well, i know the asnwer to this question but i just want people to really think about it. when i first got introduced to the FOREX i had the impression that it was a 50:50 chance on a blind guess to make money. the way i was taught in the 4 hour seminar gave the impression that all i have to do is decide weither the market was going up or down. that it thats all. pick one, trade it and cash out big. probably after i had a 50% drawdown was when i realized that things are not so cut and dry.
i know Babypips is an awesome site and it has respored my confidense in myself and i know many newbees are just so excited after gradulating and cant wait to get out and make some money but STOP!!!. WAIT A SEC!!!:eek: is it really that easy? are things so cut and dry? im not here to blame anyone for my failure but the more digging i do the more i worry that maybe the odds against me are a lot higher then i realized.
lately ive been looking for a broker and when Oanda was introduced to me i was so excited. ive been saveing up some money to open an account and ive been demoing for about 3 weeks now. the broker is not perfect but according to reviews from traders who hold accounts with them and from review blog sites, oanda is the best. ive been to forexbastards, check it out, read through all the reviews from users. Oanda only rates a two out of 5. i know there are alot of bad traders who want to blame their brokers when they mess up and i know that there are also alot of news traders having trouble makeing money with their brokers but OMG!!! after reading all the negative reveiws im really feeling sick.
check out:
http://www.forexbastards.com/broker_reviews.shtml
http://www.goforex.net/forex-broker-list.htm
http://www.currencysecrets.com/2005/05/14/forex-broker-reviews/
now im not excited anymore about trading. infact im a bit scared. there is just so many problems with all brokers. i thought that picking a broker that is regulated, the more regulatory agencies its regulated by the better, protect you and your money better. but the truth is, even that doesnt protect you.
THE TRUE COST OF TRADING
many brokers claim that they get paid only by the spread. DONT BE QUICK TO BELIEVE THIS. there are so many hidden costs, its actually disgusting. some people say dont complain, its just the price of doing buisness. but come on!!! i dont mind paying an extra 15 pips per trade upfront if my broker was honest about what it was doing and why it was doing it. instead they sneak the extra pips right under your nose. the only way you will see the difference is if you actually look. we are quick to run away when we see a broker with a commission but check it out first. Im not too crazy about ECNs but they may be the only way to trade in a few year.
read this
http://www.forexfactory.com/forexforum/showthread.php?t=5043&page=2&pp=15 (download the whole PDF… infact read the whole thread)
http://forexfacts.port5.com/index2.htm (same as the PDF download)
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/06/StopHunting.asp (stop hunting info)
http://www.fx-dealer.com/articles/stophunting.asp (more stophunting info)
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62389&perpage=6&pagenumber=1 (bucketshops - MM VS ECN)
http://market-geeks.com/articles/009_StopHunting.php (stop hunting… again)
http://www.forexfactory.com/forexforum/showthread.php?t=7349 (complaining about brokers, lots to read so dig in . infact read all the stickies in the broker discussion)
http://www.forexfactory.com/forexforum/showthread.php?t=5289&highlight=stop+hunting (stop hunting. i hope i didnt post this link twice… sorry IA)
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/06/ECNmarketmaker.asp (ECN Vs MM)
sign if only slippage was all we had to worry about :rolleyes:
im not trying to freak anyone out here but before you start trading you need to know who you are trading against. for quite a while ive been waiting for someone to give me a name of a good broker that allows scalping and news trading (without widening spreads, manipulating price feed, or just plain ol’ locking out clients form their platforms). and i have yet to be given a name. Even good ol’ Oanda, " the people’s favorite", has been up to some nasty tricks. even on their own forum there are some threads where people are complaining about their practices and yet no reps from the company has responded to the negative claims. we all need a broker if we want to trade the forex. so at the very least we can learn the brokers’ and the "big guys’ " game and find a why to beat them. the forex is not as hugely regulated market like futures and stocks are (although they too have some of the same problems). your broker decides the price at which you will trade by(all brokers but MM are the ones you should worry about). many can even enter prices manually and if they make an “error” you pay for it. read your agreenment, they cant be held responsible for their own “mistakes”. but many people believe that their actions are purposeful(i really dont know if its true but im definately watching out).remember, you are playing their game, on their terratory with their tools. thanks for reading and happy trading … if there is such a thing still.
good luck.