Opening a Forex trading account and making a trade is a simple thing to do.
Anyone can accomplish this in less than an hour, but doing so does not make a person a Forex trader. For those who wish to commit to becoming successful Forex traders, it is absolutely necessary to understand that a successful career as a Forex trader is the result of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Trading is a skill – a skill than can only be acquired and mastered through years of development. For those that fully commit and achieve trading mastery, the world’s largest market will be your “oyster.”
Knowledge is Power
The first thing an aspiring trader must do to learn trading is acquire knowledge. There are many available sources from which traders can attain knowledge, and many different levels of commitment.
A simple internet search will find a plethora of websites, books, videos, seminars, Forex courses and workshops available – Some are free of charge, some are not.
The knowledge gained from these sources requires self-motivation, and is sufficient to grasp the basics of Forex trading. To obtain an in-depth understanding and mastery, further education is required. Some basic courses in mathematics, finance, and economics will be very beneficial in preparation for learning advanced technical and fundamental analysis of markets, and how to use advanced concepts and techniques to trade.
Knowledge of computer technology is also important. Courses of this type can be found at any local community college, all the way up to master’s degree Programs (MBA) at Ivy League Universities, and everything in between. Markets are the most dynamic entities in the world, therefore, a career in trading should be a non-stop learning experience. Successful Forex traders are always searching for better ways to make profits (Alpha).
Go For It, No Matter How It Ends It Was an Experience
Another very important element for Forex beginners is gaining experience.
Although acquiring knowledge as mentioned above is crucial, when learning how to trade Forex there are some lessons that cannot be taught, they must be lived – Namely, learning to deal with emotions.
Emotions are a trader’s worst nemesis. Once fear or greed take hold, all rational thinking goes right out the window, usually resulting in trading losses. The biggest problem with emotions and trading is that reading all the books, watching all the videos, and taking all the classes cannot prepare you for the emotional distress that will be experienced when a very large position takes a very large drawdown or loss.
Learning to recognize and control emotions is paramount to becoming a successful trader. Unfortunately, this necessary experience that is required to master the skill of trading, necessarily requires aspiring traders to experience losses. It is here where perseverance matters. All successful traders will tell you that they went through a losing phase, but they didn’t give up. They learned how to control losses, and eventually the profits overcame the losses.
Start Small and Grow Big
Capital is the next critical element that traders need to trade. Capital that is used for trading should be budgeted for trading purposes and nothing else. My recommendation is to start small and grow your account over time.
It is a terrible idea to trade with next month’s rent money, or the kid’s college fund. First and foremost, it is irresponsible, but more importantly, because it will instill fear into your trading decisions, resulting in irrational trading decisions, and losses. It is best to have a secondary income to cover living expenses until such time that a scale of trading can be reached whereby living expenses are negligible relative to trading profits.
Trusted, Reliable and Regulated Broker
Selecting the right broker is also very important. There are hundreds of brokers all around the world that compete for trader’s business. Careful due diligence should be taken to ensure competitive spreads, low commissions, decent trading platforms, and excellent customer service. It’s also a good idea that the broker be under the jurisdiction of a government regulatory agency, just to be safe.
These are just a few of the critical elements needed to get started trading in the Forex market. There is much more to learn, and the more you learn, the better trader you will become.
If You Want to Become a Successful Forex Trader, You Must Join AndyW Club.