Types of Market Orders (Part II)

By Ahmad Hassam

Stop Loss Orders: If you dont use stop loss orders, you are leaving yourself at the mercy of the markets. A dangerous proposition with unlimited downside risk! Stop loss orders are critical to your trading survival. If the market moves against your position, stop loss orders are used to limit losses. The traditional stop loss order does just that. It stops losses by closing out an open position that is losing money.

If you are short, your stop loss order would be to buy but at a higher price than the current market price. Stop loss orders are on the other side of the take profit orders but in the same direction. If you are long, your stop loss order would be to sell but at a lower price than the current market price.

Trailing Stop Loss Orders: A trailing stop loss order is a stop loss order that you set at a fixed number of pips from your entry rate. As the market price moves, the trailing stop order adjusts the order rate but only in the direction of your trade.

Suppose you are long on EUR/CHF at 1.2654. You set the trailing stop loss order at 30 pips. The stop will initially become active at (1.2654-30=) 1.2624. The trailing stop loss order continues to adjust itself higher as the market moves higher. The stop adjusts itself and will become active at 1.244 if the EUR/USD rate goes up to 1.2674.

When the market puts in the top, your trailing stop will be 30 pips below the top. If the market ever goes down by 30 pips, the trailing stop loss order will be triggered and your open position closed. So in our example, you are long at 1.2654. You set the trailing stop loss at 30 pips and it became active at 1.2624.

Suppose the market never ticks up and instead the market goes straight down. You will be stopped out at 1.2624. Instead suppose the market first rises to 1.2664. Then the market declines 40 pips. Your trailing stop loss order will first rise to (1.2664-30=) 1.2634. It is at 1.2634 that you would be stopped out now.

You must have heard the saying often while trading: Cut your losses and let your winners run. A trailing stop loss order allows you to do exactly that. The idea is that in case of a possible winning trade, you wait for the market to stage for a reversal. The trailing stop loss order takes you out of your trade instead of you picking the right level to exit on your own.

Use of stop loss orders is critical in money and risk management. Never ever, trade without the stop loss orders! So the key to successful trading is to cut losing positions quickly and let winning positions run. This function is nicely performed by the trailing stop loss order. - 23217

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading and currencies. Discover a revolutionary new Forex Robot. Learn Forex Trading!

Learning to Develop Trading Discipline

By Ahmad Hassam

You need to develop trading discipline. If you come to a point in your market analysis in a trading session when you have no confidence on the accurate direction of the market forecast, choose not to trade. Always remember, a lost opportunity is better than lost capital.

You should wait for the market conditions to become clearer before you enter a trade. You should increase the probability of success by trading when the trade setups are strong and risk to reward ratio is not more than 1:2. This is far more important in forex than in stock markets. The forex markets move a lot as compared to the stock markets.

High leverage gives you the opportunity to make a lot more money much faster. If you don not clearly see an opportunity, try to sit on the sidelines and wait for the market conditions to become clearer. Let the market come to you. Learn to be a patient trader.

You should understand that leverage is a wonderful money making tool. It is the key to making money in the currency markets as no other markets allow high leverage that this market allows. A leverage of 100:1 means that for a $1000 deposit, you can trade $100,000. This huge amount of leverage gives you the opportunity to make the kind of returns that you want.

However, it also has the potential of making you lose some or all of your capital if you trade foolishly. Think about the credit cards. The bank lets you borrow huge sums of money on the promise that you will pay it back.

But in case you abuse your credit card. It can lead you into heavy debt. It can even result in bankruptcy. You should manage leverage in forex trading like you manage your credit card. You have $10,000. It does not mean that you should trade 10 lots and use all your $10,000 capital. Using all your capital in one trading session would be foolish on your part and highly risky.

A very conservative yet a very effective trading method would be to never use leverage of more than 20% on your capital. So you should only trade two lots with a $10,000 capital in your account. Using good money management rules and trading discipline, you can grow your account realistically in a short period of time.

Dont forget the power of compounding. The compounding factor applied to your capital can make it grow fast. Many people want to get rich quick. They take unnecessary risks while trading thinking that a few big wins will make them rich. They dont focus on proper trading principles. You need to develop the discipline in yourself to follow simple money management rules.

If you are trading a mini account, start by trading one position of one tenth of a lot. You will not make much money in the beginning as the position size is only one tenth of a normal lot. But the percentage of returns will compound over time and let you trade a much larger sum of money with the passage of time.

As a trader, you should make realistic goals that can be achieved over time. You should always trade with the money that you can afford to lose! Never ever trade with money that you cannot afford to lose! It is foolish. You should never borrow money to trade. You should not use money that you would use to pay monthly utility bills. You should not use your life savings. You should not think like a gambler. - 23217

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Know Swing Trading. Learn Forex Trading!

Technical Analysis - A Forex Training Guide

By Bart Icles

Being a beginner in the forex trading world can be very challenging. If you are looking forward to participate in actual trading, you might end up frustrated when you learn that you will still need to invest most of your time knowing more about the different factors that affect the market. Learning the basics is gruelling but this is the only way for you to effectively start a successful career in currency trading. In fact, a forex training on the basics of the market is not a guarantee for success, it merely makes it easier for you to understand the market and accept potential frustrations. One important thing that you will need to learn more about is technical analysis. This is a very important topic to know more about, especially if you are planning to participate in day trading.

To start, technical analysis is an effort to calculate currency price movements through an analysis of various market data. These data include volumes, historical price trends, open interests, and a lot others. Technical analysis is pretty much based on a historical principle, where there is always a possibility that things will recur over time. One should take note that although technical analysis involves an evaluation of actual data, it still cannot guarantee an absolute forecast of how things will turn out to be in the future.

If you think that indicators generated from a technical analysis will help you understand what will most likely happen to market prices over a certain period of time, you are more likely to be correct. Technical trading hinges heavily on charts and graphs. If you are looking into participating in day trading, it can be wise to invest on at least one charting or graphing software that can help you better read, understand, and plot data for your own reference.

Typical indicators involved in a technical analysis include simple moving averages, relative strength indices, moving average convergence or divergence, parabolic SAR, and Fibonacci numbers. You can find a forex training course on such factors in many online resources.

You might think that there is security in technical analysis because it takes into account historical market trends. However, you must remember that engaging in forex trading based on technical analysis alone can be risky because not everything that has happened in the past will happen the same way in the future. On the other hand, you cannot disregard a forex training on technical analysis, especially if you believe you will be making more short-term decisions than mid- or long-term calls in your forex career. Still, using a balance between technical and fundamental analyses appears to be the safest way to make investment decisions. - 23217

About the Author:

Your forex training software starts with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Using the best forex training takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

Do You Want To Know Of 2 Simple Ways To Avoid Bankruptcy?

By Emma Elvie

We all know that in today's society we all want to avoid financial difficulties as much as possible. However the truth is that many of us have found ourselves facing the most difficult times in our lives. While bankruptcy seems like the only way out; the the truth is that we all want to avoid using it only as the last step in the long road of financial pressures.

Most people who are trying to avoid bankruptcy find themselves coming to the internet in hopes of being able to find some alternatives; that is why we wanted to disclose 2 simple options that anyone can implement to help them get back on their feet. Many people have discovered that a debt consolidation loan is one of the best ways to close all their existing credit lines and will help them avoid bankruptcy.

Debt consolidation loans is an unsecured line of credit that will enable you to pay off all your outstanding and high interest debts. Even though this sounds like a great deal you want to ensure that you are borrowing from a reputable company that has great interest rates.

Many times this has helped people save thousands of dollars over a period of time and the great thing is the loan has be repaid over a long period of time. This will help most people get back on their feet and get their finances back in order.

Talking to a credit counselor so that they can teach you how to budget and put you on a budget plan is another great option. Even though it feels as though there is not other option that will help you avoid bankruptcy; the fact is that as long as you are willing to seek alternatives you may be able to find one.

Be honest with yourself about your finances after all you are the one who has to continue to live with them and visit our website below. You will discover some more valuable information and resources that will help you avoid bankruptcy. - 23217

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How To Stop Bankruptcy It Is Not Too Late! How To File Bankruptcy Online

How I Learned To Trade With TrendFollowingStrategies.com

By Bob LeBrun

I'm not what anyone would call an active trader in the stock market. I generally rely on my broker's advice and invest in low risk stocks and mutual funds. This strategy worked for me until the latest recession. I lost money on some investments and my return on most of my investments was poor. I decided I would have to take a more active role in managing my money.

While I was investigating ways to invest, I stumbled across TrendFollowingStrategies.com. I had seen some articles on trend following and I had an idea of how it worked, but I really didn't want to spend money on software or that much time following the market and trading. What I saw on the site impressed me. Instead of having to buy expensive programs, all I had to do was join the site. They do all the research. Even better, they only followed ETFs (exchange traded funds) which are a safer investment than most stocks.

TrendFollowingStrategies.com gives members advice on which ETFs to buy whether the market is in an upswing or a downturn. They track the trends in ETF trading and follow the stocks that are rising. They also advise their members when to sell to realize the maximum reward from the trade. I decided to join.

I joined TrendFollowingStrategies.com about eight months ago. It has worked even better than I thought it would. I'm not constantly glued to my PC trading stocks. In fact in eight months I've only made six trades and a fair amount of money. The information TrendFollowingStrategies.com sends me lets me know when to buy, when to sell and I can decide how much to invest in any trade.

I'm no longer worried about my investments. With TrendFollowingStrategies.com it isn't necessary to oversee the daily ups and downs of the market. In the eight months since I joined i've gotten a 23% return on my investments. It's easy and takes almost no time which is good, because i'd much rather play golf than monitor Wall St.

I'm more comfortable using this method of trading, because of the low risk factor. I don't want to have to worry about my investments all the time. Since the site only deals with EFTs, you have a minimal risk involved. EFTs are a little like mutual funds, and are fairly stable. I had investments in EFTs before the recession and I didn't lose much on those. This way I can maximize my return on these investments.

These strategies work better for me than time consuming methods of trading like hot stocks and the usual trend following methods. I can make money with little risk and still have plenty of time to enjoy my passions. I control my money, my money doesn't control me.

If you want to make more money on the market, but you don't want to spend all your time making money, I suggest that you join TrendFollowingStrategies.com. This way someone else does the work while you reap the benefits. You can make just a few trades a year and still make a good yield on your capital. If you become a member, you won't regret it. I'm am really glad I joined. - 23217

About the Author:

Find more on market trend trading and trend following systems.