Newbies Guide To Becoming A Forex Trader

Why the upside potential though? If you’re having short positions, shouldn’t it be the other way around?

I think by ‘upside potential’ he means the likelihood of a profitable trade, and ‘downside potential’ meaning the risk of a losing trade

Ah, that makes more sense than it referring to the direction of a trend. I understand now.

The strategy can be utilized on short-term positions as well as long-term

Hi, long time since I was last here.
I thought I would share a story with you, one a fellow trader introduced me to.
This is copied from Wikipedia, but the tale is available in book form and might even be useful for any of you with children as it teaches a useful lesson for life.

WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?

Who Moved My Cheese? features four characters: two mice, “Sniff” and “Scurry,” and two little people, human metaphor, “Hem” and “Haw.” (The names of the little people are taken from the phrase “hem and haw,” a term for indecisiveness.) They live in a maze, a representation of one’s environment, and look for cheese, representative of happiness and success. Initially without cheese, each group, the mice and humans, paired off and traveled the lengthy corridors searching for cheese. One day both groups happen upon a cheese-filled corridor at “Cheese Station C.” Content with their find, the humans establish routines around their daily intake of cheese, slowly becoming arrogant in the process.

One day Sniff and Scurry arrive at Cheese Station C to find no cheese left, but they are not surprised. Noticing the cheese supply dwindling, they have mentally prepared beforehand for the arduous but inevitable task of finding more cheese. Leaving Cheese Station C behind, they begin their hunt for new cheese together. Later that day, Hem and Haw arrive at Cheese Station C only to find the same thing, no cheese. Angered and annoyed, Hem demands, “Who moved my cheese?” The humans have counted on the cheese supply to be constant, and so are unprepared for this eventuality. After deciding that the cheese is indeed gone they get angry at the unfairness of the situation Haw suggests a search for new cheese, but Hem is dead set in his victimized mindset and dismisses the proposal.

Meanwhile, Sniff and Scurry have found “Cheese Station N,” and new cheese. But back at Cheese Station C, Hem and Haw are affected by their lack of cheese and blame each other for their problem. Hoping to change, Haw again proposes a search for new cheese. However, Hem is comforted by his old routine and is frightened about the unknown. He knocks the idea again. After a while of being in denial, the humans remain without cheese. One day, having discovered his debilitating fears, Haw begins to chuckle at the situation and stops taking himself so seriously. Realizing he should simply move on, Haw enters the maze, but not before chiseling “If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct” on the wall of Cheese Station C for his friend to ponder.

Still fearful of his trek, Haw jots “What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?” on the wall and, after thinking about that, he begins his venture. Still plagued with worry (perhaps he has waited too long to begin his search…), Haw finds some bits of cheese that nourish him and he is able to continue his search. Haw realizes that the cheese has not suddenly vanished, but has dwindled from continual eating. After a stop at an empty cheese station, Haw begins worrying about the unknown again. Brushing aside his fears, Haw’s new mindset allows him to again enjoy life. He has even begun to smile again! He is realizing that “When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.” After another empty cheese station, Haw decides to go back for Hem with the few bits of new cheese he has managed to find.

Uncompromising, Hem refuses the new cheese, to his friend’s disappointment. With knowledge learned along the way, Haw heads back into the maze. Getting deeper into the maze, inspired by bits of new cheese here and there, Haw leaves a trail of writings on the wall (“The Handwriting On the Wall”). These clarify his own thinking and give him hope that his friend will find aid in them during his search for new cheese. Still traveling, Haw one day comes across Cheese Station N, abundant with cheese, including some varieties that are strange to him, and he realizes he has found what he was looking for. After eating, Haw reflects on his experience. He ponders a return to see his old friend. But Haw decides to let Hem find his own way. Finding the largest wall in Cheese Station N, he writes:

Change Happens
They Keep Moving The Cheese

Anticipate Change
Get Ready For The Cheese To Move

Monitor Change
Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old

Adapt To Change Quickly
The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese

Change
Move With The Cheese

Enjoy Change!
Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!

Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again
They Keep Moving The Cheese.

Cautious from past experience, Haw now inspects Cheese Station N daily and explores different parts of the maze regularly to prevent any complacency from setting in. After hearing movement in the maze one day, Haw realizes someone is approaching the station. Unsure, Haw hopes that it is his friend Hem who has found the way.

3 Likes

bump for a great thread

2 Likes

I’m also a newbie and I’ve been reading a lot of articles here that helps me understand more about forex. I thank babypips.com for creating this website. I’ve been searching for sometime now and luckily i found you guys…

3 Likes

I totally agree with you! A lot of great threads here that’s super helpful to newbies, including this one. Big thanks to @eddieb!

1 Like

Choosing A Broker

Following on from my earlier post on selecting a broker, I thought these points were worth reiterating.

Check if your broker is regulated. If they aren’t, that should be a big red flag against using them. The main regulatory bodies are;

United States: National Futures Association (NFA) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

United Kingdom: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)

Australia: Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)

Switzerland: Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC)

Germany: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFIN)

France: Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF)

Canada: Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF)

Avoid anyone regulated in Cyprus, Vanuatu, St Vincent, or anywhere else where the “regulation” is not worth the paper it’s written on.

If possible, try to use someone regulated in your home country. At the very least, if something goes wrong you can take it up with a local regulatory body, law enforcement, fraud helpline, politician, or even get your local Watchdog-type TV programme involved. Difficult to do this if you’re thousands of miles away and don’t know anyone.

Don’t choose a broker based on who gives the biggest account bonus or cash back. If they need gimmicks like that to attract custom, they probably aren’t worth trusting your hard earned cash to.

1 Like

Regulation of brokers

A definition
The objective of regulation is to ensure fair and ethical business behaviour. In their turn all foreign exchange brokers, investment banks and signal sellers have to operate in compliance with the rules and standards laid down by the Forex regulators. Typically they must be registered and licensed in the country where their operations are based. Licensed brokers may be subject to recurrent audits, reviews and evaluations to check that they meet the industry standards. Foreign exchange brokers may have capital requirements which require them to hold a sufficient amount of funds to be able to execute and complete foreign exchange contracts concluded by their clients and also to return clients’ funds intact in case of bankruptcy.[citation needed]

Each Forex regulator operates within its own jurisdiction and regulation and enforcement varies significantly from country to country. In the European Union a license from one member state covers the whole continent under the Mifid regulation and has resulted in regulatory arbitrage where companies select the EU country that imposes the least controls such as CySEC in Cyprus. Not all foreign exchange brokers are regulated and many will register in jurisdictions that impose low-regulatory environments such as tax havens and corporate havens that form part of offshore banking.
Source:Wikipedia

The above should help clarify why I recommend not using brokers regulated in Cyprus or some of the more exotic offshore nations. If a broker chooses to base themselves in these places, they are not doing so for the benefit of retail traders. Note this covers signal sellers as well as brokers

1 Like

IMPORTANT UPDATE

Somewhat surprisingly, the FSCS have confirmed to me that non-UK residents who have forex accounts with FCA -regulated brokers get the same level of protection as UK residents

I don’t know if other regulatory bodies with compensation schemes follow suit, but this should be good news for anyone living in a country which has poor or zero regulations as they can enjoy a decent level of protection by signing up to a UK regulated broker

1 Like

All the newbies are welcome to the trading world. I really appreciate the decision of the people who want to adopt trading as a profession as it requires guts to be adopted. Get education, keep practicing, get profits! Best of luck as well!

It is not an easy job to become a trade, sorry successful trader. You have to work hard for building a viable strategy for your trades. You also have to gain as much knowledge as possible. If you have the knowledge then you will gain adequate experience as well. Stay blessed!

2 Likes

Forex Training Courses

Lots of these around, some from people who clearly know what they are talking about, others less so.

Are they worth taking?
Very few of these are worth paying for, the majority just churn out information that can be found here on BabyPips and elsewhere for free.
Some of the better ones might be worth considering, but bear in mind how long it might realistically take you to recoup the course cost. Also, and you won’t know this until you join, the first course is likely to be fairly basic and there may be pressure on you to sign up to later courses.

If you’re the type who learns best from face-to-face interaction and the cost isnt an issue, then you might benefit. I would, however, advise that you learn the basics for free here first so that you have some understanding before your course begins. And be prepared for the sales pitch at the end, this is where the serious money is made from newbies, so don’t sign up on the spot, insist on taking a few days to consider- they will likely say they are offering a special price for that day only, I would take anything like that as a red flag and run for the hills

I hadn’t realised this thread had been quiet so long.
Also hadn’t noticed how many of the guys posting have stopped contributing here, for one reason or another.

Whatever happened to @Kreg, @Sheldon_Zhang, @anon46773462, @Lexys, and others?

I know eddieb is on notthenoobs.com and bob got banned, but there are loads more like laughing charlie who i haven’t seen anywhere else.

Some names there I’ve not seen for a while.

I am still sometime to visit this website, but I am very busy on both day job and my EA trading business. The time for me are very precious.
The most important experience that can be shared from me is that:

  1. consistent profit is possible, I use 5 years to reach that, so much money lose in the first 4 years, and the 5th year, all the money come back and profit more
  2. I have a day job as a software engineer, so EA and scalping are my favorite style, and I am coding my EA for 5 years, and refine my scalping skills.
  3. Day job is very important before consistent profit got
1 Like

Very true, it is all about our mind set that how we want to be profitable and want to make money here. Nothing is impossible but we have to do hard work.

1 Like

I have decided after 6 years to move on to another trading forum.
I have made some good friends here, some of whom have also moved on and feel the time is right to join them.
Good luck with your trading, stay safe.
eddieb

3 Likes

Beat wishes, one of the good guys