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from steam Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 11:45 (Agree/Disagree?) I have played with a forex simulator and it was fun. The thing about currency trading is that it has the potential to creat or lose vast sums very quickly. The reason is leverage. One hundred dollars can represent a one hundred thousand dollar "position" that allows the money to double if the currency moves one tenth of one cent (a currency move that happens every few minutes). On any given day currencies fluctuate ten times that (potential to turn $100 into $1000). Every time you buy a "position" it cost you $30 but evn the tiniest move in the right direction recovers that. One the other side the same tiny move in the wrong direction wipes you out instantly. Even if you make the correct overall bet on any given day, if you get wiped out with a minor move in the wrong direction before it moves in the right one you never realise those gains. I had fun having it minimised on my screen throughout the work day and watching my "positions" gain money or collapse. I usually made money. But working with the real thing would be pure vegas baby. I couldn't do that because I am not able to stay totaly on top of all the relevant news every time I have a position open, as well as not having the money to take the losses. You can by the way tweak down the leverage so the gains and loses are smaller with moves in the market, but then the $30 to buy the "position" becomes more relevant to the big picture as you cannot make as much even though you cannot lose as much. Basically it is very risky, but if you are the new George Soros the gains can be astronomical. (reply to this comment)

from one who knows, no seriously Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 06:35 (Agree/Disagree?) yeah!! I would totally be suspicious, if you know what I mean! These "new world order" types are always trying to pull stuff on us. They say they're giving us a profit, but they're lying. Man, I hate liars!!! Big fat double-chin faggs! -George Or-are-we-well (reply to this comment)

From animal farm Thursday, February 21, 2008, 07:09 (Agree/Disagree?) some animals are more equal than others...(reply to this comment)

from Ne Oublie Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 13:48 (Agree/Disagree?) All traders start their training on simulators, and they provide an excellent way to learn how the markets work, etc. However - aside from the points AndyH mentioned - there is a significant psychological difference between trading on a sim and trading real money - suddenly those risks that you were prepared to make with fake money start to take on a new significance. It's also important not to discount the 'luck' factor - unless you actually have an understanding of how and why you've made the money that you have, it's likely to just be luck and not replicable over the long-term. If, on the other hand, you actually do know what you were doing and why, then there's a good chance you've got potential to continue making money - once you've overcome the psychological challenge I mentioned earlier. (reply to this comment)

from AndyH Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 07:58 (Agree/Disagree?) I've played those fantasy forex games a bit, but I couldn't make any money, so I switched to fantasy stock trading. All I know is that Forex is a zero sum game, and since retail traders have no leverage, they tend to lose out. Retail traders also tend to be the subject of fraud and scams. Be sure to do alot of research before making the change from fantasy to live trading. You have to take things like fees and commissions into consideration, as well as whatever time delays might apply in the real world. Good luck! (reply to this comment)