In the world of Forex trading, the most successful traits a trader may have has nothing to do about who gets to play the good or bad guy. Rather, it’s all about the traits that increase your tendencies to make wise – or unwise – moves.
"Cut Your Losses Early"
Traders hear this very sage advice all this time, but most ignore it – to their everlasting regret. Hope is a powerful motivator. And it’s always good to be optimistic. However, you have to be careful about choosing what to be hopeful for. Cutting your losses early does not mean you’re quitting. It simply means it’s time to move on and try another currency pair. It really is that simple.
"Don’t Fix What’s Not Broken"
It is a cliché, but that doesn’t stop it from being true. In fact, ignoring clichéd advice is quintessential example of how people insist on leaving the path to success in order to take a wrong turn. Why put a stop to an account that’s doing well? Although there’s a chance for trading pairs that are doing so good to plummet and suffer a huge drop in their rates, these things rarely happen without any noticeable signs. In most cases, you will have enough clues to warn you and fall back to Trait #1: cutting your losses early.
"Know The Right Time To Trade"
Some people just like being the exceptions to the rule for the sake of it. However, that kind of attitude is dangerous for a Forex trader to adopt. More often than not, it will lead to heavy trading losses, enough to break the bank for good.
Timing is everything in Forex trading. You may like to think it as a subjective factor, but studies show that timing is actually objective. Numerous experts have proven with their case studies that the best time to trade in the Forex market is between 1900h – 1100h in UK time, which in Eastern Time will be around 1400h to 0600h.
"Know The Best Times To Use Trading Breakouts Versus Range Trading"
Rather than letting mere instinct to be your guide, there’s a surer way of determining which of these two essential trading strategies is best to use.
• Range trading is best to use during active hours as your strategies are given sufficient time to work.
• Trading breakouts are best to use during volatile hours as they can take advantage of the extreme changes that currency pairs will undergo.
"Make Use Of An Effective Leverage"
How much leverage you allow yourself to use will always have a considerable impact on your trading strategies and its eventual outcomes. There are many different formulas you can use to compute how much leverage you can afford to use, but at the end of the day the factors listed below will prove most important.
• Keep it conservative.
• Always apply a stop-loss point to your strategy.
• Risk tolerance levels do not have to be proportionate with leverage.
There are always exceptions to the rule, and those are simply an inevitable part of the game. Even if things do not go your way, the above traits will serve to minimize your losses and increase your winnings.