I must say that I am enjoying trading/scalping the EUR/USD- I have focused on this particular pair, rather than trying to become accustomed to many in the short term. So far I have done moderately well- haven't really risked much, though. I am using the Oanda demo platform, but will most likely not use them, even given the 2 pip spread. I am starting a poll to see what others are actually using and go from there- In my recent Traders' magazine (www.traders-mag.com), there is a list of forex brokers with their spreads, currencies, commission and account min etc..... Great info here. Unfortunately, OANDA is not in the list, which increases my suspicion about the firm. Anyway, here we go- have a vote....
Alaron will tighten the spreads if you do a halfway decent amount of trading (you just have to give them a call and talk with them to get it setup).
I have only heard good things about Oanda, and I am pretty satisfied with their demo, which I am using.... Why are they advertising on their site for Western Union? They have ads all over- Their platform is great, I just think that they need a more professional appearance- the lack of it has actually kept me from transferring my money to them- with fear of never seeing it again. But, as far as I know, they are completely legit and great in all ways- for now I would just rather put my money in the hands of a firm that is regulated by both the CFTC and NFA, listed in Forex magazine, even for the 3 pip spread.
The problem with this firm that I have heard is the 50+ pip slippage and reporting delays that occur at times on stop orders during news announcements.
I NEVER had that kind of slippage. In fact, I was in a trade not too long ago and the market was making extremely violent moves - I traded right into it expecting 10 point slippage. OANDA executed the trade INSTANTLY on the pip. Even I was shocked. IF OANDA ever had "50 point slippage"... other brokers would have filled the trade ... an hour later. Sam
This is interesting that more than 60 percent are using other brokers to trade forex. Perhaps someone could list alternatives to ones listed in the poll above. This would help me learn about the good brokers who are trusted.