Moving Onward & Upward
ByHappy Tuesday everybody! Rough start today…I think I’m coming down with something. Not to worry though, I did persevere in getting through a couple of lessons today.
Lesson 4 today showed me the importance of ‘stops’ and ‘limits.’ Sid started the lesson with a dramatic scenario in which I just lost 300 pips…OMG! Wait a minute, let me catch my breath.
Okay…fully recovered. Sid goes on to make the point that you can’t lose more than you have because the broker will not allow it. Phew! However, this does not mean that disaster cannot strike…on no…now what? Well, it is soon revealed that the purpose of the stops and limits is to prevent this from happening. And, these are within my own control (now that’s more like it).
We also had our first video lesson. It was of a live trade. Sid used it to demonstrate how the stops and limits work. It was neat to actually see what it’s going to look like when I start trading.
Lesson 5 is about the ‘spread’ and ‘bid’ & ‘ask’. The spread is the broker’s commission. It is how he gets paid for doing business with me. It happens automatically when I enter a trade. He always gets paid first. It is simply a cost of doing business.
When discussing bid vs. ask (aka: buy vs. sell), it can be a bit confusing. Sid helps clarify the difference by changing the words he uses to ‘entry’ and ‘exit’ points. This made a lot of sense. My brain was a little mixed up in wondering how you could make money when the currencies go down, but Sid’s explanation made it much clearer. Sid also emphasized how easy it is to trade right off the Oanda charts. Apparently this is unique and much simpler than how other brokers work. I’m glad we’re going with the easier option. Things can be hairy enough. Simple is my motto so this is right up my alley.
The great thing about these lessons is how clear they are presented. The graphics and diagrams are very specific and show me exactly what to do. Once I learned about the need for stops and limits, I was shown how to set them as defaults so I don’t need to bother with them ever again.
The material is show and do as I go, so I don’t have to go back later and try and figure it all out again. And, Sid encourages me all along the journey. So, even if something seems crazy, he reminds me that it does become easier…especially once it is all set up and ready to go. Set it and forget it…great!
That’s it for today 
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