MT4 is vintage, like a wrench that never leaves the toolbox. It starts up quickly, handles charts with ease, and gets trades going with little fuss. That simplicity hides dangers, though. Go slowly, learn the peculiarities, and you'll be alright.
Choose a broker with clean pricing feeds and a tight spread at peak hours. www.fxcm-markets.com/metatrader-4/
Look at the ping in the lower corner; if it's stable, you're good. Try it out on a demo account first, and then step into live trading slowly. Pay attention to slippage in volatile times. Limit your order size until the platform feels like muscle memory.
Set up charts once, store them for reuse, and use them again. Profiles help separate setups. I like to have one profile for each session: major global sessions. Use simple tools. A moving average or two, RSI, and volume can be more than enough. There are endless indicators you don’t need.
Shortcuts make life easier. Pressing F9 brings up the order window. One-click trading makes exits faster. Use Ctrl+Y to toggle session breaks to see how the session behaves. To measure pips, use the crosshair (middle mouse button or Ctrl+F). A quick drag shows time, range, and levels. Useful when in fast trades.
EAs are automation and edge. Use Magic Numbers to separate trades. For better modeling, try "Every tick" in Strategy Tester, but believe live tests first. A VPS located nearby cuts down on lag. Keep logs; the Journal reveals the truth if an EA goes out of control.
The kinds of orders matter. Market orders hit now. Stops add to momentum. Limits get reversals. To avoid mistakes, put in stop-loss and take-profit when you enter the position. Partial closure lets you lock gains but leave runners. Trailing stops require MT4 or VPS. So, either leave MT4 open or run a virtual server.
Think about the rules of the broker. Some let you hedge, but others block it. FIFO is how US accounts work. Five-digit brokers use points instead of pips. One pip is generally equal to ten points. Error 130 says "invalid stops" rather loudly. Make the stop further away. "Off quotes" is what Error 136 signifies. It signals server hiccups. Retry or reduce size.
Make sure your work area is tidy. Use Ctrl+B to delete objects. You can change or delete indicators by right-clicking on them. Load "Default" and reset if a template stops working. Make a copy of the folders for MQL4, templates, and profiles. Having a copy backed up makes a crash not so scary.
Keep access safe. For read-only sharing, use the investor password. Never use someone else's EA on a live account. Check the code for weird code or hidden calls. Your setup can be unique without being unsafe.
Watch out for swaps, commissions, and server time. Put a mark on the news on the chart. Be very careful while trading during big releases. Make sure the size of your position suits your plan by double-checking it. Small edges, repeated often, beat one-shot bets. And if your hand shakes, step away. After coffee, the chart will still be there.