In this article, I will discuss 2 of the most common Forex trading mistakes made by traders.

Problem #1 - Scalping

Compared to all other types of trading (ex. swing trading), scalping is by far the hardest to master. Many amateur traders make the mistake of thinking that by trading in the very short term, they increase the probability of profiting from a trade. It’s intuitive to think that small, quick trades are easier to profit from, isn’t it?

In the Forex market however, the reverse is true.This is because of the volatile nature of the Forex market; market prices can fluctuate rather violently without any good reason at all. Although you risk smaller amounts of your capital when scalping, you’re actually dramatically increasing the probability that your stop losses will be hit.

Although I’ve personally met people who are proficient scalpers, it might do you well to know that they are highly trained and experienced traders. I’ve never met a beginner trader who was successful at scalping. If you want to try your hand at Forex trading, do try to trade on larger time frames such as using hourly or daily charts instead. Avoid trading using minute charts at all costs!

Problem #2 – Trading The News

This is one of the most appealing schools of thought among the Forex trading community. Who wouldn’t like to benefit from a quick 100 pip gain in less than 10 minutes? This is the equivalent of roughly $1,000.

The allure of quick, one time profits is what drives many traders to try their hand at news trading. Personally however, I would strongly discourage most inexperienced traders to news trade.

The reason is simple: the institutional traders (i.e. the big players) have all the advanced technology and knowledge in the world to beat you at this game. Their news feeds are faster, and they have their own in-house economists and currency strategists that have been carefully hand-picked from the top Ivy League schools.

What do retail traders have? A top-notch desktop computer with a high-speed internet connection at best? Even their broker platforms won’t be able to keep up with the volatility that occurs during news announcements. And not to mention the larger spreads that retail traders pay compared to the institutional traders.

To be a rich retail trader, you’ll have to work on your strengths and avoid your vulnerabilities. News trading is definitely not for the average retail trader, so please pick your battles wisely.