How to be a Successful Forex Trader

By Andrew Daigle

So, you've done your research, selected your favorite currency pair, found the setup you've been looking for and executed your trade according to your forex trading system. You know this is one of the best forex trading strategies you've found because you've been paper trading it and back-testing it for a few weeks. Now it's time to start trading your live account with your system.

You feel assured because you've seen this setup many times before and know the odds are in your favor. You make your trade and let it go. A few hours later, you get stopped out for a loss. No big deal. You knew the risks. You're a little surprised this trade didn't work out, but you look forward to the next trade. You understand losses are part of this business and part of the winning process. Your next trade should make up for this loss.

You're still very confident in your forex trading strategy so you make your next trade and you rack up another loss. This one made you feel a little worse than last time because you were sure this would be a winning trade. Moving forward, you see another setup and get into a new trade. It's going great and you're moving your stop loss more into profit. You're 20 pips from your ultimate take profit price, but out of nowhere, the Euro zone makes a surprise news announcement that they may cut interest rates earlier than expected. Just like that, your trade moves in the other direction and stops you out for a measly 5 pip gain!

You start getting frustrated because your trades haven't been working. Worse than that, you start getting down on yourself and second guessing your forex trading strategy. You know this trading strategy works. You tested it and tested it again. You promised yourself you would trade at least 10 trades, but since things haven't been working out as you planned, you decide to sit the next trade out and just watch it. Sure enough, it's the winner you've been waiting for. It would have easily made up for your previous losses, but you weren't along for the ride.

So what's going on? Your emotions are starting to get the best of you and you're out of control. Almost every trader has gone thru this at one time or another.

The winning trader takes control. They start working on their discipline and stop letting their emotions get the better of them. They stick to their forex trading strategies because in the long term, they know they make more money than they lose. They don't focus on one single trade. They focus on the longer term. Losing traders give up too easily and let their emotions rule them. They jump from one forex trading system to another, wondering why they can't make profitable trades. They're destined for failure. What kind of trader do you want to be?

About the Author:

Andrew Daigle is the owner and author of many successful websites including ForexBoost, a free Forex educational site to learn Forex trading strategies and a website for learning profitable online home business opportunities.