
When you view the statistics of successful forex trading, it can be pretty depressing. Stats show that only 95% of forex traders are making any money. With so many trading forex, why is this? Here is a look at common mistakes newer (and some seasoned) forex traders make that cause them to lose money.
1. Get Rich Quick mentality. You have probably seen the late night infomercials about how easy and profitable it is to trade forex. Well, it is easy to actually trade, but difficult to trade well. Opening an funding an account can take as little as 24 hours and you can be up and trading. People will open up a broker account, fund it and start trading without knowing what they are doing. A good course of study on the currency pairs and how they tend to work with each other is a must before you start any live trading. You must be educated in forex to trade profitably. You can't just go on gut feeling. Forex trading should be done for the long haul. You are going to have those months where you are not in the positive, but a good trader will have more positive months than negative ones
2. Trading for the wrong reasons. Yes, there is a high associated with making a huge profit from one trade. However, do not treat forex trading like a day at the race track. You should not trade for the excitement of trading. Not to mention that there is a lot of time to be spent just waiting for the correct trade to come along. Also, don't start forex trading because you think it only requires a few minutes a day to make money. Even if you are scalping the market (making small quick trades), it takes time for those trades to develop and some days are just bad days to be sitting there waiting.
3. Not using a
stop loss. This is where emotion comes into play. You should have a clear exit strategy when you enter a trade. Decide how many pips you are looking for and what your loss limit will be. If it is 50 pips, set your stop loss so that you are automatically triggered out of the trade when that many pips are lost. It is too easy for a novice trader to say "Well, it has to start coming back soon, I'll just wait a few more pips" and then end up getting a margin call because they are now down 250 pips waiting for the trade to turn around. Be disciplined and set those stop loss targets. There are always going to be new trades happening.
4. Jumping from strategy to strategy. Strategies take time to develop and time to personalize to your own trading style. That is why a demo account is important to practice. Once you have learned your strategy and how to adapt it to changing conditions - stick with it! New traders will sometimes bounce from one person's strategy to another, without giving any of them a chance to develop. One bad trade does not a bad strategy make.
5. Emotional involvement in your trades. Turning off your emotions is a critical tool in trading forex successfully. Not just the down emotions, but the up emotions as well. Have a strategy to get in and out of trades. Resist the impulse to trade, feeling like you are on a wave of good luck. And conversely - don't keep trading if you are down out of desperation.
Following these tips will help you be part of the 5% of successful traders out there, rather than the majority that do not succeed.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Forex Trading

![]() Reuters | FOREX-US dollar slips, but strong trend remains intact Reuters NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The US dollar drifted lower on Monday as a modest recovery in overseas stock markets and commodities ... WORLD FOREX: Euro Weakens As Negative Bets Hit Record Highs WORLD FOREX: Euro Down As G-7 Fails To Produce Greece Debt Plan Forex Daily Analysis |
![]() FXstreet.com The Forex Market | Forex: US Dollar mixed as EUR/USD hovers around 1.3650 CountingPips By CountingPips.com The US Dollar has been mixed in forex trading as movements against most of the major currencies have been muted with little economic ... Forex: Dollar and Yen showing strength on economic uncertainty Forex: EUR/USD pulls back to 1.3670 The Daily Forex View - Calmer Seas |
Forex Strategy Outlook: US Dollar Likely to Move Sharply Against Euro Daily FX Forex options markets volatility forecasts continue to trend higher, pointing to major moves in the US Dollar and other major currencies through the coming ... |
![]() Financial Times | WORLD FOREX: Euro Sinks; Dollar, Yen Gain On Debt Concerns Wall Street Journal The dollar was at Y89.38, up from Y88.94, while the euro was at Y122.14, down from Y122.20. The UK pound was at $1.5631, down from $1.5750. ... Dollar will doom, Gold will boom: Jim Sinclair WORLD FOREX: Euro Losses Accelerate Amid Debt Worries WORLD FOREX:Euro Sinks Further;Markets Broadly Sell Off Risk |
![]() BBC News (blog) | WORLD FOREX: Dollar Loses Ground After Weaker US Job Data Wall Street Journal NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The dollar gave up some overnight gains against the euro Friday morning after ... FOREX-US dollar, yen gain on Europe debt woes World Forex: Dollar gains as Euro and Pound sink on Sovereign Debt Concerns FOREX-Euro/dollar lowest since May on euro zone debt fears |
![]() Reuters South Africa | FOREX-Euro pressured, dollar rises on risk aversion Reuters LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a seven-month high against a currency basket on Friday, boosted by risk ... Forex trends: buck's gaining ground vs European majors, but is sliding vs yen Swiss Franc Forecast Dims on Persistent SNB Intervention FOREX-Dollar rallies on risk aversion before payrolls |
![]() FXstreet.com The Forex Market | US Dollar Forecast Remains Aggressively Bullish on Forex Options Daily FX Forex Futures and Options markets show that large speculators continue to bet on and hedge against further US Dollar strength—giving us a strong bullish ... Forex: Dollar consolidates gains ahead of NFP report FOREX: US Dollar, Japanese Yen surge today on risk aversion. Forex: Dollar and Yen rally further on concerns about economic recovery |
WORLD FOREX: Dollar Rallies On New Optimism For Jobs Growth Wall Street Journal NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The dollar rallied Wednesday as stronger economic data boosted confidence that the key US ... |
![]() RTT News | FOREX-Dollar climbs vs yen; euro gains after 4-day fall Reuters NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The dollar rose against the yen on Monday, and higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and ... WORLD FOREX: Dollar Helped By Strong US Manufacturing Data Forex trends: dollar shows mixed trading on ADP employment report expectations FOREX-Dollar retains broad gains, euro near 7-mth lows |
WORLD FOREX: Dollar Higher Vs. Euro On Sovereign Debt Jitters Wall Street Journal The dollar was at Y90.26 from Y89.97, while the euro was at Y126.40 from Y126.17. The UK pound was at $1.6243 from $1.6160. The dollar was at CHF1.0512 from ... FOREX-Dollar hits 6-1/2-month high vs euro; yen gains WORLD FOREX:Dollar Gains After FOMC Fuels Bets On Higher Rates WORLD FOREX: Dollar Pares Gains Vs Yen After Weaker US Data |