FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

03/09/2010
Back To Basics, Part 2: The Definition of a Stop Loss
This week I would like to revert back to the basics of successful trading once more and thought that there would be no better subject to cover than that of the Stop Loss. I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of new Forex students from around the world via both the Online Trading Academy classroom and Extended Learning Track (XLT) experience. Each and every one of these up and coming Forex traders has received the very same message from me and that is regarding the vital importance

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

03/09/2010
Proper Use of the CCI
While I do not use indicators or oscillators in my own trading, I do know one thing for sure - they all work. Yes, I said they all work fine and I mean it. What is needed is to define the word "work." These are all lines plotted on a chart based on different mathematical calculations depending on the indicator or oscillator. The math works fine and the lines are plotted where they should be so do they work? YES. If the definition of "working" has to do with producing profitable buy and sell

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

03/02/2010
The False Security of a Virtual Environment
This week I have been teaching the Professional Forex Trader course in the physical classroom. I enjoy this environment very much as it gives me the opportunity to interact face-to-face with new Online Trading Academy students who are taking their first steps on the path of trading education. We study the various aspects of successful Forex trading including how to determine risk, plan targets, identify trend and how to scan the markets for only the highest probability, low risk setups. It is

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

03/02/2010
Got Questions? Sam has Answers!
Sam, I am an Online Trading Academy stock trading graduate and soon to be futures class attendee (with XLT hopefully to follow if I like futures). Thank you for this week's "Systems Trading - A Complex World with Simple Answers" article; it was very enjoyable, well developed and perfectly explained. The only thing that I would ask is how you use these trade rules for "sideways" markets like we have now? I trade the "SPY" and I am having some difficulties with lack of movement. I often opt out

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/23/2010
Back To Basics, Part 1: Trends
Sometimes we just need to keep things simple. I live by this motto in my personal trading career and always send the same message to each and every one of my classroom and Extended Learning Track (XLT) students. Trading should be clear and practical at all times. The minute we make things too complicated, the account usually suffers as a result. I have been there and bought the t-shirt! After experimenting with various technical indicators and chart patterns, I soon realized that the most

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/23/2010
System Trading – A Complex World with Simple Answers
Recently in the Extended Learning Track (XLT) - Stock Mastery class, we had a lesson on trading systems. While I can't go over all the information during that session in this piece, I wanted to share some of the important aspects of that lesson. I have been in the business of market speculating and market/trading education for over 15 years. While Futures and Forex have always been the main markets I trade and manage accounts in, I have also spent plenty of time trading stocks and options as

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/17/2010
Knowing When Enough is Enough
If I had to name the one single key to successful and consistent trading results, it would be Discipline. In virtually every aspect of trading, we have to control ourselves because as I have stated time and time again in previous articles, human beings were never designed to be traders. Let's list some of the common reasons why most novice traders hit a road block with their activities: 1. They have little concept of protecting their capital and managing risk 2. They do not understand how

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/17/2010
Emotion Always Pays Logic
One of the most common reasons for aspiring traders having difficulty during their journey towards self-empowerment is emotion. Herd mentality trading is an account killer. Buying after a big rally in price is like going to the bank, withdrawing funds from your savings account, and then handing those funds to the person in line behind you. As you leave the bank, you say to yourself, "Why did I just do that?" A while back, I was instructing and trading in Irvine, California. We had a very good

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/09/2010
Your Questions Answered
Hi Sam, Enjoyed your insightful article on 1/26 about supply & demand but my question is: Which chart time frame is most useful? As you know, different time frames will show different pictures so which do you recommend? Thanks for the email. There are two parts to this answer. First, this depends on what type of market speculating you are doing. Are you looking to day trade, swing trade, or trade with a longer term time horizon? Maybe you will do all of the above. Whatever the answer is,

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/09/2010
Short, Sweet and to the Point
It has been a busy couple of weeks for me and I don't mind one bit. I think it is healthy to start a New Year in the way that you plan to go on and 2010 is no exception. With my teaching in class for Online Trading Academy and my ongoing Extended Learning Track (XLT) class commitments, I am always on the move; but one of the best things about trading is that you can fit it around your life so I never feel like I am missing out. In fact, having distractions aside from my own trading is a huge

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/02/2010
Forex Minds Want to Know
I would like to extend a warm thanks to all who read my weekly newsletters. I enjoy writing them thoroughly and if they provide some useful tips and tricks for the many Forex traders out there, then that is an even bigger bonus. As an instructor and Extended Learning Track (XLT) mentor for Online Trading Academy, I am constantly receiving numerous emails from my students and traders new to the world of Online Trading Academy education and one of the biggest challenges I face on a day to day

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

02/03/2010
Trading Tools You May Not Find in Books
Do you agree with Sam? Debate with other traders in FXstreet.com Forum. As I have mentioned many times, at the core of any successful trading and investing strategy is an "edge." Few traders and investors ever attain the significant market edge they desire and there is a simple reason for this. Most new market speculators begin their quest for edge-building information and education at the local book store or online. They naturally are drawn to reading best sellers and popular authors with

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/27/2010
Perception vs Reality, Part 3: Technical Analysis vs Price Action
So this week comes the final part of my exploration of the huge differences between our Perceptions of trading and the actual Reality. A couple of weeks ago when I wrote the first part of this series of articles, you may have wondered why I was making such a huge deal of something which most active traders in the world have never given a moment's thought about, but that's fine with me. I also know that the majority of the world's active traders struggle to achieve consistent profits in the

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/26/2010
Trade What is Real, Not What You Feel
Remove the Veil of Illusion from Trading and Investing Consistent low risk profits from trading and investing is a challenge many millions of people take on, yet only a select few are ever able to attain. The objective and mechanical rules for consistent low risk profits are very simple, yet the layers of illusions keep most from ever seeing what is real in trading and investing. The two main forms of analysis in trading and investing are technical and fundamental analysis, and they are very

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/21/2010
Perception vs Reality, Part 2: Consistent Wins or Consistent Profits
Following on from my previous newsletter, this week I will continue my exploration of the differences between trading perceptions and realities. There are various market myths floating around at anytime but among the most common I encounter from novice traders is on the subject of win to loss ratios. Pretty much everytime I teach a class or do a presentation, I am asked, "What is your percentage of winning to losing trades?" I do not baulk when asked this, as I clearly remember asking the very

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/21/2010
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
One of my favorite John Candy movies of all time. When I was a teenager, I was an extra in another one of his movies and got to meet him, big funny guy just like I expected. As funny as the movie is, there is a real story in it that all traders need to be aware of. I go through periods where I travel quite a bit. Air travel can be draining because air travel means airports. Being an Executive Platinum member, knowing all the short cuts and tricks with lines and special seating, I still find

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/12/2010
Perception vs Reality, Part 1: Value and Price
Time and time again, I have said that all humans were never designed to become consistently profitable traders. There are many reasons why the majority of individuals fail to make regular profits from Forex trading, but in the end, it all stems from the simple fact that most people are completely unaware of the difference between perception and reality. Ever since people began to speculate in the money markets, there has been this common belief that only the top guys in Wall Street have the

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/13/2010
The Quest for Truth
At the core of any significant economic, political, scientific, social, medical, psychological or cultural theory lies a quest to understand and quantify the forces of change, action, or energy. The theories that attempt to quantify "force" that have stood the test of time date back centuries and are extremely simple. In 1686, noted physicist Isaac Newton suggested in his Laws of Motion that an object will remain in motion until it is met with an equal or greater force. Noted economist Adam

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/07/2010
New Year's Resolutions
In keeping with the seasonal spirit, I thought that I would offer some suggestions for 2010. We all try to make New Year’s resolutions in an attempt to get ourselves on the right track for the months ahead. As we know in the reality of life, these good intentions are often forgotten quickly and we fall back into old habits we were trying to break in the first place! We are all guilty of this, as we are only human but I would highly suggest that where your Forex trading is concerned, you can

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/06/2010
A Key Rule, Often Overlooked
All market speculators share the same goal which is to enjoy consistent low risk profits. To accomplish this goal, you must be able to identify market turning points as this is the only way to attain low risk and high reward entries into market (trading) positions. Whether you are a short term day trader or a longer term investor, nothing changes. Identifying key market turning points is the only way to attain the ideal risk / reward opportunity. Leading the Extended Learning Track (XLT)

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/05/2010
Exclusive: The Experts' New Year Resolutions
The most famous names of FXstreet.com have shared with us their resolutions regarding their trading for 2010! Start off the year with the right foot and get inspired by the goals our contributors have for the year to come... Maybe some of them can be useful for your own trading too! 2009 is behind us. Let's go to 2010 in good spirits! Enjoy the reading! Ashraf Laidi Diversifiy away from GBP. Get more Coins. Refine the Intermarket Way. [Full Story] Ed Ponsi Trade more exotic currencies Focus

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/05/2010
Phil Newton's New Year Resolutions
Continue to develop and research ideas . Follow the plan until it dies or a new plan comes along . I used to use this philosophy with my girlfriends.. now I'm married I suppose I have to take my wife's view point now... do as I'm told until new instructions are given...basically Just in case the message has not sunk in regards to trading... FOLLOW THE TRADING PLAN. -- Phil Newton is Developer of Trading Strategies at Trading Strategies.info. He is a self taught trader who has traded Futures,

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

01/05/2010
Andrei Pehar's New Year Resolutions
Delegate more tasks so I can focus on trading with fewer interruptions or mental shifting of gears throughout the day. Automate as many company processes as possible. Spend more time analyzing the data collected in my trading journal ; quantify which mistakes are happening how often, what they cost, and therefore need the most immediate attention. Eventually automate this process as well. Spend more time outside , with my wife and with my dogs. Eat more organic foods and replace all household

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Ashraf Laidi's New Year Resolutions
Diversifiy away from GBP. The Bank of England is set to remove quantitative easing later this year, the UK Treasury talks about spending cuts, the new VAT coming through in 2010 and the down-and-dirty British Elections are due in May. None of these developments is good for sterling and the UK economy which has yet to recover from recession. Therefore, sterling may regain its status as the whipping boy of FX in 2010. Although I still reside in London, I'll look to diversify into USD in the

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Dr Sivaraman's New Year Resolutions
Focus more on the forecast and give more trade related  solutions Focus more on money management  techniques keeping in mind the limitations of the platform providers Try to give more improvised market readings in the blog. I Hope the above could be achieved in the New year. -- Dr S. Sivarman is CEO and Owner of i-knowindices.com. He is providing Forex market forecast through to various subscribed financial institutions, banks,and traders of different parts of the world. [More about

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Ed Ponsi's New Year Resolutions
Trade more exotic currencies . Sometimes we miss great opportunities because we focus on just a small group of currencies. Exotics can be volatile and dangerous, but can also be more rewarding than the majors - if you know what you are doing. Focus more on interest .  2010 will be the year when many central banks start raising rates, so I'll be monitoring central banks and their expectations closely. 2010 will be a year when traders will be able to get in on the ground floor of a new set

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Mark Whistler's New Year Resolutions
Remain Cautious of the "The Maniac" Nec Hercules Contra Duos In Chapter II (The Maniac) famous masterpiece Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton (Dodd, Mead & Co., 1908), the author presents an argument, which (as a quick summary) serves to analyze the mind of a "maniac", or in other words, the "opinionated views of a madman." To keep ourselves from becoming close-minded maniacs trapped in our narrow, passionate, deterministic logic, we absolutely must take the time to dig into all details of

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Chris Capre's New Year Resolutions
I want more of my trading in 2010 to come from Automated EA's instead of me sitting in front of the computer for hours. Money is a renewable resource and I make plenty of it.  But time is not.  I can never get time back and the 20th century is fraught with traders spending likely more time in front of the computer than necessary. With that being said, I will probably over-work my programmer this year to automate as much of my trading as can be done until we own the Hal 9000 which

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Jerry Furst's New Year Resolutions
Resolutions or Goals – What’s the Difference? Resolutions are like promises and commitments and I do not make promises I do not intend to keep nor do I take on commitments lightly. When I commit to something it’s going to take something really strong to derail me from keeping my commitment. Psychologically once a promise is broken it is too easy to dismiss the entire effort and derail some very good efforts and intentions. So I like the term of “goals� better and so I hereby commit to three

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Raghee Horner's New Year Resolutions
This last year was an eye-opener even after all the years I've been trading futures and forex. And while I try not to make the same mistakes, we're all human, even the "experts" have battles with internal and external psychology.  I think fat too many of us think a trend can go too far (e.g AUD/USD or the U.S. Dollar Index) and the temptation for picking tops or bottoms can be a hard one to resist. Luckily, because of my philosophy of using the 34ema Wave and letting market cycles dictate

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Markus Heitkoetter's New Year Resolutions
Test New Trading Ideas The markets change constantly, and as day traders we see more and more market become liquid and tradable. Over the years I have accumulated a lot of trading knowledge, and I tried many trading concepts. At the time when I tried them they might not have worked, but with all these opportunities popping up I will revisit some trading ideas and thoroughly test them to see if they can be applied in today's markets. Team up with other active traders None of us is as smart as

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
James Chen's New Year Resolutions
Heed my own advice about always maintaining highly-disciplined risk management practices as well as keeping my emotions out of my trading. I've said it countless times in seminars and webinars, in my books and magazine articles, as well as one-on-one with traders around the world: If there is one key to trading success, it is the development of optimal risk management guidelines and the discipline to follow them. This is true regardless of the particular trading strategy that is used. Coupled

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Adam Rosen's New Year Resolutions
To incorporate a completely new trading approach into my routine. My personal pick - Elliot Wave Analysis. To become a better fundamental trader , tracking the major economic releases and their correlation to the everyday price action of the forex market. To begin to follow additional forex markets more closely ; such as the Chinese Juan, Brazilian Real, and Mexican Peso. -- Adam Rosen is CEO and Co-Founder at 4xLounge. He has worked on Wall Street for nearly 10 years in a number of capacities

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Ryan O'Keefe's New Year Resolutions
Improve my efficiency adding to a winning trade. I've never been very good at adding to a winning trade or "stacking" as some traders call it. Traditionally I've been a risk-to-reward based trader, but I see the value in starting a position small and adding to it as the market confirms your hypothesis. Maintain a consistent trading journal In 2009 my personal record keeping was horrible. I slacked off from keeping a regular trading journal, and I feel the lack of discipline crept into other

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Valeria Bednarik's New Year Resolutions
Learn something completely new and different from my current trading techniques. Probably harmonic patterns or a deeper understanding of Gann numbers theories. That's just a personal need to be always learning something new in life, regarding anything. I believe that we are alive, as long as we keep learning. Life itself is an amazing learning adventure, and I always focused on seizing the chance of learning all i can Learn about the behavior of exotic currencies. Trading for me is

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Derek Frey's New Year Resolutions
My resolution is to continue to improve upon my harmonic trading method.   My method has served me well this past year, but improvements are always possible. This year I am looking for ways to reduce the so called “streakingâ€� both winning and losing within my trading. My method over time has a great history and track record but like many is prone to “clusteringâ€� of winners and losers. Which in the long run is not necessarily a bad thing. The reason I want to improve that is because for

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/31/2009
Triffany Hammond's New Year Resolutions
Backtest more pending order type trading. I like that my current trading has a live-action feel, but I want to develop more tools for myself that allow me to take advantage of times when I can't be at the computer. It would also be really helpful to my students who have a daytime job to have a jumping off point for their trading as well. Grow into more effective money management. Every year I try to learn more effective ways to capitalize on my winners and have long ago abandoned the thought

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/30/2009
When a Little Becomes a Lot...
Before I get into the subject of this article, I would like you to sit back and have a good think about your trading: Ask yourself what kind of trader you want to be, how you envision your daily trading activities and what you feel it will take for you to become consistently profitable in this most challenging, yet rewarding of careers... Yes, I agree this is a strange way for me to open my introduction of this article, but like I have said many times before, the majority of people attempting

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/30/2009
Don't Be a Blind Donor
I have been writing articles each week to Online Trading Academy members for over two years. My goal is to slowly help the misinformed public gain an edge that levels the playing field in the trading and investing world between the novice hard working public and the "Wall Street" professional. As I have said many times, money is simply transferred from the misinformed novice who does not understand the reality of how money and markets work to those with proper "edge-building" education on the

FXstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies
Fxstreet.com: Education: Trading Strategies. Useful resources for those who want to explore new ways to approach the currencies market.

12/22/2009
Swing Trading Techniques
This article is taken from the Forex Journal (December 2009 issue). The author, Howard Friend , is Chief Market Strategist at MIG Investments SA based in Neuchatel, Switzerland. He has worked as trader and mar- ket analyst for over 20 years and has developed proprietary trading methods to time the markets. Howard Friend takes some time to compare trend traders with swing traders. He also provides insight into swing trading using Bull and Bear Trap strategies...