Perhaps it is just thinking that the grass is greener over there but.. I am starting to learn futures and commodity markets. I am inspired by some blogs I have read and also by turtle books. As a business plan, I want to read books to learn more about the available markets and how to think of them in addition to better understanding the margin requirements and how it relates to position sizes I would undertake (e's vs emini, cotton, oil etc). I am considering some online classes I see from Don Miller and also from Martin Kronicle. I have also started out demo platforms from brokers to learn how these things work. My timeline for learning prior to the real move is years. I work a day job as an RN, have little debt that will be out of the way by the end of 2011. It is at that point in time that I can consider adding significant sums of capitol to what I trade with (I have in mind that much larger starting sizes are needed for these markets). My questions: What books do you suggest? what brokers should I focus on for hopefully good service, good charts, good prices, good indicators, and tutorials? How much capitol to start? Any pointers? Are there vehicles to play with like eminis that allow a lower capitalized person to get started? I am 3 years into this. So far I am a 401K, annuity, Roth and cash account guy with focus on long term trends for retirement accounts and attempts at trend trading stocks and ETFs. About the only thing I can say for my trading is that I have not taken on any large losses. This has been a tough lesson to learn, but I feel it keeps me in the game until my pitch comes to the plate. I am open to all feedback and suggestions. 4nursebee@gmail.com
Here's the advice I give everyone: - plan on trading on simulator for at least one year. do NOT trade real money during this time. If you don't have the discipline to do this then find another hobby. - only trade real money after being consistently profitable on simulator (3+ months) - avoid all price indicators (RSI, stoch, macd, etc.) that doesn't work - find a successful trader and try to learn how they do it. this is really hard because there are so many scam artists out there. so do your homework. search google. read reviews. invest in your education now, it will save you a lot of time. There's a ton of free webinars & videos on the net so invest doesn't mean spend a lot of money. in fact the more $ something costs the more likely it's a scam. start with the free stuff - don't believe anything you read or hear unless it's from someone showing you how they trade live with real money on the line or someone who has shown you account statements showing they're consistently profitable. Maybe 1% of what you'll find will fall into this category. Assume everyone is a crook or imposter until proven otherwise.