Forex Education

What is Scalping in Forex Trading?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

What is Scalping in Forex Trading?

There are two basic styles of Forex Trading. Short term and long term. Essentially, short term trading is done on an intraday basis, where positions are opened and closed within the same day. Long term trading is done on a multiple day basis, where one position can last weeks or months, maybe longer. Within each of those, there are different time frames. For example, very short term traders might be looking at 1 minute charts, and entering and exiting trades minute by minute. Typically closing out trades within a few minutes of their open. It is not very likely that these people will gain more than a few pips per trade for their efforts. But they make up for it by making as many trades as possible during any given day. This is known as Scalping in Forex Trading.

Day traders are short term traders. They get in and out of trades, making just a few pips per trade. But to be very profitable, they need to use extremely high leverage and/or make a ton of trades every day.

Most scalping in Forex trading is done based on range trading. A ranging market means there is no significant price volatility. In any given period of time, the price will fluctuate 10 to 20 pips, maybe more, between two price levels for the day. If you watch a chart for 20 minutes, you will see that it will normally move up and down. This is where scalping comes in. A Scalper will try and make at least 2 to 5 pips per trade.

The best time for scalping is when the market is consolidating and ranging. This typically occurs between big market gaps, such as after the close of the US market and before the open of the European markets. During these times, Forex markets tend to range for hours without much movement.

Personally, I don't like scalping in Forex trading. It consumes a huge amount of time to make decent profits, and it costs more to trade. While brokers don't "technically" have trading fees, they do get paid on something called the spread. So if a broker is giving me a price on a pair with a 3 point spread, then the trade needs to move in my direction at least 3 pips simply for me to brake even. If I want to profit, I need to make more than that 3 pips. Some pairs (especially during fast moving markets) have spreads as high as 20 pips, or more.

In order to be successful while scalping in Forex trading, you need a thorough understanding of technical analysis, and the time to apply it. You should have an idea of how to determine over or under bought pairs, support and resistance levels, trend lines, channels, and other indicators before entering into a trade. 

I hope I have answered the question, "What is Scalping in Forex trading?" If you want more information, or have more questions, feel free to contact us.

 

Forex Trading - Spread

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Forex Trading - Spread

What is the Spread in Forex Trading?

The Spread is the difference between the Bid and Ask prices for a Forex pair. The Spread in Forex Trading is how a Forex broker makes money. When you trade Foreign Currencies, you will buy a pair at the Ask price, and sell a pair at the Bid price. The difference between them is the spread.

Let's use an example of a pair price of 1.3240/45. This gives a spread of 5 pips. This means the trade needs to move in your direction by 5 pips just to make up for the spread. If you participate in very short term Forex trading, sometimes known as scalping, the spread can eat away a lot of your profit potential. The spread for different pairs at different brokers can range from 1 pip to as much as 35 pips. Try and find a good reliable Forex broker that offers a low spread.

   

What are some of the differences between various broker‐provided Forex software?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

What are some of the differences between various broker‐provided Forex software?

Unlike free stock broker‐provided charting software, most free Forex broker provided software is actually sufficient to support Forex trading operations. Each Forex broker usually has either a proprietary software package or a version of a standard package such as Metatrader 4. In either case, the charting software is integrated with an order platform so that buy/sell orders can be placed directly from the charting software screens without having to switch to another order venue.

Read more: What are some of the differences between various broker‐provided Forex software?

   

How can I minimize downside risk while still capturing quality gains in the Forex markets?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

How can I minimize downside risk while still capturing quality gains in the Forex markets?

First, you must have a good trading method. But even more importantly, you must have strict money management rules; without them, even a good trading method will eventually fail. I have found that in order to be effective with risk management, you must have rules that are simple or else you simply won’t follow them.

For example, one risk management method is called Optimal‐f. While Optimal‐f has a lot going it for it, I believe it is too complicated to be of practical use.

Read more: How can I minimize downside risk while still capturing quality gains in the Forex markets?

   

Forex Holy Grail

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Forex Holy Grail

How can I find a Forex method that works almost all of the time with minimal or no losses?

This is known as the “Holy Grail Syndrome” and, of course, the Holy Grail of trading simply does not exist. I’ve talked about this concept many times, but it bears repeating here.

For years, I refused to believe in this concept and was forever looking for or trying to develop a method that would always win with no losses, or certainly never experience two losing trades in a row. I wasted years of my life with this false impression about what it would take to trade successfully. Don’t fall into the same trap. While the holy grail of trading does not exist, nor will it ever; thankfully, it is not necessary in order to be successful.

Read more: Forex Holy Grail

   

The Best Forex Profit Exit Strategy

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

The Best Forex Profit Exit Strategy

The following is the very best exit strategy that I believe possible when trading the Forex markets on an end‐of‐day basis. I call it the Optimal Profit Exit Strategy. It’s a strategy that scales out of a trade in two steps. This strategy is first and foremost about taking an initial profit as soon as appropriate, thereby “taking some money off the table” and reducing the risk in the trade at the same time.

Read more: The Best Forex Profit Exit Strategy

   

How can I determine the initial stop loss, trailing stops, and exit points?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

How can I determine the initial stop loss, trailing stops, and exit points?

Besides money/risk management, I believe this is one of the most important questions regarding a good trading method. It should go without saying that as soon as you enter the market with a new position, an initial stop order should be entered to protect the position against an adverse move in the market or an exit strategy should be employed to cover the trade if the market closes adversely. If such a move occurs, as is often the case, you want your position liquidated and out of the market with a minimal loss.

Read more: How can I determine the initial stop loss, trailing stops, and exit points?

   

What simple strategy can I use to find good entry points in Forex Trading?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

What simple strategy can I use to find good entry points in Forex Trading?

The general approach that I use is to develop specific setup conditions that, when present in the market, indicate that I should consider entering into a new position. So the first thing is to identify the conditions that occur relatively infrequently in the market, but that when they do, a high probability opportunity may await.

Read more: What simple strategy can I use to find good entry points in Forex Trading?

   

What are the best technical indicators to use?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

What are the best technical indicators to use?

At last count there are over 100 technical indicators available in most charting software packages. There is no magic in the indicators themselves as they all strive to tell you something about how the market is behaving at a point in time.

And it is not that some are better than others, rather the key to using indicators successfully is to select only a few that complement each other and to use them in an uncommon manner together with powerful trading tactics.

Read more: What are the best technical indicators to use?

   

Brief overview of the basics of Forex

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Brief overview of the basics of Forex

Are you new to Forex and would like to learn the basics? The basics of Forex is pretty easy to understand.

Stocks and futures trade through exchanges, or the NASDAQ, which means every retail trader like you and I have to trade through those exchanges. Forex trading is done through "market makers" that include major banks as well as small to large brokerage firms located around the world, who collectively make a market on a 24/7 basis. The Forex market is always “open”, except for a brief close between Friday evening and Sunday evening, and is the largest financial network in the world. Forex trades occur in the trillions of dollars every single day.

Read more: Brief overview of the basics of Forex

   

How do the Forex markets operate on a 24 hour basis?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

How do the Forex markets operate on a 24 hour basis?

Active trading sessions in each country’s’ financial centers around the world take place from Sunday 5:00PM EST to Friday 5:00PM EST. For the major financial centers, trading starts in Sydney, then moves to each financial center in this order: Tokyo, London (and Europe), New York. The daily session for daily charting purposes “ends” at 5:00PM EST (coincident with the New York “close”), but the market does not actually close.

Read more: How do the Forex markets operate on a 24 hour basis?

   

The Current State of the Forex Market

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

The Current State of the Forex Market

 

Forex is more popular than ever. While we want to know what the current state of the Forex Market is, we first need to take a look at the average daily turnover in the Forex markets over the past 20 years:

$3.2 TRILLION a day in 2007, with no signs of slowing down. This spells opportunity for you as a Forex trader, and this is one of the best times I can recall to learn to trade and to start trading the enormously popular and potentially profitable Forex markets.

Why?

Read more: The Current State of the Forex Market

   

Are you a Dependent, or Independent Trader?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Are You a Dependent or an Independent Trader?

When it comes to trading Forex (or any market for that matter), I find there are two types of traders. And the type of trader you are could drastically impact the amount of money you make in the markets… it could even forever determine, in part, what the rest of your life looks like, how much longer you work a regular job, where you go on vacation (and how often), where you live, and even your overall health. That may sound like an exaggeration, but if you plan on supplementing or replacing your current income with trading Forex, then I think you’ll find those statements above are quite accurate. Here’s why…

Read more: Are you a Dependent, or Independent Trader?

   

Power Forex Profit Principles

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Power Forex Profit Principles

FREE Forex Trading Training by Bill Poulos, a 30+ year veteran trader. Power Forex Profit Principles Report Image

This is the first installment of four parts Bill calls the Forex 4-Pack. Even if you already got this before, you need to get it again, because this is the March 2009 update to one of the most powerful Forex Reports ever published.

This report is in direct response to requests that over 100,000 forex traders have been sending him for years.The Forex 4-Pack Training has been updated for TODAY's market and some of the more recent question that traders have been asking him. Specifically how they can potentially profit in the Forex markets.

Read more: Power Forex Profit Principles

   

Brand new 'Forex 4-Pack' just released!

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Brand new 'Forex 4-Pack' just released!

Bill Poulos has just released his NEW Forex 4-Pack FREE Forex Training package!

This will not be available forever, so I recommend you download your training now. He mentions that he may be switching this particular package to a $147 program in the near future.

Bill has updated this Forex Training with brand new material, and this is one of his most popular multimedia training "kits" that challenges 90% of what most Forex traders believe.

If you have ANY interest in discovering how a few traders have been quietly riding the coat tails of the big banks to maximize their "pip Potential" in the Forex market, I think you are in for a BIG surprise.

Read more: Brand new 'Forex 4-Pack' just released!

   

Forex Order Types

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Forex Types Of Orders

What types of orders can I use to trade Forex?

There are several different order types you should understand in order to trade Forex.

Market Order: This order type is used to enter or exit the market immediately at the current quoted price. If you want to buy you will be filled at the ask price; if you want to sell, you will be filled at the bid price.

Read more: Forex Order Types

   

Day Trade Forex?

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Day Trade Forex?

Forex Profit Accelerator. Do you have to day trade Forex?

"Do I have to day trade Forex?" is one of the most common questions asked about trading the Forex markets. Day trading Forex, otherwise known as very short term trading or scalping, is very widespread but most people cannot commit the time to day trading because it requires that you watch the markets on an up-to-the-minute basis. Another approach, however, is to trade Forex pairs on an end-of-day basis.

Read more: Day Trade Forex?

   

Forex trading: Why most amateur traders fail

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Forex trading: Why most amateur traders fail


One phenomenon that derails amateur Forex traders time and time again is method complexity syndrome. They research a trading method, buy it and the minute they receive it, they jump ahead to what they consider to be “the guts” of the method. In doing so, they completely ignore all of the other aspects of trading, including risk management, discipline, and psychology.

They get into the "guts" of the method only looking for that big, mysterious, slap-your-forehead, jaw-dropping "secret" which will suddenly unlock the mysteries of the Forex universe and make them Master and Commander of every Forex pair. All too often, they find themselves completely disappointed or the "guts" reveal something they'd already heard about (but had not practiced). Amateur traders will then dismiss the method as 'too simple'.

Read more: Forex trading: Why most amateur traders fail

   

Forex Trading - The Trader's Mindset

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Forex Trading - The Trader's Mindset

If you want to become a Forex Trader, choose one of these mindsets.

The Independent trader or the Dependent trader


Which type of trader you are will dramatically affect the potential money you can make in the markets. In fact, it could well determine what the rest of your life will look like, whether it is how long you work for someone else, when and where you vacation, or where and how you live.

You may think that's an exaggeration, but the reality is those who take initiative can positively affect the outcome of their lives (and their trading) as opposed to those who let others determine the course of their lives for them.

Read more: Forex Trading - The Trader's Mindset

   

Evaluating a Forex Method

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Evaluating a Forex Method


One of the questions I'm often asked is what constitutes a good trading method (or how do I know if a trading method is really worth buying). In this article, I'll show you what most methods look like (and why they are bad) and show you a simple way to evaluate a trading method.

If you take a close look at most of the so-called Forex trading methods and systems on the market, they consistently share the same shortcomings:

  • They are incomplete. Too many courses teach hours of 'in theory' -- but spend little to no time teaching a step-by-step plan to help you trade.
  • They don't include risk management. This is the number one mistake most traders make -- not managing risk in their trades. If the system or method you're considering doesn't teach risk management consistent with their method, you would do well to walk away from it.
  • They focus strictly on fundamental analysis. Methods that focus only on fundamental analysis are incredibly time consuming and subjective and require much deeper understanding of more complex economic and financial issues. If you don't understand them, you won't succeed with such methods.
  • They require you to "day trade". Many of the methods and systems I've seen require you to be in front of your computer nearly 24/7 to be able to 'react'. Reality should tell you how impossible this is.


What constitutes a "good" method?

Read more: Evaluating a Forex Method

   

Using Technical Indicators to trade Forex

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Using Technical Indicators to trade Forex


Did you know there are currently more than 100 technical indicators that you can use when trading Forex? Most charting software programs and packages available will provide all of these indicators to you -- but the most confusing question is always: which ones should I use?

There is no magic in technical indicators in and of themselves as they each can tell you something about the market's behaviour at any given point in time. Nor is it true that any one indicator is better than another.

What is key to using technical indicators successfully is to select only a few that complement one another and use them in an uncommon manner along with powerful trading tactics.

Read more: Using Technical Indicators to trade Forex