Where should a beginner begin?

An acquaintance with time on her hands and good head on her shoulders has inquired about trading. She doesn’t know where to start. I said I would get back to her tomorrow but, frankly, i’m at a bit of a loss. I know what she needs to know, but not clear on the optimal order of instruction. God forbid she should go about it the way I did, which was all wrong (indicator obsession).

So any recommendations for sound resources to get a beginner off on the right foot?

Begin with order flow? Support:resistance? Chart patterns? What...

Thanks

 

Trade MGC futures with one contract. Quick, clean, low-risk exposure. And if anyone here gives you guff about liquidity, tell them to bite your chode.

 

This, after trying all kinds of markets, losing my head and my money on the larger contracts. I am now slowly starting to understand what is going on and make decent trades on MGC. I've come to the conclusion that its ok to live off my savings while I learn to trade profitably, rather then trying to make rent money trading big contracts and losing it anyway.

 

Yes, this. It is a very inexpensive way to get into a trading instrument and feel it all out.

 

Id also recommend keeping just enough money in the trading account to cover the margin and a few losing trades, otherwise you can click yourself into some trouble even with the micro contracts.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a book—or a thread, for that matter—that would help her get started properly?

 

Tons of threads on books here, and tons of books out there.

Look at it like a business, and get feet wet with a tiny bit of money. Some days you will lose, some days you will win. But at least you will learn yourself which a book cannot learn you.

Books may mess up your head if you are trying it with pure TA. Toss some FA in there and you have a healthy cauldron of thinking brewing. Figuring it out on your own might be the best way to start.

I didn't read any books before I got into it, and have had successes and failures. If I had started a bit smaller I would be in a better position than I am in now. Lesson learned.

But very well learned. No book could ever prepare me for the real deal. The real deal did. So start small and learn the market, and learn yourself.

 

I get that. It’s the way I learned. But I would never wish the way I learned on anyone else.

 

"So any recommendations for sound resources to get a beginner off on the right foot?"

I'm going to go on a limb here and say Mark Douglas's "Trading in the Zone". It seems the party favorite in trading circles. Never read it myself.

Your acquaintance would probably be best served by just going the Micro route. Alas, that's all I got. (Oh, and listening to lots of Pink Floyd will help immeasurably).

 

Trading Price.