There’s certainly information out there if you look for it. There’s also a superb free school right here on BabyPips.
Best Time To Trade
If you have nothing preventing you from trading at any time you choose, when would be best?
Personally, I would have thought that if I traded, for example, EurUsd since its the most popular pair, then the optimum time would be during the latter part of the European and early part of the US sessions. After all, thats when most traders are busy, its when most EU, London, and US announcements are made.
Surprising then that a survey by brokers FXCM found this…
"We analyzed over 12 million real trades conducted by FXCM clients, and we found that trader profits and losses could vary significantly by time of day. That data showed that most traders are what are called “Range Traders,” and their successes and failures very much depend on market conditions. In fact, this trading style means that many of them have trouble being successful in forex because they are trading during the wrong time of day.
Most forex traders are more successful during the late US, Asian or early European trading sessions – essentially 2 PM to 6 AM Eastern Time (New York), which is 7 PM to 11 AM UK time."
This chart shows the volatility peaks for EurUsd as FXCM found it
So, if it can be fitted around your lifestyle, it looks like this is the best time to trade
1 Like
What’s the difference between the trading session other than volatility? Do US trade to support US, EU support Europe and Asian support Asian?
Asian countries are more likely to make major announcements during the Asian session, European in theirs, US in theirs. I would have expected most volatility to be around these announcements. That’s why I was surprised that EurUsd is most volatile in the Asian session. The article doesn’t explain why this is the case as far as I can see.
[B]Don’t open a trade while an existing trade is losing[/B]
Most new traders have limited resources, so we don’t really want to watch as 2, 3, 4, or more trades all running at losses.
Hopefully when you’ve opened a trade you’ve put a stop in place. If so, great, at least you know your losses are limited, although its still stressful watching price go against you. Now multiply that stress by the 2, 3, or 4 other losing trades you have on, not very pleasant is it?
Wait until your trade has its stop at break even or better before entering a new trade. That way you can mentally set the first trade aside and concentrate on setting up the new one.
Namaste
Thanks Eddieb
I think you have provided a sound approach for risk management. However, I would personally consider opening a new trade, even if my existing trade was floating a loss. This is assuming the stops I set limit my risk on each trade to 2% of my equity. Also, I would limit my total effective leverage to 10:1 across all open trades.
Very good suggestion, Jason, thanks
[B]Newbies shouldn’t scalp[/B]
Scalping can be profitable and can provide instant gratification, no doubt about it. But new traders need more time to consider why and where they are entering trades than more experienced traders. They need time to watch the trade unfold, to learn the dynamics of trading, the ebbs and flows of the market, and they won’t get this if they are in and out of trades in a matter of minutes or even seconds.
You can always try scalping later, when you’re more experienced and less stressed.
Namaste
great work eddieb and a lot of effort youre putting in this thread.
keep it up
I second that…
Yes, independence day is coming…
It is funny that Farage wants to make 23rd June Britain’s Independence Day…
Haha
100% agree with Eddie…scalping is very specialised indeed…I transitioned to scalping a few years back and greatly underestimated the work it would take …it needed a really good and experienced mentor to get me up to speed and I had to reset and calibrate a lot of my indicators to make it work
so be careful in that arena 
N
Thanks nvp.
The pity is that most newbies will start out as scalpers, encouraged by brokers who take a bigger percentage of their trading capital relative to the potential profits. Shame, because so many lose their accounts before they find out if they could actually make it. It’s a bit like this…
Forex is a risky business and we can not succeed if we have no skills and knowledge. So we should know how to survive in forex trading. So this article would be very helpful for both new and existing traders.
Well you have said the right thing. The risks that we are having in the Forex markets are much and only when we will be having the risk control methods with us we should be doing high volume trades 
While scalping is looked down upon it contains so many elements that new traders should strive to learn about…preparation, quick feedback, fighting greed, MM over time, ability to cut losses quicker than any other style, lowest risk:reward ratio. Pity? Yes, but only so much as for the size of their accounts and their lack of mental fortitude.
How do you figure scalping has the lowest r:r ratio when such a disproportionately high percentage of a scalp trade is needed just to overcome the spread?
Regarding ability to cut losses quicker, if you use stops, as new traders should, it doesn’t make any difference at all.
No one’s looking down on scalping, its just not advisable for new traders
Namaste
I agree, and this article should be a must-read for all newbie traders:
Sorry I guess I should have mentioned that it has these properties when done correctly in theory. I should also say that I was never a big fan of putting trading styles into a box of 3 or 4 types and calling it a day.
Scalping (or any way of trading in my view), is not defined by how many pips are needed to overcome spread. It’s simply defined by risk (how much money will be lost if the trade fails), reward (how much is lost if a trade succeeds) and most importantly [I]probability [/I](the projected probability that the trade fails or not). Lets pretend I’m trading with a 10/10 pip tp/sl. This effectively becomes a 12 pip upside vs 8 pip downside if I’m trading with a 2 pip spread. This means that 20% of my move is eaten by spread. (This is typically how it is explained to me, so you’ll need to correct me if I’m wrong). Regarding this point, I just don’t care. I care about how much edge I have to complete the trade successfully, and what this means for my account.
Regarding cutting losses quicker, I think it makes sense If I explain how I view a (single among many) successful scalper approaches the market.
When I scalp EU for example, I never use a stop loss greater than 15 to 20. But, I don’t trade with a 15-20 TP. I don’t view scalping with a hard TP, so I can leave a position that isn’t killed after x time or pips to break even. I can lets the position run for 100 or 200 pips, whatever the trading system allows for. Since my risk is defined purely by my potential [I]loss[/I] and scalps have the smallest stop losses, they by definition have the ability to cut losses the quickest (i.e a 10 pip move will happen quicker than a 40 pip move).
Finally, regarding advisable vs not advisable for new traders, I believe this is just something we will disagree on which is fine by me. Trading is a world of so many differing ideas and things to learn that I simply don’t think there is a correct way to teach new traders. It’s probably advisable to teach new traders about trading psychology and emotions, but if that was a part of trading school I’d be sleeping straight through it - it’s just never really been an issue for me. I think we can both agree that astro trading is very likely useless, but what if a new trader learns something through it? For example the valuable lesson that correlation is not causation :58: Some traders need these lessons, others don’t. I think new traders should strive to learn as many lessons as possible, not necessarily just put on a path to a style of trading that x number of traders have said “is the best”.
Namaste to you as well sir.
Thanks Cledid, Phaz3d, nvp, all comments welcomed. If this thread can encourage a few new traders to study and practice before going live, find a trading style that suits their lifestyle and psychology, and become happy and successful traders, then I would be delighted.
Namaste
[B]Interact with other traders[/B]
The great thing about trading forex is that you can lock yourself away and get on with it at your own pace, in your own time, in the privacy of your own home, without interference from anyone else.
One of the drawbacks is that there is no one to discuss any concerns with, to clarify points, or just to listen when things don’t go well.
This is where Babypips comes into its own. Not only is it full of other traders of varied backgrounds and abilities, but most of us will face the exact same issues as you do.
So, read the threads and ask questions. Talk about anything outside forex that may be impacting upon your trading, the odds are that someone else here has had similar issues in the past and may be able to suggest a workaround for you. Bounce ideas off other members to check you haven’t missed anything.
To paraphrase Doctor Fraser Crane, " We’re listening"