Forex IB IDEAL pro : Questions

[Digs]

QUESTION 1
What are the trading hours, is it 24 hours, what does this mean ???

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/exchanges/usIB-pro.php?ib_entity=llc

Exchange Hours
17:30 - 17:00 (ET)*



QUESTION 2
The rule on buying $25000 dollar lots…using your Forex IDEAL PRO methods

For example GBPUSD say is 1.7650

To get $400,000 worth of this I would load in the QTY as 226,629 in the order entry of your software.


As 226,629 * 1.7650 = $400,000


Is this correct ???

OR IS IT 25000 lots of QTY or is it DOLLARS as above ? Please advise ??
http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/forex.php?ib_entity=llc

…:”IDEAL Pro provides professional Interbank spreads which are generally 1-3 PIPs (smallest price increment) wide, but the minimum order size is $25,000 or USD equivalent.”…


QUESTION 3
Do I get the same freedoms trading Forex with IB using IDEAL PRO as with a normal forex broker or do I need to goto a real McCoy forex broker???

 

[late apex]

1. It means there are no quotes between 5 and 5:30 pm EST on weekdays, as well as for a few minutes after midnight, Sunday through Thursday. During those times, you can't place, modify or remove any orders on the platform.

2. Your 1st answer is correct. Quantity is always set in terms of the base currency. That's the first currency in any forex pair (here GBP). The second currency in any forex pair is referred to as the quote or counter currency (here USD). Hope you realize that this is the kind of stuff you really need to get down cold, preferably before you ever put on your first non-demo forex trade.

3. Depends on what you mean by "freedoms." Freedom is in the eye of the beholder... or something like that.

Don't take this personally, but I don't get a sense that you are in any way ready for real (non-demo) trading with any forex broker or dealer. Good luck.

 

[Digs]

Thanks But you didnt answer Q2, Q3.

I will be trading an advisory service.

 

[late apex]

Quote from Digs:

Thanks But you didnt answer Q2, Q3.

I will be trading an advisory service.

Hmm... what planet are you from, again?

"2. Your..." is my answer to your Q2.

"3. Depends..." is my answer to your Q3.

Advisory service or not, you are still not ready, in my judgement. Of course, I could be wrong, as I often am. However, your communications so far reveal, at least to me, a startling lack of both basic preparation and a winning mindset, even by EliteTrader's not-so-lofty standards...

If you think of it, no advisory service is going to teach you things like:

1) how to enter, manage and exit trades. IB IDEAL Pro is both significatnly different and more complex than most forex platforms. For example, it doesn't show you your open trades or your real-time P&L. And it assumes that you know the difference among a stop, a limit and a stop limit order in your sleep, as well as correct application of each type, plus market order. If you are comfortable with everything I just mentioned, great.

2) risk management suitable to your risk profile.

3) appropriate position sizing / money management, which depends on a number of individualized factors.

4) last, but definitely not least, the psychology, the mental game, the mindset of a successful trader.

A quick final note: there are countless upon countless thousands of traders (using the word "traders" loosely) who consistently lose, even when they follow clearly profitable forex advisory services. If you don't have a good idea of why or how that could possibly be, you are not ready for this. Once again, good luck.