what is the difference between various pivot points?

I was on http://www.mataf.net and saw that there was a lot of Pivot Points.

• Forex Pivot Points
• Woodie Pivot Points
• Fibonacci Pivot Points
• Demark pivot points
• camarilla pivot points

what is the difference between them?

Different calculation rules. You can Google for the specific calculation rules (if the mentioned site doesn't show them). None of the pivot points are very reliable from my experience.

ok, I'm going to use pivot points to get an overview. does it matter what type of calculation rules I use?

It matters if you believe one works for you better than the others.

I have used all of the pivot points. They will only work if 'all market participants' use them. Then it becomes self fullfilling prophecy.

Thats the precisely the reason sometimes they dont work- All market participants do not use them. Sometimes the price will break pivot point from top and then after 5 minutes, again break pivot point from bottom giving false signal.

But few of them specially floor traders use the standard pivot points. Sometimes they will work, sometimes not. You can see all kind of pivot points at actionforex website.

I have now taken my trading beyond pivot points and use pure price action, sentiments and intution to trade.

But there are many traders here who use pivot points and make a good living out it.

Pivot points are just an indicator about the currency pair volatility. Its all based on previous candles high, low, close and opens. In other words its purely mechanical. When setting a trade it is most advisable to consider the fundamentals and also the technical indicators such as stochastic, RSI, SMA (or EMA ) positions.
Even though all these points being considered, market can vary due to news events and sentiment of the pair.
In nutshell Forex trading is very risky due to various reasons. Therefore when setting a trade, it is better to consider how much you going to risk, because it is your money. In my experience, going with smaller lots, and 1 : 1 Risk/profit ratios will give better results. BUT it is need to watch on your trade especially during the high impact news events.
Happy trading !!!