I think you do not knwo enough of Pristine trading types which are: Scalp Trade: A style of trading that is designed to capitalize on small moves, using price setups that present exceptionally low risk opportunities. The typical objective for a scalp trade is 1/4 to a 5/8 or more. Scalping demands a familiarity with Level 2 as well as the use of a direct access system such as Mastertrader (http://www.mastertrader.com/) for instant order execution. The best scalping opportunities are found in liquid stocks (trading 500k or more shares a day) with quality market maker representation. Pristine Scalp setups are typically found using charts in smaller intra-day timeframes such as a 2-, 5- and 15-minutes. Day Trade: Conventionally speaking, a day trade is a position initiated and closed out in the same trading session. In Pristine's Real-time Trading Room, a day trade is an opportunity with the potential to become an overnight (o/n) and/or develop into a swing trade, but because it occurs early in the day, it is typically treated more aggressively in terms of locking in partial or complete profits. Day trades also typically employ tighter stops than the average swing trade does. We have found that the best day trades usually have "room to run," with resistance being far enough away to warrant holding through a brief pullback or period of consolidation if necessary. Day trades are typically found using intraday charts with medium length timeframes such as a 15-minute or hourly chart. Overnight Trade: An overnight trade is typically a position entered late in the day in a stock which is closing at or near its high (or low, for shorts) with the potential to gap up or see follow-through the next morning. As mentioned above, an overnight can also start as a day trade that closes strong enough to warrant holding past the close and into the following day. Overnights are frequently closed out in the early going of the following morning (if not right at or before the open) with some traders opting to sell only half, with the remaining half held for a longer period and a potentially larger price gain. Swing Trade: A swing trade is one that is entered with the idea of profiting from the natural ebb and flow of a stock's daily movements. Swing trades are usually initiated in an area of significant support (or resistance, for shorts), and seek to capture between $1 to $4 in profits, depending on the situation. Typically held for a period of two to five (or more) days, swing trades take advantage of a very profitable market niche overlooked by most active investors. Too brief for large institutional concerns to take advantage of and, at the same time, too lengthy for floor traders (who typically don't hold positions overnight) to be comfortable with, this time frame offers the perfect opportunity for independent traders who possess the expertise necessary to profitably exploit it. Swing trades are found primarily using daily (and weekly) charts, with occasional reference to a 15-minute chart as well. Core Trade: A Core Trade is a longer-term style that seeks to take advantage of an extended market move, typically on the long side. Looking beyond the usual two to five day objective of the swing trade, a core trade is often held for weeks if not months. Exiting a core position could be based on either the market signaling that it is time to cut back our exposure, or the stock itself experiencing a technically bearish breakdown such as a weekly reversal candlestick or violation of a significant moving average. Because of the very different mindset involved in managing core trades, it is recommended that traders keep a separate account.
In 1979 I started as a fundamental "INVESTOR" (investor meaning my intent was to hold long term). Over time as I became successful with this method, I realized often no matter how great the fundamentals and the prospects were for a stock (company) as the general market went down so did my investment (stock). Therefore, I could have taken much more profit out of the same point movement if I had been willing to trade in and out of the position. I discovered that if the market was trending down (I used lower highs and lower lows on a weekly chart {technical} and interest rates were rising {fundamental} I was better off in cash. It wasn't long before I started using daily charts to determine trend and traded my positions even more actively. Over time as I encountered more and more earnings and revenue disappointments with my stocks and began to realize that often these "surprises" had already been indicated in the price chart I began to rely more and more on the price chart (trend) and this trend relative to the market (I used S&P and AMEX composite at that time). In my quest to take more and more profit out of the same point move I began to look for stocks which had underreported during up moves to short during down trends in the overall market and economy. As my trading time frame shortened, I became less and less concerned about both economic and company fundamentals. Although I must say I still believe these are very valid methods for profiting from the markets. It is just that experience has taught me that I am able to take much much more profit out of the same move using other methods and with much less risk. With the advent of direct access, lower commissions and narrower spreads, I have continually shortened my time frame from being a longer term daytrader, to day trading using 30, 15, 5, and 1 minute charts with my entries and exits coming form the 1 minute charts. I am continually trying to learn to take more profit with the same or less risk from the same opportunity. I have learned to be successful with very short term indicators. This is a small part of what I have learned. I use mainly candlestick price charts with moving averages of various settings. I use stochastic with various settings. I use ADX (DMI) with various settings. Note there are no fundamentals in my list. More than any one indicator it is the relationship among the indicators that is important. I can take this handful of indicators and take tremendous profit out of stock moves during any period I have tried or back tested. Pre 1929 post 1929, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000, 2001, 2002, it does work and has worked in all of them. I am quite confident it will work for me in any future market. I like to consider my TA as an instrument which must be calibrated. This is why I say with various settings for each of my indicators. I trade a very small group of indexes and stocks. Before I begin trading a new one and periodically (at least weekly) thereafter, I calibrate the settings of my indicators and moving averages based on a best fit (for my trading style) of the recent past. This insures as market conditions change my small universe of indicators are calibrated for optimal performance. Not every one uses or needs to use the same indicators or time frames. But also, just because a person is unable to consistently beat par (be profitable trading a specific timeframe) doesn't mean it can not be done or that you should even want to. breezy1, what do you want to do? Are you looking to improve your investing, become a swing trader or become a daytrader? What markets or instruments are you wanting to trade? If you wouldn't mind answering these questions, we could be of more help. I notice you are 66 years old. You say you are a complete newbie. In the beginning it is often difficult for an individual to tell the difference between gold and fool's gold. And in this business what is GOLD to one person may in fact be worthless to someone else depending on the experience and/or trading style of the two individuals. Oliver Velez (Pristine.com) has three specific VHS tapes or CD's I think are quite good for any relatively new trader and even most experienced traders. "Core Trading for a Living" "Swing Trading with Oliver Velez" "Micro Trading Tactics" They are only about $50 to $60 each. I would definitely suggest you take a look at these three no matter what time frame or style you are looking to trade. Yes, as someone mentioned they cover the basics. But from what I have learned over the years, they are very accurate and do a great job of presenting the material in a very understandable fashion. Please let us know where you are wanting to go with the markets. Good Luck!
There is nothing new under the sun. Pristine does not offer (nor promises) inside secrets, because there are none. What I learned was how to put the pieces together. How to combine all the thousands of ideas into something consistantly useable. Another factor is the human brain is decidely much better at learning in a multi-modal fashion. That is, reading, seeing, hearing, feeling. You can't do that just with a book. Look, how many of you have lost more than $10,000 investing and trading over a several year period of trying and hoping to learn how to trade. For that same ten grand, I got two incredible seminars, a week long personal mentorship, and ongoing coaching from traders that I have witnessed make what I consider to be tons of money. And I got it all in 6 months. Hey, I"m not going to live forever. I want success as soon as possible. And the one common thread among anyone truly successful is they say something like: find a model, someone who's already done it, copy them, and then make it your own. Pristine did this for me. I'm sure there are other ways to learn how to trade, I doubt there is a cheaper (in the long run) or quicker route than getting adequately educated as quickly as possible.