I have gone through a number of books looking for good rules for shorting, but I still don't think I have enough good ones to keep me out of a squeeze. What rules do you use (if you don't mind my asking)? I think this is very important for newbies because a squeeze can potentially wipe not only your position, but you whole account as well. :eek:
Kastro 316, Here is a tip if you just started out, keep it simple! If you spend to much time in places like this and reading lots of detailed books it is very easy to get lost in all of the different ways there are to trade. It is very easy to lost at first. Read some good books pick some stuff you would like to watch and try to get a feel for how trades work. What ever you do Don't jump in over your head, unless you just have a ton of money to waste.
Go to school NOT thinking about day trading. Get an education. If you are so focused on being a trader, then major in economics. Who knows if day trading will even be a viable profession in 3 years. I don't really believe that many 17 year olds end up doing what they thought they wanted to do at that age. 3 or 4 years is an eternity. I never took courses in college that had anything to do with day trading or anything related. It isn't something that I think you can really learn about in school. Save your money, and leave your options open. Just get as good an education as you can. Get summer jobs or internships with brokerages or mutual funds if you can. Paper trade over a substantial period of time.....you will see it is not as glamourous or exciting as you may believe it is now. Keep an open mind. Maybe you will end up an astronaut, or a doctor, or an opera singer. The future is wide open. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy the coming years. If daytrading is still your interest after college, give it a try. But leave yourself choices. Good luck, and HAVE FUN!!!!
save your money...at your pace, you should be wealthy before you are done with school and you wont have to day trade. you can retire!!
and for taking the time to respond. Your posts are going in to my file for sure. Now I have something to really focus on, it does get pretty muddled at times.... too many trees! XGG
I agree...way too many trees. I really tried to boil it down to the essentials. What I have said has worked for me since WAY before kastro was born.
rs7, I have to disagree with most your advice (at least concerning college/education) Kastro_316: Here's my advice and my comments about rs7's opinion, I must admit "my way" of doing things is not necessarily good for you. So because you lose frequently everyone loses frequently? (Of course everyone loses from time to time) "negative attitudes=negative results" as you so wisely put it. Please don't generalize, sometimes it does work that way, and who says I'm "not entrusted to trade millions of dollars"? Don't trap in the all too common fallacy that you need a degree of some sort to make you a better trader (this has been discussed on these boards in the past, maybe you should do a search for "education", "degree" ...) I think most people here went to college and only afterwards discovered day trading. But as a general approach to almost everything in life you can say that if you are confident (and you should be) in your -future- abilities as a trader, that you shouldn't go through all the hassle of pursuing a higher education, because if you "know" you will be successful as a trader, then you are right. You shouldn't spend time on a backup plan if you don't intend to use it, only the self doubting will eventually have to use such a plan, but if you are doubting your abilities already, then you most likely will fail as a trader. Self fulfilling prophecy plays a key role in the whole psychological makeup of a successful person/trader. If you decide to go to school, always keep daytrading in your head, or you might, just might, lose the desire to trade, and that would most likely be detrimental (in my opinion). Donât worry if daytrading is viable in three years, if it is now, chances are it will be in the future too. Take that chance, take the risk. True, that's because most teenagers don't have a clue about their future life. But you, Kastro_316, seem to have a certain yearning towards trading. You should pursue this at all costs, instead of wasting your precious time in a classroom. Exactly, so why go to school if you believe in your own abilities? Save your money, and put it in your trading account instead of an education. Don't believe the common held belief that degree equals intelligence/smartness, education is highly overvalued. On a sidenote, Wilde once said: "nothing that is worth knowing can be taught" Yes, and do you want to be a loser that drifts towards a life that wasn't the life he had in mind? If you want to be a trader, do everything you can to make it a reality! Move in the direction of you dreams, else you'll end up being a slave of the system (governed by slaves with a higher hierarchical position). If daytrading is your interest now, why waste your time in college where all sort of people will try to steer you away from your dream, pursue daytrading with all your heart and mind now, instead of exposing yourself to the chance of letting your fire extinguish. Kastro_316: follow your own way, your own opinion. And as a general trading advice: "keep it simple" is probably the soundest advice there is. One more thing: you must remember that, just like in trading, in life it's all about the odds: one must constantly try to shift oneself from the side of the majority to the ever so small side of the successful minority, it's the struggle between a mediocre existence and the live you had envisioned. In fact, you can choose to stay on the side of the majority, but you should ask yourself if this is what you strive for. I wish you the best on this journey.
Nemsey, Hey, you are entitled to your opinions....but I am happy as hell you aren't my parent, or the parent of my kids, or anyone I ever cared about!!!!!!! ALSO....what makes you think that education is only about a career? Your response is absolutely the most rediculous thing I have ever read here!!!!!