Forex Stop Hunting

If there is much market demand to buy above a resistance level or sell below the support, the forex broker acting as the market maker has to absorb all the buy/sell orders. However, you must know that the market maker is not a fool. There must be a seller for each buyer and a buyer for each seller.

Most of the retail traders being new or inexperienced individual investor like to trade the breakouts! The new traders learn technical analysis. They tend to most eagerly follow trade recommendations based on certain chart patterns recommended in the technical analysis courses.

Most of the successful traders are contrarian in their trading approach. The seasoned traders do exactly the opposite of what the crowd is expected to do. They prefer to fade breakouts.

Trading is a zero sum game. For every loser, there is a winner. Most of the breakouts fail. Breakouts fail because the institutional or the seasoned traders take advantage of the crowd psychology of the retail or inexperienced traders and win at their expense.

Understand the tricks that can be played by the forex dealers and seasoned traders. Market makers, mostly the forex dealers and brokers can fade breakouts. Their game plan is simple. They will make money from the majority of the crowd. The crowd thinks that prices will rally happily after an upside breakout. Similarly, the crowd thinks that it will decline dangerously after a downside breakout.

Whether you like it or not, market makers have to take the opposite side of your trade. They are the pricing counterparties to the retail traders like you and me. Suppose most of the retail traders have placed their stop entry orders at a certain price above the resistance level anticipating a breakout.

Market makers spend some of their money to bid up the price to that level where most of the stop entry levels have been placed. Market makers reach into their pockets. Now they can sell to most of the traders who are desperate to buy. They make some decent profits from this trick that they had played on inexperienced traders.

By selling to the retail crowd, market makers get the chance to close their long positions. Now they begin to overwhelm the buying crowd by going short. This pushes the prices down, below the breakout level. Many stop loss orders have been placed by the retail traders who wanted to trade the upside breakout at this price level.

Market makers have the information of their customer’s orders from their order book. Thus a potential conflict of interest exists. By buying from the retail traders who are selling to close their losing breakout trades, market makers happily offload their short positions now. Retail traders must know how to protect themselves.

Retail crowd thinks that the false breakout is due to the sudden turning of the market. Market makers often go on the stop hunting spree. False breakouts maybe the consequence of that! These false breakouts are most likely the direct result of the games market makers play.

False Breakout

However, you should not misunderstand every false breakout as the result of the tricks big players play. False breakouts can be as a result of price action losing momentum soon after a breakout. Market running out of steam to reach higher highs and lower lows in a sustained price break may also give you a false breakout.When there are not enough sellers in the market to sustain a downward price move or enough buyers in the market to sustain an upward price move, the breakout will fade out soon and may not be sustainable. Individual traders have higher chances of success if they also fade the breakout just like the big players who love to fade breakouts.Profits potential in price breakout is far higher than in a failed breakout. Everyone wants big easy profits. Fading breakouts is counterintuitive and it is not something instinctive. The question is how to identify a false breakout.Look for fading breakout opportunities on a minimum time frame of hourly charts or more. Fading breakouts can occur anywhere on the price charts at the levels of support and resistance.You need to know how to draw trendlines. Trendlines are drawn by joining at least two extreme points of highs or lows over a long period of time. They can be horizontal or sloping. The price will bounce off the trendline in a false breakout and the probability of a false breakout is higher if the trendline is at an angle or a gradient. The chances of this fading breakout are more if the moving average lies slightly above the descending trendline or slightly below the ascending trendline. Usually the third or sometimes even fourth extreme point of contact on a gently sloping trendline presents a good fading opportunity.The chances of a false breakout or a trendline bounce will be much higher if the prices are approaching the trendline slowly and gently. The speed of price movement before the approach to the trendline should be considered. It is very important in identifying a fading breakout.There will be a sustained follow through in prices if the price action has a high momentum. The fast and high amplitude approach of price action will most likely result in a successful price breakout of the trendline on the other hand. In such a case, don’t trade it as a likely false breakout. You should place a limit or market entry order a few pips above an up trendline or below a down trendline. You will want to know how to trade a fading breakout? You can stagger your entry orders by placing another order a few pips away from the breakout if you are an aggressive trader.Now there are a few chart patterns that are ideal for identifying the false breakouts. About placing staggered entry orders for fading breakouts, you should do it with a proper money management plan. Stops should be placed at least 20-30 pips beyond the support or resistance, away from the price zone. This will make your average cost of entry more favorable for either your long position or your short position.
You need to know technical analysis if you want to trade forex successfully. There are some chart patterns where the false breakouts are more likely to occur. You need to apply a lot of common sense in identifying a false breakout. You should be able to identify likely false breakouts in order to employ the breakout fading strategy.Head and Shoulders Pattern: The pattern resembles the head and shoulder pattern of a human. This chart pattern is the hardest for new traders to identify. Don’t confuse it with a shampoo. The head and shoulder pattern consists of three points of rallies. The middle rally is the highest with the left and right being smaller. A horizontal or sloping neckline can be drawn connecting the lows of the left and right shoulders. It signals a bearish reversal or a consolidation period before the uptrend is continued if the head and shoulder pattern is found at the end of an uptrend. An inverted head and shoulder pattern can also be found in the middle or end of a downtrend. The head and shoulder pattern is usually found in the middle or end of an uptrend.If they are buying up the rallies from the support level, many traders who have identified the head and shoulder pattern as a possible breakout signal place their stop loss orders below the neckline. Head and shoulder patterns are notorious for precipitating a false breakout.Similarly, if traders are shorting the decline from the resistance level, they place their stop loss orders above the neckline of the inverted head and shoulder pattern. Traders can also place numerous entry stop orders below the neckline. Traders can also place entry stop orders above the inverse neckline in anticipation of a breakout besides the stop loss orders.False breakouts are triggered by the market makers to shake out the positions of small traders most of the time. Prices will usually rebound. There maybe explosive price movements off the neckline in the pre breakout zone.You may choose to place a stop loss slightly below the high of the second shoulder or slightly above the low of the second shoulder. You may fade the breakout with a limit of market entry order a few pips above the neckline or a few pips below the inverse neckline. It is always best to assume that the first break of a head and shoulder pattern will tend to be false.

Market Orders

Forex markets are open 24 hours a day, five days a week except on weekends. You cannot sit in front of your computer screen all the day watching the markets move. Currency traders use market orders to catch market movements when they are not in front of their screens. A market move is just likely to happen while you are asleep or in the shower as while you are sitting in front of your computer screen.There are many types of market orders. Proper use of market orders is very critical to your trading success. You should think of the different types of market orders as trades waiting to happen. You are in the market so be as careful as possible while playing with the market orders if you enter an order and the subsequent price action triggers its execution. Trading can be very difficult without these market orders.Professional currency traders routinely use market orders to limit risk in volatile or uncertain markets, implement a trade strategy from entry to exit, capture sharp short term price fluctuations and preserve trading capital from unwanted loss. Market orders are essential for maintaining trading discipline and your peace of mind as a trader.
Currency markets can be notoriously volatile and difficult to predict. There can be sudden price swings. Using market orders can help you capitalize on short term price movements while limiting the impact of any adverse price movements. You probably don’t have a well thought out trading plan if you don’t use market orders. It will also give you the peace of mind in trading. There is no guarantee that the use of market orders will limit your losses and protect your profits in all market conditions. However, a disciplined use of market orders will help you quantify the risk that you are taking. A number of different types of market orders are available to currency traders in forex markets. You should add the market orders to the list of questions you need to ask the broker when you open an account with a forex broker because you should know that not all market orders are available at all online forex brokers.Take Profit Orders: Use the take profit order to lock in profits when you have an open position in the market. An old market saying, “You can’t go broke taking profits.” If you are long EUR/USD at 1.2845, your take profit order will be to sell the position somewhere higher close to 1.2875. Suppose you are short GBP/USD at 1.2354. Your take profit order will be to buy back the position and be place somewhere below 1.2334. Making you a profit of 20 pips!Limit Orders: Don’t forget the saying, “Buy low and sell high”. A limit order is any market order that triggers a trade at more favorable levels than the current market price. The limit order must be placed somewhere above the current market price if the limit order is to sell. The limit order must be entered somewhere below the current market price if the order is to sell.

Invest In Gold

The importance of gold in terms of wealth cannot be undermined. Gold is unarguably one of the most precious elements on the earth. However, the sources are limited. Gold is becoming rarer with each passing day and hence, the price of gold is continuing to rise higher and higher.Invest in Gold Therefore, it is a perfect alternative to trade gold. It is thus advisable that you buy gold when the price decreases in the market. Later on, when there is a rise in the price, you may sell gold in the market. Before you start to invest in gold, it is best to have a perfect strategy for investing in gold. You also have to be familiar with the market that deals in bullion to get the maximum benefits.Invest in Gold Next, investing in gold bullion bars of different sizes and weights like ounces, grams and kilograms is also a better option. To buy gold bullion of 10-ounce bar, which consist of a fine purity of 99.5% is the standard unit and may be the best vital alternative not only in gold trading, but also for personal use.There are many advantages of bullion gold. It is similar to stocks and can be traded at the latest market rates. Gold bullion is not only considered a tangible asset, but also an investment that ensures total security and value during the time of financial inflations or crisis.Invest in Gold Due to the multiple benefits, majority of investors think that it is better to invest in gold certificates. You can trade gold freely in the gold market by investing in gold certificates or funds. Gold funds and certificates are completely insuredFor investing in gold, bullion coins surely proves to be one of the best options. By selling gold bullion, you may earn cash in times of emergencies or urgency, while saving the others. By doing this, you will save some extra expenses. As these coins come in small sizes, there is no need of cutting them in more small pieces.

Trading Secrets

Trading is speculating. It is not investing. It is not the buy and hold strategy that was taught to you. Trading can be challenging. Trading is a risky business and requires active participation. Speculation is done in the hope of profiting from market fluctuations by taking a business risk. It also requires putting your money on the side of the trade on which you think the market is going to go up or down. Successful speculation requires predicting outcomes and analyzing different market situations.Trading Secrets If you are a trader, you should appreciate the fact that if you apply the correct techniques for analyzing trades, manage your money and protect your trading account, you can be wrong 70 percent of the time and still be a successful trader. How is that possible? It is only possible by entering a trade where the risk/reward ratio is less than 1/3.Right now forex and gold markets are really hot while the stock market is down. Stock market was a great investment opportunity a few years back. Over time, opportunity keeps on shifting from one market to another. Gold prices are going up. Those investors who entered this trend in the gold market by investing at the right time if they are going to ride the trend till it lasts in the gold market will make a lot of money. At the moment almost everyone is investing in gold as a hedge against likely USD depreciation. Everyone includes countries like China, Russia, India, hedge funds, institutional investors like big corporation and big banks, and retail investors. Trading Secrets Last year in 2008, oil prices had reached almost $140 per barrel in a matter of few months. Many hedge funds had made a lot of money by investing in crude oil futures in the year 2008. Then the bubble burst and oil prices came tumbling down to almost close to $35 per barrel. This situation may continue for some months or some years but suddenly you will find that crude oil futures have become a great investment opportunity again. Right now oil prices are down due to the reduced demand in the global markets.Timing for entering the market and the timing for exiting the market is very important for a successful trade. In trading it is the timing that is of essence. As the global economy recovers and demand for oil increases, oil prices will again go up in a few years time.Trading Secrets Investors and traders make the mistake of focusing only on one market. Many end up spending time on only one market. In reality all the markets are interlinked. Futures, options, forex, stocks, commodities, all markets are effected and in return effect other markets. If something happens in one market, you will find the repercussions in the other markets. Successful trading requires mastering a strategy that enables you to trade multiple markets and multiple time frames.Many traders get stuck up with one market. They want to master that market. They trade only one instrument. They do testing and development. They put on a million indicators. Then they go and trade live that instrument. While they do everything they can while spending all kinds of time trying to figure out one market and one timeframe. But then what almost happens is that the market starts to go sideways. The opportunity shifts to another market.

Rollovers in Forex

Rollovers represent the intersection of interest rate markets and forex markets.When an open position from one value date or settlement date is rolled over to the next value date or settlement date, this is known as a Rollover in forex trading. Rollovers are unique to the forex markets.Keep this in mind what you are trading is in fact the good old cash. Currency is money after all. So when you talk of money, interest rates naturally come into play. Rollover rates depend on the difference between the interest rates of the two currencies in the pair that you are trading.You should expect an interest gain/expense on holding a currency position over time. It is similar to earning interest on a bank deposit and paying interest on a loan. It is like having a deposit in a bank account when you are long on a currency. It’s like take a loan from the bank if you are short.Interest rate differential is the difference between the interest rates between the two currencies. You should think of the open currency position as one currency with the positive balance (the currency you are long) and one with negative balance (the currency you are short).You should look for the base or benchmark lending rates in each country. The interest rates of two different countries apply because your accounts are in two different currencies. You can find the benchmark lending interest rates of different countries from any good financial website like the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, CNBC etc.If you hold an open position past the settlement date or value date, rollovers are usually carried out by your forex broker. The smaller the impact of the rollovers, the narrower the interest rate differential! The larger the impact from rollovers, the larger the interest rate differential!Some online forex brokers apply the rollover rates by applying the rollover credit or debit directly to your margin balance. Other forex brokers apply the rollover rates by adjusting the average rate of your open position. Rollovers are applied to your open currency position by two offsetting trades that result in the same open position.Day traders don’t have to worry about rollovers. Rollovers do not apply for day traders who usually close their positions at the end of each trading day. Rollovers are not applied if you don’t carry a position over the change in the value date. Rollovers only apply to your over night open position carried over to the next day. Rollovers are applied to open position after 5.00 PM EST change in value date.If you are short the currency with the higher interest rate and long the currency with the low interest rates, rollovers will cost you money. If you are long the currency with the higher interest rate and short the currency with the lower interest rate, rollover can earn you interest income.

FAPT Evolution

If you saw the Fapt Evolution proofpage yesterday, I am sure a ton of questions kept running through your mind. How can a forex robot has such an extreme performance? What are the differences between all those crappy metatrader 4 robots and this new java based platform one? Why are spreads so much better here? and most important: How the hell does this robot manage to pull in USD 8,400 in REAL CASH in a SINGLE DAY of autotrading?FAPT EvolutionWell the good news is they promised to answer all of those questions plus give out a FREE copy of Fapt Evolution robot to a lucky winner! How? Simple. Just attend one of the two free webinars that are being held tomorrow! 1 winner per webinar will be chosen randomly among the participants, so make sure to be there early before the rooms are full! Time's running out - the long awaited Fapt Evolution webinar's going to take place very soon.People have so many questions... they want to know so much and this is the chance to get those important questions answered by the Fapt development team themselves. I love it when product vendors are accountable for what they sell... that they back up their product and efforts... that they don't hide behind some hyped up sales page...FAPT EvolutionWhen it comes to accountability and transparency, the Fapt team is #1 - HANDS DOWN! Make sure you join their webinar - places are restricted and I expect them all to be full within a few minutes of the start, so go here now:2 Copies Are Being Given Away At N0 Cost The Fapt team is giving away 2 copies of Fapt Evolution during the special webinar they're conducting. This is your chance not just to participate in one of the more important forex events of the year but also to win one of those copies of the most sought-after Forex robot in the world!Remember that only 2,000 copies will ever be released so it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get one of the complimentary licenses - there's a fairly high probability that the 2,000 copies will be sold before you have a chance to get yours. Participate in the webinar - ask what you need to ask... grill the Fapt team a bit... and, of course, try to get your hands on one of those Fapt Evolution copies here:FAPT EvolutionOhhh - before I forget...We hope you saw the amazing earnings shown on the FAPT Evolution proof page yesterday...The website has received a record number of hits! The buzz revolving around FAPT Evolution is out of control! Some of the biggest names in the forex industry have beta tested this software and are verifying the unbelievable earnings claims FAPT Evolution has been making. 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The response regarding the account proofs on the Evolution website has been phenomenal! People are emailing me raving about how profitably this robot has been performing and simply asking me when and where they can get it. I hope you got the chance to see how well those accounts have been performing and understood why there is so much excitiment right now from 10's of thousands of people! You can always access them here:This is what Steve, Mike and Uli, Marcus B. Leary, Andreas Kirchberger, the whole of Forex Guru Club and the FAPT Team say about FAPT Evolution: "Fapturbo "Evolution" is about to be released. FAPT Evolution is the most powerful and stable Forex Robot we have ever developed. Some of our beta testers literally suggested we not sell FAPT Evolution to the masses, but rather limit sales so as to not dilute FAPT Evolution and its money making capabilities. We decided to appease them as a form of compromise of sorts by limiting copies sold (unlike the original fapturbo).FAPT EvolutionDevelopment of this new super robot has been in the works for over 8 months and we are EXTREMELY proud of it.. This is a first in the industry.The first of its kind, to bring together an automated forex trading solution encompassing both the perfect broker and the perfect artifical moneymaker. A robot which abandoned the metatrader4 programming language in favor of something RADICALLY more powerful for a platform with very stable spreads.Second, because the forex market is so huge, selling LIMITED copies will supply us with real live trading info and data... allowing us to perfect and tweak. If you are one of the lucky few traders to get FAPT Evolution we urge you to post your results in the FAPT Evolution Forum enabling us to analyze your personal results so we may hone our skills and keep rocking.We really feel as though it's PERFECT as it is but hey we digress.