Common Pitfalls in A Forex Trading Strategy

Avoiding Common Pitfalls in A Forex Trading Strategy

by Tyler Green

Forex Trading Strategy: Getting The Most Out of It

The foreign exchange currency market is a complex international marketplace where currencies are traded just like stocks and bonds. Every currencies' economies are diverse, making the Forex market, or just Forex, highly complicated. To study Forex, an adaptable trading system and platform is a must. Analyzing and researching on the various world economies can be tedious and time consuming. It is easier to applying proven warnings and guidelines called market indicators on Forex trading systems. This way, it's easier to find movements and trends on the many currencies. For people who wish to study Forex trading, here are some principles that could help:

- You can maintain profits and control losses with the correct stop-loss orders. - Let a high-earning pair run. If not, it is advisable to cut your losses and don't think that it will improve and turn profitable. - Market trends have their rise and fall. Market trends are usually changing across various pairs. At times it takes a bit of looking at the market differentlyin a different way. - Standing aside is a choice you can take. You don't always have to trade or have a pair. - Don't pick tops and bottoms; instead, trade with the trends. Apply tested market indicators as a fraction of your Forex trading strategy to search for trends and trade on those. forex trading

Using a Forex trading system based on market trends and indicators are so much easier than trying to stay on top of all the economies included. Forex is a complex market, and these are only some strategies to help you trade. forex trading

Forex Trading Info - Getting the Right Info For Forex Success

Forex Trading Info - Getting the Right Info For Forex Success

by Kelly Price

The fact is anyone can learn forex trading and get the right forex trading info to success but you need to get the right in of succeed. It's a fact that 95% of traders fail because they simply fall prey to common myths, or don't get the right forex education. forex trading

The first point to make is there are no secrets to successful trading it's simply based upon a logical, robust method which you understand can have confidence in and apply with discipline. forex trading

Forex trading success is very much a personal affair and only you can give yourself success. Many traders make the mistake of trying to follow other traders. forex trading

The problem is they don't understand the logic or method and therefore don't have confidence in it and as soon as a few losses come, discipline goes out of the window and they lose. forex trading

If you want to start trading then the simplest and most time efficient way to do it is to use forex charts and technical analysis to time your trading signals. forex trading

All the information you need is available on the net and you can get it for free.

A Great Methodology That Works

The hard bit is combining the indicators to generate the signal. The easiest way to do this is to use a breakout methodology. This methodology is simple to understand, timeless and works and you only need to understand the concept of support and resistance. You then need some momentum indicators to help you gauge the strength of the breakout and use them for timing. forex trading

The above is a simple robust method which can and will, make you big gains and we have discussed all the above in our other articles.

Should You Pay for Advice?

There is a lot of forex trading info for sale, most is junk and normally tries to sell you a mechanical trading system, with a simulated track record of gains - avoid them. Also avoid any vendor who sells material that stresses the following:

- Day trading is a good way to make money - You can predict forex prices with scientific accuracy - They have secrets they will reveal - You can make regular profits

All the above are myths and are simply designed to appeal to naivety and greed.

If you want to pay for forex trading info look for - sensible advice, the logic of the forex trading system is revealed and you have some sort of money back guarantee.

Information From the Best

If you want some great advice from traders who have walked the walk then go to your online bookstore and you can get some wisdom from some of the greatest traders of all time. Two great books to start with are "Way of the Turtle" by Curtis Faith and Market Wizards by Jack Shwager. These will give you an insight into what makes a great trader. forex trading

The Combination for Currency Trading Success

Forex trading is a combination of the right knowledge, confidence in it and the discipline to apply it. This is why you can't simply follow someone else blindly - you need to have confidence in what you are doing to have the all important trait of discipline. forex trading

If you do your homework and get the right forex trading info, avoid the myths and understand success comes from within, you could soon be trading and enjoying currency trading success. forex trading

Forex Trading - 3 Simple Tips for Triple Digit Profits

Forex Trading - 3 Simple Tips for Triple Digit Profits

by Kelly Price

If you incorporate these two tips in your forex trading strategy then you can increase your forex profits dramatically and really supercharge your gains so here they are. The first one is.

1. Reduce Your Trading Frequency

Many traders think the more they trade the more their profit potential will be and they don't like not being in the market in case they miss a big move. They end up trading to much and taking low odds trades and lose. forex trading

You don't get rewarded for how often you trade - you get rewarded for being right with your trading signal and that's it. forex trading

I know trades who trade only a few times a year and make triple digit profits.

Their not interested in the buzz of trading, just taking trades they know will be big trends they can hold and make money with. forex trading

2. Do Not Diversify!

You will here a lot about not putting your eggs all in one basket as a way to reduce risk but there is a problem - it dilutes profit potential and most traders who start trading in forex simply don't have big enough accounts to diversify. forex trading

When you see a high odds trade on your forex trading system then you need to focus on it and not be tempted take other marginal trades for the sake of it, this leads onto the next point. forex trading

3. Load the Trade Up

Another common wisdom is only risk 2% per trade - but for most forex traders this is too little and simply ensures they get stopped out by normal volatility. forex trading

Let's say you are trading a small account of $3,000, risking 2%, that's just $60!

You won't make much risking that. forex trading

Risk and reward go hand in hand, so the more you risk the more you can make.

This doesn't mean that you have to be rash but you need to take calculated risks at the right time and if you believe in a trade load it up. forex trading

If you have a small account then you should be risking between 10 - 20% on these trades. The high odds trades don't come around often, so you need to milk them for all there worth.

Finally....

If you don't like risk or try and restrict it to much, you will simply consign yourself to failure. You also need to have the courage to hit trades hard at the right time and be patient to wait for the high odds set ups to emerge. forex trading

If you are a trader who wants to make more money from their trading then the above 3 tips will help you do so and enjoy currency trading success. forex trading

Success In Forex Trading Markets

Success In Forex Trading Markets

by Eric Long

The more you know about them, the more data you have to analyze to spot the trends, which will increase your chances of success. forex trading
The foreign currency market is one of the most exciting attractive and lucrative markets in the world, but it is also extremely fast moving and volatile. While you can make tremendous profits, you can also make substantial losses if you do not have a very clearly defined game plan. At the heart of Forex trading is a wealth of information which has to be not only constantly updated but which also has to be accurate. forex trading

The principle behind technical analysis is simply that, while political, economic and social factors do drive the forex market, it is not necessary to study them in depth because history repeats itself and these factors in whatever combination you choose have occurred time and again in the past so their affect can be seen by simply studying the historical pattern of currency movements. Fundamental analysis thus looks at political events and economic data such as inflation, interest rates and trade figures, as well as social data such as employment rates.

Too often you will see sites that are promoting ways in which you can get rich through Forex trading as long as you purchase their book for $100. The prices vary but one thing is certain the beginner must study the market before investing any significant money. Technical analysis holds that prices follow trends and that markets possess clearly identifiable patterns which can be recognized if you know what you are looking for. forex trading

Perhaps one area of general agreement however is that analysis of a country's balance of payments is crucial to the success of fundamental analysis. The balance of payments is important because it reflects the flow of currency in and out of a country and a situation in which money is flowing into a country faster than it is flowing out, or vice versa, will clearly affect currency prices. For this reason the very first thing that any novice forex trader needs to do is to sit down, study the foreign exchange markets carefully and learn the ins and outs of trading before putting any money at risk. forex trading

Both knowledge and experience play an important role in technical analysis but here it is a case of knowledge and experience of not just the patterns in the market but of working with the barrage of tools which are know available to the technical analyst. In other words an analysis of, for example, the effect that rising or falling interest rates have had on currency prices in the past is used to predict the effect that a rise or fall in rates today will have. forex trading

Today's forex traders have the option to abandon fundamental analysis in favour of technical analysis. Perhaps one area of general agreement however is that analysis of a country's balance of payments is crucial to the success of fundamental analysis. Historical data is then used as the basis for predicting movements in the light of current figures. Analyzing just how forex prices will be affected is of course something which is hotly debated by fundamental analysts. forex trading

Accordingly, the main tool of the technical analyst is the chart, or more accurately a series of charts, which provides a graphical representation of the market over time. Your broker will make his profit from the 'spread' on each trade, which is the difference between the buying and selling price of a currency pair and is a subject all of its own. Both technical and fundamental analyses are of course not in themselves trading strategies but are the foundation on which you will need to build your trading strategy. forex trading

Unfortunately a lot of people starting out in Forex trading have often heard that you can make good money through day trading. Look at the various tools and systems that are available and soon you will discover that you are able to trade on the markets much more easily after just a couple of weeks. So if you do not want to end up in the same situation as many before you, here are some tips in relation to Forex currency trading online that can help you gain more and lose less. forex trading

The more you know about them, the more data you have to analyze and spot trends, which will increase your chances of success. Although this is easier said than done, you can't get greedy or nervous and ignore what it tells you. Simple Forex trading systems work much better than the more complicated types. As like many before you, when you first start trading on the Forex market you will soon realize that a lot of the traders lose money rather than gain. If you include these few tips to any plan you are devising for your Forex currency online trading then you should soon be on your way to making some decent money. forex trading

Forex Beginner Systems: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trading Profit

Forex Beginner Systems: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trading Profit

by Joseph Ward

This forex beginner systems article is a comprehensive guide to the steps needed in devising a forex trading system as a beginner. Knowing which way to jump with all the information floating around can be a daunting proposition; so having a step-by-step guide by a successful experienced (and humble: lol) trader is obviously a great start. There aren't any in depth explanations here as the purpose is to highlight the areas which require further investigation, and in what order of importance. I have articles specific to each category on my website which I will link to at the bottom of the page. Anyhow, follow through with each of these steps and you will be well on the way to forex trading profit. forex trading
The main steps are:
1.) Get background information on what forex trading entails. forex trading
2.) Learn how to manage risk and size positions correctly.
3.) Find a strategy you are comfortable with.
4.) Test your strategy.
5.) Interpret the numbers.
6.) Find a broker.
7.) Rake in the cash!

Basics:
First of all, with forex beginner systems, it is important to know just what you are getting into. Forex trading is just like any other business. You wouldn't go off and try to build houses without reading a book or getting some lessons now would you? Constructing systems is much the same. Without any knowledge of the market you are essentially building a "house of cards". You don't need a Phd in macro-economics, but a solid knowledge base will only aid in your trading decisions and help ease your mind throughout the entire process. forex trading


Risk Management:
The next thing to learn is how to manage risk and size positions. These factors should be the cornerstones of any system. In essence: you need to know how much to risk losing on each trade. People often make the mistake of ignoring this factor; that's why over 90% of traders fail. Think of it in terms of being a gambler or being a casino; we know who always wins right? Do your due diligence on risk management and position sizing and you will be well on the way to becoming one of the 10% of successful traders. forex trading

Strategies:
Once you understand the numbers a little better you can look at specific strategies to trade. Forex beginner systems should be quite simple. As with many other things; simple can also be very effective. I have found that trend trading and swing trading in particular can be very simple and also very effective. The main thing though, is that you feel comfortable trading a strategy. Psychology plays a large part in forex trading too, so having a simple yet effective strategy is often the best. It's a case of K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid!). forex trading


Testing:
The next aspect of creating forex beginner systems is testing. Testing your system is all important in knowing if you will turn a profit or not. Don't "go off half cocked"; you may wind up with a "blown up" trading account. It's a step closer to being a "casino" and another step away from being a "gambler". To add further perspective; just imagine if boeing didn't test their planes before they used them..... Would you be getting on one? I didn't think so! It's much the same with trading; test your hypotheses and make sure they work. forex trading


Analysis:
Analyzing the results of these tests is the next thing to do. Anyone can see if a system will be relatively profitable from the results of testing. The hard part comes with understanding how to interpret the results and how they will effect your trading in real time. Analyzing the results and making necessary changes to your forex beginner systems will also likely make you substantially more profitable. There is no end to what can be done with statistics. Again let's look at our jet-plane analogy. From flying the plane we know it doesn't crash. But how much fuel per mile did it use? How much will we need to fly from our place to a nice island in the Maldives? How can we get their faster or without using as much fuel. You get it? Knowing how to get there is one thing; but getting there the cheapest and fastest way possible is harder. forex trading


Brokers:
Now it's time to find a broker to trade your forex beginner systems with. Brokers offer free trial accounts with play money to check out their wares. By all means take advantage of these offers. Also, you should be aware of some of the different types of brokers and the features they offer. This is important as well. Think of it as choosing to fly "Econo-miser" or "Champagne" airways. forex trading


Conclusion:
Now you should be all geared up with some shiny new forex beginner systems if you have investigated all these things thoroughly. If you're still not sure, there is loads more information on my site and others. There are loads of people researching new ways to make money in the currency markets, so please, check the web regularly and see what else they have found. Some offer their information free (like me) and others charge for their info. Do not be too tight with the purse strings though; as one profitable trade can often see an item paid for many times over. Now off you go and rake in some of that cash! forex trading

How to Use a Forex Trading Signal

How to Use a Forex Trading Signal

by Ryan Lee

Forex trading signals are triggered when technical conditions signal a good trading opportunity. Email and SMS (text message) are popular delivery methods for forex trading signal alerts, but Web-based option can often be best if you're at your PC when the signal emerges. forex trading
For example, some forex trading signal services have automatic pop-up software to indicate the perfect entry (or exit) point of a trade. These will often include candlestick currency charts that may flash or blink so long as the entry (or exit) point remains valid. If you trust the service provider and you don't have any conflicting information telling you the trade is bad, right then is the perfect time to execute the trade. forex trading

But other forex trading services specialize in catering to traders who have medium- or long-term strategies, rather than short-term. A medium- or long-term trade may have a forex trading signal that remains valid for an entire day (or longer), so for traders specializing in longer-duration trades, these forex trading signals services can be delivered via email or SMS at no detriment. forex trading

Another way to use signals is to pair them with a service that automatically executes your trades. This can be a risky prospect for traders who prefer to use forex trading signals as mere recommendations and like to do their own homework before making their trades, and such services are better for short-term traders who don't have time to do their own analysis before pulling the trigger on a trade, anyway. The good news is that, thanks to modern technology, forex traders have the option to choose which style of trading -- and which style of corresponding forex trading signals -- works best for them. forex trading

Some forex trading signal services allow you to sign up for a free trial; usually consisting of ten or fourteen days. Take advantage of these free trials to make sure your style of trading is compatible with their forex trading signals. If you are new to the forex market, then you can sign up for a free trial and use the signals with a free "practice" account in which you trade "demo money". This way you can learn how to use signals without undue risk. forex trading

But ultimately, if you want to make money in the forex market, you're going to have to risk money in a real account, and unless you are incredibly good (or lucky), you're probably also going to have to spend money on a good forex trading signal service. The forex market is not for passive investors -- it is for active traders who wish to rely solely on their wits... And a little help from forex trading signals, of course! forex trading

Forex Trading Not Only For Banks and Investment Houses

Forex Trading Not Only For Banks and Investment Houses

by Ove Nordkvist

Forex trading online is a booming business and a lot of people make a good living from it. Forex trading is a very interesting business idea, simply because it allows people from all over the world the chance to trade and strike it rich in a market that has enormous liquidity. Forex trading is a serious business and it is vitally important that you gain proper education, before committing your hard earned money to the markets. forex trading
Online forex trading are spreading like wildfire as people are looking to generate income. Online currency trading allows you to make transactions any time of the day, at your own convenience. The reason why this market has grown much more than other financial markets, is because of the rise in the number of traders working online rather than using the more old fashioned method of trading by the phone. forex trading

Systems for Forex trading are methods that makes it possible to verify entry and exit points, based on parameters, which have been validated by historical examination, on quantifiable data. Whether you are a smalltrader with as little as $200 to start with or a bigger investor wanting to trade multiple contracts, you'll need to have a reliable trading system. forex trading

To be able to trade with profit, you must be able to define and choose low risk entry points. A lack of self discipline in following a well thought out trading strategy will lead to losses. Now, with the proper education and big amount of self discipline, this is a striking and profitable Internet investing opportunity. You can trade from your PC or connected laptop from any place in any country in the world. forex trading

There is a wide variety of online training available. Therefore You'll be able to get educated from the comfort of your own home. Now, if you're interested in forex trading, you must start off by getting some good forex training. Make sure that your education includes currency simulation training, to help you understand the process and to minimize mistakes when you switch to the real deal. forex trading

Forex trading is an extremely lucrative, yet volatile and therefor risky market. It is very appealing to the online trading newcomer as it is a controlled environment, and quite simple to understand. Currency trading is no longer the private playground of the banks and investment houses. Forex trading is one of todays hottest business opportunities. forex trading

Forex Trading - Fascinating and Challenging, But Not Effortless

Forex Trading - Fascinating and Challenging, But Not Effortless

by Matthias Lutz

Forex is one of the names that presenting the trading of the world's currencies. Other manes are Forex Exchange or FX. The trading volume in Forex market is the biggest in the world, 1.5 trillion USD a day. Forex trading is performed when two counterparts are ready and willing to make a currency trade. Trading can be done all over the world by using networks.
A major advantage of Forex trading over other markets is the ability to trade 24 hours a day. The main centers are in Frankfurt, New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney. The market is constantly moving and creating trading opportunities all the time. forex trading

Check the review of the decent 5ema Forex Trading System course. forex trading

The currencies movements can be naturally caused due to supply and demand, but more likely by geopolitics news/changes, world financial reports, nature disasters, other global events and more. A single event can cause a dramatic currency change. forex trading

Since Forex trading is a very dynamic market it is important to have money and risk management system that helps to control the outcomes. Using this system you should be able to predict ranges for gains and losses, know what the variables that affect your investments are, protect unwelcome outcomes and manage the a risk profile strategy.

Check the review of the new decent Profitable Trend Forex System course. forex trading

There are important terms to learn in Forex trading. Besides the following two basic terms you should know what is Appreciation, Base currency, Bear, Bull, Cross, Long, Liquid, Margin, Position and more. Spread - The difference between the bid rate to the ask rate. Pips - A pip is the smallest increment in any currency pair. forex trading

Forex trading earning potential is great and you can take an action and start earning money, but you must know exactly what do and how to do it correctly. There are so many Forex guides and courses, but only few are comprehensive, successful with unlimited support and updates. forex trading

Mobile Trading For Profit in Forex

Mobile Trading For Profit in Forex

by Paul Bryan

Forex Mobile Trading is a unique service that has been developed to allow the investors and traders worldwide to trade and manage their accounts from anywhere in the world using their mobile handsets or PDAs. Forex mobile trading software works with the same efficiency as any other automated forex trading stations. forex trading
Forex mobile trading software enables investors to:

· trade Forex with the same ease as would have done with desktop or laptop computers. · view real time prices, access live charts with technical indicators. · view a real time account summary and historical account information. · have a sound alert notifying them the changes in the market. · receive technical analysis and updates from the market. forex trading

The forex mobile trading software includes all necessary components for brokerage services via internet including the operations of the back office and dealing desk. Once the forex mobile trading software is installed on your PDA or communicator, you can get quotes and news in the real-time mode and can perform all usual trade operations. The trader will also be able to control and manage open positions and pending orders. forex trading

In order to make trading decisions, you need prompt and reliable information. The forex mobile trading software is the ideal solution as now one can analyze and trade in forex using live real time quotes from anywhere in the world and when 'on the go'. forex trading

Forex mobile trading software needs specific computer operating system and the latest technology based mobile sets. To install the forex mobile trading software, you will have to download it in your PDA or any other bluetooth enabled mobile set. Once installed, the mobile set works exactly as your desktop or laptop personal computer. Many companies now offer the software with the facility of free testing period. After that you simply register and start working if you find the software to be satisfactory. forex trading

The next step will be to open an account using the forex mobile trading software. For example, you can open a demo accounts or a real account. Demo accounts will enable you to work under training conditions, without real money. But you will be allowed to work and test trading strategy. forex trading

With a real account, your forex mobile trading software establishes a connection between the server of the agency and your mobile set. You can manage the trade account and can accesses the market information. forex trading

These forex mobile trading software are safe and secured. As the systems work with password protection and necessary firewall techniques, your personal data is protected and safe. The forex mobile trading software ensures security of trading as well. Advanced security systems based on digital signature algorithm of RSA are even smarter. It provides nearly full proof security system based on electronic digital signatures. forex trading

With advanced features of your mobile set, you can even customize the forex mobile trading software and the appearance as well. For efficient and faster operations, you can decide on a suitable number of popup at any point of time. To use the mobile as a phone you can simply disable the forex mobile trading software and again enable it once the call is over. So the forex mobile trading software is the perfect mobile solutions for your forex trading in this fast paced mobile life. forex trading

Forex E-Book Of Trading Strategies

Forex E-Book Of Trading Strategies

by Rick Williamson

With Forex trading, you can be in charge of your finances. It has the reputation for being the largest market in the world, and the cost at the beginning is also low. This industry is tuned to several billions of dollars, and there is the opportunity to earn a lot of money by a few hours. All one needs to do this, is the determination and an Internet connection.
When it comes to Forex trades, one must keep growing with learning about methods to make more money. There are excellent Forex e-books that deal with trading strategies, and which are highly informative for the growth of an individual in this industry. There are several Forex trading strategies that are available in the e-book, which will take individuals to greater heights. forex trading

The e-book states several methods that can be followed, and not one of them has false claims. Each one has been proved, and the methods will allow you to maintain a consistent trading record. This e-book can be vouched for, because a professional team has taken effort into researching the best ways to optimize the trading strategies. forex trading

If you are the one who has lost money in this business, and needs professional help with what you want, there is no better place to look for plans, other than this Forex e-book. In any business, one needs determination and focus to succeed, and so it is with this one. The loss must not stop you from trying these strategies to get where you want to get. forex trading

With the help of this e-book, you will be able to understand when and how to enter the market, and also when you need to find exits. This has to be done at the time, when you think you are about to lose money. These Forex trading strategies have been coined in such a way, that a trader needs to spend only a few hours gaining access to success. forex trading

Not only is the e-book charted out with simple steps, it is also a moral boost for those who have lost money. It allows the trader to understand the market better. Once these strategies are understood, one can make sure that he is never going to lose money in this business again. Once you understand the methods, you will also know when you need to enter a trade. forex trading

This way, you will not be left out from the crowd. forex trading

Forex Trading and Money Management

Forex Trading and Money Management

by Andrew Daigle

As part of your Forex trading strategy, you must be able to manage the money that you invest in trades and determine when it is advantageous to enter or exit a trade. Most trading strategies are good for determining when a trade should be entered, but not all strategies establish an exit. If your Forex trading strategy does not provide exit points, you will still need some method of determining when to exit.

Profit and Loss (P/L) - Forex trading systems provide one of the easiest forms of executing and monitoring profit and loss (P/L) in investments. P/Ls in the spot market are generally measured in decimal units. A calculation of the long and short position for a leveraged currency pair will easily provide you with the amount of profit and the amount of loss.

Gains to Losses - You also need a method of predicting the chance of profiting from your trades in order to decide how much money to invest in your Forex trading strategy. By calculating the ratio of gains to losses you will be able to determine if your trades are providing a higher percentage of gains than losses. If your trades are gaining then you need not invest more money into already winning trades.

Risks to Reward - Since Forex trading systems involve risk, you need to able to measure the risk taken as compared to reward received. A risk/reward ratio may be determined by dividing a take-profit spread by a corresponding stop-limit spread. No rollover or interest rate differential is required. You are cautioned against allocating more than 10% of your total investment funds into a single trade as either margin or risk. Your Forex trading techniques should include enough funds to allow you to engage in multiple trades. If some trades result in loss, those losses have the potential to be recovered with other winning trades. If half or more of your trades result in loss, you need to analyze and adjust your Forex trading strategy.

Limiting Losses - You may limit the amount of loss by adjusting take-profit and stop-limit orders relative to the entry market price. By raising stop-limit orders and lowering take-profit orders, you may reduce loss potential. If prices create adverse results, you may eliminate any further loss by manually liquidating the trade. If price moves are favorable, you may increase your limits. In some instances it may be advantageous to raise the stop-limit order above the market entry price. This guarantees a profit of at least the originally targeted price and at most, the newly established price.

If you have taken a long position, you should avoid lowering stop-limit orders and accept a loss or trade a different currency pair. Take-profit orders should only be lowered in long positions if a reversal is anticipated. Otherwise, you should liquidate. If you have taken a short position, you should avoid increasing stop-limit orders and only increase take-profit orders in anticipation of a reversal. Many large losses are due to moving and removing stop-loss orders. The Forex trading strategy for uncertain traders should be to liquidate trades for small losses or small profits rather than hanging around to suffer a greater loss.

With most Forex strategies, stop-loss orders are typically placed below and above previous highs or lows. However, you may find it advantageous to set your stops according to market volatility. Using charts of recent currency pairs you should be able to gauge shifts in volatility. This information could then be used to set stops and price objectives. This method may also be used to establish entry points in the market.

Forex Charts the Basics You Need To Know

Forex Charts the Basics You Need To Know

by monica hendrix

Here we are going to give you an introduction to the basics of forex charting and how to use them to successfully catch and hold forex trends for big profits.

Forex markets (or any financial market for that matter) move to this basic equation:

Fundamentals + Investors Perception of them = Market price

The fundamentals are the supply and demand facts and we all see them but being humans we all draw our own subjective judgements on what they mean and we are not just influenced by logic - but the emotions of greed and fear as well.

It's very difficult to trade the fundamentals, because all the facts are instantly known and discounted in the price and of course you never quite know how humans are going to view them.

A basic premise of using forex charts is to simply assume that all fundamentals are instantly discounted in the price and no study of them is needed - while this sounds essentially simple (and it is), it means a chartist is not interested in knowing them - he is only interested in price movement generated by them and investor psychology.

How and where prices move is decided not by the facts or supply and demand situation but is down to how investors as a whole see them, this then becomes the market price.

A basic foundation of forex technical analysis is that history repeats.

Why?

Because human nature is constant it will be reflected in forex charts as repetitive price patterns that can be traded for profit.

In essence forex charts allow us to study the fundamentals and investor psychology all at once - a technical analyst is not interested in how or why prices move - he just studies the charts and wants to make money when they do.

Another foundation of technical analysis is that a trend in motion is likely to persist and the aim is to lock into these trends and hold them for profit.

The fact is anyone with the right forex education can make money using forex charts but it's an art not a science and you need to learn a method based upon sound logic.

Many forex traders base their currency trading systems on trying to predict forex prices but this is wrong.

Why?

Because it's simply another word for hoping and guessing and that won't get you far in any walk of life and that includes forex trading.

Forex charting is a game of odds - not certainties and you need to keep this in mind while chart patterns do repeat they do not move to a scientific theory.

If you want to learn currency trading and be successful then charting is a quick simple and profitable method and takes very little time. You can learn it in a few weeks and you can then cover your currencies daily in around 30 minutes and that's it.

Forex charting basics are enclosed but you will now say - I like the idea how do I use them for profit? That is the subject of part 2 of this article series.

Forex Education: Why Retail Traders Fail

Forex Education: Why Retail Traders Fail

by Harold Hsu

There are many reasons why Forex traders often wipe out their accounts. In fact, there are so many factors that cause Forex traders to lose money, that only 10% of all traders are consistently profitable.

Almost all of these loss-causing factors, however, can be generally narrowed down to 4 basic reasons:

1. Not understanding what the Forex market is about

Many retail traders make the mistake of treating the currency markets the same way they treat other financial markets. I knew of a well-performing stock trader that lost more than $50,000 because he traded Forex the same way he traded stocks.

Even though the trading charts used in the stock and currency markets are similar (or even identical), the underlying natures of both markets are vastly different. To be able to trade profitably in the Forex market, you’ll have to first understand its characteristics and nature: don’t think that Forex trading is the same as other forms of trading!

2. Not understanding your position in the Forex market

There are many players in the Forex market, and each type of trader has different strengths and weaknesses. Many losing traders don’t realize that the trading strategies of one type of trader won’t work for the other types. For example, the trading strategies used by institutional traders will fail miserably for retail traders. This is because the strategies used by institutional traders are based on their strengths and weaknesses, which are very different from that of retail traders.

3. Not understanding the effects of greed, fear, impatience and pride on traders

This point is self-explanatory. Instead of using this knowledge as a tool to trade well, losing traders often fall into the habit of suffering from these emotional effects instead.

4. Listening to bad trading advice

It’s easy to find Forex trading information and advice on the internet today.

Unfortunately, most of this advice is provided by people who aren’t profitable traders themselves. While their advice is generally well-intentioned, the fact is that much of it is pure hogwash and cannot be practically implemented into any sustainable trading strategy. Be careful about where you learn about Forex trading from.

Forex Prices - Factors That Determine Price Movement

Forex Prices - Factors That Determine Price Movement

by kelly price

If you want to be successful at forex trading then you need to know how and why prices move - many traders think this is obvious but its not and that's why 95% of traders lose. Here we will look at the factors that move currency markets and how you can profit.

First let's start with a simple equation:

Supply and Demand Fundamentals + Investor Perception = Price

While the above equation is simple enough, it's deceptive and most traders fail to understand its significance, when they learn forex trading.

Fundamentals

These are the supply and demand facts and they help move price but the person studying these facts has a problem - while the facts are there for all to see, we all see them differently and draw our own conclusions about what they mean.

Our actions combined with millions of other traders, creates the price.

The facts are there for all traders to see but we all draw different conclusions that's why the facts alone are not enough to help you trade.

It's a fact that markets collapse when they are most bullish and rally when they are at their most bearish - this is investor psychology at work.

Investor Perception

Of the facts creates the price and we are not creatures of logic, we are creatures of emotion and these are reflected in the price.

It's a fact that greed and fear dominate investors and these emotions cause price spikes away from fair value. These price spikes never last long and are easy to see on any forex chart and they never last long and return to fair value.

So what do you need to understand in terms of the above, in terms of your forex education? Here are the salient points:

- Never predict price movement as humans behaviour cannot be predicted - Trading fundamentals by themselves is hard as its only half the equation - Trading is a game of odds and you need to get the odds in your favour to win

Now you know the above how do you get a forex trading strategy for currency trading success?

The simplest way is to base your forex trading strategy on forex technical analysis.

Not only does it take into account the fundamentals it also takes into account how investors perceive them.

Technical analysis simply assumes that all fundamentals will be quickly be reflected in price action and in today's world of instant communications and online trading, this is truer than ever before.

Technical analysis more importantly, takes into account how investors perceive the fundamentals. While prices do not move to a scientific theory, human nature is constant and this is reflected in repetitive price patterns on any forex chart.

While charting is not a science, certain formations that present themselves do offer trades where you can put the odds in your favour, with a robust currency trading system.

You won't win every trade - but if you trade the odds, you will win more than you lose and pile up huge long term profits.

Most novice traders when they try and learn currency exchange don't understand the way prices really move and think they can predict, trade news stories and use scientific theories and they lose. To win at forex trading the best way to trade is to trade the reality of forex prices changes - without predicting, focus on the odds and assume any trade can go wrong.

The equation for forex price movement is essentially simple but deceptive.

Now you know how and why forex prices really move, you can build a forex trading system to help you enjoy currency trading success.

Forex Trading Strategies for Profit for Profit

Forex Trading Strategies for Profit for Profit

by kelly price

There are many different forex trading strategies as there are many different ways of achieving forex trading success but if you are devising one for yourself there are some key elements the best forex trading strategies incorporate and that the subject of this article.

1. They are Simple

There is a big myth that science can help you trade and the buzz words are neural networks and artificial intelligence systems and other complicated trading systems. The problem is complex forex trading systems with to many inputs mean there are more elements to break and these systems fail in real time.

The base of your forex trading strategy should be a simple trading system that will be robust in the face of ever changing brutal market conditions.

2. Objectivity

The best forex trading strategies tend to be based around objective criteria and rules that are clear and do not have too much subjectivity. For example, a moving average cross over is an objective forex trading signal - Elliot wave and cycles are not and involve subjectivity.

By keeping your strategy objective rather than subjective, you will keep your emotions out and stay disciplined.

3. Trade Valid Data

If your forex trading strategy involves technical analysis and forex charting then you need to use valid data. Forex day trading systems don't work, as volatility in short time frames is random and prices can and do go anywhere. You need to get the odds on your side and that means trading longer term - swing trading or long term trend following.

4. Breakouts

Most of the top trading systems use breakout methodology, as it's a fact most major moves start from new market highs not market lows.

Traders who want to get in at a lower price miss these moves - breakout traders know that the odds favour a continuation of the move when a significant level of support and resistance has been penetrated.

5. Money Management

The best forex strategies know there is risk involved in any trade and manage not just the risk per trade but have their eye on the overall risk to the account and the risk of ruin. You need to take care of the losses first and if you have a sound robust currency trading system the profits will look after themselves.

6. Acting on Confirmation

Many forex trading strategies liked to try and base themselves on so called scientific theories of market movement but the fact is trading is a game of odds NOT certainties and this is obvious. If markets did move to a scientific theory we would all know the price in advance and there would be no market.

While this is obvious many traders like to trade far out theories like: Gann Fibonacci and Elliot wave. None of them are scientific by nature and all involve subjectivity from the user - this is a contradiction in terms of a scientific theory.

Predicting means you are hoping or guessing and that won't get you far in life and certainly not FX trading.

7. Realism

The best forex trading strategies have realistic aims in terms of profits and while many can make triple digit profits in short periods of time over the longer term the best do 30 - 50% compounded and if you had one that did similar you would quickly compound a lot of money and be very wealthy.

If you understand the above you will see that forex trading strategies that are successful tend to be simple, robust, objective and have strong money management linked to realistic goals. If you do the same in your forex trading strategy you can make a lot of money in global forex markets.

Mini Forex Trading - What You Should Know About Mini Forex Trading

Mini Forex Trading - What You Should Know About Mini Forex Trading

by Abhishek Agarwal

Forex is one of the greatest ways to make money over the net. And thanks to the versatility and easy access through broadband, and to the fact there are over sixty currencies being traded every day, it is one of the most profitable money schemes.

In olden days the foreign exchange trade was restricted to multinational corporations, and banks. But thanks to the net, it is now possible for the everyday person to enter the market on an individual basis.

This market is the biggest in the world and it has a daily turn over of over 1.9 trillion US dollars. Moreover, this market is open round the clock seven days a week, so you can trade at any time you please to.

There are 2 kinds of currency accounts: the forex account (regular) and the mini account. Right now we will discuss the mini version..

Mini forex trading

Smaller investors can get great leads in the market by starting off their new venture with mini Forex.These markets are open to investors with minimum experience.

Mini forex accounts allow the operator to deposit only $100 and control a currency position worth $ 10000. With the regular exchanges of news items the positions could become $ 100000. These accounts are thus a tenth of the scale of a normal account, thereby being inviting to new traders. They offer a beginner at trading a great chance to get into the business with a minimum capital investment.

Traders who do not have a lot of money and want to do business with just less than $ 10000 are advised to preferably go with mini forex accounts. Not only does this strategy allows them more flexibility in the implementation of various strategies, but also gives them a lengthier stay in the market without taking the risk of over spending.

You may think that's impossible to trade 10000 value of the currency with only a small deposit, but this is a reality in mini forex trade. That's thanks to what they call a leverage.

Leveager allows you to buy and sell more of a particular product than what your account and you can draw, letting you have great performance. Too much leverage is risky, so do be careful you don't over spend on it.

The advantages of mini foreign currency account are not really different from ordinary forex account. You always have the ability to have access to small spreads, and a free trade platform.

But, as mentioned earlier, the greatest advantage of the opening of account forex mini is that you don't have to spend as much in order to see the gains. You might see less money, but the potential gains are still attractive.

Forex Day Trading - Scalping Your Way To a Fortune

Forex Day Trading - Scalping Your Way To a Fortune

by kelly Price

Today there are more forex day trading and scalping systems available online than ever before. It's the dream of many traders to buy one and day trade for a living and make an income by scalping regular profits and here we will look at this in more detail.

Well the theory, says regular profits - the reality is different and is:

All forex day traders and scalpers always lose.

The systems that you see on the net make big claims and track records that look great - but the track records are never real - there simulated.

This is a disclaimer you will see (or similar) read it carefully:

"cftc rule 4.41 - hypothetical or simulated performance results have certain limitations. unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, since the trades have not been executed, the results may have under-or-over compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profit or losses similar to those shown".

Any forex day trading system you see will be simulated and of course anyone can make a profit in hindsight - but in reality we have to trade not knowing the closing price in advance.

So why don't you ever find a forex day trading system with a real track record?

Quite simply - because forex day trading or scalping doesn't work.

The reason for this is all volatility in daily time periods is random, support and resistance levels are meaningless and prices can and do go anywhere in a day.

You can't get the odds on your side and you can't win - Period.

The proof of course is in the track record and you will never ever see a day trading or scalping system with a real one - try and find one and if you do let me know, I have been looking for 25 years!

HOW TO WIN

If You want to win at forex trading then you are going to need to look at longer time periods, you have a choice:

Forex trading following looking for trends that last for weeks or month or forex swing trading which looks for trends that last for a few days to around a week.

The one you choose is up to you but both allow you to get the odds on your side because they use data over longer periods.

If you want to win leave forex scalping to the dreamers, naive or greedy traders and concentrate on ways to get the odds in your favor and enjoy currency trading success.

Online Forex Brokers - A fantastic Idea for Novice Traders

Online Forex Brokers - A fantastic Idea for Novice Traders

by kelly Price

Will you make money at currency trading? This is a question most traders try and answer by trading a demo account - but the problem with demo accounts is there is no pressure, i.e no money on the line and it proves nothing.

Most traders who make money with demo account lose when they open an account with a forex broker. Now there is a fantastic way for traders to see if they have what it takes. There is a new account called a protected account and it acts as a bridge between a demo and a full trading account. The concept is:

The Protected Account works as a funded demo account in which the client pre-determines their risk level. Among its features are:

-Trade up to 100 times your initial deposit, even with a negative balance.

- Make as many trades as desired, 24 hours a day, using any currency pair.

- At the end of the a set period, (normally two weeks) any positive balance is the clients to keep the broker covers the losses. This has significant advantages over a demo account, as it simulates the feeling of trading real money on the Foreign Exchange and let's face it when money is on the line we feel and act differently.

Trading is probably 20&% method and 89% mindset and it's a fact that most traders fail because they don't trade with discipline.

To make money you not only need a method but you need the discipline to follow your method when the going gets tough. Its easy to score a penalty goal in your back garden but not so easy when its a huge game and you have to score to win and have 100,000 people watching you!

The Protected Account acts as a bridge between a demo account and a real one, providing an authentic trading experience, but of course the risk is managed and a huge advantage is - even if you go debit on the first day you can still keep trading so you get plenty of trades and plenty of practice.

These accounts are being now provided by forex brokers and they are a fantastic way to get your feet wet, before progressing to a full trading account and will help you determine if you have what it takes to become a successful forex trader.

Best Forex System - Beware of Backtesting!

Best Forex System - Beware of Backtesting!

by Harold Hsu

What is backtesting?

Backtesting is essentially the testing of a trading system using historical market prices, to see how profitable that system can be. This testing is usually done with computer software that runs the trading system through a period of time in the past.

Why beware of backtesting?

Many new traders think that good backtesting results will guarantee similar results in the future. This is a big mistake because a system that has worked in the past may not necessarily work in the future. This is because the Forex market is always changing and evolving. The Forex market today can be very different from the Forex market last year. The past does not equal the future... if it did, we'd all be millionaires by now!

What about trading systems with good backtesting results?

Because everyone knows what has happened in the past, it's easy for anyone to create a trading system that can be very profitable during that time (in the past). But remember: we're not trading in the past; we're trading in expectation of the future. Trading systems with good backtesting results may very well fail miserably in the future.

But this fact has not stopped unscrupulous people from selling Forex trading systems based on "excellent" backtesting results. They use impressive hypothetical (i.e. backtested) results as a sales tool. Unfortunately, many traders purchase these trading systems only to have them fail miserably and causing them to lose thousands of dollars.

What can I do to protect myself?

When looking for a good trading system, ask the system developer whether the trading results are actual or hypothetical. Many people assume that hypothetical returns are actual returns, but that's just not the case.

Now that you know it's easy to create a trading system based on backtesting (i.e. hypothetical) results, you'll hopefully be more skeptical about trading systems with little or no actual trading results.

Summary

While backtesting can be a very useful way to test a trading system, it's definitely not an accurate measure of how the system will perform for you in the future. Be wary of scammers who use hypothetical returns to try and sell you something!

Forex Trading Systems - Want to win 90% of the time?

Forex Trading Systems - Want to win 90% of the time?

by Harold Hsu

Online, you'll often read about Forex trading advertisements that boast of more than 90% winning trades.

Sounds great doesn't it? Would you pay $100 for a trading system that may win 90 out of every 100 trades?

If you answered "Yes", you're in trouble!

Unfortunately, the truth is that a high winning percentage has little to do with being a profitable trader. In reality, it's easy to have 90% of winning trades and still lose money.

Don't believe me? Go ahead a search online search for the "turtle traders". If you're familiar with them, you'll know that they are very profitable traders with only a 20% winning trade percentage.

Allow me to explain...

Imagine you make 10 trades in a month, and 9 of these trades are profitable for $1 per winning trade. This means that you have a winning percentage of 90%, with $9 in profit.

And if you have only 1 losing trade out of 10 (i.e. 10% losing trades), but you lose $10 on that one losing trade. In total, you would have lost ($9 - $10) $1 among all your ten trades.

Can you now see why a high winning percentage doesn't mean that you'll be a successful trader? You see, it's not about how often you win, but how MUCH you win.

So don't fall for the marketing tricks

Many advertisers use high winning percentages as a sales tool to get you to buy the trading systems they are selling. They know that traders like to win all the time, and who doesn't like to win often? These advertisers try to appeal to everyone's desire to win, and unfortunately many people fall for their trap.

Conclusion

It's easy to have 90% winning trades and still be a losing trader. At the same time, you can have a low winning percentage, but be a very profitable trader. In reality, winning percentages have very little to do with a trader's success.

So don't fall into the advertisers' trap when you see their "high winning percentage" claims next time. When people use high winning percentages as a sales pitch, chances are that they know very little about what it truly takes to be a successful trader. Be careful!

Online Forex Brokers - A fantastic Idea for Novice Traders

Online Forex Brokers - A fantastic Idea for Novice Traders

by kelly Price

Will you make money at currency trading? This is a question most traders try and answer by trading a demo account - but the problem with demo accounts is there is no pressure, i.e no money on the line and it proves nothing.
Most traders who make money with demo account lose when they open an account with a forex broker. Now there is a fantastic way for traders to see if they have what it takes. There is a new account called a protected account and it acts as a bridge between a demo and a full trading account. The concept is:

The Protected Account works as a funded demo account in which the client pre-determines their risk level. Among its features are:

-Trade up to 100 times your initial deposit, even with a negative balance.

- Make as many trades as desired, 24 hours a day, using any currency pair.

- At the end of the a set period, (normally two weeks) any positive balance is the clients to keep the broker covers the losses. This has significant advantages over a demo account, as it simulates the feeling of trading real money on the Foreign Exchange and let's face it when money is on the line we feel and act differently.

Trading is probably 20&% method and 89% mindset and it's a fact that most traders fail because they don't trade with discipline.

To make money you not only need a method but you need the discipline to follow your method when the going gets tough. Its easy to score a penalty goal in your back garden but not so easy when its a huge game and you have to score to win and have 100,000 people watching you!

The Protected Account acts as a bridge between a demo account and a real one, providing an authentic trading experience, but of course the risk is managed and a huge advantage is - even if you go debit on the first day you can still keep trading so you get plenty of trades and plenty of practice.

These accounts are being now provided by forex brokers and they are a fantastic way to get your feet wet, before progressing to a full trading account and will help you determine if you have what it takes to become a successful forex trader.

Forex Day Trading - Scalping Your Way To a Fortune

Forex Day Trading - Scalping Your Way To a Fortune

by kelly Price

Today there are more forex day trading and scalping systems available online than ever before. It's the dream of many traders to buy one and day trade for a living and make an income by scalping regular profits and here we will look at this in more detail.
Well the theory, says regular profits - the reality is different and is:

All forex day traders and scalpers always lose.

The systems that you see on the net make big claims and track records that look great - but the track records are never real - there simulated.

This is a disclaimer you will see (or similar) read it carefully:

"cftc rule 4.41 - hypothetical or simulated performance results have certain limitations. unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, since the trades have not been executed, the results may have under-or-over compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profit or losses similar to those shown".

Any forex day trading system you see will be simulated and of course anyone can make a profit in hindsight - but in reality we have to trade not knowing the closing price in advance.

So why don't you ever find a forex day trading system with a real track record?

Quite simply - because forex day trading or scalping doesn't work.

The reason for this is all volatility in daily time periods is random, support and resistance levels are meaningless and prices can and do go anywhere in a day.

You can't get the odds on your side and you can't win - Period.

The proof of course is in the track record and you will never ever see a day trading or scalping system with a real one - try and find one and if you do let me know, I have been looking for 25 years!

HOW TO WIN

If You want to win at forex trading then you are going to need to look at longer time periods, you have a choice:

Forex trading following looking for trends that last for weeks or month or forex swing trading which looks for trends that last for a few days to around a week.

The one you choose is up to you but both allow you to get the odds on your side because they use data over longer periods.

If you want to win leave forex scalping to the dreamers, naive or greedy traders and concentrate on ways to get the odds in your favor and enjoy currency trading success.

Who are the Major Players in the Forex Market?

Who are the Major Players in the Forex Market?

by Joon Trader

In Forex Trading, it is important that a newbie knows who are participating in the Forex arena. Below-mentioned are the major players in this market.

Central Banks and Governments- Monetary Policies such as Interest Rate that are implemented by central banks or governments can play a major and critical role in the Forex market. Central banks provide financial stability by controlling a country's money supply.

Banks- A major portion of the Forex market turnover is from banks. Large banks literally trade billion and billion of currency every working day. This could be in the form of hedging or speculative purposes.

Hedge Funds- By now, you should know that the Forex market has high liquidity, hence it is a major attraction for trading. Hedge Fund managers have increasingly allocated big portions of their portfolios to speculate on the Forex market. Another advantage is a higher degree of leverage available to them as compared to the stock or equity market.

Large Multinational Corporation (MNCs)- The reason why Forex market is in existence is due primarily to global trade. With the highly interrelated global market place, goods are imported or exported to many countries. Payment for these goods and services may be made and received in different currencies. Billion and billions of dollars are exchanges every day for global trade transaction.

Retail Investors and Speculators- In reality, there isn't much difference between the two. Both are in the market hoping to make money by exploiting the movement of a currency pair. Each has their reason to believe why a currency will move up or down and in turn long or short a currency accordingly. According to a survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in April 2007, average daily trading volume for the Forex market reached an all-time record high of US$3.2 Trillion. A 71% increase from US$1.9 Trillion that was traded in April 2004. This increase is due mainly to the participation of retail investors utilizing broker's electronic trading platform.

You and Me- When we have our holiday aboard or travelling overseas on business trips, we would naturally need to buy that country's currency and upon return, revert back to our own nation's currency. When we are using our credit cards to make overseas purchases, our credit card company has to convert our purchases into out home currency in order to bill us. Not knowingly, we are already trading currencies.

JoonTrader is the owner of forexdiscover. For further recommended resources on how to make money in Forex Trading. Click here to grab the secret to consistent pips.

7 Reasons Why FOREX Trading Is Better Than Stock Trading Or Futures Trading

7 Reasons Why FOREX Trading Is Better Than Stock Trading Or Futures Trading

by Yusoff Allian

1. Trade 24 hours a day! With the possible exception of a few hours on the weekend, the FOREX market is open around the clock. Compare that to the stock market and the futures market which usually opens at 9:30am and closes at 4pm EST in North America. Due to the global nature of the FOREX market you're able to trade at your convenience, day or night.

2. No commissions. Tired of paying upwards of $30 per trade for a simple stock transaction? You don't have to worry about that when trading on the FOREX market. Your FOREX broker makes their money by taking the difference in price between the ask price and bid price for the currency being traded. This means no money out of your pocket.

3. Instant order fulfillment. A common complaint (and sad fact of life) when it comes to trading on the stock or futures market is that there is often a delay between when you place your order and when it actually gets filled. This can mean the difference between making a bundle and making nothing at all. Due to the incredibly high volume of transactions that occur daily on the FOREX market you can fill your orders instantly based on the real-time data you see on your trading platform. There can be occasions when the market is particularly volatile which can result in some minor delays, but for the most part you get what you see is what you pay for.

4. No middlemen. Unlike equity exchanges, FOREX traders can access the market maker directly without having to go through an intermediary first. This means that a FOREX trader can buy or sell directly from the entity that decides on the price for a given currency pair. Because an extra layer of communication has been eliminated, FOREX traders benefit from cheaper costs and gain quicker access to trades.

5. No unfair influence. We've all seen it on T.V. or read about it on the news - talking heads telling us to buy when a stock's price is plummeting, assuring us that everything will be alright in the end. The truth is that the only one that wins is the firm issuing that so-called advice while the average investor is left to lick his wounds. The FOREX market cannot be influenced by any one brokerage or person as it is representative of a country's economic health and not opinion, and is therefore immune to any attempt at influence.

6. No choice overload. There are over 8000 stock available to trade on the NASDAQ and NYSE alone - that's an awful lot of news to keep up with on a daily basis, and an awful lot of analysis to perform before you begin your next trade. Compare that to the FOREX market which, although it gives you access to dozens of different currencies, tends to focus on the four major currency pairs. This drastically reduces your research time and allows you to enter the market far more quickly.

7. Limited risk. FOREX traders must enable margin limits to mitigate risk. The trading platform of your choice will automatically issue a margin call if the margin amount required by your account exceeds the actual capital available in your account. What this means is that the most you can possibly lose is the money you have sitting in your FOREX trading account. With futures trading it is possible for a margin call to occur at a loss, leaving you liable for any amount not available in your account.

Create Your Own FOREX Trading System In 5 Easy Steps

Create Your Own FOREX Trading System In 5 Easy Steps

by Yusoff Allian

A quick search on your favorite internet search engine for the phrase "FOREX trading system" will yield thousands of results, all of which will try to convince you that theirs is the only sure-fire profit making system available. The truth of the matter is that yes, some or most can make you money, but you don't need to pay someone else to teach you something that's really pretty simple to create for yourself. At its core your FOREX trading system needs to be able to spot trends early and also be able to avoid sharp rises or falls due to a particularly volatile market. At first glance this may seem like a difficult thing to accomplish and to be honest no FOREX trading system will perform both functions flawlessly 100% of the time. However, what we can do is design a trading system that works for the vast majority of the time - this is what we'll focus on when designing our own FOREX trading system. So, what elements do we need to consider for our custom system? The most important criteria are as follows:

1. What kind of trader are you? Do you like to follow long trends, or are you glued to your charts for 8 hours straight per day? If you're new to FOREX trading it's suggested that you stick to long term trading as it's far easier to spot trends and cut your losses when compared to day trading.

2. Find an indicator you're comfortable with. Knowing when to buy is key to generating big profits, so it's important to understand some of the key indicators and how they can identify trends. Moving averages are probably the easiest indicators to work with and can be very useful in recognizing emerging trends. A common tactic is to use two moving averages, one slow and one fast, and wait for the fast average to pass above or below the slow average. This is commonly known as the moving average crossover technique. As with everything else in our FOREX trading system it's simple, easy to understand, and effective.

3. Risk Management. Successful FOREX traders understand that you *will* lose money at some point or another, no matter how effective your FOREX trading system is. You will always want to use a stop-loss on all your trades, but the amount risked will vary from person to person based on their experience and available capital. Knowing where to set your stop loss can be tricky - you want to limit how much you could possibly lose so you'd be tempted to set a very small range, but at the same time you want to allow for short term rises and falls so that you don't exit your position too early.

4. Know when to get out. Knowing when to exit a trade can be just as tricky as knowing when to enter, but for your custom FOREX trading system you want to pick one way that you're comfortable with and just stick with it. One simple technique is called the 'trailing stop' technique, and all this entails is updating your stop loss as your position increases in value. Another popular method used in many FOREX trading systems is to set a target and get out when that target is reached. This can be based on support or resistance, or simply based on a certain number of pips. Find a method you're comfortable with and stick with it.

5. Test your FOREX trading system. So you now have a trading system that tells you when to enter and exit a trade, so see how it performs using real data. Find historical data for a currency you've thought about trading, and analyze the charts. Apply your FOREX trading system to the data you see in the charts and write down the results. Was the system effective? Would you have turned a profit or a loss? Try your trading system on several different charts and record the results. If you've got a winning system then it's time to move onto live data via a demo account. Practice makes perfect and you don't want to risk real money until you're confident your FOREX trading system can provide you with decent profits over time.

FOREX Leverage - Money Maker Or Bankroll Breaker?

FOREX Leverage - Money Maker Or Bankroll Breaker?

by Yusoff Allian

FOREX traders conduct trades in one of three types of FOREX accounts - a standard account, a mini account, or a micro account. A micro account allows the FOREX trader to trade in the smallest of lot sizes, generally 1000 units of the base currency. The next step up is the mini account, which allows trades in lot sizes of 10,000 units of the base currency. The standard FOREX account allows trades in 100,000 units of the base currency, and is the level at which you'll find all professional FOREX traders.

The nice thing about having three levels of investment minimums is that it allows new FOREX investors to get their foot in the door without having large amounts of investment capital before they can get started. Micro accounts allow traders to deposit as little as $250, and due to the power of leverage, lets the FOREX trader control sums of currency many times larger than their investment capital.

Although FOREX leverage provides investors with a method of generating healthy profits it can also be responsible for the new FOREX investor losing his or her capital very quickly. The primary reason new FOREX traders fail is that they're undercapitalized for the type of account they've opened. Professional traders understand this, and this is why they make sure they have far more investment capital to deposit in their FOREX account than the required minimum.

Leverage's constant companion is the margin. Margin basically describes the amount of money in your account that you can use to conduct trades. The amount of usable margin you have to play with is dictated by the amount of equity you have in your account: take the equity in your account and subtract the amount of margin that you've used and you've got your usable margin.

If the equity in your account ever drops below the amount of used margin then a margin call is generated. A margin call is when the broker cashes in enough of your position to cover the drop in equity. As an example imagine that you have $10,000 in your account, giving you $10,000 in usable margin. You buy $7000 worth of lots, giving you $3000 remaining in usable margin. If the value of your investment drops just a few pips (which can easily occur in a matter of hours or minutes in some cases) your equity can drop from $10,000 to $7000 quite quickly. At this point the margin call is triggered and you lose $3000 to cover your margin. Before you know what has happened you've lost 30% of your investment capital.

The power of FOREX leverage can be seen in the above example. The ability to control $100,000 worth of currency with $1000 can catapult the savvy FOREX investor into the next tax bracket, but only if they manage their margins wisely.

The FOREX market can be a very volatile place, and those that don't understand the concept of margins will quickly fall victim to it. Those that understand this reality are far better equipped to succeed in the FOREX market than those who jump in unprepared.

FOREX Money Management - The Key To Long Term Profits

FOREX Money Management - The Key To Long Term Profits

by Yusoff Allian

Although it can be tempting to whip out your credit card and take advantage of a strong upward trend in your favorite currency, failure to manage your money properly will leave you broke faster than you can say "sell, sell, SELL!!"

FOREX trading, just like any other form of investment, is not a guaranteed money maker 100% of the time. Professional investors know this, and they know that some of their trades *will* lose money. The reason they're still successful is that they plan for these losses accordingly so that in the long term they remain profitable.

Consider this example: a new trader finds a FOREX trading system that proves 75% successful, definitely a system to hold on to. What this means is that out of every 100 trades, 75 will generate a profit. The problem lies in not knowing which of the trades will be successful and which will cause a loss. What if the first 25 trades executed with this system generate losses, while the next 75 generate profit? If the trader has not practiced money management wisely he may have lost his entire investment capital on those first 25 trades.

The more aggressive FOREX trader will no doubt claim that the only way to big profits in a short period of time is to risk more of your capital, but in essence all he is doing is gambling. Indeed, an aggressive FOREX trader may get lucky and hit ten profitable trades in a row generating a very nice profit, but what happens if the next 19 trades all generate losses? If he's still wagering large sums of money on each trade he'll soon be back to where he started from, or more likely in an even worse predicament.

A disciplined FOREX trader will only risk a smaller percentage of his or her investment capital on each trade. Sure, the profits will be smaller in the short term compared to a more aggressive trader, but when the downturn hits (and it most definitely will), the FOREX trader practicing wise money management will be able to weather the storm far better than the aggressive trader.

It may not be the most exciting of strategies, but you're not in the FOREX trading business for thrills, you're in it to generate consistent profits. Using anything other than wise money management when investing in the FOREX market is simply gambling, and if you want to gamble then you're better off at the casino. Even professional poker players, widely labeled as gamblers by spectators, employ money management systems. They realize that they can't possibly win every single tournament they enter, so instead of risking their entire bankroll on one game they risk only a percentage at each one. This allows them to recover far more quickly when their losing streaks hit. Those that don't practice money management quickly find themselves playing Crazy Eights instead.

In conclusion, don't let the promise of quick riches cloud your judgment. FOREX trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme; it's an investment vehicle that can provide healthy profits for those who manage their money wisely. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

FOREX Trading For Absolute Beginners

FOREX Trading For Absolute Beginners

by Yusoff Allian

The FOREX market, or Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with roughly two trillion dollars worth of transactions taking place daily. The source of all this activity is the buying and selling of money - specifically the currencies of countries from around the world. To give you an idea of just how popular FOREX trading is, the volume traded daily on the FOREX market is three times that of the stock market and futures market combined!

Until recently only traders with huge amounts of capital available could participate in FOREX trading -minimum requirements upwards of $10 million were required before you were allowed to trade, so naturally the little guy was shut out completely. With the coming of the internet, however, opportunities arose for FOREX trading firms to offer accounts to everyday traders with limited start-up funds.

So what exactly would you be trading on the FOREX market? As mentioned above, the simple answer is money, but it's a little more complicated than that. If you look at a FOREX quote you'll notice that the currencies are quoted in pairs. What this means is that you're actually buying one currency while selling another currency at the same time. For example, you will see quotes for the U.S. dollar and the Euro listed as USD/EUR, or the Japanese Yen and the Canadian dollar as JPY/CAD.

One of the chief advantages to FOREX trading is the ability to trade 24 hours a day, and almost seven days per week. Because there is no physical exchange, transactions occur electronically every second around the world. And due to the huge volume of transactions that take place every day there is never a worry about filling your order or selling your currency - there's always someone willing to sell to you or buy from you, no matter what time of day it is.

Another advantage of FOREX trading is the ability to leverage your investment funds. What this means is that you can control large amounts of money with relatively small amounts of actual cash. FOREX brokers typically offer a 200:1 leverage ratio, meaning you can control $20,000 worth of currency with $100 worth of capital. Used wisely, leverage can catapult the average FOREX trader into the next level of FOREX trading. Keep in mind, however, that although leverage can provide the FOREX trader with the ability to trade in levels unreachable in other areas of investing, rushing in without enough knowledge can cause you to quickly lose your investment capital.

So how do you best prepare for profitable FOREX trading? Fortunately, most FOREX brokers offer demo accounts along with FOREX news, reports, and up-to-date charts. Patience is most definitely a virtue when it comes to FOREX trading, and taking the time to practice trades and learn how to read FOREX charts effectively can make the difference between huge profits and losing it all. The information is out there, and in most cases it's free, so read until you become confident enough to turn your practice trades into real FOREX trades.

FOREX Trading Signals - Are They Worth It?

FOREX Trading Signals - Are They Worth It?

by Yusoff Allian

Someone new to FOREX trading may be tempted by the promise of easy profits made by companies that offer FOREX trading signals as a paid service. Indeed there are signal providers out there that do consistently provide decent profits over the long term, but the vast majority of FOREX signal providers are unable to live up to their promises. A new FOREX trader is much better served by learning how to identify entry and exit points themselves, but if they do choose to employ the services of a FOREX trading signal provider there are a few points they should be aware of before handing over their hard earned money.

Keep in mind that FOREX signal providers can charge anywhere from $50 per month to $500 per month, so you'll want to be sure that you get your money's worth. The mere fact that providers are charging money for their signals is usually enough for most professional traders to avoid their services - the thinking being that if their signals were any good they'd be keeping them to themselves and making a bundle from trading alone.

Still, as mentioned above, there are some good signal providers out there so you want to be able to determine the honest providers from the less reputable ones. An easy way to shorten your list of candidates is to focus only on the FOREX signal providers that offer you a free trial. Any provider worth their salt will allow you to try their signals out for a month without any financial obligation. While you're trying out their free service take a look at their past results - have they been consistently profitable over the long term? Any legitimate FOREX signal provider will not hesitate to show you their past results.

Let's assume at this point that you've found a FOREX signal provider that has given you a free month trial, shown positive results in the past, and offers their services at a reasonable monthly rate. Take advantage of their demo account (any broker you use should offer free demo accounts that let you use real data with fake money) and apply their signals to your fake trades. How is it performing? Are the entry and exit signals yielding generally positive results? No signal will ever be 100% accurate, so what you're looking for is a positive result over the long term. Try the signals out for the month and if you're consistently seeing profits then you've likely found yourself a winner.

It's important to realize that although you can pay others to send you FOREX trading signals you'll be much more profitable in the long run if you understand the concepts yourself. Take the time during your free month trial to fine tune your trading strategy and focus on building up your trading discipline.

FOREX Trading Software Reviews

FOREX Trading Software Reviews

by Yusoff Allian

Success in FOREX trading is all about timing - knowing when to get in and when to get out can make the difference between huge profits or heartbreaking losses. There are many companies offering their services as signal providers, and for a modest monthly fee they'll send you real-time signals (even via your cell phone) letting you know when to buy or sell a currency pair.

Ideally you'd like to be able to identify trends by yourself without having to rely on a signal provider, but this will take time to master. By all means begin your education in recognizing trends and in-depth technical analysis, but in the meantime you can make use of some personal FOREX trading software to aid you in your FOREX trades.

As mentioned above, there are plenty of signal providers out there, but finding a reputable one can be a tricky task and can cost several hundred dollars per month. Fortunately there's an alternative - FOREX trading software that you can download and run on your home computer. There are two pieces of software out there right now that are quite popular and offer excellent FOREX signal notification, so no matter if you're a short term trader, swing trader, or long term trader one of these FOREX software programs should be part of your trading arsenal.

FOREX Killer is a FOREX trading software program designed to run on Windows. FOREX Killer can take data from any FOREX broker that can export historical data in a .csv format. Once imported into the program, FOREX Killer allows the user to select a time frame and currency pair. Enter your desired stop loss and take-profit level and start the calculation. FOREX Killer generates two sets of signals, short term and long term, and lets you know whether you should buy or sell based on current market prices. This particular FOREX software program supports most of the common currency pairs, as well as gold, stocks, and futures.

The next FOREX software program to consider is called Prophet1 Expert Advisor. This program bases its signals on two popular indicators, moving averages and MACD's. This allows the user to make use of this software for day trading purposes, but it's certainly not limited to that time frame. Based on back-testing this FOREX software program boasts an admirable 90% win rate, and this is using its default settings. As with FOREX Killer, alerts can be sent via email or to your cell phone.

No matter what software you end up using, don't rely on it solely to make you money. It can be a powerful tool to help you succeed in FOREX trading, but it's very important that you take the time to educate yourself on the inner workings of FOREX technical analysis. It can seem daunting at first, but once you understand how signals are generated you'll be in a much better position to adapt to the ever-changing world that is the FOREX marketplace.

How To Choose The Best FOREX Broker For You

How To Choose The Best FOREX Broker For You

by Yusoff Allian

Until recently it was a fairly simple process to figure out which FOREX broker was best for you as there were only a handful available. With the rise of the internet and the explosive growth of FOREX trading, the number of FOREX brokers has skyrocketed. It may seem overwhelming given the sheer number of FOREX brokers available to you, but by carrying out some simple research and doing your due diligence you will be able to pick a FOREX broker that's right for you.

It might be a good idea at this point to back up a bit and understand what a FOREX broker actually does. Basically, a FOREX broker is a person or group of people that carry out trades for an investor. The nice thing about using a FOREX broker is that they don't charge any commission per trade like you see with the stock market. Instead, FOREX brokers make their money by taking the difference between the bid price and the ask price of the currency. Be wary of brokers that take too much of that spread as their fee as it can affect your profit margin. Ideally you want a FOREX broker that charges 2-3 pip spreads, and definitely avoid any that charge anything higher than 5-pip spreads.

Probably the most important factor to look for when choosing a FOREX broker is whether or not they're regulated. Any U.S. based FOREX broker should be registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and should also be a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).

You can visit the NFA's website at http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet and look up any FOREX broker you're interested in. Make sure you deal with a broker that has a clean record and has solid company financials. Any FOREX brokers that don't meet either of these criteria should be stricken off your list of candidates!

Customer service is an absolute must when deciding on a FOREX broker. The FOREX market never sleeps, meaning you can trade any time of the day or night. It's very important that any FOREX broker you choose have customer support staff that can be reached at any time, and provide assistance on very short notice. Take note of any positive testimonials on their site that reference the speed and reliability of their customer service, but also visit search engines and try to find other sources that may have written about their experiences with customer service. Good customer service can make a huge difference in your online experience with FOREX brokers, so it pays to do your research.

Find a FOREX broker that offers a trading platform you're comfortable with. The vast majority of brokers offer both web-based applications and downloadable applications. The web-based platform allows you to connect from any computer in the world that has internet access, but can be slower than its downloadable counterpart. The latter has speed on its side, but can only be run from the computer it's installed on. Whichever you choose, make sure the platform offers at least the basics, such as real-time quotes and up-to-date account information.

The criteria listed above are the essentials to choosing the right FOREX broker for you. Other services offered by the broker can be considered icing on the cake, but depending on your situation may also be viewed as critical to your decision making process. Some other factors you may want to consider are the minimum account opening deposit, timely execution of your orders and free charts and analysis.