i'd recommend several books. they are: nicholas darvas, _how i made 2 million_ william o'neil, how to make money in stocks. edwin lefevre, reminiscences of a stock operator. darvas and o'neil's books work great in bull markets. i *know* we're not in a bull market, but so many people rely on principles similar to those in those two books, you need to know those. lefevre's book is a timeless classic, 80 years old, and most of the lessons are still applicable today. after that, a psychology book would be helpful (elder or douglas). there's other stuff i've found useful (books, videos) which i have no affiliation with, but reading the 3 books + psych book is a great start.
I think it would be smart to learn a good amount of intellectual knowledge about the markets before even considering demotrading. Most people, including me, are not disciplined enough to do this and usually needs to loose substantial amounts of money in the markets before realizing this I think Sarvise gave me a pretty good answer in a thread I made earlier. Check it out. Good luck!
and what not to do from the occasional douchebag. --------------------------------------- Excellent point. Learning what not to do. This coincides well with my theory of "Unwritten rules". This is the theory of market wisdoms, quotes and adages, where people say one thing and do another - sometimes.
learn to program. how are you testing or researching things now? most (almost all) people dont like to actually put forth any effort so they just trade like playing a slot machine
hi - the shortest way is the hard way. here are some general guidelines for you: - find a person who's walked the path you want to be on and who is willing to share his knowledge with you and learn from them - have a WRITTEN plan about what you want to achieve and how you will survive your learning curve - work very hard and never quit - make sure you have a supportive environment to achieve above plan - the smarter you are, the tougher it is ignoring all or any of the above will eventually cost you more in time and money. good luck. everything is possible.
Just remember the following; there are primarily three different types of people who post here on the Elite trader forums. 1. Those who don't know anything: approx. 10% 2. Those who know a little: approx. 10% 3. Those who don't realize they don't know anything: approx. 80% :eek: Just do the sums, and you'll get a general idea of what to expect from the creatures on this forum Read one of my previous posts, otherwise you'll end up running to the west looking for a sunrise. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2167069#post2167069
Before you risk any real money, you must read this book and understand it like the back of your hand. Thank me later. http://www.traderslibrary.com/moreinfo.asp?item=2121&SID=&lc=gurus_homepage
Put those hands to work in the club. Easier money and no need to worry about losing it all. In fact, you will not have a down day.
If you are learning to trade I highly HIGHLY recommend Online Trading Academy (www.tradingacademy.com) . They are awesome. I don't work for them but I have taken their classes and they really shorten the learning curve. All the teachers are pro traders with legitimate track records and the the post class follow up is excellent. After the class they have someone look over your trading plan and you can pretty call and talk to these guys any time. The classes are a bit expensive but there are free life time retakes (which I highly recommend also!). Alot, ppl talk about learn the hard way by letting the market take your money. But I think by doing this you will burn through more cash, and pick up horrible habits (adding to losers, widening stops etc).