"FX is basically me (the traders) vs the FX firm?"
It depends what you mean by your question. Yes, Forex Dealers are taking the other side of your trades, if you trade small size, but no in the sense that the dealers are not actually moving the market against you. The banks and other large institutional traders move the market, so technically you are trading against them. If you can't predict where the market will go enough to make consistent money, another words if you don't have an edge, you will lose at any broker. People act like an FX Dealer's market is so different then an ECN's and this simply isn't true. Sure the spread will be larger (with no commission), but the actual market will move the same, otherwise there would be great arbitrage opportunities. I am a very profitable FX trader and I use FXCM and I have just a normal standard account. I pay no commission but I pay a slightly higher spread then an ECN. I prefer this because I hold my trades longer (usually a few days), so the extra spread is almost meaningless. If I scalped 30 pips or less I would probably move to an ECN because you can cut inside the spreads and get much better fills. With scalping, a trader can not be sloppy with his/her entries and exits other wise it will cost him/her a lot long term. If you are a brand new trader I would recommend just starting out with a very small account at a dealer (Oanda, FXCM, GFT, etc.) until you get the hang of FX trading. Even if you are a scalper, you probably won't know enough about how to use the advantages that an ECN gives you in the beginning anyway. I have a lot of experience in this industry so if you have any more in depth questions about FX trading feel free to PM me. Good Luck
It depends what you mean by your question. Yes, Forex Dealers are taking the other side of your trades, if you trade small size, but no in the sense that the dealers are not actually moving the market against you. The banks and other large institutional traders move the market, so technically you are trading against them. If you can't predict where the market will go enough to make consistent money, another words if you don't have an edge, you will lose at any broker. People act like an FX Dealer's market is so different then an ECN's and this simply isn't true. Sure the spread will be larger (with no commission), but the actual market will move the same, otherwise there would be great arbitrage opportunities. I am a very profitable FX trader and I use FXCM and I have just a normal standard account. I pay no commission but I pay a slightly higher spread then an ECN. I prefer this because I hold my trades longer (usually a few days), so the extra spread is almost meaningless. If I scalped 30 pips or less I would probably move to an ECN because you can cut inside the spreads and get much better fills. With scalping, a trader can not be sloppy with his/her entries and exits other wise it will cost him/her a lot long term. If you are a brand new trader I would recommend just starting out with a very small account at a dealer (Oanda, FXCM, GFT, etc.) until you get the hang of FX trading. Even if you are a scalper, you probably won't know enough about how to use the advantages that an ECN gives you in the beginning anyway. I have a lot of experience in this industry so if you have any more in depth questions about FX trading feel free to PM me. Good Luck
