You could also try the SEARCH function as this question has been asked - and answered - repeatedly... Marks' post is gold, as is usually the case!
=================== Exactly NasdaQQQ; & Chip-monk a]Seriously ,I wish i had taken the advice of trading 1[one ]share till you learn. b]Jack Schwager top trading books; much better risk reward than seminars bbb]See ''b'' again and again ; I am doing this again and again!!!!!!! c]You could learn with [one] 1 contract or 1 share or 100 shares; glad i did not learn the trading business with 1 contract,, its too exspensive that way.Wisdom is profitable to direct; forget the seminars
Chipmunk, I would be hypocritical to not tell you what I did to learn trading. Investing, I knew a long time ago. But trading... 1. Investools seminars. A few grand for alot of information on stocks and options, that I still refer to today. Why do this instead of reading the basics? Because ET has too many self-named professionals (cough) to choose one in a short time frame. Get a good start from a professional with a street address, hard materials and 10+ years of live teaching with superb materials. Do not gamble with your foundation. 2. Papertrading until you're blue in the face. 3. Become a reader of ET. Not the 'most recent' threads but those that teach your style of trading. You will not be happy with anything else. How do you find out yours? a. Read threads about technical analysis b. Read threads about fundamental analysis c. Read threads about price action d. Read threads about swing trading e. Read threads about intraday trading f. Read threads about scalp trading g. Read success stories h. Read blow-out stories i. Take ego posters for entertainment and nothing more j. Identify the 'old and wise' traders on ET, subscribe to their threads k. Take notes on all of the above for what attracts or excites you. l. Decide which ONE or TWO makes you hungry to try them, like choosing a beach babe from a lineup... choose the one sexiest to you to screw. You're not going to be married to any one or two styles forever, but she has to get your blood flowing to make you hungry. Profitability alone isn't enough. m. Write your own systems to exploit various market conditions. Never write systems to map out markets on-the-fly. Papertrade. Papertrade. Papertrade. Do not succomb to euphoria when you think you have 'found your retirement vehicle.' Keep your day job. After all of the the above is complete, you will be ready to fund a trading account to a level worthy of trading. All this time, you should be getting your ducks in a row financially so trading will be less emotional. There is no substitute for trading real money that you earned, nor is there any way to conquer the emotions of trading but to trade real money. Start with one share, or one contract. I don't care if one contract is not profitable after commissions, fees, blah blah blah. Do it. When you can do this without ANY emotion win or lose, increase to two. And on and on. Do NOT increase until your emotions are no longer a factor in what or how you trade. Millions of traders learn the hard way by not heeding this advise. It's up to you. Some suggest mentors, but unless you already know one next door, you will have to pay them, and that is a waste of money IMO. Some suggest chat rooms, but I tried them all and evaluated them all, including the big names, and none of them can make you a better trader. Unless your idea of trading is waiting for signals on your cel phone and them logging in to place trades in a panic, you have to learn. What I outlined above is your schoolwork. I did not mention any trading books because I have not gained any bottom-line benefit from psychobabble. I know myself and how to change myself. Therefore, I do not recommend any of them. However, most traders do recommend 'Trading In the Zone' and others. Nice reading, especially if you want to familiarize yourself with the lingo of professional traders. If you want to learn how to trade, you must learn to chew the meat and spit out the bones. There are lots of people on ET who never trade but sure post more than their share. Over time, you will recognize them and ignore them. Also, do not accept anything as true unless/until you test it out for yourself, including the suggestions in this post. Knowing only what you are told is not going to teach you how to trade. I will not wish you good luck, for professional traders do not gamble. Unlike card games, you can win at trading if you learn the ropes, write your own system and stick to your rules. Most do not.
I lost 150K during my first six months learning to daytrade. Thank GOD it was the prop firm's money! Don't worry, I made it all back for them eventually in the form of commissions and profit splits.
take you 3 years to make it until you start making money consistently--that is if you do things right etc etc You can do it faster if you are smarter and also depends more on your personality traits such as discipline, mathematical skills etc. And for GOD's sake trade small for the first year--tired of seeing newbie's make small gains and think of themselves as pros and then blow up big. Just remember its a zero sum gain and you are a newbie against the pros. Other than that I d say read all the books you can get your hands on. Then throw em out of the window Just a personal suggestion--keep a journal at all times. Write down what works and what doesnt--so in a year or 2 years you will go thru a slump you can go back and see what worked and if it wouldve worked. Dont flip flop systems. Find a good one and give it time to work. Do some online research plenty of good blogs --goto tradermike.net he s got a bunch of stuff that can help.
This is very good as advice on many levels. Now, for advice to the "bewbie": Be firm. Be well rounded. Be erect when needed, not just when a cool wind blows. Realize you may be stared at and lusted after if you posses the above. Give of yourself freely while maintaining pussy control. "prop" or "lift" yourself up as needed to stimulate attention. "cleav" through the competition. Oh yeah, and money management is key!