HOW TO TIME YOUR ENTRY WELL... FOR SCALPERS...

1. First and foremost, avoid the Asian Session or at least minimise your trading activity. Market volume is particularly low during most Asian Sessions.

2. Trade the London Session only. This session is always the best as it presents a whole bundle of opportunities to scalp either way using a smaller time-frame, in which in this case I always prefer the 15 minutes.

3. Be particularly aware of the 1 hour interval, followed by 15 minutes and so on. Minimise your entry anything in between. I personally do not prefer or recommend the M1 timeframe but there are scalpers using this TF for sure.

4. Check the economic news release time for the day. Either you enter 15 minutes before or after the news or just stay out. Never be caught unaware... It's costly.

5. Watch and mark the daily top and bottom plus previous day top and bottom as well as the week's high and low. These levels are vital for scalpers in order to time your entry particularly during a directionless market.

6. Scalpers should use more technical indicators rather than fundamental.

7. Set your trading plan upfront and stick to the plan, ie 100 pips (ie 10 pips x 10 trades) or 100 dollars. What is your target/aim for the day. Go for it...

8. Study the market condition first. Not all days are good for you to scalp. If the market is not moving, just stay out... don't put blind hope unless you have a technical reason to hold on to your position.

9. Choose your tradable pair accordingly. Do not trade all the pairs or open too many positions that you yourself start to forget about.

10. Above all, always apply strict money management rules. You will be wrong at times for sure but prudent money management strategy will protect your account. Of course this is easy said than done...

Last but not least, set your TP and SL accordingly, normally in a close range in which from my point of view, scalpers shall focus more on entry accuracy rather than aiming for a home-run in each trade.

It's a bit tedious but statistically, it has shown that scalping is more exciting and profitable to me.

Have A Nice Day.

SWINGER VS SCALPER... PROS & CONS...

Swinger

1. Using bigger time frame, normally 4 hours, Daily and above.
2. Used a lot of technical indicators and confirmation before a good setup is identified, particularly with Moving Averages.
3. Hold position up to weeks or even months on a single trade.
4. Need a lot of patience waiting for the best setup.
5. Normally swinger used bigger stop loss or hedging position in order to protect their position.
6. Swinger goes with bigger profit target with 500 pips and above.
7. Need lesser works compared to scalper.
8. Success rate normally lower but one good swing trade can cover a number of unsuccessful trades.
9. Normally applied by institutional or more experienced traders whom hardly spend time a lot in front of the  trading screens.
10. A bit difficult to enter during high volatility period in the market.
11. To get the best entry for a swing trade is the hardest part in which most of my profitable positions turn to be on breakeven even after having a 300+ pips in profit.

Scalper

1. Using smaller time frame, normally 15 minutes and below.
2. Hit and run concept, some even take profit at less than 10 pips per trade.
3. Generates a lot of trade in a day, normally more than 10 trades.
4. High success rates, typically between 70% to 80% if wisely done.
5. Need more works compared to swinger.
6. Chances of making mistakes are significantly high if poor or no money management applied in trading.
7. Tendency to get greedy is normally high with scalping.
8. Significantly dangerous during high volatility.
9. Easily done in a range or trending market movement.
10. Scalpers are on disadvantage side during a market breakout, in which taking a small profit even the opportunity to hit a home run is there.
11. Last but not least, you need to be highly accurate with your entry. When wrong, cut losses immediately by closing that losing position without second thought and stupid hopes. Trust me, blind hopes will only kill your account.

One way or another, there are pros and cons for both type of traders. I couldn't say which is which is better as I personally tried both. Frankly speaking, I prefer to scalp rather than swing as it is not easy to get a good entry for a swing trade.

Scalping is a lot easier especially if you have a strict risk management strategy that will protect you in the long run. All you need is a sound strategy and a good system that gives you the cutting edge in winning trades every now and then.

To me, being a swinger is also ok but perhaps I am more on the scalping side. My own statistics have shown that I made more money with scalping rather than swinging.

But nevertheless, I do believe that either way is ok as long as you know what you are doing. I will swing once in a while with perhaps 1% risk factor (or less) compared to scalping with normally 2% to 3% is at risk.

Bottom line is... just decide which type of trader you are and plan a strategy that you want to apply... then focus on making money and cutting losses. Stick to these rules and success shall prevail.

Have A Nice Weekend.

DEAR MY FELLOW FOREX TRADERS...

I may not be that experience (compared to those who've done this for more than 10 years and above) in trading forex but by the end of next Month (December)... it will be my 1095th day, 36 months or 3 years in this arena. I still consider weekend as part of those days as even though I did not trade, most of the time I still used those time to think, study and analyze my trading skills, mistakes and analysis for the following week.

Along these 3 years period, I have a number of students of my own and there are people and friends who believe that I am already doing this exceptionally well and ready to take it on full time.

The fact though, it is not as sweet and easy as my original plan. I did make big profit at times but at the same time, I did encounter big losses as well during these past 3 years. All in all, I am more on the breakeven side rather than significantly profitable.

Though technically I may be a better trader compared to 3 years ago, but financially, I still need a little more time to be on the freedom site, meaning that I still have to be in my day-job office from 8 to 5 weekly. The security to take this on full time is yet to exist though fundamentally I feel ready to take it on full time basis.

Anyway, as usual there are reasons for me to write this article. The points below are those reasons that I would like to reiterate to my fellow traders, especially those who just started.

1. Anything can happen in this market. Don't be overconfident with your analysis. You can't be right/wrong 100% of the time. That's for sure.

2. Don't fight the market. Surely they are stronger than you. If you're wrong, just ESCAPE.

3. Money management is the key to profit and survival. Without it, your account is just like a time-bomb. You only need ONE MISTAKE to burn everything. ONE MISTAKE... that's it.

4. You need a good system that has the cutting edge for you to win trades most of the time. Find it yourself. There are various systems out there. Only one thing to remember, there is no PERFECT system.

5. You need to stick to your trading plan. Self control is the key.

6. You need to be accountable on every trade decision. Don't blame your spouse if you make bad trades.

7. You need to stay out from the market once in a while and enjoy your life by doing something else, especially on the weekend.

8. Invest on knowledge as well as tools for you to trade. Learn, undertsand and respect the market. I don't see people making millions by buying a USD96 system and trading from a single notebook all the time. Proper knowledge and trading station are vital for consistent trade results.

9. You need to make a thorough analysis prior to making your trade decision. You and anyone else could be wrong in one way or another. No one's perfect.

10. Above all... you need to have PATIENCE and DISCIPLINE in order to become a successful trader.

Remember guys, trading is a game that has the odds against you almost all of the time. The brokers are like casinos that make money regardless of whether you make money or not. So be smart when playing this game. Being emotional will only kill you...

Hence, though I do not consider myself as a gambler by trading, I still believe that in order to make money in this market... You have to strive to become the top 10% of traders in the world.

Being ordinary or average is not an option. Like in any game or sports, average players do not make the headlines, fortunes or money in anything that they do. Though it is easy to say that trading is just as simple as clicking the BUY or SELL button on your trading station, the fact is... it is not that easy when it comes to dealing with real money.

Emotion, greed and fear can easily creep into your decision without you even realizing it. So be aware of these trading virus every time you sit in front of your trading screens.

So fellow traders... in short, I just want to say that like all the successful traders out there, you too can be successful but you must have the guts to:

- Learn, Learn and Learn... there is no shortcut...
- Take losses when you're wrong.
- Have strong patience and discipline to stay, survive and prosper in the long run...

Nothing comes easy for sure... but at the same time, nothing is impossible too...

Have A Nice Day!