Where should a beginner begin?

Discussion in 'Trading' started by tortoise, Jan 1, 2018.

  1. ironchef

    ironchef

    Thank you for the link.

    Best wishes.
     
    #51     Jan 2, 2018
  2. Also:

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    Start small. (Or "little," as the case may be.) It's good to start with an overview before getting into the weeds.
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2018
    #52     Jan 2, 2018
    Sprout and tortoise like this.
  3. spindr0

    spindr0

    You don't decide to start trading and Voila!, it works. Given that something like 90% of day traders blow out, don't encourage her.

    Speedo succinctly summed it up: "Unless one is willing and capable of expending considerable time and effort and can endure frustration and failure along the way, it's best not to start at all."

    The post by Tom McGinnis was also dead on. "Where is she and where does she want to go?"

    There were other good referrals but how will your friend benefit if she lacks a fundamental understanding of the markets? What good will come of it from spending time at tastytrade if you haven't read a good option book and have a sound understanding of them? It's like recommending that if someone reads Graham's "The Intelligent Investor" then they be able to craft a sound portfolio like Warren Buffet (slight exaggeration :). You don't start with the best books/courses and expect it to make sense.

    My suggestion is that she start at the beginning. Read some "XXX For Dummies" books. Find out what is of interest (ETFs? Equities? Options? Futures?) and then read some books on that topic. Once she has a decent foundation then she'll be able to converse with other investors/traders and have a better understanding of their suggestions and possible relevance to her.
     
    #53     Jan 2, 2018
    tortoise likes this.
  4. pinabetal

    pinabetal

    Easy to say but quite harder to implement. By pressures if you mean activity i.e. volume then one needs to understand price can also rise on declining volume and it can do so ALL day long.
     
    #54     Jan 2, 2018
  5. pinabetal

    pinabetal

    In general the concept of supply and demand is important and but even more important is how to DETERMINE which is stronger and that requires interpretation of something and it is not as easy as looking at a line chart. Of course, it is easy in hindsite looking at MOST ANY CHART.
     
    #55     Jan 2, 2018
    speedo likes this.
  6. lcranston

    lcranston

    No, by "pressures" I mean those who are interested in buying vs those who are interested in selling. If sellers are offering few if any obstacles to buyers, price can rise on practically no volume at all. Today's activity in the NQ is a good example of this. What is most important to an increase in price is whether or not demand is greater than supply.

    As for being harder to implement, that depends on how much one knows and how much of what he knows is untrue. If one starts off on the wrong foot, he may never get it. And many never do. Those who know absolutely nothing about charts and indeed may never have seen one have little to no trouble with this.
     
    #56     Jan 2, 2018
  7. lcranston

    lcranston

    The only interpretation required is to determine whether price is higher or lower at point A than it was at Point B, even if those points are only ticks apart. If one can't do this in real time, then, yes, he's going to have trouble.

    You may want to look at the Trading Price link I posted earlier (post #10). The thread is only 25 posts long.
     
    #57     Jan 2, 2018
  8. pinabetal

    pinabetal

    Speedo is correct. The "where is she and where does she want to go" actually is quite easy to deduce. She is at zero. She wants to become a profitable trader.
     
    #58     Jan 2, 2018
  9. speedo

    speedo

    NQ volume is on the light side for a 100+ point rise, ES volume is pathetic but the RTY is approaching old ER volume range.
     
    #59     Jan 2, 2018
  10. ironchef

    ironchef

    Mine was actually slightly worst than 50-50.:(
     
    #60     Jan 2, 2018