Whether you call it Forex, FX or the currency market, the Foreign Exchange is where over two-trillion (USD) is traded on a daily basis, making it exponentially larger than the New York and London Stock Exchange combined. In fact, the forex market is the largest financial market in the world. Participants can buy and sell currencies on the market based on their predictions of how currency pair exchange rates will perform. If their predictions are correct, they have the potential to make a profit. If their predictions are wrong, they incur a loss.

Before you leap in with big hopes of cashing out, though, take a minute to read these Forex-related trading tips.

Start your trading career with a plan, set clearly defined goals, and stick to them consistently. Your strategy will be different depending on whether you want your trading to be your primary source of income or just a source of extra money. Additionally, you can protect yourself from excessive loss if you have already decided what risks are too great to take.

When trading currencies on the forex market make sure you always trade with a stop-loss order. This prevents you from losing too much on a trade. Currencies are extremely volatile and it is easy to lose your shirt, but as long as you trade with a stop-loss order you can minimize losses.

Emotion is not part of a forex trading strategy, so do not let fear, greed, or hope dictate your trades. Follow your plan, not your emotions. Trading with your emotions always leads you astray and is not part of a successful forex trading strategy for making a lot of money.

When participating in forex trading, you must decide whether to go short, go long, or do nothing. With a rising market, go long. With a falling market, go short. With a market that is not moving, you should stay out of the market until it moves one way or the other.

The foreign exchange market is hands on! Instead of looking to someone else to guide you through the FOREX process, try to do it yourself. Learn how to trade on your own while making your own decisions instead of relying on anyone else for the answers.

A great Forex trading tip is to not worry too much about what other traders are doing. You might be comfortable with a three percent risk, taking in five percent profits every month, while another trader might be comfortable with four times the amount of risk and profit. It’s best not to compete with other traders.

Do not pressure yourself in to trading on your Forex when you are seeing no results. Many people make bad decisions when they do not understand where something is going. Sometimes it is best to do nothing. It is okay to just stay out of something you cannot get a good feel for.

Use fundamental analysis as well as technical analysis when forex trading. Fundamental analysis considers economic, political and social forces that influence supply and demand. Interest rates, the rate of inflation, unemployment rates and economic growth rates are all macroeconomic indications that you can use to make more informed, profitable currency trading decisions.

To find the perfect moment to invest, pay attention to both the spot rate and the forward rate. The forward rate indicates the given value of a currency at a certain point of time, regardless of its spot rate. The spot rate indicates the current fluctuation and allows you to guess the upcoming trend.

The reason that you cannot rush into anything uninformed, much less the Forex market, is that you will always be in a position to fail. People in a position to fail often do fail. It’s like a universal law. But by learning and applying the tips above, you’ll put yourself in a position to succeed. And, as you may have guessed, people in this position often succeed.