the long run!

Now on to February's results for FPM... here's how the 8 pairs I traded fared:

41 trades taken total on the 4 Hour charts

16 winners for 3,523 pips
25 losers for 2,633 pips

Total pips won - +890

39% win rate

Avg win - 220
Avg loss - 105

Avg risk/reward ratio 2.1 to 1


Here's how the individual pairs fared in order of best to worst:

GBP/JPY - 2 wins, 1 loss - +885
USD/JPY - 3 wins, 2 losses - +423
GBP/USD - 2 wins, 2 losses - +366
EUR/JPY - 1 win, 3 losses - +289
AUD/USD - 1 win, 4 losses - (-186)
EUR/USD - 2 wins, 3 losses - (-163)
USD/CHF - 3 wins, 4 losses - (-237)
USD/CAD - 2 wins, 6 losses - (-487)

Total pips won - +890


So there you go... another profitable month for Forex Profit Monster.

For more information about FPM visit my website... http://www.forexprofitmonster.com/

To go directly to my eBay page for purchase, click here:

http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less

Best of luck in your trading!

Jim
http://www.forexprofitmonster.com/

http://myworld.ebay.com/jimsgr8stuff4less