This morning I was quite simply very lucky. I had been having network troubles and was not able to watch my position closely for several hours:B EURUSD @ 1.3625B EURUSD @ 1.3612B EURUSD @ 1.3606B EURUSD @ 1.3603B EURUSD @ 1.3597When I did finally get my network fixed, I was sitting pretty with:S EURUSD @ 1.3650 (x5)Wow, I'd just turned $100.33 into $121.03 in a morning. Can you believe the ~20%

While I'm sure it will prove my amateur status as a trader here are some details of my first evening with my new toy:B EURUSD @ 1.3656 S @ 1.3657B EURUSD @ 1.3647 S @ 1.3651B USDCDN @ 1.0620 S @ 1.0619 ***Yeah, big time gains. Approximately $0.33 in my pocket after an evening of anxiously watching the charts.I learned an important lesson on the USDCDN trades. First, the spread, or the

Well, believe it or not, I just signed up for a FOREX account. I plan to blog my experiences (whether gains or losses) and perhaps help introduce some other people to this interesting world.Late last night, on the spur of the moment, I decided to create an account, jump in, and get my feet wet. I'll blog about the details later today, but while a little bleary eyed this morning I was $0.33

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Click here to hear a recent interview I did with Interviews with Prosperity on the importance of Forex Education.

Happy Trading!!

Close to 95% of all Forex traders will lose money. We're not just talking about novices, either. Whether you trade Forex for a living, as a hobby or just for fun, odds are against your success. That's a simply astonishing fact. However, the remaining 5% of Forex traders somehow manage to break even and there are those lucky few that actually make money in the currency market – consistently!

Like the TV show says … “How’d they do that, anyway?”

That's the million dollar questions, isn’t it? Countless books, seminars and expos have been hosted to answer this very question. That sad fact is that thousands of books have been written and countless seminars and interviews have been conducted in an attempt to answer the magic questions. The reality of the situation is that there is no magic formula; no one single Holy Grail of Forex trading.

So what do the successful traders do that the rest of us have simple not comprehended. They have mastered a process of winning where they combine and customize several factor to produce consistent results. They have mastered the Process of Trading.

The Process of Trading is:

Strategy > Money Management > Self-Mastery

Here are some simple Forex Education tips to help you master the process of forex trading:

Forex Success Tip #1 – You’ve Got To Have a Plan

You must have a written business plan that will detail all aspects of your trading. When are you going to trade, how much to risk, strategies for entries and exits are just o name a few. To become a consistent (profitable) Forex trader you have to plan your trade sand trade your plan.

Simplicity rules! Don’t make this plan too complicated. One sheet of paper for you mission statement and another for your trading plan should suffice. Anything more is probably too complicated.

Forex Success Tip #2 – Focus on Your Personal Psychology

Knowing yourself will allow you to master the discipline necessary to execute high quality trades with solid money management techniques. Lack of discipline is fatal in Forex trading. Go on a personal journey to identify you attitudes towards risk and money. Get intimate with your strengths and weaknesses as a trader and build in to your trading plan strategies to minimize those weaknesses and maximize your strengths.

Different personalities lend to different trading styles. Get familiar with all the different styles and over time you will begin to gravitate towards one particular style. Don’t fight the urge like I did. I insisted I was a day trader, but had only limited results. I found my winning percentages were much higher when I entered swing trades. Guess what’s my bread and butter strategy now!

Forex Success Tip #3 – Be Realistic About Your Expectations

This is a hard one, I know! I am on the internet every day and the amount of advertising is staggering. Brokers are offering free education (fox in the hen house if you ask me), forums of all different trading styles and points of view. Gurus pushing their system as “the one” that will make you the big bucks. How do you get through all that noise?

Let me tell you loud and clear right now – everyone is right and everyone is wrong. You have to make a personal commitment to become a successful trader, find a trading style that works for you and expect a slow and steady approach to wealth building through Forex.

What works for me may not work for you. Expect to go through an exploratory period where you are learning and at the same time exploring yourself as a trader. Keep an open mind and don’t pay attention to all the noise out there.

Forex Success Tip #4 – Be Patient

Rome was not built in a day and neither will your trading account. In fact, I tell all of my students that while they are studying to become successful Forex traders they should not look solely at their account balance as an indication of success or failure.

By tracking and increasing your percentage of high quality trades you execute is a far better barometer of your progress than your account balance. Cause and effect rule here. Over time when you increase your probabilities through the execution of high quality trades your account balance will respond accordingly.

Keep the focus on the process and with time your results will blow your mind.

Success Tip #5 - Money Management Is Top Priority

I would rather have a shaky strategy and excellent money management techniques than the other way around. This topic warrants its own blog post to do it justice. Limited your exposure (read “risk”) allows for you to stay in the game and allow the laws of probability to work.

Let’s take a casino for an example. They need gamblers to frequent their slot machines to make money. Why? They have a game that has a greater than 50% chance of making money for the house. The more people that play the slots, the greater the casino’s profits.

The casino controls risk by payout tables (always favoring the house!) and increases their probabilities by keeping gamblers at the slot machines (read “free drinks”). As a trader you must limit your risk by committing only 1% - 3% of available capital to a single trade. When you execute enough trades with a high probability strategy you too can clean up like the casinos – but only by staying in the game long term.

In conclusion, Forex trading is not easy. It’s hard work and will test the limits of your patience and perseverance. If anyone tells you otherwise .., buyers beware! It can be a very rewarding and profitable venture if done correctly. In the end it is a profession that requires a learning curve and practical experience, no different than an airline pilot or engineer. Understanding how to approach and learn this game will allow you to reap all the benefits advertised. It is your Forex Education that you will master the Process of Forex Trading.

Happy Trading!!

Let me just give you a quick tip about setting stop losses.

I once took a class where I was instructucted to place my stop loss 30 pips below my entry. Why 30 pips I asked? I was told it was an "acceptable" risk. Based on what? I see a lot ot traders basing their risk management strategy on some pre-defined pip value risk without any consideration for support and resistance.

Don't do this!

Like I say - trading Forex is a process and setting your stops is a key component. Your stop should be placed near support and/or resistance based on the charts and not some pre-defined pip value. Caution: stay away from the herd!

Simply:

1. Locate support and/or resistance for your stop
2. Calculate your target to determine a reward-to-risk ratio
3. Determine whether you can afford the trade
4. If all systems are a go then pull the trigger

Setting a pre-defined stop makes no sense if all you can guarantee is to get stop out of your trade and have it eventually go in your direction. Let the market tell you where to protect your trade and when to take profits. This is why 2 traders can look at the same charts, establish the same trade and one trader pull the trigger an the other traders pass.

Follow YOUR trading plan and begin to take your trading to new heights. Your Forex Education is the path to true Forex profits!

Happy Trading!!