Archive

Posts Tagged ‘Forex Trading System’

What is Forex Trader Psychology – and – Have you Got What it Takes?

May 12th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

Can you succeed at Forex Trading? Have you got the mental profile required to do the job it in the vicious, sometimes sky high, other times mine-shaft depression low world of FX Trading? OK this may sound like a coaches motivational rant, but having the right psychology WILL influence your profits – So before you lose your savings read this and ask yourself – Is this me? Or should I stay with regular shares?

There are many aspects of Forex trading that are outside the investor’s control.

Forex market players number in the millions – traders from the world’s banks, governments and private people – just like you. Unlike shares, even the biggest traders have a minute effect on exchange rates.

Even when setting interest rates and other actions that influence inflation, the largest governments can have no immediate impact on exchanges. The Forex markets are simply too large – $2 trillion daily – for any one player to dominate the action.

Trading strategies, which are essential, can increase the odds of making profits and help minimize or avoid losses. They give the knowledgeable trader that tiny edge that can make the difference between winning and losing on a given trade, or over time.

But before looking at market influences, and even before developing a set of technical strategies that help guide trading choices, the novice Forex investor has to honestly and objectively examine his or her own attitudes.

Currency trading is very fast, complex and needs a well considered strategy. That game plan has to be executed with nerve and skill. Trading successfully in a demo account for several weeks is essential but can lead to unwarranted confidence. Traders who invest Monopoly money will often take chances, leading to successful trades, that they wouldn’t dream of taking with real money.

Real trading requires answering honestly a number of questions that can be difficult to answer objectively when the subject is the self-same trader asking them. What are your financial trading goals? Looking for a quick buck? Seek elsewhere. You will have losses that wipe them out. Looking for secure, low-risk capital accumulation? Try AAA bonds instead.

Currency trading can be a stimulating mental game and an exhilarating adventure at the same time. The thrill of victory! The despair of (temporary) defeat! The mastery of the intricacies of Fibonacci, Parabolic SAR, Stochastic Oscillators and Doji Stars. All this, and much more, is part of Forex investing.

As a result, you have to be very honest with yourself and decide how (and whether) you are prepared to deal with the fear and pressure. Even professional traders do not have any certain system of ensuring profits and avoiding losses.

The pressure of deciding when to buy and when to sell is many times larger than in stock trading. The fear of loss is greater, in part because of the amplification provided by 100:1 or larger leverage.

Even winning can be problematic. With practice and persistence, provided you don’t quit too soon or run out of money too quickly, you will have periods when it all seems laughingly easy. That can lead to euphoria, which is great. But it can also lead to cockiness, which is fatal. Nothing will wipe out a trader quicker than arrogance. Confidence is essential, vanity is suicidal.

The other side of the coin to be avoided is too much second guessing. Successful trading requires bold moves based on sound judgment and confidence. Every decision is a small leap of faith, since no one can know in advance for certain what the outcome will be. Probability of one degree or another is the best that can be achieved.

All this will be accompanied by the fear of loss of capital, which often leads to panic selling in the face of what would have been a temporary price movement. From such panics are depressions made, both psychological and economic.

Forex is a roller coaster ride. But if you have a good inner ear and a strong stomach, bolstered by the brain of a statistician and the nerves of a pro billiards player, you will be well suited to end the ride with full pockets.

Factors in Choosing a Forex Trading Broker

May 7th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

Free Forex Trading Strategies – a Free Forex Robot for Huge Gains

May 7th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

There are free forex trading strategies you can get online and one of the best is a free forex robot which will beat over 95% of the ones sold online and is proven to make big gains here it is…

The robot is called Richard Donchian’s 4 Week Rule and it was devised in the late seventies by Richard Donchian to trade commodity markets (although it will work on any trending market) and as currencies trend well, this is an ideal market to trade the system on.

Its very simple and you don’t even need a computer to do the calculation:

Here are the rules:

Cover short positions and reverse to a long position when a price exceeds the highs of the previous 4 weeks. Close long positions and reverse to a short position when a price falls below the lows of the previous 4 weeks.

Now that’s what I call simple!

Don’t think it doesn’t make money it does back test it and see.

The 4 Week Rule has been used by some of the world’s top traders and even trading legend Richard Dennis was a fan so if some of the top traders have used it then your in good company.

If you use it, you will be on every major trend and long term it will make money.

There is of course a drawback and that’s – what happens when the markets aren’t trending?

Here you may want to filter the exit and use a 1 or 2 week period to exit and re enter on the next 4 week rule, this will smooth the equity curve.

Now despite the fact the free forex trading strategy will make money, few traders will use it and here are the reasons why:

Its to simple

People just assume it wont make money because its so simple but of course all the best forex trading strategies are simple. A simple strategy is likely to be very robust in the face of brutal ever changing market conditions with fewer elements to break than complicated ones.

Its Not Trendy

It doesn’t have the ring about it like a system based on artificial intelligence or chaos theory but it will beat most despite its simplicity same goes for all the scientific theories that don’t work used by the far out investment community – Gann, Elliot and Fibonacci.

Its Not Fussy about Market Timing

It’s not a pinpoint trading system which predicts, it simply reacts to price change. Of course, this is the way to trade – but most traders are looking for the perfect entry (of course they cant do it) and won’t try this system.

Its boring

If you like trading a lot its boring, a few trades a month at best and 5 m minutes a day to execute them. On the other hand, if you like making money and want to get on with your life this system is fantastic!

So there you have it a free forex trading strategy that works and will continue to work. It be adapted to your risk tolerance as well customized as well Take a look at this free forex trading strategy and you will find, it can help you achieve currency trading success in less than 15 minutes a day!

Building a Forex Trading Strategy

April 29th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

Your chosen Forex trading strategy will drive the trading decisions that you make in the Forex trading system. If you are new or a novice to Forex trading systems, you will need to develop an appropriate strategy that will evolve over time. The following steps outline the approach to building a Forex trading strategy that may be adapted and tailored to your needs.

Develop a Forex Trading Plan – A Forex trading strategy should never be considered absolute or complete. Part of having a Forex trading strategy is incorporating a plan for making adjustments to the strategy. You will need to be able to make adjustments without completely revamping your strategy. Though you may consider your trading strategy to be more technical than fundamental or vice versa, you should take advantage of any available market data in making your trading decisions regardless of which discipline it falls under.

Initiate a Forex Trade – You must decide on the currency pairs that you which to trade and the number of units to trade. You must establish either a buy or sell position. You are then ready to initiate a trade as either a market order or a limit order. A market order initiates a trade at the current market price while a limit order permits a trade to be executed when the market price reaches a limit that is predetermined by you. As a safeguard for online trading, particularly with limit orders, you should also establish limits to take profits or stop losses. Take profit and stop loss limits become particularly important with online trading when your Internet connection is loss. In the time it will take to reestablish a connection, the market price may change and fall outside of any established limits. Your trading platform may be able to calculate a suitable set of limits. Limits are set as either the percentage of the trading range or as distance from the market entry price. If you have established an open position, you may adjust these calculated values to suit your needs.

Determine When to Exit a Forex Trade – If a trade moves in favor of your established position you must evaluate the move. In a long position, a move is considered significant if it is in the range of 15 to 20 pips. In response to such a move, it would be advantage to raise your stop-loss limit above the market entry price and your take-profit limit by about 20 pips or the number of your choice. If the trade continues to move in your favor you should continue to raise the stop-loss and take-profit limits. This aspect of a trading strategy allows you to continue to generate profits while the market is working in your favor. Unless, for some reason, you feel you need to manually exit the trade, you should not exit the trade until the market reverses to trigger your stop-loss order. A take-profit limit should not be used to signal an exit from the trade. If a trade moves against your established position, you have two options. You may manually exit the trade before your stop-loss limit is reached or stay in the trade until either the stop-loss or take profit limit triggers an end to the trade. It would not be beneficial to lower the stop-loss limit with the expectation that the market price will reverse for a short period of time. While such a reversal is possible, the odds of this type of market action are low and your Forex trading strategy should not depend on this type of anomaly.

What Is A Forex Trading System That Will Make Money?

April 24th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

A forex trading system is defined as being a group of specific rules or parameters used by traders to identify entry and exit points to trade.

Incorporated with money management and automated trade placement with your broker, the forex trading system can be completely automated.Most forex brokers offer MT4 (meta trader 4) platform in which to trade, making it possible for anyone to create a winning system, and put it on autopilot. And if making your own system sounds like too much pain and hard work, you can simply buy one (or a few) of the many automated forex trading systems that are available for purchase and download. These are generally known as Forex Trading Robots.

Unfortunately, if you plan on relying on someone else’s trading system, then your fate, (or at least the fate of your account) will be completely in the hands of a complete stranger! You would want to make sure they know what they are doing and have covered all the necessary parameters in their trading system.

At the very minimum, the forex trading system should include:

1. Entry rules that provide a high probability of choosing the market direction correctly

2. Exit rules that convert the high probability entries into ‘money in the bank’

3. Sound money management system

1. High Probability trading is only the start of a well oiled forex trading system… NOT the be all and end all… Yes it is important to have a system that can trade successfully but it is not necessary to have all your trades as winners.

It isn’t even necessary to have most of your trades as winners. Given the laws of probability, it is highly likely that given enough trades, you will choose the direction correctly 50% of the time. I know traders that choose the direction correctly less than 40% of the time, but still have a trading system that returns a profit in the long run… and if you’re wondering how still, read on for more insight.

2. Exit rules… now this is the second most important part of your winning forex trading system. Once you’re in a trade, knowing when to exit. You see, in an ideal world you would want to leave your trades on long enough to capture the majority of the move on winners, and get quickly out of losing trades. If you can do this, then you’ll be well on your way to having a forex trading system that defies the odds that 90% of all traders will lose all their accounts… And accounts of $1000 or less will be wiped out within the first 3 months!

But doom and gloom aside, knowing your exit strategy before you enter a trade is a very important part of any successful trading system. If you could let all your profits run until the move is finished, and all your losses cut short and sweet, you will be well on the way to making a fortune trading the markets.

3. Money management. A parameter of this importance seems to be a bit out of place at the end of an article! But your ability to impose correct money management strategies on your system will be the difference between success and failure, rags and riches, extreme wealth and extreme disappointment. To define exactly what a good money management system is beyond the scope of this article, but needless to say, I recommend that you start creating your system based on money management, and not entry points (like so many terrible forex trading systems do).

The biggest disappointment in the forex trading business is seeing the high number of automated trading systems (forex robots) that are based solely on entry and give little thought to making an algorithm that is sophisticated enough to let profits run and cut losses short. And most give little recognition to the fact that it is money management skills that turn in the profits in the long run.

Forex Robot Software – What to Look for?

April 23rd, 2010 FXExpert No comments

The Secret Behind Forex Robots

 

Forex robot software is making waves.  They are providing numerous benefits to traders who are venturing into the automated trading arena.  What is making Forex robots so successful?  Forex robots are also known as Expert Advisors or EAs.  This is a fitting monicker since they are acting in the capacity of a true expert, advising on which trades to make and subsequently executing those trades automatically.  

 

As an expert advisor, Forex robots provide advice and information about when to execute a forex trade.  The expert advisor will interpret and identify the trading signals that are derived from technically analyzing the Forex market.  

 

What do they do?

 

• Forex robots provides indicators when a trader would enter or exit a deal.  Some traders would like to be notified first before the robot enters a deal and the trader would manually enter the deal or exit from it.  But the EA could be programmed so that it could automatically enter a transaction.  The trader might also be responsible for providing the structure from where certain trade information and signals would be determined, but most expert advisors come with preloaded settings that can be run right ‘out of the box.’ 

 

• Aside from entering or exiting a transaction, the forex robot can also be programmed to perform trade tasks like scaling in and out of positions, trailing stops, risk management and identifying market conditions that suggest it would be better to not take a trade.

 

• Forex robots automatically apply your money management strategy to their program and incorporate it in the trades that they do.  Money management is all about determining how much of your capital you are willing to risk per trade, or the risk factor involved in trading.  It’s importance cannot be underestimated.  Some traders would not include money management and would go for a free strategy.  But this could be a costly mistake, so it is better to make sure that the Forex robot already has a money management system in place. Some forex robots allow the operator to input algorithms in the system to integrate their own management style.   Ignoring money management guidelines is the number one reason that retail forex traders fail.

 

• Forex robots are also capable of placing, changing and removing stop losses and take profit limits.  Most also allow for the manual placement of entry orders, providing flexibility to those traders who incorporate a hybrid strategy of manual and automated trading.

 

To operate a Forex robot or an EA, it is necessary to possess a computer, stable internet connection and at least some general knowledge on how Forex trading works. You would also have to sign up for an account with a Forex broker, this is where the expert advisor will make its trades through.   After setting up an account, you can get the Forex robot from a manufacturer.  The EA would be downloaded to your computer and would make trades for you.

 

But there is another challenge when using a forex robot.  Although they can do the trade for you 24 hours a day and 5 days a week, it is impossible to keep your computer working for that long, and the risk exists that an unexpected crash of the computer system running the robot could cause catastrophic losses.  So, there are some companies that offer virtual hosting where traders can continue trading while giving their computers and trading robot the needed rest, eliminating the risk of sudden power loss.

 

These service providers would just require necessary information so that they can host your trading platform.  They would be providing you would a username and password to have access to your server.  When looking for services like this, it is important to have a demo account first where you can check the service before foregoing into trading real money and account. 

 

But as reiterated by experts, having an automated trading system, in this case the Forex robot, is not an assurance of succeeding in trading and becoming a millionaire.  It still relies on your trading skills, knowledge and mindset.

 

For more information regarding automated forex trading software, click the link below…

Understanding Forex Indicators: Spotlight Macd

April 23rd, 2010 FXExpert No comments

Trading in the forex market tends to be a little confusing when you’re first starting, which is why it’s vital to your success as a trader to understand technical indicators and use them within the framework of your forex trading strategy. Forex indicators assist traders in predicting the direction in which the currency market will travel. Following the indicators will give any forex trader the information they need to work their forex trading strategy. Because of its popularity with forex traders, we will begin with the moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) indicator.

The WHAT? – The MACD indicator sounds complicated so it must be, right? Wrong! The MACD indicator is one of the easiest trading indicators to analyze because it allows you to quickly identify and exploit a short-term trend. Composed of two colored lines, generally red and blue, the MACD forex indicator tells you if a currency is experiencing an up trend or a down trend. The first line, the MACD line is the total difference between two exponential moving averages, commonly referred to as EMAs, whereas the second line is the signal line. The signal line (blue) is plotted on top of the MACD line (red) to show you when to buy or sell.

Interpreting MACD – Now that you have a basic understanding of the MACD forex trading indicator, we will discuss two of the most common techniques used to make a forex technical analysis. First, are crossovers, which are indicators based on when the signal line and the MACD line “crossover” one another. When the MACD line crosses below the signal line that’s a technical indicator that you should sell or go short. If however, the MACD cross above the signal line, that’s a sign that it’s a good time to buy.

Next is the divergence technique, which generally signals to traders that a current trend will end soon. You will notice that the price is moving in the opposite direction of the MACD when a trend is coming to an end. With this technique you must also be on the lookout for positive or negative divergence. Positive divergence happens when the foreign exchange rate makes a new low, but the MACD begins to clime. Negative divergence occurs when the currency exchange rate makes a new high, yet the MACD falls and often closes lower than the previous day’s high.

The MACD is the most popular forex technical indicator because its clear signals are a simple indicator to buy or sell. Additionally this indicator eliminates the need to guess which way the trends are going, because the crossover and divergence techniques lets traders know they are trading in the direction of the trends. If you’ve chosen to use a short term forex trading strategy, you will find the MACD indicator especially useful due to its reliability when tracking short term trends in the market.

When using the MACD indicator, traders should be aware of whipsaw patterns that occur in the forex market. Whipsaw patterns involve a foreign exchange rate heading in one direction, and then quickly moving in the opposite direction. These patterns can cause the foreign exchange rate to fall or surge quickly relative to its position prior to the whipsaw.

Forex Trading – a Simple System That’s Very Profitable

April 21st, 2010 FXExpert No comments

I have been giving some live trades to show how a simple system can make big profits. We have done 2 live trades and made two great profits.

We did the same last year we did 5 trades live and won on all of them!

Now that does not make me a genius, but I want to share something with you that I have learned over 25 years as a trader.

The Best Methods are SIMPLE

I have tried just about every way of trading from using artificial intelligence to neural networks and some methods overloaded with indicators and I can tell you the best methods are simple.

The method I use is simply this:

1. Look for significant levels of support and resistance

2. Use a breakout methodology

3. Use stochastics to time entry

4. Use Bollinger Bands for targets and RSI as contrary trading indicator

That’s it.

People think the harder they try or work on a method the better it will work but this is not true.

You get nothing extra for effort in the FOREX markets.

There are many smart traders out there who build incredibly complex systems and are dismayed when they collapse in the brutal world of trading.

The problem with complex systems is there are to many elements to break.

My system above works on any market not just currencies and its logic is sound.

It works makes money and only takes 30 minutes or so a day to execute and there is also no intra day monitoring as it works off daily closes..

It Does However Need:

The trader to spot and filter the set ups. This means YOU pull the trigger not a computer.

Many traders don’t like doing this but the fact is:

We can think computers cant and I personally like the responsibility of making the trade. If you want to delegate totally to a computer then this system may not be for you but I am always more comfortable pulling the trigger myself.

So there you have it a simple system that makes money and I have given you the logic and components for free.

I hope you like it and its of as much use to you as it is to me – after 25 Years I am still using it and it is still making money which is what forex trading is all about.

Forex Trading – 5 Common Novice Trading Mistakes

April 20th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

In forex trading the odds are that 90% of traders lose. While forex trading looks simple it is not and if you want to join the winning minority don’t make these common mistakes.

Here are your mistakes to avoid in no particular order of importance.

1. Trying to buy success

Its tempting to buy one of the courses or e-books sold on the net that promise you wealth for around $100.00, but common sense should tell you cant buy success in the manner.

If you really want to buy one – ask for the real time track record and see the profits the vendor has made.

After all if he has made no money why should you trust his advice?

You will find in forex trading that most of these courses are sold by writers who have never traded in their

lives, or failed brokers.

In most instances you won’t get a real time track record.

Don’t fall for the hype.

2. Don’t day trade

If you really want to lose money go ahead and day trade it’s the best way to wipe out your account equity quickly.

The odds are against you and the theory that you can tell where prices are going in such a short time period as a day is nonsense.

3. Understand and have confidence in your method

If you buy a method or do you own make sure you understand the logic it is based on or you will not be able to follow it with discipline.

If you don’t have confidence in your method you won’t have the discipline to follow it.

If this occurs you don’t have a method at all!

4. Choose a simple system

It’s a fact in forex trading that simple systems work best and only contain a few indicators.

The more complicated a system is the more likely it is to break in the brutal world of trading.

Simple systems are easy to understand, easy to apply and have the best chance of making you money.

5. Work Smart Not Hard

There is no correlation between how hard you work and how much money you make. You need to work smart not hard.

Get a simple system and once that is done and your trading should take an hour a day or less.

Many traders are constantly chopping and changing systems looking for the holy grail but sadly it doesn’t exist.

You can do it

The fact is everything about forex trading can be learned and anyone can learn the basics of good trading.

To do this you must accept responsibility for your destiny.

No one else will give you success it comes from within.

All the information you need to start trading forex for success is on the net and it’s free.

Get started by getting studying a technical breakout system and adding filters and you will see how easy it is.

To succeed you need to work smart, learn a method you have confidence in and then finally, have the discipline to trade it for long term success.

Forex trading – Commodity Trading Futures Trading Software

April 16th, 2010 FXExpert No comments

As more and more traders are moving into Forex day trading, the competition has become fierce. Everyone is trying to better the other one. You need to take an online course to get to top and win the competition. If we look at statistics for the present year, the hype about day trading success may be not so justified. A little orientation and knowledge can let you find the key that will bring you on top.

To succeed you need determination, grit, inside information of market fluctuations and many more factors. It is a constant learning process. Even the experienced hand can take no chances. For how much can one rely on accomplishments?

Look around and select a tactic. As a day trader you need a “small term indicating trading” method. You have to open and close the deal within the span of 24 hours; so maybe even two or three methods can be followed. You can have dealings with several currencies at the same time. Accordingly, you can pick and follow some sure winning Forex strategies.

The Forex day trading system can be automated and this simplifies your job. The respective websites will be on the alert 24 hours while you relax. Instant shifts can be relayed to you by instant messages even when you are on the move. If you know other day traders, keep in touch with them. You might pick up a few of their strategies as well as some solid tips. Plus, if you are in a quandary you can always turn to them for guidance.

The automated trading system will help day traders by giving them an accurate account of market flow for every hour if need be. Studying the charts can help you make transactions the intelligent way. Even if you have some bad phases, do not let it bother you. Gauge your general success rate over the weeks and months. If it is good stick with it else move on.

As the risk aspect is much lower than other markets, people have taken it up as a hobby. But to become the best you need to invest more than money. You have to absorb the vibes and stick on with it even if you have made a few blunders. It is perseverance that will separate the winners from the babies of the game.

Knock on several doors at the same time. You do not have to make only one deal for a day. The world is your playground and the world currencies your ball. Putting your eggs in several baskets will even out the dealings. The beauty of automated Forex day trading is that it will help you by pointing you in the right direction. It is up to you to make up your mind and invest. You will find that in the course of time that this system is one of the best and all your hard work will be converted to hard cash.