Doing things the "easy" way = failure?

Hi, new member here. I just started really getting into Forex about a month ago. About a year ago, I had tried Forex for my first time, made money in a demo so a few days later I put down some cash and obviously blew my account as I had zero knowledge. Now, I can't believe I actually did that! At least it's out of my system.

Anyhow, I have a couple questions. I read that lack of education is one of the top reasons traders fail. I've been reading up everything I can find, I feel I'm at a point where I'm now just reading the same basic things over and over. I'm a hands on kinda person, but I can't shake the feeling that if I go with some charting software with a few bells and whistles and try to figure it out as I go along in my demos that I'm setting myself up for failure by taking the easy way. After all the warnings and why traders fail, I have this strange notion that I have to do everything the hard way. That means no building off others, simply learning the core of it and putting it together myself.

I've been using a few programs, the Forex.com trading platform primarily but just started checking out MetaTrader & NinjaTrader. They are OK, however, I'm really looking at purchasing MetaStock Pro FX. There is no demo for it, but watching the videos it looks like it would suit my needs well. The $179/month price tag is not a concern, I'm just wondering if anyone thinks I will be missing out on critical things that I need to learn by using MetaStock Pro FX. Or is it perfectly acceptable to learn on such programs?

I hope that all made sense, I'm still very cautious in that I want to do everything right as I know what can happen if you don't. Thanks for reading and I look forward to some responses.

Just my 2 cents but I would start out with MT4 before laying out good money on something you may find you won't need.

MT4 is a great package, lots of standard tools, plenty of support from metaquotes themselves & user forums (like forex factory) and it's free.

Trading success begins and ends inside your mind. Save your money and focus on what really matters; learning discipline, implementing money management, and developing a simple methodology. People make millions with oanda's shitty (& free) charting, so don't buy the hype about expensive applications being necessary for success...

Fortunately I've read too much to still think a particular software will be the deciding factor between success and failure. I just think of it like Notepad (Oanda) and Word (MetaStock) for example. Notepad will do the job, but Word has a few more creature comforts and I'm willing to pay for said comforts. I was just curious if I would be missing out on any essential things by having these extra comforts. Again, I'm not able to demo it so I'm going on what I've seen in video demos, it might not be any better than MT4 but I figure I can always give it a shot for 30 days.

So, I take it the software you use doesn't matter, it's just how you use it? I think I have my answer then. Thanks for the replies.

- get MT4 and save yourself some money - then take that money and put it into an Oanda acct.
U want a real editor - use "vi"
I have more time now so I will add to this reply. There will come a time when u realize you don't need all those bells and whistles. A few s/r lines and an MA cause it looks good is all u really need. Save the money and put it into an acct where it will do u the most good.

It's not the charting package that's going to make you money. I started 5 years ago with a very expensive package that cost me an upfront fee and $200 a month. Then moved to Intellicharts for a $100 a month because I found they did what I wanted for half the price. 18 months later I moved to Esignal's Tahoe chart for $39 a month because I found they did what I wanted even better and cheaper. I've had them since August, 2004 (just happened to see the email in one of my folders today) and they're great. Very reliable signal, only lost connection twice for more than 5 minutes in all this time.

However, about 8 months ago I started using MT4 and I now use them as my primary charts. I keep the Esignal as my backup, but MT4 does everything I need. The big factor for me is that MT4 keeps data on my pc, whereas Esignal has to load it all up everytime I log on, so I prefer the faster load times. Esignal does Pitchforks and Fibs better than MT4, but not as easily.

The point of all this is as I progressed as a trader, I found I needed less and less from my charting platform. The one major important issue is reliability of both data and uptime. I use the IB mt4 and it's pretty damn reliable. Once you have that, you just need whatever it is you trade with. All the bells and whistles aren't going to make you money, that's for sure.

I'll side with the majority of posters above and agree that it's not the charts/tools you use, but your mindset and reasons for trading. Sound MM and personal discipline combined with simplicity is a nice road to freedom.

I've used Intellecharts, FibonacciTrader, FXTrek, VT...and throughout all of it usually had MT4 running on one if not two PCs with EA testing or doodling with indicator creation projects. Out of everything i've used to date MT4 is my choice...and not because it is free. I use it because 1) it works, 2) one can customize it to one's liking, 3) there is an excellent community of support.

That said, save your money. $179 a month is a couple of nice outings with the sweetheart or the family.

Cheers,
Thom

One can't overstate the importance of this factor. When you're looking at charts everyday, you gotta like what you're looking at.

hhmmm..the top reason why trader fail is lack of perseverance...thats all..