Monday, August 11, 2008

Trading Is An Art And Also A Science

Forex trading is not as simple as it sounds.



What we may see or hear are the success stories. When we hear about people making so much money in this area, we always wonder if we could do likewise. Very seldom people want to talk about failures. Like any other profession, education is one of the most important and also the first step to take. The forex is a huge market and it is an knowledge based industry. Many people dive into this market without much preparation, and eventually they pay to the market. There are many successful forex strategies out there that you may want to consider.


Invest in learning before you invest a single cent in the forex market. They either come in the form of online coaching or physical seminars that you can attend. It may or may not fit you. End of the day, a system is a system. Back testing and paper trading is the only way to find out if the trading system fit you, without having to pay to the market. Practice makes perfect.


Always start with paper trading, which does not involve real money. Upon successful paper trading only then you may go" live" , trading with real money. As we can see, it is important to trade with your personality. Once you started trading with real money, you will find that your emotions and psychology is so much different compared to paper trading. Trading is an Art and also a Science. The Art involves your emotions as well as your personality.


The Science only teaches you the steps and procedures to trade. Realistically speaking- the weakest link in the trading system is not your computer, it is not your trading strategy, and it is rarely your broker. Trading forex involves emotions and psychology. It is You, who is responsible, the trader for your losses or, for your profits, even more so. Trading systems prosper or fail as a function of consistency in implementation or execution. Everyone of us has different emotions and personalities. And consistency in implementation is a direct function of the trader.


We all need to trade with our personalities. Understanding some of the common mistakes traders make can better help you avoid these mental traps. Over the couple of years, behavioral experts have studied the role that personal psychology or personality plays in trading. Self- confidence- In any trading, there is a very thin line between bravado and stupidity. Traders should always review their strategy and search for alternatives views and feedback. A trader must be careful not to over estimate his or her abilities and knowledge.


Stay humble and keep an open mind is the key to success. Researchers have found that investors look for information that supports their trading views while ignoring or discounting evidence that runs counter to their positions. Trade rationalization- A major issue in Forex trading is the vast amount of available information. We need to avoid information overload. When all of the researches or back- testings are over, when the perfect trading systems have collapsed, when market theories have been dashed on the hard rocks of market realities, and when confident traders have failed and given up, the only thing that remains still intact is trader personality and his psychology and what it can teach us about ourselves and others.

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