Overview

If you’re new to trading forex, you’re probably eager to jump into the deep end and learn through trial and error. And, if you have a basic understanding of trading fundamentals, you probably have a vision for how those trades will be executed: opening a position and then selling once prices have risen and you’ve claimed your profit.

In reality, though, trading is far more complex—and the pending orders forex traders use vary widely in how they’re used to fulfill your trading goals. While some forex order types are designed to open a position at the market rate, for example, others are more focused on entering at a specific price.

Similarly, while certain orders are executed with the intent of holding your position until further notice, others are designed to trigger an automated sell-off if prices move below a certain threshold. If you don’t know the differences between these different order types—including the relative advantages and disadvantages each one offers—it could limit your trading ability while also causing you to execute the wrong type of trade. 

In the wrong situation, this could lead to significant losses that could have been avoided with a little education into the different types of orders at your disposal. With that in mind, here’s a look at the most common order types you need to know when getting started in forex.

In forex trading, there’s ample logic behind the rhyme “the trend is your friend.” Trading in the direction of a strong trend both minimizes your risk and increases your potential profit.

Margin and margin requirements are something that no forex trader can afford to ignore. Margin has often been labeled a “good faith deposit” to open a position.

Margin is usually presented as a percentage amount of the full position, 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and so on. You can calculate the maximum leverage you can use with your trading account based on the margin required by your broker.

Naturally, all traders are looking for the best technique to help them achieve their trading objectives. Range trading is an increasingly popular approach to the market, more people are looking to it as a means to take advantage of what the forex market has to offer. 

For some people, the idea of range trading—or even the term itself—is alien. But that is about to change. This article breaks down range trading, explaining what stands behind the strategy and how you can go about implementing it.

In contract for difference trading, market movement can happen fast. In best-case scenarios where traders are on the profit end of that movement, this can mean significant earnings potential within a short span of time.

Forex traders should keep an eye out for quite a few things if they want to limit the risks associated with active trading. We’ve all seen it; many traders will follow fads instead of paying attention to the proper management of their money, and as a result, they will lose money unnecessarily.

Making money on the forex market—or any other exchange, for that matter—can certainly be tricky. But thanks to a number of chart patterns, you can learn to anticipate price movements and act accordingly. Making money doesn’t have to be impossible.

Unfortunately, with so many different patterns out there, it can be difficult to figure out which ones are best for determining where prices will go in the near future.

To make your job easier, we’ve outlined some of the more helpful continuation and reversal patterns below in a forex cheat sheet. Become familiar with each of them to make better trades.