The 7 Most Common Forex Trading Mistakes

When trading currencies online, there seems to be no end to the mistakes a beginning forex trader can make. Beginning traders are always the most susceptible, but experienced traders can often revert back into bad practices as well. Here are some of the most common trading mistakes listed in no particular order, and how to avoid them.

Predicting instead of reacting. Otherwise known as overconfidence. This usually happens after a winning trade or two. The trader starts to think that if he can enter a trade sooner, he will get more pips. He begins to believe he can pick the top or bottom before the market reveals it to him. So instead of reacting to what the market is telling him, he starts to predict what the market will do. He enters a trade and the market continues its move, which is against him. Now, does he admit he was wrong and close his position, or does he add to it?

Adding to losing positions. Here is an extension of predicting instead of reacting. Look, you just entered a trade and the market is going against your position. The market is telling you, you are wrong. Now is the time to close your position, not add to it. If you add to your losing position, you are making at least two incorrect decisions. First, you are predicting the market will turn around. Second, you are hoping the market will prove you right because you are unable to admit you made a losing trade. Losing trades are a fact of life in the forex market. You weren't wrong, simply, your edge didn't play in your favor on this trade. Close your losing position and move onto the next trade.

Insufficient capitalization. Forex trading is already highly leveraged. Insufficient capitalization just magnifies the potential problems you can face. If you read about the famous and big name traders, they never use more than 1% - 2% of their trading capital on a position. Get out a calculator and let's see... 1% of $10,000 is $100. So as a position trader who might have a stop-loss order of 100 pips, you can only trade one mini lot of one currency pair for each $10,000 in your trading account. That is, if you want to trade like the pros. Do you have $10,000 in your account? Why do forex dealers boldly advertise you can start trading with only $250 then? Because they are in business to make money, and if they can convince you to commit trading errors, they stand a much better chance that they will soon have your money.

Overtrading. A close cousin of insufficient capitalization. Knowing that very few currency traders trade with sufficient capital in the first place, they further compound the potential problems by trading too actively and in too many currency pairs. Spreading themselves too thin you might say. Potential problems include loosing focus and margin calls. Getting a margin call is a very irresponsible position for a forex trader to be in and is a direct result of overtrading, over leveraging, and insufficient capitalization. This is as close to the perfect recipe for failure as you can get.

Not using stop-loss orders. There are very few times when not using stop-loss orders is the correct action to take. Large traders with several hundred or more lots don't want to advertise where their stops are placed is one. The other might be scalpers whose stop is only 10-15 pips away. By the time they figure the math and enter it in the system, the price might already be there or even past it. And some forex dealing stations won't let you place stops closer than 15 pips anyway, especially in fast moving situations. Other than those times, you need to put stop-loss orders in on every position. It is in your own best interest to protect yourself. I know, some people whine that their stops are always being run by the dealer. A whole article could be written on stop-loss order management, if not a complete chapter in a book. Let's just say for now, don't put them where everybody else does, and don't put them too close.

Trading as a hobby. Golf is a hobby and it costs you money to play. Horseback riding is a hobby and it costs you money as well. The point is hobbies cost money, business makes money. You need to treat your forex trading as a business if you ever hope to make money on a consistent basis. That means keeping records, keeping a trading journal, and have a written business plan. You wouldn't invest money into a start up business without first seeing a business plan, so why would you invest money into your own trading account without the same thoughtful consideration.

Not having a trading plan. This is one of those catch-all mistakes. If you have a written trading plan, and follow it, you will already have identified and hopefully eliminated all of the above mistakes. If you don't have a written trading plan, you are almost assuredly making some, if not all of the above mistakes. Maybe not all at once, but even occasional mistakes add up quickly. Do yourself a favor and don't put on another trade until you think through and write down the response for all of the above mistakes and any others you can identify, as well as entry and exit rules. Then follow it.

These are just some of the many mistakes you can make as a forex trader. You need to take responsibility for yourself and your money and act in your own best interest. The currency markets are a zero sum game and the many players are out to make a profit. Don't let them profit with your money. Do your best to eliminate the above mistakes, and you will go a long way to ensuring you are the one who profits in the forex market.

Forex Managed Accounts Explained

Do you want to trade in the highly liquidated and extremely profitable foreign exchange market, but don't want to learn all those terms, charts, indicators, and technical details that you need to be successful on your own? Then maybe you're looking for forex managed accounts. Don't know what that is? Then keep reading; maybe you'll learn a thing or two after all.

Forex managed accounts are as simple as they sound: accounts in the foreign exchange market which are managed by a trader, paid for by an investor, and result in lots of good money. There are two kinds of forex managed accounts, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to trading in the market. It's up to you which you pick.

The first type of forex managed accounts is the robot, or the automated account. This completely automatic program is designed by experienced traders in the forex market and supplied to the investor for simplicity. This is clearly the most efficiently managed account available to you, as it takes into consideration all indicators and statistics open to it. When the time comes, the robot receives a signal—and trades. It's that easy. However, robots do lack an instinct—which can be a good thing, if you're hoping to avoid emotional trades, or a bad thing, if you want someone who'll take advantage of a huge opportunity.

The second type of forex managed accounts is the employee—the investor hires an experienced trader, someone who has long been successful in the market, to make the investor's trades for him. This is at least as good as the robot—probably because the employee designed the robot in the first place—and it's all personalized. Unlike other markets, where money is pooled to maximize profits, your trades are done in your name, and yours alone. It's forex trading by an individual, for another individual, and it stays that way. On the other hand, a personal employee to make your trades for you could cost you a lot more in commissions and fees.

But why should you have one of these forex managed accounts? Why can't you just casually trade on your own, like a money-making hobby on the side? Because trading in the forex market is hard work, and not just anybody can do it. This is a market in which over two trillion dollars are traded every day, and with a market that size, somebody has to be losing. Statistics indicate that that somebody is 90-95% of new traders. Without the right education, you'll lose quickly in the forex market, and education costs money, too. If you're not getting a forex managed account, then you're not getting a hobby—you're getting a job, complete with prior training and continuous studies.

Still interested in working the forex market as a hobby? Or are you sure that one of these forex managed accounts is the right thing for you? It's up to you which type you use, and it's up to you where you get the program or individual to do your trades for you—but a managed account lets you keep your job if you want and rest easy at night, knowing that you're still making money, even while you sleep, without the hassle of training.