Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Discover Some Magic To Beat The Forex: The Elliott Wave Theory For Forex Markets


One of the best known and least understood theories of technical analysis in forex trading is the Elliot Wave Theory. Developed in the 1920s by Ralph Nelson Elliot as a method of predicting trends in the stock market, the Elliot Wave theory applies fractal mathematics to movements in the market to make predictions based on crowd behavior. In its essence, the Elliot Wave theory states that the market – in this case, the forex market – moves in a series of 5 swings upward and 3 swings back down, repeated perpetually. But if it were that simple, everyone would be making a killing by catching the wave and riding it until just before it crashes on the shore. Obviously, there’s a lot more to it. One of the things that makes riding the Elliot Wave so tricky is timing – of all the major wave theories, it’s the only one that doesn’t put a time limit on the reactions and rebounds of the market. A single In fact, the theories of fractal mathematics makes it clear that there are multiple waves within waves within waves. Interpreting the data and finding the right curves and crests is a tricky process, which gives rise to the contention that you can put 20 experts on the Elliot Wave theory in one room and they will never reach an agreement on which way a stock – or in this case, a currency – is headed. Elliot Wave Basics • Every action is followed by a reaction. It’s a standard rule of physics that applies to the crowd behavior on which the Elliot Wave theory is based. If prices drop, people will buy. When people buy, the demand increases and supply decreases driving prices back up. Nearly every system that uses trend analysis to predict the movements of the currency market is based on determining when those actions will cause reactions that make a trade profitable. • There are five waves in the direction of the main trend followed by three corrective waves (a "5-3" move). The Elliot Wave theory is that market activity can be predicted as a series of five waves that move in one direction (the trend) followed by three ‘corrective’ waves that move the market back toward its starting point. • A 5-3 move completes a cycle. And here’s where the theory begins to get truly complex. Like the mirror reflecting a mirror that reflects a mirror that reflects a mirror, the each 5-3 wave is not only complete in itself, it is a superset of a smaller series of waves, and a subset of a larger set of 5-3 waves – the next principle. • This 5-3 move then becomes two subdivisions of the next higher 5-3 wave. In Elliot Wave notation, the 5 waves that fit the trend are labeled 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (impulses). The three correcting waves are called a, b and c (corrections). Each of these waves is made up of a 5-3 series of waves, and each of those is made up of a 5-3 series of waves. The 5-3 cycle that you’re studying is an impulse and correction in the next ascending 5-3 series. • The underlying 5-3 pattern remains constant, though the time span of each may vary. A 5-3 wave may take decades to complete – or it may be over in minutes. Traders who are successful in using the Elliot Wavy theory to trade in the currency market say that the trick is timing trades to coincide with the beginning and end of impulse 3 to minimize your risk and maximize your profit. Because the timing of each sequence of waves varies so much, using the Elliot Wave theory is very much a matter of interpretation. Identifying the best time to enter and leave a trade is dependent on being able to see and follow the pattern of larger and smaller waves, and to know when to trade and when to get out based on the patterns you identify. The key is in interpreting the pattern correctly – in finding the right starting point. Once you learn to see the wave patterns and identify them correctly, say those who are experts, you’ll see how they apply in every facet of forex trading, and will be able to use those patterns to trigger your decisions whether you’re day trading or in it for the long haul. by Joseph plazo

What You Didn’t Know About The Psychology Of Forex Market Trading – And How It Might Bankrupt You


When it comes to trading on the Forex market, winning is a matter of the mind rather than mind over matter. Any trader who’s been in the game for any length of time will tell you that psychology has a lot to do with both your own performance on the trading floor and with the way that the market is moving. Playing a winning hand depends on knowing your own mind – and understanding the way that psychology moves the market. Studying the psychology of the market is nothing new. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that any arena that rides and falls on decisions made by people is going to be heavily influenced by the minds of people. Few people take into account all the various levels of mind games that motivate the market, though. If you keep your eye on the way that psychology influences others – including the mass psychology of the people that use the currency on a daily basis – but neglect to know what moves you, you’re going to end up hurting your own position. The best Forex coaches will tell you that before you can really become a successful trader, you have to know yourself and the triggers that influence you. Knowing those will help you overcome them or use them. Are you saying ‘Huh?” about now? Believe me, I understand. I felt the same way the first time that someone tried to explain how the mind games we play with ourselves influence the trades and decisions that we make. Let me break it down into more manageable pieces for you. Anything involving winning or losing large sums of money becomes emotionally charged. All right. You’ve heard that playing the market is a mathematical game. Plug in the right numbers, make the right calculations and you’ll come out ahead. So why is it that so many traders end up on the losing end of the market? After all, everyone has access to the same numbers, the same data, the same info – if it’s math, there’s only one right answer, right? The answer lies in interpretation. The numbers don’t lie, but your mind does. Your hopes and fears can make you see things that just aren’t there. When you invest in a currency, you’re investing more than just money – you make an emotional investment. Being ‘right’ becomes important. Being ‘wrong’ doesn’t just cost you money when you let yourself be ruled by your emotions – it costs you pride. Why else would you let a loser ride in the hope that it will bounce back? It’s that little thing inside your head that says, “I KNOW I’m right on this, dammit!” Bottom line: You can’t keep emotions out of the picture, but you can learn not to let them control your decisions. To most people, being right is more important than making money. Here’s the deal. The way to make real money in the forex market is to cut your losses short and let your winners ride. In order to do that, you have GOT to accept that some of your trades are going to lose, cut them loose and move on to another trade. You’ve got to accept that picking a loser is NOT an indication of your self-worth, it’s not a reflection on who you are. It’s simply a loss, and the best way to deal with it is to stop losing money by moving on – and really move on. Moving on means you don’t keep a running total of how many losses you’ve had – that’s the way to paralyze yourself. This brings us to the next point: Losing traders see loss as failure. Winning traders see loss as learning. Not too long ago, my twelve year old son told me that before Thomas Edison invented a working light bulb, he invented 100 light bulbs that didn’t work. But he didn’t give up – because he knew that creating a source of light from electricity was possible. He believed in his overall theory – so when one design didn’t work, he simply knew that he’d eliminated one possibility. Keep eliminating possibilities long enough, and you’ll eventually find the possibility that works. Winning traders see loss in the same way. They haven’t failed – they’ve learned something new about the way that they and the market work. Winning traders can look at the big picture while playing in the small arena. Suppose I told you that last year, I made 75 trades that lost money, and 25 that made money. In the eyes of most people, that would make me a pretty poor trader. I’m wrong 75% of the time. But what if I told you that my average loss was $1000, but my average profit on a winning trade was $10,000? That means that I lost $75,000 on trades – but I made $250,000, making my overall profit $175,000. It’s a pretty clear numbers game – but how do you keep on trading when you’re losing in trade after trade? Simple – just remember that one trade does not make or break a trader. Focus on the trade at hand, follow the triggers that you’ve set up – but define yourself by what really matters – the overall record. by: Joseph plazo

How To Choose a Forex Trading System That Works and Suits You


There are so many different trading systems you could use to trade the forex market, some better suited to certain people than others. For example some people may find it easier to comprehend and take into account fundamental factors as opposed to looking at a screen covered in technical indicators, and vice-versa.The first logical step in determining what type of trading system would best suit you is actually being aware and understand the widely known methods of analysis used in trading the currency market.
Once you are aware of the tools that are available, you can generally tell what type of analysis suits you. For example some of the main technical analysis methods which are popular include:Pivot pointsChart patternsFibonacci retracementsCandlestick patternsAnd some fundamental factors which are widely used include analyzing:Interest ratesTrade balancesUnemployment ratesGross domestic product (GDP)You may now actually be able to develop your own system by combining certain methods of analysis together, giving you a method which you are comfortable with.
On the other hand you may decide that you would like to trade someone else’s system, either way, that brings us to the next step which is determining the profitability of a trading system.Determining ProfitabilityMost people would think that back testing is the best way to determine a systems profitability. However back testing doesn’t always give you a true idea of how profitable a system is. The reason for this is because when you’re back testing your system on historical charts, you are only seeing the obvious setups which have occurred, and not always seeing the ones that are less obvious. These less obvious ones sometimes can produce losses, which is why back testing isn’t always the best method to implement.A better method of determining profitability is by trading your system in real-time with a demo account. This would give you a true understanding of what your system is capable of. This would also allow you to familiarize yourself with your trading platform at the same time. When determining profitability you must look at it in terms of expectancy and opportunity.Expectancy & OpportunityThese two factors together will be able to tell you what you could expect to make over a period of time.
Expectancy is calculated with the following formula:(Probability of winning × average win) – (Probability of losing × average loss)This will give you a figure which is the average amount you can expect to make per trade. This shouldn’t be a negative amount, if it is you should look at some other method of trading since you cannot make money on a system that produces a negative expectancy. Obviously the higher this figure is the better.
Now to the opportunity factor.The opportunity factor is how often you are able to trade using your system. By multiplying your expectancy figure with your opportunity factor it will tell you how much you could expect to make over a period of time. The more opportunity you have to trade, the more money you should expect to make. This now brings us to the last component of a trading system, money management.
Money ManagementWithout proper money management you will end up as a statistic. In other words one of those 90%+ of traders who loose their money. Money management tells you how much of your account balance to risk per trade. The whole point of money management is to ensure your survival over the long term, and to preserve your capital.The most common form of money management is the percent risk model which tells you not to risk more than x percent of your account balance on any one trade. A range between 1-3% is generally an accepted amount which has been a reliable percentage to use in order to make money in the long term.ConclusionBy taking into consideration the above factors you will be able to determine if a trading system best suits you, and with some simple mathematical calculations you will be able to determine its profitability.
by: Bret Freak

Six Forex Trading Tips for Newbies

You have decided to be a trader in the forex market, and you have no idea on how to begin. Let's first start by defining what the forex market is and what it does. The term "forex", also known as the foreign exchange is a market for the sale and purchase of all kinds of currencies. It originated in the early 1970's when floating currencies and free exchange rates were first introduced. At this time, the forex market traders were the ones who set the value of one type of currency against another. Nowadays, the market forces determine the value of a currency against another. One unique aspect of the Forex market is that very little trading qualifications are required of anyone intending to trade therein. Independence from external control ensures that only the market forces influence the currency prices. As the largest financial market, with trades reaching up to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars, or USD, the money moves so fast, it’s impossible for a single investor to substantially affect the price of any major foreign currency. In addition, unlike any stock that is rarely traded, forex traders are able to open and close any positions within seconds, because there are always a number of willing buyers and sellers. 1. The first thing you need to do is open a forex account. You will have to fill an application form which includes a margin agreement stating if the broker will be allowed to intervene with any trade when it appears too risky. Since most trades are done using the broker's money, it is only logical that he protect his interests. However, once you have established an account, you can fund it and begin trading in the forex market. 2. Adopt a trading strategy, that has proven to be successful for you. Remember that strategies will work differently for different traders, so don't try to adopt a strategy that works well for another trader. It might backfire on you. The two available approaches are either technical analysis or fundamental analysis. A combination of the two is a more preferred choice for experienced traders. 3.Understand that prices move by trends. Forex has a popular saying, “The trend is your friend.” There are certain movements that have been studied over many years in order to identify a pattern in the trend. These trends need to be understood in order to understand a good trading strategy. For small accounts that are $25,000 and under, trading with a trend may help improving your odds when compared to bi-directional trading. Most newbie’s will look to trade in any direction, when they should be trading with a trend. 4. Ensure you know which are the top five currencies pairs in the foreign exchange. These are USD/Yen, Swiss franc/USD, Euro/Yen, Euro/USD and Pound/USD. 5. For newbies, it is advisable to maintain two accounts to ensure you learn to play the trading game. Keep one real account, one that you will actually use to trade real money; and the second account should be a demo, one that you can use to test alternative moves in the trading game. You can easily use your demo account to shadow the trades in your real account so you can widen your stops to see if you are being too conservative or not. 6. Always examine the one hour, four hour and daily charts that concern your trades. Although you can trade at 15 and 30 minute time intervals, doing so requires a handful of dexterity. by: Gerald Njuguna

Making Your First Successful Forex Trade

If you get of to a good start with Forex it will give you confidence and will encourage you to trade regularly. Follow these tips to get of to the best start possible: Making your first Forex trade can be quite an exciting event. It also is an event that requires some planning in advance, as well as doing some checking and double-checking before you ever make that first trade. Here are some suggestions for preparation that will help you to really get the most out of that first trading event. Trading currency comes with a certain amount of risk. The prudent trader will always make sure, that he or she has enough resources to be able to withstand a period where there are more losses than there are gains. From that perspective, it is important to never risk more funds than you can reasonably do without. Examine the condition of your finances carefully, and determine the amount of your resources that can be comfortably involved in the process of currency trading without creating any financial burdens. Keep in mind that the volume of your transactions will often come into play when it comes to purchasing currency. Simply put, the more you can afford to buy, the better rate you are likely to command. Your circumstances will of course dictate how much you can afford to invest in a single transaction. Individuals who are involved in currency trading will also have to keep in mind that there is the matter of that minimum margin deposit that you must be able to maintain. You may have to begin with smaller transactions that yield less return. But keep in mind that as you grow your revenue from your currency trading efforts, you will be in a position to go for the more lucrative deals. It is a very good idea to begin developing your strategy well before you make that first trade. You can get a great deal of help developing that strategy by utilizing the various reports and other sources at your disposal to try some projections of your own. Set up some test runs by structuring a currency trade on paper and watch how things would have gone had you actually made the transaction. Learn from the outcome, whether it was a win or a loss. Either outcome can help you identify some valuable tools that will help you refine your basic strategy. You may find that you need to include more sources of information in your decision making process. Perhaps your simulated trades will teach you that there is a source or two that needs to be disregarded or replaced in your roster of informative sources. The point is to refine your strategy as much as possible before you go "live" with your currency trading. Making money and having some fun in the process are what the trading is all about. When you perform due diligence before you ever begin you can ensure that your first Forex trade, will be a true example of what you are capable of accomplishing. It should be noted Forex trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. by: Geri Mason

Learn Forex Trading - How To Create An Income By Forex Trading Part Time From Home


Can you really make a living trading forex as a business from the comfort of your own home? Can you really create a replacement income as a part time trader and then retire young?Of course, the answer depends on how much is your current income or the desired amount of income you wish to obtain from forex trading before you wish to quit the rat race and be a professional trader, either part time or full time.But there are many traders who are quietly making 5 figure incomes monthly trading from the comfort of their homes, and some of these are part time traders.So before you embark into forex trading as a part time trader, here are some guidelines you ought to consider:1. Your devotion of time - how much time are you going to devote to trading forex? Contrary to popular opinion, you do not need to be glued to your trading monitor to watch the prices of forex or currency pairs all the time. The larger part of your time is spent on finding those trading setups based on your trading system and the execution is fast, and you can also pre-set your stops and profits or give instructions to your broker.In fact, it is the learning process that will take time. So budget sufficient time to learn how to trade, and that time allocation is actually required before you even place a live trade.2. Your allocation of capital - again, if you trade the mini forex the amount of capital is not large. Contrary to popular opinion, you can start a mini forex account with around $500 and can start to trade. With a mini forex account you can leverage off the system and be profitable.3. Your Risk Profile and Trading Discipline - you need to consider your risk profile. Are you aggressive in trading, so that you will prefer day trading the forex and thereby assume more risks? Or are you happy enough swing trading the forex over a few days? This will determine the methodology and trading system you will want to follow.4. Advancing as a Forex Trader - to advance further as a forex trader, you will need to constantly improve your trading skills and see increase profits in your trading. Good traders always keep a trading log and review whatever trades they have executed and consider the outcomes. In this way, they learn from their errors and know whether they have obediently followed their trading strategies and had kept and maintain discipline in their trading.In making the transition into a forex trader, the learning process is the most important. Many forex traders have muddled along the way by a self learning process without guidance, with the end result that while they may be profitable, they are not consistently profitable. Many of them are seeking ways to unlearn some of their bad trading habits. You can avoid such a situation by understanding your own risk profile, and seeking out a professional trader who can become your mentor and to pass on his trading skills to you.By: Peter LimArticle Directory: http://www.articledashboard.comDiscover for free how a professional trader creates his 5 figure income by trading forex using 3 powerful proven trading Price-Action trading strategies involving No-Indicators, and how you can personalise these same systems for your own use today. Visit Forex Trading For Massive Wealth or visit forex-trading.cashflowpc.biz

Types of Forex Trading and Strategies

The foreign exchange market, or forex, being the largest financial market in the World has been the domain of government central banks as well as for commercial and investment banks in a scandalous manner and it exists wherever one currency is traded for another. But recently more numbers of individuals are handling the forex market as it offers trading 24-hours a day, five days a week, and the daily dollar volume of currencies traded in the currency market that exceeds $1.9 trillion daily, making it the largest liquid market in the world. "Foreign Exchange" is the place where the money of one nation is traded with the other nation. The most popular pair of exchange in the forex market is "Euro Dollar". You can view these pairs in all forex display screens as "EUR/USD". Forex trading strategies are the key to triumphant forex trading or online currency trading. The management team of One World Capital Group bid proficiency in both Forex trading and internet technologies and proven track records that deals with large, global trading and brokerage operations as well. Forex made easy is as simple as you would want it to be. Forex trading is different from trading in stocks entirely and it uses Forex trading strategies that will give you lot of advantages as well as help you to comprehend greater profits in the short term. There are wide ranges of forex trading strategies that are available to investors. It is one of the most useful of these forex trading strategies called as leverage. Knowledge of these Forex trading strategies can imply the difference between profits along with a loss and so it is essential that you fully grasp the strategies that are being used in Forex trading. The world of Forex trading is highly complicated and success requires education and familiarity with terms, charts, signals and indicators. As you can be able to access it from home or office from any parts of the country, Global Forex trading is the most profitable and attractive internet income opportunity. And you do not need to do anything or there is no need of internet promotion for getting succeeded. Forex Capital Markets are nothing but foreign exchange markets where the currencies are been bought and sold continuously for profits. These capital markets of forex are present globally and their transactions are always non-stop in this forex cash market. A managed Forex account is forex made easy. Many different companies offer these accounts to their clients. The foreign exchange market is a worldwide market and as per to some estimates is almost as big as thirty times the turnover of the US Equity markets.by: Usha Rani

Unique Commodity Trading Strategies To Survive And Prosper During Tough Markets


Surviving the rough times to be present for the big moves is the name of the game in commodity trading. With some luck we can even break even while the other participants are getting chopped to pieces. It requires giving up something to get something else. Learn how a few of the big hits can be avoided for a small price. Read about ways to participate in the long haul moves while still sleeping well at night.Let's say our forecast makes us bullish on the market. We want to check out the possibility of buying a future contract and hedging it by buying a put option. There will always be a choice here - either buying an option spread (as in the previous example) or buying a future with an option hedge. One method will always be better than the other. We need to determine this to get our strategy edge on the market. Much depends on the option premiums. Again, this is where it's handy to have an automated option evaluation program.Now we can get creative and more flexible. Let's say you have faith in your forecast that the market is going to rally within 2 - 3 weeks. If it doesn't happen by then, then the trade is suspect. Let's buy a futures contract and also buy a put option as close to the current market price as possible. Hopefully we pay a reasonable price for the put option. The closer you buy it, the less loss and risk if the futures contract declines sharply against you. However, the option premium will be higher too.The put option becomes a synthetic stop loss order for the futures contract. You will lose until the market hits that option strike price and then no matter how far the market drops, the futures contract loss is fixed and limited. Now here's the trick and edge...Select an option with only a small amount of time, like 30 days or so. The option will cost less because of having a short time remaining. If your future contract moves up within 2-3 weeks as you expect, the put option will lose its value quickly and expire within 30 days anyway. The option is the sacrificial lamb that has done its job for a few weeks and then dies. It has protected you against the big potential hit. We dodged the ball. Now it's up to the futures contract. That's where the profit will come from, if the trade is destined to work out.Once the futures contract gets far away from your entry point under the initial protection of the option, you can then move up the future's stop loss order to break-even. A new option could always be bought later if desired to synthetically lock in some profits. However, this is option overuse and the premiums start to catch up with you. We must take on risk or the market will not pay us. We become parasites if we hedge too much, add no liquidity or load risk onto others. In this example we economically used an option to lay off large risk at a critical time. After that brief, partially-hedged window, we again assumed the risk. There are other ways to do this, but beyond the scope of this article. More later.So far we have discussed entry techniques and ways to lower our risk at critical times when our exposure is the greatest. Remember that we are trying NOT to get hit by the dodge-ball and are happy making singles and doubles. Let the newbies swing for the fences and strike out 90% of the time. The idea here is survival until we identify a big market forecast and the move starts. That's the only time to swing for the fences. You want to play it conservative 90% of the time and swing hard 10% at most. To do otherwise is the road to consistent losses. Trade like a guerrilla warfare fighter. Survival first, shoot at our own time and place...sparingly. Let the others line themselves up and face off to their heart's desire. In another article we will discuss methods of using futures and options for synthetic exit strategies. This will include option granting, and futures hedging of options. Good Trading!

Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market


Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Why is it that traders around the world see the Forex market as an investment opportunity? We will try to answer this question in this article. Also we will discuss come differences between the Forex market, the stocks market and the futures market.Some of the benefits of trading the Forex market are:Superior liquidity.Liquidity is what really makes the Forex market different from other markets. The Forex market is by far the most liquid financial market in the world with nearly 2 trillion dollars traded everyday. This ensures price stability and better trade execution. Allowing traders to open and close transactions with ease. Also such a tremendous volume makes it hard to manipulate the market in an extended manner.24hr Market.This one is also one of the greatest advantages of trading Forex. It is an around the click market, the market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.Leverage trading.Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.Low Transaction costs.Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.Low minimum investment.The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level.Specialized trading.The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to monitor, and at the end get to know each instrument better.Trading from anywhere.If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.Some of the most important differences between the Forex market and other markets are explained below.Forex market vs. Equity marketsLiquidityFX market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.Equity market: Around 200 billion on a daily basis.Trading hoursFX market: 24hr market, 5.5 days a week.Equity market: Monday through Friday from 8:30 EST to 5:00 EST.Profit potentialFX market: In both, rising and falling markets.Equity market: Most traders/investor profit only from rising markets.Transaction costsFX market: Commission free and tight spreads.Equity market: High Commissions and transaction fees.Buying powerFX market: Leverage up to 400:1.Equity market: Leverage from 2:1 to 4:1.SpecializationFX market: most volume (85%) is made on major currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD.)Equity market: More than 40,000 stocks to choose from.Forex market vs. Futures marketLiquidityFX Market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.Futures market: Around 400 billion dollars on a daily basis.Transaction costsFX market: Commission free and tight spreads.Futures market: High commissions fees.MarginFX market: Fixed rate of margin on every position.Futures market: Different levels of margin on overnight positions than day time positions.Trade executionFX market: Instantaneous execution.Futures market: Inconsistent execution.All this makes the Forex market very attractive to investors and traders. But I need to make something clear, although the benefits of trading the Forex market are notorious; it is still difficult to make a successful career trading the Forex market. It requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience, as any other market.by Raul Lopezhttp://www.straightforex.com/

Learn Forex Trading - In 14 Days These Traders Learned Methods That Made Millions

If you have not heard of the turtles then you will find their story inspiring. They had no experience of trading yet in just 14 days they were taught to trade and went onto become trading legends and make millions. How did they do it? If you want to learn forex trading and be successful then their story will point you in the right direction. The Debate In 1984, legendary trader Richard Dennis taught a simple technical trend following system to a group of students, to prove that, trading was a skill that could be specifically learned. Dennis was settling a debate with his friend William Eckhardt, who believed successful trading was a skill that was a gift, while Dennis believed it anyone could be taught it. Who Were The Turtles? They were all from diverse backgrounds and the only thing they had in common was that they had never traded before. They included a boy fresh out school, a security guard, some professional card players, a bookkeeper and even an actor. Dennis believed that anyone who wanted to be a successful trader needed to focus on three specific areas: 1. A simple technical system they could understand and have confidence in. 2. A set of money management rules to preserve equity. 3. A discipline to apply their methods through periods of losses without deviating from their system. In the turtle trading experiment Dennis gave the turtles a simple system and taught them the RIGHT MINDSET to be successful. A Simple system & money management rules The system taught was simplicity itself and was designed to be easy to understand easy to apply, yet one the turtles could have complete confidence in. The system was based on breakout methodology, with just a few rules to confirm trading signals, backed up by strict money management rules to preserve equity. If you want to learn forex trading, you need to understand that your system should be simple. One of the biggest myths of trading is that a complicated system is more likely to succeed than a simple one. In fact, most of the worlds top trading systems are simple and as a general rule, a robust simple system with just a few indicators will beat a more complicated one. Why? Because in the brutal world of trading, simple systems are more robust than complicated ones with less elements to break. In trading you don't earn your reward from the effort you put in, you earn it for being right about market direction. With any system you need money management rules and Dennis gave them a simple set of rules that would preserve their equity. The knowledge Dennis gave his pupils gave them confidence which is crucial, in that it leads to discipline. Discipline If you are confident and understand a system you will follow it with discipline. Most traders don't have discipline, because they don't have ultimate confidence in their method, as soon as a string of losses occur they throw in the towel. If you don't have the discipline to follow a method, you really have no method in the first place. What can we learn from the turtles? Quite simply, that anyone can learn to trade and trading success is within reach of anyone with a willingness to learn and apply what they have learned. You may not make as much money as the turtles, however if you focus on developing a robust method you understand, have confidence in and can apply with discipline, you can be a successful trader. The turtles worked smart not hard to achieve trading success and their story is inspiring for anyone wishing to learn forex trading. About the AuthorGrab 5 FREE Trader PDF's & Much More Trade like a pro with our user-friendly multi-lingual online tradingplatforms up to date financial news, real-time market prices, tight pip spreads, built-in risk management system, and 24-hour professional support Http://www.bestonlineforexbroker.com

Keep Your Shirt On- Skirt Those Forex Scams

Whenever there is an opportunity to make large amounts of money, there will be people who are eager to jump right in and start making money. And where there are people who are eager to get rich quick with a minimum of effort on their part, there are fraudsters waiting to take their money. Experienced traders are wise enough to avoid the frauds – it’s the new traders who are most vulnerable to the forex scams that are slipping into the currency exchange market. The U.S. CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), which regulates futures and commodities trading, warns new investors to be wary of frauds and scams that promise huge profits from your investments, in and out of the Forex market. The CFTC has issued several Consumer Fraud Alerts in connection with foreign currency trading. They offer the following tips to help you avoid being scammed. Be skeptical of high-profit-low-risk come-ons. “I made $1900 in one minute!” touts one sidebar ad for a Forex trading company. Ads that promise high returns on small investments with little or no risk to you are tempting bait. The fact is that while there are certainly big profits to be made in forex, there are correspondingly large losses. And most novice traders drop out of active trading by the end of their first year because they can’t afford the risk. Be suspicious. Period. Before you part with a penny, thoroughly check out the company or trader you’re planning to do business with. Check the CFTC’s consumer fraud alert page. Check to see if the company is registered with the CFTC, or is a member of the National Futures Association. Check to see if there’s any disciplinary action against the firm or company. Get even more basic. Get a valid address and telephone number, and verify that it belongs to the company. Check to be sure the person you’re dealing with actually works for the company. Especially if you’re doing business on the Internet, it’s very easy for a scammer to fake credentials. Be wary of sending money over the Internet. The Internet has made it incredibly easy for scammers to operate. It only costs $6.95 a month to have a professional looking web site hosted – that’s pennies a day to reach millions of potential marks. Before you part with credit card numbers, bank account transfer permissions or wire transfers, be sure to check out the company with all the authorities listed above. Beware high pressure sales tactics. Legitimate dealers don’t need to contact you with unsolicited email, or pressure you into doing business with them. If someone is pushing you to invest right now, tonight, this moment, it should set off huge warning signals in your head. A real dealer is more concerned with keeping you as a customer for the long haul. He’ll be patient while you check out his credentials and reputation. A phony dealer can’t afford that luxury – he needs to get you on the hook right now, or risk losing his score. Be cautious of companies that tell you they’ll trade for you on the ‘interbank’ market. The interbank market is a term for a loose network of currency traders that include banks, financial institutions and large corporations. Fraudulent currency trading firms often tell customers that they’ll trade for them on the interbank market where the prices are better. It should be a warning signal to you to stay away. While technically not ‘scams’, you should also be wary of paying good money for training courses that promise you systems that are ‘guaranteed’ to earn you high profits. If the course advertises that their system will earn you huge profits with minimal risk, or guarantee you 40% return on your money in six weeks, take the promises with a huge grain of salt. Experienced traders understand that the forex market is a time market – while it’s possible to make large amounts of money in short-term trades, finding those profitable trades is a matter of being in the right place at the right time… which means putting in the time and the effort to be there. They also understand that they’ll lose more often than they win – the trick is to keep your losses short and your profits long. Any company that guarantees that you’ll make a profit on all or most of your profits is coloring their advertising. Stick with trusted companies whose credentials you can verify and whose background you can check.
by: Joseph Plazo

Forex Charts, Forex Trading Systems - No easy way to find Forex Charts and Forex Trading Signals

If you re new to forex, you re going to need forex charts. As you develop your forex trading system, use the demo accounts that many trade brokers provide. They ll generally provide free forex charts as part of their demo forex trading system.Search the Internet for forex or forex charts. The choices will be a bit overwhelming. You will have to do research to get a good match, both with the forex trading system and the forex charts themselves. You may have to mix and match to get your specialized needs met.As you refine your skills, you ll find you re more discerning of the tools. And you ll begin to notice more features on the forex charts. The forex trading signals may be quite standard on many sites, but how they integrate the forex trading signals with the forex charts may not function well with your style.Search and you ll find forex trading signals that fit closely with your requirements. Your forex trading system will become more and more refined with practice. And that s the best way to learn forex practice with a demo account.Learning the forex charts and the forex trading system of different brokers will be frustrating to start. Work through it, it will be worth it. Don t accept the first one you try. Or even the one your friend uses. Forex trading system and forex charts are very personal. And you re going to be spending a lot of time together. Get comfortable.The only way to pick a forex trading system and forex charts is to take recommendations and suggestions from articles, trainers and friends. But then make it your own. Find a perfect fit for your forex trading system.Stephanie Mundle is the managing editor of http://www.MoneyMasteryForum.com an informational forum site for the average investor. Take a look. Information on forex, debt, money management, investing and business.Come check out the forum at http://www.MoneyMasteryForum.com/forum.html.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Mundle

Internet Marketing VS Forex Currency Trading

Have you ever tried to make money online and failed?Did you follow your guru's advice and still fail?Here's an alternative...Have you noticed that when someone’s trying to sell you something - such as a system for making money - they always make it look far easier than it is? Let’s look at two Internet businesses, almost as diametrically opposed as it’s possible to be – Internet Marketing and Forex Currency Trading. You’ve probably heard the old Internet adage – build a better website and they will come. Well it ain’t true! You could put up a site advertising dollars for a dime and they still wouldn’t come – because they wouldn’t know where to look!Let’s look at what you need to have in place in order to build a successful Internet marketing business.First of all, you need a product. If you’ve been reading the recent Internet marketing blurb you’ll know you need a niche product. Actually, the new thing is sub-niche but whatever they call it, you need a product for which there is high demand but low supply.Finding a suitable niche is the hardest part of the whole process but let’s say you have a killer product, what else do you need?The List. Ask any Internet marketeer and they will say that the most important part of your business is your opt-in list. For people to join your list you usually have to give them something of value such as a free eBook or report on a subject related to your main product line. To keep them interested, you need to keep in touch with them offering them additional information, advice and tips.Website. To promote your opt-in list you need a website (although there are other ways of promoting your list, too) with features that will encourage people to sign up to your list. You also need a killer website with killer copy to describe – and sell - your killer product. This may or may not be the same as the one you use for your opt-in list.Killer copy. Maybe you’re not a good copywriter. There are many eBooks on the subject that can help you or you can pay someone to write copy for you.You need a domain name, preferably one with some relation to the product but good domain names are becoming increasing difficult to find.Ads. To get people to visit your website in the first place you need to register it with the search engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is an art in itself. You can mug up on the subject or pay someone to do the job for you (but be aware that not all experts are!).You might also want to place ads for your list in newsletters and ezines. The better ones will charge you although you might get a free ad in return for an article.Autoresponder. To automate your business you need an autoresponder. These clever devices automatically send emails to everyone on your opt-in list at predetermined intervals, and contain predetermined copy. For example, you could create a series of emails containing, say, five parts of a free course to be sent one a day over the first five days. Then emails would be sent once a week advertising a different product each time. Whenever anyone signs up to your list they automatically start at the beginning so everyone gets the full cycle of marketing material.We haven’t even looked at affiliate sales and marketing but I’m sure you get the picture. The basic idea of selling over the Internet sounds good but there’s a lot more to it than most people realise.Forex Currency TradingSomeone said that trading is the last frontier, the last place where men and women can stand up and pit themselves against the world.It sounds very Wild Westish but most of it is true! You win or lose entirely by your own efforts and if you win, it’s like having your very own bank. However, even owning a bank is a business and you still have to work hard to put the money there – and to keep it!Unlike Internet marketing where all your efforts, in one form or another, are geared towards making people join your list and then selling them stuff, Currency Trading has no customers. That’s worth repeating – with currency trading, you don’t need customers.No customers means you don’t need any of the associated accoutrements that go with Internet marketing such as:ProductsWeb siteDomain nameOpt-in listAdseBooks and reportsAutoresponderAny other marketing aidsSo far so good, but what do you have to do and what do you need? Well, you need to know what currency prices are doing.You can get a list of prices at the close of each trading day free from many web sites. If you want to trade during the day – intraday trading, you can get real-time prices for a nominal fee from several data suppliers. In the foreign exchange currency market, commonly called forex, you can get this data and charting software free from many web sites.Okay, that’s the easy bit. In order to trade currencies, you need to analyse the data and determine which way price is heading. In other words you need a system and this will require study and dedication.There’s lots of other stuff you have to know, too – trading terminology, margin, leverage, money management, order types, trader psychology and more. But all of this is available in eBooks and courses and on the Net.You also need some money upfront to fund your trading account. With forex you can begin with as little as $300-500 although you would be advised to start with more.So while you don’t have the ongoing quest for new customers, new products and inventive sales techniques, you do need some sort of education or training before you begin and you need discipline while you’re trading.For more information on getting started with forex currency trading, go to: www.webkept.comMaking money takes work whether it’s online or off. Make sure you know what’s involved before you start and remember that the more you put into a business, the easier it gets. About the author:From the author of the hit Forex Currency Trading book - "Mechanical Discretion", Amin Sadak has created another masterpiece for Business Opportunists. His new teaching manual "The Affluent Desktop Currency Trader" provides an alternative for people looking for online business opportunities. Amin teaches the

Online FOREX Trading - Become a Successful Forex Trader in Two Weeks!

One of the most inspiring stories I ever read, was how legendary trader Richard Dennis taught 14 people who had never traded before, to trade successfully in just two weeks.The result?They traded and went on to make millions and become some of the most famous traders of all time.So how was it done and can you do the same? Let\'s find out.Richard Dennis taught them three major points:1. A simple method they could have confidence in.2. Money management. 3. Applying the method with discipline.His advice was very specific with no filler.So, let's look at what you need to learn.1. MethodYou need a method you have confidence in and it needs to be simple.There is no correlation between how complicated a method is and how much money it makes.In fact, the reverse is true.A complicated method has more components to break and is less robust in the face of brutal market conditions.Look up "technical analysis" on the net and learn specifically how and why it works and also the theory of "trading breakouts"You should be using a long term trend following methodology looking for the big trends that produce the big profits and breakout trading is ideal for this.If you want to win at online forex trading, you need to know about breakouts.Base your methodology on it - It's simple and it works.Now you need to time entries.Look at some indicators that are based on momentum and look up "stochastics" this is simply the best momentum indicator you can use.2. Money ManagementIf you start with a "breakout method" and base your trading method on it, then stop placement is obvious.If you only trade significant breaks your odds of success will be high.3. DisciplineIs perhaps the hardest part of trading online forex.You need to apply your method with rigid discipline otherwise you have no method at all.Discipline is all about experience and even seasoned traders find it hard to keep executing a method when a string of losses occur.However, you are part of the way there to having discipline, if you have devised your own method.You know its logic and should be able to stay with it as you will have confidence in it to work.All the material you need to get up and running is free and on the internet, but it\'s worth reading a few books.These are my favorites and will they inspire you.1. Market Wizards and The New Market Wizards ( edit )By Jack Shwager.These are interviews with some of the top traders of all time including:Richard Dennis and the turtles and many more - Packed with insight and very inspiring.2. Trader Vicby sacha tarkovskyBy Victor Sperandeo.A true trading legend, who shares with us his thoughts on trading, money management and trading psychology, a fantastic all round book.By all means read a few more, but these three are my favorites from over 500 I have read.Trading is Simple, yet people try and complicate it.They think the more effort they put in the more they will get out - This is totally false.Work smart not hard!If you want to make money you need to work smart not hard and if you want a perfect example of this look at the turtles!In just two weeks they all became great traders.Maybe, you wont make as much money as them, but if you learn and do the above, you will have the basic platform to make big profits in online forex trading.Finally, you will have done it all on your own and will have given yourself success, how satisfying is that?