FOREX FOR EXperts

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Trading the Gap in Forex

You can search the Internet, or go to your local library, and find a plethora of information on complicated, hard to understand, currency trading strategies. Though Forex education is important, there are many simple, time-tested Forex trading strategies that can be used immediately and give you profitable results. Profits are, as we all know, the bottom line.

Profiting from Gap Trading

Gap trading is not a new strategy. It's been used in all investment markets for a very long time. To learn this Forex trading technique is relatively easy. Gap trading in an attempt to take advantage of the difference, or "gap," in price between the close of the previous day with the open of the following day. If the open is above the previous day's close, this is commonly referred to as "gapping up.If the open price is below the previous day's close price, this is called "gapping down.If the open is at the same price level, then there was no gap.

Forex Trading and Gaps

Generally, in Forex trading this strategy tends to be ignored; most people feel that as currencies are traded 24 hours a day, there is no true opening or closing prices. That being said, some people maintain that gap trading in Forex trading can be successful 85% of the time. If this is the case, there is money to be made. The question becomes: How can you trade gaps in the Forex market?"

If you ignore the 24-hour time frame associated with Forex trading, and set up an opening and closing time to create an artificial market, you can provide yourself with an open high low close data range. Based on that data range, you would be able to trade gaps. Another Forex trading strategy is basically to ignore trading on Saturday and Sunday, when volume is thin and most of the world is not working. Under this scenario, you establish a closing time on Friday and an opening time on Monday. Based on the gap, you take the appropriate position.

Unlike what you might think, the Forex currency trading strategy for gaps is contrary by nature. That is to say, you do the opposite of what's intuitive. If the price gaps up, you sell. If the price gaps down, you buy.

This forex currency trading strategy works more often than not, and thus, it's a simple process that can generate great profits.

Easy Steps For Developing A Forex Strategy

There is no successful forex trader out there that hasn't got to where they are without developing their own long term strategy and system for making profits day after day. All businesses work that way, and forex is not an exception. Here are some steps that you need to take to develop a long term strategy.

The time frame of trading: There are a lot of different things you can trade, but what is often overlooked, is how long you hold onto a trade. You could simply be a day trader, or you can hold onto currency for the long term. You need to really sit down and think about what has really worked for you.

Identifying indicators of trends: This is a very nice thing to understand. Being able to see where a currency is going before it is there gives you a tremendous advantage to making a nice profit. I use Forex Killer software to help me identify these trends.

How much are you willing to lose: You need to understand that you're not going to make 100% profitable trades. Some trades will be losers. The key to long term success is maximizing your successes and minimizing your failures. You could make 10 profitable trades and 1 gigantic loss, and you're down in money. You need to assess how much you're willing to lose, so your profitable trades will keep you in the black.

Set an exit after you buy: You need to know when you're going to sell. There's no need to buy and not know when you're going to sell. Setting an exit helps eliminate emotion from a trade. Most people like to ride the wave to see how high the currency can go, but act smart get out at your exit point.

Get yourself forex software: Don't underestimate the power of automated forex software like Forex Killer. This software will analyze all the currency charts and identify profitable trends for you. This is a significant tool help you make profit. Use it.