5 Trading Strategies Every Trader Should Know

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Imagine trying to build a house with your bare hands versus using power tools. Yes, it’s possible, but having the right tools makes life and work easier, faster, and more efficient.

In the same manner, trading tools enhance your trading activity and can help you make better decisions, reduce risks, and achieve more consistent profitability in the markets.

Successful online traders mainly use trading tools to:

  • Track and stay on top of market movements
  • Identify potentially lucrative opportunities
  • Reduce their trading risks in the market
  • Maintain their trading edge

Trading tools can cut down analysis from hours to minutes, can help to avoid human errors, and can expose opportunities that might otherwise be missed. The right trading tools will simply make you a better trader, and ultimately help you in achieving your trading goals.

Let’s look at 7 essential tools for successful online trading:


Trading Calculators

Trading is a numbers game, and that is why trading calculators are some of the best tools for online trading. Different types of trading calculators serve unique purposes. They include:

  • Profit/Loss Calculator
  • Margin Calculator
  • Swap Calculator
  • Pivot Point Calculator
  • Fibonacci Calculator
  • Currency Converter
  • And many more…

Trading calculators help traders to manage risks, filter out the best assets to trade, identify good trading opportunities, as well as plan efficiently on how to take advantage of market opportunities.

For instance, a swap calculator can help in determining how much rollover interest you will pay or get paid when you decide to keep overnight positions in the market.

Essentially, calculators enable quick and accurate decision-making. You will have all the information you require to take advantage of the right opportunity at the right time.

Economic Calendar

The Economic Calendar is a trading tool used to track the scheduled release of news and events that may affect the prices of financial assets in the markets. News and events are the biggest sources of risk and opportunities, and therefore it is vital to keep track of relevant events.

Economic Calendars grade events according to the impact they are likely to have on markets, i.e., low, medium, or high. High-impact data and events can trigger significant volatility in the markets.

An example of high-impact data is the monthly US NFP (United States Nonfarm Payrolls) report that tracks the changes in the number of employed people in the previous month but excludes the farming industry. The NFP report is an indicator of consumer spending, which is the largest contributor to the economy.

Traders tend to watch for the expected result because traders will react to how the actual reading relates to the projected number that was expected. For instance, there may be a positive NFP reading, but the US Dollar can turn lower because the actual reading falls short of the expectation of market participants.

A positive NFP reading is bullish for the US dollar, whereas a negative reading is bearish for the greenback.

Overall, trading with the Economic Calendar helps traders to:

  • Keep track of news trading opportunities
  • Avoid risks
  • Identify volatility and potential price slippages

Currency Correlation Table

A currency correlation table shows how asset prices move in relation to one another.
  • When two currency pairs are positively correlated, their prices tend to move in the same direction.
  • If a forex pair is negatively correlated, their prices tend to move in opposite directions.

Currency correlation tables have coefficients between:

  • -1 (strong negative correlation)
  • +1 (strong positive correlation)

Using the currency correlation table helps traders in two key aspects:

  • Unlock hidden trading opportunities
  • Avoid high-risk exposure in the markets
EURUSD and GBPUSD correlation example:

EURUSD and GBPUSD are positively correlated forex pairs; in other words, they tend to rise and fall together.

This means that when there is a strong positive correlation present in the market, you could consider opening 2 long positions and potentially earn more profits.

On the other hand, if both pairs are declining, you may want to take 2 short positions and capture more profits.

With this in mind, you would not want to take a long position on one pair and a short position on the other, as these will tend to cancel each other’s potential.

Time Zone Converter

The financial markets around the world are open at different times. The time zone converter allows traders to keep track of which sessions are open and, thus, which assets are ideal for trading.

Different sessions have varying levels of volatility and liquidity, which affect factors such as trading spreads. There are also overlapping sessions that provide unique trading opportunities for some assets.

The time zone converter is especially effective to use with the Economic Calendar tool. For instance, you can be on the lookout for Japanese data when trading USD/JPY during the Asian trading session.

Trade Research Tool

Every trader has a trading system, but it helps to incorporate other trade research tools to gauge what other traders are looking at in the markets. Trading online is about identifying opportunities and deciding how to act upon them.

Idea generation tools can help in building conviction on a trade signal provided by your strategy or avoiding an otherwise risky trade idea altogether.

For instance, AvaTrade Trading Central is a potent tool that provides comprehensive technical insights on any tradable asset. Using the tool, traders can quickly view important technical points, trading volume, and even prevailing market sentiment for an asset.

Trade research tools can help traders identify new opportunities in the markets as well as minimize risk exposure. They can also empower traders to trade with confidence by enabling more informed trading decisions.

Risk Management Tools

Risk management is a vital component of trading online. On most trading platforms, the standard risk management tool is the stop-loss order. But many more potent tools can give you even more control over your trading risks.

For instance, the AvaTrade AvaProtect feature allows traders to practically insure their losses against adverse price movements in the market. You stand to get reimbursements of up to $1 million on trades that are protected by this feature.

A good example of when to utilize this feature is during the release of high-impact data that can trigger huge price changes in the market.

Visit the AvaAcademy to learn more about AvaProtect and other risk management tools available to you when trading with AvaTrade.

Trading Journal

Trading journals help traders to record their entire trading activity for purposes of accountability and review. This powerful tool helps traders to maintain objectivity in the markets as well as consistent trading discipline.

Some of the details to record in a trading journal include:

  • Pre-trade preparations
  • Trade analysis method
  • Planned strategy
  • Entry, stop loss, and take profit levels
  • Emotions before, during, and after the trade
  • Trade results and lessons learned

A detailed trade journal will provide you with valuable insights into your trading activity. You can then proactively plan to build on your strengths and improve on your weaknesses.

Many traders neglect to maintain a trading journal, which often leads to making the same mistakes repeatedly or missing opportunities. It is important to use this tool consistently because a journal is only as effective as what is recorded in it.


Final Word

Using the right tools for a task can mean the difference between success and failure. Trading tools allow us to make better decisions as well as to avoid trading errors and mistakes. By using the right tool for the right job, you can boost your trading performance immensely.

Sign up with AvaTrade and access the best trading tools for online trading. Open a real or demo account!


Are you ready to trade? Open a demo account Demo-Account and learn more about your trading personality and trading psychology


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7 Essential Tools for Successful Online Trading