Why would anyone trade several currency pairs (for example four) at the same time, when they can focus on one pair at a larger lot size?
So for example: instead of opening four trades of the following pairs (GBPUSD, EURUSD, CHFUSD, AUDUSD, all at 0.1 lot), you’ll have one EURUSD trade at 0.4 lot. Can you please explain the pros and cons of both methods?
Easier partial TP, just close the one(s) that you want instead of multiple clicks.
Lesser mental stress even though it adds to the same amount.
Lower exposure to the same currency/pair.
Lower margin requirements. The margin required to maintain a EUR/USD and a AUD/USD trade is different, with the latter being lower. If I’m bullish on USD, instead of selling EUR/USD again, I could sell AUD/USD.
The reason I asked was because when I have multiple trades at the same time, managing (read analyzing) them becomes a little more complicated. So instead of trying to analyze four open trades, I was thinking if I had only one open trade, managing/analyzing it would become easier. Decision making in a split second would become more straightforward.
It’s sometimes hard to know positively which pair will give you the best exposure to a currency, focusing on one alone could actually be a random selection which doesn’t turn out well.
There is an argument for being deliberately heavily exposed to the strongest / weakest currencies of the 8 majors - so if you are sure USD is the stongest currency right now and has no immediate prospect of slipping down the list, it might be a strategy to be long USD against all 7 of the other currencies. Or at least the 2 or 3 or 4 weakest.
I’ve got to say, split-second decision-making in trading suggests absence of a plan.
Maybe, split second decision making wasn’t the best term to use. But what I was trying to say was, in case suddenly something unpredictable happened which usually impacts all correlated pairs. But I do get what you mean.
You can set up profiles for your forex pairs in MT5.
In my case, i look at 7 charts on my screen (laptop), 1 currencies at the same TF (mean i have 7 pairs on the same TF) and it is darn easy and fast to switch between pairs and TF so to speak, all is setup as profile(s) in MT5
Yes, in MT5, I have four of the major pairs plus gold, all set to the same timeframe.
I do like this (see screenshot) in profiles, i setup M5, M15, M30, H4, D1 for each currency (USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY, AUD and NZD pairs) as shown in the screenshot and then i use W1 and MN in a mixed profile if i wanna enter a trade there.
This gives me a superfast view off what is going on in the markets
and i think you know you can use ctrl + tab to navigate also
I trade many pairs simultaneously lately.
I am still small-time. So nowhere near getting rich, but getting pretty good at heading in that direction.
I have trades on 6 pairs open right now. I closed the 7th one this morning and 1 of the 6 I closed for profit and re-entered.
I usually have a couple that are in profit and several that are not. I close them when profit is sufficient to increase my account and offset any losses I choose to take on the others.
I find it is comforting seeing that although the cumulative balance of my open trades is down several hundreds of dollars, any one trade is just down $40-$150. I expect most of the trades to be in profit at some point. So I patiently wait for the ones running at a loss to finally turn around and get into profit (or I manage them with cost averaging). In the meantime, I like to close those in profit when it looks like a pullback is coming.
I still work for a living, although I put in only about 25-30hrs a week. So its sooooooo much easier leaving these trades that look like they have high probability of success on the W1 chart running.
Most of the non-major pairs don’t even move much for several days in a row. So I don’t have to worry about big swings. There is plenty of time to manage them into winners.
So, anyway, I trade many pairs because I want at least a couple of them to be in profit and to at least have that profit locked in, or the trades closed weekly.
**If I trade only 4 pairs, most of them will have a common currency, thus most those currencies will be going in the same direction, which means all my trades could all be losing. That…I don’t like.
I am using multiple time frame analysis, that is why my set up is like that i did show in the screenshot, as example, i analyze all seven USD pairs together as a group in 1 window in MT5.
I have a few basic set of trading rules and when they “shine green” and say go, i will enter a trade.
Thx 
it makes it very easy to see the trend(s) and what the markets are trying to tell you and to place a trade etc
That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it?
We can set up the display for what works best for each of us.
I am a strong proponent of the “every system works if its done right” theory. Its the trader’s unique qualities that make the trading work or not.
I’m glad you found what works for you.
Just pick 1 pair but still don’t go larger lot size unless you know what you’re doing. There is a way to pick so call “best pair” for a certain period of time but you need to learn correlation if you want to know how to do it.
Traders can apply these two things, but they must adapt their abilities. Not every trader can trade many pairs simultaneously. On the other hand, trading in one pair with big lots, of course, also has risks, even though the profit potential is also large.
Thus, I prefer to set the lot size by trading only one or two pairs. So trading will become the focus to achieve maximum profit. I myself usually trade GBPUSD on FXOpen, sometimes also NZDUSD.
One word: Correlation
Trading multiple pairs that are highly correlated (positively or negatively) can amplify your risk without necessarily increasing the potential for profit. If you’re not careful, what seems like diversification can actually be just doubling down on the same market movement, increasing your potential for loss if the market moves against you.
