Pipsfactory

EUR/USD

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Lets start with Monthly

Because it really takes a long time to change a direction the trend still looks bearish although we had a 4 month period where it's still in a consolidation. Current price action combined with the weekly chart makes it possible that it goes up to 1.37-1.38. But the longterm trend looks still bearish and 1.16 is still in play. Focus on the 1.37 level which is a potential holing barrier because a higher move is not justifiable. If it happens the bearish view might change.

Weekly

What we see here is a "222" Buy Pattern from Gartley. It looks like it missed the retracement to the 1.29 and starts to get bullish a little to early. It looks like a AB-ab-cd-CD move and would accomplish its pattern in the 1.38 area. Due the lack of the right retracement down to 1.29 its not a valid pattern so it's still possible that the market shifts but its still in play.

Daily

On the daily time frame we see a triangle. We also have a Pivot Point at 1.3147 together with R1 at 1.3299 and S1 at 1.3066. Trend looks now bullish and there is the chance the market moves to 1.29 but even 1.3520 or 1.38 is still possible

Moving Average

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:57:00 +0000

On the chart below you can see what a moving average is. Its the blue line. It actually shows you the priceaction over a specific time. Now you might wonder what "moving" means - thats basically the closing/opening oder what ever you want price over a specific period. Might sound REALLY difficult but its really simple.

The main purpose to you the moving average (MA) is to help you to see where the chart might go in the future.
There are actually two types of moving averages. Which are a little different.
The longer the period is of the moving average the slower it will be. And also the volatily might be almost flat.
Also on the other site, the smaller the period the choppier it might me.

And now i can see whats going through your mind:"I dont care until I can use it".

Earlier I talked about two types of moving averages. Well these are the two:

Simple
Exponential

You could calculate them your own, but who wants that in the age of technology. So first come the basics and then I tell you how you might make money with it.

Fibonacci Extensions

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:45:00 +0000

You might also use Fib for finding targets.

In an uptrend, you use the Fibonacci Extension tool to determine where your target might be. To use the extension you need 3 points.
First, you need a significant Swing Low, then the most recent Swing High. Finally, any of the retracement levels.

Let's take a look on the daily USDCHF here.

The 50.0% Fib level held strongly as support and, three tests later, the pair finally it returned to move higher. You can see that it broke the last resistence of the swing (redline).
Now lets see what the extension would look like, if we put that on.

If you take a look on the levels you can see that it almost testet EVERY level. Ok to be honest that wont happen all the time but it testet 0.618, 1, 1.5, and 1.618. So depending how aggressive you wanna trade, you could choose one of those.

And oh wonder, it also works on the downtrend ;).

So lets put the extension on, thinking the downtrend will continue.
And again. Profits would have been good ad 38.2%, 50.0%, or 61.8% levels. All these levels acted as support, possibly because other traders were keeping an eye out for these levels for profit taking as well.
But dont think this is the holy grail to money and fortune.First, nobody knows to wich extension it will move and in what time.
Second is that you have to choose a swing low. Some people might not pick your swinglows.
You will have to use your discretion in using the Fibonacci extension tool. You will have to judge how much longer the trend will continue. Later on, we will teach you methods to help you determine the strength of a trend.

Go and try it out in your demo account ;)

Fibonacci Retracement

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:22:00 +0000

Really important to know when to use Fibonacci (Fib) is, that it works the best when the market is trending.

Uptrend

This is a daily chart of AUD/USD.

Here the Fibonacci retracement gets plotted Levels by clicking on the Swing Low at .6955 on April 20 and dragging the cursor to the Swing High at .8264 on June 3.You dont have to do anything. The program makes it all it selfs. Isn't that great ?!
As you can see from the chart, the retracement levels were .7955 (23.6%), .7764 (38.2%), .7609 (50.0%), .7454 (61.8%), and .7263 (76.4%).
Now, the expectation is that if AUD/USD retraces from the recent high, it will find support at one of those Fibonacci levels because traders will be placing buy orders at these levels as price pulls back.
Now, let's look at what happened after the Swing High occurred.

Price pulled back right through the 23.6% level and continued to shoot down over the next couple of weeks. It even tested the 38.2% level but was unable to close below it.
Later on, around July 14, the market resumed its upward move and eventually broke through the swing high. Clearly, buying at the 38.2% Fibonacci level would have been a profitable long term trade!

Downtrend

Now, let's see how we would use the Fibonacci retracement tool during a downtrend. Below is a 4-hour chart of EUR/USD.

As on the uptrend, you just drag it from the high to the low instead of low to high.
And again your retracements show up.

How beautiful! This time it held on 50% retracement. and even broke the initial swing high.

For now, there's something you should always remember about using the Fibonacci tool and it's that they are not always simple to use! If they were that simple, traders would always place their orders at Fib levels and the markets would trend forever.
In the next lesson, we'll show you what can happen when Fibonacci levels fail.

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Fibonacci Who?

You will be using Fibonacci ratios in our trading alot. So its better for you to learn and even love it. Like your mother's cooking. Fibonacci is very important and there are many different Fibonacci studies with weird-sounding names but there are two important ones: retracement and extension.

So who or what is Fibonacci ?

No, Leonardo Fibonacci isn't the founder of Apple neither another famous guy. Well he used to be, but in the past. The very past. He was a famous Italian mathematician, also known as a super duper uber ultra geek.

He discovered a simple series of numbers that created ratios describing the natural proportions of things in the universe.

The ratios arise from the following number series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144...

He formed the numbers by starting with 0 and adding the next Number (1). Adding those two gives 1. Now he added this Number with the last one -> 1+1 = 2, then 2+1=3 and so on.

After the first few numbers in the sequence, if you measure the ratio of any number to the succeeding higher number, you get .618. For example, 34 divided by 55 equals .618.

If you measure the ratio between alternate numbers you get .382. For example, 34 divided by 89 = 0.382 and that's as far as into the explanation as we'll go.

These ratios are called the "golden mean". You might know this term if you had some arts lessions and your teacher told you that this ratio is perfect in the human eye. We'll just cut to the chase; these are the ratios you HAVE to know:

Fibonacci Retracement Levels
0.236, 0.382, 0.500, 0.618, 0.764

Fibonacci Extension Levels
0, 0.382, 0.618, 1.000, 1.382, 1.618

Traders use the Fibonacci retracement levels as potential support and resistance areas. Since so many traders watch these same levels and place buy and sell orders on them to enter trades or place stops, the support and resistance levels tend to become a self-fulfilling prophecy like the Pivot points but later to that, so keep on reading my blog ;).

Traders use the Fibonacci extension levels as profit taking levels. Again, since so many traders are watching these levels to place buy and sell orders to take profits, this tool tends to work more often than not due to self-fulfilling expectations.

Most charting software includes both Fibonacci retracement levels and extension level tools. In order to apply Fibonacci levels to your charts, you'll need to identify Swing High and Swing Low points.

A Swing High is a candlestick with at least two lower highs on both the left and right of itself.

A Swing Low is a candlestick with at least two higher lows on both the left and right of itself.

You got all that? Don't worry, we'll explain retracements, extensions, and most importantly, how to grab some pips using the Fib tool in the following sections.

Read more: http://www.babypips.com/school/fibonacci-who.html#ixzz1XIWN3kyl

How to Trade Chart Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 07:27:00 +0000

That's a whole lot of chart patterns we just taught you right there. We're pretty tired so it's time for us to take off and leave it to you from here...

Just playin'! We ain't leaving you till you're ready!

In this section, we'll discuss a bit more how to use these chart patterns to your advantage.

It's not enough to just know how the tools work, we've got to learn how to use them. And with all these new weapons in your arsenal, we'd better get those profits fired up!

Let's summarize the chart patterns we just learned and categorize them according to the signals they give.

Reversal

Reversal patterns are those chart formations that signal that the ongoing trend is about to change course.

If a reversal chart pattern forms during an uptrend, it hints that the trend will reverse and that the price will head down soon. Conversely, if a reversal chart pattern is seen during a downtrend, it suggests that the price will move up later on.

In this lesson, we covered six chart patterns that give reversal signals. Can you name all six of them?

Double Top
Double Bottom
Head and Shoulders
Inverse Head and Shoulders
Rising Wedge
Falling Wedge

If you got all six right, brownie points for you!

To trade these chart patterns, simply place an order beyond the neckline and in the direction of the new trend. Then go for a target that's almost the same as the height of the formation.

For instance, if you see a double bottom, place a long order at the top of the formation's neckline and go for a target that's just as high as the distance from the bottoms to the neckline.

In the interest of proper risk management, don't forget to place your stops! A reasonable stop loss can be set around the middle of the chart formation.

For example, you can measure the distance of the double bottoms from the neckline, divide that by two, and use that as the size of your stop.

Continuation

Continuation patterns are those chart formations that signal that the ongoing trend will resume.

Usually, these are also known as consolidation patterns because they show how buyers or sellers take a quick break before moving further in the same direction as the prior trend.

We've covered several continuation patterns, namely the wedges, rectangles, and pennants. Note that wedges can be considered either reversal or continuation patterns depending on the trend on which they form.

To trade these patterns, simply place an order above or below the formation (following the direction of the ongoing trend, of course). Then go for a target that's at least the size of the chart pattern for wedges and rectangles.

For pennants, you can aim higher and target the height of the pennant's mast.

For continuation patterns, stops are usually placed above or below the actual chart formation.

For example, when trading a bearish rectangle, place your stop a few pips above the top or resistance of the rectangle.

Bilateral

Bilateral chart patterns are a bit more tricky because these signal that the price can move either way.

Huh, what kind of a signal is that?!

This is where triangle formations fall in. Remember when we discussed that the price could break either to the topside or downside with triangles?

To play these patterns, you should consider both scenarios (upside or downside breakout) and place one order on top of the formation and another at the bottom of the formation.

If one order gets triggered, you can cancel the other one. Either way, you'd be part of the action.

Double the possibilities, double the fun!

The only problem is that you could catch a false break if you set your entry orders too close to the top or bottom of the formation.

So be careful and don't forget to place your stops too!

Was the candlestick topic to short or to long ?

Just leave a comment! :)

Read more: http://www.babypips.com/school/how-to-trade-chart-patterns.html#ixzz1X9fihtj6

Basic Candlestick Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 19:24:00 +0000

Spinning Tops

Candlesticks with a long upper shadow, long lower shadow and small real bodies are called spinning tops. The color of the real body is not very important.
The pattern indicates the indecision between the buyers and sellers.

The small real body (whether hollow or filled) shows little movement from open to close, and the shadows indicate that both buyers and sellers were fighting but nobody could gain the upper hand.
Even though the session opened and closed with little change, prices moved significantly higher and lower in the meantime. Neither buyers nor sellers could gain the upper hand, and the result was a standoff.
If a spinning top forms during an uptrend, this usually means there aren't many buyers left and a possible reversal in direction could occur.
If a spinning top forms during a downtrend, this usually means there aren't many sellers left and a possible reversal in direction could occur.

Marubozu

Sounds like some kind of voodoo magic, huh? "I will cast the evil spell of the Marubozu on you!" Fortunately, that's not what it means. Marubozu means there are no shadows from the bodies. Depending on whether the candlestick's body is filled or hollow, the high and low are the same as its open or close. Check out the two types of Marubozus in the picture below.

A White Marubozu contains a long white body with no shadows. The open price equals the low price and the close price equals the high price. This is a very bullish candle as it shows that buyers were in control the entire session. It usually becomes the first part of a bullish continuation or a bullish reversal pattern.
A Black Marubozu contains a long black body with no shadows. The open equals the high and the close equals the low. This is a very bearish candle as it shows that sellers controlled the price action the entire session. It usually implies bearish continuation or bearish reversal.

Doji

Doji candlesticks have the same open and close price or at least their bodies are extremely short. A doji should have a very small body that appears as a thin line.
Doji candles suggest indecision or a struggle for turf positioning between buyers and sellers. Prices move above and below the open price during the session, but close at or very near the open price.
Neither buyers nor sellers were able to gain control and the result was essentially a draw.
There are four special types of Doji candlesticks. The length of the upper and lower shadows can vary and the resulting candlestick looks like a cross, inverted cross or plus sign. The word "Doji" refers to both the singular and plural form.

When a Doji forms on your chart, pay special attention to the preceding candlesticks.
If a Doji forms after a series of candlesticks with long hollow bodies (like White Marubozus), the Doji signals that the buyers are becoming exhausted and weakening. In order for price to continue rising, more buyers are needed but there aren't anymore! Sellers are licking their chops and are looking to come in and drive the price back down.

If a Doji forms after a series of candlesticks with long filled bodies (like Black Marubozus), the Doji signals that sellers are becoming exhausted and weak. In order for price to continue falling, more sellers are needed but sellers are all tapped out! Buyers are foaming in the mouth for a chance to get in cheap.

While the decline is sputtering due to lack of new sellers, further buying strength is required to confirm any reversal. Look for a white candlestick to close above the long black candlestick's open.
In the next following sections, we will take a look at specific candlestick formations and what they are telling us. Hopefully, by the end of this lesson on candlesticks, you would know how to recognize candlestick patterns and make sound trading decisions based on them.

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Sexy Bodies and Strange Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:44:00 +0000

Sexy Bodies

Just like humans, candlesticks have different body sizes. And when it comes to forex trading, there's nothing naughtier than checking out the bodies of candlesticks!
Long bodies indicate strong buying or selling. The longer the body is, the more intense the buying or selling pressure. This means that either buyers or sellers were stronger and took control.
Short bodies imply very little buying or-selling activity. In street forex lingo, bulls mean buyers and bears mean sellers.

Long white candlesticks show strong buying pressure. The longer the white candlestick, the further the close is above the open. This indicates that prices increased considerably from open to close and buyers were aggressive. In other words, the bulls are kicking the bears' butts big time!
Long black (filled) candlesticks show strong selling pressure. The longer the black candlestick, the further the close is below the open. This indicates that prices fell a great deal from the open and sellers were aggressive. In other words, the bears were grabbing the bulls by their horns and body-slamming them.

Mysterious Shadows

The upper and lower shadows on candlesticks provide important clues about the trading session.
Upper shadows signify the session high. Lower shadows signify the session low.
Candlesticks with long shadows show that trading action occurred well past the open and close.
Candlesticks with short shadows indicate that most of the trading action was confined near the open and close.

If a candlestick has a long upper shadow and short lower shadow, this means that buyers flexed their muscles and bid prices higher, but for one reason or another, sellers came in and drove prices back down to end the session back near its open price.
If a candlestick has a long lower shadow and short upper shadow, this means that sellers flashed their washboard abs and forced price lower, but for one reason or another, buyers came in and drove prices back up to end the session back near its open price.

Japnanese Candlestick

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:38:00 +0000

What is a Japanese Candlestick?

While we briefly covered candlestick charting analysis in the previous lesson, we'll now dig in a little and discuss them more in detail. Let's do a quick review first.

What is Candlestick Trading?

Back in the day when Godzilla was still a cute little lizard, the Japanese created their own old school version of technical analysis to trade rice. That's right, rice.
A westerner by the name of Steve Nison "discovered" this secret technique called "Japanese candlesticks", learning it from a fellow Japanese broker. Steve researched, studied, lived, breathed, ate candlesticks, and began to write about it. Slowly, this secret technique grew in popularity in the 90s. To make a long story short, without Steve Nison, candlestick charts might have remained a buried secret. Steve Nison is Mr. Candlestick.

Okay, so what the heck are forex candlesticks?

The best way to explain is by using a picture:

Candlesticks can be used for any time frame, whether it be one day, one hour, 30-minutes - whatever you want! Candlesticks are used to describe the price action during the given time frame.
Candlesticks are formed using the open, high, low, and close of the chosen time period.

If the close is above the open, then a hollow candlestick (usually displayed as white) is drawn.
If the close is below the open, then a filled candlestick (usually displayed as black) is drawn.
The hollow or filled section of the candlestick is called the "real body" or body.
The thin lines poking above and below the body display the high/low range and are called shadows.
The top of the upper shadow is the "high".
The bottom of the lower shadow is the "low".

Summary: Support and Resistance

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:05:00 +0000

When the market moves up and then pulls back, the highest point reached before it pulls back is now resistance.
As the market continues up again, the lowest point reached before it climbs back is now support.
One thing to remember is that horizontal support and resistance levels are not exact numbers.
To help you filter out these false breakouts, you should think of support and resistance more of as "zones" rather than concrete numbers.
One way to help you find these zones is to plot support and resistance on a line chart rather than a candlestick chart.
Another thing to remember is that when price passes through a resistance level, that resistance could potentially become support. The same could also happen with a support level. If a support level is broken, it could potentially become a resistance level.

Trend Lines

In their most basic form, an uptrend line is drawn along the bottom of easily identifiable support areas (valleys). In a downtrend, the trend line is drawn along the top of easily identifiable resistance areas (peaks). There are three types of trends:

Uptrend (higher lows)
Downtrend (lower highs)
Sideways trends (ranging)

Channels

To create an up (ascending) channel, simply draw a parallel line at the same angle as an uptrend line and then move that line to position where it touches the most recent peak.
To create a down (descending) channel, simple draw a parallel line at the same angle as the downtrend line and then move that line to a position where it touches the most recent valley.

Ascending channel (higher highs and higher lows)
Descending channel (lower highers and lower lows)
Horizontal channel (ranging)

Trading support and resistance levels can be divided into two methods: the bounce and the break.
When trading the bounce we want to tilt the odds in our favor and find some sort of confirmation that the support or resistance will hold. Instead of simply buying or selling right off the bat, wait for it to bounce first before entering. By doing this, you avoid those moments where price moves so fast that it slices through support and resistance levels like a knife slicing through warm butter.
As for trading the break, there is the aggressive way and there is the conservative way. In the aggressive way, you simply buy or sell whenever the price passes through a support or resistance zone with ease. In the conservative way, you wait for price to make a "pullback" to the broken support or resistance level and enter after price bounces.

Trading the Lines

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Now that you know the basics, it's time to apply these basic but extremely useful technical tools in your trading. Because here at BabyPips.com we want to make things easy to understand, we have divided trading support and resistance levels into two simple ideas: the Bounce and the Break.

The Bounce

As the name suggests, one method of trading support and resistance levels is right after the bounce.
Many retail traders make the error of setting their orders directly on support and resistance levels and then just waiting to for their trade to materialize. Sure, this may work at times but this kind of trading method assumes that a support or resistance level will hold without price actually getting there yet.
You might be thinking, "Why don't I just set an entry order right on the line? That way, I am assured the best possible price."
When playing the bounce we want to tilt the odds in our favor and find some sort of confirmation that the support or resistance will hold. Instead of simply buying or selling right off the bat, wait for it to bounce first before entering. By doing this, you avoid those moments where price moves fast and break through support and resistance levels. From experience, catching a falling knife can get really bloody...

The Break

In a perfect world, support and resistance levels would hold forever, McDonalds would be healthy, and we'd all have jetpacks. In a perfect trading world, we could just jump in and out whenever price hits those major support and resistance levels and earn loads of money. The fact of the matter is that these levels break... often.
So, it's not enough to just play bounces. You should also know what to do whenever support and resistance levels give way! There are two ways to play breaks: the aggressive way or the conservative way.

The Aggressive Way

The simplest way to play breakouts is to buy or sell whenever price passes convincingly through a support or resistance zone. The key word here is convincingly because we only want to enter when price passes through a significant support or resistance level with ease.
We want the support or resistance area to act as if it just received a Chuck Norris karate chop: We want it to wilt over in pain as price breaks right through it.

The Conservative Way

Imagine this hypothetical situation: you decided to go long EUR/USD hoping it would rise after bouncing from a support level. Soon after, support breaks and you are now holding on to a losing position, with your account balance slowly falling.
Do you...

Accept defeat, get the heck out, and liquidate your position?
Hold on to your trade and hope price rises up again?

If your choice is the second one, then you will easily understand this type of trading method. Remember, whenever you close out a position, you take the opposite side of the trade. Closing your EUR/USD long trade at or near breakeven means you will have to short the EUR/USD by the same amount. Now, if enough selling and liquidiation of losing postions happen at the broken support level, price will reverse and start falling again. This phenomenon is the main reason why broken support levels become resistance whenever they break.
As you would've guessed, taking advantage of this phenomenon is all about being patient. Instead of entering right on the break, you wait for price to make a "pullback" to the broken support or resistance level and enter after the price bounces.

A few words of caution... THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. "RETESTS" OF BROKEN SUPPORT AND RESISTANCE LEVELS DO NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. THERE WILL BE TIMES THAT PRICE WILL JUST MOVE IN ONE DIRECTION AND LEAVE YOU BEHIND. BECAUSE OF THIS, ALWAYS USE STOP LOSS ORDERS AND NEVER EVER HOLD ON TO A TRADE JUST BECAUSE OF HOPE.
Whoops, sorry about that folks, the caps lock key got stuck.

Channels

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:49:00 +0000

If we take this trend line theory one step further and draw a parallel line at the same angle of the uptrend or downtrend, we will have created a channel. No, we're not talking about ESPN, ABC, or Cartoon Network.
Still, this doesn't mean that you should walk away like it's a commercial break- channels can be just as exciting to watch as America's Next Top Model or Entourage!
Channels are just another tool in technical analysis which can be used to determine good places to buy or sell. Both the tops and bottoms of channels represent potential areas of support or resistance.

To create an up (ascending) channel, simply draw a parallel line at the same angle as an uptrend line and then move that line to position where it touches the most recent peak. This should be done at the same time you create the trend line.
To create a down (descending) channel, simple draw a parallel line at the same angle as the downtrend line and then move that line to a position where it touches the most recent valley. This should be done at the same time you create the trend line.
When prices hit the bottom trend line, this may be used as a buying area. When prices hit the upper trend line, this may be used as a selling area.

Types of channels

There are three types of channels:

Ascending channel (higher highs and higher lows)
Descending channel (lower highers and lower lows)
Horizontal channel (ranging)

Important things to remember about trend lines:

When constructing a channel, both trend lines must be parallel to each other.
Generally, the bottom of channel is considered a buy zone while the top of channel is considered a sell zone.
Like in drawing trend lines, DO NOT EVER force the price to the channels that you draw! A channel boundary that is sloping at one angle while the corresponding channel boundary is sloping at another is not correct and could lead to bad trades.

Trend Lines

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:17:00 +0000

Trend lines are probably the most common form of technical analysis. They are probably one of the most underutilized ones as well.
If drawn correctly, they can be as accurate as any other method. Unfortunately, most traders don't draw them correctly or try to make the line fit the market instead of the other way around.
In their most basic form, an uptrend line is drawn along the bottom of easily identifiable support areas (valleys). In a downtrend, the trend line is drawn along the top of easily identifiable resistance areas (peaks).

How do you draw trend lines?

To draw trend lines properly, all you have to do is locate two major tops or bottoms and connect them.
What's next?
Nothing.
Uhh, is that it?
Yep, it's that simple.
Here are trend lines in action! Look at those waves!

Types of Trends

There are three types of trends:

Uptrend (higher lows)
Downtrend (lower highs)
Sideways trends (ranging)

Here are some important things to remember about trend lines:

It takes at least two tops or bottoms to draw a valid trend line but it takes THREE to confirm a trend line.
The STEEPER the trend line you draw, the less reliable it is going to be and the more likely it will break.
Like horizontal support and resistance levels, trend lines become stronger the more times they are tested.
And most importantly, DO NOT EVER draw trend lines by forcing them to fit the market. If they do not fit right, then that trend line isn't a valid one!

Support and Resistance

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:54:00 +0000

Support and resistance is one of the most widely used concepts in trading. Strangely enough, everyone seems to have their own idea on how you should measure support and resistance.
Let's take a look at the basics first.

Look at the diagram above. As you can see, this zigzag pattern is making its way up (bull market). When the market moves up and then pulls back, the highest point reached before it pulled back is now resistance.
As the market continues up again, the lowest point reached before it started back is now support. In this way resistance and support are continually formed as the market oscillates over time. The reverse is true for the downtrend.

Plotting Support and Resistance

One thing to remember is that support and resistance levels are not exact numbers.
Often times you will see a support or resistance level that appears broken, but soon after find out that the market was just testing it. With candlestick charts, these "tests" of support and resistance are usually represented by the candlestick shadows.

Notice how the shadows of the candles tested the 1.4700 support level. At those times it seemed like the market was "breaking" support. In hindsight we can see that the market was merely testing that level.

So how do we truly know if support and resistance was broken?

There is no definite answer to this question. Some argue that a support or resistance level is broken if the market can actually close past that level. However, you will find that this is not always the case.
Let's take our same example from above and see what happened when the price actually closed past the 1.4700 support level.

In this case, price had closed below the 1.4700 support level but ended up rising back up above it.
If you had believed that this was a real breakout and sold this pair, you would've been seriously hurtin'!
Looking at the chart now, you can visually see and come to the conclusion that the support was not actually broken; it is still very much intact and now even stronger.
To help you filter out these false breakouts, you should think of support and resistance more of as "zones" rather than concrete numbers.
One way to help you find these zones is to plot support and resistance on a line chart rather than a candlestick chart. The reason is that line charts only show you the closing price while candlesticks add the extreme highs and lows to the picture.
These highs and lows can be misleading because often times they are just the "knee-jerk" reactions of the market. It's like when someone is doing something really strange, but when asked about it, he or she simply replies, "Sorry, it's just a reflex."
When plotting support and resistance, you don't want the reflexes of the market. You only want to plot its intentional movements.
Looking at the line chart, you want to plot your support and resistance lines around areas where you can see the price forming several peaks or valleys.

Other interesting tidbits about support and resistance:

When the price passes through resistance, that resistance could potentially become support.
The more often price tests a level of resistance or support without breaking it, the stronger the area of resistance or support is.
When a support or resistance level breaks, the strength of the follow-through move depends on how strongly the broken support or resistance had been holding.

With a little practice, you'll be able to spot potential support and resistance areas easily. In the next lesson, we'll teach you how to trade diagonal support and resistance lines, otherwise known as trend lines.

Types of Charts

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Let's take a look at the three most popular types of charts:

Line chart
Bar chart
Candlestick chart

Now, we'll explain each of the charts, and let you know what you should know about each of them.

Line Charts

A simple line chart draws a line from one closing price to the next closing price. When strung together with a line, we can see the general price movement of a currency pair over a period of time.
Here is an example of a line chart for EUR/USD:

Bar Charts

A bar chart is a little more complex. It shows the opening and closing prices, as well as the highs and lows. The bottom of the vertical bar indicates the lowest traded price for that time period, while the top of the bar indicates the highest price paid.
The vertical bar itself indicates the currency pair's trading range as a whole.
The horizontal hash on the left side of the bar is the opening price, and the right-side horizontal hash is the closing price.
Here is an example of a bar chart for EUR/USD:

Take note, throughout our lessons, you will see the word "bar" in reference to a single piece of data on a chart.
A bar is simply one segment of time, whether it is one day, one week, or one hour. When you see the word 'bar' going forward, be sure to understand what time frame it is referencing.
Bar charts are also called "OHLC" charts, because they indicate the Open, the High, the Low, and the Close for that particular currency. Here's an example of a price bar:

Open: The little horizontal line on the left is the opening price
High: The top of the vertical line defines the highest price of the time period
Low: The bottom of the vertical line defines the lowest price of the time period
Close: The little horizontal line on the right is the closing price

Candlesticks Charts

Candlestick chart show the same information as a bar chart, but in a prettier, graphic format.
Candlestick bars still indicate the high-to-low range with a vertical line.
However, in candlestick charting, the larger block (or body) in the middle indicates the range between the opening and closing prices. Traditionally, if the block in the middle is filled or colored in, then the currency closed lower than it opened.
In the following example, the 'filled color' is black. For our 'filled' blocks, the top of the block is the opening price, and the bottom of the block is the closing price. If the closing price is higher than the opening price, then the block in the middle will be "white" or hollow or unfilled.

Here at BabyPips.com, we don't like to use the traditional black and white candlesticks. They just look so unappealing. And since we spend so much time looking at charts, we feel it's easier to look at a chart that's colored.
A color television is much better than a black and white television, so why not splash some color in those candlestick charts?
We simply substituted green instead of white, and red instead of black. This means that if the price closed higher than it opened, the candlestick would be green.
If the price closed lower than it opened, the candlestick would be red.
In our later lessons, you will see how using green and red candles will allow you to "see" things on the charts much faster, such as uptrend/downtrends and possible reversal points.
For now, just remember that we use red and green candlesticks instead of black and white and we will be using these colors from now on.
Check out these candlesticks...BabyPips.com style! Awww yeeaaah! You know you like that!

Here is an example of a candlestick chart for EUR/USD. Isn't it pretty?

The purpose of candlestick charting is strictly to serve as a visual aid, since the exact same information appears on an OHLC bar chart. The advantages of candlestick charting are:

Candlesticks are easy to interpret, and are a good place for beginners to start figuring out chart analysis.
Candlesticks are easy to use! Your eyes adapt almost immediately to the information in the bar notation. Plus, research shows that visuals help in studying, it might help with trading as well!
Candlesticks and candlestick patterns have cool names such as the shooting star, which helps you to remember what the pattern means.
Candlesticks are good at identifying marketing turning points - reversals from an uptrend to a downtrend or a downtrend to an uptrend. You will learn more about this later.

Now that you know why candlesticks are so cool, it's time to let you know that we will be using candlestick charts for most, if not all of chart examples on this site.

Which Type of Analysis is Best?

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:43:00 +0000

Ahhhh, the million dollar question....
Throughout your journey as an aspiring forex trader you will find strong advocates for each type of analysis. Do not be fooled by these one-sided extremists! One is not better than the other...they are all just different ways to look at the market.
At the end of the day, you should trade based on the type of analysis you are most comfortable and profitable with.
To recap, technical analysis is the study of price movement on the charts while fundamental analysis takes a look at how the country's economy is doing.
Market sentiment analysis determines whether the market is bullish or bearish on the current or future fundamental outlook.
Fundamental factors shape sentiment, while technical analysis helps us visualize that sentiment and apply a framework for our trades.
Those three work hand-in-hand-in-hand to help you come up with good trade ideas. All the historical price action and economic figures are there - all you have to do is put on your thinking cap and put those analytical skills to the test!
Let me pull out that three-legged stool again just to emphasize the importance of all three types of analysis.
Take out one or two legs of the stool and it's going to be shaky!

In order to become a true forex master you will need to know how to effectively use these three types of analysis.
Don't believe us?
Let us give you an example of how focusing on only one type of analysis can turn into a disaster.

Let's say that you're looking at your charts and you find a good trading opportunity.
You get all excited thinking about the money that's going to be raining down from the sky.
You say to yourself, "Man, I've never seen a more perfect trading opportunity in GBP/USD. I love my charts. Mwah. Now show me the money!"
You then proceed to buy GBP/USD with a big fat smile on your face (the kind where all your teeth are showing).
But wait! All of a sudden the trade makes a 100 pip move in the OTHER DIRECTION! Little did you know, one of the major banks in London filed for bankruptcy! Suddenly, everyone's sentiment towards Britain's market turns sour and everyone trades in the opposite direction!
Your big fat smile turns into mush and you start getting angry at your charts. You throw your computer on the ground and begin to pulverize it. You just lost a bunch of money, and now your computer is broken into a billion pieces. And it's all because you completely ignored fundamental analysis and sentimental analysis.

(Note: This was not based on a real story. This did not happen to us. We were never this naive. We were always smart traders.... From the overused sarcasm, we think you get the picture.)
Ok, ok, so the story was a little over-dramatized, but you get the point.
Remember how your mother used to tell you as a kid that too much of anything is never good?
Well you might've thought that was just hogwash back then but in forex, the same applies when deciding which type of analysis to use.
Don't rely on just one.
Instead, you must learn to balance the use of all of them. It is only then that you can really get the most out of your trading.

Where do we go from here?

Now that you're done with Kindergarten and learned a little bit about each type of analysis, it's time to delve much deeper! Here's what's in store for the next few years of your life...

We're kidding, we're kidding! We're talking about the next few school years in the School of Pipsology.
Grade school will be all about basic technical analysis tools.
You'll learn all about the dynamics behind price action, such as support and resistance levels, candlestick formations, and common chart patterns. You'll experiment with leading and lagging indicators and discover how to use them in coming up with trade ideas. Sounds pretty exciting, doesn't it?
The remaining years of middle school and high school are devoted to studying more technical analysis tools.
We'll take a look at the more advanced tools also such as pivot points, divergences, Elliott Wave Theory, and Gartley patterns. Sounds fancy? It's because they are! Bet you can't wait to get started on those!
College will be a bit more complicated since you'll be tackling both fundamental and market sentiment analysis at the same time. Talk about hitting two stones with one bird! You're the bird and the stones are... well, you get the point.
A couple of reasons why we're putting fundamental and market sentiment analysis together:

By the time you reach college, you'll be so hooked on learning more about forex that one lesson simply won't be enough.
It is hard to draw the line between fundamental analysis and market sentiment analysis.

As we mentioned earlier, fundamental factors are mostly responsible for shaping market sentiment. Those two types of analysis would take up both freshman and sophomore year of college.

Sentimental Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Earlier, we said that price should theoretically accurately reflect all available market information. Unfortunately for us traders, it isn't that simple. The markets do not simply reflect all the information out there because traders will all just act the same way. Of course, that isn't how things work.
Each trader has his own opinion or explanation of why the market is acting the way they do. The market is just like Facebook - it's a complex network made up of individuals who want to spam our news feeds.
Kidding aside, the market basically represents what all traders - you, Pipcrawler, Celine from the donut shop - feel about the market. Each trader's thoughts and opinions, which are expressed through whatever position they take, helps form the overall sentiment of the market.
The problem is that as traders, no matter how strongly you feel about a certain trade, you can't move the markets in your favor (unless you're one of the GSs - George Soros or Goldman Sachs!). Even if you truly believe that the dollar is going to go up, but everyone else is bearish on it, there's nothing much you can do about it.
As a trader, you have to take all this into consideration. It's up to you to gauge how the market is feeling, whether it is bullish or bearish. Ultimately, it's also up to you to find out how you want to incorporate market sentiment into your trading strategy. If you choose to simply ignore market sentiment, that's your choice. But hey, we're telling you now, it's your loss!
Being able to gauge market sentiment can be an important tool in your toolbox. Later on in school, we'll teach you how to analyze market sentiment and use it to your advantage like Jedi mind tricks.

Fundamental Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:45:00 +0000

Fundamental analysis is a way of looking at the market by analyzing economic, social, and political forces that affects the supply and demand of an asset. If you think about it, this makes a whole lot of sense! Just like in your Economics 101 class, it is supply and demand that determines price.
Using supply and demand as an indicator of where price could be headed is easy. The hard part is analyzing all the factors that affect supply and demand.
In other words, you have to look at different factors to determine whose economy is rockin' like a Taylor Swift song, and whose economy sucks. You have to understand the reasons of why and how certain events like an increase in unemployment affect a country's economy, and ultimately, the level of demand for its currency.
The idea behind this type of analysis is that if a country's current or future economic outlook is good, their currency should strengthen. The better shape a country's economy is, the more foreign businesses and investors will invest in that country. This results in the need to purchase that country's currency to obtain those assets.
In a nutshell, this is what fundamental analysis is:

For example, let's say that the U.S. dollar has been gaining strength because the U.S. economy is improving. As the economy gets better, raising interest rates may be needed to control growth and inflation.
Higher interest rates make dollar-denominated financial assets more attractive. In order to get their hands on these lovely assets, traders and investors have to buy some greenbacks first. As a result, the value of the dollar will increase.
Later on in the course, you will learn which economic data drives currency prices, and why they do so. You will know who the Fed Chairman is and how retail sales data reflects the economy. You'll be spitting out interest rates like baseball statistics.
But that's for another lesson for another time. For now, just know that the fundamental analysis is a way of analyzing a currency through the strength or weakness of that country's economy. It's going to be awesome, we promise!

Technical Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:56:00 +0000

Technical analysis is the framework in which traders study price movement.
The theory is that a person can look at historical price movements and determine the current trading conditions and potential price movement.
The main evidence for using technical analysis is that, theoretically, all current market information is reflected in price. If price reflects all the information that is out there, then price action is all one would really need to make a trade.
Now, have you ever heard the old adage, "History tends to repeat itself"?
Well, that's basically what technical analysis is all about! If a price level held as a key support or resistance in the past, traders will keep an eye out for it and base their trades around that historical price level.
Technical analysts look for similar patterns that have formed in the past, and will form trade ideas believing that price will act the same way that it did before.

In the world of trading, when someone says technical analysis, the first thing that comes to mind is a chart. Technical analysts use charts because they are the easiest way to visualize historical data!
You can look at past data to help you spot trends and patterns which could help you find some great trading opportunities.
What's more is that with all the traders who rely on technical analysis out there, these price patterns and indicator signals tend to become self-fulfilling.
As more and more traders look for certain price levels and chart patterns, the more likely that these patterns will manifest themselves in the markets.
You should know though that technical analysis is VERY subjective.
Just because Ralph and Joseph are looking at the exact same chart setup or indicators doesn't mean that they will come up with the same idea of where price may be headed.
The important thing is that you understand the concepts under technical analysis so you won't get nosebleeds whenever somebody starts talking about Fibonacci, Bollinger bands, or pivot points.

Now we know you're thinking to yourself, "Geez, these guys are smart. They use crazy words like 'Fibonacci' and 'Bollinger'. I can never learn this stuff!"
Don't worry yourself too much. After you're done with the School of Pipsology, you too will be just as... uhmmm... "smart" as us.
By the way, do you feel that green pill kicking in yet? Bark like a dog!

The Big Three

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:51:00 +0000

Congratulations! You've gotten through the Pre-School and, with a few boo-boos here and there, you are ready to begin your first day of class!
You did go through the Pre-School, right????
By now you've learned some history about the forex, how it works, what affects the prices, blah blah blah.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
We know what you're thinking...
BORING!
SHOW
ME
HOW

TO
MAKE
MONEY
ALREADY!!!!
Well say no more friends because here is where your journey as a forex trader begins...
This is your last chance to turn back...
Take the red pill, forget everything, and we'll take you back to where you were before.
You can go back to living your average life in your 9-5 job and work for someone else for the rest of your life...
OR...
You can take the green pill, which is fully loaded with the dollar extract, and learn how you can make money for yourself in the most active market in the world, simply by using a little brain power.

Just remember, your education will never stop. Even after you graduate from the School of Pipsology, you must constantly pursue as much knowledge as you can, so that you can become a true FOREX MASTER! The learning never ends!
Are you ready to make that commitment?
Now pop that green pill in, wash it down with some delicious chocolate milk, and grab your lunchbox... the School of Pipsology is now in session!
Note: the green pill was made with a brainwashing serum. You will now obey everything that we tell you to do! Mwuahahaha! <--- evil laugh

Three Types of Market Analysis

To begin, let's look at three ways on how you would analyze and develop ideas to trade the market. There are three basic types of market analysis:

Technical Analysis
Fundamental Analysis
Sentiment Analysis

There has always been a constant debate as to which analysis is better, but to tell you the truth, you need to know all three.

It's kind of like standing on a three-legged stool - if one of the legs is weak, the stool will break under your weight and you'll fall flat on your face. The same holds true in trading. If your analysis on any of the three types of trading is weak and you ignore it, there's a good chance that it will cause you to lose out on your trade!

Demo Your Way to Success

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:32:00 +0000

You can open a demo accounts for FREE with most forex brokers. These "pretend" accounts have the full capabilities of a "real" account.
But why is it free?
It's because the broker wants you to learn the ins and outs of their trading platform, and have a good time trading without risk, so you'll fall in love with them and deposit real money. The demo account allows you to learn about the forex market and test your trading skills with ZERO risk.
Yes, that's right, ZERO!

YOU SHOULD DEMO TRADE UNTIL YOU DEVELOP A SOLID, PROFITABLE SYSTEM BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT PUTTING REAL MONEY ON THE LINE.
WE REPEAT - YOU SHOULD DEMO TRADE UNTIL YOU DEVELOP A SOLID, PROFITABLE SYSTEM BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT PUTTING REAL MONEY ON THE LINE.

"Don't Lose Your Money" Declaration

Now, place your hand on your heart and say...
"I will demo trade until I develop a solid, profitable system before I trade with real money."
Now touch your head with your index finger and say...
"I am a smart and patient forex trader!"
Do NOT open a live trading account until you are CONSISTENTLY trading PROFITABLY on a demo account.
If you can't wait until you're profitable on a demo account, at least demo trade for two months. Hey, at least you were able to hold off losing all your money for two months right? If you can't hold out for two months, just donate that money to your favorite charity or cut your hands off.

Concentrate on ONE major currency pair.

It gets far too complicated to keep tabs on more than one currency pair when you first start trading. Stick with one of the majors because they are the most liquid which makes their spreads cheap.
You can be a winner at currency trading but, as in all other aspects of life, it will take hard work, dedication, a little luck, a lot of common sense, and a whole lot of good judgment.

Types of Orders

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:32:00 +0000

The term "order" refers to how you will enter or exit a trade. Here we discuss the different types of orders that can be placed into the foreign exchange market.
Be sure that you know which types of orders your broker accepts. Different brokers accept different types of orders.
There are some basic order types that all brokers provide and some others that sound weird.

Order Types

Market order

A market order is an order to buy or sell at the best available price.
For example, the bid price for EUR/USD is currently at 1.2140 and the ask price is at 1.2142. If you wanted to buy EUR/USD at market, then it would be sold to you at the ask price of 1.2142. You would click buy and your trading platform would instantly execute a buy order at that exact price.
If you ever shop on Amazon.com, it's kinda like using their 1-Click ordering. You like the current price, you click once and it's yours! The only difference is you are buying or selling one currency against another currency instead of buying a Justin Bieber CD.

Limit Entry Order

A limit entry is an order placed to either buy below the market or sell above the market at a certain price.
For example, EUR/USD is currently trading at 1.2050. You want to go short if the price reaches 1.2070. You can either sit in front of your monitor and wait for it to hit 1.2070 (at which point you would click a sell market order), or you can set a sell limit order at 1.2070 (then you could walk away from your computer to attend your ballroom dancing class).
If the price goes up to 1.2070, your trading platform will automatically execute a sell order at the best available price.
You use this type of entry order when you believe price will reverse upon hitting the price you specified!

Stop-Entry Order

A stop-entry order is an order placed to buy above the market or sell below the market at a certain price.
For example, GBP/USD is currently trading at 1.5050 and is heading upward. You believe that price will continue in this direction if it hits 1.5060. You can do one of the following to play this belief: sit in front of your computer and buy at market when it hits 1.5060 OR set a stop-entry order at 1.5060. You use stop-entry orders when you feel that price will move in one direction!

Stop-Loss Order

A stop-loss order is a type of order linked to a trade for the purpose of preventing additional losses if price goes against you. REMEMBER THIS TYPE OF ORDER. A stop-loss order remains in effect until the position is liquidated or you cancel the stop-loss order.
For example, you went long (buy) EUR/USD at 1.2230. To limit your maximum loss, you set a stop-loss order at 1.2200. This means if you were dead wrong and EUR/USD drops to 1.2200 instead of moving up, your trading platform would automatically execute a sell order at 1.2200 the best available price and close out your position for a 30-pip loss (eww!).
Stop-losses are extremely useful if you don't want to sit in front of your monitor all day worried that you will lose all your money. You can simply set a stop-loss order on any open positions so you won't miss your basket weaving class or elephant polo game.

Trailing Stop

A trailing stop is a type of stop-loss order attached to a trade that moves as price fluctuates.
Let's say that you've decided to short USD/JPY at 90.80, with a trailing stop of 20 pips. This means that originally, your stop loss is at 91.00. If price goes down and hits 90.50, your trailing stop would move down to 90.70.
Just remember though, that your stop will STAY at this price. It will not widen if price goes against you. Going back to the example, with a trailing stop of 20 pips, if USD/JPY hits 90.50, then your stop would move to 90.70. However, if price were to suddenly move up to 90.60, your stop would remain at 90.70.
Your trade will remain open as long as price does not move against you by 20 pips. Once price hits your trailing stop, a stop-loss order will be triggered and your position will be closed.

Weird Orders

"Can I order a grande extra hot soy with extra foam, extra hot split quad shot with a half squirt of sugar-free white chocolate and a half squirt of sugar-free cinnamon, a half packet of Splenda and put that in a venti cup and fill up the "room" with extra whipped cream with caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top?"
Ooops, wrong weird order.

Good 'Till Cancelled (GTC)

A GTC order remains active in the market until you decide to cancel it. Your broker will not cancel the order at any time. Therefore it's your responsibility to remember that you have the order scheduled.

Good for the Day (GFD)

A GFD order remains active in the market until the end of the trading day. Because foreign exchange is a 24-hour market, this usually means 5:00 pm EST since that's the time U.S. markets close, but we'd recommend you double check with your broker.

One-Cancels-the-Other (OCO)

An OCO order is a mixture of two entry and/or stop-loss orders. Two orders with price and duration variables are placed above and below the current price. When one of the orders is executed the other order is canceled.
Let's say the price of EUR/USD is 1.2040. You want to either buy at 1.2095 over the resistance level in anticipation of a breakout or initiate a selling position if the price falls below 1.1985. The understanding is that if 1.2095 is reached, your buy order will be triggered and the 1.1985 sell order will be automatically canceled.

One-Triggers-the-Other

An OTO is the opposite of the OCO, as it only puts on orders when the parent order is triggered. You set an OTO order when you want to set profit taking and stop loss levels ahead of time, even before you get in a trade.
For example, USD/CHF is currently trading at 1.2000. You believe that once it hits 1.2100, it will reverse and head downwards but only up to 1.1900. The problem is that you will be gone for an entire week because you have to join a basket weaving competition at the top of Mt. Fiji where there is no internet.
In order to catch the move while you are away, you set a sell limit at 1.2000 and at the same time, place a related buy limit at 1.1900, and just in case, place a stop-loss at 1.2100. As an OTO, both the buy limit and the stop-loss orders will only be placed if your initial sell order at 1.2000 gets triggered.

In conclusion...

The basic order types (market, limit entry, stop-entry, stop loss, and trailing stop) are usually all that most traders ever need.
Unless you are a veteran trader (don't worry, with practice and time you will be), don't get fancy and design a system of trading requiring a large number of orders sandwiched in the market at all times.
Stick with the basic stuff first.
Make sure you fully understand and are comfortable with your broker's order entry system before executing a trade.
Also, always check with your broker for specific order information and to see if any rollover fees will be applied if a position is held longer than one day. Keeping your ordering rules simple is the best strategy.
DO NOT trade with real money until you have an extremely high comfort level with the trading platform you are using and its order entry system. Erroneous trades are more common than you think!

Lots, Leverage, and Profit and Loss

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:15:00 +0000

In the past, spot forex was traded in specific amounts called lots. The standard size for a lot is 100,000 units. There is also a mini, micro, and nano lot sizes that are 10,000, 1,000, and 100 units respectively.

Lot	Number of Units
Standard	100,000
Mini	10,000
Micro	1,000
Nano	100

As you already know, currencies are measured in pips, which is the smallest increment of that currency. To take advantage of these tiny increments, you need to trade large amounts of a particular currency in order to see any significant profit or loss.
Let's assume we will be using a 100,000 unit (standard) lot size. We will now recalculate some examples to see how it affects the pip value.

USD/JPY at an exchange rate of 119.80 (.01 / 119.80) x 100,000 = $8.34 per pip
USD/CHF at an exchange rate of 1.4555 (.0001 / 1.4555) x 100,000 = $6.87 per pip

In cases where the U.S. dollar is not quoted first, the formula is slightly different.

EUR/USD at an exchange rate of 1.1930 (.0001 / 1.1930) X 100,000 = 8.38 x 1.1930 = $9.99734 rounded up will be $10 per pip
GBP/USD at an exchange rate or 1.8040 (.0001 / 1.8040) x 100,000 = 5.54 x 1.8040 = 9.99416 rounded up will be $10 per pip.

Your broker may have a different convention for calculating pip value relative to lot size but whichever way they do it, they'll be able to tell you what the pip value is for the currency you are trading is at the particular time. As the market moves, so will the pip value depending on what currency you are currently trading.

What the heck is leverage?

You are probably wondering how a small investor like yourself can trade such large amounts of money. Think of your broker as a bank who basically fronts you $100,000 to buy currencies. All the bank asks from you is that you give it $1,000 as a good faith deposit, which he will hold for you but not necessarily keep. Sounds too good to be true? This is how forex trading using leverage works.

The amount of leverage you use will depend on your broker and what you feel comfortable with.
Typically the broker will require a trade deposit, also known as "account margin" or "initial margin." Once you have deposited your money you will then be able to trade. The broker will also specify how much they require per position (lot) traded.
For example, if the allowed leverage is 100:1 (or 1% of position required), and you wanted to trade a position worth $100,000, but you only have $5,000 in your account. No problem as your broker would set aside $1,000 as down payment, or the "margin," and let you "borrow" the rest. Of course, any losses or gains will be deducted or added to the remaining cash balance in your account.
The minimum security (margin) for each lot will vary from broker to broker. In the example above, the broker required a one percent margin. This means that for every $100,000 traded, the broker wants $1,000 as a deposit on the position.

How the heck do I calculate profit and loss?

So now that you know how to calculate pip value and leverage, let's look at how you calculate your profit or loss.
Let's buy U.S. dollars and Sell Swiss francs.

The rate you are quoted is 1.4525 / 1.4530. Because you are buying U.S. dollars you will be working on the "ask" price of 1.4530, or the rate at which traders are prepared to sell.
So you buy 1 standard lot (100,000 units) at 1.4530.
A few hours later, the price moves to 1.4550 and you decide to close your trade.
The new quote for USD/CHF is 1.4550 / 1.4555. Since you're closing your trade and you initially bought to enter the trade, you now sell in order to close the trade so you must take the "bid" price of 1.4550. The price traders are prepared to buy at.
The difference between 1.4530 and 1.4550 is .0020 or 20 pips.
Using our formula from before, we now have (.0001/1.4550) x 100,000 = $6.87 per pip x 20 pips = $137.40

Remember, when you enter or exit a trade, you are subject to the spread in the bid/offer quote. When you buy a currency, you will use the offer or ask price and when you sell, you will use the bid price.

Pips and Pipettes

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:20:00 +0000

Here is where we're going to do a little math. You've probably heard of the terms "pips", "pipettes", and "lots" thrown around, and here we're going to explain what they are and show you how they are calculated.
Take your time with this information, as it is required knowledge for all forex traders. Don't even think about trading until you are comfortable with pip values and calculating profit and loss.

What the heck is a Pip? What about a Pipette?

The unit of measurement to express the change in value between two currencies is called a "Pip". If EUR/USD moves from 1.2250 to 1.2251, that is ONE PIP. A pip is the last decimal place of a quotation, given that four decimal places are used for pairs without the Japanese yen. If a pair does include the Japanese yen, then the currency quote goes out two decimal places.
Very Important: There are brokers that quote currency pairs beyond the standard "4 and 2" decimal places to "5 and 3" decimal places. They are quoting FRACTIONAL PIPS, also called pipettes. For instance, if GBP/USD moves from 1.51542 to 1.51543, it moved ONE PIPETTE.
As each currency has its own value, it is necessary to calculate the value of a pip for that particular currency. In the following examples, we will use quotes with 4 decimal places.

In currencies where the U.S. dollar is quoted first, the calculation would be as follows:

USD/CHF at 1.5250
.0001 divided by exchange rate = pip value
.0001 / 1.5250 = 0.0000655
USD/CAD at 1.4890
.0001 divided by exchange rate = pip value
.0001 / 1.4890 = 0.00006715
USD/JPY at 119.80
Notice this currency pair only goes to two decimal places (most of the other currencies have four decimal places). In this case, 1 pip would be .01.
.01 divided by exchange rate = pip value
.01 / 119.80 = 0.0000834

In the case where the U.S. dollar is not quoted first and we want to get the U.S. dollar value, we have to add one more step.

EUR/USD at 1.2200
.0001 divided by exchange rate = pip value
So .0001 / 1.2200 = EUR 0.00008196
BUT we need to get back to U.S. dollars so we add another calculation which is
EUR x Exchange rate
So 0.00008196 x 1.2200 = 0.00009999
When rounded up it would be 0.0001
GBP/USD at 1.7975
.0001 divided by exchange rate = pip value
So .0001 / 1.7975 = GBP 0.0000556
BUT we need to get back to U.S. dollars so we add another calculation which is
GBP x Exchange rate
So 0.0000556 x 1.7975 = 0.0000998
When rounded up it would be 0.0001

You're probably rolling your eyes back and thinking "Do I really need to work all this out?" Well, the answer is a big fat NO. Nearly all forex brokers will work all this out for you automatically, but it's always good for you to know how they work it out.
If your broker doesn't happen to do this, don't worry - you can use our Pip Value Calculator! Aren't we awesome?
In the next section, we will discuss how these seemingly insignificant amounts can add up.

How You Make Money in Forex

noreply@blogger.com (KalOo) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:39:00 +0000

In the forex market, you buy or sell currencies.
Placing a trade in the foreign exchange market is simple: the mechanics of a trade are very similar to those found in other markets (like the stock market), so if you have any experience in trading, you should be able to pick it up pretty quickly.
The object of forex trading is to exchange one currency for another in the expectation that the price will change, so that the currency you bought will increase in value compared to the one you sold.
Example:

Trader's Action	EUR	USD
You purchase 10,000 euros at the EUR/USD exchange rate of 1.1800	+10,000	-11,800
Two weeks later, you exchange your 10,000 euros back into U.S. dollar at the exchange rate of 1.2500	-10,000	+12,500**
You earn a profit of $700	0	+700

*EUR 10,000 x 1.18 = US $11,800
** EUR 10,000 x 1.25 = US $12,500

An exchange rate is simply the ratio of one currency valued against another currency. For example, the USD/CHF exchange rate indicates how many U.S. dollars can purchase one Swiss franc, or how many Swiss francs you need to buy one U.S. dollar.

How to Read a Forex Quote

Currencies are always quoted in pairs, such as GBP/USD or USD/JPY. The reason they are quoted in pairs is because in every foreign exchange transaction, you are simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. Here is an example of a foreign exchange rate for the British pound versus the U.S. dollar:

The first listed currency to the left of the slash ("/") is known as the base currency (in this example, the British pound), while the second one on the right is called the counter or quote currency (in this example, the U.S. dollar).
When buying, the exchange rate tells you how much you have to pay in units of the quote currency to buy one unit of the base currency. In the example above, you have to pay 1.51258 U.S. dollars to buy 1 British pound.
When selling, the exchange rate tells you how many units of the quote currency you get for selling one unit of the base currency. In the example above, you will receive 1.51258 U.S. dollars when you sell 1 British pound.
The base currency is the "basis" for the buy or the sell. If you buy EUR/USD this simply means that you are buying the base currency and simultaneously selling the quote currency. In caveman talk, "buy EUR, sell USD."
You would buy the pair if you believe the base currency will appreciate (gain value) relative to the quote currency. You would sell the pair if you think the base currency will depreciate (lose value) relative to the quote currency.

Long/Short

First, you should determine whether you want to buy or sell.
If you want to buy (which actually means buy the base currency and sell the quote currency), you want the base currency to rise in value and then you would sell it back at a higher price. In trader's talk, this is called "going long" or taking a "long position." Just remember: long = buy.
If you want to sell (which actually means sell the base currency and buy the quote currency), you want the base currency to fall in value and then you would buy it back at a lower price. This is called "going short" or taking a "short position". Just remember: short = sell.

"I'm long AND short."

Bid/Ask

"How come I keep getting quoted with two prices?"
All forex quotes are quoted with two prices: the bid and ask. For the most part, the bid is lower than the ask price.
The bid is the price at which your broker is willing to buy the base currency in exchange for the quote currency. This means the bid is the best available price at which you (the trader) will sell to the market.
The ask is the price at which your broker will sell the base currency in exchange for the quote currency. This means the ask price is the best available price at which you will buy from the market. Another word for ask is the offer price.

The difference between the bid and the ask price is popularly known as the spread.
On the EUR/USD quote above, the bid price is 1.34568 and the ask price is 1.34588. Look at how this broker makes it so easy for you to trade away your money.
If you want to sell EUR, you click "Sell" and you will sell euros at 1.34568. If you want to buy EUR, you click "Buy" and you will buy euros at 1.34588.
Now let's take a look at some samples.

>>Click here to get to the next article<<

Pipsfactory

EUR/USD

Moving Average

Fibonacci Extensions

Fibonacci Retracement

Uptrend

Downtrend

Fibonacci Who?

How to Trade Chart Patterns

Reversal

Bilateral

Basic Candlestick Patterns

Spinning Tops

Marubozu

Doji

Sexy Bodies and Strange Shadows

Sexy Bodies

Mysterious Shadows

Japnanese Candlestick

What is a Japanese Candlestick?

What is Candlestick Trading?

Okay, so what the heck are forex candlesticks?

Summary: Support and Resistance

Trend Lines

Channels

Trading the Lines

The Bounce

The Break

The Aggressive Way

The Conservative Way

Channels

Types of channels

Important things to remember about trend lines:

Trend Lines

How do you draw trend lines?

Types of Trends

Here are some important things to remember about trend lines:

Support and Resistance

Plotting Support and Resistance

So how do we truly know if support and resistance was broken?

Other interesting tidbits about support and resistance:

Types of Charts

Line Charts

Bar Charts

Candlesticks Charts

Which Type of Analysis is Best?

Where do we go from here?

Sentimental Analysis

Fundamental Analysis

Technical Analysis

The Big Three

Three Types of Market Analysis

Demo Your Way to Success

"Don't Lose Your Money" Declaration

Concentrate on ONE major currency pair.

Types of Orders

Order Types

Market order

Limit Entry Order

Stop-Entry Order

Stop-Loss Order

Trailing Stop

Weird Orders

Good 'Till Cancelled (GTC)

Good for the Day (GFD)

One-Cancels-the-Other (OCO)

One-Triggers-the-Other

In conclusion...

Lots, Leverage, and Profit and Loss

What the heck is leverage?

How the heck do I calculate profit and loss?

Pips and Pipettes

What the heck is a Pip? What about a Pipette?

USD/CHF at 1.5250

USD/CAD at 1.4890

USD/JPY at 119.80

EUR/USD at 1.2200

GBP/USD at 1.7975

How You Make Money in Forex

How to Read a Forex Quote