Totally new to Forex!

ForexNewbie1

Trader
Jun 6, 2012
1
0
12
Hi guys

Up until yesterday i gambled for a long time however betting against the house never really turned up long term profits which made me turn to forex as a means of making somewhat consistent profits long term.

I am totally new to the game however i have watched various videos on Youtube which kind out outlay the basics.

What i know?

I know you should genuinely buy low and then sell high

I dont know!

When to buy? what signals do i look for
What do the candles mean?

Any free crash course which is online would maybe help i dont know however everything i have searched for online seems to be for people who are more knowledgeable about forex than i am now.
 

Easy Trader

Master Trader
Sep 17, 2011
240
5
59
Welcome! "buying high and selling low" is a tricky and vauge saying that hets passed around the trading community. As far as "when to buy or sell".....well thats the struggle that we all share together. The candles are a way of showing price movement. Here is a link off the top of my head that has alot of info. http://www.informedtrades.com/f111/
Being a gambling man I'm sure you understand the basis of finding and edge and playing it out....Trading is the same thing except you can manage your risk and place the odds in your favor way higher(once experienced) than any table game. I think blackjack was the top at 57%odd if I remember, and thats if you can count cards well. I'd say learn the market structure first then start trading some support/resistance and grow from there. Again welcome
 

inggo

Banned
Jan 13, 2012
498
12
59
Philippinese
welcome to the forum mate :) I'd like to addpipsology, just google it, its part of babypips community, you get all the basics that you need through a free online course and its the best way to start before tackling the more detailed part of forex, yes for constant earnings forex can do that just bare in mind that its a not an over night thing, but all the time that you speend to learn the trade is really worth in the long run :)
 

Beckett4x

Trader
Jun 21, 2012
4
0
17
i would highly recommend the babypips website, they have a school there were you can learn gradually, its very handy and its fun to learn through too :)
 

Beckett4x

Trader
Jun 21, 2012
4
0
17
also on most forex websites such as HotForex or Insta Forex, there is lots of info for beginners and video tutorials that may be of help to you.
 

Kathia

Trader
Jul 9, 2012
21
0
17
New to Trading

Hi ForexNewbie1
Trading is not easy. No ‘’crash course’’ will teach you how to trade successfully in a short period of time. There are so many elements to trading. Aside from the fundamental and technical elements, you must develop plans for your trading system (a plan and set of rules), money management (risk management) and psychology (discipline). Ignore any of these aspects and you will see in time how important they are.
You need to read and study the market, understand what moves the market. Only when you begin to understand what moves the market will you be able to analyse the possible future movements.
Study charts and how particular currency pairs behave. Study one pair at a time. Look at points of support and resistance. Watch how economic events affect the pairs.

How to trade successfully? : Simple answer is “make more profit than loss
You will have to pay particular attention to risk management coming from a ‘’gambling’’ background. Take small steps and learn little by little. The most experienced traders are still learning every day.

Find one strategy, practice it and perfect it. Then learn more, add to your system, update it and polish it. Be careful trying new methods (esp on a real a/c) – be consistent with one method until you have tested it… keep a journal of your trades to monitor your progress and determine weaknesses and strongpoints of both your strategy and your own trading style. If your journal shows your strategy is not profitable, after consistently following your rules, examine why and what you can add/amend to help. Then try your updated version. Remember you may not make profit on your first few trades, keep trying and weigh up the total outcome after a reasonable number of trades with one method.
  • Follow the trends
  • Stick to your rules
  • Monitor your discipline
  • Don’t overload yourself with too much information all at once… read/learn and then watch the market.

Look at charts – like learning the piano, you can learn and practice from a book but if you sit down and just play you will learn how to ‘’make music’’ – read and learn and then look at charts and watch how the instruments move – you can’t move the market of course however you can learn to follow its lead.

Best of luck with your trading and let us know how you progress and what strategies you come across. We are all here to support each other.
Remember: One step at a time
Kathia

(Kathia Lavie, Trading Analyst, Goldenschild Asset Management)
 

TheLastBear

Banned
Jul 11, 2012
192
0
0
I am afraid there is no such thing as a crash course. Since you are a total newbie get ready for some rough times out there. It is not easy, but I can tell you from my experience it is worth it.

I think the hardest thing for you will be to trade without emotions. That is key. Chose a good broker that you are comfortable with. I would recommend a micro account and not trading more than 0.01 lots when you do start using a live account.

You need to be disciplined, and that may sound easy but trust me it is very hard especially when the trade turns against you. The faster you learn to accept losses the faster you will be successful.
 
Apr 17, 2012
59
0
0
Hi guys

Up until yesterday i gambled for a long time however betting against the house never really turned up long term profits which made me turn to forex as a means of making somewhat consistent profits long term.

I am totally new to the game however i have watched various videos on Youtube which kind out outlay the basics.

What i know?

I know you should genuinely buy low and then sell high

I dont know!

When to buy? what signals do i look for
What do the candles mean?

Any free crash course which is online would maybe help i dont know however everything i have searched for online seems to be for people who are more knowledgeable about forex than i am now.

Well, I will give you a possible scenario when to buy and sell:

1) Lets assume prevailing (major) trend is down and we are in a minor up-trend. Strategy would be to sell when the current price on 5-minute chart falls below the 60 period moving average and the 60 period moving average line is sloping downward. Why? Because the prevailing trend is reasserting itself and the next move is likely to be down. Is there more we can do? Yes. Look for further confirmation. For example, if the minor trend had stalled for a while and the lows of the past half hour or hour are very close to the 5 minute moving average then selling just below the lows of the past half hour is a better place to enter the market then just below the moving average line.

2) Lets assume prevailing (major) trend is down and 5-minute chart confirms downtrend. Strategy would be to wait for a minor (up trend) trend to appear and reverse before entering the market. The reason for this is that the move is too “mature” at this point and a correction is likely. Since you trade with tight stops you will be stopped out on a reaction. Exception: If market trades through today’s low and/ or low of past three days (these levels will be apparent on the 15 minute chart) further quick downward price action is likely and a short position would be correct.

3) A better strategy assuming prevailing trend down, 5-minute chart down, and just above days lows is to BUY with a tight stop below the day’s low. Your risk is limited and defined and the technical condition (overdone?) is in your favor. Confirmation would be if today’s low was a bit higher than yesterday’s low and the price action indicated a very short-term trading range (1 minute chart) just above today’s low. The thinking here is that buyers are not waiting for a break of today’s or yesterday’s low to buy cheaper; they are concerned they may not see the level.

4) Generally speaking, the safest place to buy is after a sustained significant decline when the bottoms are getting higher. Preferably these bottoms will be hours apart. By the third or forth higher bottom it is clear a bottom is in place and an up-move is coming. As in the example above your risk is limited and defined – a low lower than the last low.

5) The reverse is true in major up-trends.

This might helps you to determine when to buy or sell now:eek:
 

eyeball

Master Trader
Sep 25, 2011
164
12
49
Although it can be tedious and difficult stay with demo accounts until you feel comfortable with the market and your trades are profitable with some level of consistency. Treat your demo as if it were the last money you will ever see in the world.Then with full confidence go foward live and prepare to lose all or most of your stake. How and if you recover from your fist set of serious losses will determine if you can learn to trade successfully.
 
Forex Newbie 1,

Welcome to the fray.

I was where you're at in mid-Feb. this year. I first learned the MT4 platdorm (a lot of hidden switches in there when you begin). Next, I started getting familiar with indicators. Your specific goal should be to learn to trade manually. Keep it fun and exciting. The money will follow.

There are 4 phases to Forex trading, lose a lot, lose a little, win a little, win a lot. Figure 2 months on each. I'm in my 9th month and just closed a $3K profit week. It's doable but you have to put your time in practicing. Ergo, the honored Demo account. Approach Forex with an open mind. You will begin to notice you've begun to develop a personal style of trading. Build on that.

I wish there was a cram course that works but, alas, only time will correct that. In the meantime, trade, read off the web, learn, take chances and enjoy yourself. There's nothing to lose in Demo. Keep your platform download handy. If you run out of money, uninstall and reinstall.

As a newbie, you're in freebie heaven. Make the most out of it! Have fun!
 

eyeball

Master Trader
Sep 25, 2011
164
12
49
Learning to trade is in some respects similar to learning how to play basketball. In our nieghborhood the venue for social intercourse was the BBall court . In order to make friends and be accepted by your peers, indeed to have any social standing one had to be able to play reasonably well in the pickup playground games that went on 365 days a year. To be able to achieve that acceptable level of play anf get " chosen in " you had to practise. More often than not you practised by yourself ,coming early to the courts and spending hours perfecting your jump shot, hook shot or whatever until you were willing to put yourself at risk and join a game of other guys with similarly novice abilities . Trading forex is nothing more than a big game and demo accounts can be likened to the practise court. Use those demos until you can achieve some level of consistent profitability.Examine each and every trade that went wrong and determine, if possible what you did wrong and why. However difficult it may be, try to learn from your mistakes and avoid,again if possible, making the same mistake again,Once you feel that you have leaned all you can from the demos you probably are ready to lose money on a real basis. Whether or not you succeed as a trader depends on how you learn and recover from your really painful losses
 

Rob Taylor

Active Trader
Oct 14, 2012
131
2
37
UK
www.tradeforexmakemoney.co.uk
There are 4 phases to Forex trading, lose a lot, lose a little, win a little, win a lot.

I like that analogy. You forgot to add, "blow out your account a few times". :)
 

krecex

Trader
Oct 8, 2012
72
0
17
Try to read some e-books before starting, doing this to get some basic idea of trading
Practice with demo account. Don't be harsh to open a real account until you are able to read the chart, predicts the movement and when it will be fall or rise. If you are still stuck, open babypips forum. This forum has several basic lesson for beginner.

Happy trading.
 

Habibmkt

Trader
Nov 11, 2012
1
0
22
Rajshahi
Find one strategy, practice it and perfect it. Then learn more, add to your system, update it and polish it. Be careful trying new methods (esp on a real a/c) – be consistent with one method until you have tested it… keep a journal of your trades to monitor your progress and determine weaknesses and strongpoints of both your strategy and your own trading style. If your journal shows your strategy is not profitable, after consistently following your rules, examine why and what you can add/amend to help. Then try your updated version. Remember you may not make profit on your first few trades, keep trying and weigh up the total outcome after a reasonable number of trades with one method.
 

Maria08

Banned
Oct 23, 2012
49
0
0
therefore best to use your time to learn, a lot of them are just learning to not listen to advice from those already experienced in because they think those suggestions are not so up to what's in their shadow, but that's all right,
they just realized after 1 or 2 years later
 

candle7779

Banned
Sep 27, 2012
352
0
0
Yeah defo, however the demo won't prepare you for the psychological battles that a real account has.
Why? Have you such experience. Please share. It is rather interesting for me. Now I'm trading on demo account and wanna to begin with live. Thanks.