Which is a reputable low cost platform for 3 minute trades?

[404Cameljockey]

Hi all,

I currently am testing free accounts before investing money in FOREX. I’m having some success with 3 minute trades using technical analysis on 5 minute charts, but I signed up with AvaTrade which has a 4 pip spread on the pairs I like. So to make money over 3 minutes or so is often tough, even though my calls are most often correct (a good sign…). They have MetaTrader 4 which has floating spreads, but the software isn’t installing on my PC, and also from the videos on their site it just doesnt seem as intuitive or graphically flexible as AvaTrade.

Which platform and broker should I look at? I will leverage no more than 1:200, and want a solid, regulated broker not incorporated offshore somewhere, and which doesn’t need to provide me with an advisory service. I would consider charges based either on pip only, or small lumpsum per trade maybe with a tiny additional pip charge. Also when getting in and out, are some platforms or brokers quicker to action trades (under normal conditions)?

I hope my question isn’t too dumb. I don’t want to spend weeks trying several accounts and getting hassled by them on the phone afterwards if I can instead get some great pointers from BabyPips to narrow my options.

Thanks for any help.

[Larry1984]

Hi all,

I currently am testing free accounts before investing money in FOREX. I’m having some success with 3 minute trades using technical analysis on 5 minute charts, but I signed up with AvaTrade which has a 4 pip spread on the pairs I like. So to make money over 3 minutes or so is often tough, even though my calls are most often correct (a good sign…). They have MetaTrader 4 which has floating spreads, but the software isn’t installing on my PC, and also from the videos on their site it just doesnt seem as intuitive or graphically flexible as AvaTrade.

Which platform and broker should I look at? I will leverage no more than 1:200, and want a solid, regulated broker not incorporated offshore somewhere, and which doesn’t need to provide me with an advisory service. I would consider charges based either on pip only, or small lumpsum per trade maybe with a tiny additional pip charge. Also when getting in and out, are some platforms or brokers quicker to action trades (under normal conditions)?

I hope my question isn’t too dumb. I don’t want to spend weeks trying several accounts and getting hassled by them on the phone afterwards if I can instead get some great pointers from BabyPips to narrow my options.

Thanks for any help.

Hello,

Most important thing is to find a regulated broker, as you mentioned. Forget about those Panama, Gibraltar, etc. brokers.

If you want fast execution you might want to consider an ECN broker. You can get extremely tight spreads and just pay commission per trade. Large ECNs have very high liquidity that will ensure fast execution and very tight spreads. Note that the minimum deposit is around $ 10k for a real ECN broker.

Hope it helps.

[404Cameljockey]

Hello,

Most important thing is to find a regulated broker, as you mentioned. Forget about those Panama, Gibraltar, etc. brokers.

If you want fast execution you might want to consider an ECN broker. You can get extremely tight spreads and just pay commission per trade. Large ECNs have very high liquidity that will ensure fast execution and very tight spreads. Note that the minimum deposit is around $ 10k for a real ECN broker.

Hope it helps.

Thanks very much for the comment, it’s definitely a pointer that I needed. I’m ready to commit that level of funds and more once I see how my skills are.