Friday, November 13, 2009

Forex Day Trading- Two Step Trend Analysis

Forex Day Trading- Two Step Trend Analysis

If you approach forex day trading by just looking at the 5 minute and 15 minute charts there is a strong possibility your account will evaporate sooner rather than later.

In order to get a feel for the market and an indication of the current trend it is necessary to do an analysis by looking at multiple charts on different time frames starting with higher level charts first.

Rather than having the charts cluttered with numerous indicators and signals which can cause signal paralysis, I recommend just two:

1. MACD (with default settings)

2. 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average)

Now examine your charts using a top down approach:

  • Daily
  • 4 Hour
  • 1 Hour

As you check each chart take note of these two factors:

  1. Has MACD crossed down or up and is it above or below the water line?
  2. Is price above or below the 200 EMA?

While it is not crucial to have them all lined up on these three time frames for successful forex day trading, if you want to be a cautious trader and go for high probability trades then certainly MACD on the 4 hour chart and 1 hour chart should be in agreement as also should price in relation to the 200 EMA.

The daily chart can be useful in seeing the larger picture and for noting key levels of support and resistance. They stand out on a daily chart so if price is within 100 pips of a crucial level of support or resistance as seen on the daily chart, make a note of the figure.

Then scale down to the lower time frames and see if this level matches with other indicators such as pivot points or Fibonacci levels.

Once you have done this groundwork, NOW you can look at the 15 minute and 5 minute charts for a suitable entry point.

Remember, for successful Forex day trading you need to adhere to the No. 1 commandment: Buy The Dips and Sell the Rallies!

So avoid chasing the market and going with the flow. Instead, wait for price to come the level you want, set your entry order, and let price pull you into the trade.

The Danger With Lower Time Frames

Just concentrating on the 15 minute and 5 minute charts will not give you the bigger picture. You could see what looks like a perfectly good trade and set your stops and limits only to find you get blown out within a few minutes.

By looking at the higher time frame you would probably have seen you were close to a key support or resistance level and either not gone into the trade or adjusted your stops and limits accordingly.

For the novice, Forex day trading can involve a huge learning curve. Include this simple daily top down analysis approach to your trading and protect yourself against making trades you wish you didn't!



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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Why Would You Trust a Robot?

Trading Forex on Autopilot - Why Would You Trust a Robot?

Expert advisors and automated trading systems are the latest trendy ways of trading forex. For the life of me, I will never understand how human beings can let a robot do the trading for them. All of these forex autopilot systems are based on lagging indicators, such as moving averages, RSI, and many others. So not only is a robot doing the trading for you, but you are using a system that's based on past information, which offers no future insight into price movement.

Every forex trader who has been trading for over a month, I'm sure has heard this statistic: 95% of forex traders fail at making money. If the majority of people who are standing in front of their computers and are able to know about upcoming or breaking financial news and still can't be successful, then what makes you think that a robot will be as intuitive.

These kind of inventions were made for the times we live in. They market these autopilot systems so people would think that trading is so simple it can be done without any kind of human interaction. It sounds like such a novel, yet 21st century idea,. People think my computer is making me rich while I'm busy shopping. Well, it doesn't quite work like that. If you don't believe me, you can go to any forex forum and find hundreds of people working on expert advisors. You can see the stories of people that have dedicated years to building the ultimate autopilot system. The sad thing is they will never find it.

The forex market is constantly evolving. Maybe someday these trading robots will be as intuitive as humans. When that day happens I'll be the first one to give them the reigns to my trading account. However, until that day happens I'll stick with what's worked for me.



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Learn Currency Trading - 5 Common Deadly Mistakes

Learn Currency Trading - 5 Common Deadly Mistakes

If you want to learn currency trading you need to get the right forex education and avoid the mistakes of the losing majority. The mistakes below are common ones but there easy to avoid and you must do so if you want to enjoy currency trading success.

1. Following a Vendor Blindly

One of the most common errors is to think someone else can give you success - they can't.

Most systems sold are junk - but even if you do find a good one, how can you follow it with discipline if you don't know how it works?

You cant to have discipline to follow a system you must have confidence in it so you need to take the time to develop your own trading system or have total confidence in someone else's logic.

2. Trading News Stories

We have more news at our disposal than ever before and all those stories are very convincing - but that's all they are stories. The news reflects the greed and fear of the crowd and they lose longer term - try and trade news stories and you are guaranteed to lose as well.

The best way for any novice to trade is to simply follow the reality of price action on a forex chart and trade it - your trading the truth not an opinion and that is the only way to win.

3. Day Trading

Simply the dumbest way to trade.

It doesn't work as all short term volatility is random and you can't get the odds in your favour.

Don't believe me?

Try and find a forex day trader with a real ( not simulated ) track record that's made real dollars over the long term. Let me know if you find one I have been searching for 25 years and still not found one!

Avoid day trading at all costs!

4. Trying to Predict Forex Prices

If you try and predict prices in advance you're hoping or guessing and that won't get you anywhere in life and certainly not forex trading.

You must not predict wait for momentum to confirm a turn and you can look up how to do this in our other articles - it is essential to confirm a price turn, rather than simply guess when it might come.

5. Markets are Scientific

It's amazing how many people buy into this myth yet it's obviously not true.

Why?

Because if prices did move to a scientific theory, there would be no market, as we would all know the price beforehand and there would be no market. The reason a market moves is because we all have different opinions of where the price may go.

The far out investment crowd love scientific theories and like to follow the works and methods of gurus such as:

Gann, Elliot and Fibonacci.

Well they made no money with their theories in forex trading and neither will you.

So if you want to learn currency trading correctly avoid the common mistakes enclosed and work and getting a simple forex trading system which will help you trade the odds, you can understand and can apply with discipline.

If you learn currency trading the correct way ( and 95% of traders don't ), then you can enjoy currency trading success and create a life changing income - good luck!



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Forex Trading Guide For Beginners

Forex Trading Guide For Beginners

This is my official forex trading guide for beginners. I want to help all the new people to this business become better and more profitable traders. It really isn't that difficult to learn, you just need to remain open minded and not over complicate things in your head.

The first piece of a advice you need to take to heart is controlling your emotions. We as humans are emotional. It's part of our instinct that are designed to help us survive, but this is forex trading. Emotion in this business is detrimental to your wellbeing. Your emotions can leave your bank account empty if you're not smart about it. All the gut feelings you have, no matter how right they feel, need to be ignored. You need to turn from an emotional creature into one of logic. The only moves you make are the ones where you crunch the numbers and they look good.

The next thing you need to understand is about the concept of a "good buy". As consumers, we're always looking for a good buy. You have to remember we are in the business of trading. It's not the buying price that counts, it's the exit price that counts. It doesn't matter how cheap a currency is if there is no foreseeable exit. Why buy if you can't sell for more later? There is no reason. Understanding and identify where a currency will exit is how to bargain shop.

Lastly, you should get software like Forex Killer since it is a pivotal tool for all traders. It can help automate your trades, so you don't have to sit in front of the computer watching currency graphs all day. You can free up your time for doing more profitable things.



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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Forex Online Option Trading - The Basics Explained

Forex Online Option Trading - The Basics Explained

Forex online option trading is a brand new opportunity as of 2007 for individual investors to trade options on world currencies. Offered through the Philadelphia Exchange world currency options are traded in exactly the same way as any other option. Currency options offer a major benefit to those interested in FX trading.

Up until 2007, the only way to trade in currencies was through futures, and through forex market makers. Both involve a much greater degree of difficulty than simply trading in forex currency options. In futures, there is a great deal of risk. If your position moves against you, your loss can be potentially unlimited. In both futures and spot FX markets, you are tied to your trade 24 hours a day, watching and guarding against constant fluctuations. While you still have to keep an eye on your positions, world currency options are traded only when the stock market is open.

Forex online option trading is available through almost any online broker that deals in options. Just like a stock, you simply need to know the symbol to find the option chain or chart. For example, in Forex, the Euro/US dollar currency pair is called the EURUSD. In forex online option trading, the symbol is XDE.

Currency option trading is as simple as identifying the direction of the trend and buying a call if you think it's going up, or a put if you think it's going down. You can buy an option for a month, three months or more.

Using forex online option trading gives you a few major advantages. Your risk is limited to the price of the premium - and you can easily employ a stop, further limiting your potential for loss. With FX currency options it's much easier to take a position and hang onto it for the longer duration of a trend. Your risk is limited and your potential for profit is virtually unlimited.

The one thing to remember in currency option trading is that of the six pairs that are available with options, four of them are reversed if compared to the FX currency pairs. All of the currency option pairs are settled in the US dollar.




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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Six Essential Components A Profitable Trading Plan Must Have

Six Essential Components A Profitable Trading Plan Must Have

Trading plan has been defined in the part one of this article as a road map to successful trading. In the article, I equally tried to briefly tell you the importance of trading plan and how you can profit big time from planning your trade. I also concluded the article by telling you to develop your own trading plan; and that the essentials of trading plan will be exposed in the part 2 of the article on trading plan.

You must know that trading plan can be simple as well as complex depending on the individual style. But my style has always been kiss i.e. keep it straightly simple. So what you are going to learn in this article is the six essential components of profitable trading plan. What makes a trading plan profitable is the outcomes such a trading plan produces. A trading plan that continues to give positive results and reduces the number of margin calls and losses can best be termed as profitable trading plan. You are going to learn the essentials components that make up this type of profitable trading plan.

Components #1: Realistic trading system

Your trading plan must contain a realistic trading system. This trading system must be the one you have back tested for two or more months while you are demo trading. You must make sure you include all the necessary things you have in your trading strategy such as time frame, entry and exit time, currency pairs you are trading, the indicators you are using etc.

Component #2: Your trading Routine

There is need for you to determine when you will analyze the market and plan your trades; when you will put an eye on the market and when you will measure your trade action. All these should be a crucial part of your trading plan.

Component #3: Your State of Mind

It is very important you determine your mindset before you start trading. This will help you to plan your trade accordingly.

Component 4: Your Weakness

Don't be surprised, if you know your weakness and put it in your trading plan, you will soon realize that you will develop concerted effort to improve on the weakness and reduce such weakness to barest minimal if not totally eliminated

Component #5: Your realistic goals

You need to sit down and determine what your goals are as a trader. Writing these goals down as part of your trading plan will continue to propel you to work towards the achievement of the goals.

Component #6: Your Trading Journal

It is very important you have a trading journal this will help you to log your trade. It will also help you to evaluate your performance in the nearest future. By looking at your performance you will be able to discover where something is wrong and be able to take corrective actions.

The six components briefly discussed above should be included in your trading plan in such a way that you will find it easy to follow. Of what use, is the plan that you develop without properly following it? Of course, you know that such a plan will be as useless as any good for nothing material. You must also realize that developing your plan does not in itself produce positive result. What in actual sense produces profitable result is your ability to follow the trading plan, and work the plan to logical conclusion. It is when you do these, that the above components in your trading plan will produce profitable outcome.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

5 Tips For Dealing With The Trading Blues

Can't seem to pick a winner? Tired of the sideways market? The trading blues are quick to set in and ruin your future trades. Depending on the trading style, you may be more or less prone to the trading blues. Day trading and scalping are very quick, nerve-wracking professions and can be easily impacted by a series of losses.

However, there are five ways in which you can improve your trading environment, allowing you to overcome your trading blues.

1. Skill-Building Activities - Taking a look back to the basics of your trading plan blueprints can help you overcome the trading blues. Skill-building activities, such as drawing trendlines on short-term movements or analyzing candlestick patterns, can help you feel comfortable again with your own trading style. Go back through the step-by-step instructions of your trading plan and fine tune any possible variables in your trading plan - these activities will all help you avoid losses.

2. Trading Seminars - Listen to what others have to say about the markets, find what will work best for you, and incorporate the trading philosophy into a trading plan planner. Trading seminars allow a different perspective on the same market, letting you see the market from someone else's perspective.

3. Take Some Time Off - Take some time off from the computer and rest your mind. Day trading is very tiresome, both mentally and physically. A brief escape from the constant flux of the markets will give you some time to relax and rewind. Consistent profits are best achieved after a restful break from the drama of the market.

4. Establish an Emergency Fund - Even professional traders have their bad streaks. The key is to ride out each bad period for times of prosperity. Establishing an emergency fund for day to day expenses can take the worry out of living off your trading capital. The stress of knowing you have to deliver results to make money can be devastating to your trading accounts.

5. Have a Complete Trading Plan - A complete trading plan should take into account the worst of times. You should be prepared for anything, including steps for trading in bear markets and what to do in case of a large draw down. A complete trading plan should also include ways to re-up your brokerage account after large losses. A trading plan planner will help set up a plan for even the worst scenarios. Anything short of nuclear war should be included in a complete trading plan.

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