Posts Tagged ‘Pip’
Forex Autopilot System – The Best Way to Use This Forex Software
For those of you not familiar with The Forex Autopilot System, this is a forex trading software with the ability to analyze the market trends and place trade orders all on its own.
This software is usually categorized as an expert advisor, since this software not only renders advise but instead runs the trading operation, I like to think of it more like a virtual trader rather than an expert advisor. Anyway, these are technicalities which are not really that important, as long as you get an idea of what the Forex Autopilot System is about.
Now, the idea of these few lines is to share with you a personal experience using the software, so whether you already have it or you are about to get it, I invite you to try a couple of new setting I have been using to trade with it, which has delivered better results for me.
Here the story, and why I am making this suggestion:
When I first downloaded the Forex Autopilot System, I did what anyone else would do, I opened a demo account and I started testing the software. At that time, just by chance I decided to fund the demo account with $3,000 of paper money and put the system to work.
When configuring the system, I carefully followed the instructions in order to set it up correctly. Among the parameters you are asked to set are the lot size and the maximum number of orders.
These two parameters limit, on one hand, the value per pip of your trades (for example: if you set the lot size to 0.1, then each point of variation -pip- in the market will translate into 1 dollar of profit or loss) and number of trade orders that you will allow the software to place simultaneously.
These settings are important because you must trade paying attention to the size of your account, and therefore, the margin you have to manage your trades safely. This is probably the single most important factor to consider when trading within the forex market.
The creators of the software advise you to use a 0.1 lot size ($1 per pip) and a maximum of 1 trade order at a time, as this is deemed by them as the safest approach. However, in my opinion, those setting will not always be the safest approach, as that will depend of the amount of money you are investing.
Anyway, at that point those were the settings I started using in my paper money account, but after a few days using the system with great results, I realized that at $1 per pip and using a $3,000 margin, I could take almost 3,000 points of variation before having my trade closed due to stop out, so this meant that I had a very comfortable margin.
I then figured, why not set the Forex Autopilot System to open a maximum of 3 trade orders at a time, as this will still allow for a safe margin -$1,000 per trade-, and then see what happens?
I thought this would be a good idea because I had seen that the software rarely needed more than a $200-$300 margin before closing a trades for a profit, so with a 1,000 points of variation margin per trade and 3 trades at a time, I would be able to pull more profits while still playing it safe.
The result: simply astonishing, because when I first started at 1 trade at a time the Forex Autopilot was placing 1-3 winning trades per days depending on the market conditions, so you can imagine, with the limit of trade orders set to 3, it began to place 3-9 trade orders daily, which in turn grew my paper money from $3,000 to $6,154 in just over two weeks. And again, the software rarely used more than a $200-$300 margin in order to close each trade for a profit.
So, when I switched to real money, I followed the same pattern, that is, I set the Forex Autopilot System to trade a maximum of 3 orders at a time, but -and this is important- since I did not start with $3,000 but with $500, I changed the lot size from 0.1 ($1 per pip) to 0.01 (10 cents per pip). That way I was giving the software a over a 1,000 point of variation margin to place each trade order safely, allowing my account to grow proportionally without the risk of blowing it due to a lack of margin.
This approach accelerated my performance while keeping me away from loss. Therefore, I would advise anyone to tweak a little bit these settings, taking into consideration the amount of money you are investing, so if you are starting small, maybe with $300, set the lot size at 0.01, and no more that 3 trades at a time; if you are starting with $1,500, then you could set the lot size to 0.05 and no more than 3 trades at a time.
Using a small lot size with a higher number of trades at a time, is also a good way to split your risk and increase the chances of growing your account, because the Forex Autopilot may get it wrong at times, and if you have it set to place only 1 trade order then you could spend days waiting for it to close it while you are probably losing opportunities for good trades, whereas if you allow the system to place several orders at a time -always with a safe margin-, maybe it will place a bad trade that will get stuck for a day or longer, but in the meantime the Forex Autopilot will remain placing winning trades and growing your account while you wait for the that bad trade to be closed.
Check this strategy on your demo account first and see for yourself how it can help the little robot perform better while keeping your money safer.
By: Alex Cadens
Forex Rate
In investing stock and forex, the value of two currencies and the way they relate to each other is what we call Forex rate. Typically, the Forex rate is the value of one currency that is needed to purchase a unit of another. Learning and understanding the basics of the Forex exchange can and will help you to start understanding even better.
You can use the ratio to indicate on how may dollars can be bought in Japanese yen. Cross rates is another term that is used in other foreign exchange rate. This term is used whenever these currencies do not involve United States dollars and it is used when there are two foreign currencies. These are the conditions to show Forex rates that were calculated up to four decimal points. These decimal points are usually in positive or negative movements.
You need to use two currencies in order to use the Forex rate and this means both of these currencies are ‘two tier’ rates. The price basis of the Forex market is called a bid/ask. This trade is also secured. This term ‘pip’ indicates the difference between the actual selling and buying price. There are many things that can change the spread and influence it.
The instincts of a trader are important for keeping up with the market conditions and the strength of some currencies. They can change drastically from one day to the next, influencing the Forex rate. The first thing you should remember that when it comes to the Forex market is that Forex traders who are certified can access authorized quoted rates. As a result, this means that minor investors may not collect their currency at a good rate, because they mostly receive the money from commercial banks.
Banks and individual governments could decide the values. With the knowledge and benefits on how the Forex exchange functions, if you think you are ready, you can make up your mind to enter the Forex market; it could be the right move for you.
By: JB Mills
How To Avoid Forex Broker Traps – A Question and Answer Session
Forex brokers seem to be a dime-a-dozen these days. Furthermore, it seems like everyone is calling foul about his or her broker. Indeed a lot of brokers are less than honest. Here’s what you should look out for.
Q. Where can I find an honest broker offering a 1 or 2 pip spread?
A. That depends. For a mini-account or a micro-account, you can’t. The smallest spread I’ve ever seen (that was legitimate) was 1.5 pips offered by Interactive Brokers. However, they required that you have an account size of $25,000.00.
The only other broker that I know of that comes close is Oanda. They offer spreads that get very low during times of high liquidity for very small accounts. However, during other times of the day, the spread on the EUR/USD can get as high as 6 pips.
If a broker is willing to give you a fixed 2 pip spread and let you trade an account that is only $200 in size, that is a problem. I can almost guarantee you there is some shading of the price going on. In other words, you aren’t getting the real price. You’ve getting a price that will be more favorable to the broker. That means you’ll have more losing trades. The old phrase, buyer beware, has much meaning in the forex broker world.
Q. Why shouldn’t I use 400:1 leverage?
A. The higher the leverage you use, the harder it’s going to be for you to make money. The more leverage you use the more value each pip has. Since the pips are worth more, you have to risk fewer pips per trade to avoid risking your account’s wellbeing.
Here’s the problem. When you risk fewer pips, you’ll get stop too close to the market’s current price. Then any market “hiccup” will take you out with a loss. If you had lower leverage, you would have had more room for the trade, and it may have very likely become a winner.
Many new forex traders are trying to trade with these really tight stops (10 to 15 pips). That’s way too close. Decrease your leverage and give your trades some room to breathe. You’ll probably find that you have more winning trades.
Q. When I’m shopping for a new broker, what should I look for one their website?
A. Actually, you shouldn’t be looking for something. You should be looking for the absence of something. What exactly? Hype.
Anywhere on the website (especially on the homepage), do they talk about how easy it is trade forex? Do they make it sound like making money is easy? These are problems. Immediate cross that broker off your short list.
You should also look for something else. Do they make a big deal of the fact that you can open an account for next to nothing and trade at very high leverage? Those kinds of brokers are like sharks. They try to take your money. Avoid them.
In summary, avoid brokers that heavily advertise high leverage, trade with lower leverage, and lastly, avoid any kind spread that seems too good to be true. It is.
By: Nathan Pennington
Forex Pips – What Exactly Are They?
All traders in the foreign exchange (FOREX ) market are seeking to find as many of these sometimes elusive characters as possible. They are called “pips”. What is a pip and what role does it play in the FOREX market? One thing is sure–you can make money when you gain pips.
In the R&B genre of yesteryear, many came to know and love the music of Gladys Knight and the cool-stepping Pips, her background vocals. As a personal injury attorney in a prior professional life, I associated the term, PIP (acronym for “Personal Injury Protection”) with a type of insurance coverage which usually meant more money for my clients, and yes, for me also. As the music of Gladys and her group slowly fades into the musical sunset and PIP insurance coverage persists in the legal realm, the term “pip” rings louder and louder in the investment world. You may be surprised, however, by the number of definitions or references available for the term in online resources such as Wikipedia.
What Is A Pip?
In FOREX trading, a pip is the unit of measurement for the smallest change in the price of a currency or currency pair. Compare this term to the use of the unit of measurement in the stock market referred to as a “point”. Charts that are used for trading the FOREX usually clearly reflect the various price levels of a currency. With each price levels achieved, it should be fairly easy to mathematically determine the amount of movement in a particular currency as expressed in pips. Many online platforms provided by FOREX brokers display a feature which automatically calculates the number of pips gained or lost in the position taken by the trader.
How Much Is It Worth?
Generally speaking, as to certain major currency pairs such as the EUR/USD (Euro/U.S.Dollar), if a trader commits one standard lot (equal to 100,000 units of the currency traded) to the trade, a movement of one pip in the trader’s favor will yield a profit of $10. If a mini-lot (equal to 10,000 units of the currency traded) is used instead, then one pip will have a value of $1. A micro-lot and its corresponding pip value would be one-tenth that of a mini-lot. Stated another way, a trader can predetermine the value of the pip, and consequently the profit or loss resulting from the trade, by changing the number of lots used in the trade. The greater the number of lots used, the greater the potential profit or loss. The converse is also true.
The monetary value of a pip depends not on the number of lots traded but also on the type of currency traded. If the currency pair used is the USD/JPY (U.S. Dollar/Japanese Yen), the pip value will be less than $10 for a 100,000 lot trade, based on the current exchange rates. Similarly, other currency pairs may have differences in value for the pip based on the same standard lot size.
What Is A Pip Spread?
One final observation should be noted here. Most FOREX brokers quote their spreads in terms of pips. The spread is the difference between the bid and the ask price of a currency pair. It is also the amount that is paid to the broker for facilitating the trade. Therefore, the lower the spread in terms of pips, the less the broker gets paid and the more profits the trader gets to keep.
Sandy Robinson, J.D.
Copyright 2007
By: Sandy Robinson, J.D.
