Trading can be fun and exciting if you know what you are doing and painful if you don’t. Below are a selection of posts by Sam Eder, Sean Lee, and various professional traders, so take the time to learn from them it will make you a better trader and help remove the pain. It’s all about knowledge, the more you have the better you will be. Add in the FXWW Chatroom to your trading system as well to balance out your trading decisions.
10 Tips for Trading Forex from Home
One of the best things about trading is the flexibility of your lifestyle. You can trade anywhere in the world you can get a half decent internet connection, which these days is most places. Granted: not everyone can pack up shop and ship off to live on a tropical island and trade Forex, but for many of you, your trading will be done from home…more
Why Forex Trading Signals are a Superior Form of Trading
So you want to be a gun Forex trader? In the past, the pathway was to get a job at a major bank, but that pathway no longer exists. Instead, the wannabe Forex trader is left with some free charts, and an online minefield of mis-information to wade though. Rarely do they get contact with someone who has actually successfully traded for any length of time, which is exactly what the bank environment provided. If they are lucky, the trader will manage to make it on their own, through books and sheer determination. But most Forex traders never get that far…more
FXWW Connect: The missing link for the serious individual trader
In order to be a successful trader, you will need to develop strong and logical convictions. You will base these convictions, not on hearsay, guesswork and other people’s opinions, but on factual evidence. To build these convictions, you will need a constant stream of relevant news across economics, politics and current events. The primary source of news and data in the foreign exchange market is Thomson Reuters…more
Forex Traders, Time to Get Back to Basics
Will we finally see the EURUSD hit parity? Will Abenomics continue to drive the JPY lower? What will the drop in Oil mean for the CAD or currencies in general? But I am going to suggest you take a different route this year; Instead of trying to predict the market, focus on ten basic truths that many traders tend to ignore. If you do that, I can guarantee that you will finish the year a much better trader…more
Top Ten Reasons to Trade Forex
As recently as the late 1990s, a “veil of mystery” shrouded Forex trading. Many traders had beliefs that sounded something like: Forex is the “supreme discipline” of banks & hedge funds… I am just an individual trader. A 24h-market? … How will I work and sleep if I have to watch the market 24 hours? Trading currencies means trading entire economies… that’s too much to follow or understand…more
What I Wish I Knew When I First Started Trading Forex – Part 1
When you first start to trade Forex, it’s like trying to cross a minefield with a map you found on the internet. Unless you have been lucky enough to work on a bank desk (a path not available since 2008) or you have a trusted mentor, it will only take so long before “ka-boom”! That is why I spent (maybe 1000?) hours putting together The Advanced Forex Course for Smart Traders…more
What I Wish I Knew When I First Started Trading – Part 2
Simplify… but not so much that your strategy does not work
I’m sure you have heard it’s best to keep things simple when you trade. There’s a lot of wisdom in that saying, but it’s not as simple (pun intended!) as it seems on the surface. A successful trading plan may well be summarisable on a napkin but there are some skills you need to acquire as a trader that might be difficult for a beginner…more
Struggling with your exits? Here’s what to focus on
Exits are something that a lot of people struggle with. The good thing is that improving your exits is one of the best ways to improve your trading system. Here are a few points to consider: 1. Objectives. You need to be very clear in what you are trying to achieve. What size moves are you looking to capture, and how much profit are you willing to give back to achieve…more
On Capturing the Opportunities You See In Front of You
Do you ever just know that the market is going to head in a certain direction but your system does not allow you to trade it? Or perhaps you have just seen the move that your system is designed to capture, but you are not involved. These are common problems that traders face. If you find yourself frustrated by your strategy…more
Multiple Exit Rules—Exit Strategy (Part 1)
“Don’t think about what the market’s going to do; you have absolutely no control over that. Think about what you are going to do if it gets there” — William Eckhart
After you get into your trade, very rarely does your position go in a straight line to your profit objective. Instead, different things happen…more
Multiple Exit Rules—Exit Strategy (Part 2)
Last week we talked about how your exit strategy could be complex in nature so you can trade what is in front of you. The market changes during your trade and managing your position with aplomb requires more than one — or even just two — simple exit rules. This week we continue to delve into the topic reviewing the final six…more
Forex Exit Strategy Cheat-sheet
One of the easiest ways to improve your trading system is to work on your exits. By adapting your exit plan to market conditions, you get the best chance to let your profits run – and not give them all back when the market reverses direction.Executing your exit strategy in shifting market types is not as simple in practice as it is in theory…more
You Can Make a Lot of Money by Not Being Perfect
In our desire to be right, many of us have “perfectionist tendencies”. But this can be quite harmful to the system development process. If, instead of trading your system, you are constantly fiddling with it in search for the “Holy Grail” then you are probably leaving a lot of money on the table. As trader we suffer from recency bias…more
Do’s and Don’ts for Today’s Forex Market
There are some core principles we believe are imperative to navigating the Forex market effectively and profitably. These concepts are not complex, yet can be the difference between success and failure. These are our Forex rules to live by. Do’s and Don’ts for Today’s Forex Market. * Do spend more time on your position sizing rules than on your entries…more
Trade the “Cards as They are Dealt”
Too many traders take a one-card-trick approach to exits. They place a profit target and hold on for dear life. Instead, the smart trader plays the cards as they are dealt. Think of it like this: The trader’s first card is the equivalent of an Ace – The price goes quickly in the direction of their trade. But the second card is a seven – The price stops and starts…more
Group Control: Managing Correlations in Forex
One of the major position-sizing errors made by Forex Traders using a multi-currency pair system is failing to take correlations into account. Just as no man is an island, nor is any currency. (Especially in today’s world.) Imagine you have a number of long USD positions against different currency pairs. Now imagine a news release sparks a selloff…more
Q&A: How this Ex-Bank Trader Manages Correlations and Risk
Earlier this week I (Sam) wrote a post on managing correlations in FX, a critical aspect of risk management. In the post I mentioned that Jim Langlands keeps his basket of tradable currencies quite limited. Jim is an ex-bank trader with 30+ years trading currencies and is a signal provider at FX Renew, and an analyst at FX Charts. We had a question…more
Execute an Effective Risk Management Plan by Preparing for These 5 Critical Risks
The only thing that disturbs me is poor money management – Bruce Kovner The best traders play great defence first. They know that if they manage their risks properly, their “edge” will provide them with the opportunity to profit significantly in the long run. But managing risk is much more complex than simply putting on a stop-loss…more
Learn to Love What You Fear the Most
For some traders, volatility is the stuff of gods. They love the gigantic swings that even the most uneventful press release can sometimes cause in the golden age of the central banker. Others fear these quick and unpredictable moves. They prefer to run for cover and avoid volatility at all costs. But what if you could learn to love what you fear in the markets?…more
How to “Buy Dips” and “Sell Rallies”
When I talk to the ex-bank traders I work with, they will often refer to the market being in “buy the dip” or “sell the rally” mode. This is an old timey bank trader way of describing the current market type. But if the market is in one of these modes, how do you actually “buy the dip” or “sell the rally”? There are a few methods you can choose…more
The Science of Back Testing
Learning to trade Forex is part art, and part science. The “art” of trading is the creative thought process in uncovering good ideas and the discipline to follow through on those ideas without getting emotional about them and making mistakes. The “science” of trading is where statistics, probability, patterns and risk management…more
How to be a Global Macro Currency Trader
How does your current trade fit into the big picture? If the trades you take fit nicely into the larger scheme of things, you will find it much smoother sailing than butting heads against a macro trend.When you have a strong view about a currency pair based on its fundamentals, it helps in several ways…more
Your Position Size Should be at its Largest During the Meat of the Move
Your position size is what determines if you reach your trading goals. You can pull off a great entry, but if your position size is too small (or too big…) then you run the risk of not achieving what you set out to do. At the start of the move (when you have your variant perception), you want to be prepared to take a small sized trade…more
Options and their effect on currencies
Options are like magnets they tend to create battles between buyers and sellers. They can hold or draw currencies towards the expiry time, which is at the NY cut 10:00 am (14:00GMT) each week day. Depending on the size, large being $500m +…more
What to do When the Price Gets Close to Your Profit Target and Does Not Hit It
Have you ever been in a trade that has gone to within a few pips of your profit target and then reversed all the way back down and hit your stop loss? Not a pleasant experience at all! But fortunately if you use this simple technique it’s not one that you will have to suffer…more
Trading what’s In-front of You with Market Type Transitions
Today, I wanted to share what market types typically follow the one you are currently in. Trading is very much about probabilities, and if you know which market types will likely follow next then it can give you a big edge…more
Trading what’s In-front of You with Market Types: Advanced Techniques
What does “trading what’s in-front of you” mean? It is the craft of first noticing what is going on, and then responding effectively to what’s happening. In the Forex markets, having an effective response requires a framework of understanding, otherwise we tend to flail about willy-nilly, or stand on the sidelines paralysed and afraid. The good news is that market types…more
You Get What You Want From the Market
Do you know what you want out of the markets? Yes, I know people trade for money, but that is far from the only reason. Maybe you like the thrill of trading, or maybe you like to be able to brag to your friends about your wins…more
5 Steps to Constructing a Position Sizing Model That Fits You
Your position-sizing model allows you to play not only great defence, but also superior offense. Even so, many traders stick to a rote-learned rule, such as “risk a fixed 1 or 2% per trade” which gives them little flexibility to protect or maximize their trading…read
Career objectives for retail traders
The retail FX industry continues to grow and the career opportunities for passionate and talented traders are certainly plentiful. Last year’s lull seems to have weeded out many of the less-competitive market participants leaving us with a much stronger base…more
Notice What You Ignore
We tend to approach the markets with a set of blinkers on. For example, try listening to one of your friends talk about their trades. You can often pick up in what they say the beliefs they hold, and the premises from which they operate. Sometimes it can seem like they are talking in a foreign language!…more
Stop Trying to be Right
Many traders make all or nothing decisions when they place their trades. Everything is staked on picking the right entry point, and then getting the exit price exactly right. If they get either the entry or exit wrong, they get stopped out, or have to sit idly by while watching their profits evaporate…more
How the SNB Could Change the Retail Forex Industry for Good
Right, some big changes are afoot, and I’m going to do my best to make sense of this for you. It’s coming out of the woodwork that a number of retail brokers are going bust due to losses from being on the wrong side of the announcement by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) that they would no longer defend their currency peg against the Euro. First a bit of background…more
Three Ways to Scale-in to Your Trades
Scaling into your trades offers a couple of very big advantages. 1. You don’t need to be 100% right on your entries. When scaling in, you don’t need to get your entry level perfect, as you can take a small initial position that limits your loss, but leaves room for you to add more in response to market action…more
There is No Point in Setting Trading Goals Unless You Do This Too
We all have a certain return we want to achieve from our trading for the year. A good way to get started on securing that return is to set it as a goal. But setting a return goal on its own is not enough. To be successful, you need to focus on the process behind the goal…more
The Significant Importance of Having a Trading Business Manual
I’m sure you have all heard the expression “trading is a business not a hobby” by now. But what does this really mean? Imagine a business with no plan, no understanding of its edges, and no systems to support it. You would not think a business like that is set up to be successful. It’s the same with trading…more
The Significant Importance of Keeping a Forex Trading Journal
I often ask traders looking for an answer to their poor performance what percentage of professional traders record the results of their trades. The answer is of course invariably “100%”. I then ask the traders if they record their own trades, and get a “no” followed by an “aha” moment…more
The Significant Importance of Setting Goals for Your Trading
What troubles me about the majority of Forex trading activities is the sheer lack of strategy and purpose. I get lots of questions about technical analysis, news, and reports — factors that don’t support real trading goals. Yes, these things may be interesting, but they don’t get the aspiring trader very far because they are going about it the wrong way…more
The Significant Importance of Having Written Rules for Your Trading System
One of the things that keeps people from being successful Forex traders is their trading plans. Sounds obvious, right? But how often do you come across a trader with an intricate, subtle, beautifully crafted trading plan – dynamic enough to cater for their psychology, and the ever-changing markets, yet simple enough to apply when they are actually trading?…more
Good Trading Requires “Away From” and “Towards” Motivation
Are you one of those people that just can’t get up in the morning? You’re constantly slapping that damn alarm clock, and it’s only when you know that if you don’t get up RIGHT NOW, you’re going to have to deal with the consequences of being late.The thought of harsh words from your boss…more
Mastering Forex Market Types with Van Tharp
According to Van Tharp, expecting the same trading system to work in all market types is one of the main problems traders have in getting their system to work. He calls trying to make a system work in all market types “the definition of insanity”…more
Implementation is More Important than the Trade Idea itself
It’s not about being right, it’s about how much you make when you are right. Have you ever picked a trade perfectly, and then either not done anything about it, or taken only a small positon, and watched it do exactly what you thought it would? Your problem was implementation…more
What is the Optimal “Mental State” for Trading?
Many traders spend a substantial amount of time building up profits and then, just like that, they are gone. Why? Two reasons: 1. Their loss gets them something that they want out of the markets…more
A Practical 5 Step Pre-trade Checklist
1, Are you in the right state to trade? (About a 5 out of 7.) 2, Are you breaking any of your written rules on this trade? (You do have written rules, don’t you?) 3, Have you put the right position size into your trading system? (I hate to think how many times I have forgotten to add in the correct positon size!)…more
The Master Trader Mindset: Trading is a Game
Top traders think differently from the rest and one of the things I have consistently come across in my study of elite traders is that they view trading as a game. And not just any game. A game they have won before they started, and where they make the rules.Why is it important to trading success?…more
Are demo accounts relevant in establishing a track record?
In a word, No! The whole art of being a trader lies in ones ability to manage risk, maximise profits and minimise losses. A trader’s performance on a demo account will not give any insight into how they operate under pressure. If you are an absolute beginner and learning all the intricacies of the FX market…more
Picking Tops and Bottoms Can Be Done, but It Takes a Few Attempts
It can be tricky being a contrarian. Standing against the crowd and the trend is never the easiest of pursuits. And let me guess, you were taught: “The trend is your friend” So, why would you even bother trying to go against it?…more
How to Trade a Sideways Market Type
Sideways market types cause anxiety amongst trigger happy traders. After all, we are trading FX for the volatility right? And when there is none… it’s just not fun. But if you’re the patient type – one who likes to stalk the market like a hunter – sideways market types can offer some of the best risk/reward ratio trades….more
No One is Watching You, No One is Judging You
Have you ever felt fearful or anxious about your position? You have no reason to. No one is judging you, or watching your trade, except yourself. Who cares if your trade goes down and hits your stoploss? Or if it goes up and hits your profit target? The market certainly doesn’t. Any feelings or emotions you have about your position…more
Do You Truly Understand Liquidity Risk?
As the saying goes, “liquidity is always there until you need it most”. Liquidity disappearing is what happened in the 2008 financial crisis – things just shut down and people stopped trading with each other. It took the Federal Reserve to step in and provide liquidity to the markets to avoid a global financial meltdown…more
An Experiment about News and Price
Sometimes trading can be so easy. Your positions swim along nicely as predicted, and you can sit by happy as Larry as they approach your profit target. But sometimes good trades misbehave. When they should go down they go sideways, or worse…more
How to be More Disciplined in Your Trading
Without discipline traders fail to follow their own rules. They enter and exit on a whim, or perhaps, much worse, they fail to have any trading rules at all. In contrast a highly disciplined trader, executes their plan flawlessly without exception, even when it seems like the most difficult thing to do…more
Brief Note on Developing a “Variant Perception”
Variant perception is a term coined (to the best of my knowledge) by famous hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt. It means having an idea with an edge that is different to the consensus. For example, when the Fed started printing money for QE, the mainstream was preaching hyperinflation. The variant perception was that due to demographics, deflation…more
Don’t Sell the Strongest Markets Until They Fail
Strong one-way markets in currencies can go on for much longer than people might think. If your reaction to an over-bought or over-sold market is to take profits, you might be committing a cardinal trading sin – cutting your profits short. Instead of rashly closing out of your gains, you can follow these steps instead…more
The Nuts and Bolts of Constructing a Position Sizing Model to Achieve Your Trading Goals
Firstly be very clear on what you are trying to achieve. 1. Targeted return 2. Maximum acceptable drawdown. For example, I had a gentleman email me (who inspired this post) wanting to know how to build a position-sizing model that returned 25% a year, with a maximum drawdown of 10%…more
Don’t Confuse Activity With Accomplishment
Many new traders are very active, but without achieving much. They spend a lot of time reading news, taking in analysis, and digesting charts. This keeps them busy, but does not necessarily help their trading at all. Good trading does not need to require that much time. Instead, your time can and should be devoted…more
Don’t Confuse Activity with Accomplishment Part 2
I wanted to ask for some more thoughts to the topic because I think it is a big issue with a lot of traders. What are your thoughts? Many traders spend a lot of time trading, but only a small amount of their trades generate the majority of their profits. It’s the old 80/20 rule. 80% of the profit tends to come from around 20% of their activity…more
The Significant Importance of Having a Trading Manifesto
There is some “common” wisdom that a trading plan should be simple. This could not be further from the truth. A trading master plan is the accumulation of years of work trading, observing the market, and learning. It is very intricate, subtle and personal. I think this misconception about simplicity comes from confusion around the importance of timing…more
How Mistakes Destroy Trading Systems
Over the long-term, there are two ways that traders lose: They have a Forex trading system without an edge; or They make mistakes trading their system The latter is by far the more common of the two. But both are your responsibility…more
Is Being a Perfectionist Hampering Your Trading?
One of the problems I have with my trading (and with starting an online business) is that I have a tendency towards wanting everything to be perfect. For my first online business this meant that I spend probably over 50K more than I needed to building a website to a point where it was “perfect”, before I even started to market it. More importantly I wasted a ton of time…more
Axi Select Incubation Program for talented traders
FXWW is the sole manager of the Axi Select incubation program. We believe this to be a unique program which offers talented retail traders a clear pathway to becoming a professional trader. We know that the next generation of trading talent will come from the retail ranks, and this program will help us to develop these individuals…more
Do Nothing Unless There is Something To Do
Many traders don’t trade to win. They trade to get something else that they want from the markets. So instead of being patient and waiting for something to eventuate, they feel the need to always be playing. But you can’t rush the markets. If you try and force a position, it’s pretty much guaranteed to come back to bite you…more
Be Mistake Free
You make more money by eliminating mistakes than by improving your entry.
Elite traders prepare for their trading like an elite athlete prepares for an event the night before. They practice rituals to attain peak trading performance, trade in the zone, and be free of conflict and negative emotion…more
Make Your Weakness Your Strength
Do you have market conditions that you just hate? Maybe the trend is your friend, but your trading gets all in a knot during range bound markets. But what if you could transform the market conditions you hate into the ones that you love the most?…more
Definitive definitions: Prop traders, dealers, strategists, etc
I know most retail traders like to think of themselves as being traders, market makers, economists and technical analysts all rolled into one. This is not the case in the institutional world where each roll is very carefully defined…more
Are You Going Down the Wrong Trading Rabbit Hole?
The problem with trading is that it’s very easy to go down the rabbit hole, and after much time is spent find out it was the wrong rabbit hole. I can’t count how many times this has happened to me. I’ve dived head first into a topic that I though was the key to trading successfully, learnt every little nuance of it, and then…more
Be No Ego
11 points on being no ego. Some of these are quotes are from the notes I have on the Market Wizards books, but I can’t remember who specifically. It’s something that is common across great traders. Don’t be a hero, don’t have an ego. The people that want to be recognised as being good traders let ego get in the way…more
The Thing That Has Cost Me the Most Money in the Markets
The thing that probably has cost me the most money in the markets is a lack of organization. We all have different pressures on our time: family, work – all that jazz. I am no different. Even though I work full-time in the markets, much of my time is not spent on trading. This means that often, even though I have an opportunity or an idea, I end up missing it. And it’s not like I am looking to place a lot of trades…more