Dude - very eloquent, with a lot of big words. But, like it or not - there has been a lot of PIMPING for undergroundtrader on ET lately. And, I stand by my theory that they are trying to get new members, as they have probably burned through most of the old ones. After seeing them mentioned in several threads on ET in the past few days, one grows suspicious. Don't take it personally. Anyone can do a search of ET and find a mixed bag of reviews, but I think more are negative than positive. I am in the negative camp.
I respectfully disagree with this portion of your statement. To you and I and others at this point in our careers, yes, we don't need a chatroom. As I said, to me they're all distractions now. To a beginner who will listen and NOT jump into each call in the hopes of making a quick buck (the "I just need to make a quick $$ now and then I'll study some more tonight" approach), but a serious student who will watch and watch and watch, I believe the better chatrooms provide a much-needed reference point from where to begin the learning process. Not only for technical methods but also for execution, the "been around the block" stuff that we all have faced if we've been trading for any time. UT is one of the better chat rooms. Jay's and Russ' methods are solid. Their track record is proven. I didn't say marry the place. I said it would be a good place to learn real-time. Like I did, it's an important part of a trader's education to eventually fly the coop and solo, no matter where one learns. Nitro, I completely agree with the other portions of your post.
Please don't let this new member's first thread deteriorate into a debate over the merits of chatrooms. Please keep it on topic. Thanks.
There are many different methods to trade with. Some work good in different markets, some work good in different time frames. I think you need to tell us what exactly you are looking for, as the road is endless. remember one thing though- the strategy is really not that important. Money management is truly the key. Many people have great methods and yet fail to ever turn a profit. This is due to poor money management. So tell us what you are looking to do. Also if you read Tharps book Trade your Way to Financial Freedom, it might help. The book tells you how to develop a strategy that fits your personality. Then it also goes over stops, taking profits, psychology etc. If finding/building a system is what you are after, I'd recommend you to read this book.
Were I to give a good rule I´d change that to Buy High, Sell Higher Sell Low, Cover Lower Top-calling (or bottom for that matter) is for fools and people with low self-esteem in my opinion. But nevermind.
Whoodi, the fact that not a single poster here has discussed the instruments they are trading, indicates that you should take most of this advice with a grain of salt until that is clarified. You will find the same thing to be true when reading most posts on ET, in that traders will give an opinion without identifying what they are trading. Most traders here fall into one of two categories: stock traders, or index futures traders. Each approach usually/often requires different strategies and money management techniques, and contains subsets. (Example: Stock daytraders or swing traders.) So when one person advises that X works, and another that Y works, this advice is completely useless to you without a discussion of the instruments and timeframes they are trading. Your first objective needs to be to define WHAT you want to trade, then how best to trade it, in concert with (1) Your personality, (2) Your resources (time and money), and (3) Your goals. The answer to what to trade, how to trade it, and how it will jive with your goals and resources, is a very complex subject. And this is why new traders need to know that it can typically take a few years to find the path that works, and that is right for you. There are few straightforward answers.