Foreign currency exchange trading is a tempting pastime, not unlike skydiving. It can be extremely exciting, and few people dare to take it up. And just like skydiving, forex trading requires thorough preparation and education to avoid disaster. This article presents a few tips that can help a forex trader steer away from a cataclysmic crash.
Fit your forex trading schedule to the currencies you are most interested in. Generally speaking, trading during business hours is much more volatile – and potentially profitable – than after-hours trading. Commit yourself to following the market during the hours that your chosen currencies are trading at their greatest volume. The prices and spreads you see will be much higher.
Timing is of utmost importance when trading. This can solve a quite a bit of the trading problems and perhaps help you avoid major losses. Everything from a day to even a few minutes can affect whether or not you will come out on top or completely lose out on a trade.
When you are first starting out in forex trading, start with small investments out of a bank account that can be managed solely online. This prevents you from overextending yourself right away, as well as giving you the option to quickly add and remove money as needed to keep your trading afloat.
If you keep changing your stop losses, hoping that the market will rebound, chances are you’ll just lose even more money. You’ll be more successful if you stay committed to your plan.
If you end up with a big loss, get out for a while. Take a break. Many FOREX traders lose sight of their trading plans when hit with a big loss. They end up trying to “˜get revenge’ on the market by working exclusively with the same currency – that was used at the time of the loss – to try to recover.
The forex market is not a casino. Do not gamble on long-shot trades. When one is first starting in forex trading, the natural impulse is to make little bets on potentially lucrative but unlikely trades. Having fun by gambling this way rarely pays off and it takes up time that the experienced trader would better use for planning and well-researched trades.
If you plan on participating in forex trading, one great tip is to never count the profits made on your first twenty trades. Calculate your percentage of the wins. Once you figure this out, you can increase your profits with multi-plot trading and variations with your stops. You have to get serious about managing your money.
In order to be successful in the foreign exchange market, you must begin with yourself. You should begin by thinking about your own goals for foreign exchange trading. Once you know your goals, you can have a better understand of where you want to go in the market and better your chances of being successful and profitable in the market.
Forex trading is a realm that offers great potential rewards and equally great risks. Careful preparation and thorough education are the keys to maximizing the former and avoiding the latter. The tips presented above may help prepare traders for jumping into the forex markets with confidence and a good understanding of the dangers they will have to avoid.