Are Brokers really out to see me fail?

hi there,

I've been demo trading for a couple of years. Im ready to go live and open a mini account.

I have been looking at reviews of different brokers in such place as forexpeacearmy, overall the feedback seems to suggest that brokers like to trade against you and are out to empty ur account. stops and limits are never honoured! these are comments from clients of big brokers like fxcm & gft! As a new little fish in the big pond this is very discomforting!

Are some of these reviews are from bad traders blaming their tools? Granted some may genuinely have a bad experience.

I cant seem to find a unbiased review that's like, "i emptied my account coz i made some lousy trades, but this broker offers a great platform"

Is it a case that people who are having a bad experience are more likely to complain opposed to another person, where things are running totally smooth?

I have demo traded my plan on these platforms and am able to make a realistic profit. When I have lost a trade I know why I have lost( news, premature entry or just giving in to emotion). I thought brokers make money from the spread so your success is theirs. So its in their interest to keep you in the game. Am I wrong?

As some of you are experienced traders who have taken the rough with the smooth, what's your view? Are brokers really out get me? Im leaning towards a big broker like gft or fxcm, are these safe choices, or am I disillusioned by their glizty marketing and demo platforms?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Depends.

You have honest brokers and not so honest brokers.

A retail dealing desk broker does want to see you fail. They make money when you lose money by taking the other side of your trade. Now that doesn't mean they will be shady about it, will some, you betcha ya.

An ECN type broker that passes your orders off, does not care if you are winning or losing. They want you to trade more volume where they get a cut via commissions and spreads.

Either way it is all about doing your due diligence. Most reviews you can't believe, you need to either talk to people you trust, and most of all find out on your own. Start out small with any broker you choose, get used to the live. Add a bit as you go. Make sure things all seem right to you. I agree with staying with the big names, but even those aren't always honest.

Best of luck in your search

Mike

Mike's right but there are basic facts about the market you need to know as well.

Read this thread by Darkstar and be aware that certain things happen for a reason.

When you go live don't put all your eggs in one basket. Split your fund among a few brokers and see what happens. You'll soon know when to get out of some of them.

http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...light=darkstar

Thank you both for your feedback.

That gave me some added insight that I'd never read before. Was very candid & refreshing.

My summary is, a institution will do what they will to protect their interests. If all new traders were aware of the bigger picture, they would understand that the so-call glitches they moan about could be just down to:

a) the natural flow and availability of orders being actually filled.
b) as mentioned, institutions protecting their interest.

Which has thenlead me to a personal question, will my trading style that has worked in the soft n fluffy demo world allow me to survive in the live world?

This is for you to find out, and part of the natural growing up process from demo to live.

Example. Demo traders executing market orders during news times getting perfect fills and doubling their accounts every 5 mins. Reality, you are toast.

If you have specific questions shoot me a msg if I can give you some insight I will do my best to help.

Best
Mike

Brokers will have hard time taking your cash if you use lower leverage and larger timeframes. Dont trade the noise

Lower leverage is the key. For those that don't know how to calculate it is very simple; size of position divided by money in your account. There are varying views on what is the right number, but around 5:1 seems to be common.

Wishing you success with your live trading, nurotic!

I can echo the sentiment of not over leveraging your account. Set your leverage to whatever level allows you to open just enough volume that your money management allows. I would suggest no more than 1:50 which forces you not to be too greedy
Then trade longer term, not scalps. If you trade long term, the broker can't use the excuse that they didn't have enough time to cover the trade in their hedged dealing desk.