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Forex is the acronym used to represent the foreign exchange market. This is the worldwide market place that is used to buy and sell currencies from all countries. In order to trade on the Forex market place you are required to have a Forex account with a brokerage firm. Most firms allow you to open a Forex account without charging a fee. Brokerage firms do have requirements for the minimum amount of deposit that you have in your account before placing trades.

Forex trading is fast paced because it is an over the counter market. Unlike the New York Stock Exchange, there is no opening bell or closing bell to mark the opening hours. With Forex currency trades are made at all hours of the day and night. Trading on the Forex market requires the use of a computer that is connected to the Internet. Trades are conducted by connecting to your Forex account and entering your trades. Trades can be completed manually or through an automated system.

Manual Trades Manual trades are completed when the trader selects a pair to trade and manually enters this trade into their computer. This trade is entered in their Forex account. With a manual system the trader has to be present to complete the trade.

Automated Trades Since trading is open 24 hours a day some traders use automated computer systems. This system watches the market all day and night. If something happens that match criteria that has been programmed into the automated system, the computer will complete the trade automatically. The trader does not need to be present when the trade is entered.

In order to complete your first trade on the Forex market, you would select what pair of currencies that you want to trade. It is called a pair because you are buying a currency and paying for it in another currency. You would select that pair to get the current price. You select the number of shares you want to buy and place your order. That is all it takes to make a trade of foreign currencies.

Making a Forex trade usually takes only seconds to complete. Your computer system will be used to enter the trade and it will almost instantly give you verification that the trade has been completed. You can then decide when you want to sell your purchase. Hopefully you will make a profit on the sale.

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First you should decide what trader you want to be, a scalper, a swing trader or a position holder.

Write down what type of trading would suit you best or make you "feel calmest". Remember all trading is purely psychological...

If you need action you will need a scalping game plan (how many pips risk/stop loss and take profit). If taking many smaller losses in exchange for bigger profits go against your nature, then you may want to consider trend trading a.k.a. trend following.

This can be as simple as buying on a 15 day high and selling on a 15 day low for example. If you like to "keep your powder dry", you could gradually enter in and out of the market with the trend, such as buying/selling equal lots after a certain pip interval move which you will need to determine; When the trend turns you would start easing out of the current position and start building opposite positions. You could have a plan to step in 3-5 times in the same direction.

And please keep this in mind always: never over leverage! If you find yourself uncomfortable because of losses, then it would be best if you take a break for a while and forget as much as possible about trading. Get it out of your head, come back to analyzing what happened and make changes to your approach to trading the market if needed.

The worst thing you could do is trading more or with higher leverage in order to "catch up with previous losses". If you can't train yourself that trading is a relaxed and calm matter, then it's either not for you or you aren't ready for it. Trading as a nervous basket case is the fastest way to the poor house! The Las Vegas Strip is lined up with people who tried that, asking for a quarter...

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There is a certain mindset you must have when trading the stock markets during a recession. It's so important to understand its importance right from the beginning, or else you're dead in the water. Read on to discover what this mindset is and how to harness it to better ensure your success as a stock trader.

Knowing when to hold'em and when to fold'em is a difficult and seeming impossible task at times us traders face throughout the course of a trading session.

The mindset that you must have is that of an athlete. It takes focus, rigorous training, determination, and courage. An athlete gets ready for a track meet through the right coaching and training. I believe that repetition of the fundamentals is the key to developing the same type of mind set for trading stocks, bonds, and commodities.

The first lesson about developing a solid mindset is how to handle the news. We need to develop numbness of personal feelings towards the news.Then we should be looking at how the markets digest the news and how we traders go forward with our lives after the news rips through the markets.

The news is so hard to handle because of all the communications tools that we have available. It is splashed all over. The news is on at 5:00, 6:00, 24/7 on cnbc, Bloomberg, at the gym on the treadmill, in the waiting room at the repair shop...I think you get the point. It's everywhere.

You really have to train yourself to weed through the news, look at your stocks that you are trading,and see how it affects that particular sector, if at all. Then, after a few days or so, resume normal activity as a trader.

The ying yang effect applies here. Constantly pulling and tugging on your mind. It will make you insane if you let it. Your mind set, if trained properly, will override the minutia of the news.

A most recent example of the big news is the recession coupled with a failure in the banking system, troubled auto industry, and airline industry.

The United States Banking System has been brought to its knees causing a world wide rippling effect on several economies. Think about it. If the people who have loans can't pay the monthly payment because they lost their job and can't find another because of the local conditions, then housing prices are going down due to lack of lending. Then what happens is the spiralling effect of this activity continues until earnings start to improve, companies begin hiring again, and then the whole cycle starts up again.

This is where we are now.

This crash and build up happened all within the last 18 months... Much faster than most professionals and the so-called "experts" have expected.

But the fundamentals the have not changed. And had you trained yourself to look for great value buys, you would have made good returns on your money.

Let's take Ford Motor Company for example:

During those huge decline days of the September-November 2008 time frame, Ford was trading at 3.50 per share. The high that it reached was 14.00 last month and currently it sits at 12.50. Your mind set should override the news. Had you have invested back then, despite what the news was trying to feed your mind, you would have made almost 400% return.

What is your mind set saying on a 900 point decline in the Dow? Walk away then run?

But if you had said, "hey lets look for some opportunities here.," you would have been very happy with your returns.

Let me go out on a limb and say that I predict that the top has been reached in the markets from its recent bull run. In the news now we are hearing that you must get in if you missed the last run. "Now is the time." bla bla bla.

If you hear it on the news, beware because its just about over move to cash. Instead, wait for another steep decline.

So as you can see, having the right mindset while stock trading is crucial. So take inventory of yours right now before you make your next trade.

Always remember, the trend is your friend until the end.

J.P. Hools

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Consolidation is perhaps one of the most confusing and challenging trading environments.

Most new and novice traders still have not figured out that there is a time to trade and a time to stay out of the markets. Trading is not a sprint to quick profits, it is a marathon to build financial wealth.

It is important that you always keep in mind one of the most important rules of trading which is to preserve capital.

If your trading system begins to break down and you experience failed trades occurring with more frequency, but you are staying true to your trading method and rules, this could be a very strong signal that you should stop trading. What should you do when you stop trading?

When I experience changes in the market due to uncertainty and lack of direction, I still show up to my office trading the same number of hours five days a week during the London and New York session however I watch the market without placing a live trade. I watch to see how traders react to economic data and the comments that are made by distinguished market analysts.

Consolidation often means different things to each trader. Consolidation can occur on a small time frame yet still show a trend in place on the larger time frames such as the four hour or daily charts. However when there is consolidation that appears even on the four hour or daily charts, its time to be careful. Very careful.

A lack of volume and a lack of commitment from traders can cause price to retrace or reverse quickly, often times before the typical profit targets are achieved in most trading systems. When markets move sideways inside of consolidation, its a good idea to stay out and wait until a clear sense of direction begins to unfold or take shorter profits and prepare to close a trade quickly if necessary.

Realize that by trading in this type of environment you are actually changing your trading strategy and your original plan. This could be argued that it's difficult to maintain discipline to your trading strategy and you could ultimately affect your performance by unnecessarily changing profit targets and stop loss levels.

So the question is, should you trade when there is a great deal of uncertainty in the markets and consolidation?

Regardless of whether or not you place a trade, it takes the same amount of analysis to determine that you should stay out of a trade that might be against your trading strategy, as it does to find a trade that honors every rule. Your challenge is, do you have a trading plan that includes how you will control your behavior when the markets begin to move in a manner that you are not familiar with?

If you are new or inexperienced with certain types of market environments it may be a good idea to start off with a simple rule that states when you lose more than two or three trades in one day but you follow every rule and price is moving in a sideways unpredictable manner, stay out until you have analyzed where the mistakes are being made and there is a sense of direction and you can gauge market sentiment.

When uncertain times begin to develop, it sometimes takes even more time for the majority to accept the reality of change in the markets.

So the question is repeated, should we be trading in uncertain trading environments that could cause us to give back previously earned profits?

Yes and No. It depends on many factors: Your experience ( have you traded through this type or market environment before?)

Can you stop trading when your strategy isn't providing any trade signals? (this is important! You must have a strategy or routine that will help you overcome the urge to trade when you should be trading at all based on market conditions)

Your trading plan and strategy so be a detailed "blue print" with exact entry, target and stop loss and specific trade criteria that signal a trade. Once you have a comprehensive trading plan, it will make finding your trading errors much easier to identify and you can then work on correcting the behavior.

Remember, (and you already know this) trading is not gambling. It is to be treated like any other business and preservation of capital is one of the most important rules of any trading plan or system.

Ultimately, your ability to remain sensitive to market changes is what will allow you to make the necessary changes quick enough to prevent giving back earned profits. This sensitivity can be practiced even without live trading.

Thanks for reading and good luck trading.

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Have you ever wondered why some traders put in 80 hour weeks? I know many people who do this - and have made millions as traders by doing so. These hugely smart people with years of experience spend nearly all their waking hours looking at the market.

But trading isn't really all that hard and it doesn't have to take watching the markets 24/7. You spot an opportunity, make a trading plan for the opportunity, make the trade, and wait. It's not really that hard.

So why do they do this? Why do they spend so much time looking at the markets? I know the reason why (because I used to be one of them). I used to spend all of my waking hours staring at the markets.

"The Monster" The reason some traders spend this much time is simple. They want to avoid what I call "The Monster". This "Monster" is a "thought" and there is one thought you absolutely must avoid to be a successful trader.

Here is "The Thought: "I should have done something different with this trade instead of what I did."

If you ever find yourself thinking "I should have done something else instead of what I did" about a trade, you are likely to not do well trading.

Second guessing your actions after a "bad trade" leads to making poor decisions right in the middle of the next trade - changing your mind on a whim.

You can see where this will lead - to a series of nearly random trading decisions, probably without much regard to the risk involved. It's path to losing lots of money really fast.

"The Thought" is particularly dangerous when you are a new trader, because new traders don't know enough to tell if they are making good decision or a bad decision.

A good plan for a trade means you have pre-planned actions in place for almost any situation that could happen. So if you are thinking "I should have done something different", it means you don't think your plan is all that good in the first place.

This isn't to say the market can't change, or you won't find out new information. Also, you might need to change a trade for many reasons. This happens. And many good traders do change their mind on trades during the trade.

It's just that for these good traders, changing their mind is part of their original plan. They had planned to make a new decision once specific new information became available.

Make the Best Decision Possible with the Information You Know Now It is crucial to know you are making the best decision possible at the time with the information you have available to you. That's one of the reasons I like investing - the decisions are already made. You know when to get in, how to get out, how much to risk - it's all planned in advance. It's easy to do the right thing when you know exactly what you need to do.

And this is why some traders spend 80 hours a week on their trading. They want to be sure they know everything possible about a particular trade before making the trade.They want to avoid thinking "The Thought" and it's worth spending 80 hours a week to avoid it.

With most trading, however, you can develop a system for your trading where all of these decisions are made before you make the trade, so you don't need to spend 80 hours a week staring at a computer screen.

Instead, you spend 15 minutes a day putting in your orders, because you've already made the decisions for nearly every situation that might come your way.

So to be 100% clear, you need to avoid "The Thought" at all costs. And the only way I know to avoid The Thought is to be prepared. This is what investing does - it prepares you for nearly every market situation you might encounter. It's like working 80 hours a week in just 15 minutes day.

And you just might make a boatload of money while doing it.

Michael Sankowski lives in Oak Park, IL and when not playing the guitar, has been a professional trader for 20 years. He's traded billions of dollars on four continents and is a well-known financial writer. He's a CFA, CAIA, and is a top ranking author on Seeking Alpha. Read more of his work at ETF Momentum Trader [http://ift.tt/1qGydz6] and Generate FX [http://ift.tt/1qGybaD]

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Trading is much like playing baseball. Or better said, traders are much like baseball players.

There are those players always looking to hit it out of the park. The greatest home-run hitters in history had a couple of things in common: they had more strike-outs than anyone else, and they got on base less than everyone else.

Then there are the players that focused on simply getting on base. Rather than trying to hit it out of the park, they patiently waited for the right pitch and would pick their spots on the field for a base hit, or they would get a walk. These players got on base more often, and on occasion they might get the home-run.

In trading, the vast majority of traders are like the home-run hitters in that they try to catch the big moves. Unfortunately, unlike the home-run hitters, they rarely catch the big move and more often strike out. After depleting the trading account and a large chunk of discouragement, they are pronounced "out".

Professional traders, those who make money at trading regularly, look to simply make a profit each time up. The goal is to patiently wait for the right time to enter, then to strategically manage the trade to where risk is little and profits, perhaps small, are not turned into a loss. Periodically, these trades that were originally planned for a short-term move may turn into a much better gain (the home-run). But that is not the original goal nor the plan, but simply icing on the cake.

When traders allow greed to be their guiding light, they aim for the sky and more often get dirt. In hopes of making the big score, they lower their odds for success to nothing more than pure gambling. Trading itself is not gambling, since the trader sets the odds and can do so well in their favor, as we will discuss shortly. Gambling, on the other hand, is when the house sets the odds and it is always against you.

Consider the following example. Suppose you are deciding to go LONG in some Stock or Futures contract. You've done your homework and it looks pretty good that prices will likely rise shortly after you enter.

Now, which do you think has the highest odds of being successful; looking to make 50 points or 500 points?

If you answered "50 points", you are correct! The odds are much higher that your trade will go into profit 50 points as it is a much smaller target price. The further way your target is, the lower your odds are of achieving it.

The lesson here should be clear. In order to put the odds more in your favor, be sure that you start off with a price target that has very high odds of being reached. It is always better to win small profits 99% of the time than to hope to win big profits by taking trades with odds that are 50/50 or less.

These smaller profit goals, while alone may not seem like much to shout about, have an amazing ability to compound over time. And this is what keeps the Professional in the business of trading for the long haul, creating a nice pile of profits over time.

Putting the odds in your favor does not stop there. To go along with a lower profit target requires that you also learn how to properly manage your risk stop. While your win ratio is high in the 85-90% realm due to making trades with a small profit target, you can afford to take trades with a 1:1 risk/reward ratio. In other words, if you are aiming for $300 minimum profits for a single trade, your risk exposure should be somewhere around $300 as well. The problem with using your profit target as your way of determining risk is that your stop-loss placement becomes nothing more than arbitrary at best.

Part of your planning on any trade is to determine beforehand how much risk you may have to take on if you enter the trade. Since it is often better to place the initial stop-loss below the last low (if looking to buy), if this will result in too much initial risk, it is best to not take the trade at all. This is part of putting the odds in your favor. The biggest mistake amateur traders make is that they feel they have to be in any and all trades that look really good. This is simply a bad idea! The wise trader patiently waits for the right time and market to make the trade, and will not make a move until one is available. The goal is to make money, not to be playing a game. If you need to play a game, go pull out the Parcheesi and spend time with the family. Leave trading for your business of making money.

Risk management, which is important for keeping the odds on your side, is an important part of keeping your few losses small. Once you have found a trade with an acceptable risk exposure, once you are filled into the trade, allow the market perhaps 30-minutes to an hour to prove you right. If you entered, say off a breakout, and the market is acting docile even after 60 minutes have gone by, something is likely wrong and you should consider getting out at scratch or with whatever little profit or loss there is. Your goal is to enter a trade you believe is ready to go your way. If it goes into some profit and just wallows around there for some time, better to take it than let it turn into a loss.

One final tip on risk management and putting the odds in your favor for consistent profits, is to get your initial stop-loss to breakeven as quickly as you can. When the market hits your entry price and moves into profit, after perhaps 15-minutes or 30-minutes, get your stop-loss to breakeven and make it a free trade. By doing this, you have essentially freed your emotions from the equation, and you can now let the market do its thing without concern of loss.

Remember, trading is a business like any other, to make money. You must think in terms of probability (odds), and make sure your actions put the odds in your favor by a very high amount. Take unnecessary chances because you feel that the trade "is a sure thing" is a formula for failure. So think like a Professional and work to accumulate small profits a higher percentage of time rather than the hope of large profits, once in a while, and watch your account grow!

Rick J. Ratchford has been trading since 1989 and since 1996 is an Analyst for ProfitMax Trading Inc., a membership for traders specializing in the advance forecasting of market tops and bottoms for Precision Timing the Futures, Commodity and Forex markets.

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The 3 strategies that are key to turning your trading around in next to no time and if you really want to be a success at Forex Trading you need to sit up and take notice.

I'm probably no different to you and spent the longest time learning how to trade Forex looking at all the magic bullets that are touted online. The unfortunate truth is, there are no magic bullets to become a trader.

I understand how you feel, it is frustrating and annoying to get to the truth when all you want is to learn how to trade Forex without all the hype, however the good news is there are some rules of trading that, if adhered to, will have you on the right road in no time!

1.a) Money Management - BORING I know, you keep hearing about it but believe me it is a major factor to being a successful currency trader. If you don't get it you need to start, otherwise you need to turn off your charts and put Forex trading to one side until you do.

(b) Risk Reward Ratio - in its most simplistic form has to be at least 2:1, if it isn't, be a professional trader and walk away and DON'T take the trade no matter how tempting it looks, there is always another one around the corner.

(c) Capital - Don't let the scam artists fool you with claims of unbelievable returns, for example 60% per month on your initial $300 dollars, if it can be done it's by the minority of traders who may get lucky a few times and gamble, but over the long term it's not realistic, just check out the top fund managers.

2) Patience & Discipline - I know how tough it is to wait around for good set ups whether that is from the day traders point of view or a longer term traders, but again not having the discipline to wait will eventually wipe out your trading account, so learn to sit on your hands, otherwise you will pay.

3) Trade Planning - You must plan your trades in advance which goes hand in hand with number 2, what most traders get wrong is the fact that they planned the trade so they have to take the trade, this is so wrong. Out of every 10 Plans, only 2 or 3 of them will present what you're actually waiting for, this one Forex tip alone can change your Forex trading forever!

This is just the tip of the iceberg if you stick to just these 3 Forex trading strategies your trading will take on a whole new lease of life.

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In part 1 of this article I described the reluctance of beginning e-mini traders to formulate and write a comprehensive e-mini trading plan. Like many things in trading, I suppose that activities besides actual e-mini trading are perceived as spurious and unnecessary. In part 2 of this article I hope to convince you that writing a comprehensive trading plan (and following it) is one of the essential activities necessary for growth in your career.

Styles of trading are unique from individual to individual. Like many things in life, no two individuals are going to approach it in exactly the same manner. We all tend to see and interpret charts in different ways, and how you abstract information from a chart will influence your evaluation of potentially profitable trades.

It is important to arrive at similar conclusions about the potential success of a trade. As a mentor, I have a specific guidelines and criteria that define a position that is likely to succeed. How the beginning e-mini trader's perception of chart variables leads to my specific guidelines and criteria is how I define a traders "style." If I have learned anything in a lifetime of trading it is this: no 2 individuals see and interpret chart variables in exactly the same way. I think it is important to note that differences in styles of perception do not preclude 2 traders from reaching the same conclusion. The tool that I use to quantify a beginning traders style with the goal of arriving at the proper evaluation of trades is a written trading plan.

What sort of things should be a good trading plan include?

· First and foremost, I believe it is important for an individual to define, in specific terms, why they are trading.

· A beginning trader should have quantifiable goals; short-term, intermediate term, and long-term. These goals should have specific objectives that are realistic and attainable.

· What markets do you plan to trade? Why?

· What entry criterions are necessary to enter a trade? I prefer of these criterion to be specific and quantifiable.

· How will you manage risk? Some specific methodology for determining profit targets and stop loss levels should be discussed. Also, position sizing needs to be quantified and the methodology for the number of contracts you will trade should be specific. How will you exit trades? When? How about risk/reward ratios in your trading plan?

· Money management is one of the most important elements of e-mini trading. What is your money management plan and how did you determine the components of your money management plan?

· What is your pre-market routine? How will you prepare for the day?

· I require all traders to keep a journal. How will that trading journal be structured?

· What tools will you utilize in your trading? This section should include items like: trading platform, chart presentation style, indicators and oscillators, third party software, computer hardware, office location, and office environment are just a few of the many control variables that fall under the "types of tools" that I utilized in trading.

· What approach to trading is appealing? While it may be early in your trading career, what setups have you learned to trust? What setups make you uncomfortable and why?

· At the end of your trading day, what activities will you engage in to record trades and prepare for tomorrow's trading day? Are there specific activities that may allow the current days trading to be reviewed?

· A good trader is a lifetime student of trading. How will you advance your knowledge of e-mini trading in a manner that allows you to grow and learn as you gain experience?

· Define the discipline you will use in your trading. Trading can often be a series of steps, a checklist that is used to determine trading profitability, frequency, and the probability.

· How will you maintain discipline in your trading? What are signs that your discipline is slipping? How will you "right the ship" if you run into trading discipline problems?

· What is the Golden Rule in your trading? You may have several maxims that define your trading. What are these maxims and why do you have them?

These are just a few questions to help you, as an e-mini trader, begin the process of developing a coherent trading plan. There are many other components of the trading plan that may need to be included. The plan is yours, and should be unique to your trading. Avoid boilerplate type answers and give real thought to how you plan to trade. You will find that this document will need to be changed and updated as you grow as a trader. This is normal; it's good and shows progress in trading.

In summary, I have mentioned the reluctance of beginning e-mini traders to write a semi-formal trading plan. I hope that this article has given you some insight into the real value of having a trading plan. I have included some basic ideas or starting points in the construction of your e-mini trading plan but warned that these guidelines are not inclusive and there may be other considerations that need to be included in your plan.

Real Live Trading Doesn't Lie. Spend 3 days with me, in my trading room, and see if you are one of the many that can profit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here.

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Training beginning e-mini traders is full of surprises. After about five weeks of general trading instruction, I offhandedly announce (in the third student mentoring session) that we are going to formulate a specific e-mini trading plan for each individual. Following this announcement, I am generally bombarded with a series of puzzled expressions from the bewildered individual. I have decided that asking beginning traders to formulate a trading plan causes a wide range of emotions fluctuating from complete bafflement to outright anger.

"I don't have any idea how to write a trading plan," says the beginning trader.

"You've been trading for five weeks," I explain, "what are some of the things that you have learned that are essential to trade successfully?"

"What do you mean?" says the beginning trader with increasing frustration.

"Surely you can gather together the things we do every day, for every trade, in order to identify trades that are consistently successful," I say.

"Do you want me to talk about my best setups?"

"No, I want you to look at the bigger picture and how you quantify the things that are part and parcel of our trading days. You can start with how you prepare," I begin, thinking I am gaining momentum, "and then clarify your methodology and post-trade journaling activity... "

"I can't do it... ," The beginning trader often sputters, shrugging his or her shoulders sheepishly.

It seems I have had this conversation 100 times. I often wonder why developing a plan and putting the plan to paper is perceived as an impossible task. I generally wait until the beginning e-mini trader has begun to grasp the fundamentals of trading and can trade with some consistency before I initiate a conversation about developing a trading plan. I know that in order to be a consistently successful e-mini trader that each student has informally devised techniques to identify specific trade setups, exit strategies, and decided which e-mini contracts he or she finds most attractive and exciting to trade. On the other hand, putting these ideas into a logical and coherent set of personal trading guidelines often seems a hopelessly impossible task to complete.

Yet, I know that these individuals have already devised and informal plan in their own mind; they just don't realize it yet.

On the other hand, most experienced e-mini traders have put to paper a plan that they are able to follow from trade to trade. Without a plan, it is difficult to trade with any consistency; and consistency is what trading is all about. Consistency leads to profitability; and ultimately profitability is what allows us, as traders, to trade day in and day out with enough success to live a comfortable and prosperous life. I know of very few e-mini traders who are consistently profitable that do not have a written set of "personal rules and regulations" they have developed to trade effectively. To be sure, a beginning trading plan can be something as simple as and individuals "rules and regulations" for trading; it is highly likely that their trading plan will evolve into a more comprehensive document as they increase their understanding of trading.

In summary, I have described the usual reluctance of new e-mini traders to develop a written trading plan. To be sure, beginning traders are reluctant to write down their "personal rules and regulations." I have contrasted the beginning traders reluctance to develop a written trading plan to the methodology of the consistently profitable trader, who has already developed his or her trading plan and been carefully written their plan out and revisit the plan from time to time to assure their own personal compliance with the trading plan. Trading plans equal consistency; consistency equals profitability. To be a consistently profitable trader it is the essential to have a written trading plan.

Real Live Trading Doesn't Lie. Spend 3 days with me, in my trading room, and see if you are one of the many that can profit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here.

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All successful day traders will tell you they have a daily routine that they follow religiously in order to repeat their success day in and day out. With the demands of huge orders, monitoring many positions at once and information flying at you very quickly, you can begin to understand how important a daily routine is.

In fact, day traders have so much information flowing at them one of your best chances to succeed is to implement a routine that allows you to filter the important information and get rid of the unnecessary, wasteful information. Most day traders like to keep on top of the news but be selective in what you need on a daily basis and make sure to only stick to those news sources. It is way too easy to become overwhelmed with too much information and when you hit that limit your effectiveness is going to go downhill rapidly.

Automating your daily scans or plugging your entry criteria into some stock selection software can be a great help and speed up your process first thing in the morning. There is nothing worse than having a daily scanning of the markets procedure that takes 3-4 hours to run. Those outdated manual processes should be shown the door and the new efficient market scanning softwares put into place.

A sample daily trading routine might look something like this. Rise and shine and go for a 30 minute walk first thing in the morning. After eating a healthy, light breakfast run your daily scan and identify the potential trades for the day. Outline your trading plans for the day ahead, revisit your trading goals and do a light meditation prior to the market opening. Keep relaxed and when the markets open you can be confident that you can handle the daily stressors that the market throws at you because you are prepared for each and every day.

Action: Discover the Universal Trading Strategy that can be used across all market conditions and all market timeframes. This one Universal Truth has the ability to Free your Mind as it sets the foundation of all Successful Trading Plans.

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Plan Your strategies A foremost question every Forex trader should ask is whether they want to manage Forex accounts by themselves. The majority of retail Forex traders hold full-time position somewhere else, hospital, schools or law firms. Is it a luxury to manage my own Forex accounts? Many people decide trade Forex without having a plan. Oh wait, they do have a plan. Becoming super rich in one month. Well, It's not trading. It's gambling. Don't wish to try your luck in the Forex market and don't ever dare to dream of becoming Buffet-rich in one month. You can make a consistent return if you have a trading plan and know how to manage your risk. Technical Forex analysis studies about historical prices and believes history will repeat itself. technicians use different trading indicators, for example, candlestick patterns, Trend indicators, stochastics and so on. While Fundamental Forex analysis studies these macro Economic indicators, e.g., GDP, interest rate and so on. Which analysis fits to you better? Or you would rather like to combine the both analyses? How to find this out. Go to see what other traders are thinking, like joining a Forex forum. Almost everything you hear in Forex trading actually an essential part of Technical analysis, Forex indicators, Forex signals, Forex charts, Trend Analysis, Elliot Wave and Fibonacci theory. It's really cool, Isn't it? Technical analysis, if we can that a theory, is based on the following assumptions: Currency pair rates follow trend in the forex market. Therefore, Forex traders are able to detect the trend by using some parameters, i.e., Forex indicators. The historical trend will repeat themselves in the future. At the same time, historical trend patterns will repeat themselves as well. Forex charts, for example, head-shoulders pattern believe that whenever currency prices follow part the pattern, they will go through the entire pattern. The market emotions can be observed by some forex charts. For example, observing a shooting star in an established upward trend is telling a highly reversing possibility. Technical analysis does look overwhelming for beginners. But it's much easier to master than Fundamental Forex analysis, which studies the overall Economy situation. Considering the complexities of Fundamental analysis, it's nearly impossible for any trader to master two or three currencies. Reliable brokers always supply numerous Forex analysis, technical and fundamental, forex news with their service. Their trading platforms usually are equipped numerous signals and forex charts. Remembers, any Forex trader who wants to make consistent success in the Forex market cannot overlook technical Forex analysis.

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The only way to be a profitable trader is to develop and consistently follow a system. In addition you need to record every trade that you make, so that you can build up a history of trades to understand why you are profitable or not. It has been shown time and time again that if you write down your goals/targets/plans then you have a far better chance of succeeding. Your FOREX trading plan should include the following: · How much money will be in your trading pot? · How much money will you risk on each trade? · What time frame will you be trading? · What is your entry criteria for a trade? · What will be your stop loss? · What will be your profit and when should you exit the trade? The market does not behave the same way in all the time. There are moments when it will be trending upwards or downwards, and times when it is consolidating. Any trading system must be designed to handle all market conditions or to be only used in the market conditions that it is designed for. If a trader does not use a plan then they are subject to their emotions and the reactions of the market. They are much more likely to lose money in this case. Traders driven by their emotions will then do anything to win their money back and so increase their positions and risk. They chase their loses and will almost certainly lose more money. A vicious spiral kicks in and soon all their money has gone. One of the most common mistakes that beginners make is opening and account and trade straight away with their money. This is a very bad idea as you need time to practice and develop trading techniques just like any other job. Fortunately the FOREX brokers provide practice accounts where you can develop your techniques without risking any of your money. As shown above, a FOREX trading plan has to include elements of money management as well as the entry and exit strategy as well. Each of these building blocks is just as important as the other and provide the trader with a profitable and safe trading strategy. Once you have developed a trading plan then there is a temptation to back test the strategy on historical data. Indeed many trading platform provide this facility to back test your strategies. However if you test the strategy and fine tune it to work better against this back data then there is a danger of "curve fitting". The problem is the future movements of the market can be quite different from the past even if it has memory. So always make sure that you test your systems against future data as well. You must paper trade the system for 2-3 months to ensure that it is working. Once you have achieved profitability with future data on a practice account then you are ready to use real money. So at the beginning trade with very small amounts e.g. use micro lots, because broker behaviour with practice accounts is different from real accounts. To summarise then the only way to succeed in trading is to have a trading plan. Once you have the plan then you need to execute it in a consistent manner. You must record every trade that you make including the reasons why you made that trade. Only then can you measure your profitability and understand what changes you have to make to improve.

Want to learn how to trade FOREX safely and profitably? Come and visit my website at http://ift.tt/Op2I02 and I will send you a FREE manual and videos to get you started!

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In forex, a solid trading plan will define how you enter and exit trades, how much you risk per trade, and what adjustments you should make. Having one will help you keep track of your trading progress better and it will help you avoid mistakes, but it requires a lot of discipline to stick to the plan. Fortunately, enough practice and screen time will equip you with the self-control needed to follow your trading plan. In particular, a forex plan can be your best tool in making decisions while trading. You should be able to identify the various scenarios that could take place so that you can plan in advance what you will do in each situation. With that, you will simply have to follow your action steps instead of being confused with several emotions when something that you didn't expect happens. This will help you avoid panic or the fear of losing from complicating your decisions. Aside from that, having a plan while you trade will help you identify which factors help you attain wins and which factors prevent you from making consistent profits. In doing so, you can decide to stick to those rules that make good results and adjust or discard those that don't. To be able to do this properly though, you need to keep a detailed trading journal that contains your trading decisions, adjustments, and results. Another thing to remember is that, if your trading strategy isn't giving you good results, you need to be able to figure out if this is a result of a bad plan or poor discipline. If it's the former, then you need to consult your trading journal to identify which parts you need to adjust. One way to speed up this process is being able to distinguish justified from unjustified wins. The justified win is achieved when you follow your trade plan with enough discipline and you win the trade. The unjustified win is made when you don't follow your trade plan but still manage to win the trade. This evaluation should be part of your trade journal. If you already have a good number of trades that you can evaluate, you can be able to tell if your losses are a result of a weak trade plan or poor discipline. In particular, having more justified wins that you have enough discipline and that your trading plan is working. However, if you have more unjustified wins, you need to make some adjustments in your current trading plan.

To learn more about how to come up with forex trading plans, visit PremiumSignals.com!

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As a long time e-mini Trader, I believe that volume is one of the most neglected variables in trading. Granted, the average trader does not have a wealth of information on volume trading at his or her disposal because volume has long been poorly understood or downright ignored. It is my contention that increasing your understanding of volume and its relationship with other trading variables can greatly improve your e-mini trading results. Richard Arm's book on equivolume is a wonderful spot to start your study of volume. My paperback copy of one of the older editions of the book is dog-eared and worn as I have read and reread the volume. Mr. Arms is an interesting fellow, and on first reading, it is difficult to fully grasp the volume (in relation to price) principles he explains. It's only through rereading and learning the material that you can finally wrap your head around what he is trying to illustrate; it took even longer to observe his ideas at work on a live trading chart, but it can be done. Further, there is a fundamental difference between trading stocks, which was Mr. Arm's primary instrument of study, and relating those ideas to e-mini trading. Why would stock trading volume principles vary from e-mini trading implementation of volume? It's important to remember that the New York Stock Exchange is populated with market makers who provide a never ending supply of shares in a given equity for all traders to either buy or sell. On the other hand, trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange of the CBOT (or any other futures exchange, for that matter) involves working in a zero-sum market environment. A zero-sum market is defined as a market where there is a buyer and seller for each contract. Of course, you as a trader no longer know who the corollary buy or seller of the contract you are trading; it is the exchange's function to match prospective buyers and sellers together in an anonymous manner. As a trader, you simply know that you are either filled in a contract or not filled in a contract. You will find this simple axiom to be helpful in e-mini trading in zero sum markets: As the price action approaches an area of support or resistance (SAR) you should pay careful attention to the volume level to determine whether or not the price is going to continue through the support or resistance. Generally speaking, when volume increases dramatically at the SAR point, it is often an indication that the price is not going to pierce the line in question; conversely, low volume at an SAR point is an indication that the price will continue through SAR. Why? As I mentioned earlier in this essay, futures trading is a zero sum game and there are a finite number of contracts in play during normal market action. As the price approaches support or resistance, many traders will exit their positions; usually with the thought that the price is going to change direction. On the other hand, a new group, or the exiting traders will begin to buy or sell (depending whether we are discussing support or resistance) contracts in anticipation of the market price changing direction. In short, this phenomenon can be described as a two-seated game of musical chairs, with long and short e-mini traders exchanging positions at potential direction change points to match their expectations of future price movement. What is the evidence you can easily observe to confirm this process taking place? As the process of e-mini traders exiting positions and new traders entering positions takes place the result will be a spike in volume. When I observe spikes in volume I generally look for confirming indications of a direction change and trade accordingly. Of course, this is but one volume function you can watch and we will examine other volume action in futures articles to expand upon our understanding of the topic. In summary, I have stated that volume is poorly understood by most traders in e-mini trading and a careful look of volume can increase your comprehension of potential price action. Further, increased volume at SAR levels may indicate a change in direction, while lower volume may indicate the price action is going to continue through the support and resistance points. Finally, I have recommended Mr. Arms writing as a great point to increase your knowledge of volume effects in both zero-sum markets and markets that are populated with market makers.

Real Live Trading Doesn't Lie. Spend 3 days with me, in my trading room, and see if you are one of the many that can profit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here.

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The majority of my members make peace with trading through success; but there is a minority group of traders plow into e-mini trading like a brahma bull in a china shop, usually against my advice. I firmly believe that all traders can achieve some level of success if they are willing to take the time and understand the trader's mindset. But some e-mini traders, with visions of millions dollars of cash dancing in their heads, run into a hail of bullets in their quest to "get rich now." The results are predictable and consistent; disaster. If you are determined to blowout your account, I think I can help with the following 3 suggestions. 1. Make sure you don't follow the normal guidelines of trading only 1-3% of your account. To make the money of which you are dreaming, you need to trade the maximum number of contracts the brokerage will allow. If you are feeling particularly self-destructive try trading a little of the Monte Carlo system, where you double your bet on each successive loss, I mean, how many trades could one person lose in a row? After all, it only takes one win to double your money. You might also want to remember to keep moving your stop/loss point to accommodate your trade because the news that was just announced is going to eventually send the trade rocketing in your direction; it has to! 2. We often talk about overtrading. With few exceptions, there are usually 3-5 sweet set ups each morning; sometimes more, sometimes less. Be glad that you can see potential trades far in excess of the guidelines. Each morning you see 10 or more possible trades that might be profitable. It's important to take every trade that occurs to you, without looking for confirming factors like trend, indicators or order flow. You have a special gift for pulling out those obscure trades that the pros don't notice. Your motto is "trade early and often." 3. If, through some miracle, the first two methods described haven't decimated your account we are going to have to get into some serious counter trend trading, which is the most potent elixir for novice traders failure; it's almost guaranteed, so you can count on this method. Folks that like to blowout trading accounts can always count on trading those small retracements in a trend. In your mind, those ignorant pros are missing out on some golden opportunities by passing on the retracements. To really assure your demise, make sure you stake your money on a reversal on a pivot point, or even a fib line because the market has to stop there, it's a fib line after all. No, the trend is no man's friend; especially yours, trends are for the weak minded. In summary, follow these three rules to the letter and your account will be gone in no time. Make sure you use every day common sense to trade because that is exactly how the market works; at least it should work that way. Of most importance, make sure you trade often and the maximum number of contracts possible. There you have it, the perfect formula for failure. I just wish so many people didn't follow it.

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This is probably one of the critical problems that beginning e-mini traders face. Undercapitalization leaves a trader with very little "wiggle room" for errors while learning to trade. I've seen traders start with $2000 in the e-mini futures trading account and successfully build the account to a more workable size, but that is an extremely rare exception. No matter how much coaching and mentoring provided, e-mini trading is still an intensely personal road of discovery. What resonates with me may not resonate with you. It's important to find your style within the proper framework of the trading style you are studying. Some expenses to consider might be: 1. Data Feeds: When you open an e-mini trading account it is not uncommon for your brokerage to provide you with a free data feed. The quality of "house feeds" range in quality from quite good to horrible. While it may seem expedient to stick with the crappy house you would be making a mistake because many of these feeds have problems like: locking up, lagging the market and some are very hard to set up. I trade with a paid data feed and you can expect to pay, including the exchange fees, are $150 a month for a high quality data fee. I also want my feed to include the NYSE tick, an indicator that can be pretty handy. 2. Many firms offer a stripped down trading platform that will not give you the flexibility to trade with real time indicators; contrary to what many trading gurus espouse, I like a wealth of real time information on my chart and this takes a platform that has programs that are written for platforms that have an open source API. You can expect to pay around $50/month for a high quality platform that has many features you will want to utilize. I've signed up trading accounts that had a platform with 6-10 indicators and were buggy and executed trades poorly. You can only be a good as the tools you utilize. 3. Your trading account: I get a plethora of young traders who try to start to trade e-mini contracts with an initial deposit of $1500. I am not going to say that you can't build this account to a magnificent size, but that scenario is the rare exception. More often, a few bad or poorly thought about trades can decimate an undercapitalized trader and he/she will have to add more money to their accounts to keep trading. Undercapitalized accounts are often the problem beginning trading run into. A more proper capitalization figure would be $5000-10000 or more. This will allow you to make mistakes and not have a decimating effect upon your e-mini trading account. Of course, the better capitalized you can remain, the greater advantage a trader holds, as he/she can wait for a trade to develop properly. I get a real chuckle out of trading rooms that try to get big gains out of trades with very tight stops. One thing is for certain; at higher Average True Range levels you don't have a chance of winning if you stops are extremely tight. Time and time again studies have shown that the widest stops that remain in the comfort zone of the trader result in higher profits. 4. How will you learn to trade? There many books that offer advice on how to trade; but these books are usually stuffed with trading with the traditional lagging indicators, basic stuff you can pick up on an internet site. No, there is much more trading than reading about the MACD, whose author Gerald Appel, unequivocally states that it is a poor scalping indicator; yet it is not uncommon to see this indicator presented in trading books as the Holy Grail. My advice is to find a qualified teacher and get some time in his/her trading room and one on one mentoring where you will learn some of the stuff they don't teach in the books; information only experienced traders can share. These programs run as low as $1595(for one of the best ones) to $25000. In my opinion there is little difference in the quality of the courses. One of the most expensive is laughable in scope, but people seem willing to pay exorbitant prices for mundane e-mini trading instruction. In summary I have tried to give a realistic view of what a new trader faces from a financial standpoint. I should also point out that undercapitalization is probably one of the leading cause of beginning trader failure; you simply not afford to blow these $1500 accounts in succession and stay in the game. Don't trade without a properly capitalized trading.

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If there is a question that I am consistently asked when individuals inquire about my trading program it is "How long till I am making big bucks?" Conversely, if there is a question that is more impossible to answer it would be the same question. We are all different in the way we assimilate learning, and learning to trade e-mini's is no different. Okay, how long do most people take to become competent and consistent traders? It's an easier question; I have had traders tearing it up at two months and others that don't really catch on until about a year of experience. My general observation is the traders who have fortitude to get off the simulator the fastest generally have the fastest success. Why would that be? You don't learn from your mistakes on a simulator, it's not real. However, when a mistake costs you $100 you tend not to make that mistake again. I suppose lessons in trading are learned by trial of fire. Mistakes lead to the discipline necessary to not over trade, or trade against the trend, or a host of other trading mistakes. Oddly enough, I have found that I can talk until I am blue in the face about some of the most basic trading issues and until a trader makes that mistake my words have not sunk in. After one of those mistakes, they will often say, "oh, I see what you mean." Which says to me they listened to what I said and read what I wrote in the large training manual we distribute, but until they actually taste that bitter flavor of a basic mistake that costs them money, they aren't buying into what I am saying. I hear this from many of my colleagues, too. It is frustrating. That being said, there is a group of individuals who will never be traders. This is the toughest group to work with in training. Trading has little to do with how brilliant you may be; plenty of individuals of average intelligence are great traders. No, trading is a way of thinking. The thinking part is much more difficult to learn than the set-ups, how to set stops, all the basics. Usually when I hear a trader cussing and berating himself for a bad trade my antennae go up. I know I have a problem that may not be fixable. There have been volumes written about emotional control so I'll spare you the dynamics of that variable. With that being said, it is my opinion that the traders who will inevitably fail are the most emotional, least disciplined traders. In summary, I have tried to give an honest assessment of how long it takes to learn to trade. For some, they get it very quickly and others have to struggle a while before they are consistent and profitable. Finally, there is a group of traders who will not make it, usually for emotional/psychological reasons, but there can be other contributing factors, too.

Real Live Trading Doesn't Lie. Spend 3 days with me, in my trading room, and see if you are one of the many that can profit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here.

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