You will be able to avoid a lot of mistakes and wasted time going down endless rabbit holes that will waste your money. Whilst teaching yourself to trade is not impossible, it will nearly always end up taking far longer than what it would if you got help. One of the best ways to learn how to trade is from watching, reading and using free Forex trading tutorials. This can help you speed up your learning time.
You can find some of the best Forex trading tutorials on the internet and often they will be free. The other great way to learn how to trade Forex is through a free course.
When learning through a free Forex trading course you will get detailed instructions on what you need to learn as well as in-depth tutorials to help you move to your next level. You can learn about some of the best free Forex trading courses here.
The courses discussed in that lesson are designed for beginners and will teach you all the basics that you need to know to get started trading in the Forex market. The three main steps to start Forex trading are as follows:. Opening a trading account with a reputable Forex broker who will offer you the best trading charts is very straightforward.
You can open a free trading account here with our number one broker. Once you have entered your details and confirmed your account you will be able to download your free trading charts. This step is crucial and you want to make sure you know all the basics of how to place and manage your trades before ever risking any of your real money. This is where using free demo charts can be very handy. These demo charts will allow you to practice with virtual cash and workout exactly what you are doing before you ever risk any of your real money.
If you are going to be a profitable Forex trader who makes serious money from the markets, then just understanding the basics will not be enough. You will need to have a trading strategy and system that you can use to find and manage your trades.
This strategy will be how you find your profitable trades and how you do things like take profit or minimize your losses. We discuss different strategies that might suit you below. Often the most profitable trading strategies are those that are the simplest. The two trading strategies discussed below are swing trading and scalping.
These are very different trading strategies suited to very different traders. You could test them both to see what you prefer. Swing trading is a trading strategy where you look to make profits when price makes its next swing higher or lower. With this strategy you are not using smaller time frames like the 1 minute or 5 minute charts and jumping in and out of trades quickly. Instead, you are using higher time frames like the 4 hour and daily charts and are holding trades for longer periods.
Swing trading is often best done when price is making clear trends higher or lower. As the example chart shows below; price is in a trend higher.
Although price is in a trend higher it is still making regular rotations lower. These rotations are known as swings or dips in the market. The value and swing trader would be watching this trend higher and looking to buy these dips lower and then making a profit as price continues with the trend and makes its next swing back higher. Scalping or what is often called scalp trading is almost the opposite of swing trading. Where swing traders are holding for longer periods of time and for the next swing higher or lower, scalp traders are jumping in and out of trades quickly.
Scalping involves looking to make quick profits as price makes small movements higher or lower. The example below is of a 5 minute chart showing a scalping trade.
In this example we will say price is looking to breakout and through a resistance level. When price begins to breakout higher a large portion of the market begin to look for the resistance to break and will enter long trades, often setting their stop loss just on the other side of the resistance. When price begins to move back lower, the market participants who were long and looking for the resistance to break begin to get stopped out of their long trades. As price gains momentum back lower more and more stops are eaten and price completes the false break.
The false break trading strategy opens a lot of potential high probability trading opportunities for you because it can be used on many different markets, many time frames and can be used at the major support and resistance levels. Once you have mastered false break trading it can be incredibly high probability. You will be looking to enter the market when the majority have been false broken in the wrong direction and you can often enter into explosive moves.
You can also use this strategy on many markets and time frames with many triggers for entry. As a scalper you are looking to get in and out of your trades quickly and profit from smaller moves in the price action.
Whilst you are looking to make far smaller pip targets, you are looking to do it in far shorter amounts of time than other strategies. As a scalper you are capitalizing on the bigger markets volatility and quick price movements to make your profits. A swing trader is looking to enter trades on the 4 hour or daily charts and then hold those trades for hours or days.
When scalping you are generally holding your trades for minutes at a time, depending on how small the time frame. Some traders love scalping as it offers them more potential trading opportunities, they do not have to hold for extended periods and they can close their trades and finish for the session.
Below I have included an example 5 minute chart showing price testing a key level and then forming a huge false break pin bar reversal to get short. You can learn how to scalp the market with price action and two simple strategies at; Price Action Scalping: Quick Guide. Scalping is not for everyone and is not for the faint of heart. Whilst most traders start out on the smaller time frames and looking for as many trades as they can humanly find, this does NOT mean it suits them or that it is what they should be doing.
If you are going to scalp trade you need to have every part of your trading style locked down and be ready for all market circumstances that will come your way.
This style of trading is normally carried out on the daily, weekly and monthly charts. As a position trader, you will often be trying to use the overall larger trend to gain the best positions and capture long running trades.
The key to position trading is knowing how to cut your losses relatively soon, whilst maximizing the times you make large running winners. This will often involve pyramiding into your winning positions adding further positions as price moves in your favor. The best markets for position traders are the clearly trending markets where price is making a clear move in one direction.
The weekly chart example I have added below shows an obvious trend higher that is perfect for a position trader. This is the type of market that is making regular higher highs and higher lows. This gives the position trader a chance to not only add to their position, but use the swing points as areas to move their stop as a trail to lock in profits as the market moves. Each trading strategy and style comes with its pros and cons. Some strategies you simply will not be able to use either because they don't suit your time frame and lifestyle or because they are not suited to your personality.
To see what Forex trading strategies suit you best, a nswer these three questions;. You need to think about how much time you have to first learn the strategy and then implement it. If you only have a few minutes each day to monitor the markets, then scalping is not going to be suitable for you at all as you simply will not have the time to make the trades.
You could look at position trading or swing trading. You also need to think about how much time you are willing or able to invest in learning your chosen strategy. You may be a trader who wants to be in the markets, making trades and who is happy to stare at your screen for hours on end.
Or, you may want to use trading to make money, but not spend all of your time watching screens and monitoring every pip movement. Every trader is different and this is something you need to take into account when you choose your strategy. Don't choose a strategy that will have you watching every pip movement if you are far more suited to making a trade, setting your stop and profit orders and then coming back later. Are you trying to create a lifestyle with more free time, possibly more time with your family and choosing what you do and when?
Or, are you trying to make as much money as possible and are happy to spend all of your time in the markets day in and day out?
Most traders come to trading for money and lifestyle. When choosing your strategy, think about what you are trying to set up and achieve with your trading. Yes, there is a lot to learn, and there are a lot of other Forex trading strategies such as breakout trading, price flip trading and trend or momentum trading, but you only need to start with one strategy.
Find the one strategy that suits you the best, practice the heck out of it on your demo and then become profitable with it. Once you have become profitable with your first strategy you can add more and more. After becoming profitable and successful learning the first strategy, adding the second, third and fourth becomes a lot quicker as you are using the same base methods.
Let me know your thoughts on this lesson and any questions in comments section below;. Johnathon is a Forex and Futures trader with over ten years trading experience who also acts as a mentor and coach to thousands and has written for some of the biggest finance and trading sites in the world.
How do I connect with you. Please I want you to be my mentor. I will like to have more lessons on price action and price movements , and a further information about candlesticks formation. Dear Sir , this article is full of knowledge ,thank you very much , I think I like swing trading and false break strategies , wonder what you currently using.
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