FOREX TRADING

By D Bennett

A trading plan gives a day trader points of reference as market action unfolds quickly in real time. It enables them to always know what to do next, and how to do it. Specifically the plan should answer four key questions.

1. When should a trade by opened?

You must specify some trigger which will signal you to take a trade, for example: (i) Buy if price moves down to a key support level or penetrates a resistance level. (ii) Sell if a "fast" moving average crosses below a "slower" one. (iii) Buy if an expected news item meets some specific criterion. The trigger must be clear, unambiguous and easily determined in the heat of battle. When the trigger is detected, you act.

2. How large should the trade be?

A signal to buy or sell is not enough unless you also know what size investment to make. In futures trading, this means knowing how many contracts to buy or sell. There are various strategies you might choose. For example: (i) Always trade the same number of contracts. (ii) Identify where the initial stop loss order is placed, calculate the level of risk per contract, and divide this into the highest level of acceptable risk per trade to find the number of contracts to trade.

It is very easy to get this wrong and find yourself carrying too much risk, or missing opportunities by being in too small a position. Trading with the right position size is possible the factor which makes the greatest contribution to the ultimate success or failure of the trader.

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A day trading robot? Gee Wiz! Sounds like science fiction, right? It did to me just a few years ago. I would have never imagined that such a thing was possible. First of all, I came from a school of thought that believed nothing could be programmed to trade the markets successfully. I strongly believed this and argued with anyone that crossed my path. “No automated day trading system could tackle the stock market; impossible!” or so I thought. I also said to myself, “How could a computer program successfully factor fear and greed [the emotions that move the market] into an equation designed to extract consistent short-term profits from the market each and every day?” Well…,

…the bad news is that there really isn’t a robot to day trade stocks. Sorry to burst your bubble.

But…the good news is that there is one that day trades currencies (you know, the great forex market that I love and have bored you over and over with throughout this website?).

No folks; this is not “Forex Made Easy.” This is “Forex Made Easier”- An automated day trading system that NOT ONLY comes with a highly sophisticated set of conditions to enter and exit the market, but one that also pulls the trigger (that is, executes the trades) for you, using proper money management without which day trading is doomed to failure. This automated system is also known as Forex Robot or FX Bot.

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In day trading, the most important thing is risk management. Surprisingly, many people jump into day trading without giving much thought to risk management. Manage your risk first, rewards will come later.

Day trading requires long term commitment. You have to be persistent. You need to improve continuously. That’s why risk management is important. If you do not preserve your capital, you will not be able to survive long in this game and you will be unable to reap the real profits.

So how do you start with risk management in day trading? Treat day trading as a business. Make a good business plan with proper targets. Risk management should be an important part of this business plan. Now risk management may require a number of different control levels like managing your account balance.Making sure, it does not fall below a certain level. Than you need to learn how to manage losses in each trade. Your business plan should be long term. You should think about yourself as a long term player.

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