Posts Tagged ‘day trading’
Do not trade the markets without ample preparation
Sunday, March 7th, 2010If you are new to the markets, it is imperative that you work hard to educate yourself before risking any money. Most people are attracted to the markets because they hear of person X making 50% this year, person Y doubled their money on a trade and on and on. People are not apt to share in the major disasters they have had, and often exaggerate the profits and underestimate the losses when speaking about what they have done. It is very common to not want to relive a painful moment when speaking to others about your investment decisions. So before you decide to take the plunge, you will have to figure out what exactly it is that you are tying to accomplish
There are two 3 types of trading that can be done: short term (minutes to days), swing trade (days to weeks) and long term investing (weeks to years). Simply discovering which type of trading suits you might seem like an easy task, but it is most likely the most important decision you will make. To make the most of it, you will need to match up the trading style with your level of risk and type of personality you have
Short term trading is also synonymous with day trading, although positions can be held overnight and still be considered a day trade for the most part. This is probably the riskiest type of trading for most people and requires the most amount of time. If you have a full time job when the markets are open, this is probably not for you, or only in small batches. While some people do day trading manually, others prefer the help of a day trading robot to automate things.
Swing trading is much more manageable than trying to learn day trading for most people, but still requires constant monitoring during the day. With swing trading the amount of time and concentration required is far less than with day trading, but it will still require you to monitor your positions each evening, and if something is close to a price target or stop area, monitor during the day as well. Swing trading tries to capture a bigger move in a stock, such as a 5% or 10% or more move in a single direction with limited risk. Since swing trading entails holding for bigger gains and for longer periods of time, the actual trading activity of buys and sells is far less than with day trading. Anyone looking to swing trade should keep in mind that its far less risky than day trading, but still entails betting on the short term direction in the price of a stock.
Long term investing is what most people are familiar with – buy and hold. The main thing that has diffentiated over the last ten or so years is the economic climate, which makes it a riskier proposition to just buy something and forget about it. Many investors have learned a hard lesson when they watched a significant gain turn into a big loss because they just held on. Every investor these days needs a fixed plan to exit a position rather than hold and hope.
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Why Do You Need Forex Trading Training?
Monday, June 22nd, 2009Does everybody need forex trading training or do some people have a natural talent for trading currency on the forex market? You will not be surprised to learn that nobody is born understanding all of the ins and outs of foreign exchange trading. While it is true that some kinds of experience or personality traits can be useful and can mean that you will pick it up more quickly, everybody needs some kind of training if they plan to make a profit.
But there are many kinds of stock day training available these days and it may be hard to judge what is the best. With so many websites, blogs, articles and ebooks available on the internet, often low priced or even free, it is tempting to think that we may be able to pick up all we need to know for dirt cheap.
However, it can be a big mistake to limit yourself to this kind of piecemeal training. There are some great ebooks and free systems out there but others are outdated or never had any success at all. As a beginner you will find it hard to know which ones to trust.
Even the best manuals generally do not cover everything you need to know. They may focus on one or two strategies that are not necessarily the best fit for your situation. The money saved on training may be lost several times over once you start currency trading for real.
In most cases you will be better advised if you sign up for formal training through a membership site. This is likely to be run by a trading group or an experienced currency trader. They will have set up a step by step process that you can work through from complete beginner to knowledgeable trader.
Beginners are usually attracted to forex day trading by the lure of quick and easy money and most know nothing about it when they start. It is great to have a system that covers pretty much everything and someone who can answer your questions.
Many formal forex training programs have a forum where you can discuss your strategies and trades with others. Sharing information in this way can be a great way to learn. In fact, in many cases the forum itself is worth the cost of membership and many people remain members after completing the program just to have this exposure to the knowledge and experience of their fellow traders.
Solid forex training is unlikely to be free except at the most basic level. If you just want to dabble in the forex market as an experiment, without caring too much whether you win or lose, you may be satisfied with free training. The best type of free training is often given a way as a teaser or taster by sites or brokers who hope you will then join them as a paying member. In fact, you can often pick up top level tips this way and a free report from a reputable trader will often be more useful and valuable than a $20 ebook.
Whatever type of training you choose, be sure to follow it exactly. Don’t skip over the first steps hoping to get straight into making money – that would be a fast route to disaster. Test out the system you are being taught, either with small trades or in a demo account. Ask questions. Make sure you get every drop of wisdom from the training you have chosen so that you put yourself in the best position to turn a profit on completion of the forex trading training program.
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Forex Mini Accounts – New Traders Start Here!
Thursday, June 18th, 2009If you are new to forex trading or have only a small amount of capital available right now, mini forex trading could be the way to go for you. It allows you to trade with real money while limiting your risk to a relatively small amount. Generally the lot size of trades for a mini account is only one tenth of the lot size for a standard account with the same broker.
Mini Forex Trading Or Demo?
Somebody starting out in forex has several options:
1. Start out right away with live trading in a standard brokerage account, investing from $1,000 to $5,000. This would be very risky for a new trader and is not.
2. Begin with live trading in a mini forex account. Generally you need $250 for these accounts but you may be able to find brokers who will let you start with even less.
3. Start out with a demo Forex day trading account where you are picking up trading skills without investing any real money at all, then when you are consistently making profits, switch over to either a mini account or full brokerage account depending on your capital and your strategy.
Advantages Of A Mini Forex Trading Account
Most people choose option 3, the demo account. They feel much safer using ‘toy money’ online for several days, weeks or months. A demo account also gives you the opportunity to try out the various different strategies that you are probably reading about.
However there can be problems with running a demo account for too long. Some forex traders and trainers say that it lulls you into a false sense of security. It is much easier to take risks when there is no real cash involved, and you will be practicing with strategies that you may be uncomfortable using in real life trading.
So what can happen is that the demo account teaches you to make profits using medium to high risk strategies, but when you are faced with a real cash situation you may lose your nerve. This usually results in bad decisions made on the spur of the moment and ’strategy hopping’ where you are constantly switching from one plan to another. Losses are almost inevitable in this situation.
For this reason, some experts recommend starting with a mini account and using real money almost from the get-go. You would only use a demo account for a small number of trades to familiarize yourself with the technical side of operating your account and making trades. In this way you are likely to learn strategies that can work for you in the long term.
Disadvantages Of A Mini Trading Account
When you are trading small amounts, you must expect to pay more in percentage terms to the broker. This eats into your gains. In the long term this can have a massive effect on your results and can make the all-important difference between profit and loss. Therefore, most people operating a mini account will be aiming to switch to higher value trades as soon as they have the capital to do so.
However you choose to start, you will need to understand that forex trading is high risk by its very nature, like all forms of investment that offer the possibility of large gains in a short time. You should only invest money that you are prepared to lose if things go against you.
Starting out with a mini Forex account can be a great way for someone who is new to forex to pick up the techniques for real. Mini forex trading could be the best way to find out for sure whether foreign exchange trading is right for you.
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