Are you ready for this....?

i would study a book on candlestick charting (steve nison). i would re-read it once i really got going. i would study stan weinstein's book "secrets on making money in bull and bear markets" (for basic trend, volume and MA/chart analyses). i would study a trading book such as alan farley's "the master swing trader" (trade set-ups, indicators, trading etc.). i would read books by mark douglas and "trading to win" by ari kiev. i would subscribe to active trader magazine. these books are fairly straight-forward books, although you may want to substitute a simpler swing trading book for my alan farley recommendation.

i would find a mentor. i would realize that the time spent in preparation before the market opens and after-market analysis probably provides the basis of a sound trading plan and dictate results, and can be of equal importance to your trading success in comparison to trading hours. i would attend a graduate level class on security (stock) analysis for fundamental analysis.

i would NOT overlook the importance of psychological factors. the douglas and kiev books indicated above deal with the psyche more than trading and it is not a coincidence that i have two of those books listed, since psyche and trading are complimentary/inter-dependent variables. i would attempt to focus on a style of trading and develop a crude trading plan, realizing that this is just a basis for future evolution. i would start small. i would focus on trading "my" plan, which would involve a stop loss (trailing/fixed) and incremental profit targets. i would keep a journal. i would begin trading the QQQs - lots of liquidity, can be slower-moving, no uptick rule, relatively cheap at $22/share (and getting cheaper daily :D ), etc.

i would approach this as a marathon and not a sprint. i would let profitability evolve rather than demanding it from the start. i would find a job that allowed me to work during off-market hours and i would accept that the tuition for trading (time+costs+potential losses) would be in addition to my living expenses. i would not anticipate a quick return on/off my tuition.

i would try to have fun!



good luck!
:)
 
Chris

I would start out trying to learn about technical analysis. Support and Resistance is what professional trading is all about.

Two of the best books to start out with would be:

Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques by Steve Nison

Then i would suggest reading a book by Tonz Oz called The Stock Trader This book will show u how a professional trader uses the principle of support and resistance to make a living trading stocks.

Then I would suggest another introductory book on trading called What works in online trading. The chapters in this book are written by many different authors. This is the best intro book to ever come out about trading. The chapter by Mark Seleznov is worth the price of the book alone.

There is a shortcut to trading. Its a program called Tradeprospector. With this program and good risk management you can trade successfully in the shortest amount of time. They offer a free 30 day trial. Make sure you print out the manuals or you'll be lost. You can read about it in the elite trader software section.

Finally, I would find a good trading class. Maybe call around to the pro firms or start a new thread on Elite Trader for referrals.

I took a class by my favorite Author Joe Dinapoli, it was expensive but worth it.

Ive been trading now for 5 years. The first two years was basically a waste of time because I was to cheap to spend money on training. Hell, the best books on trading all cost over 100 bucks. Now that I look back, it would have saved me alot of money in the long run.

STerling
 
2 things you can do.

1. Even if you eventually want to trade from home, trading from an office with successful traders when you start is a huge help. Most successful remote traders will still visit their firms branch offices from time to time. I know when I used to trade from a big office our remote guys would come in once a month for seminar's and stuff and they would almost always be clueless as to what we were doing lately. (I'm talking about what stocks were in play, or what we were doing with our scan's or filters, or stuff like that). Trust me the whole mentorship/trade from an office thing is a huge help when you are getting started it take months off the learning curve (yes it's still gonna be months, many of them).

2. Todd Harrison is gonna start posting his trading journal again on Oct first at http://www.minyanville.com/

Reading him and other commentators will really speed your devlopment because they talk about what they are seeing and what stocks relate. For instance with Todd you hear him talk about stocks in relation to their index. If he is trading Brokers he is watch XBD or if he is trading banks he is watching the BKX for certain levels. Also you get a sense of how these guys leg in and out of trades and what indicators they watch. Even if your trading a shorter or longer time frame than these guys it is really helpful to know how these hedge funds think about things because the bottom line today more than ever is hedgefunds move the market in the short run more than the big mutual funds and pension funds right now who are basically just trying to meet redemptions and keep things in line.

Also never forget that in the short run your not really trading names and numbers so much as your just trading against people, i.e. other traders....get in their head and it will help you take there money easier.

Lastly, just to reiterate what everyone else said, go SLOW. The market isn't going anywhere, 20% of the traders do make 80% of the money, and they will take yours (newbie's) in the beginning as fast as you let them so take it SLOW or you will have a near impossible time lasting long enough to figure the game out. It takes time and capital. Time is plentiful, capital is NOT.

Cheers.
 
Hey Avalanche, I thought that the minyanville.com site wasn't going to start until Jan 2003. Did Harrison move up the date?

Originally posted by Avalanche
2 things you can do.

1. Even if you eventually want to trade from home, trading from an office with successful traders when you start is a huge help. Most successful remote traders will still visit their firms branch offices from time to time. I know when I used to trade from a big office our remote guys would come in once a month for seminar's and stuff and they would almost always be clueless as to what we were doing lately. (I'm talking about what stocks were in play, or what we were doing with our scan's or filters, or stuff like that). Trust me the whole mentorship/trade from an office thing is a huge help when you are getting started it take months off the learning curve (yes it's still gonna be months, many of them).

2. Todd Harrison is gonna start posting his trading journal again on Oct first at http://www.minyanville.com/

Reading him and other commentators will really speed your devlopment because they talk about what they are seeing and what stocks relate. For instance with Todd you hear him talk about stocks in relation to their index. If he is trading Brokers he is watch XBD or if he is trading banks he is watching the BKX for certain levels. Also you get a sense of how these guys leg in and out of trades and what indicators they watch. Even if your trading a shorter or longer time frame than these guys it is really helpful to know how these hedge funds think about things because the bottom line today more than ever is hedgefunds move the market in the short run more than the big mutual funds and pension funds right now who are basically just trying to meet redemptions and keep things in line.

Also never forget that in the short run your not really trading names and numbers so much as your just trading against people, i.e. other traders....get in their head and it will help you take there money easier.

Lastly, just to reiterate what everyone else said, go SLOW. The market isn't going anywhere, 20% of the traders do make 80% of the money, and they will take yours (newbie's) in the beginning as fast as you let them so take it SLOW or you will have a near impossible time lasting long enough to figure the game out. It takes time and capital. Time is plentiful, capital is NOT.

Cheers.
More...
 
DTK,

website says breaking ground on Oct 1st with icons, foklore and "trading thoughts". Fully functional Dec. 3rd, then 10 bucks a month after the 1st.

My guess is he starts posting some pre or post market commentary after the 1st. Hopefully anyway. But apparently no journal or anything until Dec. 3rd.

Come on Todd we need you. LOL.


:)
 
Make sure you have enough savings to pay your bills for at least a year , since you probably won't make any money for quite some time.

Here's some advice from a 3 month old trader:
1. Read, read read. Check out the books links up top or the Resources forum on here for some threads, head to Amazon and buy "used" versions of the books. Keep reading with a total obsession. I think any trader has a total obsession with succeeding .. whether it be out of fear of failure or just pride.

2. Make sure you are adequately funded. Minimum $10k , pref $25k+ . Be prepared to potentially lose a sizable chunk of this with beginner mistakes.

3. Download Medved Quotetracker and learn how to use the program.

4. Be organized and paper trade. Use a spreadsheet program to log your entry, exit price, date in/out, commission, profit/loss, and comments about the particular trade. What did you do right? What did you do wrong? What did you learn?

5. Develop a "system" from books or from your own observations to determine: what needs to occur for you to enter or exit a trade, when you take profits, when to realize you are wrong and exit, where to set your stops. Perhaps most important, what number of shares you will trade based on how much you can risk. This is the quickest way to failure.. trading too large of a position for your risk and exposing yourself for potentially huge losses. Do not try to get rich quick overnight by putting all your money into something trying to double your money. You may be right once in a while, but you will get burned badly eventually.

Again, the safest way would be to read, learn and observe the market in live action for at least a month and then start putting trades once you've developed a system that you think is successful. Chances are, you may a winning system if you find yourself reluctant about "sharing" it with others.
 
Originally posted by inandlong
No beginner should trade for income!

Define your goals first. What do you want from trading?

Go to stockcharts.com and read thru the education section. Learn the basics of charts, moving averages, stochastics, macd, RSI, and volume. Understand what candles tell you vs. bar charts.

Look at as many charts as you can stand, then look at some more. Avoid charts from the October 1998 period. Stay away from "How to" books in that time period as well.

Pay for nothing. You can get everything you need online or at the library. There is a thread on ET about free real time data and charts. Search it.

Papertrade until you can look at any chart and see your setup immediately if it is there. Be sure your setup works with slippage and commission factored in. DO NOT FORGET TO FACTOR IN SLIPPAGE AND COMMISSION.

Finally, after FOCUSED study and practice, you will be ready to place trades. Then comes the hard part.

Nothing clouds your vision like being in a trade.

And always remember...
More...

I must say I agree. I'd like to add work with / under a trader.
 
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