Many new traders think that profiting from the Forex involves finding a ‘secret formula’ or trading strategy. So they embark on an exhaustive search for what amounts to the ‘holy grail’ only to find themselves still searching 2 or 3 years later still waiting for consistent profits.

If that is the case, it is unlikely to be the strategy that’s the problem. Profiting from Forex can be done through any number of tried and test strategies. Just purchase a training package from many of the reputable online traders or brokers and you will find them.

The main problem that stops traders from profiting from Forex is in the mind! Successful Forex trading involves a whole range of mind control skills and mental disciplines that take some time to develop.

So if you are still struggling after one or two years of trading the Forex, start to focus your time and energies not so much on searching for a new strategy or trading methodology, but rather on yourself and how you approach and manage trades.

Monitoring Emotional State

How can this be done?

By monitoring our personal responses and emotional state during the course of a trading day.

Once we have a strategy we have confidence in, it is merely a case of waiting until the setup appears where we can employ that strategy.

Here is the problem. The Forex market goes through long periods of consolidation and low liquidity. The anxious trader will desperately look for trading opportunities and deviate from the strategy they have selected.

So things may not be quite right, but it looks reasonably favorable so in they go only to be dismayed when the trade turns against them.

It takes much mental discipline to restrain oneself from going into trades that do not match the criteria the strategy demands.

Once in the trade, mental discipline is again required so the trade is managed properly.

Have you ever found yourself doing this?

You enter the trade after examining risk and profit potential. Your stop is strategically placed 25 pips from your entry point. Price starts to go against you. It gets dangerously close to your stop and you think to yourself, “the trade needs a little more room for maneuver so I’ll push back the stop by another 5 pips.” Price continues to pull back getting close to your new stop.

The novice trader now thinks, “Just another 5 pips to make sure I’m not needlessly going to get stopped out of this trade” and moves the stop back to 35 pips.

Almost predictably in this scenario, price continues stopping out the trade at 35 pips. The trader has now suffered a loss of 35 pips instead of 25 pips which was originally factored in.

Continuing to trade in this manner makes profiting from Forex pretty remote! It takes mental discipline to stick to the plan!

Winning And Losing Responses

Then come the emotions associated with winning or losing.

The newer Forex trader will feel emotions of elation on getting a winning trade. In fact, the whole day can appear bright and cheerful with just one winning trade.

On the other hand, a losing trade can put the same trader into the depths of depression or despair. The day seems grim and hopeless leading to flawed judgment on the next trade which also goes wrong and compounds the attack on the trader’s level of confidence.

It takes mental discipline to keep the emotions in check trying to avoid feeling either elation or despair on the basis of a winning or losing trade.

The disciplined trader approaches order entry almost mechanically realizing there will be winners and losers and that the strategy, if adhered to, will in the end win out!

So how can we develop this tough mental condition and strong mindset if ever we are to see the day when we are actually profiting from Forex?

Just as the trader will keep monitoring the charts, watching price action and candle formations during the course of a trading session, the same monitoring activity needs to be applied to the mental and emotional condition.

Self-Monitoring Sessions

This can be achieved by constantly asking questions of oneself. For example:

• What am I feeling right now?
• Am I in a relaxed state or am I anxious, agitated, or frustrated?
• Am I desperately looking for trading opportunities when no high probability trades are setting up right now?
• How did I react after my last trade whether it was successful or not?
• What can I learn from that and how can I better handle my emotions next time?
• Am I enjoying the experience or am I nervous of the markets?

Many sports participants and Olympic medalists spend huge amounts of time and resources on getting the right mindset. Coaches work with them to develop mental discipline and mind conditioning so they perform well under pressure and become aware of their own emotional state and feelings.

Often, it is not so much the level of skill or physical strength that makes the difference between the winner and the rest, it is competitor who has mental toughness who has the edge!

Focus On Mindset

So if you have been trading the Forex for one or two years already with mixed results, why not focus on your mindset.

Select a strategy that has a tried and tested track record by other traders and professionals who are already profiting from Forex, and then spend most of your time and energy developing the mind skills necessary to get into the small percentage of traders who actually make money on the Forex!

To learn how to preserve your mental and emotional resources in addition to your account equity click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-day-trading-mental-equity.htm

Do you know the important lesson Mohammed Ali teaches us about Forex trading? Read it here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-online-trading-mohammed-ali.htm

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

In a previous article I mentioned that my analysis involves monitoring price action, in order to gain an insight into the short term sentiment of the market. Determining who is in control at that time – the bulls or the bears. And assessing how they’re likely to respond to changes in the market.

I thought today I’d prepare a quick article to give an overview of how I analyze price. Those of you who know me know that I’m a great fan of candlestick charting. However, price analysis is much more than just watching for your favorite candlestick patterns. Too many people just teach the candlestick patterns, which are fine, but in my opinion there’s some essential analysis missing that an astute trade needs to consider BEFORE they look at price action and respond to every candlestick or bar chart pattern.

Let’s have a look at what I mean.

Price analysis for me is essentially a top down approach, working from the macro level of Market Structure (so we analyze the big picture first), then down to the current Trend within that structure, and only then do we look at the current price pattern, whether through candlestick analysis or whatever other method works for you.

So I basically start off with a wide view of the market, and drill down to the detail in the current price bar or pattern.

I prefer to do this over two timeframes.

The market structure is defined primarily on a higher timeframe. For me, as a daytrader, that’s the one hour charts. Of course, if you trade differently to me then that can be any other time period you wish. Just make it higher than the timeframe you trade on – I recommend by at least a factor of four.

Then on the shorter timeframe (what I call the trading timeframe) I refine the market structure a little further, analyze the movement and strength of the trend, and then assess the bullish or bearish sentiment based on the current price patterns.

For me, the trading timeframe’s anywhere from 1 minute to 5 minute charts, depending on the market and its volatility, and how well the price is flowing.

So, what do I mean by market structure, trend analysis and price analysis?

Firstly Market Structure:

* The higher timeframe chart is opened and any areas of major support or resistance are identified and clearly marked on the chart.

* Support & Resistance for me are areas of past price congestion, swing highs or lows, or gaps. That doesn’t include any ‘guessing’ at future support or resistance, via the use of pivots points or Fibonacci levels. I’m not a fan of these analysis techniques. Of course, if they work for you, good on you, keep using them.

* My expectation when I trade is that there is a higher probability of price stalling or reversing at these areas of major support or resistance.

* I then narrow my focus to the shorter trading timeframe and add to the market structure framework, by identifying areas of minor support or resistance. (Typically we look on the current trend first, but you may at times need to look back beyond the current trend, to previous market action, to find applicable areas of minor support or resistance)

* Once again, these come from areas of congestion, swing highs or lows, or gaps. That is, areas which are proven to stall price movement or reverse price direction. My expectation with minor support or resistance is for a higher probability of minor support holding in an uptrend, and minor resistance holding in a downtrend.

* That’s it for Market Structure – simply identifying a support and resistance framework within which price moves. Simple!

Having defined our market structure, or a framework within which price will move, we now focus our attention on the current trend. This occurs, as does all further analysis, on the trading timeframe.

* I conduct analysis on the trend to identify its strength. Is the trend moving strongly, in which case we can anticipate it being more likely to break through the next support or resistance levels, or is it weakening, in which case we have a greater probability of the support or resistance levels forming a barrier to further price movement?

* We determine the strength of the trend by looking at its proximity to the support and resistance barriers within the framework, and also gain clues from changes in momentum or volatility.

* Is the current price swing, faster or slower than preceding swings within that trend? Is the current price swing speeding up, or slowing down?

* Is the volatility changing? Is the average range of the price bars increasing or decreasing?

* These sorts of questions regarding changes of volatility and momentum can give you clues into the changing strength of the trend, and the likelihood of a reversal at, or continuation through, an area of support or resistance.

* If you want to get experienced at this, it takes time. Review price charts over and over, identifying how changes of momentum and volatility precede either a continuation or reversal of that trend.

Having gained an appreciation of the strength of the trend, and its location within the support and resistance framework, ONLY THEN, finally, do I concern myself with the current price action to determine the bullish or bearish sentiment (or more particularly a potential change of sentiment) through candlestick analysis.

What does this little bit of extra work give me?

Here’s an example:

Instead of entering short on a shooting star reversal pattern, just because it matches the shooting star diagram in my book on candlestick patterns, I will first conduct further price analysis regarding the trend and how it moves within the support and resistance framework. For example, the price may have just meandered slowly up to a major resistance level. The current price swing may clearly show less momentum than both the previous upswing and downswing. And the price bar range may be narrowing. This gives a reduced likelihood of the commitment required from the bulls to break through the area of increased supply. The shooting star pattern provides evidence of a clear rejection of prices at that resistance level. This provides me with a lower risk or higher probability trade in the short direction.

Another example:

Instead of entering long on a harami cross reversal pattern, just because it matches the harami cross in my book on candlestick patterns, I’ll conduct further analysis to see where this pattern occurs within the bigger picture of market structure. For example, the trend may show a strong and accelerating move downward, on greatly increased volume, extending price rapidly to great distances below its average, right into an area of major support. This is an area where I expect increased demand is likely to be sufficient to absorb and overcome the force of the bears who have spent all their energy on the climactic move downwards. This is an area where I expect price to find support. The harami cross shows a clear halting of the rapid move down, and allows me an opportunity to enter a low risk trade close to an area of major price support.

Seriously, the end result might be the same, but at least I’ve entered based on a reasonable assessment of the price action in order to maximize the potential for a lower risk or higher probability trade. Over a lifetime of trading I expect this approach will produce more favorable results than just entering because the pattern matched one I’d memorized from a book.

Ok, a bit of a summary, and I know this is a bit of repetition for those familiar with my work, but don’t just blindly take your entry triggers. Think about where they occur within the bigger picture structure of the market.

The market structure defines where you trade. The trigger, whether a candlestick pattern or some other form of entry trigger, tells you when to get in, ONLY when you’ve first met the requirements of the market structure rule.

Think about where the current price movement is within a framework of support and resistance. Think about the changing strength of the current trend, or price swing, as it approaches this area of support or resistance. Watch for signs of strength or weakness in the trend, through the clues evident in changes of momentum and volatility.

And don’t forget – ALWAYS USE STOPS, because there are no guarantees. This is a game of probabilities.

Happy trading

Lance Beggs

(c) Copyright Lance Beggs

http://www.YourTradingCoach.com All Rights Reserved Would you like to learn more about how I trade the forex and equity index markets? Check out the articles, videos and trading resources on my website right now at http://www.YourTradingCoach.com

So you’re interested in Forex trading but you’re losing money like an addicted gambler? Have no fear, here’s the solution.

Match Your System with The Market

Of course, whatever style or method you choose to trade, it needs to be profitable. Mathematically, this means that at the end of the day (or month, or year), if you clump all the winners and losers, you’ll end up net positive. Statiscally, this is called having an edge, or having a positive edge. You must make sure, through backtesting and managed forward testing, that your system is indeed profitable. You might be asking, “But I can’t seem to follow my trading plan.” We’ll get to that later, but for now, let’s assume that you CAN follow your trading system perfectly.

Matching your system with the market means that the system works for that market at the time. Keep in mind your system might work for the EUR, but maybe not for the CAD. Also keep in mind that the system might have worked for the previous 6 months, but something happened to the market that the participants are acting differently now; this would mean that your system was profitable for the past 6 months but the market change has nullified your system’s edge.

Let’s assume that your system is somewhat profitable if you could follow it perfectly. So what’s next?

Match The System With Yourself

At this point, you might be thinking, “Hey, I was looking for a How to trade forex article, not some self-help psychoanalysis article.” Do yourself a favor, and read through the entire article, because this might be the key ingredient your trading has been missing.

This is the part where 99% of the traders don’t seem to understand. If you happen to talk with other traders, please feel free to point this section of the article out; it might be the missing key ingredient in your entire system.

It’s pretty obvious that if you have a profitable trading system written down in your trading plan, but you can’t seem to follow the rules, that trading plan is as good as useless. So why do you deviate from you trading plan that you’ve researched so hard for? There are two primary reasons: 1) Your expectations as an analyst versus your expectations as a trader. And 2) Your trading system doesn’t match your personality. I could write an entire book on the first issue, but we’ll focus on the second issue in this article.

To trade with consistency, you need to understand how your subconscious mind works. If your trading system contradicts who YOU are as a person, your mind will NATURALLY pull you away from that trading style, and SUBCONSCIOUSLY gravitate you to a particularly different trading style. A lot of people get confused here, and this is one tough concept, (and really, not too many people want to learn about it) so don’t worry if you’re confused. Let me give you a few examples, the first ones illustrating basic principles, then drilling down to more subtle points:

First example is John. John likes playing video games. He loves playing 5 handed table Texas Hold’em (poker) with his friends. He likes playing hardcore sports. He is a risk-seeker. His natural trading style is day trading and/or fast swing trading. He cannot naturally trade longer time frames because that’s not who John is, and John is a fast-paced guy. So no matter trading system he’s researched, backtested, and written, he won’t be able to trade it unless it fits his naturally fast-paced personality. Also note that his personality has gravitated John towards all these other fast-paced activities like video games and poker.

Let me give you a more subtle example: Susan was an underdog all her life. So she pictures herself as David who fights against all the Goliaths of life. Whenever there’s a competition, election, or basketball game, she always roots for the underdog because subconsciously she relates more with the underdog.
How does this affect her trading? She’s naturally a fader. Fading the market means going the opposite of the major trend. So while trend followers go with the majority of the market participants’ decisions, Susan is the opposite; she naturally likes to bottom/top pick and go against the trend. This means that she has to either 1) change herself to match the trend following system (which is hard), or 2) find and develop a profitable fading trading system (which is easier). Mostly likely, she’ll have a better time trading sideways markets, fading at the edges of the channel. Of course, how she decides to trail also depends on her self-image.

At this point, you might be thinking, “Ok, this is starting to make a little more sense now. But I don’t really know how to do all this stuff.” Let’s move on to the final point.

Know Yourself

Schedule a 1~2 hour block of free time and go through this this action plan:

• 1. Make a list of all the activities you enjoy doing.
• 2. Make a list of all the people you naturally enjoy hanging out with.
• 3. Make a list of all the movies, TV shows, sports, etc. you naturally find pleasure in.
• 4. (Insert more questions you can make up)

Take a close look at all those items, and focus on analyzing what kind of item it is. For each item determine:

• 1. Is this fast-paced, medium-paced, or laid back? Are you a New York City person or a Southern California person?
• 2. Is this more number smart or people smart? Are you naturally good with numbers or with peoples’ feelings?
• 3. Is this more of an underdog or topdog activity? When you watch a tennis match, do you root for the topdog or the underdog?

All these things reflect who you are at the time. The more laid back you are, the larger the timeframe you need to trade (because you would trade less frequently and the trades would take a longer time). The more fast-paced you are, the more you should swing trade or even day trade. The more number smart you are, the more systematic, quantitative, and progamming-oriented you are with your backtesting and trading. The opposite would be much more of a discretionary trader. The more topdog-inclined you are, the more of a trend-following system you need to trade. The opposite would be fading at the edges of a sideways channel.

But keep in mind that most people are a combination of the two. Explore yourself. Take some time for self reflection. Here’re more questions for you to really think about:

• 1. What does this list say about how I should trail my trades?
• 2. How should I enter and exit? Partial profits or not?
• 3. Which markets should I trade? Which session should I trade?
• 4. Should I consider trading stocks, options, or futures instead?
• 5. Should I use technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or both?
• 6. Am I even right for trading?

Let’s look at one last example:

Mathematically, if you don’t take partial profits – that is, you enter and exit only once, and not exit multiple positions – you would make approximately 3~4 times more profit than traders that do take partial profits. To clarify, let’s say you’re long 3 contracts, and you unload 1 lot at +25 pips, the second at +45, and the last at +60: this is what I mean by taking partial profits. But let’s say you’re short 3 lots, and you decide to exit all 3 lots at +47 pips. That would be the opposite of taking partial profits.

But again, let’s take a closer look at what I talked about in this article and relate it to this point: Sure, on paper you’d be more profitable, but then again, all trading plans are profitable. It’s just that you couldn’t follow that plan in the first place. Just as likely, not taking partial profits is more profitable, but it’s the same principle – it’s easier on your mind to take partial profits. It’s a trade off between psychological ease and economical gain.

There is a deep underlying reason why every trader naturally wants to take partial profits, and I could write a separate article on it, but suffice it to say that everyone initially is naturally inclined to cut profits short and let losses run. (As a teaser, it’s about how we grew up in society/school/parents that has instilled beliefs that are beneficial to us in society but detrimental in the markets.) The more question is can you trade this way? Should you trade this way? Forget about what’s more profitable on paper. Focus on being able to trade with consistency by trading according to your natural self.

Well I hope this article has shed some interesting insights with your trading. Perhaps you’re ecstatic at this new finding, perhaps you thought this was a waste of time, or perhaps you don’t even have a trading system yet. Don’t worry, take your time.

So what now?

So now you’ve done your due diligence and now you know what your ideal trading system is. Well, good news! We’ve done most of the research for you. My website has compiled most of today’s forex trading system. If you’re somewhat of a discretionary swing trader, I highly suggest this Forex trading system. Feel free to browse for the right system for you. Feel free to even browse for more Forex education.

Now, before I finish, I’d like to leave you with this: Risk is not a function of the market, but a function of the investor. The greatest thing you can invest in is not in a specific instrument or market. The greatest thing you can invest in is yourself. Never stop reading, never stop learning.

“A couple of months ago John had an idea on how to make money and hopefully say goodbye to the boss one day. He’d discovered that he could get involved in Forex Trading, and had read many web pages telling him that he could make hundreds of thousands of dollars with ease.

He had some spare money to use, so he went and purchased Forex trading software and then got a live trading account. The system was easy to setup and with minimal intervention he set up the system to what he thought was required and then let it run.

By the end of week 1 he’d made quite a tidy profit. In week 2 things were a little flat but he came out on top. In week 3 somewhere went astray and he lost all of the money he’d made in week 1. In week 4 he put some more money into the market but lost that as well. By week 5 John was at a total loss to explain what had happened, had managed to lose all his hard earned savings, and was facing many arguments with his wife as they struggled to pay bills.”

The above story is fictional, but sadly, totally plausible. There are a number of people rushing into Forex Trading who forget that the market can be like an unhappy relationship that keeps costing you money.

Although online currency trading software does make life a lot easier, like any investment there is an element of risk involved. In particular, the Forex currency market moves fast and it is easy to lose money quickly if you are lacking awareness of what is happening in the market. Often all people like John need is some additional guidance. For example, there are some days when it is better to stay out of the market completely due to unpredictability. There are also other indicators about where a currency pair is likely to head — for example, something as simple as a change in the price of oil can easily influence the USD price. What people like John need is an opportunity to pick up on this knowledge, and by doing so they can ensure that the profitable trades outnumber the non-profitable trades. A little bit of extra money invested upfront in a system that delivered these options is likely to have a huge impact on John’s Forex trading profitability — and likely to make his relationship happier too.

Thankfully picking up on this knowledge is now easy via The Forex Brotherhood. It’s Forex trading for people who are serious about Forex trading. Twice daily live market updates and reports, online support forums, and the guidance of a 20 year foreign currency trading veteran who is determined to assist each of his clients in maximizing their Forex profits. Find out more here – http://forex-trading-systems-4-you.com/forexbrotherhood

When governmental agencies examine why the vast majority of new traders to the Foreign Exchange Markets (Forex or FX) failed, (95%) statistics have shown the vast majority of collapses are directly related to the margins offered by the various Forex brokerage firms. A currency can only go in one of two directions, which are it can increase in value or decrease in value. There fore the chances of correctly selecting the path a currency in moving is 50%. But, 95% of new traders to the market fail to make money and drop out. Simply put, these statistics don’t match; they do not correspond to what should be expected. So there must be another factor causing so many breakdowns when entering the FX markets.

Governmental researchers then dived deeper into the numbers and determined that some Forex brokerage firms where offering margins of as much as 200 times more than the original investment. Which means a person investing $100 could control as much as $20,000 worth of currency. When compared to the regulated stock markets, which can only offer a one to one margin, in other words for every $1 invested the trader was allowed to borrow an additional $1 to invest with, they found the Forex brokerage firms allowable margins completely out of control.

To the novice investor the idea of controlling $20,000 worth of currency with a $100 investment seems like the greatest thing they have ever seen, which is simply not the case. In order to be profitable with this approach one would need to make winning trades 100% of the time in order to not be wiped out. Another factor most new investors in the FX markets are not aware of is that they are being charged interest on the $20,000 they are borrowing. This is another reason accounts can be wiped out if a currency stays relatively flat for a few days.

There are a multitude of exceptional Forex training courses that go into detail on the proper methods to control margin related risk. If a new trader in the Forex markets does not understand this simple concept at the highest level they simply have little or no chance of being successful. You really need to take your time to learn currency trading from the bottom to top in order to be profitable. Some of the Forex trading systems have warning systems in place when one is using more than an acceptable rate of margins, which can be extremely helpful since normally as an investor advances in there career they become involved in more than one currency trade concurrently. Simply put, if you don’t understand all of the consequences of utilizing the margins offered by the Forex brokerage firms you really should not be trading the currency markets.

We have researched, tested & reviewed 100s of Forex Courses, Software Systems and Brokerage Firms which we only list our TOP 10 to help you LEARN FOREX TRADING. For 100s of FREE FOREX TUTORIALS please visit LEARN CURRENCY TRADING. Good Luck! I look forward to seeing you on the trading floor making money! William R. Alheim, Jr., CPA, MA

Wall Street suffered yet another big drop last week, with investors worried about the spreading fallout from the credit crisis at banks, and about a dollar that just keeps getting weaker. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 360 points on Wednesday, coincidently just about matching its post FOMC drop.

A lot of familiar worries tormented investors, including comments by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, about conflicts of interest within the mortgage industry, that have increased the declines among bank stocks.

Meanwhile, the dollar swooned amid speculation that China will seek to diversify some of its foreign currency stockpiles beyond the greenback. General Motors Corp further dampened sentiment by posting a record loss tied to an accounting adjustment. The fear with a huge drop like last weeks 2% pull-back is whether it is part of a “correction”, which is a 10% pullback in stock prices, or that it could be the beginning of a bear market. With the huge volatility that has swept Wall Street since the summer, and triple-digit moves in the Dow becoming commonplace, no one can be sure.

Still, the concern on the Street is that the extent of the fallout from the credit market crisis, which has led to billions of dollars in losses for major banks and investment firms, is still not yet known. With Citigroup Inc. announcing it needed to take an additional $8 billion to $11 billion in write downs, investors are becoming increasingly uneasy about stocks, and the economy as a whole.

The economy question can be potentially answered as soon as the retailers start releasing their holiday sales. These figures will show how the consumer has adjusted to the tighter credits, and much lower house values. If the consumer spent like nothing happened, then the economy is just fine. However it’s the other scenario in which the consumers spend more conservatively, and a lot more discounts are needed to attract them to part with their already stretched dollar, which scares the traders the most.

With the above situation, the long-term direction of the SP500 is a murky one, with each side being able to provide both technical and fundamental support for why they are right. You can avoid having to guess which side is right. The company provides an “up or down” bet, which allows a trader to be covered on both sides of the market, as long as the market touches either trigger within the predetermined time.

A 20-day up or down bet on the SP500, with 50 pts each way from the spot trigger, could potentially return 13%. This means you expect the S&P 500 to move 50 points in either direction over the next 20 days.

Name: Mike Wright

Address:
Regent Markets (IOM) Limited
3rd Floor, 1-5 Church Street,
Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 2AG,
British Isles.

Phone: 448003762737

Email: editor@my.regentmarkets.com

URL: http://Betonmarkets.com & http://Betonmarkets.co.uk

Several companies have made excellent chairs in the $3,000 to $4,000 price range category. However, in our opinion, two of these chairs stand so far above the rest that most people looking for chairs in this price range will probably want one of these two chairs–either the Sanyo HEC-SA5000C or the Omega M-5000 DLX. Because these chairs are so closely matched, we feel like a head-to-head comparison of the two chairs will probably be the most useful to our readers.

Let’s start with the Sanyo HEC-SA5000C (which is the same chair as the HEC-SA5000K, except for the color). We refer to this chair as our Mother’s Day chair, because in our conversations with the chair’s designer, we learned that he had given this chair to his mother as a gift. This is coming from somebody who could have afforded to give his mother the Sanyo Zero-Gravity Chair ($1,000 more expensive), but he preferred to give her this chair. Why? Because this chair boasts a full suite of features and an unbeatably attractive design.

The Omega M-5000 DLX also offers an incredible value for this price range. It delivers a fully-customizable massage and great usability features, although we feel that the style is a little heavy. But of course, you’ll have to make your own judgment on that. Our Omega customers love the style of this chair.

Before jumping into the features of these chairs, let’s talk a little bit about warranty and customer service issues. We’ve addressed this in our other reviews for the $4,000 to $5,000 category, but just to reiterate, we’re very excited about the warranty and customer service offered by Omega. We have never had any customer service problems with Omega, and they stand behind their commitment with the length of their warranty. This is no small issue when it comes to massage chairs. You want the chair to work, and you don’t want any hassle or extra expense if there is a problem. So it’s a big deal to us that Omega offers a serious warranty.

Sanyo, on the other hand, offers a much shorter warranty, but this short warranty is a puzzle to us, because we can see no reason for it. Sanyo does offer full service at a cost to the customer after the warranty period, but because of the quality of the chair and the few maintenance issues that arise anyway, Sanyo should put a longer warranty in writing. We’re comfortable with the chair, nonetheless, because of its great track record.

Now to the best part of these chairs-the features. Let’s start at the top of the shoulders. Sanyo has incorporated its exclusive GK roller technology, which allows the chair to reach out and gently squeeze and massage your shoulders. It also features the same sensor technology found in the more expensive Zero-Gravity chair. These are million-dollar features incorporated into a relatively inexpensive chair. The technology is truly amazing, and it actually works to relieve shoulder tension and stress.

Omega offers a dual headrest pillow, which accommodates people with different body types and enhances your comfort level in the chair. It does not offer the GK roller technology.

However, Omega does have a feature that allows the chair to search and memorize the user’s weight and body type, so that the massage can be tailored to that person. It also offers one of my favorite features, the built-in MP3 player and headset, which allows you to easily relax to music of your choice. The Omega also offers five pre-set auto programs, three for the upper body and two for the lower body, while Sanyo offers only four.

When it comes to stroke length (an important indicator of a massage chair’s quality), the Sanyo is slightly ahead. It offers a slightly longer stroke length (one-third inch longer than Omega’s 28 inches). The Sanyo is also slightly ahead in wattage, making it slightly more powerful than the Omega.

Turning the competition the other way, Omega offers a full 175 degree recline, while Sanyo offers a slightly smaller 170 degrees. In addition, the Omega comes with a smaller remote control with a fold-out panel offering full control from the remote. The Sanyo comes with two wired controls-one full panel showing an incredible amount of detail and allowing full control of every feature-and a sub-control that controls simple functions like the recline and the footrest and has a “repeat” button.

I personally prefer a remote control. While the Sanyo control offers a great range of functionality (and multi-colored screen), it looks unwieldy and imposing. I would rather have Omega’s smaller remote control, even if it means spending some time learning how it works. Again, you’ll have to decide on your personal preference.

As for the features we don’t discuss here, the reader should know that many of them are similar to each other.

Many of our readers wonder what the differences are between chairs in this price range and chairs in a higher price range. While it’s hard to generalize, it is safe to say that the more expensive chairs are slightly larger, so they can accommodate a larger body; they are more powerful, so that they can deliver a more powerful massage; and they offer the newest refinements in technology (for example, the Sanyo Zero-Gravity offers newly-refined GK Roller Technology). As far as most of the other features are concerned, however, these second-tier chairs are fully as functional (Sanyo uses its same sensor technology in both chairs, and Omega offers its MP3 functionality in both chairs). You will not regret purchasing the less expensive chair, unless you require a more powerful massage and larger frame.

This product was reviewed for http://massagechairs.com, which sells most massage chair brands and attempts to provide unbiased reviews for its best massage chairs. More information on this specific product can be found at http://www.massagechairs.com/HEC-SA5000C-Massage-Chair.html

If you approach forex day trading by just looking at the 5 minute and 15 minute charts there is a strong possibility your account will evaporate sooner rather than later.

In order to get a feel for the market and an indication of the current trend it is necessary to do an analysis by looking at multiple charts on different time frames starting with higher level charts first.

Rather than having the charts cluttered with numerous indicators and signals which can cause signal paralysis, I recommend just two:

1. MACD (with default settings)

2. 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average)

Now examine your charts using a top down approach:

• Daily
• 4 Hour
• 1 Hour

As you check each chart take note of these two factors:

1. Has MACD crossed down or up and is it above or below the water line?
2. Is price above or below the 200 EMA?

While it is not crucial to have them all lined up on these three time frames for successful forex day trading, if you want to be a cautious trader and go for high probability trades then certainly MACD on the 4 hour chart and 1 hour chart should be in agreement as also should price in relation to the 200 EMA.

The daily chart can be useful in seeing the larger picture and for noting key levels of support and resistance. They stand out on a daily chart so if price is within 100 pips of a crucial level of support or resistance as seen on the daily chart, make a note of the figure.

Then scale down to the lower time frames and see if this level matches with other indicators such as pivot points or Fibonacci levels.

Once you have done this groundwork, NOW you can look at the 15 minute and 5 minute charts for a suitable entry point.

Remember, for successful Forex day trading you need to adhere to the No. 1 commandment: Buy The Dips and Sell the Rallies!

So avoid chasing the market and going with the flow. Instead, wait for price to come the level you want, set your entry order, and let price pull you into the trade.

The Danger With Lower Time Frames

Just concentrating on the 15 minute and 5 minute charts will not give you the bigger picture. You could see what looks like a perfectly good trade and set your stops and limits only to find you get blown out within a few minutes.

By looking at the higher time frame you would probably have seen you were close to a key support or resistance level and either not gone into the trade or adjusted your stops and limits accordingly.

For the novice, Forex day trading can involve a huge learning curve. Include this simple daily top down analysis approach to your trading and protect yourself against making trades you wish you didn’t!

Click here to learn how to use the 200 EMA in a simple yet powerful way:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm

For a free candle & chart pattern recognition reference tool click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Candle-Chart-Patterns

For the best free economic calendars plus a free pivot point calculator and Fibonacci calculator click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html