Perhaps one of the most important things to remember when you’re starting out is to just take it easy. It can be tempting to try all technical indicators all at once or trade every single top-tier news release out there, but you might run the risk of overdoing it and feeling burned out later on. Stick with what you’re comfortable with and just add what you learn along the way.

Another thing to keep in mind is to know yourself. Make sure you come up with a trading strategy that is in tune with your personality and your risk preferences. For instance, if you thrive in fast-paced movements and if you’re comfortable with managing many open positions at once, then you could look into scalp trading techniques. On the other hand, if you get easily stressed with quick price movements and would rather just check your charts every now and then, swing trading might be better for you.

Lifestyle considerations must also be taken into account when coming up with a trading strategy so as to not set yourself up for stress or failure. If you are planning on trading part-time while holding on to your day job, then you could look into trading techniques that won’t require you to be in front of your trading platform all the time.

Easier said than done is the trading psychology recommendation to stay on top of your emotions. After all, we are human and we can’t help but sometimes give in to poor decision-making when our minds are clouded with fear or greed. The trick in forex trading is to keep an objective mindset to be able to focus on what the market is telling you instead of letting emotions cloud your judgment.

This particular skill takes time to master and even experienced traders can still be guilty of being too emotional, which is why it is also important to constantly remind yourself to isolate these emotions when trading.

Staying disciplined goes hand in hand with trading psychology, as this enables you to stick to your strategy and risk management rules. After all, it can be tempting to deviate from your plan when the markets are going haywire but with the right mindset and discipline, you should be able to focus on the right action steps to take.

Lastly, it is important to note that keeping a trade journal is one of the best ways to work on your trading psychology, and this is a habit that must be started by beginner traders from the very start. This allows you to keep track of your profit and loss, trading decisions, trade strategies, and even the factors that influenced your decisions. In analyzing these, you can be able to identify your strengths and build on them while working on your weaknesses.

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Despite that, demo trading is a good way to practice one’s newly learned trading skills without the risk of losing real money. It is also an effective method of putting a new trade strategy to the test and monitoring its results before making adjustments. While demo trading does not exactly replicate the emotions and stress involved in live trading, there are several ways to make the most out of this experience.

The main difference in demo trading and live trading is that the latter typically has more pain involved when one loses a trade. Not only did you have a wrong or poorly implemented trade idea, but you also lost real money in the process. When it comes to demo trading, even though there is no real money involved yet, you can try to feel the pain by coming up with real-life penalties when you lose a trade. For instance, you can have a small jar wherein you put a dollar for every lost trade so that you are reminded that trading decisions have a real money aspect tied to it.

Another way to make the demo experience feel more like live trading is to assign grades to each aspect of the trade. You can evaluate your entries and exits, whether you were able to press your advantage or cut your losses, or if you stuck to your risk management rules. Deductions can apply if you gave in to emotions and deviated from your plan in the middle of volatile market movements. From there, you can be more conscious of your decision-making and apply the same kind of self-assessment when you are trading live.

Bear in mind though that the temptation to give in to fear of losing or greed is much stronger when real money is on the line so it is important to master this aspect of trading psychology on a demo level then simply repeat the process even when real money is being traded.

As discussed in the earlier section, it is crucial to keep a trading journal even as you are trading demo. This way you can easily identify your usual mistakes and weaknesses, then be able to work on them before transitioning to live trading. You can list your emotions involved when you make a trade decision or change in plans, then be in a better position to evaluate if you made the proper action or if you just had a panic reaction.

When you are able to take the leap and start trading live, just remember all the lessons you learned in demo trading and don’t be too overwhelmed about risking real money. As mentioned earlier, it is crucial in trading psychology to focus on the process and not the profits as you are learning the ropes.

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The post How to make the most of your Demo Trading first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

A good rule of thumb to remember before going from demo to live is to ensure that you have had a good trading run for at least three months. Of course this time frame can vary depending on how much time you spent learning about trading but it is a reasonable length of time to make sure that you have had a strong grasp of basic trading concepts and are able to make consistent profits. This can also ensure that you’ve spent a considerable amount of time getting in sync with market movements and that you can hold your own even when real money is at risk.

Another factor to consider is whether or not you’ve tried various trading styles and found the most appropriate one for you. As mentioned in an earlier section, this has to do with your personality and lifestyle, as you should be using a strategy that you are comfortable with. When you have found the trading style that suits you, it will make for a smoother transition from demo to live, as you simply have to go for consistent execution instead of having to experiment with different trading techniques with a live account.

To make sure that you will be keeping track of your improvements both in profits and in your trading mindset, you should also have a trading journal up for review when you transition from demo to live. Before forking over your hard-earned cash, it would be a good practice to have a quick review of your trading journal from demo to remind yourself of which aspects of your trading you can still improve on and to take note of the strengths you should play.

Lastly, you can gain enough confidence to carry on with your demo success in live trading if you have the numbers to back it up. Unless you’ve been able to make consistent gains and have a good expectancy in demo trading, you might just wind up doubting your trade decisions when you start trading live. This is why it is crucial to get your risk management practices right and have rules for maximizing your winners and minimizing your losses. With a positive track record, you can be able to place full trust in your trading strategies and be confident to put this to use on a live account.

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For one, having real money on the line can mean stronger emotions. While you were able to master controlling your fear of losing or your greed while demo trading, these emotions can have a larger impact when you are trading a live account. After all, it is not easy watching real money being lost during a losing trade so the temptation to give in to these emotions can be stronger. Some traders might even wind up reverting to their old trading habits of setting stops too tight or not sticking to one’s trade plan when starting out with live trading.

This can be avoided by treating your demo trading mistakes as though they happened on a live account. Although demo losses don’t translate to losing money, you can come up with penalties when you make trading mistakes such as putting money in a jar or keeping a tally of your losing trades.

The pressure to make up for a losing streak on a live account is also considerably stronger compared to having a drawdown on demo. When you are trading a live account, each consecutive losing trade becomes all the more painful since you know that you will have to come up with really good trade ideas just to make the money back. In demo, while the losses might hurt your pride, you know in the back of your mind that you can simply reset your account and start over without much damage.

Lack of proper psychological preparation can also lead traders to overtrade when they move over from demo to live. For some, this can be a result of a winning streak that makes them overconfident and forget all about trading discipline and proper execution. Overleveraging might also be a problem if one hasn’t mastered proper position sizing and risk management techniques.

Remember that success in demo trading isn’t a guarantee that your live trading experience will be profitable. At the start, it may be a bit of a challenge to adjust to your emotions and stay focused, but maintaining a solid mindset and working on consistent execution can be the key to long-term profits.

Keeping a trading journal that notes your decisions and rationale behind them can help you master trading psychology and take the lessons you learned from demo trading to live trading. Having a strong foundation in forex concepts and being able to keep a calm mind even in a volatile market environment can help you achieve a more seamless transition from demo to live trading.

The post Psychological differences of demo and live trading first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

First, consider how much time you can spend trading. If you have a full-time job that has a regular schedule, then you can set your trading hours before or after work. It is not recommended that you trade while you are working since this will lead to concentration issues, aside from being unethical and irresponsible.

Instead, make sure you set a trading schedule and you stick to it. By having a pre-defined time of when you will look at the charts and execute trades, you can also adapt your trading strategy to it. If you are able to trade during session overlaps, then you could focus on day trades that can be entered and exited in a short span of time and with more potential for volatility. If your trading schedule happens to fall on periods of lower volatility such as the middle of the Asian trading session, then you might want to consider taking longer-term setups that can be kept open for a long while and monitored every now and then.

Second, make sure you are able to maximize your trading hours. Since you have a limited time to spend on watching the markets, you shouldn’t stay idle when you can’t spot a trade setup. You can use this time to read more on the market happenings or to expand your trading skill set. You can also broaden your horizons and look into currency pairs that you don’t normally trade to see if there are profit opportunities there as well.

Third, learn how to prioritize. Again, with a limited amount of time spent watching the markets and taking trades, you should be able to determine which tasks need more of your attention. You can come up with a simple schedule to stick to in order to ensure that all bases are covered.

For instance, you can start your trading time by spending a few minutes on research and fundamental analysis. During this time, you can check out the economic calendar to mark the upcoming reports that you can trade and potential event risks to your open trade. After that, you can spend time browsing through the forex charts to spot any technical setups that are aligned with your fundamental biases. Don’t forget to allot a few minutes to trade journaling since these notes will definitely come in handy later on as you review your trades.

Lastly, build on what you’ve learned by thinking of ways to improve. Forex trading is a never-ending learning experience, as the market environment often shifts. You should be able to have a trading strategy that can adapt to these changes or at least a mindset that can be flexible to dynamic market factors. Make sure that you review the trading psychology lessons you’ve learned throughout your experience and make mental notes on the things you need to remember and work on while trading.

The post Tips for part-time forex traders first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

Of course this is not to discourage those who are looking to pursue trading as a full-time career, as some believe that these traits can be developed. For instance, the Turtle Traders came from various backgrounds and were trained under a specialized forex trading method, eventually achieving success in the field. In fact, many believe that successful traders are made, not born.

It is not an easy feat though, as statistics reveal that nearly 90% of traders wind up failing. For the fortunate 10%, the road to forex trading success probably hasn’t been all too easy, as it requires a lot of patience, fortitude and discipline to make it.

For one, having enough capital is a huge consideration, as it would take a reasonable trading balance to be able to generate returns enough to sustain a living if you’re trading full-time. Bear in mind that there will be losing days and there will be instances when the markets barely move, so the profit potential is not always guaranteed.

Another thing to consider if you’re thinking of trading full-time is whether or not you are able to generate consistent returns in your part-time forex trading stint. If you have the track record to show that you can be able to stay profitable in the long-run, then you have a better shot at making it full-time.

Aside from that, you have to keep in mind that the pressure to make money in full-time trading is considerably stronger. If you’ve had trouble adjusting to the pressure and staying focused when transitioning from demo to live trading, then you might not be mentally strong enough to withstand the shift from part-time to full-time trading.

As mentioned earlier, this is not to discourage those looking to trade full-time but rather to disclose the risks involved. If you feel that you are not emotionally or mentally ready yet, you can always take your time to develop your skills or to train your mind in order to be in a better position to trade full-time. As always, the importance of keeping a trade journal comes in, as this will allow you to keep track of your progress and pinpoint areas which you can improve on.

It might help to think of full-time trading as a business, wherein you evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Once these have been determined, you can better align your skills in order to come up with a good strategy to stay profitable. You need to be aware of the risks involved so that you can prepare for these beforehand and limit your exposure.

Above all, it is important to be honest with your self-assessment before making the transition from part-time to full-time trading. There’s no use fooling yourself or being in denial about the skills you haven’t mastered, as these can lead to costly mistakes. Instead, examine your motivations for going full-time in forex trading and make sure you set reasonable expectations for yourself.

The post Are you ready to be a full-time trader? first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

A complete trading journal not only contains the pertinent trade details, such as entry and exit prices or the number of pips gained or lost, but it should also indicate notes on your trade decisions. This covers trading psychology details such as your confidence in taking the trade setup, your reaction to expected and unexpected market events, your decisions midway through the trade and the rationale for those. By keeping track of these, you can gain better insight on how your emotions and mindset are influencing your trading performance.

Keeping a trade journal is similar to a professional athlete taping games and reviewing them. Too often there are details and plays missed when simply trying to recall a game from memory so watching a play-by-play tape could reveal crucial strategies or tendencies that can lead to improvements. Whether it’s football, basketball, or even performance sports such as gymnastics, elite athletes often refer to tapes to analyze their performance and figure out what they need to work on.

When it comes to forex trading, some traders also try to have a recording of their trades, particularly those who are into scalp trading. Others resort to having a trading mentor or coach who can provide a rundown of how a trade played out and the decisions that influenced profitability. For those who don’t have the resources or time to do so, keeping a detailed trade journal is a viable alternative.

In reviewing a trade journal, you can be able monitor the common mistakes you make and take specific action steps to avoid them. For instance, if you notice that you are setting your stop losses too tight when trading news releases, you can be able to remind yourself to add more leeway next time. If you notice that entering trades at market makes you more nervous and uneasy with your trading decisions, then you can make it a point to go for limit entries on your next trades to ensure that you have a better and more relaxed trading mindset.

From there, you can gain more confidence in taking your usual trade setups or sticking to your trade strategies. Having a trade journal also allows you to keep track of the numbers and statistics, adding to the assurance that your plan can generate consistent profits. With that kind of confidence, you can focus your energy into executing properly instead of doubting your trade decisions.

The post The importance of keeping a trade journal first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

First, the trade-specific details such as the entry and exit areas must be discussed. It is not enough to list down the prices where you plan to open or close your trade, as you should also mention why you are watching those particular levels. To take it a step further, you should also include various price scenarios or the potential impact of upcoming events to list levels that would be optimal to cut losses or add to your position.

Next, your fundamental bias for taking the trade must also be written down. This would allow you to have a clearer insight and would give you something to review later on. Did you miss anything in your analysis? Was your bias spot on or completely off? Were there any changes that you should’ve adjusted to? These are just some of the questions from which you can draw observations and trading lessons from.

Aside from that, your trading journal should also have a risk management portion. Apart from detailing how much you plan on risking per trade, you can also include your strategies if you will scale in or scale out later on. This way, you can be able to plan ahead and avoid panicking when price action starts moving too quickly.

Another helpful component of your trade journal is a list of the upcoming event risks. This will help you know what to watch out for if you’re going to keep your trade open for a few days instead of being blindsided when an economic event blows your trade out of the water. This can also help you identify opportunities in which you can add to your position and maximize your profit potential.

Of course it is not enough to just write down your pre-trade thoughts, as you should also input your decision-making process throughout the trade. While your trade is open, you might have some adjustments that need to be made so you should also note these down and how it influenced the result later on. Were you able to cut losses just in time? Was there an unforeseen event that you were able to adapt quickly to? By taking note of these actions that occur while your trade is open, you can be able to fine-tune your trade execution process later on.

Lastly, it is also crucial to have a post-mortem of your trade. This part should indicate whether or not you were happy with your trade idea and decisions and if you need to make changes in your next trade setups. In fact, this might be one of the most important parts of your trade journal as you make sense of what happened in the markets and how you handled your trade.

It is important to have a review of each trade and your overall trading performance so that you can see the details while assessing the bigger picture. Only then can you be able to determine which areas you need to improve on or what you are doing right, then keep improving your trade performance as you go along.

The post Components of a complete trading journal first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

While it’s true that it can be painful to review a losing trade, remember that experience is the best teacher and that your losses can be a good reminder of what you should avoid later on. Did you fail to watch an important economic release that wound up in a price reversal? Were you unable to adjust your stop loss in time? Were you too greedy with your profit targets? By remembering these mistakes, you can remind yourself not to repeat them in your next setups.

Most losing trades stem from either a completely wrong price bias or improper trade execution. The former one may be easier to correct as it could simply demand better analysis or a more precise outlook for future economic releases. On the other hand, the latter could take time to develop as it requires the formation of better trading habits.

Quite too often, human emotion interferes with proper trade execution, as the fear of losing can lead you to set stop losses that are too tight or to lock in profits too early and miss out on larger moves. Meanwhile, greed or overconfidence can tempt you to set profit targets that are too ambitious or to overtrade. What’s important in your learning process and trade journaling is that you note down your motivations for setting your stops or targets or for making trade adjustments midway so that you are able to identify behavioral patterns that you might need to correct.

Another factor that can interfere with trade execution is indifference, particularly when you are in a long losing streak and you feel numb to consecutive losses. This can be damaging to your trading psychology and may be a sign that you need to take some time off instead of forcing your trades. When you spot this kind of thought pattern in your losing trades, you should remind yourself to take it easy or take a step back from trading for a while.

Some say that the worst can bring out the best when it comes to the learning process. While a terrible trade can have some sort of trauma on a trader, it can also be an excellent reminder of how a trading mistake can impact profitability and one’s mindset.

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