Evaluating the Forex Market

Hello Forex Nation!

I recently wrote an article for EzineArticles.com about Evaluating the Forex Market. Check it out and it is free to include as content on your site or blog as well.

http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Evaluating-the-Forex-Market&id=180987

Happy Trading!

Trading Off Consensus Expectations: Does It Work?

Great article for all you Elliott Wave fans. This article focuses on the analysis of the economic data released this week!

Trading Off Consensus Expectations: Does It Work? Forex Focus Elliott Wave International

I have traded EW in my options trading for years and I have come to enjoy it as well in my forex market evaluations.

If you want to read more about forex education just visit FX Trade Central.

Happy Trading!

Be Aware of Your Trading Patterns

If you're like most traders, you've probably noticed some patterns in your forex trading activities. These are situations that show up time and again under different circumstances. The end result usually remains the same. In and of themselves, such patterns aren't necessarily good or bad.

Your trading patterns can be the source of satisfaction in your trading performance or tremendous frustration in your inability to trade consitently, forex profit or loss. In fact, it's quite likely that you have both positive and negative patterns in your trading right now.

Let me share some of mine with you. I have very good trading preparation habits. I go through a routine like a golfer before every shot. This pattern has resulting in excellent entry and trade management practices.

Let me tell you about the dark side. I also have a habit of trying to measure myself against other traders. Mistake! Competition can kill your trading account.

I am working on correcting this habit in my trading, but I also recognize that in other entrepreneurial activities this is an asset.The root of most patterns lies in one’s individual belief system. These are translated into your personal expectation of what you can and cannot achieve.

Confidence also plays into the equation. If you believe that you cannot trade the forex market you will turn to internalize all losing trades and find yourself unable to pull the trigger on the trade. You will allow entry point after entry point pass.

Your account will not reflect your true talent; you get frustrated and join the chorus of all those people preaching the risky nature of forex!

Let’s look at some specific steps you can take to create new trading patterns that will improve your overall currency trading experience.

1. Note Your Current Trading Patterns – Keep a detailed record in your trading journal to document your patterns, both good and bad. Your trading journal shoul dnot oly contain the technicals. but any environmental factors that could impact your trading.

2. Stop Blaming – Learn to take personal responsibility for actions, treat the negatives as a lessoned learned and move on! There is no such thing as failure only feedback!

3. Visualize Your Desired Pattern – Act as if you are the best forex trader in the world! I see myself being calm and cool when discussing trades with my fellow forex traders.

4. Watch the Words You Use. They Define You! – My list of Forbidden Words.

Try (I will Do or I will not do.)
Can’t (I even took it out of my spell check dictionary!!!)
But (It is an “And” world!)
Hope (I replace with “know”)
Problem (I replace with “Challenge’)
If (I replace with “when”)
Why (I replace with “what” or “how”)

5. Put Some Distance Between Yourself and from Your Old Habits – They say you are the sum of the 5 people closet to you. If you want to be a successful forex trader then start hanging out with successful forex traders. If you don’t know any, then create a local forex trading club.

This is why I am a champion of FX Trainer Financial Services Inc. forex education methodology. Their goal is to create that community of successful forex traders!

6. Take Supportive Action – The key word is to take action! My dog (I have a beautiful Vizsla) developed a jumping problem when he greeted people. To address this undesirable pattern I replaced it with another command – sit! Then I give him a treat.

Once I recognize a pattern, deploy a strategy to change the pattern and succeed I am sure to reward myself with a round of golf. That’s my liver treat!

Remember that awareness, personal responsibility and action will be the key to identifying and developing sound forex trading practices!

FX Trade Central has identified personal self-mastery has a key destination in your forex education roadmap.

For more information on forex education visit FXTC’s course listing.

Happy Trading!

Euro vs. Dollar: The Irony of It All

As you know I use Elliott Wave analysis for my swing trade setups. Here is an intersting article describing where Elliott Wave can aid you in your forex market evaluation.

Euro vs. Dollar: The Irony of It All Forex Focus Elliott Wave International

FXTC has more information on Elliot Wave and other forex education topics.

Happy Trading!

Special Forex Education Reports

Special Forex Education Reports

I have just completed 2 special reports that are now available on my website. A lot of you readers seem to enjoy when I am ranting and raving about the global economy and how it relates to forex and trading.

Well I have taken those topics and created 2 FREE editorials.

Special Report #1: The Perfect Economic Storm
About the coming change to the global economy and steps we can take today to be prepared to not only survive, but to prosper!

Special Report #2: Forex and Your Retirement
Discusses why you should consider honing your forex education skills now and deploy FX trading to expand your portfolio well beyond your retirement date.

Just follow the link to FX Trade Central and sign up for our

FREE FOREX NEWSLETTER

and you will be included in the mailing for these revealing reports!

Happy Trading!

Free Food Tomorrow

Let’s take a look at your trading self-esteem.

Have you ever found yourself on the wrong end of a series of losing trades? Have you thought about or journal how you felt as you were ready to execute that next trade?

Next time this occurs, write down those negative thoughts in your forex trade journal. Currency trading (and any trading for that matter) is 90% mental and we should explore and embrace this side along with our pips and moving averages.

When we have a string of losing trades our trading self-esteem tends to take a real hit. The successful forex traders learn from their mistakes and move on.

Just look at a Hall of Fame baseball player. Most of the hitters in the baseball Hall of Fame are described as having a slightly greater than .300 batting average. That means that they are successful in getting a base hit 3 out of 10 times.

THAT’S A 30% SUCCESS RATE!!!

They failed to get on base 7 out of 10 times! Yet, they are considered the best in their profession.

Forex trading is similar to baseball. Even though the Hall of Fame baseball player fails 70% of the time, the player has a belief that success is waiting for them at ever at bat.

They study the pitchers and evaluate every situation when they are at bat to maximize the probability for success.

When they succeed, they celebrate!

We as forex traders must learn to carry this same approach to our trading. We cannot treat our trading experiences like a sign hanging in the window of a restaurant saying “Free Food Tomorrow.”

When we come back the next day for our free meal the same sign is hanging in the window. Well, we will never receive that free meal. You will never feel satisfied.

You must learn self-satisfaction. You must become your own cheerleader. You must learn to celebrate your success, even if it is a losing trade! Take the positive aspects and expand them, because what we focus on expands!

Just like the baseball player we study the forex market, evaluate the trade and execute the trade with a belief of a successful outcome every time. Do we always succeed? No! But we know we can also be successful and profitable losing a high percentage of the time.

Trade and money management rules allow us to prosper.

The other day I was patently waiting for a trade set up with the USD/CAD. I waiting and the trade triggered. I had it planned and entered on the correct candle pattern, with the correct lot size and the correct stops.

Just before my plan said to tighten my stops the pair reversed and stopped me out at my predetermined exit.

I was happy! Why?

There is a big difference between a bad trade and a losing trade. I did everything correct according to my plan and the trade did not go my way.

I celebrated by giving myself a high five and began looking for the next trade. The law of averages will eventually work in my favor just like the baseball player.

Just like my freshman year in college when I was competing for a spot on the baseball team. I was really practicing well and had an assistant coach in my corner.

He convinced the manager to give me a chance in the next game. I got my chance and went 0 for 4 at the plate. I had a 0% success rate, but that did not tell the whole story. I hit 4 solid line drives that the other team caught for outs.

The next game I went 4 for 5 with 4 RBI’s because I had the belief that I was doing everything correct.

For those of you who are struggling to manage your losses try this.

Conduct a review of your trading journal and write on a 3X5 index card all those mistakes you have made in the past that you feel are creeping into your current trading decisions. Have this card next to you when evaluating your next trade.

I bet you that those mistakes and negative thoughts that are holding you back today will soon vanish and you will be trading in the correct frame of mind.

Embrace your mistakes and don’t beat yourself up! No more “I am not good enough to make money in forex” thinking.

Anything fully experienced will soon vanish!

Check out FX Trade Central for more exploration of trading psychology.

Happy Trading!

Over Trading the Forex Market

One of the "forex deadly sins" we must all be aware of is overtrading. Overtrading can afflict the seasoned currency trader, as well as the "newbie" trader fresh from their first forex education course. We are all guiltyof this sin at sometime in our forex trading career.

In addition to trading the forex market I also have a passion for playing golf. It seems that I continuously work through the same 4 mistakes, so much that I have long since been able to recognize by my ball flight which of these mistakes is creeping up on me again and apply a tested remedy.

I have taken this approach to my forex trading. One of my forex affliction is that I tend to overtrade the market.

To combat this need to be in the market all the time I have developed 2 key strategies:

#1 Take a break from trading when I had a big win or loss.

#2. Set rules for evaluating the market and entering trades.

Here is a sampling of my forex market evaluation rules:

Look at the current price behavior. Determine if the market is oversold or overbought.

Access overall forex market conditions. Look at long term and short term views. Is the market trending or range bound? Is the market trending short term within a long term range.

Determine where your currency price target is located for the respective ranges and time frames.

Determine your criterial for stopping the forex trade on both the profit and loss side.

Determine how much capital your are going to risk.

I have found that one of the most valuable tools is to be a member of a local trading group. This allows you to verbalize your trading actions and will confirm your trading decisions.

If you are evaluating currency trades alone then talk it though out loud.

Yeah, you may sound like a nut to those around you, but you will be a more profitable nut none the less!

For more insight into forex education and trading visit FX Trade Central.

Happy Trading!

Failure is NOT an Option

I heard an amazing stat the other day…

90% of novice Forex traders fail!

That means that my chosen pursuit has a 10% success rate!

Wow! This was like a punch in the gut. I long suspected a high failure rate, but not THAT high! For those that know me, statistics like these get me thinking and asking that proverbial question … why?

It has got to be the common thread of success I see across the entrepreneurial world … education! I also surmise that people here about the opportunities in the forex market and get pretty excited.

After all those advantages are the reason I chose forex as one of my wealth vehicles!

Without forex knowledge the uneducated get seduced by greed, eventually are overrun by fear and destined to exit the forex trading all together with their tails between their legs.

By the way, these are the same people that will preach the risk of forex trading from the roof top and spout out about what a rip off the entire forex trading industry is for investors.

That is why I focus on forex education and personal self-mastery (discipline)!

The cornerstone of my website and FX newsletter is our Roadmap to Successful Forex Trading which places premium value on forex education and trading discipline. Visit FX Trade Central to learn more.

Happy Trading!

The Complete Forex Trader

If you have been reading my posting you have recognized that I am an active forex trader, but my posting do not center too much on forex strategy and the like. This is true. Those blogs and sites are a dime a dozen. I like writing about those topics that have made me a well rounded trader. I like to explore topics like critical thinking, forex education and mental focus. These are the intangibles, the little things that can make or break success.

Focusing on the forex educational roadmap will bring together all the aspects of successful forex trading. This approach can be adapted to equity trading, real estate investment and pretty much any entrepreneurial activity you would like to take on!

Also, take a look at my required reading list. These books have been carefully selected to address all of the elements of the forex education roadmap. They are a mixture of classics and new material. FX Trade Central and FX Trainer are your portals to successful currency trading!

Continuous education is the cornerstone of any endeavor!

Keep the comments coming!

Happy Trading!

Practice Makes Perfect

Well, so you have completed your forex education class or learned a new FX strategy from a mentor or perhaps a website. In order to master the strategy and put another weapon in your forex arsenal you must practice, practice, and practice some more!

In my forex trading plan I always allot plenty of time for learning and practicing. I never employ a new forex strategy without study and practice in a demo account.

Do you think Tiger Woods learned how to hit a flop shot during his warm ups for the 2004 Masters and used it later that day to win the tournament? Not on your life! He has been practicing that shot for years and years on the practice range!

You must begin approaching your forex education like an athlete approaches preparing for an event. Spend the largest percentage of your time practicing new trading systems, so when the market favors the FX strategy you are ready to take advantage of the opportunity.

You must maximize your trading potential through practice. Unused potential is easily wasted. If you don’t think this is the case take a look at the 21 Day 3% Rule.

The human mind only retains 80% of something learned within just 3 days!

In only another 18 days after the learning event the human mind only retains 3% of the information!!!

Tiger Woods was quoted saying “it is funny that the more I practice the luckier I get.” As a forex trader we can learn a lot about preparations from following successful athletes.

Remember forex education and preparation is king!

Happy Trading!

Visit FX Trade Central for more forex educational infomration.

Forex Going Mainstream

I was thumbing through the April 3rd edition of Business Week and in the Personal Business Investing section there was an article titled “The Currency Game: Home Version” by Adrienne Carter. The article summarized forex trading and then painted a brutal picture of forex. Forex trading can be a brutal business, but is giving your hard earned money over to a money manager just because you have not taken the time to get financially educated is even more brutal!

On first glance I was glad to see forex being introduced in a mainstream business publication. It also reinforced a psychology lesson I had back at my days at Arizona State University …

Think critically about what you read. Know the sources of your information and project yourself into views of the authors. After that form your opinion based on the facts. I think far too many people take things at face value!

The article was sounded a warning signal about trading the forex market. Addressing the symptoms (forex risk) without truly identifying the root cause (lack of investor education) in my opinion does a great disservice to the readers. That is why this blog and my sites (FX Trainer and FX Trade Central) are dedicated to forex education.

It is just like looking at the technicals while having an understanding of the effects of the fundamental. Learning to evaluate information from many angles without over-analyzing is a great skill to utilize in your trading.

Happy Trading!

Time to Build Your Storm Shelter

On a recent post tilted “Perfect Storm” I wrote of the impending economic storm that is beginning to form in the American economy. In fact, this storm is brewing in most industrialized nations (thank you Margaret – if anyone still thinks all Americans are rich just look at last years hurricane disaster in New Orleans!). The largest generation is getting older and the working population is getting smaller. The economic systems are not broke; they are just not designed to operate in the global climate of tomorrow.

From the outside the United States and Europe appear to be on separate economic tracks. The U.S. is hard and fast a market-driven economy and Europe leans towards socialist governance. Economist will go on and on about the underlying conditions, but in its simplest form America lets the markets and business dictate the economic path (for the most part) and Europeans elects officials to dictate social welfare. Government retirement is about the same, only the delivery vehicles differ. The European governments rely on a high tax base to delivery retirement benefits to its citizens. America incentives come in the forms of business pension funds and tax-deferred savings plans (made popular by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 and to a lesser degree government retirement or social security (Great Depression Era reform and outdated).

This is what we are taught in school and at home!

This is all changing. The European form of social welfare worked well when 80% of the population was supporting 20% of retired citizens. You see this in France where students are actual demonstrating to keep the ‘status quoi’ workers benefits. Governments are recognizing that the current model will not hold far into the future. America is no different, except the deterioration can be seen in the collapsing corporate pension funds, United Airlines being the most infamous. IBM has also recently address there pension concerns by closing the pension to new employees and offering tax-deferred saving plan in its place.

Time to wake up and smell the coffee!

The economies are now globalizing and as change besets the western nations a new economic model is emerging. The economic models are changing and we need to change too! Change is inevitable. Change is also the enemy of retirement planning, but change must be embraced.

What now?

Education is the key. Financial education! We must learn financial skills and take personal responsibility for our financial well being. We must also incorporate financial education in our school systems. When I was in the 4th grade my class had a year long project to select stock on the American Stock Exchange and follow them throughout the year. I was 7 years old and had my first investment class. It was also my last financial lesson in the US educational system!

It is time to build your financial shelter.

Learn a financial skill that will take you forward and allow you to prosper in this rapidly emerging global economy. Don’t expect anyone to take care of you. Financial markets (Forex), real estate, and internet business are my choices. I use forex and my internet business for cash flow and real estate for wealth building. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of education. When I was younger I use to sell stereo equipment at a retail store. It would amaze me that people would spend 80% of their budget on the components and 20% on speakers. Ultimately it is the speakers that produce the sound you hear and should command the majority of your budget. Same thing is true about your financial education. No matter what happens, it is your knowledge that will allow you not only survive the changing economy, but to prosper!

I heard a story once that less than 1% of the world’s population controls 99% of the wealth. If you took all the money in the worlds and divided it up equally amongst the earth’s citizens than within a year that 1% would control 99% of the wealth again. Why? It is because the 1% have financial literacy. Isn’t it time we learn those financial skills!

Happy Trading!

For your forex education, visit me at FX Trainer!