An apology

Beginner Questions
#1

I apologize to everyone on the board for introducing myself by making my first post an irritated response in another thread. I need to make a better start than that.

My name is Mike, I’m a 52 yo single dad of a great 15 yo boy who’s likely going to move in with me full-time next week and we live in Los Angeles, CA USA. I started lurking here 8 days ago by working my way through the School of Pipsology (made it to 14th grade, so far.) I opened a demo account (The VT Trader Platform with CMS Forex) just to get comfortable with a Chart Package but I’m not sure I’ll go live with it.

To the Moderators and site Founders, thank you for your efforts. I blew through a demo account 5 years ago which I wouldn’t have done if I’d have found a site like this first. Again, thank you. I’ve also started working my way through NickB’s website, Forex 4 Noobs so I’ve got all I can handle to get going, aside from the questions I need to get answered. (such as will 10 different Forex Brokerages give me the “exact” same quote on GBP/JPY at any given entry point and is there such a thing as “Netting the spread” and is it real?)

Thanks and more later

Silmaril

#2

hey mike welcome to babypips. This is a great and usually friendly place to learn and grow as a trader.

Nick b (forex4noobs.com) is fantastic I personally use his system and have started learning fetor’s system. I strongly urge you to continue as a trader. Also if you listen to nick at all then you have already thrown out the idea of using to many indicators. I would encourage you to focus your efforts on price action because that coupled with support and resistance is how the big boys(and girls) trade.

For a great thread to follow check out technical templates 2

http://forums.babypips.com/free-forex-trading-systems/19076-technical-templates-2-a.html

#3

Superior Master Contributor and Member johnnykanoo, thank you. :slight_smile: In the last week, I’ve read [I]hundreds[/I] of pages. Piping up on this forum is a way to start digesting what I’ve read. It appears the most basic idea to start with, is to do due diligence on several critical issues, so that’s what I’m trying to do. Also, I’m slowly familiarizing myself with these two forums, the main contributors and trying to fit myself in without making too much of a fuss.

I’ll follow this link and again, thanks.

Silmaril

#4

Don’t sweat it.

You, can’t take the spread as profit as far as I know. What will happen when you enter, is that the spread will have you -x pips from the start. So, if the spread is 7 pips, the trade enters at -7 pips, when it’s entry is tripped. Then you have to beat the spread and have price go in your direction before profit.

Stick with nickB’s system. I’ve been through half a dozen or more, learning myself. Both with and without indicators. The best ones rely on S&R and price action (candles), as far as I’m concerened.

I started on nickB’s first, then moved on after reading the ebook, because I didn’t believe it could be that simple, or that I could have found something really good the first time looking.

GBP/JPY is an awesome pair, some large amount of pips to be had with good trades.

#5

You’ll find lots of people here, myself included, singing the praises of NickB. I think what makes him and his site so special is that they really aren’t teaching you to trade with a “system.” He, and the others on his site, are teaching you how the market operates, how to “read” the market, and how to predict what it will do using real economics, not some weird market voodoo.

Other people here are devoted to a particular trader’s “go long when x crosses y” system. Some of these work (I even have one myself), but it’s really hard when you’re a newbie to seperate the good ones from the ones that are a load of bullpips, so I’d just stay away from all of them till you get some experience.

I would suggest you also start following one of the bloggers on NickB’s site, Metalhawk. He calls all of his trades for the week in advance, on Sunday night, so you can watch them as they happen. Don’t use him as a signal service, you won’t learn that way, but you can follow along as your learning so you know you’re on the right track.

#6

Thanks ThePhoenix, I appreciate it. I read somewhere that “netting the spread” was a practice brokers had of buying opposite your trade which canceled out your trade and left them with the transaction cost. But I can’t see how that could even be done, so I had to ask experienced traders.

Silmaril

#7

phil 838, thanks for the lead and for the insight; it helps to get a hand up once in a while.

Silmaril