Forex Trading Systems
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010Thousands of different forex trading systems are for sale today on the internet. Determining which of these is the best one to use can be a very time consuming and frustrating task for the beginning trader. Bold claims of being the “best” or of being “what you need” are the main reason why locating a genuinely effective forex trading system is so difficult. So how exactly does the beginning trader figure out which forex trading system is worth investing their money and time into? The first goal is to decipher between forex systems and forex strategies.
Forex trading systems typically are rigid trading rule sets that dictate to the trader exactly what to do and when to do it. Most forex systems are either based upon specific rules regarding lagging indicator implementation, or they take the form of a piece of computer software that tells you exactly what to do, these are programs that are sometimes called “forex trading robots”. Attempting to eliminate the human factor from forex trading is the primary issue with rigid rule based trading systems. While this might be a good thing because it can eliminate many emotional trading mistakes, it also eliminates “gut” trading feel and human discretion which is typically one of the factors that separates the amateurs from the professionals.
What then is a forex trading strategy? A forex trading strategy is not a strictly defined trading method as most forex trading systems are, instead, learning from a forex trading strategy will give you new insight into how you should think and feel about the market. Forex strategies give you the ability to use human discretion as well as the skill that you will obtain from studying price charts. Essentially when you use a forex trading strategy you are operating on a solid foundation of technical and fundamental trading concepts which work to frame how you see and think about the forex market. When you receive this foundation via a proven and time-tested yet simple trading strategy, you allow yourself to have the best opportunity to become a regularly profitable trader.
The main underlying issue that determines whether or not a trader can become profitable on a regular basis in the forex market is how well disciplined they are. You can be an average market technician but if you are extremely disciplined you will be a more profitable trader than the brilliant market technician with no self discipline. The promise of fully or nearly fully automating the trading process is what attracts most people to forex trading systems. This unfortunately eliminates any possibility of using your own mind to make forex trading decisions, this might be good for discipline maintenance, but it is terrible for taking advantage of the power of human cognition. The most efficient route to travel is to teach yourself how to be disciplined enough to use a strategy instead of a rigid trading system, this will give you the best opportunity to accurately trade the forex market.