A READ ON FOREX FROM WIKIPEDIA: Not beating the market

The foreign exchange market is a zero sum game in which there are many experienced well-capitalized professional traders (e.g. working for banks) who can devote their attention full time to trading. An inexperienced retail trader will have a significant information disadvantage compared to these traders.
Although it is possible for a few experts to successfully arbitrage the market for an unusually large return, this does not mean that a larger number could earn the same returns even given the same tools, techniques and data sources. This is because the arbitrages are essentially drawn from a pool of finite size; although information about how to capture arbitrages is a nonrival good, the arbritrages themselves are a rival good. (To draw an analogy, the total amount of buried treasure on an island is the same, regardless of how many treasure hunters have bought copies of a treasure map.)
Retail traders are - almost by definition - undercapitalized. Thus they are subject to the problem of gambler's ruin. In a fair game (one with no information advantages) between two players that continues until one trader goes bankrupt, the player with the lower amount of capital has a higher probability of going bankrupt first. Since the retail speculator is effectively playing against the market as a whole - which has nearly infinite capital - he will almost certainly go bankrupt.
The retail trader always pays the bid/ask spread which makes his odds of winning less than those of a fair game. Additional costs may include margin interest, or if a spot position is kept open for more than one day the trade may be "resettled" each day, each time costing the full bid/ask spread.
According to the Wall Street Journal (Currency Markets Draw Speculation, Fraud July 26, 2005) "Even people running the trading shops warn clients against trying to time the market. 'If 15% of day traders are profitable,' says Drew Niv, chief executive of FXCM, 'I'd be surprised.' "
Paul Belogour, the Managing Director of a Boston based retail forex trader, was quoted by the Financial Times as saying, "Trading foreign exchange is an excellent way for investors to find out how tough the markets really are. But I say to customers: if this is money you have worked hard for – that you cannot afford to lose – never, never invest in foreign exchange." Culled from Wikipedia

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RSI: RELATIVE STRENGTH INDEX (A Closer Look)

In June 1978 Welles Wilder's article introduced the Relative Strength Index (RSI), which is a widespread oscillator. Mr. Wilder's book, "New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems", also provided step-by-step instructions on counting and explaining the RSI. The name "Relative Strength Index" is slightly deceptive, because there is no comparison of the relative strength of two securities in the RSI, but rather the single security's domestic strength. "Internal Strength Index" might be a more suitable name. Two market indices, which are often known as Comparative Relative Strength, are compared by Relative strength scales. Read More

When you place orders with a forex broker, it is extremely important that you know how to place them appropriately. Orders should be placed according

Five Keys to Predicting Forex Market Movements To profit from the fascinating world of international trade, you must have a firm grip on the key factors that affect a currency's value. When making our trades, we analyze five key factors. In order of importance, they are:

Interest Rates
Economic Growth
Geo-Politics
Trade and Capital Flows
Merger and Acquisition Activity

If you can predict how each of these factors affect your currency trades, you have the foundation to make serious returns. Read More

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TRAILING STOPS

In all forms of long-term investing and short-term trading, deciding the appropriate time to exit a position is just as (if not more) important as determining the best time to enter into your position. Buying (or selling, in the case of a short position) is a relatively less emotional action than selling (or buying, in the case of a short position). When it comes time to exit the position your profits are staring you directly in the face, but perhaps you are tempted to ride the tide a little longer, or in the unthinkable case of paper losses, your heart tells you to hold tight, to wait until your losses reverse.


At such emotional responses are hardly the best means by which to make your selling (or buying) decisions. They are unscientific and undisciplined. Many overarching systems of trading have their own techniques for determining the best time to exit a trade. But there some general techniques that will help you identify the optimal moment of exit, which ensures acceptable profits while guarding against unacceptable losses. Read More Here!