By Jimmy Cox

Two well known traders discuss entry and exit points and stock market tips are discussed. They also answer a question about how to find good momentum trades.

David: We have been asked a question about entry points. ”Every entry I make, the trade seems to go against me. I”ve tried every indicator known to man and different timeframes. I”ve tried other people’’s systems and they don”t work either.”

Stuart: It’’s often not the entry that’’s at fault. Often it’’s the exit that’’s at fault. We may be using an inappropriate exit and not allowing the conditions that got us into the trade work their magic and do what we want them to do for us in the trade.

Maybe the entry is too complicated and perhaps they were changing it or shifting it because it was too complicated. Ditch the indicators. They”ll work for some people and that’’s fine. My personal opinion is to ditch them because they don”t provide much for me. Keep things simple, and it may be worth looking at the exits more than the entries.

David: The next question is: out of the thousands of stocks that are out there, how do I pick a few that have moved with a chance of high probability each day every day without scrolling through each one.

Stuart: You”ve got to have a way to narrow them down. I remember this when I started out. There are two thousand stocks on the ASX and I only want four or five to get going. How do I narrow it down to four or five? I think the easiest way, and one of the best stock market tips, is to get software that allows you to input you own entry criteria, the conditions you want to see in stocks. Software and PCs now does it within minutes or seconds and presents you with a small list for you to then assess yourself each chart by itself.

You need software which allows you not just to bring up the chart, but to go through data, perform calculations and identify your own criteria.

David: If you don”t have access to charting software, come up with a trading method that is calculated, based on some data you might find in newspapers. Some newspapers will mark which stocks are making new six month highs or fifty-two week highs. That might be a way to thin the thousands of stocks to a few. But get yourself a charting package.

Stuart and I use Metastock, but there are plenty out there, and start with that.

The next question is how to find good momentum trades.

Stuart: Find stocks that are already in well established trends. I do that all the time. I just buy things that have gone through that period of consolidation and have now started to move up. Look for higher peaks, higher troughs, sitting above their medium term moving average whether it be 30, 50, 60 day moving average and showing the capacity and the potential to keep moving higher. With a fifty week high, clearly this stock has an upside, because with a fifty two week high there must be great demand for this stock. This is a simple way of doing that.

David: The next question is entry and exits - what is a good stop? For entry, have a methodology to identify what’’s going up. Exit points - choose an appropriate one. For good stops, you can use percentage, ATR or technical and the lowest low.

Find appropriate entry and exit points and buy some software to sort out the best stocks to buy. These are the best stock market tips for any beginner trader.

About The Author

Find out more about Trading and Profit. Visit www.tripletradingprofits.com today.

By Jimmy Cox

You have now tested your trade system at least once and have the results sitting in front of you. So how do you interpret those results and make informed trading system tweaks? Read on and I”ll tell you.

As I”ve mentioned before, trading, as a business, is unique in that you can test your business before you ever risk a cent. You can gain a complete and intricate understanding of how your trade system works. Through testing, you will discover how even a slight change in your system’’s variables can have dramatic effect. And the more you play around with these variables, the more you will come to understand the relationships between them.

An example of this can be seen in the relationship between risk and reward. Systems that tend to have higher returns also tend to have larger drawdowns (risk). In the past, I have designed systems that return up to 300% p.a. but they have drawdowns of over 100% - that is to say, you”re guaranteed to lose your entire float and some when trading this system. In short, the greater the reward, the greater the risk.

With this in mind the astute reader may have realised profitability isn”t the only criterion by which you should be evaluating a trading system.

Here are a few other questions you should be asking:

* What percentage of wins are you achieving against the percentage of losses?
* What is the average value of your wins compared with the average value of your losses?
* How much money can your system make, on average, for every dollar that you risk?
* How many losses in a row does your system generate?
* What is your system’’s maximum drawdown?
* How many trades does your system generate?
* And, of course, how profitable is your system?

To fully answer these, and other similar questions, you must analyse the results from your back testing. Unfortunately, with the overabundance of trading statistics which most back testing programs provide, this can be easier said than done. Let’’s take a closer look at the key metrics you need to pay close attention to.

7 Metrics You Cannot Ignore When Analysing Your Trading System:

1. Win-to-loss ratio
2. Average wins and losses
3. Expectancy
4. Maximum consecutive losses
5. Maximum drawdown
6. Number of trades
7. Profitability

These are merely the bare bones however. They form a simple checklist you should certainly apply to your trade system. To see the importance of these indicators in extensive detail please see the second part of this article which has a breakdown of each factor.

About The Author

Want to know more about Trading Systems? Visit www.ultimate-trading-systems.com to learn more.

By Creztor Tessel

Want to trade the forex markets? Forex is considered by many one of the fastest growing markets in the world. One of the reasons so many peopel are jumping on the wagon and wanting to trade forex is because it can be traded from anywhere in the world thanks to the internet. However, this leaves you with the problem of finding the best forex trading platforms. There are many brokers that all use varying kinds of trading platforms that will give you access to forex markets. Picking the right trading platform depends on a few factors, mainly what currency pair do you want to trade and what kind of flexibility are you looking for? There are several major trading software programs and they generally aren”t compatible, so you will be best to spend some time finding out their features before making a decision as to which platform to implement in your trading.

The most popular forex trading platform in the world has to be Metatrader 4. The name might not sound impressive but this is the most wide spread platform available today. If you visit a forex broker’’s website, there is a good chance that they will at least offer a demo account via Metatrader 4 or MT4 as it is commonly known. MT4 is an excellent platform because of its simplicity and versatility. The software will run on just about every kind of machine and even on many hand held devices. This is great if you trade on the go or you use different computers and operating systems but still want to be able to use the one trading platform software. Another advantage of MT4 is that it comes bundled with the ability to code your own indicators and also expert assistants. These two features are typically only found in high end platforms, but it is available all for free in MT4.

If you are a programmer or want to get someone to do some programming for you, then MT4 is excellent because you”ll be able to quickly and easily code up your indicator and get it up and running without much hassle. MT4 is known to be exceptionally easy to code for and this translates into a wide variety of different indicators being available for MT4. Things get only better when you discover that most of these indicators are available for free. Another impressive feature is the ability to use expert assistants. These EAs as they are known can be used to automate your trading strategy or system. This makes it possible for someone to fully automate their system so they don”t have to sit and watch the screen waiting for their trade setup. Simply let the trading platform do all the work of opening, closing and managing trades for you.

With so many forex trading platforms available, it can be easy to see why someone might be unsure as to which platform is the best. MT4 stands out from the crowd thanks to its versatile features and ease of use. You”ll be able to get access to almost every kind of currency pair in the forex market imaginable and if you like you can also try your hand at coding your own indicators or evening automating your trading system.

About The Author

Visit http://www.swingcurrency.com to discover how you can gain a true trading edge over the market and put yourself on the path to being a profitable trader.

By Troy Truman

If you are curious about the techniques behind currency trading, you have undoubtedly been keeping up with the new reports that suggest that a great amount of money can be made from trading foreign currencies. You may be tired of watching others be successful at something you know you could learn to do as well. There has never been a better time than now to learn currency trading. The most important thing you need to understand before you get started is that while a great percentage of traders are making huge fortunes from this endeavor, many others are losing thousands as well. The ones doing well took the time to learn how to tackle currency trading instead of jumping straight into it. If you want to be successful, you will do the same.

The first thing is to pace yourself as you learn currency trading. You would not jump from the first page of an instruction manual to the very last and expect to fill in the gaps as you go. Looking for the complicated methods before you grasp the basics will not get you the results you are looking for. As a beginner in the currency trading world, you need a thorough education in the functions of the market, styles of analysis used to forecast price movements, readability of currency trend charts and knowhow of terminology used in trading. Then, you can take the next step.

Obviously, since a great number of people are finding currency trading to be lucrative, there are successful trading methods they use that you must also learn. These tried and tested trading methods make it easier for traders to consistently get positive results from their trading because there are set rules to follow each time. Useful methods will outline when, what and how much to buy, when to sell, when to become involved in a trade and exit when the time comes. This method to learn currency trading can only be mastered through actual trading and learning from your mistakes.

As you begin testing what you have learned in the currency trading arena, you should definitely establish a money management system for yourself. This will keep you afloat even if you should make a critical mistake in your trading. Practiced traders put a greater focus on limiting risks rather than maximizing profits. The idea you must know to properly learn currency trading is that you should not be trying to make a million dollars in a week, as the risk will be too high. It is better to have a steady increase in income and protect your assets.

Successful trading requires mastering all these skills and methods, but you also need a great deal of discipline and commitment. A combination of using tried and tested methods along with a mindset of not giving up when your efforts take a slight dip will be your key to success. As you learn currency trading and master the techniques and skills you need, you will quickly begin making the income from your hard work you have been hoping for.

About The Author

Troy Truman is an online publisher providing great tips on learn currency trading. To learn more about this topic, visit http://www.CompleteOnlineinfo.com/ today!

By Troy Truman

Getting involved in currencies trading is one of the many ways to make money through the foreign exchange market, or forex. There is only one way to lose money on a long-term basis and that is to let your small losses get out of control. 95% of traders face this issue and quickly give up in an effort to prevent losing more money. The reason why such a high percentage of traders lose is because they simply do not understand how to place stops or manage equity. The result of a lack of knowledge in these critical departments is the loss of money.

Understand, first of all, that placing a stop does not eliminate or even reduce risk. It is folly to risk 10 or even 20 ticks in this way because all that happens to most traders is that they get stopped out. Of course, in order to win in anything like currencies trading, you must be willing to make a risk. The key is making a calculated risk instead of being rash. When placing a stop, you should be looking to risk between 50 and 100 ticks in a trade that would make you three to five times more than that amount at the very least. Otherwise, you are simply throwing your money away.

If you have experienced currencies trading before, you have probably gathered that this technique of stop placement will not be desirable for day traders or scalpers. However, the better way to trade is by swing trading or long term trend trading anyway, in which case the profit potential is much higher if you use this stop placement method. The goal is to get the odds on your side, increasing your chances for a profit. Of course, a profit is always the goal with currencies trading or any other potential money-making opportunity online.

The question, then, is how much money should be risked in a single trade? Many experienced traders will tell you to try to stay around a 2% risk. These traders are dealing with huge accounts that have thousands of dollars, if not more, to trade. For this reason, they will tell beginners with small currencies trading accounts that in order to get started making real money sooner rather than next year risking only 2%, you need to be bold and risk between 5% and 10%. In cases where you risk this much, be very selective about the trades you get involved in. Hit the best trades hard to come away with a win.

As you trade and begin making wins, do not succumb to what makes casinos so rich. Players believe they are on a roll and want the winnings to keep coming in. If you see that your equity has risen 20%, stop, take your earnings, and take a break from trading for a while. Lucky streaks will always run out, so recall the old adage and quit while you are ahead. If you keep these tips in mind, you will maximize your potential for earning money in the currencies trading arena.

About The Author

Troy Truman is an online publisher providing great tips on currencies trading. To learn more about this topic, visit http://www.CompleteOnlineinfo.com/ today!

By Jimmy Cox

Once you have a fully tested trading system you are ready to trade. The last piece in the puzzle is to select a good broker. Most markets require that all traders place their trades through a broker. There are really only two types of brokers to choose from: the full-service broker and the discount broker.

Finding a good broker means finding one that suits you and your trading style.

Here are some questions you should consider when choosing your broker - either online or full-service.

1. What are the real commission rates?

Advertised rates for brokers vary between $0 to $40 per trade for an online broker and up to $100 (or 1-2% of your trade size) if you”re accessing a full-service. Look closely at what the company’’s advertised rate really applies to. In many cases there will be higher brokerage for different trading instruments and those using a ”live” broker on the phone. The truth is, you may find that the advertised commission rate may hardly ever apply to the types of trades you place.

Also, if you”re dealing with a full-service firm, remember their commission rate is negotiable depending on how much business you are running through your account. Negotiate hard and get the best rate you can. Brokerage is a cost of doing business and as such you should always look to lower your expenses.

2. Are there any other extra fees?

Many companies, both online and full-service, charge extra ”hidden” fees, that can add significant costs to each trade. Charges to be aware of include those for transferring funds (both in and out of your account), insurance, administration charges, late payment penalties and more. You really need to look at the company’’s fine print or e-mail for more details.

3. Can you trade multiple markets, and what are the commissions?

As your trading progresses, you may decide to trade different markets. It’’s easier to stick with the broker you have come to know and trust. Therefore, you really should plan ahead and choose a broker than can service your needs as you grow.

4. Will they pay you interest on the balance of uninvested cash in your account?

Some online and full-service brokers pay interest in the range of 3-4%. A nice little bonus!

5. Do you need to start with a large deposit?

Beware of high minimum balances required to open an account. While some companies have good rates, you may need $50,000 to start. It’’s a lot of money to invest with a company you haven”t traded with before. Typically full-service firms will require more capital to start an account than a discount online service.

6. How reliable is the service?

Speed and reliability of online trading is of utmost importance. I know of one client with a major online discount broker who watched as his account dropped by $10,000 because a system fault at his end meant he couldn”t log on for a whole morning! Which leads to another tip - ensure there is a backup way for you to place trades if needed.

For an online broker, check that they offer STP (straight through processing). This means that trades are placed in the market as soon as they are made. With some discount brokers trades are place manually, so your trade may not be actioned until sometime after you”ve placed it.

On the flip side, a full-service broker will usually enter a trade as the request comes through over the phone.

7. Do they offer any automatic features?

Look at any extras the companies are offering and weigh up if these extras will suit your trading style. (Who cares if they offer an automated feature that you will never use? It’’s worthless to you.)

One feature I quite like is automated stop losses. This feature enables me to set my exit point and it’’s automatically triggered. Another one to look out for is ”contingent order” - do they allow you to place conditions that must be met before an order is automatically placed? For example, if the share price breaks out from your specified buy point of $12, you might like to set an automatic buy trigger.

The automated extras are usually more applicable to online brokers, but it’’s worth asking the full-service brokers what they offer as well.

About The Author

Want to know more about Trading Systems? Visit www.ultimate-trading-systems.com to learn more.

By Jimmy Cox

Introducing two additional advanced Nicolas Darvas entry tactics that a trader might use when trading the Modern Darvas method. Now in my opinion these two additions are contrary to the original Darvas” methodology, that said keeping in mind this course is the definitive guide to Nicolas Darvas trading, I felt it necessary to include them.

The two additional tactics are the aggressive entry and the delayed entry. Each entry tactic is suited to different types of traders and trading situations.

When trying to decide which entry tactic to use, it is best to consider the situation. For example, suppose a trader finds a stock that has already formed several Darvas boxes. An aggressive entry into the stock might be more beneficial and profitable, than a classic entry. The classic Nicolas Darvas entry tactic is to buy as soon as the stock price breaks out of the current Darvas box, and the Modern method is to buy the day after the stock closes above the Darvas box. Both of these methods would cause a trader to lose a portion of the profits in this situation. The alternative Nicolas Darvas entry tactics exist to allow traders to enter into a trend in such a way that the trend yields more profit.

Aggressive entry occurs when a trader buys a stock before it has broken out of its Darvas box. The trader buys in anticipation of the stock breaking out of its box. Buying before the breakout is risky because there is no assurance that the stock will actually break out of its Darvas box. The trader is making a guess that it will. The advantage to buying before the breakout is that the entry price will be closer to the stop-loss order.

Another consequence of buying before the breakout is that a trader can possibly capture more profit from the beginning of the trend. However, in today’’s volatile markets, a stock is almost as likely to plummet as to rise. Buying before the breakout puts the entry price closer to the stop-loss order. Should the stock plummet, the trader will lose less money.

Delayed entry is when a trader will not buy on or directly after the breakout, but will wait for the price to come back down. In a trend where a stock is just starting to form Darvas boxes, this tactic can increase the amount of profit. Instead of buying on a high, the trader will buy on a low, most likely one of the lows used to form the next Darvas box. This entry point is closer to the stop-loss order set by the previous valid Darvas box and minimizes any loss should the trend fail.

About The Author

Learn more about Nicholas Darvas. Visit www.nicholasdarvas.com today.

By James Woolley

Forex traders will use a wide variety of different price charts when trading the various currency pairs. Some will prefer taking a long-term view, some will trade the 1 hour or 4 hour charts, whilst others will trade the short-term charts such as the 1 and 5 minute charts, and it’’s these I want to focus on in this article.

The major appeal of these time frames is that trades don”t last very long. If you”re lucky you can bank plenty of quick profits, whilst cutting your losses early if trades go against you. On paper it sounds relatively easy, but the reality is that it’’s extremely difficult to make money trading this way.

The obstacle you have to overcome straight away is of course the spread. The spread on some of the major currency pairs can easily be 3 or 4 points, so this means that a position has to move this amount of points in your favour before you even break-even. Furthermore if you have a bad feeling about a trade and want to close out at break-even, you will still lose around 3 or 4 points each time.

Another problem you have is that the trends on these shorter time frames are not very clear cut. Sure you may find a few short-term trends that are good for 20-50 points, but there will also be lots of occasions when a trend is over after about 5-10 points. Furthermore there will also be times when there is no distinct trend at all, and the market just seems to be moving sideways.

This makes trading extremely difficult, and is the primary reason why I recommend using the longer time frames such as the 1 hour, 4 hour or daily charts. Nevertheless you can still make money on the 1 minute or 5 minute charts if you”re clever.

The key to success is to look at the trends on the longer term charts, such as the ones I”ve just mentioned, and then use the 1 or 5 minute chart to get a good entry point. For example if a currency pair is trending upwards on the 15 minute and 1 hour chart, then it might be a good idea to enter a long position when the price is oversold on the 5 minute chart.

The point is that it is exceptionally difficult to generate consistent profits trading the shorter time frames. However it’’s a lot easier if you make sure that you are always trading in the same direction as the long-term trend.

About The Author

Click on the following link for free forex tips and strategies, including the exact 4 hour trading strategy that James Woolley uses himself to trade the markets:

http://theforexarticles.com

By Jimmy Cox

Nicholas Darvas was a brilliant investor, and one of the first traders to use technical analysis. At the height of his fortune, he made 2.2 million dollars. If Darvas had invested today, that 2.2 million would be 20 million!

Before Darvas came to America he studied economics at the University of Budapest. In1951, he immigrated to the United States, where he trained with his half-sister, Julia, to be a ballroom dancer. And he was a very good dancer, touring the world by 1956.

He started investing in 1952, a ballroom dancer who had never invested in the stock market. But a Toronto nightclub couldn`t pay him in cash, so they paid him with three thousand shares of a Canadian mining company called Brilund. Two months later, the stock tripled and Darvas made a tidy profit. An investor was born.

Like anyone beginning to trade on the stock market, Darvas made his mistakes. When he started out, many of his trades were gambles. He would pick companies that were the next big thing, or that came recommended by other traders. Many of his first large trades resulted in a huge losses. But cheered on by whatever small profits he did make, Darvas began asking questions about why stocks behaved the way they did.

Realizing that even experts couldn`t predict the market, Darvas decided that he needed to acquire his own understanding. He began devouring newsletters, books, tip sheets, “hot tips”, and so-called insider information, in his quest to understand the market.

Yet, despite his arsenal of knowledge, Darvas continued to lose money. In 1955, he purchased over fifty thousand dollars worth of a company called Jones and Laughlin. Jones and Laughlin had an excellent price to earnings ratio, high dividends, and was in a strong industry group. He was so confident in his analysis, that he bought most of this stock on margin. Then Jones and Laughlin began to fall.

Jones and Laughlin`s price fell far enough to account for a $9,000 loss. In a desperate attempt to recoup his losses Darvas bought a stock he knew virtually nothing about. Soon it had risen to a point where he regained about half of his losses.

At this point in his career, Darvas was frustrated with his attempts at analyzing stocks. With Jones and Laughlin, he had put a value on the stock and expected the price of the stock to behave as he expected. When the stock price fell instead of climbing as expected, Darvas finally accepted that his method wasn`t working. He decided there wasn`t much worth in analyzing stocks by trying to assess their value. Annoyed with information from tip sheets, friends, so called experts, and even Wall Street maxims, he decided to shun most of these common sources.

In 1956 Darvas embarked on a two-year tour of the world to showcase his ballroom dancing. During this time he developed his famed Darvas Box method of screening stocks. Wanting to keep up on his holdings in stock he already owned and always on the lookout for new stocks, Darvas looked for ways to get American stock quotes while he traveled. This was a daunting task, but arrangements were made to obtain a copy of Barron`s or the Wall Street Journal through United States Embassies, and Brokers wired time sensitive information when needed.

Without brokers, friends, or other investors to influence him, Darvas developed a method of picking stocks based solely on the stock`s price and volume. By the time he returned to New York in 1959 he had made about $500,000. After Darvas returned to New York, people who were amazed with his success began to give him “hot tips” and stock advice again. Darvas listened to them, and took huge losses on the fortune he had made.

Realizing that it was the human element in stock trading that was his downfall, Darvas sequestered himself in Paris in February of 1959. He made arrangements with his brokers to make all his trades via wire and get the day`s highs, lows and closing prices. Using very little data, and a lot of intelligence and discipline, Darvas refined his Box method of picking stocks. Within six months, he had turned a profit of two million dollars.

Nicholas Darvas is regarded as one of the best traders in the history of the market. Darvas Boxes are used today and are the subject of analysis for financial researchers. Many software firms are developing programs that make the exact same observations and decisions that Darvas made as he watched stock prices and volume. His method is complicated and difficult to master, but it has been rigorously tested by those in the business and has been found to be one of the best methods out there.

About The Author

Learn more about Nicholas Darvas. Visit www.nicholasdarvas.com today.

By Creztor Tessel

Swing trading is a widely used and very profitable trading method. This style of trading is applied to a wide variety of markets around the world with equal accuracy and profitability. Trading can be very profitable but it does take time to master and fine tune your skills. A viable solution to trading full-time is to trade part-time. This is especially good if you are just starting out and need some way to pay the bills with a full-time job you may be working but also want to trade part-time so you can begin your trading career and start spending the time it takes to master trading properly. If you are looking at some way of trading part-time, then the most important factors are what market you should trade and the kind of time frame. Both of these are important because if you are working it will affect how much time you can monitor your trades.

Working full-time means you can”t be in front of your screen watching trades constantly. The truth is that you really shouldn”t be glued to your monitor watching trading charts. This kind of trading might be fine for bankers who get paid to do this but it isn”t ideal for the private trader. The best time frame to trade part-time is either the four hour or the daily chart. These two time frames are big enough to allow you time to get home from work and monitor your trade but they are also small enough so that you don”t have to wait weeks upon weeks before you get a potential trade setup. Trading time frames that are below the four hour greatly increases your risk and also makes it difficult to manage. You don”t want to be at work stressing about your trade that you have open.

The other factor full-time workers need to consider is what market you are going to swing trade. Swing trading works on any market but markets aren”t always open when you are able to trade. Do you work nights or days? What markets interest you the most? If you work the normal 9 - 5 job and can”t get time off during the day to trade, then you may want to consider forex markets. These markets are open 24 hours a day and you have a variety of different currencies to trade. This makes it easy to find a currency pair that is active and can be traded when you have finished work. If you work nights, then you have a much wider choice of markets and may want to consider not only forex but also stocks and precious metals. Regardless of which market you trade, be sure that it is active and can be traded when you aren”t at work.

Swing trading as a part-time trader is definitely possible. Just make sure you trade four hour to daily time frames and that you pick a market that is both active and open during hours you are able to manage your trades.

About The Author

Visit http://www.swingcurrency.com to discover how you can gain a true trading edge over the market and put yourself on the path to being a profitable trader.