Forex Trading - Help!

[Chivas]

Am with FXCM - micro account ie 10 cents a pip. Accept proof documents by fax or email and payment by credit card. Only been with them for six months and haven't attempted to withdraw funds as yet. Only complaint is that there is no way to contact them in an emergency, they won't give out phone number. If internet drops out and you haven't had chance to insert a stop, you could get whipsawed for lots of lolly.

I would dump them soonest then !!!

No telephone access ?? Are you sure ??

Surely they insert a stop automatically or have you overridden the facility ??

Chivas

I've just clicked on "Contact Us" on the home page of the FXCM web site and I see 5 telephone numbers listed.

Chivas, I have never seen a broker that will put in an automatic stop loss. A stop should never be automatic. Where to place it depends on the time frame, support and resistance levels and other parameters and is an integral part of trading?

Tradefair do indeed put an automatic stop loss on a FX trade.

You do however have the choice to override at outset or at anytime after-they will automatically pull the plug at account balance zero if you let the trade run.

Chivas

[teacup]

Ok just checked with the INTERACTIVE BROKER,

Hmm their website sort of too sloooow to me--for each page display I had to wait forever….

And they don’t have the “free trial period”, so there is no way for me to try them out first before putting in the minimum deposit requirement…..BUMMER

Ok will try to go through the list of that “100forexbroker.com” this weekend,

Will see whats going on in each one of them, before I ask further questions

Thank you very much for all your input so far

If there is any new development on other firms that might be better, just keep them coming.

I’m sure there are some other people who would like to get in also, but still duh duh and don’t know where to start ….JUST LIKE ME

You guys......keep talking.......I love reading all your dialogs & comments.....very new and interesting to know

TC

[trd]

teacup, if you just want to get an initial feel for the forex market you can open a demo account from IBFX and download a free integrated trading platform and charting package called Metatrader. That's what I use and it's more than adequate.

[teacup]

trd

I didn't see they're offering the demo account - anywhere on their main page

err...where should I click it then?

[jesimps]

Am with FXCM - micro account ie 10 cents a pip. Accept proof documents by fax or email and payment by credit card. Only been with them for six months and haven't attempted to withdraw funds as yet. Only complaint is that there is no way to contact them in an emergency, they won't give out phone number. If internet drops out and you haven't had chance to insert a stop, you could get whipsawed for lots of lolly.

Hey jesimps have you looked at FXCM contact page. I just had another look. I've never seen such good telephone broker support. There is even toll free from Thailand. And another thing. I'd forgotten I still had FXCM Trading Station on my computer. You can insert a predefined stop as an emergency stop. Perhaps this is what Chivas meant just in case you lose your internet connection.

.

Went to 'Support' on the trading platform and couldn't find any contact numbers. Sent them an email and they came back with something like 'We don't have phone contact because we have no dealing desk, thus being able to keep spreads to a minimum'. I didn't look at their web site.

Just tried to access their website and it seems to be on the blink, also their trading platforms both real and demo are dead slow and stop and it's difficult to get a trade started. Anyone else having bother today?

Good to know that they put on automatic stops, didn't realise that. Will check the website for phone numbers when it stops playing up.

[jesimps]

Anyone got the phone number of FXCM? Want to ring them to tell them that I can't access their site. Anybody else having problems?

[trd]

What is your problem? Their contact page is full of phone numbers.

http://www.fxcm.com/contact-fxcm.jsp

[trd]

jesimps, I just tried their demo platform and it seems to have very fast execution. Are you sure your internet connection is OK.

[trd]

trd

I didn't see they're offering the demo account - anywhere on their main page

err...where should I click it then?

Just click on the "open a free demo account" on the home page. How can you miss it.

[Harmonica]

FOREX trading - Help!!!

Which company…????

For anyone who are doing FOREX!!!

I’m trying to get in to the forex trading here.

Been thinking/lurking for such a long time on this idea, so now I think it's the time.

Just want to know……from your own experiences

Which company is good/reliable to sign up with?

Average monthly fee

Good customer service

Good/reliable access to technical indicators/ live charts

Ease of transaction and money transfer

Offering paperless statement

Convenience /Accessibility of trading from Thailand

Or anything you want to point out….

I just don’t know which one is the best, there are sooooo many of them to choose from

Thanks in advance for you help

TC

Before you enter this arena, visit your fav. proctologist and have all orifices sealed properly. You are entering a totally unregulated market that will make the antics of the US govt. look saintly in comparison.

Interactive Brokers is #1, but min. account is (or used to be) $25k. Software stinks, so use only the order form, but do analysis in alpari. Alpari lets the prices flow directly into Omega Research Tradestation and/or Metastock.

Oanda is #2 and there is no account minimum.

Alpari UK or Moscow is exceptionally good (prefer UK) but I place it in #3 - no or low minimum reqd here.

CMC in England is also good.

-----------------------------------------------

[Harmonica]

contd-

Avoid at all costs these major scoundrels:

Saxo Bank in Denmark, a major player and this one alone can turn your whole body into a giant orifice.

FXCM will slide the spread up and down and confuse the daylights out of you and dishonor your stops left and right - you'll leave in a month broke, your bankroll gone. The only way to beat FXCM is to not use STOPS at all or by trading on the daily timeframe where the stops are wide. If they mess with you then, get a lawyer and you'll win easily.

Give yourself 2-3 yrs to learn the ropes.

-------------------------------------------

Important to remember, 95% of entrants into forex will lose their roll in the first 3 months and walk bowlegged for years.

Why?

Because the brokers sweet talk them into playing with leverage upto even 400:1.

My suggestion - for the first year go with just 2% of your bankroll per position. Don't use close stops.

If you lose it all at least you will spread your education out over a year to 2 or more. This gives you time to learn. The cost of education is generally inevitable, but it can be spread out over considerable time.

Then when you are ready to play, pick just one currency pair and stick with it. Learn it well, its habits, idiosyncracies, power volume times, when tokyo/London/US powers it up or down etc.

Rec: EURUSD

alt rec: GBPUSD

the former has highest volume of all markets worldwide and X times bigger than the New York stock exchange and all of Europe combined.

[keestha]

Important to remember, 95% of entrants into forex will lose their roll in the first 3 months and walk bowlegged for years.

And the vast majority of the remaining 5% will lose their money later on. Forex movements are impossible to predict, because there are too many factors influencing them. Real money is to be made with forex only if you start a brokerage, then the losses of the "traders" are your profits. And that's the reason there are so many of these brokerage firms.

Now there might be somebody coming forward who claims he has made good money with forex for an extended period of time (think 5 years), but if it is true at all, this is just the exception that confirms the rule.

It's a dead end street, Teacup. Why don't you consider commodities such as coffee or rubber as an alternative, or maybe gold?

[Chivas]

Important to remember, 95% of entrants into forex will lose their roll in the first 3 months and walk bowlegged for years.

And the vast majority of the remaining 5% will lose their money later on. Forex movements are impossible to predict, because there are too many factors influencing them. Real money is to be made with forex only if you start a brokerage, then the losses of the "traders" are your profits. And that's the reason there are so many of these brokerage firms.

Now there might be somebody coming forward who claims he has made good money with forex for an extended period of time (think 5 years), but if it is true at all, this is just the exception that confirms the rule.

It's a dead end street, Teacup. Why don't you consider commodities such as coffee or rubber as an alternative, or maybe gold?

Some of what you state is correct and makes sense-likewise the previous poster.

He stated 2% only on a single position-I go 1% most of the time but not always, but very rarely more than 2%.

Sticking to one single currency pairing IMHO is the way forward.

I dispute that 95% of people lose (although I have no figures to support it) but I find it relatively "easy" (and I say that with caution) to pick the correct movement of the Sterling/Dollar 65% of the time having watched the movements for an hour or so.

I will make it clear that if Im sat on £50 profit within a few minutes of opening a position, I will close it and go to the beach !!

Likewise if Ive picked the wrong movement I again will close the position very quickly.

Everyone has a different strategy.

Chivas

Edited February 21, 2009 by Chivas

[trd]

keestha, you state that it is impossible to predict forex movements yet recommend commodities as if different rules apply. You cannot predict the direction of price with certainty in any market. But that's not the point.

Trading is a probability game. You cannot consistently win without consistently losing. The trick is to trade setups that have a higher probability of winning than losing, so let's say that over time you have 7 winning trades and 3 losing trades out of 10 on average, then you will win overall. That is trading in a nutshell. There is no other way. What you need is a trading edge, discipline and good money management. Your worst enemy is not the broker, its your own emotions. But I agree that most traders lose money.

[PCA]

Important to remember, 95% of entrants into forex will lose their roll in the first 3 months and walk bowlegged for years.

And the vast majority of the remaining 5% will lose their money later on. Forex movements are impossible to predict, because there are too many factors influencing them. Real money is to be made with forex only if you start a brokerage, then the losses of the "traders" are your profits. And that's the reason there are so many of these brokerage firms.

Now there might be somebody coming forward who claims he has made good money with forex for an extended period of time (think 5 years), but if it is true at all, this is just the exception that confirms the rule.

It's a dead end street, Teacup. Why don't you consider commodities such as coffee or rubber as an alternative, or maybe gold?

it is not true that currency movements are not predictable. The "95% are losing" claim is maybe correct though nobody knows and if then the reason why it appears to be so high is because most wannabe traders after having recognized that trading is not leading to rapid wealth but needs to be steadily studied and adusted finally give up their dreams and hopes. Coffee and rubber, yeah good luck.

[Harmonica]

FOREX trading - Help!!!

Which company…????

For anyone who are doing FOREX!!!

I’m trying to get in to the forex trading here.

Been thinking/lurking for such a long time on this idea, so now I think it's the time.

Just want to know……from your own experiences

Which company is good/reliable to sign up with?

Average monthly fee

Good customer service

Good/reliable access to technical indicators/ live charts

Ease of transaction and money transfer

Offering paperless statement

Convenience /Accessibility of trading from Thailand

Or anything you want to point out….

I just don’t know which one is the best, there are sooooo many of them to choose from

Thanks in advance for you help

TC

Sorry teacup, I didn't know.

Please ignore the 2 offensive phrases in my 2 posts to your question.

Goodluck in forex

Harmonica

[sleepyjohn]

FOREX trading - Help!!!

Just want to know……from your own experiences.....

Or anything you want to point out….

TC

If you manage to paper trade and come out ahead you'd better be able to determine whether that period was statistically valid.

If you come out ahead after a year you'd better decide what brings you outside that %age of punters flooded with free accounts who are of course bound by chance to win.

You'd then better be able to make a valid judgement whether the past will be representative of the future.

Think you can do that?

What I'm saying is if you play this game and can't work out who's the patsy.......you're the patsy.

Edited February 21, 2009 by sleepyjohn

[keestha]

keestha, you state that it is impossible to predict forex movements yet recommend commodities as if different rules apply. You cannot predict the direction of price with certainty in any market. But that's not the point.

Trading is a probability game. You cannot consistently win without consistently losing. The trick is to trade setups that have a higher probability of winning than losing, so let's say that over time you have 7 winning trades and 3 losing trades out of 10 on average, then you will win overall. That is trading in a nutshell. There is no other way. What you need is a trading edge, discipline and good money management. Your worst enemy is not the broker, its your own emotions. But I agree that most traders lose money.

trd,

In my experience, in the long run every forex trader ends up losing and quitting.

I still would like to hear reports from people having made a living off forex for at least 5 years.

So I am not talking about folks who do it as a hobby, taking in $70 profit every now and then.

[trd]

My advice is to stop reading people's opinions on forex trading, including mine.

[sleepyjohn]

In my experience, in the long run every forex trader ends up losing and quitting.

I still would like to hear reports from people having made a living off forex for at least 5 years.

So I am not talking about folks who do it as a hobby, taking in $70 profit every now and then.

I actually know a long term successful currency trader. Quite a few contracts I think. He keeps very quiet and most of his days are only one hour. That said I have seen his broker try to screw him out of a (marvellous) trade. if you are successful this is another problem. Brokers don't pass on individual trades they lay them off wholesale so if you win regularly....they have a good reason to not want you around.

i also have a friend who ran a currency trading fund which produced ca 2% pm for a couple of years. Sadly he and his clients suffered a full-stop cropper when REFCO went belly up.

That said I tend like you to be pessimistic, most don't cut the mustard.

Once again to the OP if you can't identify a particular reason why you should be able to trade better than the countless other intelligent and diligent people out there almost certainly isn't one.

John

ps: Plus you get the added benefit of doing something else more salubrious for a living.

[teacup]

Sorry teacup, I didn't know.

Please ignore the 2 offensive phrases in my 2 posts to your question.

Goodluck in forex

Harmonica

Harmonica

Yea....you were soo mean!!!!..............haha just joking!!!

Seriously....No worry, I could see through your good intentions ja

Sleepyjohn

Don't worry I'm not such an easy victim here, cause I won't be doing anything until I know what am doing

And I have been mangaging my own portfolio w/ 2 other brokers since I first open them, and so far so good....knock knock here

Thanks for you concern and caution,...much appreciated

Now I need to go back for more research of those FX-brokers on the list

Later

TC

Edited February 22, 2009 by teacup

[keestha]

Well, the outcome of this thread, and other forex threads for that matter, seems pretty obvious to me. Lots of people coming forward who are dabbling in forex, but nobody who has actually been making a living of it, for an extended period of time.

Teacup, maybe it makes you feel better right now to ignore warnings, because you have made your decision already. But I certainly hope you see this only as a hobby, and that you don't have the illusion that this could ever develop into a steady source of income for you.

Whatever you do, stay clear of Thailand based brokerage firms. Some of them have been known to give people who bring in new "traders" a percentage of their inevitable losses.

[Gary A]

It's a simple thing. Just like a casino, for every winner there's a loser.

[trd]

Well, the outcome of this thread, and other forex threads for that matter, seems pretty obvious to me. Lots of people coming forward who are dabbling in forex, but nobody who has actually been making a living of it, for an extended period of time.

Teacup, maybe it makes you feel better right now to ignore warnings, because you have made your decision already. But I certainly hope you see this only as a hobby, and that you don't have the illusion that this could ever develop into a steady source of income for you.

Whatever you do, stay clear of Thailand based brokerage firms. Some of them have been known to give people who bring in new "traders" a percentage of their inevitable losses.

Why do you assume that no one is making a living from trading. Do they have an obligation to declare it to you?

[keestha]

Well, if somebody would say it is impossible to make a living with the type of business I am doing, I would certainly step forward and contradict.

[teacup]

Kheestha

Kob kun ja for your concerns

No I haven’t made my decision yet but just want to get into the paper trading . Right now I’m more interested in analyzing those charts for my future transfer when making big purchases in Thailand.

And they won’t let me see those technical charts unless I sign up with them first!!!....arghhhhhhh

May be one day if it’s proven to be interesting, but for now I’m more comfortable with trading the equities and options

Oh btw…one of my acadamic background is in chart reading/interpretation.

I'm not right everytimes, but the odd of right is higher most times.

And

I don’t trust “most” people and things easily until they are proven after doing the pro/cons analysis

Hey you guys….."Just for fun"

If more people here are interested in FX - may be we should set up the “monthly or quarterly competition”, right here on thaivisa/under the special topic.

May be we could divide into 2 teams, and post the monthly/quarterly prediction at the beginning of each period………then wait to see the result at the end of the said period

Pick any pair..... or two or three pairs - based on our prior mutual agreement....up to U

It could be fun..........what do all think?..huh

err.....Ok just the thought tho, if no one interested that ok too

later

TC

Edited February 23, 2009 by teacup

[PCA]

Kheestha

Kob kun ja for your concerns

No I haven’t made my decision yet but just want to get into the paper trading . Right now I’m more interested in analyzing those charts for my future transfer when making big purchases in Thailand.

And they won’t let me see those technical charts unless I sign up with them first!!!....arghhhhhhh

May be one day if it’s proven to be interesting, but for now I’m more comfortable with trading the equities and options

Oh btw…one of my acadamic background is in chart reading/interpretation.

I'm not right everytimes, but the odd of right is higher most times.

And

I don’t trust “most” people and things easily until they are proven after doing the pro/cons analysis

Hey you guys….."Just for fun"

If more people here are interested in FX - may be we should set up the “monthly or quarterly competition”, right here on thaivisa/under the special topic.

May be we could divide into 2 teams, and post the monthly/quarterly prediction at the beginning of each period………then wait to see the result at the end of the said period

Pick any pair..... or two or three pairs - based on our prior mutual agreement....up to U

It could be fun..........what do all think?..huh

err.....Ok just the thought tho, if no one interested that ok too

later

TC

teacup,

you can open a paper trading account with TOS (www.thinkorswim.com) and watch as well as sim trade currencies in realtime with all the charting features you like and its all free. When you want to change to trading with real money you can open an account with another broker as I would not recommend using TOS for Forex trading.

[Nouf]

Kheestha

Kob kun ja for your concerns

No I haven't made my decision yet but just want to get into the paper trading . Right now I'm more interested in analyzing those charts for my future transfer when making big purchases in Thailand.

And they won't let me see those technical charts unless I sign up with them first!!!....arghhhhhhh

May be one day if it's proven to be interesting, but for now I'm more comfortable with trading the equities and options

Oh btw…one of my acadamic background is in chart reading/interpretation.

I'm not right everytimes, but the odd of right is higher most times.

And

I don't trust "most" people and things easily until they are proven after doing the pro/cons analysis

Hey you guys….."Just for fun"

If more people here are interested in FX - may be we should set up the "monthly or quarterly competition", right here on thaivisa/under the special topic.

May be we could divide into 2 teams, and post the monthly/quarterly prediction at the beginning of each period………then wait to see the result at the end of the said period

Pick any pair..... or two or three pairs - based on our prior mutual agreement....up to U

It could be fun..........what do all think?..huh

err.....Ok just the thought tho, if no one interested that ok too

later

TC

teacup,

you can open a paper trading account with TOS (www.thinkorswim.com) and watch as well as sim trade currencies in realtime with all the charting features you like and its all free. When you want to change to trading with real money you can open an account with another broker as I would not recommend using TOS for Forex trading.

Hello,

If you are just looking to try out software you can look here and try this Demo out, you dont need to even put in correct ino, although you will need a valid e-mail address, (stick a gmail address in there)

then download the package

meta 4 is a top class charting package, i have used pretty much all of them ( e-signal, CQG, EnSign) but i like using Meta 4 as it cost Nothing yes this package is a Demo, and you can keep it for free for Ever, not some 2 months trial package (well its been working for free for me for years)

Any serious Pro will be using a quality charting package, not some crap that`s put together from the Broker, You need a valid feed straight from the Pit, not some delayed junk

CQG is very expensive, but used by many Pro`s, infact most of the traders i know use this package, i am user of E-signal but i couple it with the free software from Meta 4 for my long term charts

for any of the comments earlier made that many traders loose it all, yes there is a high percentage that do loose it all, but it can be done provided it becomes your job and you "really" understand the job and game you are getting yourself into

If you dont have a effective trading system or a trading method, that you "trust" to deliver high percentage odds trades with little risk. then youre in the wrong game

keep your options open and dont marry an idea and be prepared to admit your wrong

I am a seasoned pro, and it can be done, although knowledge of your market is paramount, if you dont live eat and breath markets

(I trade a number of markets, various Forex pairs, softs, grains, Spoo etc)

Forget it, trading is not some Mom and Pap bit of trading on the side to make a little bit of extra cash, its a ruthless business and a professional attitude and planning just like any job is needed

Understanding who you are trading against is key, and who moves the market, and the various sessions, (when the volume is thin in globex session etc) and when the "boys" are going to push it around and what tatics they use to look for stops

here is where stop placement is crucial, as big players will look to squeeze out smaller players

http://www.brocompany.com/brokerage-servic...t/broco-trader/

If you want any more info just drop me an E-mail its a good bit of software

For a broker i would recommend IB, they are industry standard, you can use E-signal and Ensign as a charting package, i can count on one hand the number of times i have had problems with IB

you will need proper pit session Feed, and that will cost such as CQG or E-signal

http://www.cqg.com/

http://www.esignal.com/

http://www.ensignsoftware.com/

whichever the charting package you need you will still have to pay the exchange fees, but the demo from Meta 4 is free and the feed is not delayed and i have cross referenced my "pit" feed from E-signal and the Meta 4 package, and its the same

Even when i listed to pit Audio from the Spoo pit, its virtually identical in price and to the audio i am receiving, so i can say its feed is spot on

As you have stated you familiar with other styels of trading then you should take to forex alot easier than a novice would, although i will say presently some hugher swings in the DX linked pairs and many are getting killed

EUR/USD and Cable probably offer you the better oppertunites as they are weighted in Liquidity, with the USD/CHF USD/CAD and AUD/USD other pairs that are worth trading

I personally like to stay away for the Exotics,

Edited February 23, 2009 by Nouf

[chokdeeNaa]

Nouf

I start browsing IB (interactive broker) and use tutorial video which is excellent. The broker is very helpful on the phone and if you want to paper trade – you must use demo account. On search box – type "demo" and click "live trader workstation demo"

Insurance coverage for cash & equity is covered by SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation). SIPC is not insurance, and the government does not back it.

Congress created the SIPC, but its members, the brokerage companies, fund it. Customer accounts are covered for up to $500,000 in securities and $100,000 in cash.

But, SIPC only gets involved if a brokerage firm becomes insolvent. If your broker is stealing from your account but the firm is up and running, SIPC coverage doesn't come into play. And, it only covers losses due to proven unauthorized trading.

Thanks for the guidance

Edited February 24, 2009 by chokdeeNaa

[chokdeeNaa]

Well, if somebody would say it is impossible to make a living with the type of business I am doing, I would certainly step forward and contradict.

Give me three-stock-names (pick anything - MSFT, EBAY, or ETC) and I will try to give you my prediction.