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"Couple" of Questions

  • #1
  • First Post: Jul 20, 2008 3:44pm Jul 20, 2008 3:44pm
I'm thinking about opening an account with either IBFX or Alpari UK. From doing a little investigation around it seems that these may be the 2 best metatrader brokers. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I've seen some members say that they would only put so much money into metatrader based brokers. I don't remember if they meant any kind of broker including ECN's or not. My question here is what would be your cut off point for how much money you put into a metatrader broker or any one broker of any kind?

Also, if I remember correctly, I think there are commissions we have to pay on every trade with the ECN brokers. Can anyone say how much those commissions are or how exactly that works?

Lastly, I have an issue that more so has to do with my comfort or level of content with my trading. I've only demo traded thus far. Can you all tell me approximately how long one can demo trade consistently making profits before you can safely say that "you've got it"; where you can rest assured that your wins are not a fluke? You've been trading and let's say you have a 70-80% win ratio. You're consistently winning more trades than you are losing, your wins are big and your losses are small and you've been able to maintain this with varying market conditions. What is a reasonable amount of time to have consistently performed in such a way as to be able to rule out conclusively elements such as luck or flukes?

Thank you
  • #2
  • Jul 21, 2008 3:12am Jul 21, 2008 3:12am
. What is a reasonable amount of time to have consistently performed in such a way as to be able to rule out conclusively elements such as luck or flukes?

1 year
  • #3
  • Jul 22, 2008 1:36am Jul 22, 2008 1:36am
Quoting Jankruh
I'm thinking about opening an account with either IBFX or Alpari UK. From doing a little investigation around it seems that these may be the 2 best metatrader brokers. Correct me if I'm wrong.
IBFX open an hour later on Sunday and close an hour earlier on Friday and their spreads aren't really competitive. Alpari UK's prices freeze every now and then plus I had connection problems across fundamantal data releases. None of that may affect you depending on your own trading style. I've traded live accounts with both and didn't see anything blatantly dishonest from either.


Quoting Jankruh
I've seen some members say that they would only put so much money into metatrader based brokers. I don't remember if they meant any kind of broker including ECN's or not. My question here is what would be your cut off point for how much money you put into a metatrader broker or any one broker of any kind?
If your funds aren't protected then why have any more on deposit than margin requirements and potential drawdown, keep the bulk of your unused trading capital somewhere safe (if there is such a place nowadays!). Funding accounts is free and fast for a lot of MM's, personally I wouldn't risk having on deposit any more than I absolutely needed to.


Quoting Jankruh
Also, if I remember correctly, I think there are commissions we have to pay on every trade with the ECN brokers. Can anyone say how much those commissions are or how exactly that works?
It varies from ECN to ECN and depends on monthly volume but as an example IB's minimum was $2.50 last time I looked.


Quoting Jankruh
Lastly, I have an issue that more so has to do with my comfort or level of content with my trading. I've only demo traded thus far. Can you all tell me approximately how long one can demo trade consistently making profits before you can safely say that "you've got it"; where you can rest assured that your wins are not a fluke? You've been trading and let's say you have a 70-80% win ratio. You're consistently winning more trades than you are losing, your wins are big and your losses are small and you've been able to maintain this with varying market conditions. What is a reasonable amount of time to have consistently performed in such a way as to be able to rule out conclusively elements such as luck or flukes?
I think you'll know when you've got it and feel comfortable with what you're doing. I'm not sure it's so much a matter of time as a matter of confidence in your strategy and ability to execute your trading plan with discipline. If you've thoroughly tested everything in a variety of market conditions and are pleased with the results then there's nothing to stop you opening a small live account, you'll find a big psychological difference having real cash on the line and it can take some getting used to. From there gradually scale up until you reach your own comfort level for trade size and risk. If you come across any problems then you can always go back to demo if needs be, and by scaling up gradually you're increasing risk as you gain more experience and confidence.

Hope that helps, and good luck!
  • #4
  • Jul 22, 2008 9:29am Jul 22, 2008 9:29am
Personally, I dont like to keep anymore then 30% of my trading capital at any one broker. I got screwed with the whole "Refco" bankruptcy and I vowed to never let that happen again, no matter how highly rated a broker is.

IBFX is my favorite MT4 broker but I only keep about 15% of my trading capital with them. The rest I keep with MB Trading and Oanda with a majority of it safely in my bank account ready to be transferred to a given broker quickly if needed.

As far as making the switch to live trading, it does not matter how long you have been demo trading for. The game changes completly once real money is on the line. I suggest going live as soon as possible with real money (just use mini or micro lots) in order to get the feel of things. Trading demo for more then a few months is a waste of time in my humble opinion.
  • #5
  • Aug 1, 2024 2:43pm Aug 1, 2024 2:43pm
Quoting lostinspace
{quote} IBFX open an hour later on Sunday and close an hour earlier on Friday and their spreads aren't really competitive. Alpari UK's prices freeze every now and then plus I had connection problems across fundamantal data releases. None of that may affect you depending on your own trading style. I've traded live accounts with both and didn't see anything blatantly dishonest from either. {quote} If your funds aren't protected then why have any more on deposit than margin requirements and potential drawdown, keep the bulk of your unused trading capital...

Thank you for your reply. I apologize for being 16 years late in seeing this.
  • #6
  • Aug 1, 2024 7:53pm Aug 1, 2024 7:53pm
Quoting Jankruh
{quote} Thank you for your reply. I apologize for being 16 years late in seeing this.
Pride always comes before destruction.... -Proverbs 16:18
  • #7
  • Last Post: Aug 6, 2024 7:15am Aug 6, 2024 7:15am
Quoting Jankruh
{quote} Thank you for your reply. I apologize for being 16 years late in seeing this.
Which broker are you using now?
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