Learn how to use MetaTrader 4 to trade Forex. Why MT4 is the most used trading platform in the world? Learn to trade like a professional.

1. El Mehdi Laaroussi – Financial Market Junky
https://financialmarketjunky.blogspot.com/
How to Trade Using MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4, A.K.A. MT4, is known to be the most widely used trading
platform in the world. It is the preferred choice for the majority of professional
Forex traders because of many reasons. One of which is that it was specifically
created for Forex trading.
It was released, for the first time, in 2005 by the iconic MetaQuotes
Software according to the Wikipedia page on MetaTrader 4.
These days you can find a lot of platforms that offer basically the same
service. Which is to be able to trade Forex. IqOption and OlympTrade to name a
few. They make their platforms really attractive with the use of colors, specific
fonts and styles designed by a team of professional marketers for the sole purpose
of making the trading experience for users "fun" and "easy to access".
However, these platforms are, objectively, not designed for professional
trading. They lack a lot of features that are very important to trade efficiently.
They don't offer practical ways to implement indicators, test strategies or tweak
the code of the tools you can be using.
So, if you just started trading Forex, the best choice for you to be able to
trade safely, is to create an MT4 Demo Account. Which brings us to the main
point of this post:

2. El Mehdi Laaroussi – Financial Market Junky
https://financialmarketjunky.blogspot.com/
How to trade using MT4
In this section I will provide you with a step-by-step guide that will
encompass everything you need to know to be able to effectively open, manage
and close your trades.
Let's start with how you can set up MT4 on different devices and operating
systems.
1. Start by downloading MetaTrader 4 into your device.
Windows
Mac
2. Run the "mt4setup.exe" file.
3. Click on "run".
4. Follow the installation process until it's successfully completed.

3. El Mehdi Laaroussi – Financial Market Junky
https://financialmarketjunky.blogspot.com/
Signing in to MetaTrader 4
Once installed, you can open the MT4 Software. But you can't start trading
just yet! It will prompt you to enter your account details.
To create a Demo Account, follow these steps:
1. Go to "File" --> "Open an Account"
2. Choose the MetaQuotes Software Corp. broker server and click next.

4. El Mehdi Laaroussi – Financial Market Junky
https://financialmarketjunky.blogspot.com/
4. Opt for the option of a demo account, then click next.
5. Enter your personal details. Choose how much virtual money you want
to start with and determine your leverage.
6. That's it! Take note of your login and password and click "Finish".
P.S.: If you want to open a real account, you can always do so by going
back to step 4 and choosing the option of opening a real account. However, please
be advised to trade with caution, as trading carries a lot of risk and you can lose
all of your money in the blink of an eye.
Related posts:
How to Start Trading?

5. El Mehdi Laaroussi – Financial Market Junky
https://financialmarketjunky.blogspot.com/
Now that you have your own trading account, you need to know the basic
manipulations that you can do in order to open a trade, close it, set stop-loss (SL)
and take profit (TP) levels.
Open a Trade and set SL & TP levels:
1. Select "View" --> "Market Watch"
2. Right click on a currency pair, then select "New Order".

6. El Mehdi Laaroussi – Financial Market Junky
https://financialmarketjunky.blogspot.com/
3. This will prompt a window where you can choose the type of execution,
the volume of your trade, the SL and the TP parameters.
The type of execution can either be instant, otherwise called "market
execution", which means that the order is executed immediately and requires you
to be present at the moment of execution. Or, it can be a "pending order". With
this type, you can set the order in advance, which will become a market order
upon execution.
The volume is, usually, the number or the fraction of standard lots you're
willing to trade. To know what are lots and how you can determine the volume of
your trades in the most efficient way, you can read our post about Forex Trading
Terminology.
Once you have set up everything and you're sure that you took risk
management and money management into consideration before entering, you can
either "sell" or "buy". Depending on the signals that your trading strategy is giving
you.

7. El Mehdi Laaroussi – Financial Market Junky
https://financialmarketjunky.blogspot.com/
For the best possible entries, you'll need to hone your skills and learn how
to use different strategies in your trading. For this you must put in the work. This
is where the importance and practicality of demo trading come in play.
you can also read about:
Trading Forex with Technical Analysis
Trading Forex with Fundamental Analysis
SL and TP levels are determined by price levels. To know where to add
them on MT4 is easy. However, to know how to determine them is another topic
for another day.
We hope you enjoyed discovering this guide to use MetaTrader 4. Again,
these are just the basic steps to help you navigate the platform for your first time.
There is still much to cover about the tools and capabilities of MT4. It is truly a
wonderful platform to use for trading.
So, do you use MT4 for your trading or are you a fan of another trading
platform? Tell us about your experience using MT4? Are there any drawbacks to
using this trading platform?