The Top News Announcements You Should Be Aware Of
At the time of these announcements there is a high probability that the market will make a significant move. We do not trade the news, but we do trade after the news has been announced and when an entry signal appears.
Consumer Price Index for the USA
USA Non-Farm Payrolls
USA New Home sales
USA Existing Home Sales
International Trade Balance USA
Trade Balance for Canada
Retail Sales for USA
Retail Sales for Canada
Gross Domestic Product USA
Gross Domestic Product Canada
If you go to www.forexfactory.com you will find the news announcements for the week. When you see one of the above listed be aware that the market will probably make a good move
Note: We don’t trade the news and I highly suggest that you don’t either. But if you do, the above are the only announcements that you should trade around.
Personality And Trading Style
Much of a trader’s success has to do with his personality matching up with the trading style he chose. No matter what the approach is you must plan your trades and trade your plans. If not, your strategy is no better than random, and that is hardly a stable platform for long-term success.
If a trader trades money he can’t mentally afford to lose it will lead to trading the money and not the trading plan. If a trader finds it difficult to wait through a trade that is going against him or does not move as fast as expected in the beginning then finding a strategy that minimizes both of these scenarios, may be even more important than seeking out rules that produce the absolute largest profit per trade.
For swing traders, there are plenty of trading opportunities that can become profitable trades. In the end the trading strategy must fit the trader’s style, personality, and risk tolerance. If the style and personality match up then a swing approach trading in the direction of the overall trend, has the potential to turn many losing trades into winning trades.
Trading a system that matches your personality will take much of the frustration out of trading. Something that works for one trader may not work for the next trader. So find the strategy that works for you, stick to the rules, and be happy and profitable.
How Much Of My Account Should I Risk?
When a trader first starts to trade there are many things to learn like:
1. How to use the platform
2. Which trading style I should use
3. Which indicators should I use
4. What time frames best meet my life schedule
5. How much money should I trade with
6. How much should I place on each trade
7. How much of a loss should I take
There are many other things to consider when trading but the one I want to address here is how much money you should risk in the market at one time. Here is one formula of how to calculate the amount of money you may want to trade at any one time.
You should trade with no more than 5% of your account on any one trade. i.e. $2000 account x 5% = $100. Divide The 5% or in this case the $100 by 50, which is the amount of margin you will be using in a mini account. This gives you 2 lots per trade.
This is only a formula, be sure to trade on the side of caution.
Types of Exits
When exiting a trade, you can do so under four different assumptions. In the best of worlds, exit technique number one is the profit target. Exit technique number two is the trailing stop, which comes into play when the market is starting to move against you after you have accumulated an open profit. Number three is the stop loss for the occurrences when the trade goes against you right off the bat. Finally, you also can exit with a time-based stop, possibly in combination with any of exit techniques one to three. The time based stop is setting a time like at end of the day or when you leave for work etc.
Just a note:
A “margin call” in not an exit strategy.
What Is A Good Exit Worth?
One bad thing trader’s fall into the habit of doing is to try and get every last tick out of a trade. We have all experienced a trade that started off great then turned out to be a looser. Then there is the trade that starts out with a small loss and turns out to be a really large loss.
No one can pick the tops and the bottoms so when it is time to get out of a trade just get out. Each trade is only one of many if a trader watches what is going on. If a trader lets it get out of hand then the trade may be the only one.
Many times a trader knows he should be getting out of a trade, but for some reason or another they miss the chance and get stuck in the position. When we do not get out of a trade when we should, more often than not it is a costly mistake. This is one good reason to trade with stop losses. The first loss is usually the smallest loss.
Once an exit is missed, a trader has two choices: wait for the next opportunity to get out or get out no matter what the price is. Waiting for the next chance to get out is how a trader can get into trouble. Once a trader knows he is wrong he should exit the trade without looking back. Just go on to the next trade this bad trade is only one of many trades unless he stays in and losses a big peace of his account.
How To Have Two Trading Platforms Open At The Same Time
Having two or more versions of the trading platform can be helpful by putting different accounts or charts on each platform then watching both at the same time on different monitors (if you have two monitors). This way it is easier to track more stuff and have larger screen shots of what you are looking at. Below you will find the instructions of how to download two or more versions of the MT4 trading platform
1. To install multiple platforms: Use normal procedures to install the platform the first time. Use link: http://secure.ibfx.com/Downloads/MT4.exe for MT4.
2. If you already have a copy of the platform change the name of the icon on your desktop before you download a second version.
3. Use the link above and reinstall the platform again but this time change the name when you get to the screen that asks you to “Select the destination folder where you want to install Interbank FX Trader 4.00.” This can be as simple as adding an A or B etc. at the end of the name. You could also name one for live and one for demo trading, whatever is easy for you to remember.
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