Maybe he sees the replies as a tag-team shill. It wouldn't be the first time posters have used the board for that purpose. Shill, defined: "a decoy who acts as an enthusiastic customer in order to stimulate the participation of others."
Well let me see... a dude with Merchant as a last name, talking about the shell game, and being suspected by fellow posters as being a shill... yup... makes sense
Using this as a segue back to the topic of this thread - where can I find a list of good, honest forex brokers? I tried the only reference I have and looked at http://www.cftc.gov/ but was unable to find clear answers I have tested quite a few forex trading platforms (demo accounts) but I cannot tell which is an honest broker, and which is not. Any advice on that?
For clarity, I did not suggest or suspect poster John Merchant of being a shill. Just the opposite: I guessed that his reply may mean that he viewed the series of prior posts as scripted promo for FX dealers. Agreed: if you can, trade the futures (CME products on Globex, for example). Volume is way up, i.e., liquidity improved, just from this time last year, and you get a fair shake. Contrast trading with FX dealers, which is like betting with a bookie and letting the bookie pick the final score. Kinda foolish. I know. I tried it. If futures are beyond your reach, I can only suggest you check out USA-based dealers who are licensed as futures commission merchants and members of the National Futures Association (NFA). Spot (or margin) FX positions are not futures, so futures regulation does not help you per se. But it's certainly better than no regulation. Plus, as I understand it, the NFA has member requirements which, assuming they are enforced, would prevent or punish the manipulation and bucket practices you might encounter from FX dealers not subject to the same requirements. Continue to ask around. Other board members know a good deal about the subject.
It seems as if the reputation of Forex trading is not so healthy. There must by some honest brokers that wont rip you off. Naive?
I just added an extra paragraph to my preceding post. It may be a bit more responsive to your question.
Yes Chood, thanks. It is a good advice indeed. I do not consider Futures to be beyond my reach, its just that the non-regulated, 24 hours, highly-liquid, highly-leveraged market seems to be more attractive than exchange-based markets. Also, I am only assuming that some of the Forex attractions, such as good reaction to technical analysis, and smooth trends are not as obvious in Forex Futures (or is it Forwards?) (had to level with you on the number of posts... )
Pick your poison, I guess. My point is this: what good is your talent as a trader if your orders and positions are "jobbed" by the FX dealer whose hype you buy? What good are the sporty bells and whistles of the FX dealer's platorm if your profitable trades are dishonored, or if spikes are run to your stops? If you are willing to lose money for the pleasure of the experience, go to a casino. At least there, you know HOW the odds stack against you, and BY HOW MUCH. You cannot know either in the Wild, Wild West of FX dealers.