Hi, I am new to the forums and this is my first post. A little bit of background on myself...I am 20 years old and I play online poker for a living and have a decent amount of money to play around with and I would like to get into day trading. I want to get the ins and outs of day trading..and hoping someone could steer me in the direction of how to get started...what programs to get...what to read, if anyone offers any kind of coaching for a fee? I feel like I will be a good candidate for day trading because I have very good money managment and can handle the swings that it my bring, and I dont have a "real" job so time is not of the essence. Anyways thanks for reading and if anyone could offer some advice that would be great.
This is the easiest way to get started. Very intuitive and simple trend following method. He also gives very good money management rules - accept small losses, small gains, never a big loss..... and on occasion you will get a huge "runner" that makes big bucks. The method is about trading futures, but personally, I'd stay away from futures for quite a while until day trading stocks becomes ho-hum, then start small. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99283 Then start with an ETF that offers tight "spreads", great volume, and go from there. I currently like UYG. It's a 2x financial ETF that follows the "market" very closely (or maybe it leads the market?). I like the 2x funds because the wider "swings" makes the moves easier to "see". Too often, *for me*, trying to see the swings in a stock - which has 1/2 the move of a 2x fund - makes me feel like I'm trying to pick gnat shit outta pepper. Using this fund/method, it is not uncommon for me to get 1-2% runners twice a day. And about 2x a week, I get a 4-5% runner. Good luck...
in your first post you have made a typical trading mistake. you will understand it probably 2 years from now.
thanks for the info haroki...all of the info in that thread seems over my head and too indepth for me at this point, i guess what i am looking for is a guide to follow for someone who has never traded before and doesnt know all of the terms or concepts. Maybe there are other forums for new beginners or a book i could read that would be a good start? let me know thanks.
Babypips.com will give you a brief overview of terminology and other stuff. The site is focused on forex but most of the principles and terms apply to anything else you can trade. Good luck
gotta start like everybody else.. i dont believe most people use financial mumbo jumbo terminology in everyday life. start looking up all the terms you dont understand and applying them in proper context. start watching cnbc.. doesnt have too much to do with trading but you'll get a hang of all the financial talk. also, be prepared to lose money. i dont think its a necessity to blow out ones account as some people on this board do. but until you get disciplined your most likely going to take some big hits. you'll bang your head against the wall (literally) and revise your methods and rules and then probably take another big hit, repeat the process.. then maybe you will be on your way to consistency. i also believe your progress depends on how much you put into it like anything else. some say it took them years to be consistent but i doubt they were doing this full time from dawn till dusk. be serious and prepare yourself for some heartache
I'm new to this forum and trading too. I sucessfully chose and invested in mutual funds in my IRA accounts over the last 15 years and decided to give day trading a try. In my first month I got killed as I've since found out many traders do. In desperation I went by Borders and picked up Day Trading for Dummies. It's just an overview of day trading, but it points out many mistakes I made in my first month so you might find it useful. Check out the "Books" tab on this site. They have a ton of books and reviews. I'm planning on reading Trading for a Living by Alexander Elder, The Market Maker's Edge by Josh Lukerman, The Logical Trader by Mark B Fisher, and Trade Chart Patterns Like the Pros by Suri Dudella. Those seemed to be some of the better received titles. Check out your local library: I found several of these titles at mine. The more research and practice you put in before trading with money, the better potential you'll have for success. Jump into the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge. You can learn for free and maybe win some prizes if you do well. However that contest isn't exactly day trading: more like swing trading perhaps. Good Luck
Reading the books are good to get an idea of what to look for but the most important thing that you need to do is screen time. Watching how the stocks trade and move. Learning charting and Level 2 reading. Screen time and keeping your emotions out.