Serious newbie in search for knowledge

Chirag - what I like about the books I gave you is that they are NOT about technicals or analysis, they are about what goes on in your mind when you trade. Personally, I would get ready to start a trading library and just start buying these.

Good luck!

 

Thank you all.

I shall resort to building a trading library then, since it seems that all the books recommended would be useful to own and read for extending my knowledge.

Regarding paper trading, are there NO simulator programmes that do not require a $US deposit in a brokerage account?

I ask this because I live in Spain, so having a brokerage account in a foreign country is *currently* of no use for me (I rather invest the funds into something more productive, as in reading material, instead of leaving $2000 untouched in a U.S account).

So arent there any simulator programmes that are FREE for download where I can paper trade with real-time stock quotes?

Regards,

Chirag

 

I've never used IB to trade Spanish markets, but I know they offer a lot of European instruments, and a lot of European traders use them. I am pretty sure you can open an account with Euros as well. Check their website.

As for your question about degrees in trading, I doubt you will find many universities that teach strictly trading. Most finance departments are all about the random walk theory and will scoff at making a living from active trading. Unfortunately there are not a lot of online resources for this businesss other than the myriad of snake oil salesmen that are selling garbage. However, the online "webinars" mentioned previously at the CME and CBOT are free and some of those are helpful. Perhaps the exchanges you will be trading on will also offer similar products. The basics of trading are going to be the same no matter what market you trade, so don't worry that most material is written for US markets. Once you are ready to focus on a specific market you can learn its own intricacies.

 

It doesn't matter which market you will trade, the principles outlined in those books apply universally. Taxation, market regulation and those things, generally, have nothing to do with profitable trading.

There's no formal education for trading and, as it has been pointed out, classical finance degrees teach you the theory behind markets and instruments, but they will also explicitly stress that one cannot beat the market - not exactly the encouragement you seek.

I suggest you read a few of those books, say "Market Wizards" as it will give you an idea of what it takes to succeed in this business and ultimately give you a sense of reality when it comes to your expectations.

 

Here is a list of sims, I am not sure how many of them are free. I assume they have trial periods.

http://cbot.com/cbot/pub/page/0,3181,1169,00.html

Here is a free for 1 month and you can ask for extension:

jrfutures.com

(the charting isn't that great though)

Since you need both a realtime charting and a sim program, you have to count on paying at least for 1 of them. Even if you pay $50 a month, that will be the best investment you ever did, because you would lose most likely way more than that with real money.

Also, if you are honest, you can do papertrading well, on paper. Just write down your entry and exit prices and do the math. But be honest, and try to treat it as it was real money...

For a very good and cheap charting service, you can use:

sierracharts.com (only $20 a month)

You can replay intraday charts, which is excellent for practice.

One more thing about reading too many books. There is such a thing as overeducation. I personally think you only need to read not more than 5 books on trading, the rest is repetition. You can read more, if you like it and you are interested, but too much information can fog your view...

 

Add this book to the list, probably the best technical analysis book written:

Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets, by John Murphy.

Its widely regarded as the trading encyclopedia. Its got everything in it. TA wise that is.

Jay

 

Aloha,

Welcome to ET.

I dont think its a good idea to enter trading as a carreer before you are successful at it. I agree with WarEagle.

Spending 8-12 hours a day, possibly for years before realizing you have wasted time and money on something you cant find an edge in.

In my opinion, it is better to keep a steady job, and study the markets on the side. Study a lot, risk a little, keep a solid job. When your trading income exceeds your job income, then maybe switch.

I didnt take this route, but I wish I did, and now this is where I am. Working a job and trading on the side. I am actually happier, more stress free, and having more success (although not yet profitable) this way than I ever had when I traded full time and relied on it for income.

I have been around here since 2000 and I have seen people come and go, myself included. I am able to stick it out, continue to strive towards my goal, because I realized, thanks to advice on this board, that I needed to either have a huge chunk of money to fall back on and live off of, or have a job. Since I dont have lots of money, I have a job.

Most people blow through their savings, and have to go back to work.

I'm sure there is other routes, this is just a safe route that I have experience with.

 

Completely agree !!!




c.chugani

If I where to have to start from scratch, I would join a reputable prop shop.

I highly recommend this route to you ...

 

The book recommendations below are books I have recently read and are loosely grouped into categories, with similarities in each group. Each book has two ratings -- based on a 10 point scale -- my (highly subjective) assessment of value for a beginning trader followed by my assessment for an experienced trader.

You should probably proceed from the top group down as far as you continue to get value, but, personally I'd make the top 11 required reading at the outset and suggest that you don't wait too long to read Mamis, Bulkowski and Grant.

Also, expect to reread many of these books as your knowledge base grows and you are able to pull different nuggets out of them.

>>>Introduction and Context
Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders (Jack Schwager) – 10/8
The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America's Top Traders (Jack Schwager) – 10/7
Stock Market Wizards: Interviews with America's Top Stock Traders (Jack Schwager) – 10/7

>>>Anecdotal / Historical
How I Made 2,000,000 in the Stock Market (Nicholas Darvas) – 9/5
Reminiscences of a Stock Market Operator (Edwin Lefevre) – 9/9

>>>High Level, How To: The Short List
Fooled By Randomness (Nassim Taleb) – 9/8
Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom (Van Tharp) – 9/9
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications (John Murphy) – 9/7
Japanese Candlestick Charting (Steve Nison) – 8/8
The Successful Investor: What 80 Million People Need to Know to Invest Profitably and Avoid Big Losses (William O’Neil) – 8/6
High Probability Trading (Marcel Link) – 9/9

>>>High Level, How To: The Second Tier
Trader Vic--Methods of a Wall Street Master (Victor Sperandeo) – 8/8
Trend Following: How Great Traders Make Millions in Up or Down Markets (Michael Covel) – 6/5
The Education of a Speculator (Victor Niederhoffer) – 7/7
Practical Speculation (Victor Niederhoffer) – 6/6

>>>Detailed Individual Approaches
Fire Your Stock Analyst: Analyzing Stocks On Your Own (Harry Domash) – 8/5 …OR…
Screening the Market (Marc Gerstein) – 8/5
How to Take Money from Wall Street: Learn to Profit in Bull and Bear Markets (Tony Oz) – 8/7
Trade Like a Hedge Fund: 20 Successful Uncorrelated Strategies & Techniques to Winning Profits (James Altucher) – 7/5
The Logical Trader (Mark Fisher) – 7/7
Swing Trading (Jon Markham) – 5/5

>>>Too Often Overlooked: Exiting Positions
When to Sell (Justin Mamis) – 9/9
It’s When You Sell That Counts (Donald Cassidy) – 8/8

>>>Risk Control and Money Management
Trading Risk: Enhanced Profitability through Risk Control (Kenneth Grant) – 8/9

>>>Value Investing Bible
The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham) – 8/8

>>>Thought Starters
The (Mis)Behavior of Markets (Benoit Mandelbrot) – 7/7
Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation (Edward Chancellor) – 7/7

>>>Miscellaneous References
Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns (Thomas Bulkowski) – 7/8
Stock Trader's Almanac 2006 (Yale & Jeffrey Hirsch) – 7/7
Choices, Values, and Frames (Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky) – 9/9
Fortune’s Formula (William Poundstone) – 7/7

>>>Options
McMillan on Options (Lawrence McMillan) – 7/8
Option Volatility & Pricing: Advanced Trading Strategies and Techniques (Sheldon Natenberg) – 5/9

Good trading!

 

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