For all those interested in Forex Trading

I was doing some extensive research on this for quite some time and in the process found some interesting notes and tips from various sites.

I will be updating this with more information as I get.

I will begin wih introduction to some of the terminology used in this trade.
and lateron you will see some more links to websites from where I am pulling this info from.
--------
Basic Trading concepts : Pips, Lots, and Leverage

Pips, Lots, and Leverage –
These are some common words used in currency trading that you will need to add to your vocabulary in order to become a Forex investor.
You’ve probably come across these terms already during your investigation into currency trading. These concepts set the stage for Forex analysis and trading.

The Pip Exposed

a pip is the smallest price change a given exchange rate can make. Most major currency pairs are priced to four decimal points, so the smallest change for most exchange rates is equal to a 1/100th of one percent increase.

Your profits and losses can be calculated in terms of how many pips you gained or loss. A pip is derived by comparing the starting rate to the ending rate. The difference between the two is how many pips you gained or lost.

For example, if the exchange rate for the USD/CHF was initially 1.2155 and rose to 1.2159 then it has moved 4 pips – which could be good or bad depending on whether you own Francs or Dollars

Examples of Pip
Each currency has its own value which is usually expressed in relationship to another currency. As such, the value of one pip is different for each currency pair and depends on several factors - the main aspect being the exchange rate.

The value of a pip is derived by taking 1/10,000 of most currency pairs (this holds true for all exchange rates quoted with 4 decimal places –

pip = 1/10,000 ÷ Exchange Rate

Take a look at several of the main currencies to gain a better understanding of how a pip is calculated. We will express these examples where the USD is quoted first in order to express the value of the pip in terms of U.S. dollars.

Pip Calculations
Assume that the exchange rate for the USD/EUR is 0.7272. Since the rate is quoted to the fourth decimal place then we can use our trusty formula of: pip = 1/10,000 ÷ Exchange Rate. So,

0.0001 ÷ 0.7272 = 0.00013751

Therefore, one pip for the USD/EUR currency is worth 0.000138.

Now, let’s assume the exchange rate for the USD/EUR is now 1.1234. Using our same logic and formula we can calculate the value of a pip:

0.0001 ÷ 1.1234 = 0.00008902

-----------

Pip Exceptions

There’s one little wrinkle in our pip calculations. What happens when the exchange rate of a currency pair is not expressed to four decimal places? While, this doesn’t happen too frequently there is one notable occurrence which is when the Japanese Yen or JPY is part of the currency pair.

Currency pairs involving the JPY are quoted with only two decimal places, so instead of using 1/10,000, we will now use 1/100 in our pip calculation which will look like this:

pip = 1/100 ÷ Exchange Rate

Let’s assume that the exchange rate for the USD/JPY is 123.51. To calculate the value of one pip for the USD/JPY pair with an exchange rate of 123.51 we would perform the following math:

0.01 ÷ 123.51 = 0.00008097

Therefore, one pip for the USD/JPY is worth 0.00008097.


-----------
Lot
Spot Forex is traded in lots or groups. The standard size for a lot is $100,000 and $10,000 is considered a mini lot size. Since currencies are measured in the tiny values of a pip, Forex trades are conducted with a large amount of money in order to gain a profit (or incur a loss).

Lots and Pips

Here is an example suppose you have $100,000 and have decided to execute a few Forex trades. Since you have $100,000 you will be able to purchase a standard lot size from a broker.

After doing some research you decide to buy one standard lot of the USD/EUR at an exchange rate of 1.1234. Let’s find out how much one pip is now worth to you.

We do this by using our pip formula from before and multiplying it by your lot value, so it now looks like this:

pip = (1/10,000 ÷ Exchange Rate) x Lot Value

To apply this to our example, our formula looks like:

(0.0001 ÷ 1.1234) x $100,000 = $8.90 (rounded to two decimal places)

Therefore, the value of each one of the pips in your possession is worth $8.90 at the time of your Forex purchase.
---
Profiting - with Pips and Lots

Exchange rates are quoted in pairs as well know as the bid/ask spread. The first number in the spread is known as the bid price and the second is known as the ask price. So, for a bid/ask spread of 1.1229/34 the bid price is 1.1229 and the ask price is 1.1234.

A few hours later, you check the USD/EUR quote and discover that the bid/ask spread is now 1.1240/1.1247. This means the exchange rate at which you can sell your lot (the bid price) has increased to 1.1240. So, how many pips did you gain?

This can be calculated by subtracting the ask price you bought your lot of currency for from the bid price you can now sell your lot of currency for and then multiplying it by 10,000. Sounds confusing, but the following formula shows how simple it is using our example:

1.1240 – 1.1234 = 0.0006 then multiplied by 10,000 = 6 pips.

Now, in order to calculate your profit in actual dollars, take the number of pips you gained and multiply it by the value of your pips (which we calculated in the previous section). So, our actual profit from the money Aunt Matilda left us can be derived as follows:

(0.0001 ÷ 1.1234) x $100,000 = $8.90 x 6 pips = $53.40.

--------------------------
Leverage

Leverage is the ability to use borrowed funds based on the principal amount of money that you are able to invest. Many Forex brokers will offer leverage in ratios as high as 400:1.This means that if you have $250 to invest and a broker is willing to let you leverage that money at a 400:1 ratio then you are able to buy $100,000 ($250 x 400) or one standard lot.

Note: high leverage is not recommended by many experts - as the risk of loosing big time is more.

How is this possible? Since Forex fluctuations are typically small (a one cent or 100 pips trade is considered a large move) – a broker is able to hold a small amount of collateral for a given position. Also, brokers will usually require a minimum balance for opening an account with the amount of leverage offered being tied to the size of the account opened.

----
Leverage explained

Leverage allows Forex investors to gain a much higher return on their initial investment (it also allows for higher losses as well).

let’s now think that you take $1,000 which you earned working hard in your spare time and open a mini-account with a reputable Forex broker which offers 400:1 leverage.

Now, instead of using a full $100,000 to buy a standard lot we use $250 plus the leverage offered by the broker to buy a standard lot.
The assumption here is that the same conditions exist as when we used the bigger lot example. Here the profit is almost same, but ROI is high

Return on Investment (ROI) with standard lot Money: $53.40 ÷ $100,000 = 0.05%.

ROI with Leverage: $53.40 ÷ $250 = 21.36%

As you can see, using leverage GREATLY increase your return on investment.
------------

Margin Call
A natural question that emerges when discussing margin trading is what happens if I lose more money than I have in my account? Most Forex broker institute margin calls to ensure that you never lose more money then you have invested in your account.

Most margin calls are executed in real-time and on an automatic basis to close positions immediately before the market moves any further against a trade. Margin requirements – the amount of money put aside as collateral when opening a leverage position – vary from broker to broker and often depend on the size of your account.

Margin trading is can be dicey if you have not thoroughly researched your broker’s margin call policies and are not comfortable with risk involved. However, using margin as leverage will greatly increase your profits as a Forex trader.
------------------


I will keep this updating continiously..


Disclaimer: I am NOT a broker / trader. DO NOt rely on the numbers in the examples, they are examples only
I just posted this to throw out further discussions in this context .. as there were other threads on this but no specific information was provided anywhere.
So I am posting all that information here. this should help dummies like me who want to venture into forex trading

And all this is ofcourse FREE !!!!

Part II - of the basics of Forex Trading
--------------------------------------------

Types of Trade Orders
-------------------------

Market order
A market order is an order to buy or sell a specific currency immediately at the current exchange rate quoted by your broker. Typically market orders can be executed in a matter of seconds and are executed at the price you saw on your screen went you requested to buy or sell a currency pair.

Trading platforms carry out trades in different manners, but often make it very easy to perform a market order trade. Opening or closing a position is often as easy as clicking on the price displayed for a currency trade and having the money either subtracted or added to your account depending on the result of the trade.

Limit Orders
There are three main types of limit orders which are typically referred to as Entry, Stop, and Limit (traditional limit) orders. These types of orders enable you to have more control over the buying and selling price of the currency pairs which you are trading.

Entry

Entry orders are a kind of Forex request that are placed with the intention of opening a new position at a particular price. You can specify the price at which you would like to purchase a particular currency pair and then these orders remain active until you cancel the existing order or the specified price is achieved and the trade executes.

This type of order is useful for traders to guarantee you receive the desired purchase price for a specific currency pair. Remember the grocery store example at the beginning of this article - Imagine if you could go to your favorite store and tell the clerk exactly what price you are willing to pay for all of your favorite products and the clerk agrees to automatically purchase the product for you once it reaches that price and deliver it to your house.

Entry orders give you more control over the price which you pay to purchase currency at. Since the success of a Forex trader relies heavily on the ability to manage very small price changes, an entry order is a very useful tool.

Stop

A stop order is a kind of limit order linked to an open position with the intention of stopping additional losses if a price reaches a pre-defined point beyond the purchase price. As with market orders and entry orders, stop orders remains in effect until the position is liquidated or is cancel.

Stop orders (sometimes referred to as stop-losses) are incredibly useful for Forex traders who would like to limit the amount of losses incurred on a particular trade. Additionally, a stop can be used to secure a profit once a particular favorable price is reached on an open position so that if a currency pair’s price starts to slip again you will still sell your currency at a profit.

Traditional Limit

A traditional limit order is similar to entry and stop orders, but is designed to specify at what level you would like to take your profit. If you are going long on a position a limit order would be set at a price above the purchase price. Conversely, if you are shorting a position then the limit order would be placed at a price below the purchase price.

------------------

Duration of Orders
Orders typically last until the stated purpose of the order has been accomplished. Market orders are always executed at the time a transaction is requested; however, limit (entry, stop, and limit) orders can be placed for with a specified duration.

The default for a transaction is to remain active until executed, but some Forex brokers will allow you to specify the following designations for a currency trade:

GTC (Good ‘Til Canceled)
An order to buy or sell at a specified price. This order remains open until filled or until the Forex trader cancels.

GFD (Good For the Day)
A GFD order remains active in the market until the end of the trading day. Since foreign exchange is an ongoing market the end of day must be a set hour which is typically published by the Forex broker you are dealing with.

OCO (Order Cancels Other)
An OCO order is a mixture of 2 limit and/or stop/entry orders. 2 orders with price and duration variables are placed above and below the current price. When one of the orders is executed the other order is cancelled. This allows you to open contrary positions and then go with the one that initially holds true.

-------------------------

NOTE: Market and Limit (entry, stop, and traditional limit) are usually sufficient for most traders. Designing your initial strategy by utilizing these types of orders will give you more flexibility and allow you to spend more time with your kids since you won’t be hunched over your computer screen all day waiting to click the mouse at the precise moment to maximize your profits.

--------------------------

Part III - ForexTrading Tips
-------------------------------

Surviving as a Beginner: Education, Responsibility, and Expectations

" Many people expect to end up swimming through mountains of money in their own private vault like Scrooge McDuck when they start trading Forex. This is most likely not the case. It takes beginning investors years to develop the skills necessary to excel as a Forex trader."

The three main things to consider as you establish a career as a Forex trader are education, responsibility, and expectations. If you are able to manage these three areas effectively then you will eventually do well in currency trading.

Seek Information

The first thing to do is start learning about the fundamentals of currency trading – which we assume you’ve started since you are visiting this site. It would also be wise to familiarize yourself with the basic principles of macroeconomics and to understand the current foreign policies affecting currency markets.

It is important to educate yourself about key economic indicators such as interest rates, employment rates, gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), etc. In a sense, you must learn the lingo so you start to know what to look for when you are trading.

Another area of expertise you should look to develop is a keen understanding of technical analysis. This will give you the ability to analyze charts, identify trends, and forecast results. Much of Forex trading involves crunching numbers and trying to make sense out of mounds of data. Technical analysis skills will give you a distinct advantage as a beginning trader.

Buckle Your Seat Belt and Check Your Rearview Mirror

The Forex market is a relatively new market involving many speculators – all hoping to strike it rich. Since it has only been within the last few decades that the general public has access to currency trading, it has created an atmosphere which is somewhat akin to the gold rush of the 1840s and the dotcom hysteria of the late 1990s.


"You must also be responsible not to exceed your financial limitations when you start trading."

Forex offers unprecedented margin or leverage for an investing vehicle, and while this can eventually help you rack up big profits, it will also cause you to rack up big losses when you are first starting off.

Set aside an amount of money that you know you can lose – some people recommend saving the money you would have invested during your demo period – and do not put yourself in a position to trade more than that.

Great Expectations


It is vital that as you begin trading currency you keep your expectations reasonable. Don’t turn in your two weeks’ notice the day you place your first trade, and don’t take out a second mortgage on your house to fund your investments.

Most beginning Forex traders LOSE money. Expect to lose money on the majority of your trades as you begin;
However, make sure you evaluate why you were wrong and identify what you can do differently. For example, did you buy too early or sell too late? Or did you misread the impact a certain economic indicator was going to have?

Reasonable expectations will help you not to get discouraged as you start trading currency. This will allow you to avoid getting frustrated and instead learn from your mistakes and keep improving. If you are able to do this, than you can expect to become a very successful Forex trader.

Part IV - Forex Trading Tips
---------------------------------

How You Can Make Money by Trading Forex
-------------------------------------------------

Your mission as a Forex trader (should you choose to accept it) is to earn as many pips as you possibly can. The more pips you earn in currency trading the larger your profits will be. So, what is a pip and why does earning them help you make money in Forex?

The basic goal of Forex trading is to swap one currency for another currency then cross your fingers and hope the currency you bought will increase in value relative to the one you sold. Then once it increases in value you sell it back in order to receive more of your original currency in exchange.

It’s your old favorite investment cliché of buy low and sell high. However, there are many ways to accomplish this with Forex trading.
.

Pick a Pair
-------------

Well, what is an exchange rate? It is purely the value of one currency in relationship to another. In other words it is the amount of Euros that a Dollar can buy or the amount of Dollars that a Euro can buy.

Since exchange rates pit one currency against another they are quoted in currency pairs. If you wanted to know how many Euros it would take to buy one Dollar then you would check the USD/EUR exchange rate.

The first currency listed is known as the base currency and the second is known as the counter or quote currency. The exchange rate will tell you how many units of the counter currency it will take to buy one unit of the base currency and vice versa.

Theory of Relativity
--------------------------

Say you start with 1,000 U.S. Dollars (USD) and wish to purchase Japanese Yen (JPY) because you think the JPY will increase in value relative to the USD, So, if the JPY/USD exchange rate is 0.0075 (meaning that each yen will buy a very small percentage of each dollar) then you start off by purchasing approximately 133,333 JPY with your 1,000 USD.

You then hold onto your JPY for 2 weeks at which time your instincts prove correct because the U.S. president announces the U.S. is heading towards a recession and the value of the dollar plummets. With this news the JPY/USD exchange rate rises to 1.000 (1 JPY now equals 1 USD). You then buy 133,333 USD back with your 133,333 JPY, resulting in a profit of about 132,333 USD.

This example is a bit extreme and currency values do not usually change that drastically in a two week period, but hopefully you’re beginning to see how money can be made in Forex trading.

The Long and Short of It
---------------------------

There are several ways for you to make money on a Forex trade depending on whether you want to buy or sell the currency that is currently in your possession. In the example above we decided to buy JPY with the USD we had. In Forex speak we went long on the JPY/USD.

Suppose you had started off with JPY instead of USD and decided to sell your JPY for USD in anticipation that the JPY would decrease in value. Your strategy here would enable you to buy more JPY back once the price dropped. Executing your trades in this manner is considered going short on the JPY/USD.

Going short or long in Forex is just an insider’s way of saying whether you bought or sold a particular currency as part of your strategic move to make a profit. Just remember that long equates to buying and short equates to selling.

Buddy, Can You Spare a Pip?
--------------------------------

Put simply, a pip is the smallest price change that a given exchange rate can make. Most major currency pairs are priced to four decimal points, so the smallest change for most exchange rates is equal to a 1/100th of one percent.

Your profits and losses can be calculated in terms of how many pips you gained or loss. A pip is derived by comparing the starting rate to the ending rate. The difference between the two is how many pips you gained or lost.

For example, if the exchange rate for the USD/CHF was initially 1.2155 and rose to 1.2159 then it has moved 4 pips – which could be good or bad depending on whether you own Francs or Dollars.

Putting It All Together
------------------------
You should now have a better understanding of how you can actually make money as a successful Forex trader.

Remember, Forex trading is " NOT " easy – anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
-----------


In my next post you will know how to read and understand charts , and analyze market trends
-------------------------

Part - V - FOREX SCALPING
-------------------------------------

Forex Scalping can also be called a quick trading. It is a method where traders allow their positions to last only for a matter of seconds, to a full minute and rarely longer than that.
(As a rule if a trader holds to a position for more than a minute or two it is considered no longer a scalping, but rather a regular trading.)

The purpose of scalping is making small profits while exposing a trading account to a very limited risk, which is due to a quick open/close trading mode.

There wouldn’t be any point in scalping for many traders if they weren’t offered to trade with highly leveraged accounts. Only ability to operate with large funds of, actually, still virtual money, empowers traders to profit from even a 2-3 pip move.

How do they do it? Suppose a scalper opens a trading position of 100 000 units with EUR/USD. For each pip he will now earn $10… Closing in with only a 3 pip profit brings it up to $30 — not bad for less than a minute of work…

Now, you would probably ask what Forex brokers think about it, because if a scalper constantly wins, the broker would obviously sustain some losses.
That is why the other popular discussion topic is always at scalpers’ attention: What Forex broker would allow you to scalp the market?

Obviously, dealing desk brokers would not agree with scalpers’ trading style and most likely will ask a trader to change his/her trading habits or to find another broker. But, even if a scalper stays in, there is another method to slow scalper's performance down and it is to set delays between an initiation of the order and its actual filling. The reason behind it is that dealing desk brokers need time to countertrade/process each order to prevent own losses in case a trader closes in profit.

The broker that will not object to scalping is the one that has the best trades processing automated platform. Using straight through processing there is no intervention between a trader and a market maker — the software is taking care of the whole business process. So, it’s more likely a broker with a “slow” business processing platform would object to scalper’s trading style.

------------------------

Tips and Facts about Scalping in Forex
-----------------------------------------------

The only way to make small account big in a short period of time is through the use of really high leverage. But wait... do not jump of the cliff right away. Start with reasonable leverage for scalping, for example 20:1 or at most 50:1, then move on as you see scalping skills improve. But even before that do not be lazy to demo trade your scalping system – make sure it will not disappoint you later...


The only way to trade with high leverage without risking blowing up an entire account in only 10-15 trades is by trading with a tight stop loss. Trading without stop loss will “kill” your investment in no time.


It is wise to decide on the size of the trading lot and exposed risk in advance.
Do a simple math: calculate the worst possible situation, e.g. 10 consecutive losses in a row; then see if your account will survive and if there be something left to move on. And, although 10 losses in a row is a very unlikely scenario, you cannot deny it...


Although Forex is active 24/7, not every hour is suitable for scalping.
No scalper wants to sit in front of the monitor for numerous hours bored and disappointed with the “sleeping” price as it literally moves nowhere.
Scalpers hunt for volatile, liquid market. There are 4 major market sessions: London, New York, Sydney and Tokyo session. To trade effectively scalper needs to learn behavior of a chosen currency pair and define most active sessions, even particular hours for this pair to be able to catch good price moves.


Another thing to keep in mind is spread which brokers charge for different currencies.
The higher the spread the harder it will be to collect desired pips(because once trading position is opened, trader must cover spread cost – earn pips for broker first – and only then collect own pips).
And, of course, the lower the spread the easier/faster it is to accumulate pips.


Another factor to consider is an average daily range of the price for chosen currency.
The wider it is the more realistic is an opportunity to profit from price moves.
One of the scalpers’ favorite currency pair is EUR/USD with its low spread and good daily price range.


While using high leverage combined with high frequency trading, scalpers should be very cautious about the cost of actual trading, as each pip here makes a dramatic difference after a large number of trades.
This means being very careful with entries and exits, stops and limit orders, and also be very realistic about profit targets.


Once in the trade, scalpers should manage trading risks by:
1) moving stops to break-even as soon as situation permits;
2) taking profits at a logical levels: at round market price numbers: 00, 10, 20, 50 etc., at previous support/resistance levels, at Fibonacci levels etc.
3) getting out of the trade if the price freezes for longer time than expected.


Scalp-trading is very demanding and requires a lot of concentration, constant monitoring of the price and very quick decision making. Also, short time frames used in scalping strategies, require a good grasp of trading complemented with sound technical analysis skills. It is not a place where beginners feel very comfortable as it demands from traders a good chunk of experience.


Scalping involves substantial risks
A lot of beginners have common problem when trading highly leveraged accounts – they tend to maximize profits by trading with full capital at once. Do not do that! Maximizing chances for higher profits goes hand in hand with maximizing risks! The size of positions opened must be calculated very accurately so that your entire account will not be wiped out with just one(!) very unfortunate trade.


Another factor that increases risks for scalpers is the spread traders pay when open a trade.
Each time a new trade is open, the spread cost is paid to the broker, thus opening 10 small trades instead of 1 long term trade increases the cost of trading in 10 times.
If to measure risk/reward ratio of such scalping activity it may show very risky and potentially losing trading.


Example:

With GBP/USD currency pair a scalper sets profit target of 10 pips and stop loss of 10 pips. So far it is 1:1 risk/reward ratio.
In the next step, when the spread is added, the picture changes. For example, the spread his broker charges for GBP/USD is 4 pips.
When scalper opens a position he is -4 pips (the spread has been charged). Now in order for him to reach the target of 10 pips profit, the price has to move +4 and +10 pips = 14 pips.

On the other hand, in order to trigger his stop loss the price should move... -4 is already in place... so, only -6 pips and he will be stopped at total of -10 pips... the risk-reward ratio has changed in over 2:1, not very promising situation indeed...

To understand the full challenge of scalping as a trading style, consider this: hard work and small gains accumulated over a decent period of time could easily be wiped out with one large loss. Finding a balance between profit levels and size of acceptable losses presents the most difficult challenge to scalper’s strategy.

Best of luck in achieving your goals!

Part - VI - Scalping strategies and trading systems
---------------------------------------------------------

Scalping system #1 (Economic news releases)
----------------------------------------------------
Look for the important news to be released. Choose the most influential ones that are expected to shake the market well. Once got news (last can be found in any Forex economic calendar) find out which currency pair is going to be affected.

Now, 15 minutes before the data is released place buy/sell stop orders on both sides 15 pips away from the current price. Half an hour prior to the big news Forex market usually flats out – no significant trading is done, currency is often “stuck” in a small tight range.

When important news is released, the currency will move easily, producing large pip movements in either direction. Using this scalping strategy, traders will be able to get in and out of the trade in seconds at almost zero risk.

After studying for a while a particular currency pair and its reaction to the news, traders can predict direction of price spikes and the length of the move in pips to set entries and profit targets more accurately

Scalping system #2 (Morning breakouts)
-------------------------------------------------
The closer time gets to 8:00 EST in the morning the less movements can be seen on the chart. It is a well known fact that once the Forex market “hears morning bell” at 8:00 am it is going to really move – stretching well doing morning exercises .

What is needed from traders? Only to place 2 orders: above and below the last candle’s high and low at 8:00 am EST and join morning stretching having your 5 pips safely.

This is a scalpers’ breakout method, for which waiting long is a losing of precious time. If you want to join big traders your buy/sell orders must be above and below the price range created from midnight to 8:00am EST.
Currency pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD.

its realy good basic knowledge but no web site will tell where to eanter and exit.what i observed that short term trading is not good idea ,most of traders lost money and for long term trading for one lot if u do not have $25000 in ur account then forget it that some body can make money.The most importent thing in forex is catch the trend at start ,if u eanter in between might be u will lose money in correction.That is the big problem.I will also drop some more tricks and tips regarding this trading.any how its good idea to share knowledge