"The traders' guide to making the most of one the hottest areas in finance: Forex tradingStart Trading Forex Right Now is the accessible introduction to one of today's most convenient way to make money written by a trader for traders. Forex offers some of the best reward/risk opportunities of any financial markets, and this book is designed to fit the way traders actually think and execute. Walking the reader through selecting a trading plan based on evidence that supports the plan (complete with benchmarks for selecting evidence), the book also provides simple technical analysis tools, along with concrete examples and anecdotes, that show how and when to buy low and sell high, along with step-by-step information on how to enter and exit a trade and understand leverage and risk. Throughout, the book stresses one key theme: plan and execute high probability trades or, at the very least, avoid big losses. Exploring how to avoid "mindless trading," the book covers everything you need to know, authored by Seeking Alpha's number one currency strategy opinion leader, Cliff Wachtel. The professional's guide to Forex trading, one of the easiest ways to trade Packed with visual data to bring the topic to life Includes appendices full of additional online resources including trading platforms and discussion forums Designed specially for individual and retail traders The practical, accessible introduction to Forex trading, Start Trading Forex Right Now is essential reading for any trader interested in getting started in currency trading"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes index.

The Sensible Guide to Forex -- Contents -- Read This First -- Currency Risk: Every Investor's Dilemma -- Currency Risk and How to Fight It -- The Solution -- Some Background -- Why Any Trader or Investor Needs This Book -- What This Book Offers -- Why Listen to You, Cliff? -- Visit thesensibleguidetoforex.com for Additional Online Content -- Acknowledgments -- CHAPTER 1 Three Must-Know Forex Facts -- Fact 1: Everyone Needs Forex Diversification Even if You Don't Trade Actively -- You're Exposed: Cover Your Assets -- Even Long-Term Buy-and-Hold Investors Need Forex Diversification -- Fact 2: Potential for Better Risk-Adjusted Returns -- Forex Markets Often Provide Advanced Warnings of Changes in Other Markets -- Forex Needn't Be Any Riskier Than Other Markets -- No Uptick Rule: Just as Easy to Profit in a Falling Market as in a Rising One -- Low Correlation to Other Financial Markets -- The Most Flexible Hours -- Forex Markets Offer the Best Liquidity -- No Centralized Exchange with Specialists Holding Monopoly Power to Regulate Prices -- Less Slippage -- The Best Risk/Reward Potential -- The Lowest Startup and Trading Costs -- Fact 3: You Can Do This -- How Can I Compete against the Pros and Big Institutions? -- How David Beats Goliath: More on What This Book Will and Won't Do -- What's the Catch? -- Most Traders Fail within Their First Two Years -- CHAPTER 2 Forex Basics -- Basics of Currencies and Currency Pairs -- Trade Only the Most Liquid Currencies -- The Major Currencies -- Risk versus Safe Haven Currencies: Definition and Ranking -- Currencies Trade in Pairs and Why That Matters -- Price Movements Are Always Relative to Another Currency -- It's Just as Easy to Profit in Bear Markets as in Bull Markets -- How to Read a Forex Pair Price Quote -- Summary of Currency Pair Basics -- Why It's Just as Easy to Profit from Falling Prices. Size Matters: Types of Currency Pairs -- The Major Currency Pairs: The Most Liquid -- More on Risk and Safe Haven Currencies -- The Signs of the Crosses: Divine Revelations about Currency Strength -- Walk on the Wild Side: The Exotics -- Pips: The Universal Currency of Currencies -- Calculating Pip Values -- Three Ways to Limit Risk: Lot Size Usually the Easiest -- Leverage and Margin: Their Relationship and Impact on Risk -- Leverage: Greater Risk and Reward -- Permitted Leverage Varies with Place and Time -- How Margin, Lot Size, and Leverage Interact -- The Importance of Adequate Capital -- Margin Calls: Your account's Circuit Breaker -- Order Types -- Exit Orders: Ways to Close a Position -- The Three Facets of Risk and Risk Control -- Example -- The Core Four: The Most Important Skills for Success -- Trader Psychology -- Risk and Money Management (RAMM) -- Technical and Fundamental Analysis -- CHAPTER 3 Technical Analysis (TA) Basics -- Candle Chart Basics -- Candle Anatomy and Meaning -- Relationship between Body, Wick, and Its Significance -- Support and Resistance (S/R) Basics -- Candle Chart Time Frames: Length Matters -- Different Time Frames, Different Trading Techniques, and Styles -- Different Time Frames, Different Trends -- Identifying Support and Resistance (S/R) to Buy Low, Sell High, or Vice Versa -- Definitions of S/R Are Reversed for Long and Short Positions -- The General Rule for Identifying Low-Risk High-Yield Trades -- Finding S/R Is Key to Identifying and Executing Low-Risk High-Yield Trades -- Good Risk Management Requires Good TA -- Think of S/R as Zones or Areas -- So Stick to Trading Longer Time Frames-They're Safer -- Reasons to Consider Using Multiple Entry and Exit Points -- Once Broken, Resistance Becomes Support and Vice Versa -- Don't "OD" on TA -- Why Specialize in a Few Currency Pairs and Time Frames? What Determines Whether a Currency Is a Risk or a Safe Haven? -- CHAPTER 4 Technical Analysis: Types of Support and Resistance (S/R) -- Price Levels -- For Lowest Risk, Enter Near Strong Support -- What Makes Some S/R Points Stronger Than Others? -- Longer Time Frames Offer More Reliable S/R Indicators -- Check Shorter Time Frames to Detect Interim S/R Levels -- Trends and Trend Lines -- Trends Vary with Time Frame -- Defining Trends, and Constructing Trend Lines -- Types of Trend Lines -- Single Uptrend or Downtrend Lines -- Channels: Better Than Single Trend Lines -- Moving Averages (MAs) -- Fibonacci Retracements (Fibs): These Fibs Don't Lie -- Applying Fibs to Your Charts -- Fibs within Fibs -- Bollinger Bands (BBs): Use as S/R in Range-Bound Markets -- Support/Resistance (S/R) for Flat or Gently Sloping Trends: The Bollinger Bounce -- Bollinger Bands Don't Provide Meaningful S/R with Strong Trends -- Introduction to Japanese Candle Chart Patterns -- More Key Points about Japanese Candle Patterns -- Context and Timing Matter -- Introduction to Western Chart Patterns -- Classic Western Reversal Patterns -- Beware False Breakouts, Shake Outs, and Other Fake Outs -- Other Reversal Patterns to Know -- Classic Western Continuation Patterns -- We Repeat: False Breakouts Happen -- Other Continuation Patterns -- Patterns That Can Be Continuation or Reversal -- The Underlying Logic of Chart Patterns -- The More S/R Indicators, the Better -- Multiple Mutually Reinforcing S/R Indicators: An Example -- CHAPTER 5 Trader Psychology and Risk and Money Management (RAMM) -- RAMM: Preserving Capital Is Your Top Priority -- The Inner Game: Trader Psychology Basics -- Lesson 1: Seek Trading Styles and Methods That Fit You -- Lesson 2: Basics of the Trader's Mindset-Minimizing and Accepting Risk -- Lesson 3: Dealing with Losing and Winning Streaks. Why Trade Longer Time Frames -- Seek Safer Trading Styles -- As with Driving, Speed Kills -- A More Level Playing Field -- More and Better Information Means Better Trade Decisions -- Trends Are More Reliable in Longer Time Frames -- Ideal Trends For Long-Term Investors -- Other Technical Indicators Are Better in Longer Time Frames -- Publicly Available Fundamental Data and Analysis Matters in Longer Time Frames -- Lower Trading Costs -- Start Out with Longer Duration Trades -- Content Quality: The Sign of a Quality Broker -- The Essence of Good RAMM -- The Three Pillars of RAMM -- Account Size and Affordable Loss per Trade -- Setting Stop Losses: Basic Technique and Psychology -- Where to Set Stop Losses: Two Criteria -- More Capital Allows Wider Stop Losses and a Wider Choice of Low-Risk Trade Opportunities -- Balancing Risk versus the Need to Win -- Method 1: Recent Range -- Method 2: Average True Range (ATR) -- So How Much Capital Is Enough? -- Leverage and Margin -- Position Sizing -- Avoid Having Too Many Open Positions -- Entries Near Strong Support, Exits Near Strong Resistance -- Entries -- Exits: Use Trailing Stops to Protect and Maximize Gains -- Entries and Exits: Single versus Multiple -- Risk-Reward Ratios (RRRs) -- Example: How 1:3 RRRs Make Winners Out of Losers -- Example: How 1:2 Risk-Reward Ratios Make Winners Out of Losers -- Applying 1:3 RRR: An Example -- Acceptable RRR Can Vary with Market Conditions -- More on Stop Loss Orders: An Example of Using ATR to Gauge Volatility and Place a Fixed or Trailing Stop Loss Order -- If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail -- What's Your Rationale for Taking This Trade? -- No. 1: Plan Every Trade and Record It in a Journal -- Sample Trade Rationale as Recorded in Journal -- No. 2: Your Overall Business Plan -- What Conditions Do You Need for Success? -- Safety in Numbers: Build a Team. CHAPTER 6 Essentials of Fundamental Analysis -- Using Fundamental Analysis (FA) and Technical Analysis (TA) Together -- An Overview of FA: Main Fundamental Drivers of Forex Trends -- Overall Risk Appetite -- Short-Term Interest Rates -- Macroeconomic Data and Indicators -- Example: EURUSD Uptrend Reverses in Late 2009 as Data Show Europe Slows, U.S. Grows -- Geopolitics -- Capital and Trade Flows -- Merger and Acquisition (M & A) Activity -- Short-Term Illiquidity: A Lack of Buyers and Sellers -- Government and Central Bank Special Interventions in Times of Crisis -- News Trading: Day Trading Based on Short-Term Fundamentals -- What News Traders Watch -- FA Basics: Easy to Understand and Hard to Apply -- Therefore, Get Thee to an Analyst -- Combining FA and TA: An Example -- CHAPTER 7 Pulling It All Together with Trade Examples -- Identifying and Executing Low-Risk, High Potential Yield Trades -- Begin Your Search On Longer Time Frame Charts, Then Zoom In -- Consider the Fundamental Context -- Initial Screening on Longer Time Frame Charts -- Second Screening -- Third Screening to Monitor Trade Progress -- Types of Trades -- Trade Example 1: A Swing Trade -- Initial Screening -- Second Screening -- RRR Evaluation -- Conclusion: We Take the Trade -- Trade Postmortem: What Happened -- Trade Example 2: A Breakout Trade -- First Screening -- Second Screening -- RRR Evaluation -- Conclusion: Know When to Walk Away -- Trade Postmortem: Was I Right? -- More Key Trader Psychology: Distinguishing between Good Trades and Winning Trades -- CHAPTER 8 Technical Analysis: Basic Momentum Indicators -- Double Bollinger Bands (DBBs)-Use as Momentum Indicators -- DBB Basics -- The Four Rules for Using Double Bollinger Bands -- Combine DBBs with a Leading Indicator -- DBBs: Conclusion and Summary -- Moving Average Crossovers -- Price Crosses Over or Under a Moving Average.