I have always had an intrest in trading but I don't know where to start. Can someone give me an idea of an affordable software to start with so I can start learing the lingo and do some paper trading to see if it's for me??? Thanks....
Books.... lots of books.... Software... lots of software. Expensive, it's going to be very expensive, your education in trading could quite possibly be the most expensive thing in your life right now, and I'm not talking about money only. Do you actually have the time and effort as well? You want to see if trading is "for you", well, you better be ready to invest years into it to see if it is "for you", for many of us it has taken over a year, and some of us "like me" is yet not profitable yet has every bit of dedication and effort as well. So is it for you? Only you can answer that.
Some Stats Books... + Value at Risk + Try to know all Technical Indicators 250 of them Using 2 1 Momentum + 1 Trend should be OK Fibannaci + Bolinger Bands GL
You can start off on the cheap using charting sites like askresearch.com and stockcharts.com. You probably will have to spend a pile of money to really master the art however. Prop firms, some of them, have training classes and the Market Technicians Association has a whole course and certification.
For software, you can use Medved QuoteTracker: http://www.quotetracker.com/ for free (if you have some brokerage account) or use a delayed datafeed, or minimal cost if you get a data subscription
Great advice for a newbie. I'm sure he understands exactly what to do with the information you have given here.
Dave, Firstly, there is an excellent masters program at the Stuart Graduate School of Business IIT. The program works directly with the exchanges and many trading firms, and offers an extesive education in the markets and trading strategies: http://www.stuart.iit.edu/programs_ms/financial_mkts/ There is precious little information of value in the form of books, as the retail market is crowded with scams, schemes, and outright fiction. For the most part, money and time spent on trading books will be a waste. However, there are a few books that will help you gain an understanding of the markets and how they work. This fundamental knowledge will be very important, so I suggest you start there before attempting to investigate strategies or paper trade. Playing with software and paper trading will not teach you what you need to know. In my opinion, the best starter book available is "Trading and Exchanges" by Larry Harris. Professor Harris teaches a course at CSU based on this material: Trading and Exchanges Larry Harris ISBN: 0195144708 -segv
Dave- My advice is to soak up as much info as you can without spending any money on anything. Most people want to fund an account and jump right in. Don't do that. Use the search function here and search for other newbie help posts. Use the web to read as much as you can. Do you know what you want to trade yet? Stocks? Futures? Forex? Do web searches for all of them, there must be a million sites devoted to those three alone. Again, spend no money on anything for several months. Keep reading things here at ET. Keep your ears open, ask questions, check out the broker ratings, check out the book reviews, etc. Good luck- Don