Automated trading vs Manual Trading

You have probably heard about the constant forex trader’s debate on what style of trading is better, manual trading style or automated one (using forex robots). Well, different traders would give you a different opinion about the topic. Some of them prefer manual, while others would say that automated is better. So, who is right? Well, the truth is that both approaches have advantages (but also disadvantages), both sides have good arguments to support their stance.

Since I have been a forex trader for several years and I have tried both techniques I can say that both are good. Both styles have their own advantages. Frankly speaking, the question here should be which style would work better for you? It is true that Expert Advisors are not able to replace human thinking, but also they not affected by greed and emotions, two big human weaknesses that affect traders. Forex robots can monitor the market all the time, definitely for a longer period than humans and they will not miss entries and exits due to lack of concentration. Moreover, EA will open and close the trade in a shorter period of time and is able to manage more trades simultaneously. On the other hand, an experienced forex trader will earn more than the majority of expert advisors.

Many traders who considered themselves as manual traders actually combine these two styles or trade semi-automatically. They usually use EA as an alerter. It means that EA is not entering trades it is only sending a signal that there is a possible entry when the rules are met. Then the trader sees the signal and decides whether he would accept it and enter the trade manually. Semi-automatic traders also use EAs as a trade management tool. It means that every manually entered active trade is controlled by EA, usually when conditions are met functions like trailing stop loss, scaling out, set to break-even or exit are executed by the robot.

Automated trading is especially popular with new participants in the forex market. Becoming a successful trader is a process that takes time, it can last more than a year and requires a lot of passion and dedication. Not many people are ready to accept that sacrifice, especially when on the other side there is an opportunity to earn some extra money with an investment of around $200 into a commercial Expert Advisor and with few weeks of testing.

Traders that started trading manually but were not able to overcome their feelings and emotions while they were trading usually switch to automated trading style. However, this type of traders very rarely tend to purchase an EA because they have already developed their winning trading mechanism. In most cases, they would try to automate their strategy by creating their own forex robot.

So what style you should choose? Well, it depends on you. If you are the person that can trade in the full discipline by following all preset rules and if you have the time to dedicate yourself fully to the trading then choose the manual one. In opposite, if you consider trading as a part-time job, if you are affected by emotions, if you feel greed and despair while you are trading then you should consider automated trading. If you have something of both sides than the best trading style would be semi-automatic.

If you decide to trade automatically you have two options left. You create your own EA that follows your winning trading strategy or you can buy one. Be careful if you want to buy a commercial Expert Advisor because lots of them that you can purchase over the Internet are scams and very few of them can trade profitably. Also, keep in mind that no one would sell you a profitable trading system for $99. Do not believe advertisements that are promising you to earn millions over the night. I warmly advise you to check the independent reviews like the ones you can find on this site before you decide to purchase a forex robot. Always check if the EA seller has put its product’s trading performance on myfxbook.com. Keep in mind that finding the right robot for purchase is also a process and it will require time.