Gann Angles - The Secret of Better Market Timing for Big Profits!

W D Gann was an innovator in technical trading systems and made fortune of over 50 million dollars Gann died in 1955, but his methods live on and traders around the world use them for big profits.

Gann angles are a tool used by many savvy traders Quite simply Gann angles allow you to pinpoint your entry and exit levels for great profit potential. Let’s look at the effectiveness of Gann angles

Gann based his investment strategy on the fact that by studying the Past, We Can Predict the Future. He assumed the following:

1. Price, time, and range are the only three factors relevant to market movement.

2. Markets are cyclical in nature.

3. The markets are geometric in their design and in function. Gann knew that market movements were a reflection of human nature which is constant over time, and this shows up in repetitive price patterns that can be seen with the right tolls and traded for profit.

Gann’s techniques & use of angles

Based on the above, Gann's used three ways to predict market behavior

1. Price study– This uses support and resistance lines, as well as pivot points and angles.

2. Time study – This looks at historically reoccurring dates derived from natural order.

3. Pattern study – This studies market swings using trend lines and reversal patterns.

Gann Angles

Using Gann angles requires practice, but here are the basics of what you need to do

1. Determine the time units - The way to determine a time unit is to study charts and look at the distances in which price movements occur.

Put the angles to the test and see how they perform.

The intermediate time frame (between 1 and 3 months) tends to produce the best amount of accurate patterns and is the time frame to focus on, rather than say, daily or multi year

2. Determine the high or low from which to draw the Gann lines –

The best way to achieve this is to complement it with other technical tolls such as. Fibonacci levels or pivot points.

Gann looked at what he referred to as "vibrations" or "price swings." He found these by analyzing charts using tools such as Fibonacci numbers.

After the above has done you then need to decide which pattern to use:

1. The two most common patterns are the 1x1, the 1x2, and the 2x1.

These are purely variations of the slope of the line.

For example, the 1x2 is half the slope of the 1x1. The numbers simply indicate the number of units and the slope.

2. Look for patterns to trade the direction will be either downward and to the right from a high point or upward and to the right from a low point.

3. Always look for repeat patterns on the charts The whole basis of Gann’ theories are that markets are cyclical in nature and patterns repeat and can be traded.

Using Gann Angles for Trading Profits

Gann angles are great for predicting support and resistance levels.

Many other trading methods use support and resistance lines; however Gann angles add a greater insight for traders - in that they are diagonal.

The best Gann Formation

The optimum balance between time and price is when prices move identically in synch to time. This is present when the Gann angle is at 45 degrees.

There are nine different Gann angles to use.

When one of these lines is broken, the following angle will then provide the next level of support or resistance.

Gann made a lot of money, a fortune in fact of over 50 million dollars and Gann angles helped him to do it, so discover what they could do for you today!

Trading as a Home Business

There is one other category of home business that offers outstanding earning potential and in many ways is better than any of the other business ideas we’ve covered so far. It’s not for everybody, though, as there is some risk until you know what you’re doing. But once you learn the right strategies and techniques the sky truly is the limit. What we’re talking about of course is TRADING.

Trading is a good business to consider for aspiring work-at-home entrepreneurs because it allows you all of the benefits that you want from working at home without some of the hassles that come along with owning a traditional business. These advantages include:

· No employees to hassle with. Now or ever.
· No products to create, develop, research, or stock.
· No marketing strategies to develop.
· No phone ringing off the hook constantly.
· No set hours to deal with.
· No unhappy customers to contend with.
· You get the idea…

Is trading for everybody? No, probably not. You have to be able to work by yourself with limited contact throughout the day. This means that you have to be something of a self starter. What if you’re not a self-starter? Well, if you want it bad enough you will find ways of working around a problem like that. Become an active participant in an online trading forum, or find a local trader club to get involved with. Once you get successful, you’ll find that you have more time on your hands to do the kind of things you want to do (think…semi-retirement….), and you might end up not minding the time you get to spend alone while working your trading business.

Active trading (as opposed to passive investing such as plopping some money into a mutual fund and hoping) is a skill that’s part art, part science, part luck, and a lot of hard work. You must be disciplined and well organized, too. There’s an old saying that says if something’s worthwhile then it’s probably not easy. And even though that’s definitely true about trading, don’t be discouraged from trying because SUCCESSFUL TRADING CAN BE LEARNED!

In case you missed that last statement, let me say it one more time:

SUCCESSFUL TRADING CAN BE LEARNED!

Yep, that’s right! Despite what you may have heard, read, or been told to the contrary, trading is a skill that can be learned by just about anyone. The great thing, too, is that once learned you can apply your trading skills to any market at any time. Stocks, commodities, Forex…whatever you like, they all follow the same basic rules and can be traded in similar ways.

So, let’s say you’d like to learn to trade, but have no idea where to start. What you need to do is find a good study course and spend some time studying. Most people will want to concentrate on just one type of market, especially starting out, so which market is right for you and how do you decide?

Although there are many factors that you need to consider when deciding which market to trade, it boils down to just a few criteria:

· Money making potential
· Flexibility of trading hours
· Risk Control
· Availability of critical information
· Can you sleep at night

Without going through each criteria one-by-one for each type of market, I’ll just make a quick statement: My own research has led me to the conclusion that the Forex market is the best overall choice given the above criteria. Forex trading has great money making potential since it offers leveraged positions, and the hours are infinitely flexible since it is traded 24 hours a day. Risk control is better in Forex than commodities because Forex brokers limit your risk to your account balance

Winning at Commodity Trading

Commodity Exchanges offer the facilities for the organized marketing of most commodities. These include grain, wheat, cocoa, sugar, soya beans, wool and livestock. It also includes metals and minerals, such as gold, silver, copper and tin.

The rationale behind this marketplace is to allow commodity producers to sell their produce in advance of delivering them. By doing this they are able to 'hedge', i.e. ensure a minimum price which they will receive, and hence secure financing from their bank.

The process of commodity trading, also known as futures trading, is where Commodity buyers and sellers are hedging risk, or speculating. You do not actually buy anything or own anything. A speculator risks capital for a spectacular gain - buying commodity futures when the price is presumed low and selling when high! Prices vary due to both internal and external influences eg weather conditions, and political change or unrest.

The participation of these speculators increases the likelihood that a sale can be made, i.e. that a current market price exists. It also injects into the market an additional party willing to accept risk in return for an expected margin. Relatively risk-averse producers are complemented by specialists whose livelihood is made by managing risk.

With stock trading and share trading, traders only sell securities which they already possess - 'short-selling' is generally prohibited. In futures trading there is no such limitation, and therefore speculators can enter the market as buyers or as sellers.

In addition to speculators, both the commodity's commercial producers and commercial consumers also participate. The principal economic purpose of the futures markets is for these commercial participants to eliminate their risk from changing prices.

To enable you to make informed decisions about when to trade commodity futures, it is important to have a source of price data. Many daily newspapers carry some commodity prices in their financial sections. The Wall Street Journal has comprehensive commodity price listings. Investor's Business Daily has both price tables and numerous price charts.

Experienced commodity traders prefer to look at price activity on a chart rather than trying to interpret tables of numbers. In financial analysis, charts are imperative for quickly understanding the historical and recent price action.

Remember how professional trader and money manager Russell Sands describes the makeup of a successful trader: "Intelligence alone does not make a great trader. Success is equal parts of intellect, applied psychology, practice, discipline, bankroll, self-understanding and emotional control."

So - learning to trade is a mixture of being exposed to ideas plus studying the markets on a day-to-day basis. Beware - this is not something that happens overnight - it does take time - so - do not become impatient. AND bear in mind that the Commodity Market is described as profitable, risky and complex!

Options Selling – 5 Simple Success Tips

If you buy an option, there’s a 90% chance it will expire worthless - therefore, the person who sold the option to you has a 90% chance of success.

Most traders don’t consider selling options, as they see it as too risky - but the odds of success are high, and if you do it correctly, you can reduce risk, and make huge profits over time, with the odds firmly on your side.

How to Sell Options

Selling options offers unlimited risk, with limited profit - and that’s why many people don’t like selling options. There’s a high amount of risk for a low reward - but to balance this, the odds of success are high - very high!

Options buyers think they have a great deal - with unlimited profits, and limited risk - but the odds are simply not in their favor. This is very similar to the losing gambler, who backs the outsider - sure, the rewards are fantastic - but the chances of winning are slim.

The key to option selling, is that you’re trading with the odds firmly on your side - and you can improve your chances of success, by following these five tips:

1. Let time decay work in your favor - the less time an option has to expiry, the more time decay will hit value - increasing your odds of success.

2. Sell into price spikes, when markets move quickly, sell premium. Great markets are those that have had unsustainable price moves that are due a pullback.

Great markets to sell options in are ones driven by greed and fear.

Watch the papers and newswires for markets that have heavy public participation - and there are “sure fire” reasons the move will go on forever. You know the move won’t go on forever, and a pullback will occur - and you can collect sizeable premiums from the inexperienced traders, who believe the hype.

3. Diversify your selling across a number of uncorrelated markets - keep in mind that you have unlimited risk, so don’t have all your eggs in one basket.

Not every trade will go in your favor, and there will be moves that see prices spike, to trade in the money against you - make sure you have a wide enough spread to cover losses.

4. If in doubt get out - if the option you have trades in the money, get out and cover - to succeed in options selling requires great discipline in these situations.

How to Win the Forex Battle

Every trading activity is in fact participating in a battle. Winning the battle is a matter of knowledge, skill and experience. If you miss any of those you are going to join the long line of losers. Some says that 95 to 99 percent of the traders are lining up on the loser’s side.

How to win the battle in the currency market? It is easy to answer that question, based on the above approach – prepare yourself for the battle. If you treat currency market activity as a hobby you’ll ultimately lose all investments there. If you treat it as a business you still may loose everything.

The correct approach is: consider each pressing of the Buy/Sell button as entering a battlefield. If you enter it without having a knowledge, skill and experience on how to win, you are destined to fail. You may have some lucky trades in the beginning, though. That, by the way, is the worst case scenario for the rookie in trading.

The earlier you get your “bad” lessons, the better for your overall experience. No mater how good you consider yourself prepared, after demo trading lessons, you have no idea of the forces ruling on the real market.

In fact the worst enemy you are going to face in the very beginning is not hiding behind the walls of the global currency trading centers. Your most dangerous foe is hiding deep inside of you. That enemy is so powerful that you will be amazed how quickly it will wash away all your carefully considered decision.

No one has been able to evade the force of that destructive power. No one can understand or realize that force unless it has been confronted face to face. Start trading with real money and you will face it too. Fear, Greed or Hope are some of the names of that power.

Fear forces you to sell near the bottom and buy near the top. Greed forces you to get out of the market prematurely. Hope will keep in the trade until you loose everything. Fear may save you but hope may wreck you completely. Greed will never make you rich.

It is easy to give advice to trade without emotions and use the logic, only. How you can achieve that if you never have been there. You need to go through that turmoil, pick up your loses due to your emotional decisions and than analyze.

Study all your “bad” trades, because they are the most precious gifts on the way to proficiency in trading. Growing as an experienced trader is possible only after getting your losses in the beginning. Then sit down and carefully study the lessons they brought to you.

One thing traders never want to do is to admit of being wrong. The market is a constantly changing and it demands flexibility in taking decision. That implies monitoring and constantly adjusting, changing your decision and action. When your logical analyzes suggest that you are wrong – get out, quickly.

Once you overcome the emotions, concentrate on developing your signature way of trading. You can start with following different advisors and system and picking from them the things you like. Demo trade and test your ideas until you find the trade system which is matching completely your personality.

Now, you have to go back to emotion in a controlled way. Every time your system suggests a trade look inside you and see how you feel about this trade. You feel bad – discard it. If you feel good – keep it.

Here comes the final step: Looking for the final approval sign before submitting the trade. Here is the time, where the mastership shows up. Your weapon is loaded, the target is clearly seen on the visor and the finger is on the trigger. You have to make that final exhale, get the target over the cross point and shoot it.

How much knowledge, skill, experience and patience you need to build within in order to reach that very final stage of trading proficiency? Only you’ll know that and only you can do it. The rest is just numbers in your bank account.

Building a fortune by trading currency is not a mirage in the desert of live. There are hundreds of traders who are making living of that business and you can do it too. Study all you can find on the net and follow the steps of the best if you want to win that battle.

Some Advice before Entering Forex Trading

There is an ideal mindset, character, and mental attitude that traders need to acquire. I say “acquire” because few people have the innate personality that makes this mindset “natural” With respect to your trading, this involves being free of anxiety, fear, despair or regret. It also involves being able to remain calm, confident, focused and disciplined in the face of adverse trading outcomes.

Trade with a Disciplined Plan

The problem with many traders is that they take shopping more seriously than trading. The average shopper would not spend $500 without serious research and examination of the product he/she is about to purchase, yet the average trader would make a trade that could easily cost him/her $500 based on little more than a feeling or hunch. The plan must include stop and limit levels for the trade, as your analysis should encompass the expected downside as well as the expected upside. Be sure that you have a plan in place before you start to trade.

Good Execution Good Anticipation

Everybody knows that trading is a number game. I mean, our success is not depend on the outcome of the next trade, our success is depend on the overall profitability of many trades. So, while we are trading, whether the last trade we did was profitable or not is definitely not important. There is no point drawing conclusions on the outcome of just one –or even a few-trades. We can only access our anticipation skills when we have made a reasonable number of trades and see the longer-term result of our action. It is so important that when we are trading, our goal should be focus on executing our trades with ruthless efficiency and to judge only that. If you consider the ways that you lose money trading, you will find that it is down to poor execution, rather than poor anticipation.

Cut Your Losses Early and Let Your Profits Run

This simple concept is one of the most difficult to implement and is the cause of most traders demise. Most traders violate their predetermined plan and take their profits before reaching their profit target because they feel uncomfortable sitting on a profitable position. These same people will easily sit on losing positions, allowing the market to move against them for hundreds of points in hopes that the market will come back. In addition, traders who have had their stops hit a few times only to see the market go back in their favor once they are out, are quick to remove stops from their trading on the belief that this will always be the case. Stops are there to be hit, and to stop you from losing more then a predetermined amount. You simply allow your profits on the winners to run and make sure that your losses are minimal. What is it about cutting a loss that is so hard?

Do Not Over Trade

Do not bet on the farm. One of the most common mistakes that traders make is leveraging their account too high by trading much larger sizes than their account should prudently trade. Leverage is a double-edged sword. Just because one lot of currency only requires $1000 as a minimum margin deposit, it does not mean that a trader with $5000 in his account should be able to trade 5 lots. One lot is $100,000 and should be treated as a $100,000 investment and not the $1000 put up as margin. Most traders analyze the charts correctly and place sensible trades, yet they tend to over leverage themselves. As a consequence of this, they are often forced to exit a position at the wrong time. A good rule of thumb is to never use more than 10% of your account at any given time.

Do Not Marry Your Trades

The reason trading with a plan is the #1 tip is because most objective analysis is done before the trade is executed. Once a trader is in a position he/she tends to analyze the market differently in the hopes that the market will move in a favorable direction rather than objectively looking at the changing factors that may have turned against your original analysis. This is especially true of losses. Traders with a losing position tend to marry their position, which causes them to disregard the fact that all signs point towards continued losses.

So should you before you trade. In order to start the trading day in the optimum state of mind you should take 15 to 20 minutes to prepare. Treat each day like an elite athlete prepares for a competition. Here is how to do this:

1. Get yourself in a comfortable sitting position and close your eyes

2. Breathe in and out slowly, pushing your stomach out each time you breathe in

3. Consciously relax all your muscles

4. Focus your entire attention on your breathing

5. When your mind starts to wander (as it will) re-focus on your breathing so that you eliminate from your consciousness whatever your mind had started to think about -including bodily sensations

6. Become aware of being exclusively -in the present moment. Exclude memories or thoughts about past events, and worries or anticipation or planning about the future

7. Do this past the point of boredom, until your restless mind settles down and you enter a peaceful, relaxed state. This usually takes 15 to 20 minutes, but it can be longer for some people

W.D. Gann Trading Methods - Genius Trader or Overrated Guru?

W.D. Gann is one of the most famous traders of all time, and has a huge devoted following - however the fact is, Gann never made the huge profits many of his disciples claim.

He did not have a success rate of 90%, as is often claimed - the logic his methods are based upon are unsound, and his predictive methods don’t predict - they leave everything to subjective opinion!

Let’s examine his theories of investment in more detail and see.

Let’s look at some common myths about how great a trader Gann actually was:

Many sources quote Gann’s trading profits at $50 million dollars, however this is not true.

An interview that Alexander Elder had with his son tells the truth.

Firstly, his son confirmed that when his father died in the 1950s his estate was valued at just $100,000 - and that included his house.

Secondly, his son confirmed that Gann was unable to make enough money from trading, and therefore supplemented his income by writing and selling courses.

W.D. Gann’s Predictions

Many sources quote he had a success rate in all his trades of over 90% - again not true. We can easily deduce this from the value of his estate.

If he could make money trading and had a 90% success rate, he would have made hundreds of millions in his trading career - and he clearly did not - that’s why he had to sell books and courses.

The only evidence of a 90% success rate came from a small number of trades - and was not representative of them all.

Gann’s Methods are Predictive

Gann came to the conclusion that all natural phenomena are cyclical - including financial markets. This is true, but this is an obvious statement - we all know we’re going to die but when exactly?

A predictive theory is not a predictive theory if it can’t predict.

If Gann’s theory really is predictive, then there would be no market - as we would all know the price in advance!

Gann’s theory is subjective - and he really had no way of predicting the future with accuracy. It’s all subjective analysis and this is NOT a predictive theory.

Gann’s Logic

The basis of Gann’s theory is the principle that price and time must balance.

His methods are based on the squaring of price with time - this occurs when a unit of price equals a unit of time.

Gann for example would take a prominent high in the market, convert that dollar unit into a specified period of time and project it forward. When that time is reached, price and time are squared - and a market turn is due.

What? - How can one unit of price equal one unit of time? If you think about and answer this question for yourself, you will see how absurd the connection is.

This isn’t the only inconsistency used in his analysis - we also have the legendary Fibonacci numbers which are supposed to work with stunning accuracy - but they don’t, and neither do all sorts of astrology and geometry, that appeals to the far out investment crowd.

As we have seen, Gann was a trader who had modest success, and claimed to have discovered a predictive theory - which predicts nothing with accuracy.

Finally, we have so many subjective indicators cobbled together, that the theory can prove anything in hindsight, but if you want a tool to trade the markets look elsewhere.

Planning Trades To Control Risk

The problem with many traders is, they only have half a plan, the easy half. They know how much profit they're willing to take, but they don't have the foggiest idea how much they're willing to lose. They're like a deer in the headlights, they just freeze and wait to get run over. Their plan for a position that goes south is, 'Please God, let me out of this and I'll never do it again,' but that's wishful thinking, because if by chance the position turns around, they'll soon forget about God. They'll go back to thinking that they're geniuses, and they'll always do it again, which means that they're sure to get caught, and get caught bad.

I have a true story I’d like to share. It’s about a broker I knew and a Canadian dollar trade she made. It goes like this:

I received a phone call from this lady moaning about a Canadian dollar trade she was in. She was managing money and had all of her clients in this particular trade. Canadian dollar, at least at that time was, and still can be, a thin and extremely volatile market, and is best traded by people who have a genuine need to trade them. But she was in and in up to her neck in trouble. She said, “Joe! I don’t know what to do! If the Canadian goes down any more I’m going to wipe out all of those accounts.” She told me she had been so sure the market would move up, that she never even planned the amount of risk she was willing to take, and by the time she had determined where to put a protective stop, Canadian dollar had shot past that point.

I told her I had no idea of how she could get out of her predicament and that was an honest answer. I really did not know what she could do.

Apparently, she decided to pray! She called me back that evening and told me she had gone into the ladies room, closed the door on the booth, and knelt down and implored God to get her out of the mess she was in. She promised that she would never again trade the Canadian dollar, if he would just save her skin from disaster.

The following day, the Canadian dollar opened gap up, and moved to a point where she could get out at breakeven. She took the opportunity and got out. Later that day, the Canadian dollar moved even higher. Two weeks later, she was back trading them once again.

The lady broker had no plan for what she would do if the market moved against her. Whatever planning she did was done after, not before entry into the market. She irresponsibly took unlimited risk with client accounts, having no idea of her exit point.

But perhaps worst of all, she was dishonest with both herself and her clients. She vowed to never trade that market again. Where was the discipline and self-control she needed to keep her promise?

How many of us do the same thing when we trade. We make mistakes, vow to never make them again, and then do the same dumb things all over again. We take risk without planning or realizing just how much risk we are truly taking. Then the market teaches us a painful lesson. I think you would agree, markets are very good at doing that.

Joe Ross has been trading for more than 47 years, and is a well known Master Trader. He has survived all the up and downs of the markets because of his adaptable trading style, using a low-risk approach that produces consistent profits.

Joe is the creator of the Ross hook, and has set new standards for low-risk trading with his concept of "The Law of Charts™." Joe was a private trader for most of his life. In the mid 80's he shift his focus and decided to share his knowledge. After his recovery, he founded Trading Educators in 1988 to teach aspiring traders how to make profits using his trading approach. He has written 12 major books on trading. All of them have become classics and have been translated into many different languages.

Trading In Black And White Forex Trading Newsletter – 5/19/06

Well, another great day of trading. Our resistance level of 1.8900 held beautifully at around 3:30 am EST. In fact, the high on Cable on our trading platform was 1.8906 up until the news releases began.

We took our short at 1.8900 and covered one of our trades at 1.8860 for 40 pips and the second at 1.8845 for 55 pips.

At 7:00 am EST, half an hour before the news releases were to begin, we got out of our trade and did nothing else till 11:00 am EST.

Actually, we didn’t do anything else for the rest of the day, but our more aggressive traders found some very nice long trades later on in the morning.

Since that trading style is not our specialty, I don’t want to get into it into much more detail. But, for your knowledge, they used a combination of trend lines and Fibonacci lines.

They are great examples of what you can do if you know how to use all of the tools available to you. In the “Trading In Black And White Forex Trading Course” you will learn how to develop your own unique trading style.

Many of you will be able to outperform our trading, just like those traders did today.

We can not stress enough how important it is to get a quality Forex trading education. This is the only way that you will be able to reach your Forex trading goals.

Surely you have all seen our amazing trading results this week. We haven’t flipped flopped on any of our opinions or trading levels at all.

We haven’t hid any losing trades from you, we just haven’t had any this week. We had some last week, and we let you know about them. The week before, also, was a perfect trading week.

We just wanted to make sure that you realize that we do share our results with you as much as possible. We are trying our hardest to get you to understand that the potential in the Forex markets.

If we haven’t convinced you yet, with these amazing results over the last 3 weeks, than there is nothing more we can do.

With last nights 95 pips, this week netted us 455 pips. We generally don’t put in trades on Friday…well at least I don’t, so I can’t give you any thing for tomorrow.

So, now this puts our month at almost 1200 pips…AND THERE IS STILL A WEEK LEFT!

Let’s turn this into an example based on dollars. If you had a $10k account, and only traded 1 lot, you would have earned $12k…or 120% of your account. Remember, this is only trading 1 lot.

Also, we only discuss Cable in our newsletters. That’s just one of the 4 major currency pairs, and there are at least 2 others that are tradable.

Do you see how much potential there is in the Forex markets? How much more there is to make than we show you?

We find these support and resistance levels using a set of technical indicators and other variables that we have found to be most successful for us. We use several other indicators and a variety of technical analysis techniques to enter and exit all of our trades. Every trader will have a different combination of indicators that makes the most sense to them. Learn how to develop your own successful Forex Trading style with our Elite Forex Trading Course or Forex Seminar.

Online Currency Trading

Modern monetary systems are far superior to the barter system people used in the old days. Inefficiency and lengthy negotiation were the main reason the barter system became obsolete. Later, bronze, silver and gold came to be used as mediums of exchange in trade.

Globally, currency trading is a major business, and it is estimated that over US$2 trillion is traded everyday. The system of currency trading is also referred to as foreign exchange, Forex, or FX for short. The currencies traded have a relative value to other currencies. The trading uses the purchase and sale of large quantities of currency to leverage the shift in order to earn profit.

Fluctuation in the relative value of a currency is caused by two reasons. The first reason being the “real” market, i.e. in case a foreigner wants to buy a commodity, he is forced to convert his domestic currency into the currency of the visiting place, the currency also fluctuates as it leaves a state.

Speculation is another factor on which the currency fluctuates. The heavy buying and selling in the market can drastically impact the value of the currency. This speculation has been responsible for drastic consequences on the national currency, consequently hampering the growth of a country’s economy.

Analysts also consider online currency trading a very “fast market” which is highly volatile. An individual has to take into account technical and fundamental data and make an informed decision based on his perception of forex futures trading market sentiments and market expectations to become a successful trader. One of the variables that is most important in currency trading is timing. The trader has to be aware of the happenings in the market, and also has to understand the nuances of the market to play safely.

Banking conglomerates and large multinationals were the movers and shakers in trading before small investors entered into the market and changed the face of the industry. Although professional help is usually needed before individuals or companies start currency trading, an individual with good understanding of business can also try his luck in the practice.

Online Currency Trading

Modern monetary systems are far superior to the barter system people used in the old days. Inefficiency and lengthy negotiation were the main reason the barter system became obsolete. Later, bronze, silver and gold came to be used as mediums of exchange in trade.

Globally, currency trading is a major business, and it is estimated that over US$2 trillion is traded everyday. The system of currency trading is also referred to as foreign exchange, Forex, or FX for short. The currencies traded have a relative value to other currencies. The trading uses the purchase and sale of large quantities of currency to leverage the shift in order to earn profit.

Fluctuation in the relative value of a currency is caused by two reasons. The first reason being the “real” market, i.e. in case a foreigner wants to buy a commodity, he is forced to convert his domestic currency into the currency of the visiting place, the currency also fluctuates as it leaves a state.

Speculation is another factor on which the currency fluctuates. The heavy buying and selling in the market can drastically impact the value of the currency. This speculation has been responsible for drastic consequences on the national currency, consequently hampering the growth of a country’s economy.

Analysts also consider online currency trading a very “fast market” which is highly volatile. An individual has to take into account technical and fundamental data and make an informed decision based on his perception of forex futures trading market sentiments and market expectations to become a successful trader. One of the variables that is most important in currency trading is timing. The trader has to be aware of the happenings in the market, and also has to understand the nuances of the market to play safely.

FOREX Online System Trading- For Bigger Profits

The rise of the Internet and cheap powerful computers has made FOREX online system trading a reality for any trader, novice or pro.

Now its possible for individual traders to manage their funds and target 30 – 50% annual compound growth.

The advantages of FOREX online system and how to choose a good one are outlined in this article.

Let’s first look at the advantages of currency system trading.

1. Emotions and trading

The major reason traders loose is they trade with out a specific method and let their emotions dictate their trading. They lack discipline and loose.

An online FOREX Trading system gives traders discipline, as good systems will run the big profitable trades and cut losers quickly to give great profit potential over the longer term.

2. Currencies trend

A system that is technical and trend following obviously needs trends to follow and this is where currencies are a great market to trade – They trend for long periods either up or down.

A Currency reflects the health of the underlying economy and as economic cycles, either expansion or decline last years so to do currency trends.

Any good FOREX online trading system will therefore be able to run these big trends for maximum profitability.

3. Effort to reward

The major advantage for many traders is the time system trading takes. If a system is automated, all traders need do each day is take the signals give them to their broker and that’s it.

Most good systems take as little as 30 minutes a day or less and this is a huge advantage for investors who want to trade for themselves and have limited time.

So what should you look for when choosing an online FOREX trading system?

Here is a checklist that will point you in the right direction

1.Make sure you understand the logic upon which the system is based. If you don’t understand why it works, you won’t have the discipline to follow it through inevitable periods of loses. So, buy a system where the logic is revealed in full and not a black box.

2.Look for a system that trades medium to longer term and avoid day trading systems. Day trading systems tend to fail because there is never enough profit in a day trade to cover losing trades and commission and slippage add up.

3.Choose a system with simple logic. It should only have a few rules or parameters. Keep in mind there is no correlation between how complicated a system is and how much money it makes. Simple systems work best, as they tend to be more robust in the face of ever changing market conditions

4.Look at the money management of the system. Keep in mind money management is the key to system trading success. A system without sensible money management is more than likely going to lose.

FOREX online trading systems can and do make traders great longer term gains.

Spend some time picking one and you will be well rewarded for your efforts.

FOREX Online System Trading- For Bigger Profits

The rise of the Internet and cheap powerful computers has made FOREX online system trading a reality for any trader, novice or pro.

Now its possible for individual traders to manage their funds and target 30 – 50% annual compound growth.

The advantages of FOREX online system and how to choose a good one are outlined in this article.

Let’s first look at the advantages of currency system trading.

1. Emotions and trading

The major reason traders loose is they trade with out a specific method and let their emotions dictate their trading. They lack discipline and loose.

An online FOREX Trading system gives traders discipline, as good systems will run the big profitable trades and cut losers quickly to give great profit potential over the longer term.

2. Currencies trend

A system that is technical and trend following obviously needs trends to follow and this is where currencies are a great market to trade – They trend for long periods either up or down.

A Currency reflects the health of the underlying economy and as economic cycles, either expansion or decline last years so to do currency trends.

Any good FOREX online trading system will therefore be able to run these big trends for maximum profitability.

3. Effort to reward

The major advantage for many traders is the time system trading takes. If a system is automated, all traders need do each day is take the signals give them to their broker and that’s it.

Most good systems take as little as 30 minutes a day or less and this is a huge advantage for investors who want to trade for themselves and have limited time.

So what should you look for when choosing an online FOREX trading system?

Here is a checklist that will point you in the right direction

1.Make sure you understand the logic upon which the system is based. If you don’t understand why it works, you won’t have the discipline to follow it through inevitable periods of loses. So, buy a system where the logic is revealed in full and not a black box.

2.Look for a system that trades medium to longer term and avoid day trading systems. Day trading systems tend to fail because there is never enough profit in a day trade to cover losing trades and commission and slippage add up.

3.Choose a system with simple logic. It should only have a few rules or parameters. Keep in mind there is no correlation between how complicated a system is and how much money it makes. Simple systems work best, as they tend to be more robust in the face of ever changing market conditions

4.Look at the money management of the system. Keep in mind money management is the key to system trading success. A system without sensible money management is more than likely going to lose.

FOREX online trading systems can and do make traders great longer term gains.

Spend some time picking one and you will be well rewarded for your efforts.

Learn Forex Trading

Almost all internet marketers have heard of forex trading or online currency trading as it is sometimes referred to and many are curious about how the forex trading system works and where they can go to learn forex trading.

In order to become a successful forex trader you need to know what forex trading is and how to successfully trade forex. In order to achieve sufficient knowledge it is vital to learn forex trading from experts. This can be done in the form of a forex tutorial and there are literally hundreds of forex companies offering online tutorials and guides.

An online forex tutorial will explain how the foreign exchange market works and will also explain the types of forex orders that are available to you as a forex trader. A forex tutorial will also explain about technical indicators and what they mean, the economic indicators you will need to be aware of and the various options and strategies that are available to you as a forex trader.

If you are new to forex trading then it is essential that you learn forex trading before parting with any of your hard earned cash. Many online forex companies offer free training and demonstrations that resemble that of real time forex trading. There are also forex trading courses available and these are also a valuable way to learn forex trading as you can refer to these course time and time again.

The most important aspect when it comes to forex trading is to learn forex trading so that you understand how to trade and how to trade successfully. The more you learn forex trading the more understanding you will have and the more success. Finding a forex tutorial or forex trading course is simple. All you need to do is a brief internet search and you will have a great deal of tutorials and courses to choose from. If you are serious about succeeding as a forex trader, then it’s down to you, learn forex trading now and learn to succeed.

Trading In Black And White Forex Trading Newsletter – 5/22/06

Let’s start this week by looking at the end of last week. We mentioned that we are extremely cautious of Fridays. We generally don’t trade, or trade less, on Fridays.

For some reason, we have not had much luck with trading on Fridays. Levels that hold as support or resistance all week long crumble like dust in the wind on Fridays.

So, that being said, it happened again. We had used 1.8760 as support a few times last week, but had no faith in it for Friday’s trading. Fortunately for us, we stayed true to our guns and stayed out of the market.

As you saw, 1.8760 was broken like a wet tissue. We didn’t see any good reason for this, but reasons seem to matter less on Friday’s than all other days of the week. Maybe it’s the mad dash of traders trying to make those extra few bucks before the weekend or close out their positions. Who knows?

Ok, last note about Friday. There were several key support levels / indicators that we watch which were broken on Friday. That gives us good reason to look for a short today.

So, now on to today’s trading. Although some of our traders disagree with us, we are going to look only to play the short side of Cable today.

Our aggressive traders argue that 1.8700 is a good support level, and have taken long positions from there with hopes of a climb. Hey, to each their own.

We, on the other hand, are looking at resistance levels in the high 1.8700’s all the way up to 1.8800. There are more resistance levels at 1.8820, 1.8850, and then as high as 1.8890 – 1.8900.

It’s actually pretty slim pickings when it comes to finding a good stop price, so be careful.

This is another great time to mention that No Trade Is Better Than A Bad Trade. A bad trade is one when you don’t have all the important information. Make sure that you have all the levels necessary for a good trade – the entry, the stop, and the profit target.

Tips For Profitable FOREX Trading

FOREX trading appeals to many traders for several reasons other than its potential for profitable trading:

1. FOREX trading offers a 24-hour market so that any trader can take advantage of profitable market conditions at any time.

2. The FOREX market is the most liquid market in the world so that traders can enter or exit the market whenever they want with minimal execution barriers or risk and no daily trading limit.

3. The FOREX market is always a good market. FOREX trading involves selling or buying one currency against another. In essence, a bull market or a bear market for a currency is defined in terms of the outlook for value against other currencies. If the outlook is positive, you get a bull market where a trader profits by buying the currency against other currencies.

4. The FOREX market is so large and has so many participants that no single trader, even a central bank, can control the market price for an extended period of time.

To be successful in FOREX trading you need experience, capital and a solid trading system. Keeping things simple can also help you better focus on your trading. Here are some tips that can help you during FOREX trading:

1. The first and last ticks are always the most expensive. Get in late and out early.

2. Never add money when you are losing.

3. When everyone else is in, then it is time for you to get out.

4. Always determine a stop and a profit objective before you enter a trade. Place stops that are based on market information, and not your account balance.

5. It is always easier to enter a losing trade.

6. News is only important when the market doesn't react in the direction of the news.

7. In a bull market, you never want to sell a dull market, in a bear market, you should certainly never buy a dull market.

8. There are times, due to a lack of liquidity, or excessive volatility, when you should not trade at all.

9. It helps to read yesterday's paper each day to learn from what the market did.

10. There are at least three types of markets such as up trending, range bound, and down trading, and you should have a different trading strategy for each.

FOREX Trading Strategy - 6 Tips to Make Big Profits

If you want a successful FOREX trading strategy, you should incorporate the following tips into your existing strategy – you should then become a profitable currency trader. The aim is not to just to make money, but to make big profits consistently.

Six Essential FOREX Trading Strategy Tips:

1. Get a Method you have Confidence in

You need to have total confidence in your method - so you can follow it with discipline.

Pick a simple, technical method - simple methods work best, as they’re more robust in the face of brutal market conditions - complicated methods tend to break.

Just use a few rules and parameters, and they should work across all markets – a technical trading system should work on ANY market that trends.

2. You need to have the Mindset to Take Risks!

You will read a lot about money management - but keep in mind risk = reward.

If you don’t take reasonable risks, you won’t make big profits.

2% is a commonly touted figure to risk per trade - but if you’re trading $10,000 that’s just $200.

Risk more if you’re confident - 10% is fine - you just need to be selective with your trades. You can have the best FOREX trading strategy, but you need to take calculated risks to make big gains.

3. Don’t Trade Frequently

The good trades only come around a few times a year, so focus on them.

Many traders think there are good opportunities everyday - there aren’t.

There’s no correlation between how often you trade, and how much money you will make - if you want to make big profits, you need patience.

4. Only Focus on the Long Term Trends

Forget day trading, and focus on the longer-term trends only - how can you make big profits in a day? - You can’t. Don’t forget you have to cover your losing days as well.

Always remember - brokers interested in making the maximum amount of commission, perpetrate the make money by day trading myth.

Currency trends last for months or years - focus on them, and milk them for all they’re worth.

5. Trade in Isolation

Don’t discuss your trading with anyone - the only way you’ll make big money is by doing it by yourself.

Have confidence in your ability and don’t let anyone put you off - this is an essential character trait of all great traders.

6. Work Hard not Smart

Many losing traders think the more effort they make with their FOREX trading strategy, the greater their trading skills will become – this is not true! You can learn a method in a short period of time, and if you have a simple robust method, you can do your analysis in about 30 minutes a day - and that’s it!

A Strategy for Big Gains

So there you have it - a FOREX strategy designed to make you big profits.

Many of the above tips are not conventional wisdom - but keep in mind that 90% of traders don’t make big gains – and they follow the herd.

Learn FOREX Trading in 6 Simple Steps

This article is for anyone who wants to learn FOREX trading with the view to making big profits.

It’s a well-known fact that anyone can learn FOREX trading - but very few traders make big profits.

Here we are going to show you how to learn the basics and apply them with the right mindset to succeed.

The Six Steps:

1. Attitude

Firstly, it’s a well-known fact that the traders who make the money, approach FOREX trading with the attitude they will do what it takes to succeed. This means they don’t listen to guru’s or read tip sheets - they do it for themselves.

Too many novice traders think they can follow someone else and be successful - but the only person who can give you success is you!

2. Method

If you are going to trade FOREX, you need a method - and this does not involve day trading - it involves long term trend following. The big currency trends last for months or years - and your aim is to lock into these currency trends, and make big profits.

The best way to catch these long-term trends is to use a breakout method - this is a PROVEN way to make money, and breakout methods form the basis of many top-trading systems.

Good software is available form such vendors as Omni trader, Trade station, and Supercharts – any of these programs will allow you to test a method, and then when you’re confident, trade it.

3. Discipline

By developing a method you are confident in, means that you will be apply to apply it to the markets - and stick with it, even through loosing periods.

Most traders who follow gurus and tip sheets can’t do this – and as they haven’t developed a method themselves, they soon throw in the towel and discipline goes out the window.

4. Knowledge

You can learn a breakout method very quickly - but you still need to overcome the psychological pitfalls of trading. Read some books that focus on this area - some of the best include:

A Guide to Forex Charts: Forex Forecast Tool or Voodoo?

Forex charts assist the investor by providing a visual representation of exchange rate fluctuations. Many variables affect currency exchange rates, such as interest rates, bank policies, geopolitics, and even the time of day may affect exchange rates.

In order to help the investor attempt to predict when or in what direction a rate may change, advisors provide forex charts. Quality forex websites provide subscribers with a daily newsletter that includes a forex chart, forex signals and a forex forecast.

There are a variety of forex charts available for the investor to use and study. Some are very simple using only a couple of forex signals or indicators and are ideal for beginners. Others include 30 or 40 forex signals or indicators and live on-line streaming data so that the investor may analyze trades quickly and accurately.

In order to make an accurate forex forecast, it would seem that the more indicators, the better, but some analysts prefer a simpler system.

The idea behind studying forex charts is that history repeats itself. Instead of trying to “see the future”, a forex forecast evaluates the past. That is to say that the analyst who is responsible for attempting to predict future currency moves analyzes what happened to an exchange rate yesterday, last week, last month or last year and uses this knowledge to the best degree he knows how.

Some people trade short term, some intermediate term, and some long term. All three types of traders may benefit from the use of forex charts, just adapted to their own trading time frame.

Investors also create their own forex charts to evaluate their own performance. Creating a forex strategy for oneself is the goal of many investors. Instead of looking to a professional to analyze forex signals, these investors choose to create their own forex forecast.

Others, however, create their own strategy but also follow the opinions of professional currency traders at the same time. It all depends on your personal preferences.

There are other forex charts that deal with known correlations between two currency pairs, that is, how they move in relation to each other. Some exchange rates are known to affect other exchange rates, either by moving in the same or the opposite direction depending on the correlation.

Charts are available that explain these correlations in detail and show which pairs have strong correlations or strong negative correlations, so that an investor can use the movement of the exchange rate of one currency as a signal to trade another currency. These correlations are also the basis for some forex forecasts.

Forex Investing at the Right Time - The 10 am Rule and How It Works

Sometimes it`s wise not to be the early bird when investing in forex, instead wait and see what the day will bring before you take action. The 10 A.M. rule is a great example of this concept, and is an example that protects your capital. Let`s say you want to buy a forex stock, for whatever reason; a trend play, or a market rally that you think a currently hot sector will participate in. You know that a great time to buy would be on a gap down, but the market is in rally mode and instead of gapping down, the forex stock gaps up. But buying the gap up is a bad trade. Now what do you do?

You use the 10 A.M. rule, and wait until after 10 A.M. for the right forex stock investing time to buy the stock. If the forex stock makes a new high for the day after 10 A.M., then, and only then, should you trade the stock. Of course, you will use stops to protect yourself, like you would on any trade.

Anyone who`s followed the market knows that a forex stock will often gap up early in the morning, only to suddenly sell off and reverse into negative territory. By following the 10 A.M. rule, you avoid the risk of this sudden reversal. If the forex stock does make it to a new high after 10 A.M., there is still trader interest in the forex stock, and it stands a good chance of gaining momentum and heading even higher.

Here is an example of the 10 A.M. rule on a gap up: A forex stock closes the day at $145. After hours, the company announces a two for one forex stock split. The next morning the forex stocks gaps up to open at $161. It trades as high as $166 before 10 A.M. For two hours after 10 A.M. it trades lower and doesn`t reach $166. At 2 P.M., it hits $166.50. The forex stock is now safe to buy, using the 10 A.M. rule.

Using a version of the 10 A.M. rule, you could watch for a hot sector to appear in the morning and follow the forex stocks in the sector that are up for the day. If the forex stocks are still making new highs at midday, they stand a good chance of finishing the day near their ultimate highs for the day, and could be good trading opportunities. This also applies in a down market and to stocks in forex that gap down, opening at prices lower than where they closed the previous day. In this situation, you should not short a forex stock that has gapped down unless and until it makes a new low for the day after 10 A.M.

Using the 10 A.M. rule ensures that you will never end up chasing and buying a forex stock when your chances of making a profitable trade are low. Remember, trading is all about probabilities. The more forex stock investing trades you make with a high probability of success, the more successful you will be. The 10 A.M. rule is a valuable addition to your trading plan, giving you a straightforward way to avoid making costly mistakes and to increase your number of profitable stock investing trades in forex.

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it
comes to designing profitable forex trading systems.

Discover the "secret formula" of trading that anyone can use
to consistently generate BIG profits from the market by
downloading your FREE copy of David's new Ultimate
Forex Trading Systems course.

Forex Trading Tips - Part 3

Welcome to part 3. If you have bothered to keep reading until now, you must be enjoying my articles, right? We continue on, our journey, exploring some new forex trading tips to help you either get started or improve your trading skills. Make sure you have read part two before you keep reading. I hope you are taking notes about these secrets to trading the forex markets successfully.

In the last article (part two) of forex trading tips, we went through the concepts of keeping your greed in check with respect to the amount of leverage you take with your trades. Also, I recommended you go out and sort yourself out with a trading strategy. You must be independent when you trade as well as confident in your trading. We also discussed you, "the trader" are a LOSER.

Trade with the volume. Don’t trade in the off-peak hours. (unless you are really confident) The reason is that there is no volume, and the larger institutional traders may be using this time to hedge their positions. So as you watch the markets when you first start off, notice when your currency pais are especially active. Note when the markets for the countries whose currency pairs you are trading open and close. Knowing this information is vital, as sometimes these are the times when forex prices gap by large amounts.

Follow the white rabbit. Or rather, the black rabbit. What I mean is, follow that black line on your screen. Yes, that line. What line? I’m talking about the trendline that you arbitrarily drew on your trading screen. It depends on your system what time scale you are looking at with your trendline, but always remember to trade with the trend. If the market is going up, it’s going up. If it is going down, it’s going down. Simple. Bullish markets. Bearish markets. You can’t predict the future from past trends but acknowledge that sometimes there is a pattern – the trend that the market usually follows for a certain amount of time. Trade with the crowd – not against it. Think about what happens to you if you try to walk against a herd of people exiting a football stadium? You would find you would probably make no progress.

Trade forex on news and data releases. Almost all foreign exchange currency movements occur when news or some critical data is released. As a retail trader, you have to be careful. Sometimes, there may be some delay between the release of the news and when it reaches us. Assume that the banks know everything far in advance of us, the retail traders. Because it is true. They are in the industry, word spreads fast in industry as some of you can attest in your own professions. So give in to the fact that sometimes, or almost all the time, you as a trader would not be fully disclosed to everything the big institutional traders know. Just follow their tails. Follow the white rabbit.

So, we’ve covered three more things: trade with the volume, trade with the trend and be wary about news releases as those are the times that the forex markets are especially active. Come back for more in part 4.

Forex Trading Tips - Part 2

Welcome to part 2. Still reading about the forex markets are we? Looking for more forex trading tips to help you either get started or improve your trading skills? Maybe you are just curious about how the your friend is making a killing at the forex markets, and not getting killed like you are. Whatever your case, make sure you have read part one before you keep reading. So here, we continue on our journey of discovery about finding the secret of trading the forex markets successfully.

In the last article of forex trading tips, I said something about being ambitious yet humble. Well in other words, the type of trading you want to avoid is being overly cautious. Being over cautious tells me one thing about your trading. And that is, you aren’t confident enough about your trading and it is too risky for you to trade the markets effectively. When you take a position, you must be confident. And when you have confidently opened a position you should give your position a chance to give a result.

Be independent. You have your own personality, be yourself, don’t be someone else. Be true to yourself in your trading and you will succeed. If you pretend to be someone else in the markets, the markets will quickly take profits from you. When you start listening to too many people, people who may have more experience, or people who simply have opinions, be careful with the information and advice you receive. Make your trades by yourself, be accountable to yourself.

You are a loser. And will always be a loser. That is, be humble. Remind yourself, that every day spent in the market increases the chance for you losing. Be confident in your trading, but not too over-confident to consider yourself bulletproof. You will lose for sure – but it is up to you on how much of a realized loss you will take.

Greed with respect to leverage. Be careful with the amount of leverage you place in every forex trade you make. Question your motivation to increase your leverage amount – is it because you are mastering your system, and know that your system delivers or is it because of plain greed? Did you do the calculations in your head? “Hmm, If I put more money into the trade, with more leverage, IF I turn a profit, the profit will be HEAPS larger than simply putting XXX amount.” STOP! Question yourself – is this calculation due to greed? Thinking along these lines is almost certainly a trap due to greed. Watch out.

You must have a trading strategy. Trading without one, is simply gambling. Are you a gambler? Hopefully not, because it is almost a certain fact, if you do all your homework, backtest your system, and assess your system as you trade, you will make money. (Unless you are simply very unlucky) A strategy is a must. The strategy is the route map to your success in the forex markets. Your strategy should detail how you trade: how much leverage you use, what currencies to trade, and how you manage your risk. Have a strategy or be one of the 90% of losers.

Hopefully that’s enough forex trading tips for the moment. Come back for part three of our forex tips series.

Forex Trading Tips - Part 1

The retail forex markets are certainly in a boom time. Forex dealers are popping up like rabbits. Hundreds of thousands of people like you and me are trading the markets for a nice profit everyday. Brokers are making a killing from their spreads in these deals. Forex markets are volatile and hence present great profit opportunities as well as great risks to your capital. And if you aren’t careful your capital will quickly be lost by the markets. So what is the key? What is the secret to trading the forex markets successfully? We look at some forex trading tips in the following series of reports.

Some of the facts and measures we go through may be simple to some but may be new concepts altogether for other people. All in all every piece of information is critical to your understanding and succeeding in the forex markets, and hopefully our articles about forex trading tips will help you on your way.

When you trade currencies you are trading currency pairs. You always trade a currency in reference to another. Therefore, when you are looking to trade currencies, make sure you are aware which currency pair you are looking at trading with and understand how both currencies impact on one another.

Understand the bigger picture. Understand how the foreign exchange markets are influenced, and what makes them move. The forex market movements are different to stock markets in their leverage and in their volatility and nature. They are open 24 hours and because they are global, are easily influenced by news and data releases at any time of day. Any news affecting any country’s economic progress or anything about interest rates are bound to have some effect on the forex markets in their relevant currency pairs.

Be ambitious yet humble. Your trading goals need to be reasonable, not too greedy, but not too small. Some traders aim to profit from small moves - placing tight orders to take their small profits. But think about it – is this sustainable? Is your risk/return ratio worth the effort? Remember that you have to wait until the price clears the spread your dealer placed on the currency pair. If your trading system it aiming small, it would mean, more trades and more chance the trade will go sour, since a large portion (the spread) of your trade will be going to to your dealer’s pockets and you aren’t allowing for much movement before you take your profits (or loss). If you are new, this concept may be a little confusing, but for those of you in the know - you should definitely have a think about it if you haven’t already considered it.

That’s enough forex trading tips for now, come back for the next part soon.