It's still amazes me that many newbie's in the Forex and some old caps difficult to consistently make money from forex. There are four basic pitfalls that you want to avoid when trading forex and I know from personal experience, nearly all newbies to the forex to do so.
1 Under the funding of your account: Do not open Forex account until you are able to fund it with at least £ 5000 or $ 8,000. If you want to practice then you can open a mini account, but do not expect to make any money with anything less.
2 Retail management and money management: Some of the best money managers in the world are fighting for a 15% return on equity each year, so who are you to block a trend? Do not risk what you have and use this simple rule when trading - For every £ 2,000 of shares trade with 1 mini lot or 10,000 seats, or CFD. It's got nothing to do with how much money you are actually going to risk just how much money to put on the table when you shop.
3 Have a plan: Yes it seems incredibly simple, but how many of you have a routine when trading? I think to do the same thing day after day finding these trades? Or do you just jump from one strategy to another depending on the store? Keep it simple strategy and it will pay dividends some time. Losses are part of merchant life.
4 Rest assured: the entry and exit your trades were intended to save and use all the trading tools available to you for example to stop losses and trailing stops. If you panic before the trades, then do not trade. Simple. You are not the alpha and omega you will make losses, but we have a plan (see point 3) you are able to exit the craft at the right points.
Trading is a lonely job, but you do not have to trade alone. There are forums and trading rooms that you can go to talk to all trading and much more. If you are looking for something a little light heart, then check out Big Weber Chronicles blog. He talks mainly about Geppy (GBP / JPY), in his daily column Geppy Chronicles.
Remember Forex trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You are not alone.