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Posts Tagged ‘Forex Signals’

Forex Signals For Your Profit

May 10th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

The foreign exchange market is the biggest in the world in terms of the amount of money traded every day. It represents a true opportunity to make money for the savvy and smart investor. Operating the forex market requires a lot of information. If you are an individual investor, then procuring such information is going to be very time consuming and difficult. Even if you manage to procure such information filtering through the information to understand when to make a call can be daunting when you are new to this field.
Several services exist where they provide you with forex signals in which they specifically tell you when to enter the market and when to book your profits. These services will provide you with trading signals for a number of currency pairs and some general forex analysis indicators. These signals are provided in the week and are spread across all the currency pairs.
The advantage of these trading signals is that you do not have to be looking at the variation in the market prices for a long amount of time. You can use the teams of forex trading experts that these services have to identify the trades for you and to send these trading signals to you as and when they arise. As mentioned before, some services provide you with instant signals while others send collective signals over the week. These signals depend on the kind of trading strategy that these services use.
Before selecting such a service, you must review the trading strategies used by these services. You must only select those services whose trading strategies you understand and know that they will make you money. You should remember that one of the primary reasons you have chosen a service is so that you can pursue other activities during this time. If you are new in this industry, then you must spend a trial period reviewing these strategies and understanding them. Then you should try to rank these services based on accuracy of their signals. This is because, some of these services use out-of-dated strategies to provide you the signals. Before you know it your trade will result in a loss. You should try and restrict yourself to simple strategies that you know are going to produce results instead of trying your luck with more sophisticated strategies.
Some of these services offer highly personalised services like providing you charts to explain their signals. They provide you with probabilistic direction of the market and different trades that you can make based upon these. The final decision to trade will always be yours. This effectively means that your options are being laid out in front with clear explanations as to why such an option would be successful. Some services also provide information about other services that offer signals. These services are chosen based upon their performance and track record. If you are satisfied with the performance then you can sign up with that particular service to provide you the signals which you can trade on
You should always choose the services with utmost care and diligence. You should select only on the basis of your research of their performance and track record. Once you have selected a good service, the rest only depends on which signals you need to act and start making profits.

Choosing the Most Profitable Forex, Futures and Stock Trading Time Frames

April 18th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

What are the best Forex time frames?

Research in this area turns up a few things…

Monday through Friday are all viable for day trading. Thursday tends to be the best day for trending. Friday has some risk if you are looking for swing trades because you would need to hold over the weekend. Day trading on Friday is typically fine especially when there are news events to power the markets.

We have found that for day trading 2am EST – 4am EST (New York Time is always used in this document to standardize) is a solid time frame to trade. For a while, we didn’t see a lot of opportunity that was reliable between 4am – 8am EST but in recent months we have found that the 4am – 7am EST is another viable time frame, in particular starting after the news time frame (so 5:00am EST or after.) Just realize you will many times have economic reports that can dramatically alter the markets at 4am – 5am EST depending upon the economic schedule. After that, 7am EST – 11am EST is the final (US session) time frame. This is the case for the U.S. and European crosses. If you add the Asian crosses to the mix, then 6pm EST – 9pm EST is viable.

Should you for a minute attempt to trade each time frame? Personally, we’d say no. Focus on one, two if you must. And if you book a winning trade – shut it down. Move along. That’s your best bet. There is always another time frame; don’t panic that you’ll miss the next great trade. More than likely you’ll find your way to going from a profit to a loss either through a bad trade, a mistake or just the simple odds of trading and then you’ll have to take another trade, thereby raising the trading stress, and so on.

If the whole idea of day trading is unacceptable to you, and realize here we are probably talking on an average session an hour and definitely under two hours, you can of course swing trade. There are options to swing trade daily charts, four hour charts, hourly charts, tick charts, etc. There is always a time frame that will suit your lifestyle perfectly.

What about Index Futures?

For us, that’s fairly easy. From 9:30am EST – 12:30pm EST is prime time. If we use our Power of Quitting techniques we’ll usually be done on average in an hour or less. Sometimes it doesn’t work that way and it goes over. In the afternoon? 1:50pm EST – 3:40pm EST and that is it. Forget the midday. Forget the afternoon if you don’t need it.

What about Stock Trading?

If you are day trading you can typically just use your Power of Quitting techniques and go until completion. You’ll see the activity will follow a similar pattern to what we see in the Index Futures – expect a definitely slowdown in the midday but typically if you are holding some trades through you’ll be able to follow your strategy and wait for activity to resume.

Commodities, Global Index Futures and More?

You are going to find that all of these markets will only be active for 50% or less of their respective trading days. You want to pare every market down to size. You should never have to trade the entire session. Ever.

I’m not day trading….

If that is the case, then time frames intra day mean little to you. Your trades will be influenced by this but if you are swing trading – you are going to buy trades and hold for multiple days or even weeks – then your best movement is probably happening in the time frame mentioned above. But ultimately you are watching the only things that matter – the high, the low and the close each bar whether that is daily, or four hours, or 377 ticks.

Minute Charts, Tick Charts, Daily Charts, Weekly Charts…

So many choices. Here’s what we like to do. When day trading we personally lean towards the tick charts. If we are day trading the index futures, one of the best for us is the 233 tick or, pulling out a little bit, the 377 tick. You’ll notice these are odd numbers. We like to use Fibonacci numbers. Could we have made it 230 and 375 instead? Sure, it probably wouldn’t make a huge difference in the charts themselves. However, much of trading is crowd psychology and we know that for the simple fact that thousands of traders trade using Fibonacci numbers, including for time frames where we’d rather see what they are seeing. Therefore it makes sense to do this rather than use a similar but random number.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number

You can read all about Fibonacci there if you like.

If we are trading Forex on a day trading basis? 55 ticks, 89 ticks and 144 ticks are the most common.

If we are swing trading Forex? 233 ticks can be a real nice one to swing trade off of, or 377.

The same works for stocks – we can trade with tick charts, or intraday with time charts such as 3 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. You just experiment with your chart settings until you find a range that seems to work best. If you go too small, you’ll have way too much activity and the trading strategy you use will probably become unreliable since you are now reacting off of any type of market noise. If you go too large, you’ll end up with trades that will require large stops to hang on with the swings to match the time frames. You may even get in too late many times since the charts are slower to form but you’ll avoid virtually all the noise. So, as you can see it is a balance, but it is not difficult to pull up a chart and just look at it and conclude in seconds that it will work, especially if you have a top notch strategy

That’s why it is crucial to have a strategy that works across all these time frames and markets. You’ll visually be able to decide in seconds what tends to paralyze many other traders and you’ll be settling on exactly what to trade in no time at all – always knowing you’ll have way more opportunities than you could ever pursue on your own.

Instant Forex Profits Course Scam?-Review And What You Shold Know Before Investing In Ifx Profits

April 15th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

Dear Forex traders and future traders.

The purpose of me writing this review is to give you an impartial opinion about the product in question. I want to give you an honest review of the IFX trading course. But before making your final decision whether to purchase the course or not, and if you are undecided maybe you should read this.

  In this review, you are going to find out EXACTLY what IFX Profits trading course is what you’ll get when you purchase it, if you can benefit from it, how will it help you earn income and what you should know before investing one red cent in the IFX Profits  course.

So let’s check it out…

 The Instant Forex Trading course is video training at it’s finest and a course on successfully trading on the international currency trading market. Mr. Kishore M is the creator of the course and he uses the same strategies and steps that are outlined in his course that can potentially earn you $183.000 in 2 months time.

Kishore M, is a very successful Forex Hedge Fund Manager with a CERTIFIED track record. An international investment coach with more than 100,000+ students worldwide which includes professionals from AMEX, Deutsche Bank, Citibank & REFCO. And has been interviewed by Bloomberg, Channel News Asia & BBC. He is also an international investment coach and has revealed 2 of his strategies in a powerful video which includes his proprietary trading strategy and his 100% Accuracy Forex Trading Strategy.

These are the most important thing to me that concern this course: 

-If you can earn any income at all with this course

-If the course has any real value to buyers

-Can the course stand up to all of the hype about IFX Profits trading.

 When you purchase Instant Forex Trading, you’ll get access to many video tutorials that show you step-by-step how Kishore earned money as an international trader for more than 10 years.

 Trust me on this one because I have already gotten my SNEAK PEAK and first hand opportunity to test out what The IFX Profits trading course actually has to offer you and after watching these very powerful videos, I couldn’t wait to write this review and tell you all what I have seen…

 Yes, the name sounds a bit too overstated. But after I watch the video,

I knew that he really knows his trading stuff very, very well and he knows exactly how to trade profitably in the Forex market. But before you start to believe anything that I say, watch the video yourself first.

  Check out this one powerful video now and if you choose to receive more trading strategy videos, Mr. Kishore M is going to show you 3 more

Instant Forex Profits trading strategies that he has been using to make much more than enough profits for his family & his kind of lifestyle. Fortunately enough, all 3 additional videos are of ZERO cost to you.

That means that you get in all 4 videos with 5 different techniques to help you trade successfully and earn money “FREE” of charge. In these videos, you are going to discover:

  •          Step-by-step tutorial video of a Forex strategy used by Mr. Bellum Tan, Robert Kiyosaki Ambassador to make a Real Life PROFITS of $50,000 a month.

 •          How you can earn 350% explosive profits on every single trade.

  Here is a glimpse of what you will see in these 3 additional videos

 Video #1:

Step by step execution of Instant Pip Profits strategy. A strategy

which Robert Kiyosaki’s ambassador, Mr. Bellum Tan has been using.

He made US$50,000 profits with a capital of US$5,000 within 22 days

after learning this strategy from Kishore M. Since then, Mr. Bellum

Tan’s trading account continues to grow.

Video #2:

Pip Breakout Explosive Profits strategy. A technique will earn you 350% explosive returns in half a day.

  Video #3:

Tutorial session by Ms. Mona to clearly explain Kishore M’s strategy in depth. Ms. Mona is the top performing student of Kishore M (ranked in term of profit amount she generated). Her account grows to more than US$163,000 from only US$1000 capital. Of course, she is also one of the most hardworking students of Kishore M, she deserves the result she gets.

To sum things up:

 Instant Forex Profits is one of the  most extensive and impressive training course available on Forex trading today. The course is currency trading at it’s finest and a course on successfully trading on the international currency market. You will use the same strategies and steps that are outlined in his course that can potentially earn you $183.000 in 2 months time. And if you are a newbie to currency trading, you can definitely get ahead of your competition with this course.

  This step-by-step training guide will skyrocket your profits and business to success. And to help you to get to your success as quickly as possible I have created a special Bonus that is a complete MUST HAVE if you are going to use this course. My newly created bonus “Forex Secret Trading Tips” contain two special ebooks that are really going to help you keep track and save you hours of time.

 Follow this link now to get the rest of the story and see what ‘Crucial’  information is missing from Instant Forex Profits and see how my Newly Created  Bonus and ebooks are going to help you with this course and help you earn that  $183.000 which is 100% guaranteed and that’s promised you. It compliments and help fill in the gaps to makes purchasing IFX Profits one of the best decisions that you will ever make.

Fx Files – I Want to Believe in Forex Trading Signals

April 9th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

Forex reviews are being used more abundantly as the forex trading market gains momentum in the investment world. The most common reviews that are being checked are forex reviews for forex trading systems. You can imagine how helpful it would be to have a tool that will generate signals and alert you when you should make a forex trade or get out of one. Such signals could save you an endless amount of money as time can be very critical in spotting opportunities in your currency trading business. These forex trading signals are actually creating quite a bit of interest and are meeting with a lot of criticism. The potential for them to produce a profit is questioned just about everywhere you look. The major criticism that they are facing is the challenge of why people would sell something in the investment market if it actually worked. It is no secret that the forex market can produce some unbelievable profits, that being the case, why would you risk your profit margin by enabling other people to jump in on your trade? The amount of money you make by selling a forex trading signal does not compare at all to what you can make by successfully trading the forex. Unfortunately, individuals that are taking care of a new niche are causing a bad reputation to be developed for an entire market when there are actually companies that do have profitable models. It may take a little effort to expose them, but if a company is new to forex trading, you may want to look a little further into them before putting your hard earned cash out for the forex trading signal model. There are companies that have been around for years with a proven record and their reputation is taking a hit because of individuals just throwing something together so they can make a fast buck. Another problem with this unfair reputation that is being established is that people are putting all of their faith in these forex signals when in reality, any successful currency trader uses a compilation of tools to evaluate and make decisions. You will usually have a successful forex strategy that is enhanced by several exit and entry strategies. Together, all of this can result in a successful model that will allow you to make profit in the forex trading strategy. Realize that there is no full proof method in forex trading. It is a gamble like any other form of market trading and you will experience losses occasionally. The most successful forex traders will use these methods and signals to make them aware of bad situations that you may not have picked up on. No one person is perfect and no one forex trading system is infallible, but together they can produce a very successful model for your forex trading business.

Starting to Practice Forex Trading With a Demo Account

January 16th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

To practice forex trading and gain proficiency in it is best to start with a demo account. Demo account also known as practice forex account enables the forex traders to first transact using paper money and then get on to the real money by trading live in the forex market.
Forex trading is perceived to be one of the most money-spinning markets and thus more and more people are getting fascinated by it. But, since it is a risky market, many people were hesitant up till now to invest money in this market. The reason is fear of losing money and suffering heavy losses. But, with the emergence of the concept of demo accounts, many people have become confident as now they can learn the art of trading in forex market and practice the learnt skills using paper credit on the forex demo account. These days, a large number of forex brokers offer demo account as a part of their forex trading system package.
Forex market is treated by many people as an online casino where there is high risk of losing money. Thus, they prefer to play safe and practice forex trading on forex demo account till the time they acquire confidence in trying their luck in the real forex market. You can enhance your scope of making money only when you are confident enough to know which strategies can work best for you.
You need to know every bit of information regarding forex trading and only then you can expect the market to fetch you fruitful returns. Once you are well aware of the different kinds of forex market technical indicators and also have a fairly good knowledge of investment concepts such as fundamental analysis and technical analysis, your chances of succeeding in forex trading increase by manifold times.
It is necessary to bring theoretical knowledge into practice and only then you can practice forex trading effectively. In the light of this, forex demo account is believed to be the best option. It is worth using the demo account, as with its help, you can also evaluate the effectiveness of your trading strategy and system. When you practice forex trading on demo account and you happen to find out that your forex trading system is not of much use to you, then you can consider replacing it with another system.
Most of the forex traders nowadays prefer to practice forex trading on forex demo account, as you don’t lose anything in it. Rather, you get to learn a lot and gain practical experience. It eliminates the risk of loss of funds and that’s the biggest benefit of using demo accounts to your advantage.
If you want to implement a new strategy but are not very sure about its consequences, then again it is better to practice the new strategy on the forex demo account and see its effects. This is what most of the forex investors do nowadays.
To conclude, it is best to practice forex trading on the forex demo account till you learn the art completely.

Secret Profitable Forex Trading Ebooks

January 14th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

Beginners in the Forex market need all the help they can get. You can’t possibly make it big in the Forex market if you don’t know much about Forex trading. There are lots of online tools that you can make use in order to learn more about this fast-changing market. You can find software programs, trading systems, trend indicators, signal generators, trading courses, and even Forex trading eBooks. Perhaps you’ve already tried all the other online tools expect eBook; the reason may be because you’re not very much interested in reading. You’re probably unaware that you can learn a lot of things from reading. Did you know that there are effective Forex eBooks online which you can get for free? When reading eBooks, you should also understand the things that you’re reading and that is called comprehension.

 

The problem with most traders is that they tend to read blindly; they lack comprehension. The Forex market has lots of unforgiving paths where you can lose huge investments. If you don’t want to end up with the 90% unsuccessful Forex traders in the world, you need to read good trading eBooks now.

 

Trading eBooks are usually written by experienced and knowledgeable Forex traders who are willing to share their secrets to beginners. New traders tend to have lots of questions like how much should they invest, where they should start investing, when they should get out of the trade, etc. Some online Forex trading tools charge fees but why should you even pay fees when you can get free trading eBooks?

 

Investing in the Forex market involves a lot of risks. If you want to be prepared for this kind of situation, you will need a trading eBook. Through these eBooks, you can handle various kinds of situations suitably. By getting the right eBook, you will be given an opportunity to understand everything you need to know about the Forex market.

 

What are the things that you can learn from these trading eBooks? Well, there are so many things to learn like Forex quotes, currency pairs, pips, execution, bids, dealing desk, and many other things.

 

Once you’ve read and understood the trading eBook, you will know that the trading sessions start after an order is placed. Basic orders can include market order, limit entry, stop entry, etc. These orders are used in various applications and you need to learn when to use them. eBooks can provide you with simple introductions about these orders so that you won’t have any difficulty in trading.

 

Aside from the Forex trading info mentioned earlier, you will also learn about trading types. These are the strategies being used by traders such as short and long positions. You will also learn about carry trading, scalping, swing and trend trading, and many others. These types of trading can be used depending on the conditions in the Forex market.

 

So you see, you can learn lots of things from reading trading eBooks. Take your time in reading a good eBook. Search the internet for helpful eBooks written by expert reputable Forex traders. You can even check reviews and ratings of various trading eBooks so that you can pick the best one. Reading may take some time especially if you try to understand the contents of the eBook but its really worthy. Get your free Forex trading eBooks now.

 

Forex Trading Online

January 14th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

The internet is indeed a gift of today’s advanced technology. It has changed the communication industry and now it is being used for different kinds of tasks. It seems that everything is possible through the internet. Before, the only way to trade in the Forex market is to be there physically. But now, you can trade even in your own home or in the office as long as there is an internet connection.

If you think that only the intelligent individuals are involved Forex trading, you’re wrong because at present, average individuals can already trade in the market, provided they have adequate capital. The behavior of different currencies in the Forex market can be compared to the movements of regular stock. The economies of most countries around the globe are fluctuating. Some currencies are highly priced but there are also currencies which have very low values. The Forex market is alive twenty four hours each day and so you can do your transactions at any time of the day and night. If you have an internet connection at home, you can monitor the Forex market trends and other vital info. Don’t worry if you’re not very familiar with Forex trading because you can find loads of information on the internet. Gather all the possible information you can get about Forex trading; you must read, comprehend, and learn from the information sources because that’s one way to attain success. With the internet in your home or in the office, you can monitor all the real time market information without much difficulty.

Forex trading also have mechanics. For you to understand the trade’s mechanics, you will need some helpful tools. Before you invest in the Forex market, you have to ensure that you’ve already developed the right trading skills to prevent possible loses.

There are some Forex firms that help new traders in becoming more skilled in Forex trading by giving free demos, guidance, and helpful Forex news. You can even start investing in the Forex market with only $300. Starters often feel uncomfortable but as days and months pass, you can get the hang of it. With the aid of the internet, it’s much easier to learn about the current Forex market trends. You can also rely on a good Forex broker especially if you’re new in Forex trading. Brokers can help you in developing trading strategies or in finding efficient trading systems. Aside from that, a good broker can also help you with fundamental and technical analysis of relevant data.

You too can earn promising rewards if you’re willing to assume some risks in Forex trading. However, it is vital that you minimize such risks so as not to lose your investment. Make use of all the possible online tools so that you can make educated Forex decisions.

What are your needs? You must be able to identify your needs so that you can choose a god trading system or perhaps a reliable broker. Take your time when researching about the latest trading systems offered in the market. Don’t forget to check the background of the broker as well.

Forex trading online can be easily carried out and you can expect more profits to roll in once you properly use the tools mentioned earlier. As a trader, you need to be disciplined and you must be very careful with all your trading decisions; being hasty will not get you anywhere.

Trading Forex for a Living

January 8th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

A lot of individuals are interested to know more about FOREX trading. Do you want to know why? Well, Forex trading can help you earn lots of money as long as you have the right strategies and trading information. However, with one false move, you can also lose huge money. To be a successful trader, you need to be serious with all your trading transactions.

Exchanges in the Forex market happen instantaneously. Even the expert traders and bankers are challenged to make very good and well-informed trades. A single Forex trade should be done after carefully considering some factors.

Before, only the world’s largest banks were allowed to trade openly. Things have changed greatly since the introduction of the internet. If you have an internet connection, you can already join in Forex trading. Many people are now actively involved in Forex trading because the market is very liquid.

According to the expert traders, it’s easy to trade in the Forex market but for the newbies, it may be a bit difficult. You see, there are some things that you need to consider.

Many traders lose their capital and according to statistics, these traders make up 90% of the total number of traders in the Forex market. The other 10% is still split into two wherein the 5% are the breakeven traders and other 5% are those traders that attain beneficial results. The percentage of successful Forex traders is indeed very small as compared to the unsuccessful ones; because of this fact, many individuals are scared to invest in the Forex market.

If you want to make huge profits, one way to do that is to join Forex trading. However, to consistently earn money, you have to improve the odds involved in trading.

Education is vital if you want to succeed as a Forex trader. You should have adequate knowledge about the market and every detail you can learn is very important. You can also learn many things in Forex trading. In fact, in every transaction you make, you’re bound to learn something that you can use in your future exchanges.

As a Forex trader, you should have your very own strategy or trading system. Many individuals find it difficult to follow rules and guidelines and if you’re like that, the Forex market is not the place for you. You must be very strict in following your devised strategies or trading system. This is the only way to earn more profits.

Aside from having your own trading system and strategies, you should be able to analyze and study the price behavior in the Forex market. Prices tend to change rather quickly and so you need to be prepared at all times. Surprises in the Forex market is natural and you should be prepared for them.

The buying or selling decisions of traders are often influenced by psychological issues. Not all traders are rationally thinking in every transaction they make and you can use this knowledge to your advantage. That way, you can easily decide when to enter or exit.

Successful traders know how to manage their money or investment. You have to ensure that the trading account is adequately funded and you should not enter into any transaction blindly.

Now that you know something about Forex trading, don’t you think it’s time that you also trade in the market? If you’re willing to take some risks, you can surely earn huge profits.

 

Choose Your Forex Trading Platform Wisely

December 15th, 2009 FXExpert No comments

Forex Fortunate 5%

November 27th, 2009 FXExpert No comments

” Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.”    Warren Buffett

The financial markets industry attracts its share of dishonest and devious people, and the Forex sector has its quota of charlatans. Please be mindful of this when assessing brokers, signal services, and the various others who populate the Forex world.

Some people are easily misled, deceived and cheated, especially traders who are inexperienced, unrealistic, and lacking a suitable temperament. Forex blogs and reviewers report various signal scams, including falsification of performance results, sending different signals to the same client base, and various other tricks. We encourage you to beware, and undertake thorough research before signing with any Forex service providers.

Gambler or Trader?Probably the most serious impediment to profitable Forex trading is an inappropriate attitude. Forex often appeals to inveterate gamblers who seldom resist the urge to place a bet in the forlorn hope of satisfying their “big win” craving. How do we recognise a penchant for gambling? Overtrading with excessive margin is probable a certain indicator.One of the most astute traders we know was a chronic gambler and is now a wealthy Financier. He has related several times that what eventually made him a profitable Forex trader were the lessons learned to overcome his problem gambling. Those capable of being honest with themselves will recognise any signs of ludomania. If you have a gambling problem please seek professional help, and avoid Forex trading.Some claim any financial instrument trading is a form of gambling since it involves taking a risk in hope of reward. What is the difference between gambling and professional trading? Professional traders have a highly developed sense of discernment. They employ prudent risk/reward assessment, usually erring on the side of caution, and identify multiple confirmation signals before entering the market; for them each trade is a probable profit making opportunity.Odds For and AgainstThe Forex is arguably the most authentic zero sum game on earth. Why do the odds greatly favour those who divide so such of the Forex game spoils? Because they are playing against traders who are hugely disadvantaged by there own attitudes and behaviour. It is a matter of statistical probability. You have a much improved chance when the odds are in your favour, and that may simply mean not being one of the traders with the odds unquestionably against them.Adept traders enter the market when they have determined the odds strongly favour them, and not merely marginally so. They put their money at risk only when they have a high probability of making a profit.Losses are certain to occur. Professional traders minimise them by employing loss mitigating management methods and self-discipline.  Gamblers have insufficient control to do this, and are thus eating their own odds, actually betting to lose.

It is said 5% of Forex Traders take 95% of the profits. Another noteworthy statistic is the claim that approximately 90% of Self Directed Forex traders lose their opening account balance within 90 days. We hear remarks that such losses are a trader’s tuition fees. Doubtless it may help to teach some valuable lessons, unfortunately most repeat the errors, and their habitual losses predictably become the spoils divided by the fortunate 5%.These numbers may be somewhat distorted and exaggerated, yet they convey telling facts. An extremely low percentage of Forex traders share an extremely high percentage of the profits, and the preponderance of new Forex trading accounts are soon lost.The vast majority of Forex traders attempting are totally unqualified to accomplish their profit goals. Perhaps they have thoroughly researched the subject, done several courses, opened trial and active accounts, however, in most instances they remain ill equipped to meet the Forex challenge. They usually lack the capital necessary for a reasonable chance of success, are easily lured by brokers offering extremely high leverage, habitually trade with perilously high margin, and lack the requisite self-control. Accordingly, the odds are comprehensively against them.The attitude of habitual Forex losers often has a common denominator. They take losses personally, believing the Forex should be subject to their trading decisions; they actually blame losses on the market. Professional traders see the market as their friend, the source of their livelihood.

The definitive Forex challenge is becoming one of the few taking most of the profits. We know and accept that losses and drawdowns are inevitable, even for the five percenters. The difference between them and those whose money they share is making considerably more profits than losses, and they achieve this by applying a superior Trader Intelligence.The 5% are dedicated to taking profits.  An “if only” attitude does not prevail. There are no regrets or recriminations when a closed trade reverts in the direction they had traded. They understand that the market will constantly offer profit opportunity; it is not about one particular trade. These traders have an unshakeable conviction that their highly developed Trader IQs will consistently reveal profitable market entries and exits. Trader IQMost Forex traders have above average intelligence; nonetheless, the statistical evidence suggests an alarmingly high percentage have below average Trader IQs. Joining the Fortunate 5% requires a high Trader IQ.To begin, make a earnest effort to analyse your trading. Traders give myriad reasons why their losses are not their fault. The capacity to generate plausible excuses and believable justification is not indicative of a high Trader IQ. Intelligent practitioners of the Forex trading art accept responsibility, exercise discipline, learn and practice patience and detachment. Intelligent Forex traders are willing and able to risk a reasonable capital sum, establish achievable profit goals, eliminate impulsive trades, and avoid excessive risk.Unless you are able to make a genuine commitment to achieving these goals you are wasting your time and money. Irrespective of the professional Signal Service you use, or the trades you select, without a sufficiently high Trading IQ you are on a fools errand.

The Internet is replete with data for those seeking information on the technical and fundamental factors that impact the Forex, education and training, broker choices, and signal services. An good resource list for Forex service providers is available at http://www.forexontop.com. MagnitudeOn 17th of September 2008 CLS Bank settled 1,554,166 Forex payment instructions with a gross value of US$ 8.6 trillion. Huge numbers, though of course leveraged to varying degrees. Many quote $2 trillion as the nominal daily Forex volume, though it now seems to have surpassed $4 trillion.BrokersImpulsive, self-destructive traders fuel the profits of online Forex brokers. Those of us who have witnessed the introduction and proliferation of retail Forex trading have seen numerous churn and burn shops come and go, and some remain and continue to grow. Those interested in pertinent facts may want to review the Refco story – http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0732847120080807Most Forex brokers receive good and bad reviews. A broker may score high ratings on some sites, and far lower on another. There are sites where no broker rates over 50%, supposed review web sites that are owned by brokers, and the inevitable fake reviews generated by self-interested parties. Sound confusing, that is exactly what the retail brokerage market has become, and the Caveat Emptor warning must be heeded. Conflicting reviews and scams apart, the real issue is how to make a relatively informed choice when choosing a Forex broker. A good place to start is your Internet search engine. Incidentally, there are sites purporting to answer this question that describe the exact features of particular firms, and conveniently provide links to them.The fact is, we cannot know how a broker will deal with us until we have opened an active account. Many make the error of thinking brokers with the highest Internet profile will provide the best service and attention. Substantial advertising budgets are not necessarily indicative of a brokers ethics or efficiency. Even big brand associations can lead the unwary astray. Market Maker brokers may trade against your position. Stop hunting price spikes, persistent data glitches, unfilled orders/slippage, and suddenly widening spreads during high liquidity sessions, are a few of the practices used by such predators. Brokers who claim to have no intervening trading desks may also engage in sharp practices in the dedicated pursuit of your money.First and foremost make a concerted effort to verify the broker is legitimately connected to the Forex, and is reputable. Treat reviews with a degree of circumspection: some use reviews to denigrate each other. You can usually spot a real review.As a general rule we prefer ECN brokers, though we stress there are ethical alternatives. Trading PlatformsMost Forex platforms will successfully process your order with a varying degrees of sophistication. At any given time a few become popular and tend to be dominant. Where possible familiarise yourself with the broker’s trading platform, with the explicit understanding that trial trading is not a facsimile of the real thing. It is merely an opportunity to understand the particular Order Management System’s processes and protocols.The goal of trial account platform practice is becoming comfortable and confident when executing your orders, before risking your funds with live platform trades. Trades are often incorrectly entered because of careless keystrokes, and lack of attention to basic trade execution procedures. Always check your trade before you place it – instrument, amount, and order. ChartsThe chart is an essential trading aid. It displays the market’s past, present, and possibly hints at its future.Technical Tools Studies that once cost large sums are now freely available on the charts provided by most brokers. Each of these trading tools may be useful, however, in most instances covering a chart with a maze of overlays and studies serves no useful purpose. Again, it is a matter of research and personal preference.QuotesWhen you execute a Forex trade you are effectively buying the base currency, the first one in the cross, and selling the quoted currency, the second in the cross. The currency pair or cross is the instrument you are trading. When you buy the instrument you pay the ask price: when you sell you pay the bid price. You do not have to delve too deeply to read stories of chart quotes and executed prices differing, especially in volatile markets. Stories are far from rare of the same trade being stopped out or not filled by one broker, yet not closed or filled by another. The issue of slippage is a matter between you and your broker. A stock exchange quote emanates from a specific central source; the Forex is not a centralised market. A Forex dealer’s charts reflect a variety of price sources, and sometimes motivations. Accordingly, prices may vary, sometime quite significantly, because your broker’s third party charts display indicative price, not necessarily the broker’s executable price. So-called live streaming Forex prices, provided by firms like Reuters, play a critical role in the Forex price discovery process. In a way these streaming prices are an aggregated indication of current Forex quotes. At source prices are often manually entered and thus subject to human error, and at several points of distribution they may be manipulated.Indicative prices signify or imply current Forex quotes and past fluctuations. Virtually all reputable charts will reflect the same trends and be quite closely aligned, nonetheless, they indicate a past bid/ask price, not necessarily a broker’s execution price, though they can be identical, or nearly so.The more sources used the greater the accuracy of the price – EUR:USD and USD:JPY crosses are widely traded and reported, and tend to be closely aligned across charts. Similarly, quotes tend to be more accurate during the relevant sessions, e.g. the EUR, GBP and CHF during the London session, the JPY, AUD and NZD during the Asia/Pacific session.The SpreadAn obvious conclusion is that the lower the spread the lower the cost to trade. There are brokers who offer raw spreads and charge a fee, so it is not necessarily that simple.Some brokers offer fluctuating spreads, others fixed. Both appeal to traders for different reasons. The former because it may be a more transparent picture of current market liquidity and volatility, the latter because traders know what the spread will be, supposedly irrespective of liquidity and volatility.

A sensible money management plan is essential for disciplined trading. Effective money management is the basis of Forex survival and profitability. Traders who do not take this requirement seriously probably have low Trader IQs and are merely gambling.Objectively review the discretionary components of your Money Management plan. • How much capital can you risk, and by risk we mean afford to lose? • What margin percentage of your usable account balance do you risk on each trade?• What leverage ratio do you apply to the margin?• How much profit do you expect to make? • Calculate your profit goal, as an annualised return on your account balance – is it realistic?Only about 2% of Forex traders achieve an annual return exceeding 100%, an extraordinary result by any rational expectations. CapitalThe funds you use to trade Forex are at considerable risk. The extent of your risk depends on your choices; i.e., the broker you choose and the trades you make. Only risk money you can afford to lose when trading Forex.That said, not having sufficient capital is a significant reason for such high self directed trader attrition rates. An under capitalised account dramatically reduces the probability of success, making it extremely difficult to implement prudent money management.This is an approximate guide for the recommended capital to open various Forex accounts. • Standard Account              $50,000 to $100,000+ • Mini Account                       $5,000 to $20,000+ • Micro Account                     $1,000 to $5,000Be patient. Rather than rushing to open an undercapitalised account wait and accumulate the maximum possible capital you can risk. EquityAdding the used margin to the available, or useable, margin determines account equity. When there are no open positions the Account Balance, Equity and Available Margin are the same.MarginInitial Margin is the amount put at risk to collateralise a trade and is expressed as a percentage of the trade’s total value. The initial, or used, margin is the security deducted from an account, and is often leveraged. Brokers usually aggregate initial margins to fund their own trading. What remains is the available, or usable, margin. This fluctuates with a trade’s value. When the remaining margin falls below the broker’s acceptable margin requirements open positions are liquidated by a margin call. Please carefully read broker’s margin policies, and ensure you fully understand the different margin terms, especially the margin call policies. Where a broker has a margin policy of 1% a leverage ratio of 100-1 is available, 2% equates to leverage of 50-1, 2.5% to 25-1, 5% to 20-1, and so on. We recommend Self Directed Trader margin of 1% to 5%, subject to the leverage chosen, positions open, and market conditions.LeverageOne compelling reason for the rapid expansion of online Forex trading is the high leverage offered by many brokers. The National Futures Association defines Leverage as: “The ability to control large dollar amounts of a commodity with a comparatively small amount of capital.”Leverage is expressed as a ratio, e.g. 10-1, and is unquestionably an appealing notion. We open a $1,000 account with a Forex broker offering 100-1 leverage, and willing to instantly lend us $99,000. What a deal. Voila! We now have a $100,000 trading bank, and can make 100% return on our capital with only a $1,000 profit. Sounds easy enough. Consider this, we will lose 100% of our capital with a $1,000 loss, and that may only take a handful of pips if we are silly enough to trade with preposterous margins and leverage. Trading in this manner dramatically increase the risk of loss, and is basically suicidal. Those using such strategies are known in some brokerage circles as wood ducks – easy prey.Leverage is a useful tool for those who know how and when to use it. That means judiciously, after you begin to consistently take trading profits. Think of leverage as a scalpel, not a chain saw. Most professional Forex traders use leverage between 2-1 and 5-1. Self Directed Traders may claim this is unrealistic for those with small accounts, and some may want to use leverage up to 20-1 in conjunction with a sensibly low margin. This is not totally unreasonable, however, we must also realise the smaller the capital the greater the need to protect it. When you have become a profitable, confident trader you may chose to review your Money Management Plan.Happy Trading Forex Signs©2009 http://www.forexsigns.net/