The Foreign Exchange, or Forex, is one of the largest markets in the world in terms of both market volume and transaction volume. Forex certainly offers a lot of opportunities to make a lot of money and make money fast.
However, there is an equal risk of losing just as much and at the same speed. The purpose of this article is to introduce you to automated forex trading to improve your chances of survival and success in this unforgiving market.
The importance of psychology in forex trading
You can use or develop lots of trading strategies to maximize your chances of success and give you a better chance of survival. Regardless of which strategy you choose, psychology plays an important role in the success or failure of any Forex trader.
This is the psychological aspect of forex trading that most traders can master the most challenging part. It is estimated that less than one in ten Forex traders survive to succeed in this market. The main reason why most people who try Forex fail is the psychological aspect of trading.
Even new entrepreneurs who follow the suggested steps to get started suffer from the mentality. They have studied the basics of forex trading; They have opened a demo account; They have tested several strategies; And choose the one that has provided the best returns. However, even after all the preparations, when it comes to doing business with their real money, it’s a completely different story.
It is common for inexperienced traders to open a trade too early, close too late, or vice versa. The results? The ‘perfect’ strategy that worked every time in a demo account, suddenly explodes and your capital starts to decrease. Of course, the strategy is not one that explodes; It is the trader’s response to the psychological aspects of their valuable capital business.
Automatic Forex Trading
A significant aspect of Forex trading is that the process can be automated. Doing so removes all stress from the trader and their all-human flaws! Automation puts trades in the hands of an expert advisor (EA).
So, what is EA? It is MQL-programmed software designed to run in conjunction with the MetaTrader Forex trading platform. It attaches the EA to the corresponding trading chart and sets it up to conduct business according to your strategy.
The beauty of EA is that it will run your businesses automatically, without hesitation like a human trader. Without having to suffer the psychological aspects of forex trading it will follow your strategy which makes nine out of every ten failed traders. It will continue to trade 24 hours a day (when the market is open), as long as you keep it online.
Programming and setting up an EA
You can learn MQL yourself to program your EA or hire a computer programmer to do it for you. You can find very reasonably priced and talented programmers on sites like Fiverr or Upwork.
Once your EA is programmed, it should be kept online and allowed to run 24 hours a day. Instead of running your computer permanently, consider using a Virtual Private Server (VPS).
A VPS can be located anywhere in the world and enables your EA to run 24-hours for about $ 10 per month. You may even be able to find a broker that offers a free VPS service. Once you get your VPS, login, install MT4, attach your EA to the relevant trading chart and start automated trading.
Optimize your trading
No matter what the effectiveness of your strategy, you will always have some losing trades. The key to success is optimizing your EA so you can minimize these losses. To do this, you can use the MT4 Trade Copier program. These programs copy Forex trades from one MT4 platform to another, and you can only set up programs to copy successful trades.
You will want to install two MT4 platforms, one for your real-money account and one for your demo account. The EA demo is run on the account, and the copier program is loaded on both MT4 platforms. Setting the copier program to copy only successful (positive value) trades will significantly increase your proportion of successful trades. All your lost trades are in the demo account – and this is the best place for them!