Taking the first step is always difficult irrespective of what you do. Trading is no different because you trade in volatile conditions where things can quickly change and result in losses. If you want to become a trader, then you must prepare well. There are different markets available for trading, but Forex remains the most popular choice for traders. This is due to its large trading volume, which gives traders multiple opportunities to make good profits.
The Forex market remains open 24/5, so you can trade at your suitable time. But, you must know how and where to start. For that, you can check out 5 useful tips in the section below to kickstart your journey as a forex trader.
1. Learn As Much As You Can
You may think about what is so new about this tip as you may have read the same countless times already if you have been researching to know more about Forex trading. But the relevance of this age-old tip will always remain as a beginner cannot secure success without learning about the currency market and how it functions. Firstly you have to gain knowledge about forex jargon and its meaning.
After developing an understanding of the fundamental and technical concepts, you should learn about the trading platforms and trading tools that are essential in your trading journey.
In the case of trading platforms, most newbies pick MetaTrader 4 as their first trading platform due to its beginner-friendly layout and simplicity. The MetaTrader 5 platform is another considerable option for those who want additional tools and enhanced multi-asset trading features. You can find desktop as well as mobile app versions of both MT4 and MT5 platforms. Having an app for forex trading is very convenient especially if you are away from your desktop screen.
MT4 is comparatively easier to navigate and will be a perfect fit for first-time traders. Theoretical learning can be completed by reading online content or books based on your preference. But for practical learning, demo account practice is a must.
It is not only useful for sharpening your skills but also allows you to test your strategies without any risk which I am going to explain in detail later on. In short, learning as much as you can is what makes you eligible to start earning as a trader.
2. Open Your Trading Account With A Reliable Broker
You have to open your trading account with a reliable broker for a secure trading experience. You may think that any broker would be fine if you are not aware of the differences in services and pricing of various brokers. You can save a lot on trading costs by finding a cost-effective broker and your trading experience heavily depends on the trading conditions you get on their platform. The speed of order execution must be good or you may end up encountering issues like slippage and price re-quotes more often while trading.
You should always confirm the quality of their services by reading reviews and don’t forget to contact the customer support team before account opening. This way, we can get an overall idea about the responsiveness of the customer support team which is essential for resolving any problems that can arise in future.
The funding and withdrawals must be conducted through a secure payment gateway and we need a few options to choose from for payment mode. Lastly, the account type offered has to match your requirements and the minimum deposit should be within your budget.
3. Develop & Test Your Trading Strategy
Your strategy is a key factor when it comes to your success rate as a forex trader. Hence, we cannot compromise when it comes to creating a sound strategy that is in line with the goals that we want to realise in future. Each trader will have a vision for the perfect strategy and this perspective has to be considered while devising a strategy. If you are planning to follow a popular strategy that is already available on the internet, I highly recommend tailoring it further to go well with your trading personality. Also, don’t forget to work on your risk management plan.
After personalising your strategy, you can optimise it by testing it on a Forex demo account. You can define the parameters and rules that give the best results when you follow the same strategy to practise with virtual funds.
You can also backtest this strategy with historical market data and evaluate the results for a longer period. The best thing about backtesting and demo testing is that you won’t be losing a single penny even if your strategy was incompetent in the market situation. You get a chance to fix the shortcomings and give it your best shot in live trading later on.
4. Always Monitor Your Positions and Track Your Progress
One key difference between trading and investing is that those investors can earn returns even if they ‘buy and forget’ about an asset. This is actually a simple strategy that many investors follow but in forex trading, you have to constantly monitor your trade positions and keep track of your progress every single day. This applies to all types of traders irrespective of the strategy we follow.
Scalpers and day traders should calculate gains and losses on a daily basis and swing traders can do it daily or weekly based on the duration of their trades. For this, a trading calculator would be very useful, as it gives the results in a second.
Position trading has some similarities with investment as you will keep the trade running for a longer duration and the positions will be bigger than other trading styles. Still, you have to monitor the positions from time to time but avoid the urge to act when you get caught up in short-term volatility.
After all, the very essence of position trading is patience and perseverance to withstand the test of time while waiting for a significant profit in the distant future. Still, the habit of journaling can help you to stay on the right track and evaluate your own performance once in a while.
5. Build Emotional Balance
No matter how skilled and knowledgeable you are as a trader, if you are an impulsive person who takes action before thinking, trading will not be an ideal career path for you. But you can change such bad trading habits by learning about trading psychology and building emotional balance. In fact, successful trading is all about striking a balance in everything. The risks and rewards should be balanced and you have to stabilise your emotions to avoid overreacting to unexpected changes in market scenarios. This way, you can remove the risk of emotional trading.
It is normal to feel emotional when you are uncertain about the outcome of your actions. The only way to reduce the uncertainty is to have a reason behind every trade you place.
It is not possible to accurately predict the outcome of trades, but you can fix your losses by placing a strict stop loss in your positions. You can also preserve the profits with a take-profit order. The fear of losses can be kept under control if you limit the risk per trade. It is not about eliminating these emotions but more about not letting them overpower your logical thinking process.
Besides taking calculated risks, you should also take regular breaks from trading as it helps to refresh your mind. Practices like mindfulness have helped a lot of novice traders in improving their focus and when you master stress management techniques, you will be able to stay calm even when the market moves against you. Greed and excitement can be more dangerous than fear and anxiety. Overconfidence is another emotion that you must resist as a forex trader.
Final Thoughts
In the end, the 5 tips that I shared in this blog are just some basic rules to keep you safe throughout your trading journey. But you have to make consistent efforts and continue learning to get rewarded during this journey. When you trade with a professional approach, you will never lose sight of your goals.
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The above article is sponsored content any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of CTN News