A mini forex trading account is designed for those who are new to forex trading or when the trading account balance is less then $10.000.
Mini forex account key points
Only $250-$300 to open- Up to 200:1 trade leverage- 1 pip = $1 for EUR/USD and GBP/USD- Smaller trade size
Mini forex account advantages
Build up confidence starting small
A trader can trade a mini forex account using 1 mini lot and building up lot size slowly when he makes profits in his account. A general rule is to trade ONLY 1 mini lot for every $1000 a trader has in account. For example, if an account is worth $5000, trader can take up to 5 mini lots.
Develop a forex trading strategy
Because on a mini forex account, pip value is $1 = 1 pip, trader can pay more attention on building a solid trading strategy without focusing on floating profit & Loss (P/L). Most traders with a small account balance trading on a standard account will tend to base trading decisions on profit &Loss and not on their trading strategy, they are emotionally too involved.
Their account balance fluctuations are so important that they even can’t think developing a proper trading strategy. Their account size is too small for the lot size they take and every small pip loss can lead to a painful loss in their trading account.
Such traders will tend to take profits (too) soon and cut losses too late because they always hope the trade will make a reverse and come back.
Consider the following example:
A trader has a $2000 trading Account.
When trading a forex standard account, a 37 pip loss will result in a $370 loss in his trading account or 18.5% of his account balance. When taking the same trade on a forex mini account, a 37 pip loss will result in a $37 loss in his trading account or 1.85 % of his account balance.
Conclusion
By starting with a Mini account- a trader loses only a small amount on every losing transaction making it easier to stick to a disciplined trading strategy, in the long rum, this will lead to much better trading results.
Toby Smitz - Daily Operations Mini Forex Trading
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Forex Strategy: Trading with Stochastics
Stochastics are amongst the most popular technical indicators when it comes to Forex Trading. Unfortunately most traders use them incorrectly. In this article we will review the correct way to use this popular technical indicator.
George Lane developed this indicator in the late 1950s. Stochastics measure the current close relative to the range (high/low) over a set of periods.
Stochastics consist of two lines:
%K – Is the main line and is usually displayed as a solid line
%D – Is simply a moving average of the %K and is usually displayed as a dotted line
There are three types of Stochastics: Full, fast and slow stochastics. Slow stochastics are simply a smother version of the fast stochastics, and full stochastics are even a smother version of the slow stochastics.
Interpretation:
Buy when %K falls below the oversold level (below 20) and rises back above the same level.
Sell when %K rises above de overbought level (above 80) and falls back below the same level.
The interpretation above is how most traders and investors use them; however, it only works when the market is trendless or ranging. When the market is trending, a reading above the overbought territory isn't necessary a bearish signal, while a reading below de oversold territory isn't necessary bullish signal.
Trending market
When the market is trending is necessary to adapt the oscillator to the same conditions: When the market is trending up, then the signals with the higher probability of success are those in direction of the trend “Buy signals”, on the other hand when the market is trending down, selling signals offer the lowest risk opportunities.
Thus when the market is trending up, we will only look for oversold conditions (when the stochastics fall below the oversold level [below 20] and rises back above the same level) to get ready to trade, and in the same way, when the market is trending down we will only look for overbought conditions (when the stochastics rise above de overbought level [above 80] and falls back below the same level.
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Taking all overbought/oversold signals during a trending market will lead us to many whipsaws. If you are not comfortable with the number of signals given, try expanding your trading to other currency pairs.
Trend-less market
During a ranging market we could use the interpretation explained above to trade off stochastics.
Divergence
Divergence trades are amongst the most reliable trading signals in the Forex market. A divergence occurs either when the indicator reaches new highs/lows and the market fails to do it or the market reaches new highs/lows and the indicator fails to do it. Both conditions mean that the market isn't as strong as it used to be giving us opportunities to profit from the market.
Stochastics can also be used to trade off divergences.
Price behavior
A price behavior can be incorporated into any kind of system or Forex strategy. When using divergences or overbought/oversold condition with a price behavior approach, the probability of success of our signals increases enormously. Why? Because price dictates at the end, how all indicators will behave, it also gives us a lot of information about the probable direction it will take in the future.
I hope this article helps you become a better trader.
Don't forget to read our risk disclaimer.
George Lane developed this indicator in the late 1950s. Stochastics measure the current close relative to the range (high/low) over a set of periods.
Stochastics consist of two lines:
%K – Is the main line and is usually displayed as a solid line
%D – Is simply a moving average of the %K and is usually displayed as a dotted line
There are three types of Stochastics: Full, fast and slow stochastics. Slow stochastics are simply a smother version of the fast stochastics, and full stochastics are even a smother version of the slow stochastics.
Interpretation:
Buy when %K falls below the oversold level (below 20) and rises back above the same level.
Sell when %K rises above de overbought level (above 80) and falls back below the same level.
The interpretation above is how most traders and investors use them; however, it only works when the market is trendless or ranging. When the market is trending, a reading above the overbought territory isn't necessary a bearish signal, while a reading below de oversold territory isn't necessary bullish signal.
Trending market
When the market is trending is necessary to adapt the oscillator to the same conditions: When the market is trending up, then the signals with the higher probability of success are those in direction of the trend “Buy signals”, on the other hand when the market is trending down, selling signals offer the lowest risk opportunities.
Thus when the market is trending up, we will only look for oversold conditions (when the stochastics fall below the oversold level [below 20] and rises back above the same level) to get ready to trade, and in the same way, when the market is trending down we will only look for overbought conditions (when the stochastics rise above de overbought level [above 80] and falls back below the same level.
- Forex Blog
- Forex Resources
- Course Demo
- Compare Courses
- Free Course
- New to Forex?
- Affiliates
Taking all overbought/oversold signals during a trending market will lead us to many whipsaws. If you are not comfortable with the number of signals given, try expanding your trading to other currency pairs.
Trend-less market
During a ranging market we could use the interpretation explained above to trade off stochastics.
Divergence
Divergence trades are amongst the most reliable trading signals in the Forex market. A divergence occurs either when the indicator reaches new highs/lows and the market fails to do it or the market reaches new highs/lows and the indicator fails to do it. Both conditions mean that the market isn't as strong as it used to be giving us opportunities to profit from the market.
Stochastics can also be used to trade off divergences.
Price behavior
A price behavior can be incorporated into any kind of system or Forex strategy. When using divergences or overbought/oversold condition with a price behavior approach, the probability of success of our signals increases enormously. Why? Because price dictates at the end, how all indicators will behave, it also gives us a lot of information about the probable direction it will take in the future.
I hope this article helps you become a better trader.
Don't forget to read our risk disclaimer.
Forex Broker: Choosing the right Forex Broker
Sometimes it's hard to make a decision on which Forex broker to open our trading account, there are just too many of them. Most of them have different features, capabilities, weaknesses and advantages, for this reason I have created a checklist that can help you decide the broker to use in your Forex adventure.
1. Is it regulated?
The first question you have to ask yourself is: is the broker I want to use Regulated ? There must be no doubt about this first point. All regulated brokers must submit financial reports to regulatory authorities, and when they fail to do it, authorities have the right to fine them or terminate their membership. This enforces Forex brokers to keep transparent financial reports.
The brokers must be regulated by their local regulatory authorities, for instance, for brokers based in the US , they must be regulated by the NFA (National Futures Association) and CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), Swiss based brokers must be regulated by the FDF (Swiss Federal Department of Finance) and so on.
Also when a Forex broker is regulated allows investors to dispute any resolution, increasing the investor protection.
2. Trading Conditions
This point refers to the features of the trading platform and the trading conditions with the chosen broker. Amongst the most important factors are:
Spread - Obviously the smaller the spread on currency pairs the better the conditions are for investors and traders.
Platform execution - Trading execution refers to how fast and consistent are the execution of trades. Some brokers guarantee fast and transparent executions during normal market conditions.
Fractional trading – Some brokers allow investors and traders to trade on a fractional basis, instead of trading full lots “100,000 units” or “300,000 units”, they allow you to trade “163,345 units” or “325,911 units”. This is very helpful for trades risking certain percentage of their balance on each trade.
Safety of funds – We need to make sure our trading funds are kept in a segregated account or at least insured.
- Forex Blog
- Forex Resources
- Course Demo
- Compare Courses
- Free Course
- New to Forex?
- Affiliates
Trading platform – Easy to use and understand platform, is it reliable during fast moving markets? And what extra features it offers such as: one click buying/selling, trading directly from a chart, supports mobile devices, trailing stops, etc.)
Minimum investment – What is the minimum amount of money required to open a trading account? This aspect is very useful because before trading your full account, you need to test the waters and see how well you perform with an account with limited funds (after trading a demo account).
Margin (leverage) – What kind of leverage can be used with the chosen broker? Just to make sure our leverage requirements by our Forex strategy and methodology (leverage above 100:1 is not advisable).
Commissions – Some brokers charge commission, it is ok if they do if the spread is smaller than other brokers.
3. Diligence
Hopefully you have eliminated most brokers at this point. You should have 3 or 4 finalists. In this step do your diligences on forums, ask other traders about their experiences using their brokers, and so forth.
Some forums where you can ask for broker information are: ForexFactory, MoneyTec, ForexNews.
If brokers are registered by their local regulatory authorities, you can visit the regulator website and you will find plenty of information about Forex brokers. Some of them publish resolutions regarding Forex brokers.
Amongst the aspects you should ask and get informed are:
Customer service – This aspect is the most important of them all, are they rude to customers? Are they willingly to help customers? These are the questions you should ask in forums and fellow traders.
Slippage – Slippage is the difference between the price where the trade was executed and actual value of it. Do they honor stop loss and take profit levels? Do they guarantee it? If any one had any discrepancies, did their broker revert the result?
Manual execution – Some brokers don't like scalpers, if they catch someone doing it, they will put this trader into manual execution, so a dealer (human) must accept all transactions made by this trader. Do they do this?
Re-quotes – a re-quote happens when you click the buy/sell button and the platform doesn't accept our price, so it will give us another quote for that particular trade.
4. Testing
In this phase we should test our Forex broker, first on a demo account to see how it works, also test your system to see how it performs. If you are satisfied with the results, then try the same platform with limited funds to see how it performs on real trades. If you are satisfied again then open your full trading account with the chosen broker.
I hope this checklist help you all traders to take the right decision when choosing brokers
1. Is it regulated?
The first question you have to ask yourself is: is the broker I want to use Regulated ? There must be no doubt about this first point. All regulated brokers must submit financial reports to regulatory authorities, and when they fail to do it, authorities have the right to fine them or terminate their membership. This enforces Forex brokers to keep transparent financial reports.
The brokers must be regulated by their local regulatory authorities, for instance, for brokers based in the US , they must be regulated by the NFA (National Futures Association) and CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), Swiss based brokers must be regulated by the FDF (Swiss Federal Department of Finance) and so on.
Also when a Forex broker is regulated allows investors to dispute any resolution, increasing the investor protection.
2. Trading Conditions
This point refers to the features of the trading platform and the trading conditions with the chosen broker. Amongst the most important factors are:
Spread - Obviously the smaller the spread on currency pairs the better the conditions are for investors and traders.
Platform execution - Trading execution refers to how fast and consistent are the execution of trades. Some brokers guarantee fast and transparent executions during normal market conditions.
Fractional trading – Some brokers allow investors and traders to trade on a fractional basis, instead of trading full lots “100,000 units” or “300,000 units”, they allow you to trade “163,345 units” or “325,911 units”. This is very helpful for trades risking certain percentage of their balance on each trade.
Safety of funds – We need to make sure our trading funds are kept in a segregated account or at least insured.
- Forex Blog
- Forex Resources
- Course Demo
- Compare Courses
- Free Course
- New to Forex?
- Affiliates
Trading platform – Easy to use and understand platform, is it reliable during fast moving markets? And what extra features it offers such as: one click buying/selling, trading directly from a chart, supports mobile devices, trailing stops, etc.)
Minimum investment – What is the minimum amount of money required to open a trading account? This aspect is very useful because before trading your full account, you need to test the waters and see how well you perform with an account with limited funds (after trading a demo account).
Margin (leverage) – What kind of leverage can be used with the chosen broker? Just to make sure our leverage requirements by our Forex strategy and methodology (leverage above 100:1 is not advisable).
Commissions – Some brokers charge commission, it is ok if they do if the spread is smaller than other brokers.
3. Diligence
Hopefully you have eliminated most brokers at this point. You should have 3 or 4 finalists. In this step do your diligences on forums, ask other traders about their experiences using their brokers, and so forth.
Some forums where you can ask for broker information are: ForexFactory, MoneyTec, ForexNews.
If brokers are registered by their local regulatory authorities, you can visit the regulator website and you will find plenty of information about Forex brokers. Some of them publish resolutions regarding Forex brokers.
Amongst the aspects you should ask and get informed are:
Customer service – This aspect is the most important of them all, are they rude to customers? Are they willingly to help customers? These are the questions you should ask in forums and fellow traders.
Slippage – Slippage is the difference between the price where the trade was executed and actual value of it. Do they honor stop loss and take profit levels? Do they guarantee it? If any one had any discrepancies, did their broker revert the result?
Manual execution – Some brokers don't like scalpers, if they catch someone doing it, they will put this trader into manual execution, so a dealer (human) must accept all transactions made by this trader. Do they do this?
Re-quotes – a re-quote happens when you click the buy/sell button and the platform doesn't accept our price, so it will give us another quote for that particular trade.
4. Testing
In this phase we should test our Forex broker, first on a demo account to see how it works, also test your system to see how it performs. If you are satisfied with the results, then try the same platform with limited funds to see how it performs on real trades. If you are satisfied again then open your full trading account with the chosen broker.
I hope this checklist help you all traders to take the right decision when choosing brokers
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Forex Books
An in depth look at the tremendous potential of this vital market with expert advice from one of the foremost authorities. The foreign exchange market is the world's largest and fastest growing financial terrain. Despite its high trading volume, it is also a market little understood and little regulated. This definitive resource brings the universe of foreign exchange within reach of every investor. The revised edition includes complete comprehensive coverage of the euro and the latest historical and economic changes in the market.
Cornelius Luca, a renowned authority on international investing, draws on the insights of leading experts in diverse fields of specialty to explain every crucial aspect of foreign exchange. He provides investors with an arsenal of trading weapons, many on the cutting edge of technology. Demystifying the intricacies of these markets, the book includes:
Analysis of the mechanics of the market, the major players and markets, the pertinent risks, corporate trading, and methods of trading execution.
A thorough overview of foreign exchange instruments and major option strategies, with clear explanations of why currencies are traded and how to forecast currency behavior. An in-depth look at the three types of analysis: fundamental, technical, and econometric. Featuring 200 charts and graphics, TRADING IN THE GLOBAL CURRENCY MARKETS is an indispensable guide to a daunting yet promising financial playing field.
Technical Analysis Applications in the Global Currency Marketsby Cornelius Luca
Now updated and revised with all new charts and key information on the euro. The introduction of the euro and the recent explosion of electronic trading has changed the outlook of the foreign exchange market dramatically. Global currency trading offers staggering rewards for those with the knowledge to capitalize on it.
This updated guide provides an easy-to-follow roadmap for beginners and experienced traders alike on how to use technical analysis-with revised charts and graphs-to cash in on these enormous opportunities.
The only guide of its kind to focus solely on all aspects of technical analysis, Luca explains and illustrates:
* The fundamentals of technical analysis and how it applies to foreign exchange What one must learn about trends and trend patterns* How the major players in foreign exchange analyze their charts* The quantitative methods of analysis-including all types of moving averages, oscillators, and other indicators
This book provides a thorough, yet easy-to-grasp explanation and analysis of point and figure charting, candlestick charting, the Gann methods, and the Elliot Wave principle. Also included is an updated CD-ROM that lets readers test the methods presented and apply them to real trading-and quickly increase proficiency in charting and chart analysis.
An Introduction to Foreign Exchange & Money Marketsby UK London Reuters Limited
A new concept in financial education training - The Reuters Financial Training Series: An Introduction to Foreign Exchange & Money Markets, will guide novices through the intricacies of the world's wealthiest capital exchange markets. This book sets out to give a clear understanding of how and why these markets function, and explains the associated jargon. Readers will be able to take a more detailed look at Money Market and Foreign Exchange instruments and will be able to examine, in particular, the parameters which must be defined in order to place a value on these instruments, together with basic valuation techniques.
Currency Strategyby Callum Henderson
Currency Strategy develops new techniques and explains classic tools available for predicting, managing, and optimizing fluctuations in the currency markets. Author Callum Henderson shows readers how traditional macroeconomic theory has repeatedly failed in the face of practical experience in these markets and develops a new approach based on experience. He draws on the technical expertise of his bank to develop mathematical models to assist in the prediction of crises and gives practical advice on how to use these and other tools successfully.
Currency Tradingby Philip Gotthelf
The first and last word on trading within currency markets. Expert trading veteran Philip Gotthelf provides the first comprehensive guide to currency speculation aimed toward the average investor. Combining fundamental and technical analysis, this book teaches traders how to take advantage of fluctuations within the currency markets and capture enormous gains. Currency Trading takes the latest developments in the FOREX market and provides readers with a complete trading plan.
Cornelius Luca, a renowned authority on international investing, draws on the insights of leading experts in diverse fields of specialty to explain every crucial aspect of foreign exchange. He provides investors with an arsenal of trading weapons, many on the cutting edge of technology. Demystifying the intricacies of these markets, the book includes:
Analysis of the mechanics of the market, the major players and markets, the pertinent risks, corporate trading, and methods of trading execution.
A thorough overview of foreign exchange instruments and major option strategies, with clear explanations of why currencies are traded and how to forecast currency behavior. An in-depth look at the three types of analysis: fundamental, technical, and econometric. Featuring 200 charts and graphics, TRADING IN THE GLOBAL CURRENCY MARKETS is an indispensable guide to a daunting yet promising financial playing field.
Technical Analysis Applications in the Global Currency Marketsby Cornelius Luca
Now updated and revised with all new charts and key information on the euro. The introduction of the euro and the recent explosion of electronic trading has changed the outlook of the foreign exchange market dramatically. Global currency trading offers staggering rewards for those with the knowledge to capitalize on it.
This updated guide provides an easy-to-follow roadmap for beginners and experienced traders alike on how to use technical analysis-with revised charts and graphs-to cash in on these enormous opportunities.
The only guide of its kind to focus solely on all aspects of technical analysis, Luca explains and illustrates:
* The fundamentals of technical analysis and how it applies to foreign exchange What one must learn about trends and trend patterns* How the major players in foreign exchange analyze their charts* The quantitative methods of analysis-including all types of moving averages, oscillators, and other indicators
This book provides a thorough, yet easy-to-grasp explanation and analysis of point and figure charting, candlestick charting, the Gann methods, and the Elliot Wave principle. Also included is an updated CD-ROM that lets readers test the methods presented and apply them to real trading-and quickly increase proficiency in charting and chart analysis.
An Introduction to Foreign Exchange & Money Marketsby UK London Reuters Limited
A new concept in financial education training - The Reuters Financial Training Series: An Introduction to Foreign Exchange & Money Markets, will guide novices through the intricacies of the world's wealthiest capital exchange markets. This book sets out to give a clear understanding of how and why these markets function, and explains the associated jargon. Readers will be able to take a more detailed look at Money Market and Foreign Exchange instruments and will be able to examine, in particular, the parameters which must be defined in order to place a value on these instruments, together with basic valuation techniques.
Currency Strategyby Callum Henderson
Currency Strategy develops new techniques and explains classic tools available for predicting, managing, and optimizing fluctuations in the currency markets. Author Callum Henderson shows readers how traditional macroeconomic theory has repeatedly failed in the face of practical experience in these markets and develops a new approach based on experience. He draws on the technical expertise of his bank to develop mathematical models to assist in the prediction of crises and gives practical advice on how to use these and other tools successfully.
Currency Tradingby Philip Gotthelf
The first and last word on trading within currency markets. Expert trading veteran Philip Gotthelf provides the first comprehensive guide to currency speculation aimed toward the average investor. Combining fundamental and technical analysis, this book teaches traders how to take advantage of fluctuations within the currency markets and capture enormous gains. Currency Trading takes the latest developments in the FOREX market and provides readers with a complete trading plan.
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