Any advice for new guy?

I started a 4-month self education period at the beginning of September and hope to be ready to open a micro account by January. I've read this forum, books, countless articles. I've practiced in a demo account, not doing well, not doing bad. However, I have grasped the concept of money management and my personal trading type. I started demo trading the 5 and 10 minute charts, then read on this forum that beginners should trade daily and weekly charts. I did worse on those. I'm now more comfortable with 1h (and only sometimes below) charts, and I like the GBPJPY because of its volatility.

In September it was my goal to grow my account starting in January by 25% a month. I have gone through periods where that seems impossible and some where it seems doable. I have no mentor or special forex class. I only have free resources on the internet like this forum and library books.

Any advice?

The "sticky" threads at the top of the Rookie section are well worth reading. I would avoid the big, busy threads on Forex factory where people are shouting trade calls randomly. It's a bit like the Wild West.

I don't think you need books. Websites are the thing. Investopedia, Babypips and so on. Learn about price action and how you can follow the market, rather than using lagging indicators to predict. The James 16 thread is worth reading. Use tiny risk at first. You're in for a lot of work but don't give up.

That's my advice.

Oh, by the way, forget 25% per month. That's obviously not realistic money management. 25% or more is possible in a month but not sustainable. It's akin to putting your account on the 1/4 on a roulette table. i.e. gambling.

25% per month?????...........Can you think any business in the world will give that much money on your investment monthly ????Be realistic.........make target 5-6% per month and it is more than enough to make you millionaire if you can make it constantly.......Many will demand that I made 900% within 3 months.......Just charge him to show his ACCOUNT.........

And about trading strategy,try to find out the best what is fit for you........What is fit for me, it may be dust for you.............

Wishing you good luck........

Best Advice you will EVER GET:

Don't WASTE your time and money with FOREX. You will stay here 5 years and in the end you will have to quit, after losing thousands of dollars in money and time.

We live only once. WE sleep 33,33% of our life. Which means that if you are lucky enough to live 90 years, you sleep 30 and only live 60. And you will waste 5 years of your life in a place that is full of scam and where only 5% of people make money. And 95%... I REPEAT, 95% of people LOSE money. There is no other business in planet, where 95% of people lose money.

Seriously, you will make more money in a normal day job. Take it or leave it.

Well, Dallas, think you can heed to good advice like below:

Yeah, right, spend those 60 yrs telling other people about it just like this dud did. It is guaranteed a 100% success (cos you'll never know who'll do exactly as you said---so rest assure, sleep well at night, believing you have done yourself a good job of warning other people).

Stupid person like me? Well, I stirred but not shaken forex world for almost 10 years. Loosing 15 out of those 30 yrs of sleep. And money too, not thousands of dollar but equal to about three years average paycheck in my country.

And what do I got in return?

For a start, a sneer from those around me for I have yet as rich as King Solomon after all this years.

A sore butt for sitting too long in front of computer trying to understand what the heck is forex about.

And, yeeeaah, there maybe some positive side, but don't bet your life on it. Minuscule things like knowing myself better (and what the hell does that good for, I can't take it to the bank, right?). Beter control of myself (again, what the heck am I wanna be, a Budhist monk or what? Self-control my a**). Not answering to any bosses, with big B or small b.

It took me more than 5 years to have a steady profit month after month. And about 8 years before I could withdraw $1,000 from my profit every month---when my equity was already compounded over $15,000.

Just look at the news about regular jobs, like nursing or something, which stated an income around $40,000 a year. Imagine if you can save $5,000 out of it year by year. In 8 years I needed to get my equity to $15,000, you'll already compounded $40,000. Hard to beat, right?

So, again, better listen to that dud said. Exactly like what my mom used to say, "Go get a job, a real one. Where you get out of the house by 8 and return by 5. Work right, and you'll have a better life." ...sigh....wished I heard her.

By the way, she's almost seventy now, retired without a pension, living in my sister's second house, and living on what my sister and me send her monthly.

What a life.

strange advice from someone who calls themselves forexdude, and hangs around on ff.

well at least now you can compound your gains..And that's the only reason to go for a business such as trading over regular job.

Discipline is key.

If you make alot of small and smart trades you can do fine.

Advice is a funny thing as you can take it in so many ways.

Lastly I find sometimes certain people dont like to genuinely help others make a lot of money and closely guard any REAL trading secrets and in some cases try ro put people off trading or whatever the query is.

Its the 'move along nothing to see here' thing.

Just my opinion:

If you want to be successful, listen to everyone (you don't want to be rude) but only take the advice of people already successful. And by successful, I mean what YOU consider successful, because that is an individual thing (what I consider successful you may not and vice versa). Time spent trading FOREX does not translate into experience. Desire to be successful does not put money in the bank. Learn from someone that is where you want to be, not someone trying to get there like you are.

Certainly not to take anything away from any traders out there, but I recommend taking advice only from someone trading a live account with full sized lots that can consistantly make money (again, how MUCH money will depend on what you consider successful). Remember, you are only learning how they trade, not what they trade, so you can always trade the type/number of lots your circumstances dicate.

The hardest part to come to grips with is that not everyone that attempts currency trading is going to be successful, no more than everyone attempting to be a writer or computer programmer or starting their own business of some kind will be successful. But that is okay, because it takes nothing away as a person. For nearly everything else out there (sports, science, craftsmen, etc), it typically doesn't take people too long to figure out they are just not cut out for that...just not good enough to continue to pursue that career path. There is no shame whatsoever in that. I couldn't be a carpenter to save my life, as much as I would like to be. I just can't do it. Other people pick it up so easily and try to teach me, but I just can't do it. But I'm okay with that. Disappointed, but okay.

I think that some of the main reasons a lot of currency traders fail is because they either 1) can not admit they are not cut out for trading, 2) continue doing the same thing expecting different results, or 3) jump from one method/strategy to another so much they never learn, let alone master, any particular one. So if you honestly think you ARE capable of being a successful trader, then forget about #1. Focus on your methods: If you have a current method that does not produce the results you want, toss it to the side and find one that does. It really doesn't take too long to see if a method is going to produce or not. When you find that one, demo it until you understand how to make adjustments to it as the situation requires. Make money with that one before you learn another.

You are going to hear a lot of people try to make currency trading into some mystical, in harmony with the universe-type thing. It is not. It is a learned, technical skill. No more, no less. That is not to say that some are not better at it than others, much like some students were better in school than others. But it is a learned skill; no one was born understanding how to read a chart. It can be very stressful at times, and some people can't handle that stress, but it is still just a learned, technical skill.

You are also going to hear that you won't be successful for years (if at all) or you have to do it this way or that. That is just ego and frustration talking, because it is human nature to not want to admit that others may be successful where you have not. Most people mean no harm, they are just relating their own experiences. But don't take away from those that it took years to reach their goal, because in the end, no one cares how long it took to become successful, just that you have become successful.

Forums are a great place to share ideas, but you have to wade through the negativity that is a product of that ego and frustration mentioned above. All forums have it, just don't get caught up in it. If I would have read the stock/option or currency forums before I started trading years ago, I doubt if I would have pursued either. What would be the point if all those people tried and were failing? But since I never got on ANY forums until the last year or so, I didn't know I was supposed to fail. Since I only talked to sucessful traders as I was learning, I didn't know how difficult it was supposed to be. Since I had high but realistic goals, I didn't know I should have set lower expectations.

There will be ups and downs, but you will be hard pressed to find another method to make money that you can do when you choose (all hours of the day or night) from anywhere in the world you can get an internet connection. But in the end, only you can decide if trading is right for you.

Again, just my opinion...

Well said. I am new to Forex trading as well and see if it suit me. I have a full time job and paying well. I am embarking on Forex as I want to be location independent in the future. Everyone has to start somewhere and you will not know until you tried.
Thanks

Some responses make you wonder why is thiese people still trading if it make their life so miserable? Some members have been here more than two year and have a million posts and tell you to keep away, a doctor (yes I am) may say they have a gambling problem, the endorfin created after the first big successfull trade is trying to be found again and again.

Anyway, if a money manager promised to you 25% monthly return on a investment you would soon read of a Ponzi scheme investigation by a regulating body like NFA or FSA. Like aniother person say, look for 4% - 6%. Learn to recognize where problems happened before and always learn a strategie to get out, close etc to save you big losses.

Get out now before you lose your sanity.

GBPJPY maybe your problem. Try trading EURUSD on Daily charts. Its allot more forgiving.

Whatever currency you trade remember economic news statements.

Maybe your initial goal should be to not lose money, or even to not lose very much money. In the beginning, that's tough enough. A 25% per month goal is going to create a lot of disappointment.

When you finally become profitable, through skill and serendipity, you'll have an outstanding month now and then. A nice bonus to help with the months when you won't be able to hit your own a** with a tennis racket.

To put this into some perspective, check out any bank in town and see what they are offering on money market accounts or CDs.

Don't think in terms of what you can make, rather think in terms of what you can lose! Every time you pull the trigger you're exposing yourself to loss. Don't over trade!

Make a plan. Stick to it like hair on a gorilla but don't be afraid to tweak it to (hopefully) improve it.

Journal. Document every trade.

Keep your first live account small. Chances are pretty good you'll blow it, but that's ok. It's a tuition payment.

You talkin' to me?

Once again, these figures are Skewed to the point of no return. ForexDude is just sour because he can't make any kind of living in Forex, Yet he still hangs out here posting. Did you ever think that maybe... just maybe, these people your "steering" away might actually be part of that 5% (according to the VERY skewed statistics) and what your doing is actually taking their future away from them?

Let people learn on their own, let THEM decide if it's for them or not. Quit trying to force your own personal belief's on others when you don't have 2 clues about the industry to begin with.

You never know, maybe some of these people you're steering away from forex are like me, maybe it only takes them about 7 months to figure stuff out, did you ever think of that?

I'm so sick of people telling other people what's right and wrong for them... Get a life, get a job, get a family, THEN you can impose your belief's on people (your children) otherwise... piss off.

DallasTX, I would recommend reading this post by Fudomyo found here. This is an excellent basis to determine if you think you should invest into this or not, while not all key points are addressed in this post, it is a VERY good foundation. I hope it helps, and don't listen to people who say "quite before you start". If you need to, build up some self confidence by trading on demo for a while, I'm 8 months new to forex, started on a demo for a week and a half, made something like 15% of the initial deposit, and thought I knew it all because of the huge return for a week and a half, I opened a live account, and things didn't play out the same, mainly because of my lot size limitations (1.0 lots on a $5000cdn account 100:1... yeah... ouch), anyway the point is, you WILL have a kick in the face for a few real dollars, but it's how you handle it, and how you manage the loss that is key. My current live account has not been traded on in a while, and it's not because I've given up, it's because I've realized that things aren't as they appear, and it requires more than just pushing a button when it comes to real money being on the table.

Anyway, check that post out, and it should at least help point you in the right direction for the answer you seek.

My friend my advice is to save your maney and demo trade, treat the demoing seriousely and learn to trade. Read some books...i will personally recomment trading for a living by Alexander Elder.

dont worry about money management, being decipline and other clicque you hear about. You will develope them as you trade and see the reason to.

Remember my friend! it takes time, dedication and serious commitment to learn this stuff, keep at it long enough and you will pick it up...i remembered being so frustrated after 6 months of trading and still i will be 20% up one month and 45% down the next. Now i look back at it and laugh at my foolishness. I improved only after 18months in. Thats way longer than i initially thought.

Good luck!

just keep in mind that forex is not a get rich quick scheme. like most people said 95% of the people lose money! but that doesnt mean you cannot make some money here and there, even small amount at a time. when thinking about trading system, choose the one that suits your lifestyle the most. set yourself certain conditions when trading (eg using indicators etc) and wait for the market to come to you not the other way round. and dont over trade either, that's probably one of the biggest mistake for new traders.

finally, dont let your life revolve arond forex, it's just not worth it, having a happy life is more rewarding that gaining pips..

all the best...