Brilliant post, Milliard. Thanks.
Many (if not most?) of us using retail brokers reading this thread will not have access to the tools that you pro's have access to. I believe they would provide a strategic advantage toward entering trades and having perhaps a higher strike rate. But...
I would like to emphasize that although the more tools you have in your bag, the better, having such professional tools is not a prerequisite to success in forex. You can still quite capably bring in excellent cash flow if you abide by some simple rules (most of which have been repeated often in this thread):
- Find an "edge" that works consistently for you.
- Spend as much time at the screen watching as possible.
- Be PATIENT in waiting for the GRADE-A setups.
- Be DISCIPLINED in executing your edge without hesitation.
- GO WITH THE FLOW.
- Choose your battlefield (currency pair) carefully. Skew the odds of success in your favor as much as possible.
- Use WISE MONEY MANAGEMENT. Protect your entries against losses. Don't ever let a winning trade become a losing trade.
These are repeats of what we all probably know. And most of it I was taught myself by those now present in this thread. But it doesn't hurt to repeat it over and over (and over).
Yes - having an underlying (higher-grade) view of the news and order flows would certainly be nice and could be used to sharpen your edge, but they aren't a prerequisite for success. (I know that Milliard wasn't implying that they were a prerequisite, but I can see some reading this thread who might feel like they need it to be successful.) A heap-load of money can be made using retail brokers by following these simple rules, even if you don't have access to anything more than a news calendar.
I have read of some people complaining that their retail broker has been playing tricks of various sorts on them, requiring them to switch brokers (supposedly because they make too much). The only people I can honestly think of who would be affected by this are those playing the news or the very fast time-frames (or those with very bad brokers). I've been with OAnda for years and can honestly say that if your edge isn't news-based or based on the very short time-frames (like the 1-min or smaller frames), there is very little that a broker can do to prevent you from making money, aside from turning off your feed. If your edge is flexible enough to be utilized on the larger and mid-term chart-frames (even down to the 5-min frame if you're very careful and picky), the "good" brokers won't be able to knock you out of positions very easily at all. So despite what some have said, I believe you CAN make excellent money from good retail brokers (I continue to do fine) if you abide by the rules.
Learning Forex is easy. Trading forex profitably is easy (once you find your edge). The hard part is learning to control your mind so that it doesn't prevent you from being profitable.