From Beginner To Forex Trader.

When you begin to investigate this business of day trading a plethora of information comes at you. Type in day trading, do a search and you get close to a million choices. That’s a lot of info to sieve through. So where do we start?

There are some basic necessities that you must have before you can begin. A fairly good computer is a must. The prices are going down and the power is increasing all the time. So these days you can pick up a new machine for about $800 that will do the job. A high end trading machine with all the bells whistles will set you back about $1500. One thing you must consider is how many monitors are needed. I recommend 2 because you can’t go wrong with screen real estate in this business. Believe me it won’t go to waste. This will push up the price a little, but it is well worth it. Make sure you get a flat panel LCD which comes standard when you buy a new machine. Remember your eyes. Don’t try and save a couple of bucks by purchasing an old fashion flickering monitor. Hours in front of the screen can be a daily occurrence in this business. Computer auctions are a good option.

The second item is a fast internet connection. There are many options available here, but do not go below ADSL. The speed of the information coming to your computer is very important.

Finally, on the hardware side, make sure your setup is comfortable. The desk should be at the right height and a swivel type reclining business chair is really nice.

Now you are all set, so what do we trade? There are 3 basic categories to choose from. These are stocks and options, futures and commodities and foreign currencies.

Let us look at stocks. There are thousands of them. Then there are the exchanges such as The New York Stock Exchange for the big boys then there is the NASDAQ for the internet type younger companies. We also have pink sheets for stocks with low trading volume. How do you decide which stocks to trade. There are various software packages that screen stocks for whatever parameters you input You can screen for gapers, which are stocks that have gone up or down by a fairly large amount when compared with the previous days close. Then there are lows and highs, unusual volume, earnings reports, other reports that affect the stocks price, sector performance and on and on it goes. It can be a daunting task deciding “how” if you want to trade stocks. What about options? They are too specialized for the beginner in my opinion. Learn something simple and then you can graduate to options if you so desire.

Futures and commodities on the other hand offer the trader a much smaller basket of goods to choose from. I would stay out of commodities if you are just learning. Commodities such as grains, orange juice, coffee and pork bellies etc. require the trader to acquire knowledge about the peculiarities of the commodity. For instance, when is the end of the grain harvest? How has the weather affected the harvest, and a host of other variables. There is an easier way!

When we take a close look at foreign currency trading we see some decided advantages compared to the other instruments already mentioned. Foreign currency trading, commonly called forex, involves the buying and selling of one currency against the other. One of the huge advantages of forex is its’ liquidity, which is the volume of transactions measured daily, weekly or annually. The liquidity in forex is second to none. This is important because it means when you trade you will almost always get your fills. Can you imagine buying a stock and it starts to dive and you can’t get rid of it because of lack of liquidity! This would not happen in forex trading. Another advantage is its high daily range. This means every day the currencies increase and decrease in price enough to allow the trader to have opportunities for trades every day. The forex market also gives you flexible work hours. All around the globe the same currencies are being traded from almost sunrise to sunrise. You can literally choose when you want to trade. It is ideal for learning and practice if you have a current job and want to transition to trading over a period of time, or if you want to just trade on the side. One of the biggest advantages of trading foreign currencies is the leverage it gives the trader. This means you can start with as little as US$2000 or sometimes less and start to trade right away. Another advantage is that you can focus on one or two pairs of currencies and really learn to trade them very well because you will get to know them so well. You do not have to wonder which stock should I going to trade today.

Finally the opportunity exists for you to be trained by experts on all aspects of forex trading for a very reasonable price. You do not need to try and reinvent the wheel. It has all been done for you already. Researched, experimented, tried, tested and proven to work.

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Accepting Losses With Grace

The lack of a proper trading plan which includes precise rules for entering and exiting a trade will most certainly guarantee failure over the long term. Beginners usually suffer from the same common ailments. They abandon trading plans purely on impulse because things are not going exactly as how they had envisioned. Repeatedly they use unreliable methods that fail to produce a profit. Many traders hold on to losing positions telling themselves “it is going to turn” when every indicator says otherwise because they cannot bear the thought of a loss.

Why do they torture themselves? Why don’t they just identify what’s going wrong and make a change? For some people recognizing that a trade or even a trading method is not working and making a change is easy, but for others it’s very difficult. They have to look at their limitations admit that they have made a mistake and that’s hard because it hurts our ego. Psychologically it’s risky, it’s often easier to fool ourselves. Just keep going, living in a state of denial until your account is depleted. If you recognize any of these traits in yourself you must stop trading immediately.

Take a good look at what has been happening, try and identify the problem. If you look close enough you may see a pattern. This is why it is vital to record every trade and as much information about it as possible. You have to break out of old patterns and see things in a new light.

You will never be a successful trader if you continue to live in a state of denial. What can be done to return to reality? There is a lot you can do. First of all make sure you are not trading under stress. When stressed out you can’t see clearly, you become rigid and unable to see alternative views. One of the easiest solutions is to trade smaller. The smaller the trade the less the stress, especially for the beginner. If you are experienced and in a loosing streak reduce your contracts until you get your confidence returns. Some people need to take a break altogether. Get away from it all. Take your mind off the trading.

The second thing you can do is to make sure you have a life. Trading can be addictive especially when you are winning. Do not put all your emotional eggs in the trading basket. You need to have other roles that give your life meaning and purpose. By defining your identity in a variety of ways, you will not place un-natural importance on trading events. Therefore, you will be able to take losses in stride and look at your trading more objectively.

Finally, radical acceptance is a key mental strategy for coping with market uncertainty. Many traders make the mistake of thinking they can control the markets. Nobody can control the markets. We must learn to accept anything that comes our way and to trade accordingly. Adopt the attitude that trading is a journey and that all we can do is go where the markets take us.

To succeed on this journey you cannot afford to lose too much. Manage risk and just accept what you get and enjoy the ride. This way you will trade more freely and creatively. Don’t live your life in denial. Accept your limitations, work around them, and become a winning trader. Write out your trading plan with precise entry and exit points. Most important set your stops and mentally decide you will not break them. Test your system on paper and when confident test in real time with the minimum contract size. You will have losing trades, accept them with grace and go on to the next trade.