No, its really not a secret. No, there are not "7 phases." Trading is like any other profession in that you need to learn it from someone and the best way to do this is to go work in the industry in a real job where you get paid to learn.
tHIS t-REX IS PROBABLY PEDDLING SOME COURSE , 7 learning phases yeah and we've got seven lifes lol 6 months is not enough to learn even in this market. 20K is not much but if you are prepared to eat beans for the next 2 years it's doable. But you have a family... I would rethink your decision , get some other job temporarily and trade on the side for a while . If you've never traded it's gonna be REALLY tough. That's said we have yet to reach the climax phase in this little bull market and it should then be easier to start , that'd be for next year IMO .
At least don't fall for the "since I'm just beginning and a bit undercapitalized, I'll just scalp for $100/day to get started" trap. You need to save as much capital for yourself rather than give it away to your brokers, if you've been watching the market for a while you know that there are plenty of profits to be made on a swing basis. Don't put your mental well-being at the mercy of intraday "noise" -- just my 2 cents. Good Luck!
right the $100 a day mentality or "whatever you choose" a day is not the way to success I think (cfr Reminiscences)
Hmm...everyone thought I was crazy too. Some people are really good at this right out of the box. Some people never get it. Some people lose a lot of money. Some people make a lot of money. I say give it a shot and get a night job to help to do this longer. Or marry a girl with a steady job. PS...I do just fine with 15k in Emini Futures. It all depends on how much you need to make and how hard you make your money work for you.
Finding a mentor could really jumpstart your chances. Lacking that, perhaps this could be the next best thing. A guy named Tom O'Brien has AM and PM talk shows that are available over the internet at http://www.tfnn.com . This guy utilizes a simple system of technical analysis based strictly on price and volumes that is easy to comprehend and really makes sense. Tom takes calls and will provide analysis of any stock, no matter how pricy or speculative. He has some powerful analysis resources available to him via Bloomberg. He's a goos teacher and I think could help any trader improve his chances. Best of luck to you. Louie
what do your future in-laws think about trading on your own? if you want to trade your own money, i like the idea of going to a prop firm, which will provide you with lots of leverage, some training, some structure, and some comradery. if you don't mind a real job, i would try to get hired by an investment firm to be a trader or an analyst. let someone else pay you to learn the business.
My $.02 (take it for what it's worth even if it's only good for the two sides of a trade on 1 share with IB)... I'm all for following dreams. I wouldnât be where I am without following mine, but imho you are in for a tough ride. With little money to start and without a solid plan to fall back on, it is hard to do one of the most important things in trading which is to stay emotionally detached to the money. When placing each trade, you are probably going to have trouble not thinking about what you will do in 6 mos. if it doesnât work out. Also, 5 years is a good amount of time to have been watching the markets, but did you ever think through a strategy or have a methodology that you tried to apply to all the information that youâre seeing out there? There have been quite a few suggestions that have come up so far and I think one of the most important has to do with what else you can be doing while becoming consistent. Prop trading may be a good way to go too, but I canât comment with personal experience. Whether it is part time work, or knowing that you have something that you can do if you find out that itâs not working out, this will help you not worry too much about âhaving to make it workâ. Remember that you are letting yourself try, not putting yourself in a do-or-die situation. That being said hereâs my evolution. 2 years trading while in college (swing and buy and hold with small cash) 3 years trading while doing a full time job at consulting firm (swing and options for leverage with a little more cash) 1 year trading after quitting full time job (still had small consulting projects that paid the bills on the side in addition to trading income) .5 years trading full time (other job is being happy) Still reading, still learning, still staying humble⦠Who knows? It might all fall apart tomorrow. Fortunately, I know who to talk to if I need to start doing non-trading work again. That said I wish you the best of luck in finding your way. Best, DTK