We typically will release the winners for the previous month around the 15th.

since it is being counted by the minute and not by the second it is pretty easy to have two orders launch within the same minute. either he could have had 2 market orders queued up or he hit the button on his slow connection. I have had similar experience with my internet provider going down and having put in the order and having it hang and then trying to cancel and redo the order only to have them both execute after my connection came back up.

Who trades like that? Top Gun traders stick to their risk control protocols and don’t often make mistakes like these.

Is it a mistake? Well, let’s see:

He's the “Top Trader” and has 10 lots per entry. That's 20 lots total. He's paying the spread twice and running the risk of having a failed entry do to the exact same technical difficulties that you describe. He's increasing his risk factor(s) by other means, which is not something I would expect from the "Top Trader". I expect top traders to already have protocols in place that mitigate these kinds of inefficiencies.

I've been in this game for years and I know that risk management is the single most important thing next to directional control. If a trader blows the direction on a trade while doing 'little things" like this to increase the risk factor, that trader will have a very difficult time being the "top trader" at all. But, this is just an observation at this point as far as I am concerned. Top Traders tend to be masters of risk control. They do everything they can to reduce risk factors along the way, before entering the market. They don't do silly things like this on a consistent basis and remain the best of the best.

If he wanted a 20 lot 50% Reduction on Limit type result, then the platform already provides for this - most platforms do - and he could have lowered his risk of not getting into the position with the right amount of lots, by simply entering one (not two) positions - given that they were identical in structure. Again, most solid traders I know have already considered these things long before entry into any position. Simply setting up a 20 Lot X% Reduction on Limit, would have reduced the risk for failed entry due to technical difficulties – an easy trade set-up.

However, your point is valid. In theory, he could have done as you suggested after closer inspection of the trade. But, it still begs the question: why? He's the Top Gun, remember. He's supposed to know better. My eye tends to catch things like this.

Anyway, happy hunting in the contest, all.

7th,

How's it going?

One possible scenario is that this trader is executing trades through an API. He may have two systems running or may have executed one manually and one automatically...?? Why, I don't know, but it's the only scenario I can think of.

I've been experimenting with an auto-trade set up and have experienced similar hiccups with double trades being executed, but these are in demo, I would hope to have all of the bugs like these worked before going live.

Brabed

Since some of the accounts are being changed to micro do you have to request to stay in a mini account to still be eligible?

Good question. The King of the Mini Contest will actually become the King of the Micro contest in September. We will be posting the results & running discussion boards on both the FXCM Micro Forum and the DailyFX forum.

The month of August will be the first month to participate in the King of the Micro contest (minimum $500 to enter) and it will be the last month to participate in the King of the Mini Contest. So essentially we will be running two contests so that everyone can participate.

We will be sending out details & promotional material later this week explaining the transition in more detail but feel free to post your questions here as well.

Karen

Thank you, One more quick question. I think I remember reading they were going to change mid month so if you let it get changed to a macro are you still part of king of the mini for this month or do you need to make it stay a mini?

When you change actually differs for everyone. But basically, if you have a micro account on August 3rd you will be registered for the King of the Micro contest. If you have a mini account on August 3rd you will be registered for the King of the Mini Account.

The prize money will be the same for both.

Its the middle of the month again, do we know the winners for june yet?

Hi ceomoneygreen,

I am sure that you are not the only one waiting for the results. I am also looking forward to seeing how our traders did in the mostly range bound market last month.

We actually do have the results, but are simply waiting on approval from two of the traders before we can post their reports. We are hoping to get those results posted later tonight.

If you are interested in seeing the results as soon as they are posted, I would recommend subscribing to the June King of the Mini thread. The thread is closed for posting, so you will only receive an email when the Moderator posts the results. Click Here to subscribe to the June 2008 Results thread.

I like to know if the DATE and Time indicated in the reports of contest are local date and time or New York date and time. As there are traders from different countries, what date and time are used for these traders in their contest reports ? I tried to find out the date and time and price correspondance in chart. It is not easy.

This is a good question. All of the King of the Mini winners in June were trading on accounts that were on GMT time.

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http://www.forexmicrolot.com/trading-contest.jsp

June was quite a month for the King of the Mini winners both in terms of results and trading styles.

The majority (4 out of 5) of the KOM winners for June, traded USD pairs to the exclusion of all others. The very strong returns that were generated came as a result of the strong movement of the USD during that time.

Given the significance the USD has played overall lately and how our KOM traders were able to capitalize on it, it would be a good time to mention something that might be new to many traders: the US Dollar Index.

We are all familiar with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and how it provides a general indication of the value of the US stock market. In much the same vein, the US Dollar Index (USDX®) provides a general indication of the international value of the US Dollar. The USDX does this by averaging the exchange rates between the US Dollar and six major world currencies. At this time, the index is calculated by factoring in the exchange rates of the following currencies: the Euro, Japanese Yen, Canadian Dollar, British Pound, Swedish Krona and the Swiss Franc. In addition, you will find that many currencies not included in the USDX move in close correlation with those that are included.

The USDX measures the dollar's general value relative to a base of 100.00. A quote of 110.5, for example, means the dollar’s value has risen 10.5% since the base period of 1973.

March 1973 was chosen as a base period because it represents a significant milestone in foreign exchange history when the world's major trading nations allowed their currencies to float freely against each other. For the currency trading historians in the group, this agreement was reached at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and was celebrated as a victory for free market theorists.

The current level of the USDX reflects the average value of the dollar relative to this 1973 base period. Since that time, the Dollar Index has traded as high as the mid-160's and as low as the high-70's.

The USD Index is available on most charting packages and can be obtained through an internet search as well. The chart below, which has the June 2008 time frame outlined, is courtesy of the FX Trek Intellicharts charting package.

Concerning the KOM winners who traded USD related pairs, it is an interesting and instructive exercise to look at how and when they made their trades relative to what the USDX was doing. I encourage you to do that as it will provide additional meaning to their trading and afford a greater understanding of the market as a whole.


Richard Krivo
FX Power Trading Course Instructor

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http://www.forexmicrolot.com/trading-contest.jsp

I assume that the reports of the King of Mini winners in MAY is also on GMT time ?

Do we know how many people participated in June's mini contest?