Monday, April 13, 2009

Learn Forex Trading - a Guide for Beginners

One can learn forex trading as easily as one would like to learn other subjects or train in other professions. The criteria for learning forex trading is an analytical / logical bent of mind and some number crunching abilities. Reading specialized books on the subject matter, enrolling for college and other programs, which specifically teach one to do forex dealing, one can understand Forex trading. Still other ways are through the Internet and training under a forex dealer / professional. Essentially the forex market comprises of currencies, which are bought and sold according to certain parameters.

There are major currencies in the market, which are trade and are the most liquid. These are US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. Then there are other currencies, which are not so liquid. However currency trade is done in almost all currencies across the world. The forex market is truly a twenty-four market with only a minor break during the weekend. It opens in Sydney, then in Tokyo and then in London and New York in that order according to the way that the Earth rotates and the sun rises. Therefore forex brokers and investors can choose their time of operation.

Essentially it's a matter of selling and buying the currencies. The goal is very simple, that of making a profit in the currency transactions that you participate in. The currency market operates like most other markets and therefore for many traders 'migrating ' form other trades such as stock market can be quite simple.

Essentially one can learn forex transactions by creating a virtual account. The first lesson is that currency trade is done in pairs only like Euros / US$, Japanese Yen/ Canadian Dollars etc. When you have set up a virtual account with the amount of initial investment, keep the following pointers in mind

· According to your investment strategy and time frame, choose the currency pair best suited to your needs. Some currency pairs can be very aggressive and the changes can be quite volatile. While others may not show any movement. Therefore choose the currency pair with care.

· Decide the time frame. Do you want to spend a few minutes on the forex trade or you want to go the whole hog and devote the entire week to the forex trade (swing trade)

· Have an exit plan ready before you start the currency transactions. Know when to place your 'stops' and do so accordingly.

· No risk no gain. Be willing to take risk. You can take calculated risks in order to earn good profits. Know whether you want to be an aggressive trader or are you happy being a safe trader.

· Read and analyze the news and the technical data that is generated on the currencies that you deal in to understand the market conditions better.

Of course you can grasp the modus operandi of the forex trade. But for doing the real thing, you need to be in the forex transaction market for real.

One can learn forex trading as easily as one would like to learn other subjects or train in other professions. For in depth information visit http://www.forex-made-easy.biz/learn-forex-trading.html

9 Tips For Becoming a Profitable Forex Trader

Regardless of your trading style; day trading, swing trading, or position trading there is a simple step by step plan you can use to improve your odds for success.

1. Start by paper trading until you can be consistently profitable on paper. I would also recommend doing a lot of practice trading with a real-time demo account. This is the next best thing to real trading without risking money.

2. Regardless of how much money you have, start trading with a small amount of money and work up over time. You need to make all your mistakes with the smallest amount of money. Trust me, it will be a lot less painful!

3. If you are a day trader, avoid the very small time-frames like 1 or 2 minute as you get a lot of signals which can lead to over trading. These fast time-frames are full of market noise and insignificant price activity.

4. Make sure that all your entry criteria are met for the trade setup. Don't jump the gun until everything is in place.

5. If there are no clear signals in the market, then do nothing. Forcing trades almost always ends up with losses.

6. Always place your protective stop immediately after entering the trade!

7. In your studies you will be exposed to many techniques. You will improve your results by concentrating on only one or two strategies. Get real good and consistently profitable with them first.

8. Don't watch too many currencies at one time. This leads to too much confusion and indecision about which trade to take. I wouls stick to two or three of the major currency pairs.

9. Win, lose or draw don’t deviate from your strategies or change things.

These 9 points may seem very simple, but they are actually very hard to carry out as they require a lot of focus and discipline. Stick to them and you will trade better than the majority of forex traders out there.

Dr. Jeffrey Wilde, a trading veteran with 16 years of experience is a trading coach to over 3500 traders in 63 countries. His new blog http://www.askjeffwilde.com offers free trading articles, tips and advice. He also teaches a variety of courses found at http://www.win-at-trading.com and http://www.fastforexprofits.com