Not Learning How to Use Trading Platform

It is hard to imagine that a builder would get far without learning how to use his tools, or that a surgeon would have happy patients without learning how to use her tools. Yet many traders throw up their arms claiming to be ‘computer illiterate’ and ‘no good with technology’ and somehow still imagine that they will be successful. Sure, there is a steep learning curve involved when trading on a new platform. But coming to terms with this and putting in the effort to get beyond any lingering fears of technology is essential if you are to become a successful online trader.

It is no good waiting until you have open positions and the markets start moving before you figure out how to place a stop-loss or take-profit order. You need to ‘know’ how to move around the platform and open, close or adjust orders without having to look up the user guide.

FP Markets provides access to a range of educational tools that outline the features and functionality of its various platforms with in-house platform demonstrations, webinars over  the phone platform walkthroughs to ensure you feel comfortable with your platform before you start trading.

You should also prepare for more extreme situations. Consider what might happen if your internet connection were to fail or if your computer became infected with a virus and was not operating at its peak.

As a safety measure, it is wise to keep your CFD provider and account manager’s phone number written down (in hardcopy) near your computer.

It is also good practice to keep a list of your open positions so that you know what your exposure is.

If your position starts moving against you, the grey bar could turn red. This means you are on margin call. It means you need to monitor your account carefully and may need to deposit more funds with FP Markets to maintain your positions. Alternatively you could close some positions to free up margin which will fund other open positions.

From this screen you can also attach or modify your limit/stop levels that are linked to this trade by right clicking on an Open Trade and selecting “Modify or Delete Order”. You can also attach a Trailing Stop as described later in this document.