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Forex Trading For Dummies – Best Book for Beginners

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To make money in Forex, you need proper guidance on the different strategies to use in trading. It might be daunting at first as you start trading. But the best book for forex novices – Forex Trading for Dummies, simplifies entry into the market with actionable trading strategies. Once you get the hang of it and utilize the book's tips, you will join the slew of forex success stories.

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Glossary

  • Forex broker is a financial services company performing the function of an intermediary between the buyer and the seller of currency in the Forex market.

  • Trading strategy is a set of rules and algorithms used for making decisions when trading in the Forex market. The trading strategies are based on either technical or fundamental analysis, and there are also combined trading strategies.

  • Spread is the difference between the best buy price and the best sell price in currency exchange and CFD trading.

  • Leverage means borrowed funds provided by the broker, which allow traders to manage substantial amounts in the market, while having only a small amount of own capital used to cover the margin requirements.

What You Should Know About Forex Trading

The Forex market is the largest and most liquid market, offering investors tried and tested options to grow their wealth. Since forex revolves around currencies, there are many currency pairs for you to trade.

Over the years, the forex market turnover has gained tremendous growth. The International Bank for Settlements reported an average daily traded volume of $6.6 trillion in April 2019. With new entrants into the market every waking hour, it is no doubt the market will continue to grow.

Stories of fortune and misery flood the market. The currency market has made some life-changing cash for many traders. However, success is not overnight and not dependent on sheer luck. From novice to hands-on experienced forex traders, risks are always lurking. However, investors can get colossal returns on investments (ROI) with the best advice and ever-evolving strategies.

Brief Overview of Forex Trading For Dummies

Brian Dolan and Kathleen Brooks were in the spotlight in 2015 and for the right reasons. The two authors released Forex Trading for Dummies, the industry staple for forex traders.

The book shares insightful perspectives on the basics of forex trading and identifies pitfalls to avoid as a beginner.

The five-part book explains the fundamentals of forex trading, analyzing financial data, market sentiments, driving forces behind the currencies, and executing a trading plan. Each segment contains chapters that provide in-depth explanations to start you on currency trading. Brooks and Dolan navigate the currency market, offering practical guidance and savvy tips crucial to trading success.

Currency for dummies has sequels that keep you updated on the latest policies and tax regulations. Also, subsequent copies highlight the winning trading strategies and the obsolete ones you need to remove from your arsenal. Forex Trading for Dummies is a complete guide for any prospective currency trader and established investors who want to polish their skills.

Lessons in Trading Forex for Dummies Course

As previously stated, the authors organize the book’s contents into five principal sections. Each section has chapters that further pan down to the nitty-gritty of the main idea.

Forex Trading For Dummies Table of Contents:

  • I

    Introduction

  • II

    Getting Started with Currency Trading

  • III

    Driving Forces Behind Currencies

  • IV

    Developing A Trading Plan

  • V

    Executing A Trading Plan

  • VI

    The Part of Tens

  • VII

    Appendix

Introduction

Brooks and Dolan set the tone for investing by brushing over the book's essence. In the introduction section, you will understand the icons in the book, foolish assumptions, and how to proceed after reading the book. The introduction, in essence, is a quick preview of what to expect in the text.

Getting Started with Currency Trading

Getting started with currency trading introduces you to the currency market. The section centers around the two tiers of forex trading and fundamentals affecting the currency fluctuations. Chapters in the first part are:

Currency Trading 101

What is the Forex Market?

Who Trades Currencies? Meet the Players

The mechanics of Currency Trading

Currency trading is more than hitting sell or buy on the three-lettered tickers. The book will impart the fundamentals that drive the market among other complementary influences such as news and social media sentiments. Moreover, you will gain how other markets compare and influence the forex market.

An in-depth analysis of the mechanics of forex transactions confers valuable information to calculate profits and losses using pips. The text explains that bids, offers, spreads, and margin trading are also other basics. Subsequent chapters broach the contents of the first section with a deeper approach.

Driving Forces behind Currencies

Section two of Currency Trading for Dummies delves into the drivers of the FX market. You will learn that economic data, complementary data, and geopolitical events affect the market. Financial data from banks is the fundamental driver of the market. The chapter also focuses on putting the market information into a trading perspective.

Interbank currency trades between different economic zones dictate the interest rates of currencies. Interest rates are functional parts of financial data that investors need to understand. The text does exemplary work to understand the bigger picture in trading the FX market.

Towards the end, the authors identify the minor and major currency pairs. There are actionable strategies for trading EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and USD/AUD pairs. Minor pairs are the "stocky" and "Nokkie," among other Scandinavian-based currencies.

Section two of the text analyses what makes currencies fluctuate and briefly introduces cross-trading currency pairs. The section builds the framework for the actual buying and selling of currencies.

Developing a Trading Plan

Finding the right trading style needs an understanding of technical analysis. The section focuses on candlesticks, trend lines, and how to manage risk using TA. You will also learn why the right trading broker is as important as a trading strategy. The actual forex business begins here.

Executing a Trading Plan

After developing a trading plan, you will use the different strategies to average into positions and have exit strategies. You'll learn how to manage the trade as prices fluctuate. Finally, calculate your profits and determine which currency pair is next.

The Part of Tens

The part of tens is everything of the ten best things to know in forex. The ten best risk management rules and trading strategies are some notable mentions. If you are an experienced FX investor, you'll find The Part of Tens very informative.

Best Tips for Beginners

It is no doubt that Forex Trading for Dummies packs a truckload of information on the currency market. Deciphering the text into clear-cut tips for beginner trading requires using the information on a trading account. You can then evaluate the data to develop recommendations and trading plans to generate a windfall.

Lucky for you, you don't have to use a trial and error technique. We have rounded up a list of the best tips for beginners in FX trading.

Knowledge is Power

Before beginning your trading journey, you need to understand the market's fundamentals. The book stresses the importance of putting economic and complementary data into a trading perspective. You need to comprehensively read Currency Trading for Dummies to learn about pips, spreads, and breaks. By the end of section 1, you will know all FX market terminology and the basics you will use to trade.

Stay Alert

Price fluctuations happen due to news and interbank trading in the economic zones. As a novice investor, you need to know about any activity that may change prices.

Staying up to date with economic news allows you to strike when the iron is hot. You will land profits in the short term. But exit since currencies may recoup or drop significantly in the long run hence liquidating a long-term position.

Note:

Not all news is actionable market news or accurate. You need to discern the impactful information from the inessential and put it into price perspective.

An Investor is As Good As the Trading Plan

A trading plan is a blueprint for success. You'll determine the budget for forex trading, a trading strategy, and your risk appetite through a trading plan.

Generally, forex traders have short-term trading plans dependent on technical analysis and long-term goals contingent on fundamental analysis. Remember to incorporate stop losses, leverage options, and other risk management options in your trading plan.

Start small as you climb up your way in the market. You can start a demo account to develop a personalized trading plan before investing in a deposit account.

The Trend is Your Friend

Trading against the trend is bound to be detrimental in the long term. Spread out your risk if you love the thrill. For beginners, it is best to use a stop loss for downward trades or avoid them altogether.

Have an Exit Strategy

As a trader of any standing, you need to know when and how to get out of a trade. The book informs you how to read market signals and get out with your profits.

Other books you can read to deepen your knowledge are:

  • Technical Analysis For Dummies

  • The New Market Wizards

  • Trading in The Zone

  • The Man Who Solved The Market

  • How To Make A Living Trading Foreign Exchange

Summary

Currency Trading for Dummies is a handy book every novice investor should have in their arsenal. The authors do a great job of introducing you to the lucrative forex trading market. You then learn the fundamentals and technical analysis to develop and execute a trading strategy.

From an investor’s perspective, no other books do a better job of priming you for the currency markets. The content-rich information will enable you to make your first trades on currency pairs globally. You can gain more knowledge as you progress.

Happy trading, dear investor. May the currencies be with you.

FAQs

What are the two forex tiers?

The first tier provides liquidity to the second tier that provides retail forex services. Tier one also quotes the markup prices.

What trading strategies are available?

Breakout, range, momentum, carry trade, and MACD strategies are the most common strategies.

What are spreads and pips in forex?

Spread is the difference between the buying and selling price. Spread trading allows you to trade highly volatile markets, making profits in long and short trades. Pips (points in percentages) are the final decimal points a currency moves. 1.3400 to 1.3450 is a 50 pips move.

Is there a more straightforward way to trade forex?

Yes, there are trading bots. Some platforms also allow copy trading where you leverage another user’s knowledge.

Glossary for novice traders

  • 1 Leverage

    Forex leverage is a tool enabling traders to control larger positions with a relatively small amount of capital, amplifying potential profits and losses based on the chosen leverage ratio.

  • 2 Cross trading

    Cross trading is a unique type of broker-side trade where they buy and sell an underlying at the same time, in a manner that both transactions offset each other. Such transactions are not recorded on the exchange, leaving non-participants unaware of their existence.

  • 3 Investor

    An investor is an individual, who invests money in an asset with the expectation that its value would appreciate in the future. The asset can be anything, including a bond, debenture, mutual fund, equity, gold, silver, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and real-estate property.

  • 4 Forex Trading

    Forex trading, short for foreign exchange trading, is the practice of buying and selling currencies in the global foreign exchange market with the aim of profiting from fluctuations in exchange rates. Traders speculate on whether one currency will rise or fall in value relative to another currency and make trading decisions accordingly. However, beware that trading carries risks, and you can lose your whole capital.

  • 5 Fundamental Analysis

    Fundamental analysis is a method or tool that investors use that seeks to determine the intrinsic value of a security by examining economic and financial factors. It considers macroeconomic factors such as the state of the economy and industry conditions.

Team that worked on the article

Oleg Tkachenko
Author and expert at Traders Union

Oleg Tkachenko is an economic analyst and risk manager having more than 14 years of experience in working with systemically important banks, investment companies, and analytical platforms. He has been a Traders Union analyst since 2018. His primary specialties are analysis and prediction of price tendencies in the Forex, stock, commodity, and cryptocurrency markets, as well as the development of trading strategies and individual risk management systems. He also analyzes nonstandard investing markets and studies trading psychology.

Also, Oleg became a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (membership card No. 4575, international certificate UKR4494).

Olga Shendetskaya
Author and editor at Traders Union

Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.

Mirjan Hipolito
Cryptocurrency and stock expert

Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO).