Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Forex Training: What to Look for in a Forex Training Program

Should new Forex traders take Forex trading courses or join a Forex training program? Definitely yes; by now you have probably heard that only 5% of traders achieve consistent profitable results when trading the Forex market. The main reason for this is the lack of education. Don’t get me wrong here, taking a Forex training program or a Forex trading course won’t guarantee profitable results, nothing can, but choosing the right Forex training program or Forex trading course will definitely put the odds in your favor.

Before spending any amount of money on any Forex trading course or Forex training program there are some important aspects you need to take in consideration. There are many training programs available, but not every one of them suits the needs of every trader.

The first thing you should be looking in a Forex training program is the content of the material. Unfortunately, most courses or training programs focus or spend most of the time on basic concepts. Though these basic concepts are important, spending most of the course on them won’t help the trader to make consistent results.

The following subjects are what I consider the most important aspects of trading and every training program or trading course should address:

Forex trading basics. Review basic concepts such as: margin, type of orders, a little background, bid/ask, rollover, etc. You need to make sure you understand every single concept to perfection.

Main drawbacks of Forex traders. Being aware of the common mistakes made by Forex traders and knowing how to handle them will prevent new traders from making those mistakes.

Technical and fundamental analysis. These are the two main approaches adopted by Forex traders. Knowing how to properly apply each concept will definitely put the odds in your favor.

The three pillars of Forex trading. I consider that these three subjects have the most impact on every trader trading account.

Forex trading system development. Having the right system is a must if you want to have consistent profitable results. Having a system that doesn’t fit you will cause a series of problems that will make your trading account vanish away (second guessing the system, not following your system, etc.)

Money management. This is considered by many successful traders to be the most important single aspect of trading. Money management helps to increase your profits geometrically and at the same time limit your losses (i.e. a good risk reward ratio of about 2:1 will make you money in a Forex trading system that is right only 38% of the time.)

Trading psychology. Being aware and knowing hot to handle the psychological barriers that affect every trader decision will put the odds in your favor.

Other important aspects every training program should include are: Developing habits for success (such as discipline patience, taking responsibility of every action, commitment, etc.,) understanding and taking our trading as a business, risk and trade management.

FOREX Education – Getting the RIGHT Education to Win

If you want to win at FOREX trading you need the right education. The fact is 95% of novice traders lose all their equity quickly, that’s not because they don’t work hard or can’t win - they simply put their efforts in the wrong area.

Let’s look at how to achieve currency trading success by learning forex trading the right way.

Use the Internet

You can get all the Forex education you need for free on the net, you simply have to look in the right areas, which we will explain in more detail in a moment.

A fatal mistake

Is to think you can buy success from a guru or mentor on the net.

Most of the information sold is junk or available free anyway.

Many traders are duped by attractive advertising copy, claiming that you can make huge regular profits by buying an e-book for $100 or so, but the reality is:

If the information was so good it would not be sold; these vendors would simply trade for themselves and the fact is they don’t.

They make money from selling you forex education NOT trading and their forex trading systems simply don't work.

If you can find a trader with a real time track record of profits, their information may be worthwhile, but trust me, there are not many who can provide this.

The best way is to do it on your own and you can get it all the Forex Education you need for free.

Working smart not hard

Trading is very different to many other ventures in life, in that the effort you put in has no relation to the money you make.

You get paid for getting market direction right not how much effort you put in.

You should as beginner either start with long term trend following strategy or try swing trading – NEVER attempt day trading.

Forex day trading simply doesn’t work, as the data is to short to be reliable and is meaningless.

More novice traders start with forex day trading than any other method and they lose – don’t fall into this trap.

Long term trend following suits the patient trader, while forex swing trading suits the trader who likes to trade a bit more and is less patient.

Basics

To start get an understanding of support of resistance and technical analysis.

Next, you need to integrate a few indicators to confirm price momentum into support and resistance levels and see the odds of them holding.

Below find some indicators that are great for triggering forex trading signals and determing price momentum:

Stochastics, Relative Strength Index (RSI), Average Directional Movement (ADX)

Below find some indicators to determine help you spot support and resistance (in addition to trendlines) and determine targets and strength of the trend.

Bollinger Bands, MACD and moving averages.

If you learn about all the above indicators, support and resistance and also how a breakout strategy works, you will have ALL the forex education you need.

Forex Education – Want to Buy Advice? 2 Tips To Help You Get The Best Education

Forex education is vital if you want to succeed but most traders simply have no idea what is good advice and believe advertising copy, but you need to go beyond the copy to get good advice.

Most what you need to know is FREE on the net. Let’s look at where to get the best advice to forward your forex education.

Tip 1 - Look For Proof

Don’t buy an e-book from a vendor on the net unless they present a real time track record that they have made money with their system.

There are many e-books sold that use great copy or lies, to appeal to naive investors don’t fall for this – If they have made no money don’t buy their product – period.

Most of the systems sold by vendors are junk or you can get the information free on the net anyway – more of that later. Now another important point!

Beware of the hypothetical track record this is meaningless.

Their done in hindsight knowing the closing prices so of course it’s going to make money but you don’t trade backwards in real life – you trade forwards and that’s much more difficult!

Instead of buying overpriced e-books with no evidence of success, go to your bookstore and pick up books from traders who have walked the walk rather than simply talk the talk.

Here you can learn from the real pro’s (we have done a top list check out our other articles) and there are some great bargains to be had.

Tip 2 Take advantages of FREE Sources

You can learn forex trading for free and get a forex trading strategy without spending any money.

If you are novice trader you will probably want to trade with forex charts and use technical analysis.

Just look up the phrase and you will find all you need.

The simplest way to trade is using “support and resistance” and a “breakout methodology” so search those two phrases as well.

You will need some “momentum indicators” to confirm you’re trading signals so look them up and in particular “Relative Strength Index” and “stochastics”.

That will give you a simple powerful method to trade with and give you a forex system based on sound logic.

THE BEST FOREX EDUCATION

Is easy to get if you follow the above two tips – All the basics are free and you can get a few good books from the great traders to inspire you and help you – you need spend no more than $100 maximum and you will learn forex trading the right way and get the best forex education.

Finally, leave the e-books with their over hyped copy and no proof to the other 95% of forex traders who lose.

That’s it good luck and good trading.

Trading Signals: Do You Need Them?

In forex trading, many of the transactions you perform are dependent on market trends and how the market behaves. This is why in order to survive and make use of your presence in the forex trading market, trading signals are exchanged. These signals help investors, traders and brokers to observe the market, assess its performance and make sound decisions.

What are forex trading signals?

Forex trading signals are tips and recommendations about whether to buy or sell or liquidate given by a third party. This party could be your broker, trader, analyst, brokerage company, etc. The signal can be a single indicator or a group of indicators, including breakouts, envelope patterns, stochastic lines, Fibonacci levels, oscillators, currency pairs that are almost at moving averages and support and resistance levels, among others. Forex trading signals can vary depending on the source and they also follow certain market patterns and trends, depending on the demand and supply of the world's major currencies.

Since there are many indicators to watch out for, it is important for many investors to rely on more experienced forex brokers for reliable trading signals. Of course, the more seasoned investors can always try to get a feel of the market by themselves just by watching the trends, but there are so many indicators that it's sometimes a lot easier to rely on trading signal services. Besides, trading signal providers have to perform detailed study of the markets and make technical analyses of whatever operating forces come into play, something that many investors don't have the time for.

Where are trading signals derived from?

The currency chart is one of the sources for technical studies and market analysis that lead to trading signals. They include:

Simple Moving Average (SMA) – when the moving average line is surpassed by currency prices, this is a buy signal. If the price goes below the average line, it's a sell signal.

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) – uses a single line to indicate a buy or sell signal, depending on whether the line is above or below the average line.

Bollinger Bands – these point to possible market changes. When Bollinger bands tighten, you can expect prices to change sharply.

Volume – a high volume may signal a new trend. A low volume means uncertain times ahead for investors.

There are other indicators such as momentum and volatility that are often used to help reinforce trading signals obtained from many other sources. If you study them in relation to one another, you'll have a pretty much reliable information source on the behavior of the market.

What kind of currencies is being offered by trading signal services? Most forex signal services offer trading signals on USD/JPY, EUR/USD, USD/CHF and GBP/USD. However, there are also services that provide specialization in other minor currency pairs.

Forex Trading System Basics

Foreign exchange is playing an increasingly larger role in today's economic sphere. The foreign exchange market is essentially a forum for the purchase and sale of foreign currencies. This growing popularity is in large part thanks to the internet, where foreign exchange is mushrooming in size every day. One of the great features that the web provides foreign exchange traders with is the histories of most companies. This information is key for investors to have in order to make wise moves on the market. Other tools available are web shopping and search functions.

Foreign exchange, true to its name, involves companies from around the world. Traders buy all sorts of assets that belong to companies, regardless of the companies location geographically. Foreign exchange systems allow one to conduct these transactions on a global level. Wherever the system and the companies exist, one can participate in the worldwide foreign exchange trading. Examples of such countries in Asia, North America, Europe and Africa. One does not have to have any formal connection to a country in order to invest in it. Residence in a country is immaterial to your opportunity to participate in its foreign exchange trading system.

The internationality of the system is a major part of its unique appeal. Traders are completely free to invest their assets in whichever locality they desire.In general, the rules of the trading game and the typical results one can expect from foreign exchange trading systems are identical regardless of whether you trade with an internet based system or not. However, a web based system has many advantages over any competitors, as it allows swift and efficient transactions.

A good way to increase your wealth is to invest your assets with the help of a broker. When you work with a broker to handle your investments, make sure that you have a trustful relationship with that person. No matter what type of trading system you use or assets you invest, trusting your partners is a key to successful investing. Transactions should only be carried out with individual and companies that seem loyal and honest to you. You can usually tell if you are dealing with a straightforward enterprise if they express openness and availability to answer your needs. Look for an entity that caters to global clients and speak with some of the clients.