Anybody trading currencies?

Discussion in 'Forex' started by reno4nook, Jan 18, 2005.

  1. I just got introduced to the world of trading currencies. Wow!

    To me, it looks much better than day trading the stock market.

    Minimal capital requirements to trade

    100% Margin

    24/7 trading 5 days a week.


    This looks like the trading vehicle I've been seeking.


    Anybody here give up day trading stocks for the world currency markets? Any feedback?
     
  2. Don't get too excited yet LOL. I have only been trading forex for about a year 1/2 and I really would rather be trading something else like futures. At least with my style of trading which is aggressive scalping I found out that Forex companies do not like to lose money on your trades. I am going on my 6th company to have an account with and all them have been scumbags as much as the last. They will get you on the phone and tell you everything you want to hear "No Requotes, Instant Fills, No Slippage, No Dealer Intervention" until you actually get your account and pull the trigger, heaven forbid you actually make some money on some trades. If that does happen you will find yourself on the phone with the dealing desks asking "Why are my orders taking so long to process, Why am I getting requoted all the time" and they will tell you the great excuse must be your connection :D Just wanted to warn you but I know it looks and sounds great, leverage, 24HR market, but if you a active trader like myself all I have to say is good luck finding a decent company to trade with. I say DECENT cause even that would be a step up from what I've seen so far, and these are some of the bigger companies I've traded with.

    GOOD LUCK
     
  3. He's right, don't get to excited!


    It's not as great as it sounds! :)

    Maybe try oanda for a start, kinda like IB for Forex :)
     
  4. Pabst

    Pabst

    If someone is trading either the Euro or $-Yen then they're crazy to not trade on Globex. The Euro is trading over 100k contracts a day and rarely are spreads wider than 2 pips. During the U.S. session spreads are almost always a tick wide and with huge size in the book every couple of pips.
     
  5. kubilai

    kubilai

    Is it just me or are those forex dealers the reincarnation of the bucket shops that Jesse Livermore talked about? They let you buy/sell using interbank quotes but play the secret market maker. With razor-thin margin they rip off the average gambler hoping to make a lot out of very little. With good traders, they abuse you until you give up doing business with them... Fishy.
     
  6. I've transitioned completely away from stock trading to forex over the past several months. I don't have experience with the bucket shops since I'm only trading futures but I'll second the suggestion to consider using IB. Your orders will get filled as quoted and you can place orders between the spread. But you'll need to compute if their spread and commission is too expensive relative to others. (Note - There's a thread on IB and Forex.)
     
  7. Brandonf

    Brandonf Sponsor

    I would agree with that. The FX brokers dont charge "commissions", but by the time you pay the pip spread you are much better off paying commissions and getting slippage on Globex.

    Brandon
     
  8. One of the biggest misconception in the world of trading. "Brokers try to screw the profitable traders out of trading"... They could care less if you're profitable or not, what they care about is volume and liquidity. Actually they would rather you be profitable because then they can't keep the liquidity around.

    They don't really care that you make money or not, they're just matching bids and asks. You think the top hedge funds' brokers try to screw them because they are profitable?????

    And also... You can't actually trade the interbank unless you are a major institution so whoever says that you can is misrepresenting what is actually going on (which is basically:
    They buy from you at the Bid, turn around and sell it to the interbank). Nothing complicated. They may carry some bias but that's another story.
     
  9. I would have to agree with you 100% on the abuse. One of the companies I used to trade with Commerce Bank was hillarious. I was making consistant $$ on their system being charged $1.25 commission per contract. One night I put a trade on and I was being charged $3.75 instead of the $1.25. After calling them and talking with the management they informed me that because I trade to quickly only holding trades for 2-5 pips I can either pay the increased commission or close my account LOL SCUMBAGS. Just thought I would share one of my stories with you guys, I could write a book with all the experiences I have had in my short time trading Forex.
     
  10. Beanflicker, are you saying you don't like the "Whack A Mole" prices that forex is known for? :D
     
    #10     Jan 18, 2005