newbie

[mcginty1]

i have been trading the forex with some success on a small scale but as you know the forex is very volatile, my win trades are based on luck and not knowing the market when to buy or sell , i have come to realise this is not a hobby and is to be taken very seriously, i am gradually learning by day, i was told that for someone inexperienced as i, trading the forex was not a good option, they have suggested FUTURES instead, well what does that mean exactly, are they talking about shares, commodities what, can someone explain please in laymans terms. thanks

mcginty1

 

[jacinto]

i wonder if the person that told you that was thinking of the associated risks of leverage.....

 

[dbphoenix]

i have been trading the forex with some success on a small scale but as you know the forex is very volatile, my win trades are based on luck and not knowing the market when to buy or sell , i have come to realise this is not a hobby and is to be taken very seriously, i am gradually learning by day, i was told that for someone inexperienced as i, trading the forex was not a good option, they have suggested FUTURES instead, well what does that mean exactly, are they talking about shares, commodities what, can someone explain please in laymans terms. thanks

mcginty1

They're probably talking about index futures, and www.cme.com will tell you probably more than you want to know, at least to the extent that you'll know whether or not you want to pursue the subject further.

But if by "taken very seriously" you mean that you intend to approach trading as a business rather than a hobby, then you'll have to do all that you'd have to do in any business, i.e., learn the ropes, the risks, develop a business plan, develop a trading plan, develop a consistently profitable strategy.

While you're doing all of this, one of your primary considerations will be to learn as inexpensively as possible, and futures is not the place for that. I suggest you consider stocks, ETFs, or options and that you pay as little as possible in commissions. Trade the minimum number of shares. If you can trade one share, so much the better. You may feel like a fool, but you will at least be keeping your account intact while you learn how little you know.

You'll hear that you should trade large enough size so that you wet yourself when something goes wrong but that that's the only way to learn. However, it's your money, not theirs, so you make the choice that makes most sense for you.

In the meantime, look at the Trading Journals posts I've linked below. They will give you a place to start.

Db

 

[mcginty1]

hi, thanks for your reply it makes a lot of sense, i know everyone has to start at the beginning sometime, but we are all good at some things and not at others, i think i have found my others, as i said before you cannot treat trading as a, hobby, it could turn out to be very expensive unless you know what you are doing, i think i will leave it to the experts for awhile and take time out to learn the ropes, and come back when i have learnt more and am confident enough to trade

regards

mcginty1

 

[damianoakley]

Hi mcginty,

Have you looked at any other markets apart from Forex?

Also, what is it that attracted you specifically to Forex and now Futures - is it because someone suggested it, or is there something about those markets that you like?


Thanks

Damian

 

[mcginty1]

hi there, thanks for replying, i must stress i am very new to trading and stupid, i have left a trade running all over the holidays GBP/USD running at a loss of 137 pound s and i dont know what its going to do when the market opens, i know i should have ended the trade before it reached that amount, but it kept going up then down then down and down, i was told if it reverses it will always go back to where it was before but it didnt, anyway getting back to your reply

i was sent a letter asking me if i wanted an income for life and thats what the books was called "how to easily trade your way to an income for life" it was a step by step guide to trade the forex market someone recently told me that because i was inexperienced i should try futures but i not sure how to do this. Anyway i set up a dummy account first and lost more money than i won, i then opened a trading account and out of a thousand pounds i have lost say 200, but i dont want to lose well not all the time, its just that it is so difficult to understand, i just put the trade on buy or sell and hope it comes up trumps, i am learning more about it now, i.e. i dont go out for hours on end and hope i have gained something when i get back, i watch them very closely be it boring, i bet your hair is standing on end reading this, seriously though i really want to learn, its just so difficult to understand and so volatile i now give it the respect it deserves, i prefer to do forex as it is over quickly and i can close the trade and not have to sit all day at the computer, so any pointers will be greatly received

 

[jacinto]

hi there, thanks for replying, i must stress i am very new to trading and stupid, i have left a trade running all over the holidays GBP/USD running at a loss of 137 pound s and i dont know what its going to do when the market opens, i know i should have ended the trade before it reached that amount, but it kept going up then down then down and down, i was told if it reverses it will always go back to where it was before but it didnt, anyway getting back to your reply

i was sent a letter asking me if i wanted an income for life and thats what the books was called "how to easily trade your way to an income for life" it was a step by step guide to trade the forex market someone recently told me that because i was inexperienced i should try futures but i not sure how to do this. Anyway i set up a dummy account first and lost more money than i won, i then opened a trading account and out of a thousand pounds i have lost say 200, but i dont want to lose well not all the time, its just that it is so difficult to understand, i just put the trade on buy or sell and hope it comes up trumps, i am learning more about it now, i.e. i dont go out for hours on end and hope i have gained something when i get back, i watch them very closely be it boring, i bet your hair is standing on end reading this, seriously though i really want to learn, its just so difficult to understand and so volatile i now give it the respect it deserves, i prefer to do forex as it is over quickly and i can close the trade and not have to sit all day at the computer, so any pointers will be greatly received

first thing to do in my humble opinon is for you to know if you can trade: write a plan, plan the trade and then trade the plan. if results are positive, then move to a real account trading small.

once that is done, the next step can be discussed again.

search for a trading plan template within this site, if you dont find it, send me a message and i will help you. i think it is the best place where you should start.

j

 

[Rhody Trader]

mcginty1, your story is a familiar one.

I've heard a very similar one from a many traders. They were drawn in to the markets by something like the program you referenced. That course put them in a specific market using a specific type of strategy. The problem is that at no point was it even brought up whether either the market or the style of trading is appropriate for you. As a result, you get started and maybe things work for a while, but if the market/style fail to mesh with you, inevitably you flounder.

The advice to devise a trading plan is sound, especially if a big part of that plan is to figure out what the right trading approach is for you. That might take some experimentation, but you should be able to do that cheaply through demo trading.

 

[damianoakley]

hi there, thanks for replying, i must stress i am very new to trading and stupid, i have left a trade running all over the holidays GBP/USD running at a loss of 137 pound s and i dont know what its going to do when the market opens, i know i should have ended the trade before it reached that amount, but it kept going up then down then down and down, i was told if it reverses it will always go back to where it was before but it didnt, anyway getting back to your reply

i was sent a letter asking me if i wanted an income for life and thats what the books was called "how to easily trade your way to an income for life" it was a step by step guide to trade the forex market someone recently told me that because i was inexperienced i should try futures but i not sure how to do this. Anyway i set up a dummy account first and lost more money than i won, i then opened a trading account and out of a thousand pounds i have lost say 200, but i dont want to lose well not all the time, its just that it is so difficult to understand, i just put the trade on buy or sell and hope it comes up trumps, i am learning more about it now, i.e. i dont go out for hours on end and hope i have gained something when i get back, i watch them very closely be it boring, i bet your hair is standing on end reading this, seriously though i really want to learn, its just so difficult to understand and so volatile i now give it the respect it deserves, i prefer to do forex as it is over quickly and i can close the trade and not have to sit all day at the computer, so any pointers will be greatly received

Hi Mcginty,

After reading your honest post, my immediate advice is STOP TRADING !

What you are doing at the moment is gambling at best.

Don't worry - everyone goes through this process at first, but you need to stop and take a step back and do some reading. If you carry on, you will either lose all your money, or you'll have a lucky win which will make you think it's easy.........and then you'll lose all your money (!)

If you want to learn about trading the financial markets, you've made a good first start by visiting this site. I suggest you have a read through the Knowledge Lab and post your questions as they come up. There are lots of people on this site who can help you, but be aware that there may be a lot of different opinions that could overwhelm you if you are a complete beginner.


Thanks

Damian

 

[wilson2win]

I'm new to trading as well, but came across a trading method called 'Trend following'. I have been reading up more about this and I think it will be worth your time too.
Take a look at this video that I found... www.youtube.com/watch?v=cimDLfNcKfo

All the best!!

 

[Black Swan]

I'm new to trading as well, but came across a trading method called 'Trend following'. I have been reading up more about this and I think it will be worth your time too.
Take a look at this video that I found... www.youtube.com/watch?v=cimDLfNcKfo

All the best!!

What a fooking waste of 9.45 minutes of my life... excused only by the fact I was checking all my currency positions at midday and had the video sound on in the background...

 

[Mawunya]

Hello!
I am a newbie in forex! I would like to learn more about it and try their hand at forex. I found this forum, I hope it will help me!
Help, where to start?