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A pip is the measure of change value between the two currencies and one pip is equal to 0.0001 of the change in value Multiplying the number of pips with the exchange rate is needed which tells how much the account has appreciated or depreciated in value

Whether you have $20 or $200,000 to invest, the objective is the same: to make your money grow. The means, however, vary dramatically based on your investing style and how much money you have to work with. If you invest effectively enough, you could conceivably live off the earnings from your investments! 1. Build your emergency fund. If you don't have such an account already, it's a good idea to focus your efforts on setting aside three to six months' worth of living expenses just in case — hence, an "emergency fund." This is not money that should be invested; it should be kept readily accessible and safe from swings in the market. You can split your extra money every month, sending part of it to your emergency fund and part of it to your investments. Don't tie up all of your extra money in investments, unless you have a financial safety net in place; anything can go wrong (a job loss, injury, illness) and failing to prepare for that possibility is irresponsible.

When everything comes together, the best technique to make money in the stock market. If you don't have a watch list, you are losing money.

Reviewing what we need to trade and showing this weeks past trades broken down into a basic easy to understand chart and discussion on limiting risk by staying out of risky events.

During an active trade, if the position of the trade moves with the trader's expectations, the trade will be in profit. However, this profit is unrealized because the position has not been terminated in order to claim the profit. The profit is only realized when the position is terminated in profit. In an account statement, the unrealized profit is shown in a separate column and is not added to the realized profit column.

Hello Traders, It's been some time since I posted. After years of perseverance, I can finally say I am profitable. I have a trading plan, I use risk management to control my losses and although it is by small amount, I have been making money consistently since last October. As with all trading plans, I was expecting this to eventually happen I'm in a drawdown. My last three out of four trades have been stopped out. I would like to hear your input on how to manage it. Some say, just keep trading the same size and others say decrease lot size, until your trades start to make money again. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

In this article we will discuss about a widespread, well-known key element of technical analysis. Why do you think technical analysis especially some elements work so well for financial markets? Why do you think Fibonacci levels are usually strictly followed? Because thousands and billions of traders and computer programs for trading use these elements. This way everybody acts the same at the same time… This is why we decided to present in the category of technical analysis, the most used and well-known methods of predicting financial evolution. These methods are easy to understand and are very efficient. We will discuss about Fibonacci levels. We will find out what Fibonacci levels are and how they are calculated. We will use them in our charts and we will see how they act. We will discover how useful Fibonacci levels are and, at the end, we will draw the conclusions. We will use Fibonacci levels daily in our analyzing and trading system. 1. What are Fibonacci levels? The truth about Fibonacci levels is that they are useful (like all trading indicators). They do not work as a standalone system of trading and they are certainly not the “holy grail”, but can be a very effective component of your trading strategy. But who is Fibonacci and how can he help you with your trading? Leonardo Fibonacci was a great Italian mathematician who lived in the thirteenth century who first observed certain ratios of a number series that are regarded as describing the natural proportions of things in the universe, including price data. The ratios arise from the following number series: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 This series of numbers is derived by starting with 1 followed by 2 and then adding 1 + 2 to get 3, the third number. Then, adding 2 + 3 to get 5, the fourth number, and so on. 2. How are Fibonacci levels calculated? The ratios are derived by dividing any number in the series by the next higher number, after 3 the ratio is always 0.625. After 89, it is always 0.618. If you divide any Fibonacci number by the preceding number, after 2 the number is always 1.6 and after 144 the number is always 1.618. These ratios are referred to as the “golden mean.” Additional ratios were then derived to create ratio sets as follows: The first set of ratios is used as price retracement levels and is used in trading as possible support and resistance levels. The reason we have this expectation is that traders all over the world are watching these levels and placing buy and sell orders at these levels which becomes a self-fulfilling expectation. The second set is used as price extension levels and is used in trading as possible profit taking levels. Again, traders all over the world are watching these levels and placing buy and sell orders to take profits at these levels which becomes a self-fulfilling expectation. Most good trading software packages include both Fibonacci Retracement Levels and Price Extension Levels. In order to apply Fibonacci levels to price charts, it is necessary to identify Swing Highs and Swing Lows. A Swing High is a short term high bar with at least two lower highs on both the left and right of the high bar. A Swing Low is a short term low bar with at least two higher lows on both the left and right of the low bar. Fibonacci Retracement Levels In an uptrend, the general idea is to go long the market on a retracement to a Fibonacci support level. The price retracement levels can be applied to the price bar chart of any market by clicking on a significant Swing Low and dragging the cursor to the most recent potential Swing High and clicking there. This will display each of the Retracement Levels showing both the ratio and corresponding price level. Let’s take a look at some examples of markets in an uptrend. The same points made by these examples are equally applicable to markets in a downtrend. 3. Chart examples for Dow and e-mini S&P 500. 1. In the first example we have an ascending trend and a Fibonacci retracement of 38%. After the price went down 38% of the entire going up value, it returned to an uptrend. The 38% retrace is the best moment to initiate long positions. 2. Here the image is reverse. We have a downtrend, a 38% pull back and then the price continued to go down. 3. The price had a 50% retrace during an ascending trend. 4. The ascending trend had a 61% pull back. 5. The last example shows a good moment to enter long after a 50% retrace 4. Conclusions a. Correctly used and followed, Fibonacci levels along other technical analysis and astrological analysis methods can offer complex and correct information for profitable transactions. b. Trading methods based on Fibonacci levels can be found and can work very well. These methods can be harmoniously correlated with other methods of financial analysis resulting in a complete and complex trading system approaching financial reality. c. We often use Fibonacci levels amongst other various methods of analysis that we will describe later. Dharmik Team

In trading there is a factor known to many as the ‘R’ factor or risk factor. Traders determine their average or base risk per trade they’re willing to take and name it ‘R’, and then measure profits as a multiple of this ‘R’. For example, a 3R profitable trade means the trader has made 3 times the amount they risked. The idea is to determine the ‘R’ factor early on in the trading system building stage and keep it consistent, whether it is a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of available capital. The benefits of using an ‘R’ factor include measurability, especially during back testing, which helps to determine a systems potential, and being able to track your trades from a systematic point of view rather than a monetary point of view. However it is the monetary point of view that I would like to address as I feel there could be another angle or point of view that could aid struggling traders, especially those that find themselves cutting winning trades short (breaking their systems rules). First, let’s do a quick demonstration of the use of ‘R’. A trader has $20,000 in capital, and decides he wants to risk $200 of his available capital per trade. After much back testing, he finds that out of 100 trades, 40 were 1R winners, 10 were 3R winners and 50 were 1R losses. He now knows that after 100 trades he system will provide an estimated 20R profit (40R plus 30R minus 50R = 20R), and if ‘R’ is $200, then that equates to $4000. This trader can now use this information to help determine what he needs to do to reach his goals. Now, when determining the ‘R’ factor, there is one element this trader has missed, and that is, what is his ‘R’ factor from a personal point of view? Why did he choose $200 and not $300 or $100, or some other figure? This in my view is a serious question that needs to be asked and then answered, and in order to do that, one must look at their personal finances and spending habits. In your every day life you have small, medium and large expenditures all of which fall into the categories of either tangible or intangible. For the most part, most of us have no problems with medium to large tangible expenses, such as house or car payments, or a new TV as these are things we can see or touch. Medium to large intangible expenses are much harder, such as a seminar or course fee where the results are not guaranteed. Small expenses on the other hand are a different breed altogether. How often will you go and spend money on something small and intangible and think nothing much of the actual expense? An example would be some lunch on the go; where you buy some food and drink and know that the cost won’t change things much for you so you don’t concern yourself with it too much. But let’s say you get home that evening and decide you like the idea of eating out for dinner. Do you now think twice about where you will go and how much you are willing to spend? If so, you have a threshold on the amount of money you are willing to spend (as most of us do), especially on intangible items or items quickly consumed. This threshold or level of expenditure where you change from not thinking to thinking twice is a perfect example of where your comfort zone currently sits when it comes to the value of money relative to you. Go over it and you get uncomfortable and have to think twice. In trading, it will be no different. You will find it much easier to take losses where the amount, or ‘R’ factor, is under your threshold, than if it is over. I know many people will respond to this comment with the issue of, by risking so little it will take too long to make any decent amount of money or even the fact that brokerage costs etc will start to become a heavy burden, and these are fair responses. However, the fact of the matter is, the act of trading is not going to change the way your brain responds to such losses because there is nothing to show for the loss (intangible), and if the loss is out of your comfort zone then your brain is not going to like it. What’s more, imagine you are sitting on a nice paper profit which is in excess of your threshold; an amount that if you were to spend on something intangible would cause you to think twice. Your brain is way out of its comfort zone because a) it’s a lot of money to you, and b) you can’t realize the profit and thus bank it until you actually close out the position! When you are in such a position all sorts of justifications for breaking your rules start flooding your mind. Both of these instances of not being able to take losses well and cutting winners short are major hurdles traders face all the time and much of the issue lies in their personal relationship to money and the value they place on it. If you have a low relative value of money, it doesn’t matter what the system you use is or how well it performs for others; you are only able to extract from it what your relative value to money is. You should spend some time assessing your spending habits and determine where your threshold lies. If it is too low to even consider making substantial money in the markets, then you are faced with the tough decision of either looking for a different career or changing your threshold level. Much of the problem lies in the belief that money is something we generally lack, and that there never quite seems to be enough. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter which way you look at it, this is a fundamental issue for most people, and it is no wonder 95% of trader fail.

You can find low-risk, high-probability trading opportunities by trading with the trend. The trick is to find the end of market corrections, so you can position yourself for the next move in the direction of the trend. This excerpt from Jeffrey Kennedy's free 47-page eBook How to Spot Trading Opportunities explains where to find bullish and bearish trade setups in your charts and how to zero-in on these opportunities. If this lesson interests you, the full 47-page eBook is free through July 6. On the left-hand side of the illustration below, there are two bullish trade setups. As traders, we want to wait for the wave (2) correction to be complete so we can catch the move up in wave (3) – this is the trade. What we are trying to do in this bullish trade setup is anticipate the potential for profits on the buy-side as prices move up in wave (3). Another bullish trade setup is at the end of wave (4). As traders, we are looking to buy the pullback and position ourselves within the direction of the larger up-trend. Remember, three-wave moves are corrections, which means that they are countertrend structures. On the other hand, five-wave moves define the larger trend. As traders, we want to determine what the trend is and trade in the direction of the trend. Our buying opportunity to rejoin the trend is whenever the trend pauses and forms a correction. Now, let’s look at the right-hand side of the illustration where we see two bearish setups. When a five-wave move is complete, it is retraced in three waves as a correction. The end of the five-wave move presents the first trading opportunity that we can take advantage of the short side (or the sell side) as the wave (A) down begins. Notice the second bearish trade setup gives us another shorting opportunity as wave (B) tops. So, within the classic wave pattern of five waves up and three waves down, we have four high-probability trading opportunities in which we are either positioning ourselves in the direction of the trend or identifying termination points of a trend. I want to share with you some tricks I have picked up over the years about how to analyze corrective waves and their termination points. The single most important thing I’ve learned from analyzing corrections is that corrective or countertrend price action is usually contained by parallel lines. As shown above, draw the parallel lines by beginning at the origin of wave A and going to the extreme of wave B. You draw a parallel of that line off the extreme of wave A. So basically you have a small, slightly angled downward price channel. This will show you the containment region for wave C. It also shows you an area toward the bottom of the lower trend line where you can expect a reversal in price. Here is another example. Again, you draw the parallel lines off the origin of wave A, the extreme of wave A and the extreme of wave B. Toward the upper end of the upper trend line, you will usually see a reversal in price. This example shows how countertrend price action is contained by parallel lines in the British pound, 60-minute, all sessions. Why is it important to know parallel lines contain the corrective or countertrend price action? Number one, it will increase your confidence that you are indeed labeling a countertrend move properly. Number two, it identifies areas where you will likely see prices reverse. For example, we see this reversal up near the top. This brief trading lesson is just a small example of the opportunities you can find once you learn to identify key market patterns. Learn more in your free 47-page eBook, How to Spot Trading Opportunities. This valuable eBook is regularly $79, but you can get it free through July 6. Download your free copy of How to Spot Trading Opportunities now. This article was syndicated by Elliott Wave International. EWI is the world's largest market forecasting firm. Its staff of full-time analysts led by Chartered Market Technician Robert Prechter provides 24-hour-a-day market analysis to institutional and private investors around the world.

I have found that there is a wealth of good trading advice here so here is a question that I have been grappling with for some time. I often find myself in a situation where I have failed to enter a trade at my intended price and the market has moved away in the direction I wished to trade. I often find that, out of frustration, I get tempted to chase the move saying to myself "if you had got your price you would still be in the trade" The result of this is that if I get stopped out, I loose more than I initially intended and also what would have been a scratch trade if the market came back will now be a loosing trade. I would be grateful for any ideas from TL members on how to deal with this kind of situation. Thanks

Trade Visualizer Description: This indicator depicts your trade with a line on the chart. The line will start from the entry time/price, and extends to current/exit time/price. The line will re-position itself to follow the up/down movement of the price. If you make money, the line will appear green. If you lose money, the line will appear red. This indicator is for current day use only. It maybe used in real time, or at EOD. note: This indicator is for intra-day charts only. note: MultiCharts version supports sub-minute resolution. Intructions: 1. TRADE.CONCLUDED: default at FALSE. Set to TRUE when trade is done. 2. LONG1.SHORT2: If it is a long trade, enter 1, if it is a short trade, enter 2 3. Type in the Entry Tme and Entry Price, 4. Ignore the Exit Time and Exit Price for now. 5. SHOW.EXTENSION: Default is "True" to view the line with extension 6. DATE.OFFSET: +/- 1 if you are in a different date zone than the exchange. note: MultiChart users: the Time format is hhmmss note: TradeStation users: the Time format is hhmm When the trade is concluded: 1. Change TRADE.CONCLUDED from False to True 2. Plug the Exit Time and Exit Price into the indicator, The line will hold its place on the chart. If you want to track another trade, simply apply another copy of this indicator. Comments and enhancement suggestions are welcome p.s. The PLA file is for MultiCharts, it is usable in sub-minute charts. TraderStation version can only be used in minute charts. If you do not know how to import the code into your software, please invest 5 minutes in your user manual. p.s. I have not tested this indicator in TradeStation. If you found it works, you are welcome to post the ELD. Enjoy ! Trade_Visualizer_(MultiCharts).pla Trade_Visualizer_(TradeStation).txt