Forex Education Blog

Educate Yourself for Forex Success

As traders, sometimes we have to be prepared to take losses when we execute trades, but at the same time we need to understand what we are doing to stack the odds in our favor.

There are common mistakes that I have seen traders make over the years that I have been trading and educating new students.  A lot of new traders see advertisements that offer “Free Forex Trading” and while they think to themselves, ‘well I can learn this on my own,’ they do not have the proper education and support to be successful on their own.

Coming from a stocks and options background, I ran into this same thing years ago.  I let my ego get in the way and even thought that since I had been successful in the stocks and options market, why couldn’t I do it in the forex market?  There are many different ways to learn Forex online, but going through structured education, such as what we provide at Market Traders Institute, gives a new or advanced trader a plan of attack when either trying to learn the market from the ground up or putting some more pips in their pocket.

Trading the Forex market would be my recommendation to anyone, but do yourself a favor and look into education prior to putting your money in the market.  There are two ways you are going to learn Forex online. One is going through the school of hard knocks and the other is going through an educational course such as the Ultimate Traders Package.  You will learn both ways and investing in yourself will lead you to long term success rather than maybe short terms gains and lack of knowledge.  We can all get lucky when placing trades and get a nice profit, but if you don’t know what you are doing how can you reproduce the success time and time again?  On the other hand, if you have a losing trade and you don’t know what you are doing, how can you keep yourself from running into the same mistake twice?

Take it from someone who has learned from the school of hard knocks: I wish that I would have invested in myself prior to throwing my money in the market, but if I can help one trader from running into the same trap that I did, I feel like I am doing something for everyone out there.

To find out more about getting the proper education for your trading career, attend one of our live trading demonstrations today.

Successful Traders Will Do What the Unsuccessful Can’t or Won’t Do

What’s the difference in your opinion between successful people and unsuccessful people? I believe the difference is successful people have a plan of action and see it through to the end. Whether it fails or succeeds, at least they were confident and believed in themselves to see it through to the end. Unsuccessful people talk about a plan of action, either quit because another plan of action has captured their attention, or have a motivated start, but never complete their objective.

I was not raised in a highly successful household; however, I was raised in a middle class home full of love that always accepted me for who I was. My parents would continuously motivate me to do the best I can in this life. For this, I will be forever grateful to them. Inferiority and inadequacy are two feelings unsuccessful people commonly carry. Confidence and the ability to speak with substance and a purpose is commonly found in successful people.

So what’s the solution? Well, stop feeling sorry for yourself is first. Then, stop assuming people who are more successful than you are actually better than you. Chances are they have 1 or 2 more traits you’re missing from your successful life arsenal. It’s time for you to acquire these traits and change things around.

I remember a few years ago when the president of our company came walking around the office asking, “I need someone to travel overseas on business! Who can go tomorrow if need be?” Everyone stood silent and looked around as if it would interfere with their weekend plans. So I stepped up to the plate and said, “I will go… whatever you need I can do.” Now, was I confident yes, but did I know what I was getting myself into? No! Still, the fact that I said yes when others said no made ME stand out above the rest, and now looking back I’m the only one who has continuously moved up the corporate ladder with a passion to not only succeed, but help others around me succeed as well.

To join the ranks of successful MTI students and traders, attend a live trading demonstration today!

Minimizing Risk

The Forex market is an exciting market with a high degree of potential returns, but risk and reward exist here as it does in any other investment venture. I like to call the potential reward as ‘Where I am right’ and the risks as ‘Where I am wrong.’

The first thing I consider on any trade is ‘at what price am I wrong?’ Knowing where my analysis is wrong gives me my total risk. Next is to consider ‘where am I right?’ Knowing ‘where I am wrong’ and ‘where I am right’ helps me to minimize risks by only taking trades that give me a strong risk to reward ratio.

Bottom line: Knowing where my trade is wrong gives me the ability to minimize and manage risk.

To learn more about managing risk vs. reward, attend a free trading demonstration with MTI.

Currency Trading for Beginners

Currency trading education can cover a lot of territory. To learn currency trading, the new student should start out by understanding the broader concepts first. Here are answers to three of the more basic questions:

What is forex?
Forex refers to the foreign exchange market. Forex is the global market in which one nation’s currency is exchanged for another. Simply put, it’s money trading. Forex is the only market in the world that trades strictly in currencies. When visitors to another country exchange the currency of their own country for the local currency, they are trading the forex on a very basic level.

Who trades in currencies?
People who professionally trade money or currencies are referred to as foreign exchange traders, forex traders or currency traders. It is their goal to exchange money for profit. More monetary wealth changes hands in forex than any other market – literally trillions per day. Forex traders work in a market that literally trades 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The forex allows more potential for profit than any other market, due to this round-the-clock accessibility. Until recently, the forex was only available to banks, government agencies and large corporations. Today, anyone can participate in currency trading. Of the many markets in which to trade, forex currently represents the most wealth-building potential. Any professional trader will tell you that the key to unlocking that potential starts with a clear understanding of the market. Every successful forex trader was a beginner at some point in their past.

How can I learn forex currency trading?
In order to learn to trade forex, one must grasp the basics and build from there. Finding a good education resource will pay off in the long run. Once the beginner gets answers to some basic questions and wants to learn more, he or she will need to consider comprehensive forex education sources to further his or her understanding. Since learning directly from a professional forex trader is not always practical, reading books written by professional traders is an excellent way to get started. Professional forex traders often write of their trading experiences and can provide great insight and knowledge. Education in forex involves more than just reading books, so the next tier is gaining experience. Each step of learning the forex is dependent on completely understanding the previous steps.

Market Traders Institute is committed to educating the forex trader in all aspects of foreign currency trading. Get information on a free forex webinar to help you maximize your success in the forex market.

Forex Trading 101

Learning the basics of forex trading is a bit like going back to school. There are new words and concepts to learn and understand in forex education. Learning to trade the forex involves homework, and lots of it. The forex student needs to learn what the forex market is and understand its behavior before entering into the trading aspect. Books and the Internet are excellent places to start in figuring out what makes the forex market tick. The best sources are those that are able to teach knowledge without over-complicating, over-simplifying or making it seem boring.

Eventually, a new student to forex should try to go beyond reading at some point and begin practicing on the forex market. Practicing the lessons from all that reading is key to learning forex trading. One of the ways to apply the lessons is to trade on the actual forex market. An alternative to trading on the actual forex market is participating in simulated trading. Simulated trading allows the student to apply what they have learned during real-time market moves without risking their own money.

For this, the forex demo is vital to help the beginner learn about forex trading. This is where the rubber meets the road. New forex students can trade the markets without risk by using a forex demo account. A demo for forex is a virtual account especially designed to simulate trading in real-time – as the market is actually moving. Demos are great for testing and practicing trading strategies without risking any capital. Since practice makes perfect, a demo is the best way to learn!

Forex trading education can teach the student what causes the market to behave the way it does and how to take advantage of these moves. Most important of these is how to turn this knowledge into real skill. When learning a new skill, equal time should be given to studying as well as practicing. Forex trading is no different. A forex demo gives the student a chance to learn the skill of trading without suffering losses. It can also help the forex student develop confidence in trading the markets through repetition. Building a confident, successful forex trader is the ultimate goal of the dedication, education and practice of learning the forex.

Market Traders Institute is committed to educating the forex trader in all aspects of foreign currency trading. Get information on a free forex webinar to help you maximize your success in the forex market.

USD vs. GBP in Recent Months

Years from now, we may look back and view the last few weeks as the true bottom for the Green Back and the end of an almost 1 year slide against the Euro. After three weeks of dollar strength, the Euro attempted to fight back but found itself helpless to resist the power of the USD. The recent rate hike may solidify the dollar’s place as the world’s safe haven against economic diversity, a position that has been held by the GBP for the last 16 months.

This insurgence of USD strength has shaken the foundation of many currencies in the market, but perhaps none more than the Euro. In two and a half months, the Euro has slid almost 1700 Pips with no sustainable retracement in sight.  Look for the Euro to try to fight back over the next 60 days, and hold on to as much positive sentiment as possible while the Dollar continues to steam roll the majors across the board. While I believe the Euro will put up a valiant fight, expect the Dollar to win the day.

Tips for Success

I have been with Market Traders for a couple of years now.  What I have found to be the most helpful is realizing that you’re not going to make money overnight.  To be successful in this market you have to treat it like anything else you are successful in.  You have to put in the time and effort it takes to master this market:

Learn something new every day.

Follow all of the rules to the “T” and don’t get frustrated.

The more you keep your emotions out of it, the better chance you have of success.

Continue your education. Take every class, webinar, workshop and training that you can find.  Your learning doesn’t stop after you finish the UTP -  it has just begun. Continue to sharpen your saw on a daily basis.

If you have an open mind and a great work ethic you will be a success, just like so many of our students and employees.

To find out more about MTI’s trading techniques, attend a live trading demonstration.

Make Time to Trade the Forex

Time.  Time is the one thing that none of us have, but we all want.  Time is what we make of it.  I used to think that there was never enough time in the day to trade and work.  Then I started winning a couple trades.  It is amazing how I created time when I started seeing that this was a worthwhile endeavor.  It really didn’t matter what time I woke up or what time I went to bed.  I was making pips, and pips were my focus!

I will tell you the secret to success right now: make time for what is important.  If you want to make money, make time for it.  If you want to become a trader, make time for it.  If you would like to be a family man, make time for it.  If you would like to be successful, make time for yourself.

To learn how to become a more educated and more profitable trader, make time to attend a live trading demonstration with MTI.

Success in the Forex

After wrapping up a great 2009 both in the Forex market and in my life personally, 2010 started on a very high note.  I received a call from a student of mine who I speak to on a weekly basis who called with some good news.  After going through the education for the past 9 months, my client Gerald came to the realization that this is something he can do full-time.

Gerald has been working at a job that is 8 hours from his family and obviously only get to see them sparingly each month.  We made a goal together to get him to a place in his life both financially and professionally that he could trade the Forex market as a full time job and return to be with his family.  I received the call and Gerald had a tone in his voice that I knew something was up.  He told me “Geoff… we did it.”   My gut reaction was, ‘OK, Gerald followed that strategy we talked about the week before and had another successful week of trading.’  So I asked, “How many pips did we capture Gerald?”  He started laughing and said, “No no no… We did it! I am putting my notice in at work and moving home with my family and will now be doing this full time.”

Receiving a call like this put the biggest smile on my face to know we set a goal and reached it a year before we thought we could.  Hearing the jubilation and the sense of relief in Gerald’s voice made me feel good.  Family is the number one thing in my life and something I take very seriously, so to know what Gerald was going through over the past few months and to know MTI played a big part in helping a family makes not only my career but my life that much more rewarding.

So congratulations to Gerald and to everyone who realizes with a goal and the right mindset anything can be accomplished.

To learn how to find success for yourself, attend one of MTI’s free trading demonstrations.

Why Forex?

I think the biggest beauty of this market is that it’s recession proof.  I spend a few hours a day talking to potential investors in the market about just that.  Many think that gold and silver are the way to go; however, gold has recently plummeted to $1046 and silver is trading around $15 an ounce.  It appears as though people are selling because they are scared.  In the Forex, you can make money in either direction Bullish or Bearish.

First things first, though. You need to actually determine market direction before you can find a proper entry and a proper exit points.  The Euro is in trouble, currently still in a 2 month downward spiral against the USD.  This is mostly fueled by Greece and Portugal’s economic troubles, which are not anywhere close to being resolved.   Portugal is only going to receive 60% of the bailout they asked for and Greece is looking at 2012 to bring their budget shortfall below the 3% mark, currently the are at 12.7%.  This just shows the euro has a long way to go and should continue to head to the south.

If you’d like to attend a live trading demonstration, please register for a webinar. Happy trading!