Hello, I’m Bryan residing in United States. I like the new look, did they remove the chat room function? I have learned quite a bit on this site and hope to continue learning from individuals with more experience and ideas. I have recently opened up a live account and began trading. Wow, trading on a practice account is quite different than a live account. I have realized that psychological factors are a huge part of trading. What are some other peoples experiences they learned early on?
The things I have learned about trading so far:
- It’s not as easy as knowing a “secret strategy” or “set-up”
- There are no “secret set-ups”
- 95% of FOREX traders lose money
- Trading is hard. Then again, so is brain surgery. The ironic thing is that most traders want to make the same kind of money a brain surgeon does within six months.
- Assume that all online trading “courses” are a scam. Ironically, the FREE courses–like those offered on this site, for example-- are not scams.
- The two best trading authors are Alexander Elder and Al Brooks.
- Institutional traders hate retail traders (you and me)
- Very few brokers are trustworthy. Do your homework
- You will lose money your first few years. Get used to it. Trade very, very, small.
- It’s very different trading a live account than it is trading a demo account. Already trading small? Trade smaller.
Hope this helps.
Dear Bryan,
I am pretty sure you will get a lot of advises here. My 2 cents: listen only to guys who has verified real profitable account.
Thanks for the advice. I already am trading small. Micro lots… But than again I’m trading with an amount of capital I can lose without feeling too bad. I have learned a lot more trading a liver account than I have a demo that’s for sure. I’ll look into those authors and see what they have to offer. I’m not one to go spend $1000’s of dollars on a class that are normally free online and with people who are actually willing to give some input.
As far as a broker, you say very few are trustworthy. What do you mean by that? I have Oanda and have been quite pleased with them so far.