By: Charley Warady
"You are not alone."
A typical opening line for a horror movie, but a line that is rarely thought about when trading Forex.
When you're sitting in your home or your office or your home/office trading Forex on a daily basis, the feeling of being alone is something that is almost inevitable. It's not necessarily a feeling of loneliness; more like a feeling of being alone against the market. You have your monitor(s) in front of you; your point and figure charts plotting your next move in real time from any number of online sources; your coffee; and your account site open and ready. It's a solitary existence, but an exciting one nonetheless. It feeds into the “lone wolf” status so many enjoy and even relish.
Some people are attracted to the Forex market because of the individuality of the process. There's no one to depend upon except yourself. If you make money, it was because of the trading you did. If you lose money...well, you can always blame the market for that. But wouldn't it be nice, if, on the many occasions you make a really nice trade, there was someone to high five? Or on the rare occasion your stop-loss gets hit and then the market turns around to what would have been your favor, to have someone to commiserate with?
In the old days of trading commodities, the trading floors of the exchanges were like a huge fraternity (or sorority, as the case may be). There was a social atmosphere as well as a business one. There was constant talk of strategy, war stories, opportunities both taken and missed. It provided support and commiseration when necessary and congratulations when successful. It's part of the reason so many floor traders are having a hard time switching over to computer trading. There's no longer a vibe. There's no longer the energy that existed on the trading floor. It's a solitary existence many traders find it hard to deal with.
Like everything that happens on the Internet...there is an answer. Things don't have to be so lonely out there in the Forex trading world. A simple Google search for the term “Forex community” provides a wealth of websites set up for just this reason.
Many Forex brokers provide live human support, and that's great. But the online community can provide access to experienced traders and novices alike. People share their personal strategies; answer questions; or are simply available to shoot the...chat.
Some of these sites have real-time chatting capabilities, while others are set up as more of a discussion blog. Try them all out for a while. There are relationships that can be established that can help with your trading in the future. Lurk for a while and see which people you want to get to know (and which people you might want to avoid...these are real people, after all). There are even Skype groups for Forex traders. The community in trading still exists and should be utilized. You don't get extra points for doing it on your own, and there's a great chance you'll learn something that will make you money. Or just as valuable...learn to avoid something that can lose you money.