Forex Trading - The Basics Explained in Simple Terms

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About the author

Jim Brown

I became interested in the Forex markets in 2002 after attending a stock trading meeting at a private residence. One guy announced that he had made a killing by trading the Yen against the US dollar. Who knew that the individual on the street could even trade currencies? Up until then, it was only the banks or wealthy individuals with access to this type of trading. A whole new industry was born.

At first there weren't many reputable brokers around, their platforms were unreliable, spreads were huge and the internet was dial up. Forums popped up and 'trading gurus' appeared.  There was money to be made by those who were were smart at the time, either by straddling the news releases or exploiting the carry trade. But brokers also got smarter and either shut these advantages down or created trading conditions that made it difficult to profit from.

My problem was, I listened to too many so called 'gurus' and got caught up in all the hype. Always thinking they were smarter than me as their systems were complex, and therefore must be better than anything I could come up with. So for a few years, I bounced around different systems, blowing accounts and giving back profits I had managed to make. There were good times and bad times, but I never gave up.

I soon realized that some of the 'gurus' were the real deal, and started to pay attention to them to see what they had to offer. I became smarter with my money management, got out of the day trading habit and generally simplified my trading methods so they were easy to implement and explain. I have also dabbled with building my own trading robots with mixed success and use them at times to assist me with my trading.

I now make a living from trading Forex, mainly off the 4hr or Daily charts. My systems are simple and profitable overall. I love trading Forex and I see it as having a huge potential to make some serious income. It is not as easy as some would make you believe, but if you keep it simple, control your money management, and be consistent, then there is no reason that you too shouldn't succeed in the world of Forex trading.

Patience, courage and discipline.....