To become a professional trader, you must go through several stages in the market in order to learn about the nature and risks of the forex market. Professional traders have faced these risks before and were able to overcome them over time, It is not as easy as you might think. There are many more losers in Forex than winners, and it can be very difficult for you.
Top 6 Tips to Become a Professional Trader
1- Understanding the nature of the market
The professional trader is very well aware of the nature of the market and that the market is constantly changing and keeps up with this change continuously through his strategy or way of thinking towards the market and also from the economic side because the market changes greatly from the economic side where wars may occur between countries or economic collapses and in such circumstances the appropriate decision must be made either to trade in such circumstances or to decide not to do anything.
When a professional trader understands the nature of the market, he can easily create his own trading strategy because in this case, he understands how the market moves, what levels it respects, and what patterns it always forms, so the matter becomes somewhat easy for him.
Professional Traders types
You can become a professional trader in more than one way, for example, there are:(day trading/scalping, swing trading, and long-term investing)
You can make money from all these methods and become a professional trader. The problem is not the method, but the way the trader himself applies the method and whether this method is suitable for your lifestyle or not, some professional traders work throughout the day, opening and closing their trades on the same day. They may open more than five trades per day. We call these professional traders “Day traders”
There is another type that is not at all suitable for opening the chart daily. It is sufficient for him to open the chart once a week on a specific news time or in the event of a strong movement on the chart in order to make sure of his entry area or his current trades. This type is good as there are many professional traders using “Swing trading”
The last type is the investors. This type is very patient beyond what you can imagine. I do not think that anyone can reach this level until they pass through the first levels first, because investors leave their trades for a long period that may reach a year, and their vision of the market is very distant, and they analyze the market from the economic and technical side in the long term.
2- Awareness of the factors that affect the market
what affects the market
There are many factors that may affect the market and make it rise, fall, or even move sideways.
News & Economic events
To become a professional trader in the Forex market, you must be constantly informed of what is happening in the market in terms of economic events or news, as the market is affected by what is happening in the world in terms of political news such as interest rates or unemployment rates or NFP…etc
Being aware of this news does not necessarily mean trading when it happens, but you should know the timing of all the news that may happen in the market to make a decision whether to trade at these times or not.
There are also important political events that may occur at any time, but you will not find them in the economic calendar because they are considered breaking news, such as an attempted assassination of a politician or artist, the presence of hurricanes and earthquakes, etc.
In this case, it is always preferable to stay away from trading at these times because the market becomes unstable and it is difficult to analyze and make logical decisions at that time, but there are some professional traders who may want to take risks at that time and trade in safe havens such as gold, but this is considered dangerous because safe havens do not necessarily rise at times of news and disasters.
Sessions times
Professional traders are very familiar with the session times because quite simply at these times the market movement is greater than normal and you can get many pips in a short time these large movements are not news but the market moves faster than it was at midnight Because London and Newyork Stock markets closed before midnight and the momentum becomes much less than normal.
It is very natural to find the market moving strongly when the London session opens, and then it will move even more strongly when the New York Stock session opens. When the London and New York sessions overlap together, the movement becomes very large, and this overlap lasts for four hours.
I don’t mean by the big movement of a hundred points, but I mean that the market will move faster than before because before the opening of these sessions, there will not be enough momentum to move the market and on the contrary in the JPY pairs, the Tokyo Session works after midnight so you will find the Japanese yen pairs have big movement at these times and even after the Tokyo session closes this movement will continue because the London and New York sessions help in the movement of the JPY pairs as well, No wonder GBPJPY called the crazy pair.
3- Choosing a Trading Style
trading style
There are many trading Styles that you can choose from to become a professional trader and you have probably seen many of them on YouTube channels or on social media, To save you some time, I will explain to you the two most famous methods of analysis, which are:
Technical analysis
Technical analysis is the study of market movement technically using many tools such as support and resistance lines, price channels, and trend lines, The principle of technical analysis is that time repeats itself, so what happened in the past may happen again in the future.
Smart money concept
You can say that it is an advanced version of technical analysis but with some different names, such as support and resistance areas, which are called supply and demand, some concepts have been added due to changes in the market, such as Market structure, Imbalance, and liquidity, and you will hear this word very often from who use SMC
If you ask me about my opinion on both methods, I will tell you that the SMC is the best method of analysis because it depends on identifying the tricks of market makers and avoiding the traps they set for traders, which is liquidity. Market makers always hunt traders using technical analysis, Also, SMC has traps from market makers, but this method will help you understand the way market makers think so that you can avoid falling into their traps in the future.
There are many analysis styles that you can choose from. It is not necessary to choose between these two methods. The choice is based on your acceptance of the method itself. You may not like the SMC and want to try another method. So choose the method that suits you and your style.
4. Developing a Trading Plan
Developing a Trading Plan
The trading plan does not mean your method of analysis, but rather the way you deal with the chart and the way you enter the trade from several aspects.
Risk management
Certainly, risk management is very important in your trading plan. Professional traders always apply strict risk management. Do you want to risk all your capital in one trade or do you want to stay in the market for as long as possible? The answer is not easy because of what you will say you will do while sitting in front of the chart. This is where the psychological factor comes in.
Risk management keeps you in the market for as long as possible and protects your money from loss so that you can seize good opportunities in the market when they occur. If these golden opportunities occur, you can seize them with higher risks than usual.
Stop loss
Do you think professional traders don’t use stop loss? At the beginning of their journey do they use stop loss or not? They put stop loss just like you and me and if this method didn’t make them a lot of money, why do you think they would dispense with stop loss? Stop loss is a treasure for them because if the analysis is wrong, they lose the amount they set themselves
If a professional trader may dispense with the stop loss, I cannot say that this is a professional trader for several reasons, the most important of which is that he ignored a very important element of risk management and risked all his money in one trade, and he may be out of the market at any moment.
Strategy
If you analyze the market using technical analysis or SMC, you must develop a trading strategy that suits you. You may be an employee who works all day and devotes only two hours a day to trading. In this case, you can choose long-term analysis
It is possible that you choose trades that extend for a week or more, as day trading will most likely not suit you because day trading requires many commitments and constant monitoring of news and market fluctuations, as well as monitoring opportunities that may occur at any moment, and this, of course, will not suit you.
Write every single trade
In case you entered a trade, whether you won or lost, try to write down this trade on a piece of paper or an Excel file and write the reasons for entering this trade, whether there was a good support area or you entered with news or even if the reason was unknown to you and the reasons for exiting as well, whether there was surprising news or news that you didn’t notice before you entered and the final result of the trade, was it profitable or losing.
Professional traders write down their trades and follow their results most of the time, and This method helps you develop your way of dealing with the market and the way you enter into trades. It also helps you understand whether you made any mistakes in entering this trade or whether it was good and how your mood was before and after entering the trade, etc,
5. Continuous Learning and Education
Do you think that professional traders stopped learning and developing themselves? If they did, they would not be professional and would be filled with arrogance and would notice that in their trades. It is natural to be constantly learning in a market that is constantly changing such as the Forex market. There are many economic, political, and technical events that occur in the Forex market, and analysis methods develop every period. If you do not keep up with this development, you will be surprised by many losses that occur to you without knowing the reason.
How do you develop yourself?
There are many ways that can help you learn, including reading books or courses (including Free courses) and webinars, Of course, you should have the tools that will help you, such as writing down what the lecturer says so that you do not forget what you have learned.
6. Practice and Patience
Practice and Patience
Do you think that the demo account is only for beginners? Of course, the demo account is for all traders, especially professional traders, because they always want to try new things and strategies that they have previously developed. After all, as we agreed, the market is constantly changing, and if you do not develop your style, you will face many losses.
The demo account helps you gain experience and knowledge, so do not dispense with the demo account even after you master the strategy you are working with. You may want to try something new or develop your strategy, and of course, you will not do that in the real account.
Summary
To become a professional trader in the Forex market, you must understand the nature of the market well. The market is constantly changing, and if you cannot keep up with this change, you will face many losses. You must choose a trading method that is appropriate for your lifestyle, as not all methods are suitable for you, Always striving to learn and develop yourself is very important, so be patient and one day you will become a professional trader.
David Easton
I am David Easton, a dedicated professional with an MBA and residing in Los Angeles, California. My journey through the complex world of finance, especially in Forex trading, has been shaped by a rich academic background and over a decade of hands-on experience. This journey led me to specialize in the development and application of Expert Advisors (Forex robots), through which I have created hundreds of products designed to efficiently navigate the Forex market.
My deep dive into market trends and trading tools reflects my passion for the financial markets and my commitment to making Forex trading accessible to traders at all levels. With this goal in mind, I co-founded https://eafxstore.com/, aiming to bridge the gap between advanced trading technologies and everyday traders. The website serves as an educational hub, offering state-of-the-art trading tools and the necessary knowledge to use them effectively, all with the purpose of providing the greatest benefit at the lowest possible cost.
As a co-founder of EA FX Store, my mission extends beyond financial success; it’s about creating a platform that democratizes access to sophisticated trading tools, ensuring that education and technology go hand in hand to empower traders. Through this endeavor, I am committed to making a positive impact on the trading community, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their level of experience, has the opportunity to achieve their trading goals with the best resources at their disposal. This is not just my business; it’s my passion and my contribution to the world of Forex trading.