So what is a professional currency trader and how do you get to be one if you are just trading currency part time right now? This is the big question for most forex traders because just about everyone who is involved in the forex market has the dream of being able to support themselves and their families from their trading some day.

A professional currency trader could also be described as a full time forex trader but the words ‘full time’ give the impression of working 9 to 5 which is not really what it is all about. The point is to become financially free and enjoy what you do at the same time. If you continue trading consistently and successfully, you could go on to become rich.

There are two things that you need if you want to turn professional with currency trading.

1. A Simple But Profitable System

Successful traders don’t hop from one strategy to another. They develop a successful forex trading system, often by tweaking an existing system that they got from somebody else, and then they stick with it.

Usually this is a surprisingly simple system. It’s not something complex that requires insider knowledge of the financial markets or a genius mind for math. It’s the kind of system that you are probably applying right now.

The difference is that they know from experience that their system is profitable so they can apply it all of the time in a disciplined way. They trade when the signals are right and not when they are not. There may be a month when they make no money. That’s OK. They don’t panic. They know it will even out in the long term.

2. Money

It takes money to make money. The old cliche is just as true in forex trading as in any other type of investment. If you have a mini trading account with $1000 in it, you are not going to be able to turn professional tomorrow. It just is not possible to make enough money to live on from $1000 capital because that would mean turning a 300% to 500% profit a month. Get real.

What you can do, of course, is slowly build up your capital. If you can make 10% or even a conservative 5% growth per month, then you can get there in a few years. 10% growth per month, consistently for 4 years, gets you up close to the $100,000 mark where real money is made. Until that time of course you cannot withdraw any of your funds so you must have another source of income.

If your system gives you 5% growth it will take you twice as long but you are probably less likely to crash and burn in the process. However, if you start with $10,000 you can do it in half the time.

Remember to keep a low risk per trade: don’t take big risks to try to make more money. The really big traders keep their risk down to around 1% of funds or even less. When you have hundreds of thousands of dollars in your account, you want to make darn sure you don’t lose it all.

And that, in fact, is probably the biggest secret to becoming a professional currency trader: protect your capital.

There are many Forex trading systems on the market. The most frequently used is

IvyBot

Demo currency trading accounts are offered as a great free benefit by most currency trading brokers and are promoted all over in the trading world, but are they always such a big bonus? Could they be bad for your trading health? In this article we will consider demo currency trading accounts from all points of view and take their bad points along with the good.

What is a demo account?

If you have ever used an online casino you will know that most of them have two modes: real money, where you have to actually deposit funds and risk them, or fun/demo mode, where you have an imaginary account balance. They hope you will get addicted, or win a lot of imaginary money and think you are invincible, so that you will go ahead and open up a real money account.

Demo forex accounts are very similar in some ways. Brokers offer demo accounts hoping that you will try out their software platform and like it. They give you the chance to start trading and work out a profitable system without risk, on the assumption that when you decide to invest funds you will go with the platform that you have become familiar with.

From the point of view of the beginner trader, using a demo account has a lot of advantages. It gives you the chance to apply what you have read and begin trading without risk. Ideally, you will start out with or quickly develop a profitable currency trading system and a solid trading plan. You will learn to make money from forex trading, develop a cool head and move on to become a successful real money trader. However …

A demo currency trading account has one big disadvantage and strangely, that is the same as one of its advantages: the fact that it is risk free. When you are not using your own hard earned cash you are likely to open trades on feeling rather than systems, or take risks that you would not take with real money. If you are lucky and your demo trades do well, you may open a real money account with misplaced confidence, thinking that you cannot lose. Experience will sadly soon show you that you were wrong!

Demo accounts are great for experienced traders who just want to get to know a new broker’s platform before they commit to switching their account. They are also good for beginners, but only if they use them properly. You absolutely must learn to apply a trading plan consistently and with discipline before you start trading with real money. If you do not do that, a demo currency trading account may be worse than useless.

There are many Currency Trading Brokers who offers a free demo account. The most frequently used is Forex Yard