Forex Robots or otherwise known as forex autopilots claim to be fully integrated automated systems that enable any day trader to make profitable trades, but is this really true? In order to answer this question we need to look at how these programs work.
Forex robots work the currency exchange markets around the clock 24/7. Something that people obviously cannot do which is their main appeal to traders. The idea is to simply set up your margins and let the algorithms built into the program work their magic. These algorithms contain the technical and fundamental analysis that is extremely important to making successful forex trades. But it isn’t enough to simply set up a forex trading robot and hope and pray you’re going to make money, let’s be honest it goes beyond that. But some forex robots are better then others. Some have built in indicators depending on your margins and analysis. These indicators can analyze the trends behind the trades within fractions of a second with complete precision but this still doesn’t guarantee success. You still need to set up your trading strategy. Yes you can just as easily lose money using forex robots as you can make money with them but once you initialize the system with a strategy you are comfortable with the forex robot will now excel whereas the human trader can still falter. This is because the system is tuned to your strategy and the emotional factor behind the trade is eliminated.
It’s easy even for experienced day traders to make mistakes even once they set up a strategy because human emotion can so often play an impact. But with forex autopilots they simply work within the boundaries you set and since these trading systems are designed around actual performance and not just simulated data, they can work within a liquid and volatile market like the forex currency exchange with amazing results.
To learn more about forex robots the author David Pentoch has written a full review of the more popular forex autopilots available and the strengths and weaknesses behind each. To read the full reviews behind each of these trading programs you can go to http://www.mybrokerforextrading.com
Not all forex trading robots are created equal and each are set up and designed to run against different models. Some models have proven to not be as profitable as others. To see which forex trading robot fits your trading strategies go to http://www.mybrokerforextrading.com
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Patrik
Monday 18 January 2010
Flipping in and out of stock may be a great way to scrape small profits off price dips and swells, but unless your stock portfolio account has an equity and cash position of at least $25,000, you will run afoul of the pattern day trader rule.
The pattern day trader rule limits your ability to buy and sell the same stock in the same trading day, unless your account portfolio has a cash and stock value of at least $25,000.
This is just one additional hurdle you need to jump before getting involved in penny stock day trading. This rule stipulates that you must have at least $25,000 in cash or stock value in your portfolio to move in and out of the same security on the same trading day.
Generally, an online broker will allow you to “get away” with one or two trades per week on what they call “both sides of the market,” but they could theoretically reject your order requests at any time.
When I was first starting out in this business I had about $5,000 in my account. I came across a stock that was moving up and down in intraday trading and decided to try flipping the stock a few times.
After my third buy and sell transaction that day, I received an alert from my broker. It notified me of the pattern day trader rule, and suggested I deposit $20,000 into my account to meet SEC guidelines.
Right. I had $20,000 setting around looking for a home.
My subsequent attempts to trade on both sides of the market were met with “Cannot accept this order” type messages.
What Exactly Is This Rule?
According to the SEC, a day trader is any trader who buys and sells a particular security in the same trading day and does this four or more times in any five consecutive business day period.
Here’s a more legal way of saying basically the same thing:
A pattern day trader is defined in Exchange Rule 431 as any customer who executes 4 or more round-trip day trades within any 5 successive business days. If, however, the number of trades is more than 3 but is 6% or less than the total number of trades that trader has made for that five business day period, the trader will not be considered a pattern day trader and will not be required to meet the $25,000 criteria for a pattern day trader.
More Legalese
According to http://www.patterndaytraderrule.com, this rule is, “this rule applies to anyone who buys and sells a particular security in the same trading day (day trades), and does this four or more times in any five consecutive business day period. A pattern day trader is subject to special rules. The main rule is that in order to engage in pattern day trading you must maintain an equity balance of at least $25,000 in a margin account.” Please visit the site referenced above for a complete legal description.
Now that you know more about this rule, you could technically make a few day trades each week without violating SEC rules. However, some authority has been given to online brokers to judge your trading patterns, which could lead to being labeled as a day trader, despite your efforts to trade within the non-pattern day trading rules.
You should also be aware of the “five consecutive business day” comment above. Apparently, the clock does not reset on Monday morning. If you placed several day trades on the previous Friday, these may be a part of the same five day period on Monday.
Why Is There A Pattern Day Trader Rule?
In general terms, the investment community and the Security and Exchange Commission felt the popularity of day trading was causing beginning retail traders to lose too much money in the marketplace. In an effort to curb the day trading mania, they decided a trader should have a minimum account balance before being bale to practice this trading strategy. I guess they figure if you are worth $25,000, you have the knowledge and experience to flip stocks.
I have a different opinion on this. Yes, the SEC may have had your best interests in mind, but I believe (unfounded opinion here) that the institutional investors resented the range bound trading of stocks due to flippers constantly scraping tiny profits off a stock’s movement. Imagine a stock is rallying on good news. As the stock rises in value the flippers come into the market. A flipper’s mentality (us day traders, that is) is to sell quick, thus deflating the asking price in our hurry to sell out and move along with our small profits.
Flipping can frustrate a stock’s move up, which drives the institutional guys wild. Due to their position sizes in a given stock, they cannot move in and out of the stock as quickly as retail traders. When you look at all the money invested in the stock market, keep in mind that about 80% of it is controlled by institutional investors. These are predominantly the mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies.
Remember the old saying, “he who has the gold, makes the rules?” Because of their sheer size, the institutional investors get to make the rules-the pattern day trader rule.
What Can I Do About This Rule?
I despise most rules, and see some of this governmental meddling as a slight on the capitalist system. But, I’ll save those comments for my college term papers.
The pattern day trader rule may be helpful to some of you. As you build your account value to meet this requirement, learn how to trade and profit on swing trades. The experience you gain as a stock researcher and technical analyst will pay dividends later when you join the fast paced day trading community.
Do you want to discover the secret to making huge profits in the stock market?
Download this: Success Resources
Phillip Collinsworth co-hosts a website dedicated to teaching people how to take profits out of the stock market. To learn more about his stock trading system, please visit: Stock Market For Beginners
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Tuesday 21 October 2008
They buy and sell several times a day, the exchange volumes very high, and therefore receive daily big discounts of the brokerage.
One day, traders focusing solely on the dynamics and trends. They are more patient and wait for a ride on the strong who can move that day. They are far fewer trades that these traders.
Many day traders sell their positions before the market closes for the trading day to avoid the risk of price differentials (the difference between the day and close to the open overnight price), to open it. One day, traders say it is a golden rule to be respected at all times. Other traders think they should let the profits run, it is acceptable to stay with a position after the market closes.
Day traders often borrow money to trade. Since margins are typically charged interest on balances overnight, the additional costs also discourage them from holding positions overnight.
Risks and benefits
Because of the nature of leverage and speed of returns are possible, day trading can be extremely profitable or highly profitable, and high-risk profile traders can generate huge percentage is huge percentage returns or losses. One day, the operators are able to earn millions each year, only by day trading.
Because of the high profits (or losses), which enables the trading day, these traders are sometimes described as “bandits” or “players” with other investors. Some people, however, make a consistent living day trading.
But day trading can be very risky, especially if it was bad discipline, risk or managing money. The common use of purchases on margin (with borrowed funds) magnifies gains and losses, such as losses or gains may occur in a very short time. In addition, brokers will usually from the higher margins for day traders. When the night margins required to hold a stock position are normally 50% of the value of the stock, many brokers allow pattern day trader accounts to use levels as low as 25% for purchases intraday. That means one day negotiating with the legal minimum $ 25000 in his account can buy a $ 100000 stock during the day, as long as half of those positions were released before the market close. Due to the high risk margin of the use and the other day business practices, a day trader will often leave for a losing position very quickly, in order to avoid a greater, unacceptable loss, or even a catastrophic loss, much larger than its initial investment, even larger than its total assets.
Even when one has made a profit, the trader has to compensate for transaction costs and interest on the margin. It is commonly said that 80-90% of day traders lose money. An analysis of the Taiwanese stock market suggests that “less than 20% of day traders profit net of transaction costs.”
History
Originally, the largest American stocks were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. An operator will contact a stockbroker, which would be about relay to a specialist on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. These specialists to visit each market in only a handful of stocks. The specialist could correspond to the buyer with another broker seller; write tickets natural that, once treated, would have the effect of transferring the stock and relay the information to both brokers. The brokerage commissions were set at 1% of the transaction amount, ie for the purchase of a value of $ 10000 inventory costs to the buyer $ 100 in commissions.
One of the first steps to make day trading shares potentially profitable was the regime change of the commission. In 1975, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. (SEC) has set the commission rate illegal, giving rise to a lot of brokers offering commission rate reduced.
Financial Regulations
Financial institutions to be used much longer periods: Before the early 1990’s in the London Exchange, for example, the stock could be paid for a maximum of 10 working days after it was bought, which allows traders to buy (or sell) shares at the beginning of a settlement period only to sell (or buy) by the end of the period of hope for a higher (or lower) prices. This activity is identical to the negotiation of modern times, but for the longest period of settlement. But today, in order to reduce market risk, the settlement period is generally three days. Reducing the settlement period of default reduces the likelihood, but it was not possible before the advent of the electronic transfer of ownership.
The next important step in the facilitation of the day was the founder in 1971 of the NASDAQ - a virtual exchange on which the orders were transmitted electronically. Switching from paper and wrote share certificates to the registers dematerialized shares, negotiation and computerized registration not only requires amendments to the legislation, but also the development of technology necessary: online, real-time systems, rather than in batches; electronic communications rather than the postal service, telex or physical shipment of computer tapes, and the development of secure cryptographic algorithms.
This marked the advent of “market makers”: the Nasdaq NYSE equivalent of a specialist. A market maker is an inventory of stocks to buy and sell, and at the same time offers to buy and sell the same title. Obviously, it will offer to sell shares at a higher price than the price at which it offers to buy. This difference is known as the “spread”. It is of no importance for the market-maker if the price of a stock goes up or down, because it has sufficient capital stock and always buy cheaper than it sells. Today, there are nearly 500 companies participating as market makers on the RET, each one giving a market generally four to forty different stocks. Without any legal obligation, the market makers are free to offer small deviations ECN’s than on the NASDAQ. A small investor might have to pay $ 0.25 spread (for example, it might have to pay $ 10.50 to buy a share of stock, but could not get $ 10.25 for sale), while the institution would only pay a spread 0.05 $ (10.40 $ buying and selling at $ 10.35).
Day trading is undoubtedly very lucrative for traders willing to put the time and effort to learning how it really works. It is not passive income. This is a career. But a very lucrative if done correctly.
Get your Day Trading Stocks Blog and view my daily diary of my day trading method here at: http://www.blogofdaytrader.com
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Tuesday 21 October 2008
It wasn’t so long ago that day traders had to rely on a set of coloured pencils and a piece of paper and mental arithmetic to draw their charts. All that has changed now though. There are sophisticated day trading software programs for a very reasonable outlay that will steer you through the maze of systems that are available to help present a clear picture of and for your analysis.
1. Whatever timeframe suits you, whether by the minute, hour, day, week or longer term, there’s a day trading software package to suit your needs.
2. Always try and get a free trial before you buy anything. This should be no problem. The only thing I would caution is that there may be a restriction or two on using the complete package to advantage. It shouldn’t take too long for you to your liking.
3. Depending upon which markets you intend to trade, some packages may offer a better format than others. Professionals will likely trade many positions in multiple markets and use more than one software supplier.
4. If convenient, I would try and use a separate computer or laptop to do all your trading on. If you’re a beginner, just one will suffice, and it also depends upon your budget of course. You may have more than one computer user in your household and if so, a computer or computers dedicated to your trading would be better if you can manage it.
5. You can never have too many screens for trading software! I use two, but will shortly upgrade to at least another one. This is because quality of clarity on your monitor really helps and the larger you can get the overall trading screen the better. This comes into its own for data feed too.
A far cry from drawing pencil and paper charts, not to mention the precious time you’d spend. There’s some truly amazing software today, being improved and upgraded all the time. It’s fun too, trying out all their tools to end up with a screen display you like. If you get bored of it, make a change. It’s important to have pleasing visuals when day trading.
How would you like to discover more about the methods professional traders use to make profitable trades?
Download them free here: Day Trading Course
Ian Jackson is an authority on Day Trading information, learning the hard way - and now he reveals how you can learn the business too, without all the growing pains.
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Tuesday 21 October 2008
I am here to share some knowledge, tips, strategies and insights of how to successfully buy, sell, trade and invest in online Forex trading. FOREX or Foreign Exchange is the largest as well as the most liquid trading market in the world and there are many people involved in FOREX trading all over the world. A lot of people claim that the FOREX is the best home business that could be pursued by any person. With each day, more and more are turning to FOREX traders, via electronic means of computer and internet connectivity.
This means that foreign exchange is not delivered to a person who actually buys like stock trading, FOREX trading also has day traders that purchase and sell foreign exchange same day. Thus, FOREX is not a get-rich-quick scheme as many people thought which complicates the real concept of online Forex trading.
Unlike stocks and futures that trade through exchanges, Forex trading is done through market makers that include major banks as well as small to large brokerage firms located around the world who collectively make a market on 24 hours - 5 days basis. The Forex market is always “open” and is the largest financial network in the world (daily average turnover of trillions of dollars).
Forex trading involves trading currency pairs such as the EUR/USD pair (Eurodollar/US dollar pair) where a buyer of this pair would actually be buying the Eurodollar and simultaneously selling short the US dollar.
Here’s the deal: Just like any other market, most “traders” are losing when trading Forex. And the reasons for their failure are mainly because some lack good trading methods, sound money and risk management principles and indiscipline trading attitude. In most cases, it could be wrong mindset and motive towards the market. Some don’t even understand the trend of the market, of which the trend plays a vital role in the life of any trader, as it is simply says that “the trend is your friend”.
Moreover, many have been mislead by dishonest individuals or questionable brokers promising outwardly overnight riches and hidden policies.
Forex is still a little like the “wild west”, so there’s naturally a lot of confusion and misinformation out there but I’m here to cover many tactics and strategies used by successful Forex traders all over the world. Unfortunately, only few Forex traders are actually aware of this information.
Forex trading is all about regulation, willpower and determination. Leveraging your strength could be extravagant by organizing the appropriate Forex trading strategy. You may find hundreds and thousands of Forex trading strategies out there. All Forex trading strategies use a variety of indicators and combinations. These indicators and studies are just calculating support and resistance and trend in the Forex trading market.
What you are about to read is more valuable to you than what you will find in many trading courses or seminars that you’d have to pay for. Anyway, I don’t believe in sugarcoating anything or giving you false hopes of success. There are enough swindlers doing that already. I want to give you the facts, like ‘em or not, so you’re empowered to take action and make positive decisions on how to succeed in the Forex markets.
There’s nothing magical about the Forex markets, because all markets are ultimately driven by human psychology - fear and greed - and supply and demand. Sure, every market has its own peculiarities, but if you understand how the basic drivers of human emotions work, you can potentially succeed big in Forex market, because the market controls 95% of live trader’s emotions. Some traders think it’s a “get rich quick” trading the popular Forex markets.
There are many advantages of Forex trading over other types of financial instrument trading like bonds, stocks, commodities etc. But it does not mean that there are no risks involved in the Forex trading. Of course there are risks associated with Forex trading. Therefore, someone needs to understand all the terms related to Foreign Exchange carefully. There are many online sources as well as offline sources that provide hints on trading of Forex. These hints are basically the SECRETS.
As I said above, the foreign exchange trading is considered as one of the most profitable and attractive opportunities for investment as any person can easily do at home or office and from any part of the world. For succeeding the Forex trading, a person is not required to do any online promotion, marketing etc. The only requirement in the Forex trading is the account that a person is required to open with reliable and registered brokers, a computer system and fast internet connection.
Now, you have to be careful when opening a Forex account with any broker because some could be SCAM. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in US has jurisdiction over all Futures and Forex activity. When trading in the foreign exchange markets, individuals should only trade with a CFTC registered entity that is also a member of the National Futures Association (NFA) and is regulated by the CFTC. For non-US broker/ bank entities, be sure that the broker or bank is registered with that country’s appropriate regulatory bodies.
The Forex account could be opened with any amount between $300 (mini) and $2000 (standard). After opening the account, a person is required to learn how the Forex market works, demo trade and after a while go live trading. Moreover, there are some secrets that have to be followed.
A person can also apply all the secrets when demo trading and can see if the secrets really work. It could be said without any doubt that if someone can apply all the secrets in right way, he/she can easily gain good money by way of Forex trading.
All successful traders have Forex trading strategies that they follow to make profitable trades. These Forex trading strategies are generally based on a strategy that allows them to find good trades. And the strategy is based on some form of market analysis. Successful traders need some ways to interpret and even predict the movements of the market.
There are two basic approaches to analyzing the movements of the Forex market. These are Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis. However, technical analysis is much more likely to be used by traders. Still, it’s good to have an understanding of both types of analysis, so that you can decide which type would work best for your Forex trading strategies.
There has been misconception about the Forex market because there are different types of traders and advert out there full of exaggerations that makes the business unreal to so many people and that is why I am here to show you the SECRETS in Forex Trading.
What is traded on the Forex market? The answer is money. Forex trading is where the currency of one nation is traded for that of another. Therefore, Forex trading is always traded in pairs and the most commonly traded currency pairs are traded against the US Dollar (USD). They are called ‘the Majors’. The major currency pairs are the Euro Dollar (EUR/USD); the British Pound (GBP/USD); the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY); and the Swiss Franc (USD/CHF). The notable ‘commodity’ currency pairs that traded are the Canadian Dollar (USD/CAD) and the Australian Dollar AUD/USD. Because there is no central exchange for the Forex market, these pairs and their crosses are traded over the telephone and online through a global network of banks, multinational corporations, importers and exporters, brokers and currency traders. But if you really want to make it big in the Forex market, I will strongly advise that as a “beginner” in the business. Kindly get acquainted with one or two major currency pairs. Study them very well and make sure you understand their volatility period.
And to further simplify Forex trading, you could easily limit your trading to the two most liquid and widely traded pairs, the EUR/USD and the GBP/USD. This really starts to reduce demands on your time for trading activities without giving up good profit potential.
Traditionally, currency trading has been a ‘professionals only’ market available exclusively to banks and large institutions, however, because of the invention of the new E-economy, online Forex trading firms are now able to offer trading accounts to ‘retail’ traders like you and I. Now almost anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can trade currencies just like the world’s largest banks do.
Do you want to know how to trade the forex market without losing a dime? Then go over to http://quickforexpips.blogspot.com you will get free tons of information there.
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Monday 20 October 2008
Online trading communities are become a norm now-a-days. A bunch of people with similar interests come together and form a community. Day trading community is also an online community formed by a group of persons who like to trade in different financial instruments on the same trading day.
Day trading is a term that signifies that you buy and sell financial instruments within the same trading day, whereby all stock positions are normally closed before the stock market closes for the trading day. The positions are not necessarily always to be closed.
People who participate in this kind of trading are called day traders.
So, such like-minded persons join together to form an online day trading community, whereby they share and discuss their viewpoints on various changes in stock market. They may discuss different rates at which various instruments are floating in the market. Some of the financial instruments in which they commonly day trade may include stocks, currencies, stock options, and an array of futures contracts such as equity index futures, interest rate futures, and commodity futures.
Day trading community has its own importance in that people that form this community have similar tastes and way of thinking. They are willing to share information with one another with purity and without any ill will. They are more than willing to pass on any information that may hold key to earning profits in a given day of trading in specific instruments.
A day trading community normally follows certain rules regarding registration of members who want to join such a community. Following certain regulations is a must to avoid any frauds or embarrassing situations.
A day trading community’s registration system may ask for e-mail address validation by transmitting a link to the email address that must be clicked on by the person seeking registration to validate the email address.
A day trading community should be clear about what it expects from its members. It can put up expectations in a particular page covering clear community guidelines. A day trading community’s communication with its members should be clear, direct, and done frequently. Information sharing can be a powerful tool for such a community.
This article written by David Jose is on Day Trading Community David Jose has been a avert writer on various online trading communities. His work has been published in several places across the web. At present David Jose is contributing towards making MTP a well known and popular online trading community.
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Monday 20 October 2008
Forex global trading is a very large and mostly unregulated market. Everyday millions of dollars are profited and lost among traders. Daily transactions worldwide are estimated to be well over two trillion dollars in the Forex market alone.
So why trade in the global Forex market? There are options to go into other areas such as the stock market, mutual funds, bonds, commodities and property just to name a few. All of which have varying risks and returns that are associated with them. So what is the appeal of the global Forex market then?
Although there is a risk in entering the global Forex market along with it comes the potential for high amounts of return. Its popularity is linked to a few reasons, firstly is there are no brokerage or agent fees. There is no need to sign up or register and access to buy and sell is often available 24/7. This is generally why the Forex market is bigger then both the stock market and commodities market.
At any time of the day there are transactions being made which alone increases volume.
The key to successful Forex trading is always leverage. It is what speeds up a trader’s ability to profit from small investments. For example, if you choose to leverage shares most agents only allow additional trading of around 50% to 75% of the share value. So in a case where you have $100,000 worth of stock the maximum amount of additional stock you can buy would be $75,000. In the Forex market if you have $100,000 worth of currency you can get leverage of up to 100% of your margin. There is more leverage given because currencies are far more liquid then stocks.
But still research shows that only 10% of traders in the Global Forex Market turn profits consistently. The key to their success is being able to take advantage of price movements regardless if their day traders, position traders or swing traders.
To get a better understanding on Forex trading, it is best to try demo trading. This will allow you to play with currencies and create a test portfolio. There will be no actual money involved but you get to work with live real time prices and it will create a “mock” portfolio. The currencies and prices will all be real so it will give a risk free assessment of your ability to trade in the Global Forex Market.
For those looking for a profitable trading system, there is Broker Forex Trading. All that is required is a computer with a working internet connection. Traders don’t have to be brokers to trade here.
Forex Global Trading is not as popular as the stock or commodities market among small investors. Mainly due to the complexity of predicting rises and falls of currencies. It requires a mind that can understand economic factors and view a wide array of variables. There are political, legal, commercial and industrial influences on price fluctuations plus variations caused by speculators and major traders like governments and hedge funds. It however is gaining popularity as small investors are beginning to see it as a lucrative market.
Arkaitz Arteaga - MarketStock.net
For more information about Forex visit Forex - MarketStock.net
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Monday 20 October 2008
Day trading is the practice of buying and selling financial instruments, such as stocks, stock options, currencies, and futures contracts, within the same day such that your positions are usually closed before the end of the day.
Day trading used to be the sole realm of professional investors. In fact, many day traders work for banks or investment firms. Advances in technology and the Internet, however, have allowed even amateur traders to day trading.
Day traders often borrow money to trade. This leveraging allows for a high potential rate of return and large profits. Some day traders earn millions of dollars a year. However, day trading can also be extremely risky. Without the proper skills and tools, day traders can just as easily and quickly lose money.
Although collectively called day trading, there are several different styles of day trading. Some trading styles include:
Momentum Trading
Momentum trading is a strategy in which one believes that stocks, or other financial instruments, move with a momentum or trend. Thus, stocks that have been rising are assumed to continue to rise. Likewise, stocks that are falling will continue to fall. A momentum trader thus buys stocks that are rising and short sells ones that are falling.
Contrarian Trading
Contrarian Trading sharply contrasts momentum trading. Contrarian traders believe that stocks that have been rising will reverse and fall. The contrarian trader buys stocks that have been falling and short sells stocks that have been rising.
Range Trading
Day traders who range trade look for stocks that have been consistently trading within a specific range. These stocks rise after hitting a “support” price and fall after hitting a “resistance” price. A range trader therefore buys stocks that are near the support price and short-sells stocks that are near the resistance price.
For more information on day trading, check out DayTradingModels.com
Greg Chan is a business and finance expert and an active day trader. He has authored several articles on day trading. For more information, visit DayTradingModels.com
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Monday 13 October 2008
I see day traders and forex scalpers selling trading systems online claiming profits but look at the track record closely and you will see, there not real at all - In fact they have never been traded and the profits are paper ones - they all have this disclaimer on them….
“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”.
Umm, so they all have the above on which means, they have never been traded in the brutal hard world of forex trading and of course, trading without knowing the prices ( rather than simulating backwards knowing them) is the real world of trading and much harder.
Day trading doesn’t work however marketing organizations create great copy to sell the concept and the naïve or lazy trader, thinks he is going to make a regular income, with 90% accuracy etc.
He sits back with a cold beer and thinks he will never have to work hard again, of course he gets rewarded but - with an equity wipe out.
When I was a broker, we loved day traders - why?
As you probably know most brokers take the other side of the trade, so they win when the client losses.
No day trader EVER won when I was there and I saw maybe 20,000 client accounts. Also, the other myth is forex brokers hunt day traders stop - nope. They don’t need to bother, the day trader always has his stop within normal random volatility so the market takes him out, the broker doesn’t need to help.
So why doesn’t day trading work?
Think about the huge mass of people who trade each day and they all have different skills, trading systems, and aims and to think, you can work out what this diverse group, of emotional beings is going to do, in a few hours is futile and dommed to failure.
All volatility is random in daily time frames so how on earth can you get the odds on your side?
You cant - so don’t attempt it.
If you want to win at forex trading, learn how to trade longer term and you will find the data helps you calculate the odds and gives you a chance to win and win big gains.
If you want to win at forex trading, you need to trade the odds - so forget day trading and scalping, trade longer term and enjoy currency trading success.
NEW! 2 X FREE ESSENTIAL TRADER PDFS
ESSENTIAL FOREX TRADING COURSE
For free 2 x trading Pdf’s, with 50 of pages of essential info and a course to Forex Trend Following Course visit our website at: http://www.forextrendfollowing.com.
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Monday 13 October 2008
Why do hundreds of thousands online traders and investors trade the forex market every day, and how do they make money doing it?
This two-part report clearly and simply details essential tips on how to avoid typical pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.
- Trade pairs, not currencies - Like any relationship, you have to know both sides. Success or failure in forex trading depends upon being right about both currencies and how they impact one another, not just one.
- Knowledge is Power - When starting out trading forex online, it is essential that you understand the basics of this market if you want to make the most of your investments.
The main forex influencer is global news and events. For example, say an ECB statement is released on European interest rates which typically will cause a flurry of activity. Most newcomers react violently to news like this and close their positions and subsequently miss out on some of the best trading opportunities by waiting until the market calms down. The potential in the forex market is in the volatility, not in its tranquility.
- Unambitious trading - Many new traders will place very tight orders in order to take very small profits. This is not a sustainable approach because although you may be profitable in the short run (if you are lucky), you risk losing in the longer term as you have to recover the difference between the bid and the ask price before you can make any profit and this is much more difficult when you make small trades than when you make larger ones.
- Over-cautious trading - Like the trader who tries to take small incremental profits all the time, the trader who places tight stop losses with a retail forex broker is doomed. As we stated above, you have to give your position a fair chance to demonstrate its ability to produce. If you don’t place reasonable stop losses that allow your trade to do so, you will always end up undercutting yourself and losing a small piece of your deposit with every trade.
- Independence - If you are new to forex, you will either decide to trade your own money or to have a broker trade it for you. So far, so good. But your risk of losing increases exponentially if you either of these two things:
Interfere with what your broker is doing on your behalf (as his strategy might require a long gestation period);
Seek advice from too many sources - multiple input will only result in multiple losses. Take a position, ride with it and then analyse the outcome - by yourself, for yourself.
- Tiny margins - Margin trading is one of the biggest advantages in trading forex as it allows you to trade amounts far larger than the total of your deposits. However, it can also be dangerous to novice traders as it can appeal to the greed factor that destroys many forex traders. The best guideline is to increase your leverage in line with your experience and success.
- No strategy - The aim of making money is not a trading strategy. A strategy is your map for how you plan to make money. Your strategy details the approach you are going to take, which currencies you are going to trade and how you will manage your risk. Without a strategy, you may become one of the 90% of new traders that lose their money.
- Trading Off-Peak Hours - Professional FX traders, option traders, and hedge funds posses a huge advantage over small retail traders during off-peak hours (between 2200 CET and 1000 CET) as they can hedge their positions and move them around when there is far small trade volume is going through (meaning their risk is smaller). The best advice for trading during off peak hours is simple - don’t.
- The only way is up/down - When the market is on its way up, the market is on its way up. When the market is going down, the market is going down. That’s it. There are many systems which analyse past trends, but none that can accurately predict the future. But if you acknowledge to yourself that all that is happening at any time is that the market is simply moving, you’ll be amazed at how hard it is to blame anyone else.
- Trade on the news - Most of the really big market moves occur around news time. Trading volume is high and the moves are significant; this means there is no better time to trade than when news is released. This is when the big players adjust their positions and prices change resulting in a serious currency flow.
- Exiting Trades - If you place a trade and it’s not working out for you, get out. Don’t compound your mistake by staying in and hoping for a reversal. If you’re in a winning trade, don’t talk yourself out of the position because you’re bored or want to relieve stress; stress is a natural part of trading; get used to it.
- Don’t trade too short-term - If you are aiming to make less than 20 points profit, don’t undertake the trade. The spread you are trading on will make the odds against you far too high.
- Don’t be smart - The most successful traders I know keep their trading simple. They don’t analyse all day or research historical trends and track web logs and their results are excellent.
- Tops and Bottoms - There are no real “bargains” in trading foreign exchange. Trade in the direction the price is going in and you’re results will be almost guaranteed to improve.
- Ignoring the technicals- Understanding whether the market is over-extended long or short is a key indicator of price action. Spikes occur in the market when it is moving all one way.
- Emotional Trading - Without that all-important strategy, you’re trades essentially are thoughts only and thoughts are emotions and a very poor foundation for trading. When most of us are upset and emotional, we don’t tend to make the wisest decisions. Don’t let your emotions sway you.
- Confidence - Confidence comes from successful trading. If you lose money early in your trading career it’s very difficult to regain it; the trick is not to go off half-cocked; learn the business before you trade. Remember, knowledge is power.
The second and final part of this report clearly and simply details more essential tips on how to avoid the pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.
- Take it like a man - If you decide to ride a loss, you are simply displaying stupidity and cowardice. It takes guts to accept your loss and wait for tomorrow to try again. Sticking to a bad position ruins lots of traders - permanently. Try to remember that the market often behaves illogically, so don’t get commit to any one trade; it’s just a trade. One good trade will not make you a trading success; it’s ongoing regular performance over months and years that makes a good trader.
- Focus - Fantasising about possible profits and then “spending” them before you have realised them is no good. Focus on your current position(s) and place reasonable stop losses at the time you do the trade. Then sit back and enjoy the ride - you have no real control from now on, the market will do what it wants to do.
- Don’t trust demos - Demo trading often causes new traders to learn bad habits. These bad habits, which can be very dangerous in the long run, come about because you are playing with virtual money. Once you know how your broker’s system works, start trading small amounts and only take the risk you can afford to win or lose.
- Stick to the strategy - When you make money on a well thought-out strategic trade, don’t go and lose half of it next time on a fancy; stick to your strategy and invest profits on the next trade that matches your long-term goals.
- Trade today - Most successful day traders are highly focused on what’s happening in the short-term, not what may happen over the next month. If you’re trading with 40 to 60-point stops focus on what’s happening today as the market will probably move too quickly to consider the long-term future. However, the long-term trends are not unimportant; they will not always help you though if you’re trading intraday.
- The clues are in the details - The bottom line on your account balance doesn’t tell the whole story. Consider individual trade details; analyse your losses and the telling losing streaks. Generally, traders that make money without suffering significant daily losses have the best chance of sustaining positive performance in the long term.
- Simulated Results - Be very careful and wary about infamous “black box” systems. These so-called trading signal systems do not often explain exactly how the trade signals they generate are produced. Typically, these systems only show their track record of extraordinary results - historical results. Successfully predicting future trade scenarios is altogether more complex. The high-speed algorithmic capabilities of these systems provide significant retrospective trading systems, not ones which will help you trade effectively in the future.
- Get to know one cross at a time - Each currency pair is unique, and has a unique way of moving in the marketplace. The forces which cause the pair to move up and down are individual to each cross, so study them and learn from your experience and apply your learning to one cross at a time.
- Risk Reward - If you put a 20 point stop and a 50 point profit your chances of winning are probably about 1-3 against you. In fact, given the spread you’re trading on, it’s more likely to be 1-4. Play the odds the market gives you.
- Trading for Wrong Reasons - Don’t trade if you are bored, unsure or reacting on a whim. The reason that you are bored in the first place is probably because there is no trade to make in the first place. If you are unsure, it’s probably because you can’t see the trade to make, so don’t make one.
- Zen Trading- Even when you have taken a position in the markets, you should try and think as you would if you hadn’t taken one. This level of detachment is essential if you want to retain your clarity of mind and avoid succumbing to emotional impulses and therefore increasing the likelihood of incurring losses. To achieve this, you need to cultivate a calm and relaxed outlook. Trade in brief periods of no more than a few hours at a time and accept that once the trade has been made, it’s out of your hands.
- Determination - Once you have decided to place a trade, stick to it and let it run its course. This means that if your stop loss is close to being triggered, let it trigger. If you move your stop midway through a trade’s life, you are more than likely to suffer worse moves against you. Your determination must be show itself when you acknowledge that you got it wrong, so get out.
- Short-term Moving Average Crossovers - This is one of the most dangerous trade scenarios for non professional traders. When the short-term moving average crosses the longer-term moving average it only means that the average price in the short run is equal to the average price in the longer run. This is neither a bullish nor bearish indication, so don’t fall into the trap of believing it is one.
- Stochastic - Another dangerous scenario. When it first signals an exhausted condition that’s when the big spike in the “exhausted” currency cross tends to occur. My advice is to buy on the first sign of an overbought cross and then sell on the first sign of an oversold one. This approach means that you’ll be with the trend and have successfully identified a positive move that still has some way to go. So if percentage K and percentage D are both crossing 80, then buy! (This is the same on sell side, where you sell at 20).
- One cross is all that counts - EURUSD seems to be trading higher, so you buy GBPUSD because it appears not to have moved yet. This is dangerous. Focus on one cross at a time - if EURUSD looks good to you, then just buy EURUSD.
- Wrong Broker - A lot of FOREX brokers are in business only to make money from yours. Read forums, blogs and chats around the net to get an unbiased opinion before you choose your broker.
- Too bullish - Trading statistics show that 90% of most traders will fail at some point. Being too bullish about your trading aptitude can be fatal to your long-term success. You can always learn more about trading the markets, even if you are currently successful in your trades. Stay modest, and keep your eyes open for new ideas and bad habits you might be falling in to.
- Interpret forex news yourself - Learn to read the source documents of forex news and events - don’t rely on the interpretations of news media or others.
John Gaines
online trading, currency trading, financial service
A veteran of online trading, John Gaines offers the financial services industry his perspectives and expertise on a variety of trading systems and financial instruments, including forex, CFDs, futures, options and stocks.
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Monday 13 October 2008