In forex and trading, speed seduces and punishes. I once sat at 2 a.m., coffee cold, watching EUR/USD twitch. “Move,” I said to the candles. They shrugged. A chat thread on Tradu Malaysia cheered for a breakout. The break came, flicked higher, and snapped back like a rubber band. That move taxed my patience and my stops. The market enjoys jokes at your expense.
Before you click buy, know the bill. Spread is the cover charge. In quiet hours it shrinks. During news it grows fangs. Slippage adds surprise tax. Your order fills worse than you hoped because liquidity thins at the edges. Plan for the bad fill. That small leak can sink a month.
Risk small per trade. One percent is common. Two percent feels spicy. Place your stop where the setup breaks, not where your ego feels safe. Then size the position so a stop-out equals your planned loss. Think in R. If you risk $100, aim for trades that can earn 2R or more often enough. A good win rate with poor R is a treadmill.
Leverage looks like free candy. It is a loan with teeth. High gear amplifies both gain and pain. Margin calls do not knock. They kick the door. Keep free margin healthy. If your pulse jumps each tick, you are too big.
Markets switch moods. Some days they run. Some days they shuffle sidewise. A simple filter helps. Use a moving average as a line in the sand. Price above and rising? Prefer longs. Flat and choppy? Fade edges or step aside. Cash is also a position.
Economic releases mix the drink. Calendars show time and expected heat. Before big prints, spreads swell and charts whipsaw. Reduce size or wait. Let the storm spend itself. Clarity beats thrill.
Your head trades before your hands. Fear cuts winners early. Hope hugs losers late. Fight both with rules you can follow while half asleep. Journal every trade. Record entry, exit, reason, mood, and a snapshot. Patterns appear. You will spot the habit that costs you the most. Then you can cut it.
Here is one plain idea. Trade the London session. Pick one pair. Mark the Asian range. After the first hour, trade a break only if volume expands and the higher time frame agrees with the direction. Stop sits outside the range. First target matches the size of the range. Trail the rest under swing lows or above swing highs. Three losses in a row? Pause and review.
I once told a friend, “My edge is patience.” He smirked. The market heard us and ran 80 pips without me. I felt like the guy who shows up late to a movie and claps at the credits. Next day, same setup, I took it. Smaller range, cleaner read, modest follow-through. Boring trade. Paid better.
Pick a broker with clean pricing and fast fills. Test withdrawal speed with a small pull. Trade on a wired connection if you can. Mobile is handy for exits, not for scalps. Set alerts. Back up your platform files. Power flickers and routers reboot at the worst moment.
Watch cross-currents. If the dollar flies, many pairs hitch a ride. Correlated trades multiply risk. Two positions can be one big bet in disguise. Hedge only if you can manage both legs under stress. If that sounds messy, keep it simple. One clear thesis at a time.
Fatigue torpedoes judgment. Schedule breaks. Stand, stretch, drink water. Set a daily loss cap and stop for the day if you hit it. Green or red, end at a set hour. A fresh brain prints better decisions tomorrow.
Track stats weekly. Win rate. Average R. Drawdown. Average hold time. News impact. You are running a small shop. Numbers tell the story. Adjust one knob at a time. Too many tweaks create noise.
Treat opinions like weather forecasts. Useful, fickle, and often wrong. Price is the referee. Let it call the game. Keep your tools simple, your risk tiny, and your notes honest. The rest is screen time and grit.