• Forex Market Hours

    Trading

    The forex market is open 24/7, from Monday morning all the way to late Friday evening. Most trading platforms including MetaTrader are usable during this period, which means you can enter the market anytime you want. Although it is very convenient, understanding market hours is still very important. During certain market hours, you can expect certain pairs to show aggressive movements.

    The Tokyo market hour starts at 00:00 GMT and closes at 09:00 GMT. During this period, you can expect the Japan Yen to show heavy movement. If you are trading other currencies of Asian countries, this period is also the best time to trade forex.

    The London Market hour starts at 08:00 GMT and closes at 17:00 GMT. You can see that the London market starts an hour before the Tokyo market closes. During this hour, GBPJPY (Pound/Yen) usually shows great movements. Other pairs related to Pound and Euro in general will also show rapid movement during this particular market period. As the Tokyo market closes, you will see that pairs related to Japan Yen will lose their movement intensities.

    Then we have the US market, which opens at 13:00 GMT and closes at 22:00 GMT. As you may have expected, USD-related pairs will show intense movements during this market period. Since the London market is still open, most pairs related to both markets will show high volatility as well; this is exactly when you can make a lot of money if you are trading certain pairs such as EURUSD and GBPUSD.

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  • Double Top and Double Bottom

    Trading

    Forex chart is actually very easy to understand. Once you are accustomed to charts, you will be able to catch patterns and benefit from them. In this article, we are going to discuss one of the most prominent forex chart patterns of all time: double top and double bottom.

    If you pay close attention to forex chart for a certain pair and you catch a quick reversal, let’s say after an upward movement, you are seeing the first sign of double top. If the chart moves downward, hits a certain level (this is what we call the neck), and moves back up to reach the same top as before, then the cycle of double top is completed. You can quickly open a position accordingly and expect the market to go downward. If the downward reversal movement breaks the double top’s neck as explained earlier, the downward movement continues; strong movement is to be expected when this kind of break happens. If it bounces back up, you can quickly close your open position and secure profits.

    Double bottom is the exact opposite of double top. Instead of starting with an upward movement, double bottom starts with downward movement. The rest is the complete opposite of double top, so it wouldn’t be difficult for you to understand. You can also benefit from spotting double bottom the same way you use double top. By understanding these two simple chart patterns, you can secure a lot of pips easily and bank profits for sure.

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  • Plan Your Trade, Trade Your Plan

    Trading

    I’ve spent years learning a lot about forex trading to support myself whenever I enter the market, and along these years I found that the best tip to give to new forex traders is “plan your trade, trade your plan”. To help you understand the idiom, we are going to discuss about it in this article.

    Never, and I seriously mean NEVER, enter the market without proper planning. You need to have a certain target profit in mind. Yes, you can just ride the market and bank more pips along the way, but you still need to know when to quit or you will end up losing all the profits before you even realize it. You also need to set your stop loss so that you can exit the market without hesitation should the pair moves against you. Make sure you also have risk management strategies mapped out so that you can anticipate the market and maneuver effectively when needed.

    Now that you have a comprehensive trading plan in hand, you need to trade your plan. You may have the best forex trading system or plan in hand, but the plan cannot help you unless you apply it with utter discipline. Don’t flex while trading; you will only expose yourself to more risks. Follow your trading plan to the letter and only evaluate or revise the plan when you have no open position in hand.

    Plan your trade, trade your plan. Being successful in forex trading is really that simple.

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  • Forex Brokers and Multiple Accounts

    Brokers
    Forex Brokers and Multiple Accounts

    Choosing the right forex broker to engage is among the most important things to do before you even start exploring the world of forex trading. You need to make sure that the forex broker you choose is the best one there is according to your needs and wants; don’t forget to check the broker’s reliability and trustworthiness before you even deposit money into your forex trading account.

    In today’s modern market, certain brokers are perfect for certain traders. This is exactly why you shouldn’t hesitate to switch to a better forex broker or create multiple accounts when you really have to. If you are trading large volumes or have more than $100,000 of capital allocated for forex trading, for example, the best way to go is to seek forex brokers that can cater your needs perfectly.

    On the other hand, you shouldn’t consider opening accounts at higher stakes than you can afford no matter what. A lot of new forex brokers are offering leverage of as high as 1,000 to 1; you only need to deposit $100 to trade full-lots. If you engage forex trading this way, it will be nearly impossible for you to stay profitable. You will frequently get margin-called and have your money lost in no time.

    Last but not least, multiple accounts are also possible now that forex trading platforms allow you to manage them all at once. If you want to use advanced risk management strategies such as hedging, opening multiple accounts is the best way to go indeed.

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  • Choosing Stakes and Trade Volume

    Guides

    Although forex trading offers unlimited money making opportunities, there are still risks involved. The higher your target profit, the higher risks you will have to cope with along the way. This is exactly why you need to properly choose the right trade volume and manage your stakes appropriately.

    Many new traders make the mistake of trading full lots with as little as $1,000 capital. They simply misuse forex brokers’ leverage and enter the market guns blazing. In most cases, their initial margin or capital is lost within days, if not hours.

    If you are entering the market with $1,000 capital, it would be best to stick with mini- or micro-lots. Mini-lots are exactly 1/10 of full-lots, while micro-lots are 1/100 of full-lots. With lower trading volume, the risks involved are also lower. You can manage your open positions with ease while still have several risk management strategies to apply should the market move against you.

    The only time you should enter the market and buy full-lots is when you have more than $10,000 of initial capital. With 100:1 leverage, you can easily withstand more than 900 pips movement against you and still have a lot of risk management strategies to implement. It is very easy to limit losses and stay profitable this way.

    One last thing you should also remember is the correlation between stakes and emotional hazards. The higher your stakes, the harder it will be to stay objective. When you lose more than 10% of your initial capital, you will certainly be emotional and it will be harder for you to trade responsibly.

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  • Adopting Forex Trading Styles

    Trading

    Forex trading is one serious money making opportunity indeed. There are countless forex traders who make hundreds of thousands in profit on a regular basis, and you too can be part of them in no time. Make sure you take your time and learn different aspects of forex trading in order to be successful whenever you enter the market. You also need to adopt trading styles and have a certain trading system that suits you perfectly.

    If you love intense action and you have a lot of time to watch the market closely, daily trading is probably suitable for you. You can make short-term trades – usually closed within the same day – and earn small profits frequently. Instead of aiming for 200 pips profit, daily traders usually make 5 to 10 trades earning 30 pips from each.

    Long-term traders, on the other hand, is a style or trading system perfect for those of you who don’t really have that much time to spend. You simply observe the market regularly – most long-term traders I know check the market once a day for no more than half an hour – and make one or two long-term trades. The target profit is usually higher because the position stays open for days, even weeks, but it is nearly hassle-free.

    Choose the right trading style according to your personality and you will enjoy forex trading even more. Not only will you enjoy trading more, you can also secure more profits and stay ahead of the game at all times.

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