this is a post to everyone post some basic ideas about trading in forex.
not about indicators or systems just the basics
S & R levels, trenlines(and channels) and candles patterns are the most important indicators, because they are what the institutional traders nd the banks use. oscillators should be use more as a confirmation than a indicator.
something that every profetional trade teaches is that we should always open more than one position at the time. let me explain:
supose you want to buy 0.3 lots of eur-usd with a SL of 40 pips, then in step of doing that you should buy 3x 0.1 lots with a SL of 40 pips. if you lose it will be exactly the same but if you are winning that alow you to closing a third of your position along the way. and if the price reverse against you you i´ll keep some profits any way.
that is very usefull
you shouldn´t open a position that makes you feel to happy if you win or to sad if you lose. that means that in a position you open the pip value shouldn´t interfer with your feellings. to me that value is 0.2$ per pip and i have a live account of 2500$.
that is important because a single trade shouldn´t make you feel to confident or to unconfident. in forex the only thing that matters is the long run results.
I do like to sometimes close part of a trade if I feel the sentiment, or technicals are going against me. You don’t have to actually make 3 seperate orders as in your example, you can just wait until you go to make a close, and in the window put in the amount you wish to close out, this is using M4 without the U.S. rules which may be different.
“S & R levels, trenlines(and channels) and candles patterns are the most important indicators, because they are what the institutional traders nd the banks use.” Couldn’t agree more, its what I use to make money in this market. The more people that are watching a setup the bigger move your going to get, when you get a big move you get more people jumping in for the ride making the move bigger. I watch obvious trendlines, S&R, fibs, and channels on the 4hr and daily because this is what the market movers (those who move the market) are watching. But I don’t trade off of that alone, I wait for at least 2 technicals to come into contact, example a trendline crossing an S&R line, or price coming to the bottom of a channel which also lines up with a weekly fib line. When you have 2 technicals lining up you don’t just have those watching trends, or those watching fibs, you combine the amount of traders, and also the obviousness of the trade. Traders move the market, the more obvious a setup the much better chance of making a profit. If you spend alot of time using systems and are wondering why they never work ask yourself this, how many traders are using the same system with the same exact settings as you? Even if they were are there enough to actually make the market move? Watch what the market movers are looking at, and just do what they do, it makes me money, and it will make you money to after you get the hang of it.
One thing everyone should know: Keep your emotions in check. Once you ride your feelings you’re on a rollercoaster of hurt in the long run. Stick to your strategies and accept the fact that YES you will have losing trades. Minimizing them is the goal.
always remember this one. in forex or any day trading you do. you need to have 2 separate systems.
one for entries with it’s set of rules
one for exits with it’s set of rules.
that makes a complete system otherwise you’ll have great entries and give back all your money because you don’t know how/have a exit startegy. entries are the easy part. it’s the exits that make you a winner. the exit has to match your entry strategy.
because equity is just potential
closed profits/losses are proof.
[ul]When you trade do not risk more than 2% of your capital for all your open positions (money management). See the thread “An approach to risk management” for further discussion on this
[/ul]
[ul]Follow your plan - you must have one, without any exceptions (trade management)[/ul]
[ul]Take only the trades that are in compliance with your technical signals
[/ul]
[ul]Trade your chart, never your opinion [/ul]
[ul] Try to be good at one or two instruments only (as opposed to jack of all trades). For example I do GBP/USD as main and GBP/JPY occasionally. This gives me the opportunity to understand the price action and GBP volatility. It also allows me to build a mental history of the behaviour of GBP [/ul]
[ul] Adopt a method (indicators and otherwise) that works for you. If your indicators and your timeframes are wrong, try to understand where you went wrong as opposed to jumping to any new indicators etc. By analysing where you went wrong you will gain much more insight than from adopting another method immediately [/ul]
[ul] Accept the fact that there is no such thing as a magical method. The net is dotted with “various take this and try this method”. However, before trying these free gifts make an effort to understand what they convey and why should they work when 10s of other similar methods didn’t! If I follow an indicator mechanically without understanding the basics of what it is supposed to do and expect miracles, then there is a likelihood that I believe in father Christmas as well![/ul]
HTH,
Mich
ok, here are tips from me:)
Here are some simple tips that will help you increase your profit potential prevent you losing money.
- Select your first broker
- Get simple method you understand
- Trade the big trends not trade frequently
- Work smart not hard
- The formula to success:
Using Simple Method + With Discipline + Control Risks = Forex Trading Success
Keep these simple tips in your mind you could make some big profits on forex trading. 
Well, most of new players (and ussually not only new players) of forex concentrate on the money they want to get when trading.
But what I would like to say, is that one of most important things is to concentrate not on the money we want to earn, but on getting a good trade.
And this rule is fits not only for forex, but for life.
Thank you, Albinas.
Yes, that’s true, you have not only earn money but like to do it. Because Forex is fun as well! Especially when you know how to do it well and have your own strategy! when you’re newbie, it could sound strange, that it is FUN, but IT IS! Try it yourself!!
Every profitable trade makes me a richer trader while losing trade makes me a better trader, provided when you learned from it of course!
Well said! Now I need to retain my learning and get rich
something that almost every body forget is that the most important thing among all the forex action is the price action.
no metter what all your indicators tell you must see the price action in a smaller timeframe than you use. for a intraday trader a 1M chart is never small enought.
what really matters in forex is what the price is doing. keep that in mind;)
So well are you going to share with us your “holy” grail system or not? 
I’ve just been entertaining the idea that “Wave Action” is the bigger picture to “Price Action”. Price moves in repetitive price waves. Where in what “kind of wave” price IS then determines the potential of where it’s going to go. Once you can determine that, then use Price action for an entry technique into the wave.
Just saying
and that´s a holy grail:D
EWT sweetpip? or how do you determen waves ?
best regards
No I wouldn’t say I’m getting too involved with Elliott Waves…just Waves. There are many wave patterns & characteristics Mr. Elliott has identified and labeled, but even your basic chart patterns are made up of waves.
I’m thinking that if you don’t understand the basics of waves, then you are at the mercy of many variables that make or break your success with any system.
Take for instance, back testing. You have a system and you run it through a back test. You find that it wins 60% of the time when you find every occurrence of your signal, and then fails 40% of the time.
But what if you don’t trade every occurrence of your signal? What if 80% of the time you’re trading signals in the 40% of the time it fails?
Something to consider…lol
Think “how much could I lose”, not “how much could I make”.
There is a saying that some doctors have which is " first, do no harm".
The same could be used in forex.