Learning to trade Forex is not an easy task, but by no means is it difficult either. Learning to trade Forex does not require a great intellect or a college degree. Doctors have failed as traders and construction workers have become millionaires. Trading is all about discipline, determination and perseverance.
The key is to understand who you are as a trader and trade to your strength. Leveraging your strength can be magnified by deploying the appropriate Forex trading strategy.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of Forex trading strategies out there. Logic will tell us that there is a currency strategy out there which leverages our strengths. It is not a one-size-fits-all world. To immediately cut to the chase and take away the magic, it all comes down to two basic Forex strategies; trend-following and range-bound. All Forex trading strategies use a variety of indicators and combinations, MACD, Moving Averages, Stochastic, Chart Patterns, Candlesticks, Pivot Points, Fibonacci ratios, Elliott Wave analysis, Bollinger Bands and the list goes on and on. Let’s take away the magic again. These indicators and studies are merely measuring support and resistance and trend in the Forex market.
But which strategy really works? This is the age old question?
First, we must understand who we are as traders. Does our personality fit the pip sniper mode or does our disposition attract us more towards swing trading. Finding your trading personality will mean studying and experiencing the different time frames and associated Forex trading strategies. Over time you will notice a higher level of success and/or comfort trading one style over others. Pay attention! The market is telling you where your skill is more capable of extract consistent profits for the market. This is why journaling is so important to your Forex trading routine.
Secondly, if you are using someone else’s strategy, a most of us are, deploy this strategy without change until you fully and completely understand all aspect of the strategy through back-testing and actual experience. As I was told; dance the dance you have been taught until you learn a dance of your own!
Don’t fall into the trap of jumping from strategy to strategy or combining different strategies when the one you are using doesn’t yield immediate success. This is only a recipe for disaster. Take the time to really understand the trading strategy. Study the components individually so a deeper understanding of the strategic mechanisms is mastered.
Above all, know when and when not to deploy this strategy. You will not find consistent success implementing a trend following system in a range-bound currency market.
So what’s the right strategy for you? It is simple, the one that works. It doesn’t matter if it is complicated or simple, trend-following or range-bound, uses Fibonacci studies, pivot points or both. If you understand the components, internalize its use, and drive consistent profits into your trading account, then you have your Forex trading strategy.
It doesn’t matter what the experts say, your account balance is the ultimate judge and jury for your Forex trading strategy.
By: Todd Judkins
Posts Tagged ‘Consistent Profits’
Learn Forex Trading – Which Forex Strategy Is Right For Me?
December 16th, 2009Forex Killer Strategy – Join The Forex Trading Elite
November 26th, 2009
A true forex killer strategy will involve minimizing risk through the medium term trade, predicting trends and acting upon them with precise timing. If you can do all these things, you will be well on your way to becoming a forex killer. This is something new traders fail to realise- many use statistical data up to a point, but in the end base their trades on emotion and instinct- this is a sure-fire rote to failure in foreign exchange.
There is oftentimes bad press about the currency trading market- that by and large only the big players can really compete. Governments and large financial institutions such as banks do indeed make the majority of the profits, and have the greatest influence on market swings, however there are a lot of individual traders (spectators) who consistently make thousands of dollars trading foreign currency. It is not rocket science; however there are certainly some fundamentals that set them apart from those that fail.
Here are some key skills of the elite forex trader’s
1) Favor The Medium Term Trade
It has been shown time and time again that by favoring the medium term trade you effectively minimize risk, and increase the chances of consistent profits. Think of it this way, you are better off making consistent small wins as opposed to large win’s and large losses. As Justin Kuepper, contributor to Investopedia.com suggests favouring a medium term trade will “help you save money and ultimately become a profitable retail forex trader”.
2) Predict Trends
Foreign exchange, unlike the stock market is a relatively small playing field (4 main currencies and 34 second tier currencies). The beauty of this is that it makes it easier and faster to interpret past market data and make educated decision’s based on fact rather than instinct, There is no doubt that the most successful trader’s use some form of forex trading software. Such platforms allow user’s to efficiently read market signals and know when to act upon them for the greatest chance of profit, and the smallest amount of risk- this is effectively a true forex killer system. If you can efficiently manage the statistical data on the foreign exchange market, you are well on your way to success.
3) Act Upon Trends With Precise Timing
It is all good and well to have access to statistical data, but reading it and knowing when to buy and sell is another thing. Unless you are super experienced, again forex trading software will be the best place to start.
Conclusion
If you are serious about succeeding in currency trading, and being amongst the forex trading elite you need to favour medium term trades, be able to interpret and predict trends and act upon them with precise timing. If you can do these things, and ensure you never base a decision on emotion or instinct you will have the greatest chance of making massive profits in forex.
By: Peter C Johnson