Forex Software - Choosing the Best

Forex Software - Choosing the Best

When it comes to forex trading the forex software you choose is essential. There are so many forex trading companies all competing for your business that choosing the right forex software can be quite a difficult task. Most of the forex software products available offers live online forex trading platforms but what other components are vital when it comes to your forex software.
Key Elements For Your Forex Software
Before purchasing any forex software there are a few essential items that should be included. The most important is security and your online forex trading software should include a 128 bit SSL encryption which will prevent hackers from accessing any of your personal details and information such as your account balance, transaction history, etc.
Providing the best security for your forex trading will include a company that provides 24 hour technical server support for your forex software, 24 hour maintenance should anything go wrong, daily backups of all information, and a security system that has been designed to prevent any unauthorized access. Along with these security protocols there are also some forex trading companies that use smart cards and fingerprint scanners to ensure that only their employees can have access to their servers.
Another important factor when it comes to choosing your forex software is to check what the company’s downtime is like. When it comes to trading forex and particularly your online forex trading you need to ensure that the forex software you choose is reliable and available 24 hours a day. The forex software you choose for your forex trading should also have technical support available at all times should your session be cut short.
Ensuring that all the above features are listed in the forex software you choose will help to ensure your forex trading success

The FOREX Market- Trade with your head not your heart!

Sounds simple…right? In actuality, this is the number one reason why day traders lose their shirts. They let their emotions get the best of them and end up doing something real stupid. Trust me I’ve done it.
When trading currency, you need to take yourself away from the platform and look at your trades in actual bills not numerical values on a computer screen. For example, let’s say you short the USD/JPY for a 50 mini-lot right before a data release and it tanks. The USD/JPY goes down about 50 some odd pips and now you’re up $2500 in about thirty seconds.
Now, if you were smart, you would close the position and take your profit, but you’re not and you decide to let it ride. The market goes down about another 10 pips. So, now you’re up $3000 and you still won’t close it. You think that it’s going to keep tanking and that you could make 5-6k on this one trade…wishful thinking.
All of sudden the market retraces and shoots back up 20 pips, your still up about $2000, but now you tell yourself, I’ll wait until it goes back down a few pips and then close it. Too late, the market ignites and now you’re break-even and then you’re negative. In the end you take a $500 loser, which isn’t too bad, but considering you were up $3000 it’s like you lost $3500.
Now, let’s pretend you did this same trade with actual, physical dollar bills. Now or days most people trade from a three wide spread, so let’s say that you gave a trade booker $150 cash to place a short USD/JPY 50 lot. The data is released and this man keeps giving you $50 bills and before you know it you have $3000 in your hands. In order to keep this money all you have to say is close.
You decide to press your luck and wait and the market continues to trend down and now you have $3500 cash. All of sudden, the market begins to retrace and this nice young man starts taking $50 from you each pip it retraces. How many pips does the market have to retrace before you say close? Maybe, ten pips? Once you saw actual dollar bills being taken away from you, you would throw in the towel. So, how does one improve their money management skills?
First of all, realize that you are trading real money. I’m sure you realize that the money you are trading is real money, but do you conceptualize it? When you make a few hundred or a few thousand dollars trading, do you feel like someone just handed you cash? Of course not! Every time you’re trading, no matter if you are profitable or not profitable visualize and grasp the outcome. Don’t just watch your balance and equity fluctuate; you need to relate your loss and gains to every day life.
For example, let’s say you have a 10k account and in the first week you doubled that to 20k. You need to step back and understand what you just accomplished; you just made 10k in one week by sitting in front of your computer and trading currency. Now, let’s take that money and put it to everyday use. If you were handed a free 10k, what would you do with the money?
Would you pay of some debt, by a car, put money down on a home, go on a vacation, put it towards school, I think you get the gist. All I’m saying is that 10k is yours, you own it and there is no reason you have to keep in the FOREX. You are that 10% that succeeded this week, but the law of averages states that you are most likely to be the 90% next week. If not next week then the week after and if not then, eventually you will.
If you invest 10k and your account doubles to 20k, why would you pull out 15k leave in 5k and go for the gusto? If you lose your remaining 5k who cares you still made 5k in a week at your computer. Tell me another investment where I can make 50% on a 10k investment in one week. Turn around the following week pull my initial investment and my profit and still have 5k to play with. If I hadn’t experienced this first hand then I would have never believed it. DO NOT GIVE YOUR WINNINGS BACK TO THE MARKET! It’s not worth it.

Why Trade the Forex Market?

If you are interested in trading currencies online, you will find the Forex market offers several advantages over stock and futures trading.
24-hour trading
Forex is a true 24-hour market. Whether it's 6pm or 6am, somewhere in the world there are buyers and sellers actively trading foreign currencies. Traders can always respond to breaking news immediately, and P&L is not affected by after hours earning reports or analyst conference calls.
After hours trading for U.S. stocks and futures brings with it several limitations. ECN's (Electronic Communication Networks), also called matching systems, exist to bring together buyers and sellers - when possible. However, there is no guarantee that every trade will be executed, nor at a fair market price. Quite frequently, traders must wait until the market opens the following day in order to receive a tighter spread.
Superior liquidity
With a daily trading volume that is 50x larger than the New York Stock Exchange, there are always broker/dealers willing to buy or sell currencies in the Forex markets. The liquidity of this market, especially that of the major currencies, helps ensure price stability. Traders can almost always open or close a position at a fair market price.
Because of the lower trade volume, investors in the stock market and other exchange-traded markets are more vulnerable to liquidity risk, which results in a wider dealing spread or larger price movements in response to any relatively large transaction.
100:1 Leverage
100:1 leverage is commonly available from online Forex dealers, which substantially exceeds the common 2:1 margin offered by equity brokers, and 15:1 in the futures market. At 100:1, traders post $1000 margin for a $100,000 position, or 1%.
While certainly not for everyone, the substantial leverage available from online currency trading firms is a powerful, moneymaking tool. Rather than merely loading up on risk as many people incorrectly assume, leverage is essential in the Forex market. This is because the average daily percentage move of a major currency is less than 1%, whereas a stock can easily have a 10% price move on any given day. The most effective way to manage the risk associated with margined trading is to diligently follow a disciplined trading style that consistently utilizes stop and limit orders. Devise and adhere to a system where your controls kick in when emotion might otherwise take over. Leverage is a double-edged sword and necessitates the use of proper money management. Without proper risk management, this high degree of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.
Trading potential in both rising and falling markets
In every open Forex position, an investor is long in one currency and short the other. A short position is one in which the trader sells the base currency in anticipation that it will depreciate. This means that trading potential exists in a rising as well as a falling market.
The ability to sell currencies without any limitations is another distinct advantage over equity trading. In the US equity markets, it is much more difficult to establish a short position due to the Zero Uptick rule, which prevents investors from shorting a stock unless the immediately preceding trade was equal to or lower than the price of the short sale.
Risk Statement: "Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts."

the best hours for forex trading

What Are The Best Hours For Forex Trading?

Forex is 24 hour market – it's traded from Sunday 5pm EST through Friday 4pm EST. Rollover is at 5pm EST.

Forex Major markets are: London, New York and Tokyo.

Forex Trading activity is heaviest when major markets overlap - between 2am and 4am EST (Asian/European) and between 8am to 12pm EST(European/N. American).

Nearly two-thirds of New York activity occurs in the morning hours while European markets are open