Are you using Alerts?

Many traders make the mistake of either sitting infront of the computer all day or checking the chart too late only to discover their "ideal" signal was hit.   There is an easier way.... Alerts!

Every trader has their own favorite strategy and entry "signal".  For example you could use Moving Average Crosses, RSI, MACD, or a mixture.

One of the simplest and most powerful functionality of your trading platform is Alerts.  Every platform has them, I am going to focus on Metatrader.

There are three types of "Alerts" you can set up.

1. Alert by Sound - great if you are near your computer
2. Alert by Email - great if you are mobile and have access to email
3. Alert by Notification - great if you are mobile and have the Metatrader App

For Email and Notifications to work you need to configure Metatrader (Tools >> Options).  Note that it can be tricky to get SMTP to work as many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now block SMTP Port 25.   If that's the case ask your ISP what SMTP port is open.   Notifications can also be tricky as some cell phone providers will block the port for notifications.  For example here in Thailand I only get notifications once I use Wifi but never with my AIS Mobile Provider.

In any event I still use notifications as my thinking is that if I'm not using Wifi then I'm likely not in a position to make a trade....

There are also two different ways to set up Alerts.  You can either open the Alerts tab on your Terminal window in Metatrader and set the currency and level, ie. EURUSD > 1. 2844 or you can check your favorite indicators to see if they have the Alert capability.   If they don't, see if you can find an indicator with an Alert function.  

If you have some programming experience you can easily add the Alerts to your favorite indicators.