Forex Tutorials – Forex Academy

“How long does it take to learn how to trade on Forex?”… There are many different variables to answer this question, which really boils down to the circumstances of each individual. But, there are different ways of understanding the subject that can help you pass the learning curve much faster. Unfortunately, some people never really learn to trade, but others do it very well and more when you understand that you never stop learning. What we want is that you can learn to trade Forex as quickly as possible but with minimal mistakes.

The importance of mentality…

Every day there are hundreds of traders entering and leaving the markets. Without a doubt, one of the advantages for successful traders has been their mindset. Unfortunately, they often take us to the market with the misunderstanding that it is easy to make a profit. We are also told that getting rich is not only easy but is to be expected. Actually, that’s not the real reality for the people involved. Usually, when traders look for quick and easy money, they end up ruining their accounts.

Most new traders find it disturbing if they “only win” a couple of percentages over the course of the month. Most traders see it as insignificant. However, professional traders are perfectly satisfied with that because they have much more information and strategy as well as tools at their disposal.

Trading is something that requires an extreme amount of patience, strategy, and of course education. You have to understand what you’re getting into. You’re negotiating against professionals who have studied for years and have many more tools than you. However, there are some benefits of being a retail trader as you are able to get in and out of a position pretty quickly. Fortunately, the retail trader doesn’t have those problems as someone who is trying to move US$20 million.

If your mentality is to know that you have a lot of work to do, but you can also get great rewards, it will serve you well in the future. Also, you have to understand that you must “love trading”. Perseverance is much easier for those who are doing something they really love. If you don’t really love trading, it will be very difficult to deal with the ups and downs of a trading career.

Is it very difficult to learn how to trade on Forex?

One of the best things about Forex trading is that you have a lot of free information on the Internet. You have the facility to search and find an immense amount of information and you may have the possibility to try several systems. Additionally, you also have the possibility to open a demo account, which means you don’t have to lose money in the process. These are the main advantages of trading on Forex, well above any other asset.

Most experienced traders will say that the best trading systems and methodologies are relatively simple. What we need to be clear about is that the simpler the methodology or the system, the more likely you are that it can be executed when the time comes. After all, the biggest problem that many traders have to overcome at first is “analysis paralysis,” which means they have too many things or indicators that come to them simultaneously to make a decent trading decision. Simplification is very often the way to make money in the long run because it clears up many things in the way of confusion.

Let’s not kid ourselves, success takes time…

Unfortunately, many retail traders will try to force time, and therefore lack of patience will almost certainly lead to very bad results. After all, there are many psychological obstacles when it comes to trading on Forex or any other kind of assets. Markets will move unpredictably, the most important thing is not how well your trading is planned. That is why re-testing a system in understanding its merits and weaknesses will become one of its greatest works.

To test a system, you’ll need to place theoretical trades in market conditions that simulate the returns you can expect. You can do this through various platforms and the like, or you can just look at a historical action chart and simulate what your operations would have been over several months, if not years. By testing the system, you will understand what the expected returns might be in the future. However, most people don’t make their way through this.

If you don’t have faith in your system, this is where you’re going to look for the next best thing. This is a cycle in which many new traders will fall, which means they may have come across a system that works in the long run, but they just haven’t given it a fair chance. This is where psychological means and knowledge of your system come into play. Everything will run through a demo account in the first place because it is too expensive to risk the trading capital in a real account for a hunch or some new methodology that you are dabbling in.

How to accelerate the learning curve…

Twitter is full of experienced traders who can offer an insight into how markets move. Certainly, we should not have excuses not to learn the necessary about the markets, because the amount of information that is freely available out there is really staggering.

Also, although most people want to hurry up and start earning money, there are no real shortcuts to learn from those who have already been there. That’s the strange thing about currency traders: they expect to be able to enter markets and clean up immediately. This is like hoping to be a great doctor by just showing up at the hospital. It takes some training and experience to become a profitable and successful trader.

Going where people have already succeeded, that’s the advice that anyone who succeeds will tell you, and Forex trading will be no different. Although there are no shortcuts, taking a mentor or learning from a professional can help you avoid some of the easily avoidable problems that exist. You can learn many disciplines such as trading systems, fundamental analysis, money management, risk indices to reward, things like Sharpe indices to measure a system, and so on. In short, someone who “has already been there” can help you avoid many of the most common mistakes.

Final thoughts…

There are no two traders who will work the same way, and it is important to understand that those who work harder will get better results. But, one thing that helped me a lot when I started out was checking the charts every night. After all, if you’re learning to operate with technical analysis, the graph and time don’t really matter. If you look at the graphics and notice a flag to bullish, it shouldn’t matter what market you’re trading in. This is where finding a graphics package or a website that gives you many opportunities to read the graphics over the weekend will speed up your progress. Think like this: if an average trader looks at 10 charts each day, you should look at a minimum of 30 charts. This will make you gain experience 3 times faster.

Another thing to think about is that some traders have a much more analytical mind than others. Those who understand the statistics of their trading system will understand that over time they will make money. They will not be shaken by the series of losses that will almost certainly come sooner or later. That being so, they understand that if they just stand firm, they will ultimately make a profit. Also, don’t get bogged down in the idea of jumping from one system to another, which is a long-term losing attitude.

The opportunities to learn about the forex market and trading are getting increasingly diverse, expanding across different mediums of communication. Luckily, unlike before, we have written and oral records of professional traders sharing their trading experiences and development. With today’s ease of internet access, more and more eager participants enter the world of forex each day through various vehicles, which makes it possible for different personalities to grasp the complexity of this market in the manner that suits them the most. As we all look for the most effective ways to take in the greatest quantity of knowledge in the least amount of time, today we are diving deep into the most relevant instruments one can use to gather information about trading currencies efficiently.

Since people have become accustomed to using the internet, browsing for information, this is the first means of expanding one’s education we are going to tackle. Those who are more comfortable with reading may find blogs to be particularly useful, where topics are carefully and elaborately presented. As some people may find these records to be downright uninventive or simply too lengthy, social media outlets, such as Twitter, provide ample information on forex. Nevertheless, posts such as these might at times be excessively personal, susceptible to inaccuracy, and potentially too focused on current events, which may confuse beginner traders.

Another heavily relied upon source the majority turns to is YouTube where you may find a plethora of accounts specifically created to provide insight into the tools, strategies, and other relevant aspects of trading one can consider. These videos are sometimes supported by a written record in the form of linked blog posts from the same author, which can be quite useful for the learning process as people can relax and enjoy the video without needing to worry about note-taking. Even though forex channels are one of the most popular means to equip oneself with key facts and hear constructive advice, it is important not to confuse a large following with quality, which can be quite a difficult task in the beginning stages.

Some individuals prefer to experience a proper learning environment rather than search for clues themselves, which is why it may also be useful to consider finding a professional trading company and look for educational courses. These are specifically designed to offer key lessons and answer the most important questions, guiding beginners from the very basics to the application stage. Such courses are usually constructed to methodically explain how the spot forex market functions, typically combining audio, video, and written materials to cover all learning types and provide the most comprehensive learning experience.

Aside from professional companies, some prominent figures in this market also offer 1:1 coaching programs, which some seem to prefer although it is vital to remember that any form of coaching or consulting should not lead to dependency. All individuals or companies can serve as long as traders accept their ownership in the entire process and see guidance as support and not as a crutch, which often proves to have a detrimental effect on overall trading performance and success in the long run. Therefore, if you are prepared to independently absorb and apply new lessons, signing up for a course or a program of this sort may be a perfect option for you.

Many beginning traders also ask questions regarding books that could help them gain knowledge and perfect their trading skills. If you refer to most professional traders, however, you will find that it is not trading books (or e-books) that they praise, but the books that helped them grow as a person. The topics that typically emerge as the most relevant are the ones concerning trading psychology, personal development, and money management. Beginner traders often focus solely on indicators, charts, and basic terminology, yet after a few, consecutive failures they start to realize that a key component is missing. To ensure that your toolbox and skillset are sufficient, understand that your preparedness also involves learning about yourself, your emotions, and the greatest personal triggers. As a result of one’s fear of investment, for example, the whole account may suffer and such people may not be able to increase their capital as they initially imagined.

Psychology books can allow beginner traders to get to know themselves and overcome hurdles that can have lasting consequences on their life. Besides, books on money management can help you rearrange your finances and change your perception of money and earning, which can only reflect positively on your life. Success in trading does not stem from understanding the market alone, but learning how you as a person interact with it to reach prosperity, freedom, and independence, which should be reasons strong enough to start exploring available books to help you grow. Nowadays, we also have numerous trading personality tests online that can prepare you or direct you well so that you know which area requires the most of your attention.

Now that we have listed all sources of information on forex that traders seem to find as useful, we need to openly discuss where and when real learning takes place. Traders can invest an incredible amount of time to process theory and they can do this in various creative ways (e.g. note-taking, creating reminders on the phone, etc.), but no knowledge can provide any benefit unless tested. The proven way for you to secure future success and monetary gains is to backtest and forward test your system via a demo account for at least six months. This process will also require you to keep a journal for each stage of trading so that you can use the data to make changes and improve your algorithm and your strategies.

You cannot run before you can walk, they say, and the same applies to trading. Real trading will test you, your abilities, and your emotions most rigidly and excruciatingly if you fail to recognize the importance of the testing period. A demo account should not, by any means, be perceived as a painful prolongation of the learning stage but as an invaluable opportunity to get an education like nowhere else. And, who knows, if your results turn out to be consistently positive, you may even present your achievements to a prop company or a banking institution and start earning money immediately.

While we all hope to obtain knowledge and skills on trading currencies the same way we take a pill, one source simply cannot give you everything you truly need, unfortunately. Learning about forex takes time and effort, so you cannot expect to sleep through the process. Forex education, no matter how you go about it (i.e. via reading, listening, taking courses, or else), demands from every trader to be present and involved in the process. This also entails that you will need to double-check the information you come by, exploit your mental capacities, and keep your emotional reactions under control.

Do not go looking for a walking stick in the form of a coach, but rather consider using this assistance as an opportunity to learn and expand your knowledge before you can carry on independently. Although some affluent individuals pay for advisory services to increase their return percentage, they also know everything there is about the market and they take the steps on their own. Therefore, the best way to learn about trading currencies is to apply the knowledge you absorbed, but you cannot expect to go far if you are aloof or plain lazy. Every forex expert will confirm that practical application led them to their greatest expansion, so now that you know where to start, you can start to develop a clearer vision of your path.