What is currency trading? Well, at its simplest it is exchanging one currency for another, just as you might do when going on vacation to another country. You sell your currency for the money of the pl;ace you are going to.

However, when people talk about forex (foreign exchange) trading or currency trading on the forex market, they generally mean something very different. In this case traders are constantly exchanging one currency for another (buying currencies and selling others) with the aim of making a profit when the exchange rates change.

It is a little like trading in stocks on the stock market. Stock traders usually buy and sell stocks very quickly compared with the average personal investor who will take the advice of a broker but often keep stocks for years or even decades.

How Does Currency Trading Work?

The best way to demonstrate how currency trading makes money for the traders is to use an example.

Let's say the current rate on the English pound to euro forex market is this: GBP/EUR 1.1200. That means that to buy one British pound you will need 1.12 euros. If you believed that the value of the euro was going to rise compared to the value of the pound, you might sell 100,000 pounds, buy 100,000 euros, and wait. Then let’s say a few days later, the exchange rate has moved to: GBP/EUR 1.0600. Sure enough, the pound is now worth only 1.06 euros. Now if you sell your euros and buy back 100,000 pounds, you will have made a profit of 6% on your cash, less any fees.

This sounds like a huge amount of money. Who has 100,000 pounds or even dollars lying around in the bank to trade with? Not me, and I guess not you either. But fortunately, you do not have to have all that cash for real. You are buying and selling at the same time, so all you need to have is enough to cover any loss that might be made before you could exit the market if your prediction was wrong and the currency that you bought started to fall. Your broker loans you the rest.

This is called trading margins. On a $100,000 trade the margin is usually 1% or 2%, i.e. $1,000 or $2,000. This is the money that you must have in your forex brokerage account.

The amount you trade is determined by ‘lots’. A lot may be worth $10,000 or more depending on the currency and the Forex broker. So if you want to trade $20,000 you would trade 2 lots and so on.

There are now limited risk accounts, where you can only risk the amount of cash you have on account with the broker, thus avoiding margin calls. This is done by allowing smaller players to trade forex using ‘mini lots’ or fractions of a lot. So you can trade $1,000 by trading 0.10 of a lot. This reduces risk but may cost more to trade.

More and more ordinary people are getting into currency trading these days. It has certain advantages over the stock market and even if you know nothing about valuation of the different currencies you can set up a forex trading robot, a complex software program that will trade for you according to the settings you choose. Keep in mind that it is a risky business and money can be lost as well as gained. Knowing what is currency trading gives you an idea of whether you want to take the next step towards becoming a currency trader.

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Technorati Tags: currency trading, Forex, forex broker, forex trading

Does everybody need forex trading training or do some people have a natural talent for trading currency on the forex market? You will not be surprised to hear that nobody is born understanding all of the ins and outs of foreign exchange trading. While it is true that some kinds of experience or personality traits can be useful and can mean that you will pick it up more quickly, everybody needs some kind of training if they plan to make a profit.

But there are many kinds of stock day training available these days and it may be hard to judge what is the best. With so many websites, blogs, articles and ebooks available on the internet, often low priced or even free, it is tempting to think that we may be able to pick up all we need to know for dirt cheap.

However, it can be a big mistake to limit yourself to this kind of piecemeal training. There are some great ebooks and free systems out there but others are outdated or never had any success at all. As a beginner you will find it hard to know which ones to trust.

Even the best ebooks generally do not cover everything you need to know. They may focus on one or two strategies that are not necessarily the best fit for your situation. The cash saved on training may be lost several times over once you start currency trading for real.

In most cases you will be better advised if you sign up for formal training through a membership site. This is likely to be run by a trading group or an experienced currency trader. They will have set up a step by step process that you can work through from complete beginner to knowledgeable trader.

Beginners are usually attracted to forex day trading by the lure of quick and easy money and most know nothing about it when they start. It is great to have a system that covers pretty much everything and a trader who can answer your questions.

Many formal forex training programs have a forum where you can discuss your strategies and trades with others. Sharing information in this way can be a good way to learn. In fact, in many cases the forum itself is worth the cost of membership and many people remain members after completing the program just to have this exposure to the knowledge and experience of their fellow traders.

Solid forex training is unlikely to be free except at the most basic level. If you just want to dabble in the forex market as an experiment, without caring too much whether you win or lose, you may be satisfied with free training. The best type of free training is often given a way as a teaser or taster by sites or brokers who hope you will then join them as a paying member. In fact, you can often pick up top level tips this way and a free report from a reputable trader will often be more useful and valuable than a $20 ebook.

Whatever type of training you choose, be sure to follow it exactly. Don't skip over the first steps hoping to get straight into making money - that would be a fast route to disaster. Test out the system you are being taught, either with small trades or in a demo account. Ask questions. Make sure you get every drop of wisdom from the training you have chosen so that you put yourself in the best position to turn a profit on completion of the forex trading training program.

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Technorati Tags: currency, day trading, Forex, forex trading, stock trading, stocks, training

If you are new to forex trading or have only a small amount of capital available right now, mini forex trading could be the way to go for you. It allows you to trade with real money while limiting your risk to a relatively small amount. Generally the lot size of trades for a mini account is only one-tenth of the lot size for a standard account with the same broker.

Mini Forex Trading Or Demo?

Somebody starting out in forex has several options:

1. Start out right away with live trading in a standard brokerage account, investing from $1,000 to $5,000. This would be very risky for a beginner and is not recommended.

2. Begin with live trading in a mini forex account. Generally you need $250 for these accounts but you may be able to find brokers who will let you start with even less.

3. Start out with a demo Forex day trading account where you are picking up trading skills without investing any real money at all, then when you are consistently making profits, switch over to either a mini account or full brokerage account depending on your capital and your strategy.

Advantages Of A Mini Forex Trading Account

Most people choose option 3, the demo account. They feel much safer using ‘toy money’ online for several days, weeks or months. A demo account also gives you the opportunity to try out the various different strategies that you are probably reading about.

However there can be problems with running a demo account for too long. Some forex traders and trainers say that it lulls you into a false sense of security. It is much easier to take risks when there is no real cash involved, and you will be practicing with strategies that you may be uncomfortable using in real life trading.

So what can happen is that the demo account teaches you to make profits using medium to high risk strategies, but when you are faced with a real money situation you may lose your nerve. This usually results in bad decisions made on the spur of the moment and 'strategy hopping' where you are constantly switching from one plan to another. Losses are almost inevitable in this situation.

For this reason, some experts recommend starting with a mini account and using real money almost from the get-go. You would only use a demo account for a small number of trades to familiarize yourself with the technical side of operating your account and making trades. In this way you are likely to learn strategies that can work for you in the long term.

Disadvantages Of A Mini Trading Account

When you are trading small amounts, you must expect to pay more in percentage terms to the broker. This eats into your gains. In the long term this can have a massive effect on your results and can make the all important difference between profit and loss. Therefore, most people operating a mini account will be aiming to switch to higher value trades as soon as they have the capital to do so.

However you choose to start, you will need to accept that forex trading is high risk by its very nature, like all forms of investment that offer the possibility of large gains in a short time. You should only invest money that you are prepared to lose if things go against you.

Starting out with a mini Forex account can be a great way for someone who is new to forex to pick up the techniques for real. Mini forex trading could be the best way to find out for sure whether foreign exchange trading is right for you.

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Technorati Tags: currency, day trading, Forex, forex mini account

So what are forex scams? Some people jump to the conclusion that anything that doesn’t make them rich overnight is a scam. They do not want to have to spend any time developing skills – they want something that works like magic, without putting in any effort at all. That’s clearly crazy. If such a thing existed, everybody would be using it … and when you think about the economics, even if something like that was invented, it wouldn't be effective for very long.

The fact is that the money you make has to come from somewhere. Technology can improve our methods of making goods so that everybody's standard of living improves and everybody becomes richer in real terms. However, when you are trading, gambling or doing anything else that involves 'pure cash' without any goods or services being produced, then for one person to gain, another person or institution has to lose.

It is true that in forex currency trading exchange, some of the bad prices are taken by people or institutions who either do not know or do not care. Businesses who import or export goods rarely bother to try to schedule their payments for a moment when the currency rates are favorable. People taking a vacation overseas are the same. Nevertheless, there are so many people and institutions in the ‘pure’ forex market these days that it is simply not possible for everybody to make money from forex trading.

So when you are in an internet forum and you are trying to decide whether negative comments that you read about a product are really a sign of a scam, it is useful to picture the situation happening in the real world, i.e. offline.

Imagine you bought a book about forex day trading from a bookstore, but the system described in it did not work for you. It may be that the methods in the book were out of date, or they might not be suitable for you for some reason. You would probably have learnt something, and you would just shrug and accept that wasn’t the right system for you. You wouldn’t go back into town and call the bookstore owner a scammer.

But if the bookstore was inviting everybody to pre-order a great new book on forex that was about to be published,  and you and 1000 other people all handed over your cash, and the next day the store was closed and the owner had left town … that is a scam.

A scam, according to the dictionary, is ‘a fraudulent business scheme; a swindle’. A scam involves fraud and an intention to deceive. Scams are illegal. It is not correct to use this word to describe something offered and delivered in good faith.

People are very suspicious of buying online and you will often see the word 'scam' thrown around without much justification. Usually it is just a case of a frustrated customer trying to blame the product for his inability to be successful with it, or it might be something that worked at one time but is out of date or has been over-used. You wouldn’t want to buy it except for historical interest but it wouldn’t be right to call these systems forex trading scams.

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Technorati Tags: Forex, forex day trading currency trading, forex trading scams, scams, trading scams

The initial step to becoming a successful Forex trader is training and there are many different ways to master the ins and outs of Forex trading. Nevertheless, while the knowledge gained through training is essential to your success in trading, it is just one ingredient of your real success.

So, before you rush straight from a Forex course into the world of live trading, here are a few indispensable tips.

1. Adopt the right attitude. The most successful Forex traders know very well that attitude is extremely important and that adopting an approach to do whatever is necessary for success is essential.

You can read as many tip sheets as you want and listen to the ‘gurus’ for hours on end but success is not going to come until you equip yourself with the knowledge which is necessary, carefully set down your own Forex day trading strategy and then quite simply get out there and do what your instinct tells you is required to turn a profit.

2. Select the right method. There are several different methods for predicting the future direction of the foreign currency markets, and some extremely sophisticated software programs to help you in this task, and you need to choose one particular method and stick with it.

You will have to master the skills of both mapping and charting and will have to devise your own system for calculating exactly when to get into and out of the market. You will encounter ups and downs and you will find yourself questioning your selected method and being tempted to give it up in favor of another method but you will need to stick with your chosen method. As soon as you begin chasing one method after another as a result of a trading loss you quickly find that one loss turns into two and so on.

3. Remain disciplined. Although this naturally folows on from the comments made above about sticking to your selected method it is something which you have to adopt in every aspect of life as a foreign currency trader. Having decided upon your trading method and strategy you need to stick to it and should not permit yourself to be knocked off course by events or by the views of others.

4. Assume the right mental attitude. Foreign currency trading can be extremely stressful at times and the speed of the market and the inevitable see-sawing between profit and loss on individual trades may and indeed generally does produce considerable mental pressure. Learning to deal with the stresses of trading life is no less important than learning the workings of trading.

5. Do not be afraid to take risks. A common mistake seen amongst Forex traders is the fear of taking a risk. Risk and reward are like bread and butter and you will never succeed if you are always turning away from taking risks. Taking a risk does not of course imply throwing caution to the wind and simply diving in head first, but it means that, after you have worked out the risks, you are prepared to trade assertively based upon your reading of the market and in spit of the risks.

6. Make your own trading decision. It is vital to focus your attention when it comes to your own trading and not to be diverted from your course by the opinions of others. You will be rubbing shoulders with individuals who are more than willing to offer you the benefit of their advice but you have to remember that most of them will do nothing more than talk a good trade. The really successful traders are a rare breed and they steer their own boat.

Hurrying into online Forex trading without the requisite knowledge is a very precarious game but, once you have acquired the required knowledge, your success will depend to a large degree on your ability to establish a clear course and then to steer to it regardless of anything which might come along to throw you off that course.

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