The
results are in! This month's King of the
Mini winner comes from France, with a whopping
498% gain booked in his account! Download
his trading statement to see how he did
it, and read a breakdown of his best winning
trades below! The
King of the Mini Contest awards cash prizes
to the top five traders with the highest
percentage monthly gains, who also get
bragging rights for their respective countries!
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Over
$4000 in cash prizes
awarded monthly.Learn
more about prizes/contest
rules. Do you want to
be King of the Mini? Open
an Account.
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Although we did not see
quite the freefall that we've seen in months
prior, the euro weakened against the dollar
for the fourth consecutive month this June.
After opening the month at 1.2301, EUR/USD
closed on June 30 th at 1.2104, making 14-month
lows in the process! So far this year, the
euro has weakened relative to the dollar
five out of the first six months. The factors
driving price action are relatively unchanged
from May, as the increasing interest rate
differential between Europe and the US continue
to support the dollar-- and the market is
expecting yet another rate hike in August.
It looked as though
the euro had found its bottom when the
record 195.1 billion current account deficit
was reported on June 17 for Q1 2005. However,
the euro immediately retreated as European
leaders could were unable to reach a compromise
at the EU Summit. After the meeting, Jean-Claude
Juncker, Luxembourg's prime minister and
the outgoing European Union president
said, "When I heard one after the
other, all the new member states - each
poorer than the other - say that in the
interest of an agreement they would be
ready to renounce part of the money they
are due, I was ashamed." These are
not the things that reversals are made
of, and it is quite obvious why the euro
has experienced yet another wave of selling.
Discipline,
along with good money management, is a hallmark
characteristic of a good trader. The discipline
exhibited by this month's King of the Mini
helped him turn $1,181.70 into $7,067.75,
for a 498.1% gain! Reckless traders can
get lucky with a few large profitable trades,
but without discipline and good money management
one bad trade can easily wipe out an account!
The June winner started out trading a modest
five mini lots per position. By month's
end, he was trading forty-lot positions!
A look at his statement reveals that the
trader made larger trades after winning
trades as he built confidence and increased
his equity. He also took on smaller positions
following losing trades—thus ensuring
that the he avoided a string of losses,
which can damage both equity and a trader's
confidence. Many
successful traders practice this money
management technique. You do not have
to trade every day, especially if you
have a lack of confidence in your trades!
There is nothing wrong with stopping for
a few days to clear your mind and rethink
your strategies. Most likely, after this
break, you will be able to assess what
you did wrong and return to trading with
renewed confidence and more solid strategies.
Largest Single Gain
Short GBP/USD 300K at 1.8200, Closed at
1.115
Total P/L = $693.78
Bollinger Bands
Bollinger Bands are widely-used
range-bound indicator – meaning
they work best when the market is not
strongly trending, but rather ranging
between a high barrier (resistance) and
a lower barrier (support). The indicator
takes a moving average and plots lines
two standard deviations above and two
standard deviations below it. Bollinger
Bands operate under the logic that a currency
pair's price is most likely to gravitate
towards its average, and hence when it
strays too far – such as two standard
deviations away – it is due to retrace
back to its moving average.
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