Learn How To Trade Forex
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Learning forex trading should not be difficult. With decent understanding of money management rules and a good trading strategy, you should be ready for conquering the forex markets.
Try to understand the big picture. Start each trading session by looking at the daily charts than zooming into 4hr, 1hr, 30min, 15 min etc. Forex trading is all about interpreting the past as it is about interpreting the future.
You need to understand whether the market is ranging or trending. You should try to understand any long term patterns that have developed. By looking at the different charts you will develop a feel of how the forex markets are behaving in the short as well as the long term.
Figuring out the general direction of the currency markets is easy. Candlestick analysis and moving averages are a good way to identify long term patterns and reversals.
You can use the Bollinger bands applied to 4hr charts to identify the daily trading range. A daily trading range shows you where the vast majority of moves are expected to happen. Any moves outside the daily trading range can be viewed as short term abnormalities.
You need to do some scenario planning, once you have a general overview of the market. You should know what news is scheduled to be released and what is the expected market reaction for that day.
Understanding the big picture does not mean that you should know the whole picture. Try to focus on your favorite pairs. It takes a lifetime to understand a currencys behavior, how it reacts to things like oil prices, interest rates etc. So concentrate only on a few pairs and stick with them.
You should always try to take notes and keep a daily trading journal. Start each entry in the trading journal by analyzing the general direction of the markets for that day. What you think how the markets are going to react to different news that is expected to be released that day? What should be your entry and exit for the trade. How many pips you are expecting to make?
After each trade, look at what went wrong and how to avoid it in future trading! In case of a good trade that made you pips, analyze how many pips you could have made more and how to tweak your trading strategy for better results in the future trades.
Keep these general tips in mind while you learn forex trading. Never ever trade without putting stop losses! Practice on the demo account for at least three months before starting live trading with your real money.