I’m just starting to learn forex and experimenting with trades on a MetaTrader demo account. Can someone explain how much I’ve spent on these trades? I know it sounds silly, but for USDJPY, if I bought 25 at 157, does that mean I spent 3,925? So from that $3,925, did I make $6,361? I guess I should probably watch a video on this, but I jumped right in to play around and see if I could figure it out, lol. Thanks a lot.
You’re going about this all wrong. Check out Baby Pips and go through that free course.
Don’t even open MetaTrader until you know what you’re doing. Random demo wins can mess with your mindset since those profits aren’t real.
Finding beginner forex videos on YouTube will really help you out. Best of luck on your path.
The forex market, where we retail traders operate, typically involves contracts based on leverage.
You can buy or sell any currency pair with these contracts (long or short positions).
To figure out your trade sizes, look at something called LOT SIZE.
For example, say you want to risk 1% of your account on a trade buying GBP/JPY with a stop loss of 50 pips.
You can use a lot size calculator like this:
Capital: 100k
Risk: 1%
Pip size: 50 pips
Currency pair: GBP/JPY
__________
Lot = 3.003 lots
(That rounds down to 3.00 lots because you can only use two decimal places.)
Seriously, please educate yourself more before jumping into live trading with real money, or you might regret it later.
Get a grip on risk management first; everything else can come afterward.
I probably should watch a video on this
but just went straight to messing around and thought I could figure it out lol.
You’re right about watching a video but completely wrong for just jumping in.
It’s a demo account, so it’s not a huge deal.
You should just delete it and use cTrader instead.
Angel said:
You should just delete it and use cTrader instead.
cTrader does offer better tools for position sizing. But do you really think a beginner should skip learning about position sizing? I don’t agree with that.
You definitely should watch a beginner’s video on forex. Take it step by step. If you don’t take the time to learn, you’ll miss out on essential basic info.
Using a lot size of 24 on a 100k account is just reckless and a gamble. It won’t last long. Watch YouTube videos for sure.
Ash said:
Using a lot size of 24 on a 100k account is just reckless and a gamble. It won’t last long. Watch YouTube videos for sure.
I trade 20 lots on a 50k account with Nasdaq without any issues. Bad traders lose, but you can trade any size as long as you manage your risks and understand the volatility/average true range.
One lot on Bitcoin isn’t the same as one lot on gold or one lot on Nikkei. Saying a lot size is bad ignores the actual trade value and risk.
Ash said:
Using a lot size of 24 on a 100k account is just reckless and a gamble. It won’t last long. Watch YouTube videos for sure.
Can I ask how much I spent on that USDJPY to make that $6k profit?
YouTube is a good resource.
Just read from left to right.
I can explain it. Here’s what you should look for:
Instrument. Buy or Sell. Lots in trade (check the contract size!)…unrealized profit/loss
Entry price → current price… Date of entry.
Swap refers to fees charged or paid when you hold positions across session changes.
Nice demo account, lol.
Zorion said:
Nice demo account, lol.
I mentioned it was a demo…
You should focus on swing trading more than scalping.