Anyone who has invested any time researching Forex on the web has run across the myriad of Forex Forums which exist on the net. Some are sponsored by the various leading brokers in the arena, and many are ad-supported Discussion boards planning to gather traders together to chat about the trading and strategy topics of the day. Certainly there is much to be learned from the Forums, specifically to somebody who is still rounding out their Foreign Exchange training. But, is there a chance that information overload can distract and extend the time of the ambitious trader’s growth and have a marked harmful affect on the trader’s eventual success.
The true trouble with Forex Forums is that every person who takes part is attempting to put on their “best face”, and there are usually claims of achievement and mastery, when in reality the “systems” that are being promoted in many cases are difficult to quantify and relate to others. The real truth is that the majority of Forums are a collection of “seekers”, all of whom are trying to determine who has it “figured out” so they can emulate that system and discover the success that is persistently eluding them. As every new “superstar” system comes along, the gaggle of seekers hurry in and spend time reviewing and perhaps adopting this new strategy. Not only will they spend their valuable time evaluating, getting to know, and setting up their charts/platform to adopt the new system, even worse, they often commit real money to the testing of the system hoping that THIS may be the one that changes everything. This path continues until they take a few losses, and it seems that the new system is not the greatest thing since sliced bread, so they retreat into the Forum to begin the process once again, and to seek security in the company of other people who are having the same experiences.
What they fail to understand, in most instances, is that the simple fact that these people are still SEEKING is proof that they don’t genuinely have an understanding of the character of professional, successful trading. The state of mind of the “Holy Grail” seeker is one that consistently searches for the newer, better and easier method for trading the markets. As a result, they spend enormous quantities of time, energy and capital bouncing from one system to the next, looking, poking, seeking, and in due course beginning from scratch again and again.
Going to the Forex Forums searching for a new system, or trying to get the advice of the community on the one’s “system du jour” is a sure sign that the trader is proceeding in the wrong direction. Trading success is not measured by how many different strategies you can learn and master, or in your capability to sit down at any chart, at any time and find a trade right away. Those who try to find a way to “rule” the market are condemned to failure, because the market is much too substantial and complex to be “ruled”. The trader must recognize that the market will do what it will do, and we can only try to be along for the ride as an unnoticeable tag along, purposefully choosing when to be in and when to be out, taking advantage of only the greatest probability prospects.
True trading mastery is almost always a consequence of focusing on one definable strategy or set of strategies and trading only that set of strategies for a lengthy period of time, all the while refining and sharpening the system via trade reviews, data accumulation and market condition analyses. Generally, these techniques are based in time tested and validated trading systems that professional traders have been using for hundreds of years while trading all sorts of things from rice in Japan to pork bellies in Chicago – and, of course, Forex, all over the world.
The true value in a Forex Forum is discovered when, in contrast to perplexing and distracting a trader, that Forum is used to channel the energies of a trader or group of traders, and focus their time and attention on one set of effective methods. That team of traders then will become almost like a support group for each other as they work collectively to become an expert in the group’s methods. One member’s helpful hints can be swiftly and effortlessly displayed to and adopted by the remainder of the group, and as the group evolves and profits, each member will as well. For this to transpire, however, you must recognize that these traders must have all been properly trained the same way and must have adopted the methods of the group.
Any Forum that makes it possible for traders to come in from every direction, every week touting all manners of just about every conceivable strategy is simply bound to become a graveyard for aspiring traders until those traders fully grasp the detrimental consequences that “system searching” can have on their development as a professional trader. The sooner traders extricate themselves from that game, the better.
The best guidance for an aspiring novice trader is to get a solid education that is primarily based on the foundational concepts of proper technical analysis. Be sure to go with a training course that gives you a well rounded education that includes the following: Market Analysis, Risk Analysis, Trend Analysis, Time Frame Analysis, Pattern Recognition, Evaluating Confluence, Strategic Entries, Trade Management, Money Management, Position Sizing, Trader Psychology, Trading Plan Development, Advanced Tactics for Maximizing Profits, Professional Advice on Trade Tracking and Trade Journaling, and Professional Advanced Trade Tactics.
