Forex Signals FAQ

How Do I use your signals?

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I get asked this a lot so here is the quick summary. Signals are send every 4 hours starting from 1AM EST on Mon. If the Order says “Order Cancel Order” or “Pending”, it means that it is a new order ready to be placed. On the other hand if it says “Update” then it means that it is an old order which is either already triggered or waiting to be filled.  OCO orders are created for both sides “Buy and Sell” and which ever triggers first cancels the other.

All trades are open with 3 lots with same  Stop Loss but different Profit Targets. When we reach first Profit Target we move  Stop Loss to half the original size. Then when it reaches second Profit Target, we move  Stop Loss to Break Even. At times due to change in price action we may move  Stop Loss to either lock in profits or minimize loss. In such cases I’ll tell you where to move your  Stop Loss.  In earlier scenario  when Stop Loss is moved due to Profit Target being met is done in real time as it happens. In case of later scenario when we move  Stop Loss due to change in Price Action, it is done at the end of 4 hour candle.

When I create new orders I consider 1-2 pips spread on GBPUSD & EURUSD and 3-4 pips on the rest. These are based on my ECN broker. If you happen to use a Market Maker broker the you may need to add/subtract extra pips due to larger spread on their platform.

How to interpret Forex Signals?

Let me start off with some examples:
Order ID: 1 | Order Cancels Order | $GBPUSD Sell 1.5400 or Buy 1.5450 | Stop Loss: 50 Pips | Take Profit: 50-100-150 Pips
Order ID: 2 | Pending | $GBPUSD Sell 1.5400 | Stop Loss: 50 Pips | Take Profit: 50-100-150 Pips
Order ID: 3 | Update | $GBPUSD Sell 1.5400 | Current Status

The first part is Order ID, this number remains same for a particular order. It is only incremented when there is a new trade.

Second part is the Order Type, it can be either “Order Cancels Order” (OCO) or “Pending”. Read further down to understand what these order type means. This part can also contain “Update”, which means that it is an old existing order which is still in play.

Third part contains the trigger price. In case of OCO orders it will contain two trigger price, one in each direction. In case of Pending order type, it will contain only one trigger price. Otherwise it will contain Update for an exiting order.

Fourth part contains Stop Loss in pips. For Order 1 above if the Buy order is triggered then Stop Loss becomes 1.5400. In case of Order 2  Stop Loss is 1.5450 When Order Type says Update then it would contain current status of existing trade. For example, “Currently at +100 pips”, “Move Stop Loss to Break Even” etc

Fifth part is the Profit Target. If you are trading with 3 lot per trade, then set incremental Profit Target for each pair. In case of Order 1 if Buy side of trade is triggered then Profit Targets are 1.5500, 1.5550 and 1.5600

What time do you send Forex Signals?
 First signal of the week is send at 1AM EST / 6 AM GMT on Mon/ Sun. From then on new trades or updates are send every 4 hours.

How can I find out what is 1AM EST in my local Time Zone?
Visit Meeting Planner. Select “New York” in City 1 and then Your city in second one. Click on “Show Timetable”. It will then take you the next page where you can see what is 1AM EST in your local time. If you still have trouble figuring out then I recommend to download FXDD MT4 demo and follow their 4 Hr candle.

What Forex Pairs you trade?
I trade EURUSD, EURJPY, GBPUSD, GBPJPY and CADJPY, though not restricted to these Pairs only. Pairs are added or deleted based on their recent Price Action.

How can I follow your Forex Signals?
The best way to receive signals in real time is to follow me on Twitter and FaceBook. You can also subscribe to receive email alerts. You can do so by entering you email at the top of this page on the left hand side where it says “Signals via Email”. Please make sure you have “admin@firepips.com” added to your address book to avoid emails end up in Junk / Spam folder. You may also visit my blog to get all updates at one place, however it may not be updated in real time. I’ve recently added Instant Messenger as well, you can add “FirePips@gmail.com” to your Google Talk to receive instant notification.

How can I be notified of your Tweets or FaceBook updates?
There are several ways you can do that. Most new phones support Twitter and FaceBook apps, you can use them to keep an eye out for Forex Signals. If your phone doesn’t support such apps but supports email then you can register with Tweetymail, it send tweets via email. If you simply want to use desktop client then try “Seesmic for Windows”, it provides audible and popup alerts. In future I may add SMS service, perhaps for a small fees just enough to cover the expenses.

What strategy you use to generate Forex Signals? Do you use Technical or Fundamental Analysis?
Price Action analysis is what I do, you can say it is more technical than fundamental. However I do not use indicators , so it is not entirely technical. The idea is to look at the price movement in relation to its current position during week/month. Based on this analysis I then decide where the price is more likely to head off. I do read and pay attention to fundamentals but do not use them to make trading decisions.

Can you share your exact methodology behind these Forex Signals?
In short, No. I may however, occasionally give insight into what I do through my posts. It would be up to the readers to put it all together and learn on their own.

Why do you give out Forex Signals for free?
Two reasons. First, I want to create a Forex Hedge Fund in 7-8 yrs time, giving my signals out for free helps me network and find like minded investors. Second, trading full-time gets boring, FaceBook and Twitter are great place to meet other trades passionate about Forex and make new friends.

How many lots I need to trade your Forex Signals?
Every trade is open with 3 lots. All 3 lots have same Stop Loss but different Profit Targets. Please make sure you follow Money Management rules. If your account size is not large enough then trade with 3 mini or 3 micro lots. For trades with larger accounts, simply trade in multiples of 3.

How many Forex Signals are generated every week?
On average 15-20 Signals. It largely depends on Price Action, hence would vary from week to week. Also note that not all signals may get filled and we may end up canceling some trades from time to time.

Do I need to trade every Signal?
No. You can simply follow trades that fall into your trading hours. For overnight trades simply place Stop Loss and Profit Targets and leave them as is until you resume trading next day.

How do you manage to send signals every 4 hrs, don’t you sleep?
I’ve trained myself to fall asleep fast and wake up fresh in comparatively less amount of time. It doesn’t bother me at all or my wife. Waking up to make money is not that bad after all.

How much screen time do I need to trade your Forex Signals?
To enter new signals and manage existing trades, it doesn’t take more than 5 mins every 4 hours. Your screen time would not be more than 30 mins per day. My screen time is not more than 3-4 hours per day for this strategy.

How long have you been trading this Forex Strategy?
I’ve traded same strategy on smaller timeframe for few years now. Recently I modified and backtested it rigorously to work on 4hr time frame. It not only helped me increase my gains several folds but also reduces my screen time as well.

What sort of return can I expect from these Forex Signals?
I would refrain from giving you an exact number. But I can tell you that I’ve been making a living  from them for few years now.

Can I see past performance of your Forex Signals?
From time to time I’ll update my blog with the current tally of signals. If you follow my blog you should receive all updates as they come.

How can I receive daily Forex updates in my inbox?
You can register by entering your email on the left side at the top of the page. Remember to add “admin@firepips.com” to your contact list to stop emails getting to your spam/junk folder.

Do you leave trades open during weekends?
No, we close all trades at the end of 1600 Hour candle on Fri. I don’t like to keep trades open over the weekend.

What are “Order Cancels Order” / “OCO” Forex Orders?
This order type means that you open pending / limit trades in both direction. Once they are filled in either direction, you close the other one. For example, if Long is triggered then you close the Short pending trade. Some brokers provide this order type on their platform. If your broker doesn’t support OCO orders then you can simply create orders in both direction and manually manage them.

What are “Pending” Forex Orders?
Pending / Limit orders are triggered when price reach a certain level. If a order says EURUSD Buy Pending at 1.4500, it means that order won’t get filled until price reaches 1.4500

What are “Update” Forex Orders?
Initially when Orders are issued they are either “Pending” or “Order Cancels Order”. Once they are either filled or waiting to be filled, I change the status to “Update” to signify that these orders are not new.

How do I manage open orders?
Once the orders are filled, we then wait for them to either reach  Stop Loss or first Profit Target. If the first Profit Target is reached then we move the  Stop Loss to half its size. When the second Profit Target is reached we move the  Stop Loss to Break Even. At third Profit Target we exit last position and wait for new signal. At times we may move  Stop Loss due to change in Price Action, in such cases I’ll send update accordingly.

What Forex Broker(s) do you recommend?
I personally use Dukascopy, MB Trading and TradeStation and highly recommend every single one of them.

My Forex Broker didn’t fill me up, but your update say otherwise, how come?
In Fore market, rates vary from broker to broker. Some broker have higher spreads which also makes difference. Most ECN brokers usually have better spreads and more accurate rates. For record keeping purposes I’ll consider a 2-3 pips buffer at Profit Targets and Stop Loss.

What if I’ve more questions?
Feel free to post them either on blog, FaceBook or Twitter. Your questions have already helped me create this FAQ page.

How can I return the favor or How can I contribute?
Glad you asked. There are several ways of doing it:
a. If you are a webmaster with a website / blog, consider linking back to us, ex. Forex Signals
b. If you are active on Twitter then you help by Retweeting.
c. By giving thumbs up on Digg, FreshPips, Stumbleupon and other similar sites.
d. Donating some of your profits to any charity of your liking or Join my team on Kiva.org
e. If above mentioned things are little to much for you then you can simply help by participating in conversation on FaceBook, Twitter and Blog (via comments). This will not only help out other fellow trades but also keep me motivated.