Famous Forex Quotes Every Trader Should Know

Of all forms of trading, forex is arguably one of the riskiest. But thanks to the possibility of massive returns, countless traders are still drawn to it.

Research suggests that about a third of forex traders make a profit in three months. If you want to maximize your chances of becoming one of them, take a look at some insightful forex quotes from traders who have found incredible success.

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Creating Your Trading Strategy with Guidance from Successful Forex Traders

A successful forex strategy doesn’t develop overnight. It takes research, careful thought and sometimes a few tests on a demo account.

The good news is that you don’t have to develop your strategy in a vacuum. Relatively few people become successful forex traders, so taking notes from the best can dramatically increase your chances of making money.

Along with doing your own research, it’s worth digging into the knowledge and strategies of some of the best forex traders today. Even if you have an existing forex strategy, there’s always room for improvement.

Top 10 Famous Forex Trader Quotes

Want to start developing or improving your trading skills? Check out these short pieces of advice from forex greats.

1. “The goal of a successful trader is to make the best trades. Money is secondary.” — Alexander Elder

At first, this one might seem counterintuitive — isn’t making money the whole point of forex trading? However, Elder is right. If you go in with the aim of making as much money as possible, you’ll be drawn to high-risk trades (or simply start using imprudent amounts of leverage). Focus on making good trades. Even a small win is better than a loss.

2. “Confidence is not ‘I will profit on this trade.’ Confidence is ‘I will be fine if I don’t profit from this trade.” — Yvan Byeajee

Forex trading requires confidence, but you don’t want that confidence to morph into delusion. There’s no way to be absolutely certain that you will profit, but you’ll be able to confidently trade when you know you won’t be devastated by a loss. Every great forex trader has had to deal with losses sometimes.

3. “Hope is [a] bogus emotion that only costs you money.” — Jim Cramer

This one may not be true in every single aspect of life. But when it comes to the forex market, it absolutely is. Every good trader knows that a trading strategy based on emotion will lead to losses. Don’t make a trade based on hope — stick to your chosen strategy.

4. “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” — Warren Buffett

There’s no such thing as risk-free forex trading. But if you want to succeed, managing and minimizing risk is essential. You can’t control the inherent risks of the market, but you can control the risk that comes with being unprepared. Before you jump into the world of forex, make sure you fully understand the market and have a well-developed strategy.

5. “If most traders would learn to sit on their hands 50 percent of the time, they would make a lot more money.” — Bill Lipschutz

You don’t have to constantly buy and sell to be a good forex trader. If you’re someone who always feels the need to be busy, do your best to fight that urge. It will help you succeed in the long run.

6. “Patterns don't work 100 percent of the time. But they are still critical because they help you define your risk. If you ignore patterns and focus on hunches, feelings and hot tips, just forget about achieving consistency.” — Ifan Wei

If you’re prone to being led by your emotions, this is one of the best forex quotes to keep at the forefront of your mind. Tracking patterns won’t lead you to foolproof wins, but it’s much better than just relying on a hunch to get you through.

7. “Are you willing to lose money on a trade? If not, then don't take it. You can only win if you're not afraid to lose. And you can only do that if you truly accept the risks in front of you.” — Sami Abusaad

Every forex trader needs to determine their own risk tolerance. But you need to be sincere in doing so — you need to actually accept that risk. Fear is a trader’s worst enemy, but if you can make trades without fear, you’ll have a much easier time making logical decisions.

8. “All you need is one pattern to make a living.” — Linda Raschke

As you already know, a solid trading pattern does not guarantee winning. But it’s much better to have a set strategy than it is to trade inconsistently, doing whatever feels right to you at the time.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should commit to the first strategy you come up with. Before you deploy a new pattern or trading strategy, take it for a test drive through a demo account. That way, you’ll be able to see how successful it is without putting any of your own capital at risk.

9. “I have two basic rules about winning in trading as well as in life: 1. If you don’t bet, you can’t win. 2. If you lose all your chips, you can’t bet.” — Larry Hite

This broadly applicable trading quote is especially relevant to forex trading. It speaks to the need to balance risk-taking with risk mitigation. On the forex market, you do need to risk losing money if you want to make a significant profit.

However, if you lean too much into the risk-taking aspects of the game, you might find yourself facing catastrophic losses (and possibly debt). Essentially, you need to decide how much risk you’re comfortable with while making sure that risk won’t put you out of forex trading entirely.

10. “The key to trading success is emotional discipline. If intelligence were the key, there would be a lot more people making money trading … I know this will sound like a cliche, but the single most important reason that people lose money in the financial markets is that they don’t cut their losses short.” — Victor Sperandeo

Do you have to be smart to succeed at forex trading? It might help some, but plenty of smart people with poor emotional discipline have lost money trading. Not letting your trade decisions be overruled by emotions is more difficult than it sounds. 

Sperandeo condenses his point well. Emotional discipline starts with the ability to cut their losses short. If you hang onto a losing purchase in hopes that it will swing up again, you’ll often end up with an even more catastrophic loss.

Create Your Strategy with Advice from the Best

Having a solid strategy is critical if you want to win in the forex market. And what better way to build a strategy than factoring in wisdom from successful traders?

If you aren’t sure how to finish building the perfect strategy, check out the many resources available for new and experienced traders at Benzinga.

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