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 Auto-trading robots seem to be a dime a dozen these days, and cheap or free forex trading education is hyped up all over the internet, ready to lure in the inexperienced, the gullible, and the seasoned feverish gamblers, all of which make up the ninety-five percent of the forex trading failure rate. 

You and many others might think, “what a crock!”  But what keeps bringing all of these failing traders back for more punishment?  Why don’t they just give up after taking such a beating from the forex market and it’s infamous charade of friendly, helpful, market maker brokers?  And what is it that eventually leads those who can afford it to pay big dollars to finally get the right combination of education from a seasoned forex educator and strategist, from whom they will finally learn proven, trading strategies that really work?  They keep coming back because of the rumors of the 5% who are the forex elite, whom they practically worship as Forex deities that really make money from the market.  And some of them are said to make very BIG money.

Well, where are they.  Have you ever met a forex deity, rolling in an endless heaven of money, living on easy street without a care in the world?   There is no such forex guru, no forex deity, not even a simple, quiet, successful forex trader, who does not have to learn to compensate for the corruption of the many Market Maker Brokers, and for their own human weaknesses: all types of negative or misleading emotions, fatigue, boredom, distraction, impatience, impulsivity, and the ever-lurking temptation to be gambling, instead of wisely trading, in the market.  These are weaknesses that must be dealt with correctly and consistently by every trader, no matter who they are, in order to prevent losses and keep the profits that have been earned.  Even the best struggle to overcome such great odds against them with such consistency.  Hence, the invention of the silver bullet has been attempted through a vast array of all types of mechanical auto-trading software robots (Trading Bots) and Expert Advisors (EAs).

What an exciting concept!  A virtual robot that takes away all responsibility for decision making and erroneous judgment.  No more worries over sleep deprivation, boredom, unpredictable market surprises, missed opportunities, or education.  Even a dummy can do it.  Just Plug it in, turn it on, and money starts to roll in effortlessly and endlessly.  What sounds wrong with this picture?  Why don’t we see every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Jane, giving up their sad little career because they are raking in tens of millions of dollars at home from their Trading Robot?  Because it is not realistic to think that there would not be any opposition to this utopian forex plan created behind a very rosy colored pair of forex glasses. 

Trading Bots and EAs have been typically created by the inexperienced and naive who really believe there is a way to completely mechanize a trade plan to make them effortless millions, or by the dishonest and corrupt who already know that it will only work well under ideal circumstances for a while, but will ultimately fail due to an inability to see market changes ahead and broker sabotage, which causes the loss of all of the money entrusted to and made by the Robot.  But these scammers are still willing to take advantage of all of those gullible greedy scam targets out there, who want are just itching to get rich quick with no effort, no risk, and no responsibility for the growth and management of an investment.  How many people like this are there that are just waiting, practically begging, to be taken advantage of,  Especially when they can get it for a mere investment of only $99?  If this was reality, why aren’t the inventors and the programmers making Tens of millions of dollars doing it themselves.  Why would anyone sell such a gold mine for $99 bucks to any and everyone who wants it, just to flood the market to make it obsolete? The answer is too obvious.  

The reality is: Trading robots are not capable of making snap changes in judgment, reading historical market patterns, forecasting the future market trends and patterns, and they only do exactly what they have been programmed to do according to mathematical measurements and equations.  They cannot think for themselves to change a plan when the market conditions require it, but often continue to make trades in the wrong direction because they cannot see ahead of the tick by tick moment, or it gets stopped out too many times in a sideways market, witling away the account margin to nothing.  Actually, the auto trading robot needs what the living, breathing, educated trader has, but does not know how to consistently and effectively manage and control; and the educated human trader needs the mechanical ability of the robot to consistently be able to mechanize and automate an emotion free and perfected trade plan, while still being able to manually adjust the trade plan according to presently changing conditions and future forecasted market expectations.  How would that be, to combine all of the advantages of the mechanical world, together with all of the advantages and abilities of human judgment and foresight? 

Truly, the best of both these worlds, brought together to act as one, in symmetry, is an idea worth considering and pursuing.  Educated and experienced human judgment would compensate for the weaknesses of the brainless mechanism of programmed automation, and the relentless consistency computer programmed automation would compensate for the unstable emotional interference and physical limitations of the human trader.  This could be the ultimate forex trading cyborg partnership.  A Star Trek adventure with the seasoned veteran knowledge and experience of Captain Kirk, with the programmed automation and efficiency of Spok and Data, all fused together, going where know man has ever gone before in their forex trading experience.

As a Forex Trading Strategist and Mentor to many students, I am always searching to find and/or develop the best strategies, methodologies and tools both educated and assist my students in becoming successful trading strategists and traders.  I have become acutely aware of the greatest challenge that all traders must face and overcome, if they are to ultimately become profitable traders.  It is themselves, and their emotional interference. 

For this reason, I have been working closely together with my coaching staff to design just such a marriage of education, experience, and programmed automation that can further help me and my coaching staff to not only teach all of the most effective trading concepts and strategies, but to transfer and instilled into my students the full array of skills, experience and  technical advantages that will give them the greatest security behind their tuition investment, and an insurance plan to back them up in case they happen to be among those who are never quite as able as the few in that 5% who capabilities of managing their emotions enough to achieve the trading consistency required to trade forex profitably.  This requires a complete commitment to a balanced and proper combination of trading education so as to be able to effectively compensate for the weaknesses of the automated trading system being developed for them.  I call it, “The Forex Guardian Angel.”  It will only be provided to those who are committed to become truly well educated and experienced traders, working together with me and my staff in real-time market analysis and forecasting sessions both one-on-one and in group mentoring sessions, then, trading real-time all together during the New York Forex Market opening immediately afterward.  It’s a concept that I am anxious to see come together for my own benefit, and for the benefit of all of my students. 

The trade plan that is being programmed into the Forex Guardian Angel is taken from one of my favorite and most successful strategies, and the beta testing phase will begin soon with any of my students who wish to participate.  All they have to do is to be enrolled in at least my Forex Tidal Wave level program with a full an absolute commitment to completing both of the next higher Forex Tsunami Wave and Forex Perfect Storm levels.  In this manner, all those students who use this auto-trading system will have the best education that money can buy, to best compensate for the potential weaknesses of this robot treading system, to have as little risk as possible, with the greatest odds of a successful and consistent trading experience.  

My staff and I will work with all students until they are profitable and completely satisfied with their trading.  I guaranteed it in writing.  You should go to my website at www.forexcoachingpros.com to learn more about my trading strategies, values, and philosophies.  Then go to learn about my Forex Tidal Wave home-study levels of trading education at www.forexhomestudy.com .

Stephen Story / Forex Trading Strategist

 

 

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After listening to my free Tips on Trading video series at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ForexCoachingPros&view=videos or on my website at www.forexcoachingpros.com , many people want to know more about Market Makers, ECN Brokers, and how to choose a fare Forex Broker.  They also want to know whether or not it is possible to trade successfully with a Market Maker, a retail Broker who will offer them higher leverage than an Electronic Commerce Network (ECN) Brokers.  Let me elaborate on these matters.

 

First of all, yes, it is challenging, but still possible to trade successfully in the artificial trading environment created by Market Makers, more with some than with others, who create or “make” their own market.  From hence comes their name, “Market Makers,” all of whom offer trades from their own liquidity pools, instead of from the true inter-bank market.  However, Successful trading with a Market maker is more challenging and of higher risk.  To trade successfully with these retail Market Makers or with any counter trading Broker or their liquidity provider who, in a conflict of interest, controls the trade platform they provide to the trader, requires an understanding of the counter traders position, their financial motivation, their self-preservation tactics, and how to best compensate for them.  Only with this knowledge, together with a proper knowledge of trading, can the trader learn to win enough of the time, and for long enough, to become a successful trader in the artificial Forex market provided by counter trading brokerage services, whether through their personal dealing desk or directly through the dealing desk of their liquidity provider.

 

Of course, since the client’s/trader’s trading successes are the counter trader’s or Market Maker’s losses, the higher the account leverage offered to the trader from the counter trader/Broker, the greater the risk for that Broker, and therefore, the more tactical interference that Broker will create in order to protect his interests. If you are among the few who are still successful enough at high leverage trading, despite the usual tactical sabotage from the Market Maker, most, if not all Market Makers will eventually resort to more drastic measures to protect their interests, even if they end up being threatened with complaints to the National Futures Association (NFA) which could result in an investigation for unethical or dishonest Broker Dealer practices.  No Broker wants an investigation, so this is how the Brokers more drastic self-preservation methods will likely unfold.

 

The successful account is flagged as a high risk account.  With this account, the Market Maker will go so far as to strategically interrupt the data-feed signal to delay trade closes for seconds or minutes.  Instead of cutting signal, sometimes the Broker will lock up the trading platform, entirely.  This prevents active winning trades from closing at significant market turning points in a profit, and allows the Market Maker to force the winning trade into a losing position before unlocking the platform so that it must be closed out at a loss, sometimes even a margin call.  Either of these methods, among others, is very profitable to the Broker. 

 

If and when the trader complains, the Broker will likely claim that it is due to freak or periodic liquidity issues that are beyond his control and that the client must accepted this as part of the risks of trading the Forex.  The Broker hopes that the trader will fall for this lie, accept responsibility, and give up the fight, which is exactly what most naive traders do.  If that deception doesn’t work, then the broker may claim that there is nothing that he can do about it, hoping still that the client will still give up the fight.  Many do just that.  For those clients who still persist, he may try to accuse the client of using some kind of an unethical trading edge and that that he simply cannot allow unethical clients to be successful, or to trade any longer with their firm.  If the client is now persistent, angry, and smart enough to threaten filing a claim with the NFA, the Broker will likely shift his tactical position to negotiating a settlement, offering a small fraction of the amount lost, in stead of the prospect of wading through a long drawn out investigation from the NFA that may or may not result in a favorable decision for the trader.  Most remaining traders cave in at this point and accept some kind of offer to make an adjustment to their account, restoring 10 to 30 percent of their loss.  After all, the Broker will reason with the client, if you are good enough to get this far with your account, then you could build it all back again faster, and much more, before you would ever get an answer to your complaint to the NFA, right?  Wrong! 

 

This might all make perfect sense, accept the trader is somehow never able to experience the same kind of result with that broker service, either due to tactical maneuvering from the Market Maker to prevent success, or by a combination of that, and the new emotional interference in the mind of the trader who is never able to completely mentally accept the injustice of the settlement. Eventually, the trader finally realizes that the Broker new at the time of the settlement that this client/trader’s account would forever more be flagged as a high risk account, to be regularly sabotaged, never again to be allowed to become so successful. 

 

Of course the Broker will have also had the trader sign a release, waiving the Broker of all responsibility, and even promising to never speak of this “freak” or “unfortunate” incident, and of the settlement, to anyone else.  This probably also includes a clause agreeing and to never file a complaint about the incident to the NFA. Alas, the complaint to the NFA would probably have been a more profitable choice, even if the investigation did take many months.  Then again, greater persistence may have resulted in a much higher settlement offer from the Broker, perhaps even a full restoration of the losses in question to the traders account.  Now that the client has capitulated, the Broker must now decide whether or not to continue allowing the client to trade an account with his firm.  If he decides to allow the client to continue trading, it is only because the Broker wants a chance to get his settlement money back.  Frankley, it is better to take your money and go somewhere else.

 

With this in mind about the nature of the Market Maker, once you are able to build a sizeable enough account with a market Maker, it is best to transition to an ECN Broker.  The ECN Broker does not take the counter trade position against you. This changes their incentive to do all they can to help you become a long lasting successful trader. Your long and successful trading experience is how they will make more money.  In a few cases, their are ECN Brokers, or their Introducing Brokers (IBs), who will allow rather small initial account sizes, offering mini accounts with 10K unit sizes with fractional lot trading for flexibility.  ECNs make a spread fee and a commission valued at about 1 extra pip per trade in the market, but their commission, in addition to their more reasonable spread rate, is still well worth it.

 

You must watch out, however, for those Market Makers who attempt to present themselves as ECN Brokers by claiming to have no dealing desk, and to not take the counter trade position against you.  Some of these retail Brokers are still Market Maker like wolves in ECN sheep’s clothing.  They sub-let or delegate their Market Maker tactics to another, or they simply choose to represent their liquidity provider’s interest who is the one really offering the trade and who also controls the trade platform, spread rate variations, and the power to manipulate the trade platform and the artificial market against the trader, by design, to sabotage their trades.  Don’t be fooled.

 

Now, some of the most reasonable existing ECN Brokers, in order of the lowest account sizes available, are the following:

 

1. www.mbtrading.com  ($400+)

2. www.efx.com  (IB for mbt $500+)

3. www.pfgbestdirect.com  (IB for pfg $1,000+ for my students)

4. www.atcbrokers.com  (IB for hotspot $3,000+)

5. www.hotspot.com  ($7,500+)

6. www.interactivebrokers.com  ($10,000)

Other ECNs are higher.

 

Of these, and of all other ECNs Brokers or their IBs, the best ones are those who will provide a neutral trade platform that acts as a blind bridge between the trader and the counter trader, preventing the counter trader from having control over the trade platform, and keeping the counter trader from seeing what the trader is doing with each of his/her trades. The IBs for ECN Brokers tend to claim this capability/service and the IBs are the ones who would be most motivated to stand by this claim.  The IBs make much more money when the trader, their client, is successful.

 

The bottom line:  If possible, the trader does not want the counter trader to have knowledge or control of three things:

 

1, the trade platform to manipulate the timing of  your trade entries, and especially your trade exits. 

2, the variable spread rate and the interpretation of a fast moving market that determines the justification for variation in spread rate. 

3. the knowledge of where the trader is placing protective stops and take profit limits.

 

Most traders do not yet have access to the higher privileged currenex trading platforms and to institutional trading, but these privileges offer more competitive advantages and blind bridge services than the retail brokers.  This requires much more money in an account, and much more experience as a trader to be worth risking that much money.  Its better to start practicing live trading only after you have proven a successful trade plan in a demo account, and then to begin live trading with a very small amount of money until you have obtained the experience and ability to grow a live account enough to transition to higher account sizes, advantages, and privileges.

 

To do this, you must have the right combination of trading education, proven trading skills, a proven trading plan, and the self-discipline to stick to that plan as it has been refined under demo and live trading.

 

There will never be a perfect broker.  There will always be risks and the necessity of accepting losses.  And, there will certainly always be the trader’s emotions to manage, to control, or to eliminate, through belief system and though pattern rewiring, re-establishment, and reconstruction.  After all the rest, this is, of course, the ultimate challenge that every trader must face and overcome.

 

Stephen Story

Forex Trading Strategist

support@businesscoachpros.com

www.forexcoachingpros.com

1-800-818-1023 Ext 3001

 

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I’ve created 35 free “Tips On Trading” videos for your viewing pleasure and education. You can see them all at the link below. I hope they are useful to you. Please visit me soon.

http://www.ForexCoachingPros.com

Sincerely … Stephen

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I believe there are three basic categories under which you can sum up the 90 to 95% failure rate among both new and armature forex traders, often even seasoned armatures.

1. Trusting Market Makers: The vast majority of traders are attempting to educate themselves with what ever free or inexpensive education exists online, usually from Brokers and their Introducing Brokers whose goals is almost always to get you trading a real live account as soon as possible. That’s the only way they can start making any money from entry and exit order spread fees and commissions. The simple fact of the matter is, they don’t need to make any money on the front end for education as long as they are going to be taking the counter trade position to every trade you enter. They know the statistics and they play the odds just like a Bookie taking bets on a horse race, only their odds are better. Why would you want to teach your clients how to trade effectively if it meant you were going to lose money every time they had a successful trade? Hello! No-Brainer!

The Retail Brokers (Market Makers) do not want you to be a successful trader, they just want you to think they do. Remember, if they are in the apposing position they are in a conflict of interest and will lose money when you win money. What do you think the odds are that they have designed all kinds of methods into the trading platform and charts, that they provide to you for free, to trip up and sabotage your trade entries or exits? Anybody familiar with these types of pop-up windows appearing at entries or exits: “Please Wait”, ” Invalid Price”, “re quote” after “re quote”, after “re quote”…, Context is Busy”, Lock-Out symbols like a “Padlock” icon, “No Connection”, and how about excessively variable spread rates at the discretion of the Market maker or the liquidity provider according to their own interpretation of a fast moving market which allow them to use it as a Stop Hunting Tool making it nearly impossible to set a reasonable stop that won’t be triggered by a false or manipulated spike in the data-feed. I’m sure that you have experienced many of these and more. But did you realize they are all manipulated by those who are providing you the free charts and trade platforms and usually the fx education you are depending on for you success. Wake-up Call! This leads us to item #2.

2. The Right Combination of Educational Tools and Skills: There is a lot of poor free FX education offered online. Or FX software packages, EAs, FX black boxes and robots seen on Infomercials, and Internet ads, presented as though FX trading can be made simple, thoughtless, brainless, so that anybody can do it successfully and get rich with no education, no effort and no sacrifice. I just spoke to a professional programmer and Expert adviser writer who says he has been testing everything he can get his hands on for the last eight years to see if any of them get enough return on to be worth the investment. He said he is still looking without success. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t get into Forex to make a measly 10 to 20 % return on my money. I could do that with a far less risky Mutual Fund.

I have learned that their are two ways to become successful in as a forex trader: 1-THROUGH THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS, if you can survive it over many unnecessarily painful years of frustrating searching, trial and error testing, and losses, or the smart way: 2-find a mentor who has already been through the gauntlet and has finally learned the right combination of education and strategy and has proven its capability through demo and live account mastery. These are not easy to come by, and when you find a real, true mentor who is willing to offer you what he/she knows, its worth anything you have to do to obtain it.

Personally, I had to pay gobs of money to several different mentors, together with the school of hard knocks in order to get my education. I have learned the hard way that investing in education is far more important that investing in a live trading account. Once you are properly educated with the right combination of education and you have learned how to master the strategies you have learned in a practice account, and you have chosen the right broker to who is incentivized to serve you, instead of his/her own interests alone, then, there is only one last thing to learn before you can become a successful FX Trader, which brings us to Item Number 3.

3. Self-Discipline in a Proven Strategy and Trade Plan: For those fortunate, favored and blessed enough to have found a mentor to guide them through the FX Labyrinth around the major pit falls and snares in the market and among market makers, the last thing they must learn to triumph over is, themselves. New traders who begin to trading real live money for the first time usually start out cautiously following their proven trade plan carefully, then, with success they become over-confidence and greed, which leads to compromising of the trade plan, which leads to eventual heavier losses, which engenders fear, hesitation, greater losses, and then crippling trepidation at the thought of entering a trade. Then emotional despair. Some give up at this point, wishing they had never tried in the first place, determining that learning to trade was all a big mistake. These are defeated by their own emotions that prevented them from working their proven trade plan.

Learning to manage and discipline ones emotions is easily said, but quite frankly, it requires learning to discover deeply rooted beliefs and though patterns that began to be planted in the farthest reaches of our minds since we were very young children. The household we grew up in, the culture that raised us, the experiences and circumstances that have perceived and responded to throughout our lives, these have shaped the pathways, the definitions and the structures of our beliefs about self, others, money, wealth, poverty, fairness, justice, injustice, etc. We also have our own personalities which have helped to determine how we have responded to and what we have chosen to believe about our life’s experiences.

You should ask yourself two questions before embarking on the quest to becoming a successful trader: 1-Do I have the confidence and the courage to discover and face myself? 2-do I have the stamina and endurance to not allow my emotions to prevent me from becoming successful. If your answers are honest in the affirmative, then you should give it everything you have to learn how. Only time will tell, but you will never know if you don’t take the chance. One thing is for sure. Those who embark on this Forex trading journey will never be the same again because they will have an opportunity to face and overcome themselves in a way that only the strong and the courageous are blessed to receive. Those who step forward and try are the only ones who have a chance of triumph, and those who triumph are the only ones who will receive the ultimate reward.

No matter how you look at it, the ultimate triumph is always more valuable than the gobs of money you may learn to make. It is the process of becoming a greater, stronger, more selfless individual through the personal sacrifices made on behalf of others on the road to discovering and becoming the happy, successful person you are intended to be. To do this, we must learn to recognize and follow the rules of successful trading and successful living.

Stephen Story http://www.forexcoachingpros.com

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This BLOG is dedicated to helping aspiring and existing Forex Traders understand more about the market, the tools, the systems, and how to be more successful.

The main personality on the BLOG is Stephen Story, a long time trader, coach, and mentor. He is creating a home based study course on Forex Trading that is based on his personal mentoring and coaching system.

To get a feel for Stephen, his style, personality, and most importantly the depth of his trading prowess, keep your eyes peeled for a whole slew of video “Tips on Trading.” We welcome any discussion on your needs, struggles, wish list for coaching and training, and what is working best for you.

Sincerely … Ed McGarr, Associate of Stephen Story

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