Forex Trading

[JD@fifty6]

Hi all,

I've been wanting to dip my toe into some sort of trading for quite a while, as something to do in my 'spare' time in and out of the office. Coincidentally I bumped into a guy networking last night who offers coaching courses and he instantly had my attention.

I thought I'd put the feelers out here, as I'm really getting into this place, to see who's got experience in trading. Specifically, I'm looking for the bad experiences! I've heard of rogue brokers, shocking teaching practises etc and I guess I want to see just how common that is.

Thanks in advance!
Jason

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Go to the search function
Type in Forex
There are 80+ plus pages about it.

Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.Make up your own mind.

 

[JD@fifty6]

Go to the search function
Type in Forex
There are 80+ plus pages about it.

Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.Make up your own mind.

Thanks. I'm constantly telling people to use the search on a forum I'm an old timer on, feel a bit silly now I'm on the other side of it!

 

[360interactive]

Thanks. I'm constantly telling people to use the search on a forum I'm an old timer on, feel a bit silly now I'm on the other side of it!

Everyone has answered someones question at least once, if we all just used the search, there would be no posts. (apart from the strange ones in time out).

 

[rkp123]

Whilst FX trading can make you money it does have it's ups and downs. I have been looking into this for a while now but have not actually got around to moving forward with it.. A couple of my friends do this for a living but they do tell me it is not for the faint hearted, it has alot to do with learning to control your emotions.

As mentioned earlier the babypip school is very good for someone looking to get into FX.

Cheers

 

[JD@fifty6]

Thanks all for the replies. I'm off to visit the guy I met at networking in about half an hour just for him to show me a bit more about what he does to make his cash - he's clearly quite good at it from his success indicators.

I'll keep an open mind and see what I come out with, but luckily the meeting is more about him taking up some of my services than him selling to me so that eases some pressure!

Thanks again.

 

[Moneyman]

try gambler's forums or forex forums. It isnt a small business.

 

[Curious]

A friend of mine runs the Trader Management Company. A group of pro's teach you about what they're trading and why - keep meaning to give it a go but I don't have the time in the day!

 

[sla3]

Thanks all for the replies. I'm off to visit the guy I met at networking in about half an hour just for him to show me a bit more about what he does to make his cash - he's clearly quite good at it from his success indicators.

What's in it for him?

 

[Abu A]

Why not open a william hill account? Far more fun than forex gambling.

 

[JD@fifty6]

What's in it for him?

I think he wants some more success on top

His main thing is that it seems he wants to truly become an influential person in the forex world - someone that the others respect. He seems to want that now as he's got what he wants cash and objects wise. So pretty soon I should be helping him promote himself and his products to his peers to help him get there. Part of the return is he'll teach me some bits and pieces about what he knows - but I'm not doing this to replace what I love doing, I just have an itch to know a bit more about that world before I come to an educated decision on whether it's just gambling or not.

 

[Moneyman]

If you can make loads of money why do people sell a sytem or train others?

In the forex world everyone is a tiny fish as the amounts washing about are huge. I have dipped a little toe in with certain people i trusted over the years. They all worked perfectly on paper for years and then worked well until the "this has never happened before" thing happens. It is like 10 to 1 on horses. they never lose until they do. There is no analysis system that has lasted the years...did you miss all the stuff about the quant traders and the bank arbitrage? they were the nobel prize economists and they still screwed up big time.
Leave it alone.

 

[sla3]

So pretty soon I should be helping him promote himself and his products to his peers to help him get there. Part of the return is he'll teach me some bits and pieces about what he knows -

Can I suggest you take the red flashing light OFF your head next time you meet? He saw you coming the first time ....

 

[captaincloser]

Can I suggest you take the red flashing light OFF your head next time you meet? He saw you coming the first time ....

The 4EX CLUB !

 

[Pattestinguk]

I have a friend who lost over 20k doing that, I would leave it if I were you.

 

[JD@fifty6]

Can I suggest you take the red flashing light OFF your head next time you meet? He saw you coming the first time ....

Did you miss the word 'part', and the 'informed decision' bit? Congratulation on your hilarious reply, but wanting to get 1st hand experience rather than relying on 2nd or 3rd hand scaremongering is hardly the most stupid decision anyone's ever made is it?

 

[Moneyman]

first hand experience from a trained broker with 5 years in the stock market. Dont do it. it is not scaremongering. Forex is a mugs game.

I deal on the forex markets all the time for my companies and get good advice from economists and bankers and analysts and.....50% of the time they are right. red-black euro-dollar its all the same. I just buy when i need to and sell when i need to and have learnt not to play about, the hard way.

 

[windlesham]

I spread bet on a number of ftse companies, I've been doing this for about five years now and make a decent return in terms of a % return. I looked into forex when I first started and considered it far to volatile for my liking.


I hold positions for a number of months rather than day trade. I have a keen interest in politics and how those decisions affect business oil, gas, mining, defence etc. I also get quite a buzz when my predictions are correct. I do mammoth amounts of research on companies I 'invest' in. At the moment I'm keeping a keen eye on Argentina and the protectionism that is happening in that country.

What these 'guru's teach is not something you cannot learn yourself, if it's a day trading method I would forget it as you'll never be on a level playing field.

If you don't enjoy hearing about interest rates, the EU, Quantitive easing and and understand how decisions on these matters make currencies fluctuate then I would look elsewhere.

also remember a lot of announcements are already built into the market prices so don't expect to sit at your laptop watch reuters and expecting the market to fall/rise - you'll be months behind.

 

[ironman2000]

Hi All,

After reading down this thread....................if anyone seriously wants to get into forex trading then the number one choice must be this one which has just been voted "The votes are in and the award for “Best Trading Platform” from TraderPlanet’s “Star Awards 2011” goes to XXXXX! Thank you everyone for all your votes and help in winning this prestigious award."

The rules of this forum are clear and if you are intrested to know who won this award then your welcome to PM.

Have a great weekend and trade smart from your head and not from your heart!

 

[Amazin]

which one is easier? Gambling or trading?

I have a friend who haven't had a job since graduation, why? because he plays Poker. I also know a roulette player makes £1200 per week.

This is a nice video about traders:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68cciZYNqn0

 

[ironman2000]

Hi Amazin,

Neither one is easier than the other if you don't take what you are doing .

I started playing poker way back in my teens and I have to say got rather good at it. Then the online gaming Industry took form and to play poker online is a completly diferent strategy all together.

Turning back to forex...............I started to take an interest in forex when it was made accessable to all back in 2006 by an online forex trading platform and using the tools I aquired over the years playing poker I do rather well at trading.

Just to simply answer your question and not to make too much of a story. You need time to study each of them before gambling or trading and to use your mind and never gamble or trade from the heart!

 

[megamuel]

T2W (Trade2Win) is a popular trading forum which I am also a member of. One of the phrases that pops up there from time to time when people ask about training/coaching is "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach". Don't believe that triple about wanting to become "an influential person in the forex world". It's a 4 trillion dollar industry. It would be easier for him to become president of America! Having said that, I'm sure there are some genuine 'mentors' out there who just do it as a backup sort of thing. Maybe you should go to the T2W forum and ask if anyone has heard of him. There are some members there who seem to spend their lives outing the frauds (particularly a member called 'pboyles' - he's like a detective!).

Another thing I would say is that trading is incredibly hard. I've been trying for 3 years to no avail and I've put it on the back burner now. Like someone else said, day trading at home you are at a massive disadvantage in terms of the spreads you pay and the prices you get. Also the software/technology that the big firms have is riculous.... You are better off looking at swing trading methods in my opinion. Swing trading is when trades are open from a few hours to maybe a week or two. As opposed to day trading where trades usually lasts seconds/minutes.

If you are still interested, have a look at Alpari and Oanda. Both are pretty well respected Forex brokers. You can open a demo account (play money) and download the MetaTrader platform. This is a nice simple straight forward trading platform. Have a play around. Try and treat your play money like real money.... Although the emotions will never be the same as when you are down with real money - trust me! Look for patterns. If you think you can see a pattern anywhere, either with indicators or simple price action then you are best testing that pattern over historical data. You can do that by having a sort of trading robot known as an EA (Expert Advisor) coded up. You can then back test it with your chosen parameters over a long period of time and see how it fares. If you get to this stage let me know and I can give you more guidance.

Personally I think it would be better for you to research some companies and make some long term investments. That way if you are going to lose money it will take longer than with Forex! Anyway, best of luck in your endeavours. I'd certainly check out the forum I mentioned and see if anyone knows of this guy!

Sam.

 

[Amazin]

hmm, I'm interested now. Is spreadbetting again good? what is the easiest form of trading?

what is the lowest amount I can go in with?

 

[Moneyman]

One quick point. only go with the big boys
city index or cantor index. are well backed and can cover their positions easily with other parts of the business.

there are too many scams out there and they are stuffed in strange offshore spots that can only benefit the owners if they disappear.

 

[totoboss]

which one is easier? Gambling or trading?

I have a friend who haven't had a job since graduation, why? because he plays Poker. I also know a roulette player makes £1200 per week.

This is a nice video about traders:

1200 per week ...playing a roulette ha mate this is just a lie. I have worked for more than 3 years in willhill and believe me no one wins from a roulette. I have witnessed people who won a lot more than 1200 in a day and gave it back the next one.

 

[Moneyman]

You cannot win long term on roulette . actually the odds are that a very very tiny minority might get lucky every single time all their life. I have had runs of good luck and runs of bad luck and one night 5 years ago that put me so far ahead that it will take a few years for me ever to give it back, even if i lose my standard stake every visit. But that was luck not skill and the stupidity to keep doubling up endlessly until the clock ran out. I might have had a few drinks.
never believe anyone who claims they know how to make money on roulette.

 

[Talay]

One quick point. only go with the big boys
city index or cantor index. are well backed and can cover their positions easily with other parts of the business.

there are too many scams out there and they are stuffed in strange offshore spots that can only benefit the owners if they disappear.

Having done business with Cantor I would not be so quick to lodge my collateral with them. Shyster company with warped ideas of good practice and every decision concentrated in the hands of the single power broker at the top.

Also, the traditional view of CFD/spread betting/FX just being a funding play is over. The margins are eroded and what was a safe play with positions being hedged bar a minor proprietary risk has changed into a more risky and volatile gamble. Screw the punters a little more on funding, enhance the treasury function and maybe gain a few bps but still not enough.

 

[Amazin]

Ok, can someone tell me what is the minimum amount required to start trading or spreadbetting?

I really want to look into it because who knows, I might have a talent for trading

 

[megamuel]

There is no minimum. You just have to make sure you have enough to cover your potential (inevitable) losses. Most traders say you shouldn't risk more than 2% of your capital on any one trade. So that is going to be difficult/impossible with a few hundred in your account. I'd say a couple of thousand would be enough to trade/lose to begin with. Your best bet is to demo trade first though to see if you have a "talent" for it.... Best of luck.

Sam.

 

[Aspect Investments]

I know this is an old thread, but some of the posts here need to be addressed in my opinion.

Forex trading is not for everyone, i agree there, and 95% of people that trade Forex lose money, but don't write it off.

Forex trading is my job, i do it for a living, and i am very good at it. Any job has to be learned, and if you take the time and effort to learn to trade Forex, you can make a very good living from it.

The problem with trading Forex is any fool can open an account within a few hours and start trading. This is where the problems start. If you don't know what you are doing you will lose your money, plain and simple, but to say trading Forex is gambling is wrong. Its only gambling if you do not know what you are doing.