How to start learning about trading?

A

ATJIM

- First of all. - I don't want to hear all sorts of bs about me forgetting all about it and that I outht to get a 9-5 slave position. - I just want some good advices, without you bothering for my "safety". (I know the risk is high and the percentage of people with success is rather small) - So please don't start talking about the risks, pros and cons. I know them already.

To sum it up: if you don't have anything constructive to say, then just forget about this thread and move on. Thanks. I don't need any more Law of Jante, as I live in a country full of it.

But my question is rather simple, although the process of getting there might not be: How do I get a good understanding of trading?

The thing is, that there are 100's of books, thousands of youtube videos, forums and so on, regarding trading, but none of them seems like a good place to start, so to speak.

They all more or less require some sort of knowledge on the subject, which I don't have atm. Or else it's for total imbeciles.. Either people start out explaining on an expert level, or else they REALLY cut the cake for you by saying things like "The stock market is a place where.... blah blah". - Obvious things. It's like there are 2 sides to choose between: The ones that assume you're an expert already, and the others that assume that you're a downright idiot not being able to use a calculator.

So I was wondering if any of you briefly can tell me how you got started? - Are there any good A to Z books without much demeaning "You're total idiot" stuff in it, that I might want to read?

I know about demo accounts and all that, which I'm intending to use until I have a consistent profit on a monthly basis for at least 4 months. But thanks for your concern anyway. :-)

Sorry for being so straight forward, but I'm just really tired of getting poured bucketloads of crap in my ears, when all I in fact want is a good start and the right tools/books/you name it.

Long story short: How do I get started without being treated as an idiot initially?


And if there's something you don't understand, then don't ask me unless you find it relevant for helping me. - I'm not a quiz.
 
Books, videos, DVDs, courses and so forth aren't going to do you much good, much less trading rooms, at least to start. And if they ever do, you must first decide (a) what you mean by "trading", (b) what you want from it, (c) what kind of trader you want to be. Are you for example looking to fund a vacation or do you want to make a career out of it? How much time can you devote to it, i.e., do you have a job? go to school? Are you single? have a family to support? And you won't find the answers to any of this in a book or a course. You have to figure out all of this yourself. And if you don't, or if you don't ask them at all, you'll likely spend several years wandering through a maze like most of the people who inhabit trading forums.

One starting point that may be helpful -- or not -- will be found here: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/wyckoff-forum/15535-developing-plan-trading-journal.html

The upside is that you don't need help from anybody to learn about trading, assuming you mean how to trade and not the business of trading itself, i.e., how markets function: the gears, the fuel, the driveshafts. All you have to do is sit in front of a computer screen and observe moving price and figure out when and where and how and why it's going up and down and sideways. This is something few traders do, which helps to account for the high failure rate.

The upside is that if you know nothing you'll progress much faster than someone who's been lost and is looking to start over.
 
Quote from ATJIM:

- First of all. - I don't want to hear all sorts of bs about me forgetting all about it and that I outht to get a 9-5 slave position. - I just want some good advices, without you bothering for my "safety". (I know the risk is high and the percentage of people with success is rather small) - So please don't start talking about the risks, pros and cons. I know them already.

To sum it up: if you don't have anything constructive to say, then just forget about this thread and move on. Thanks. I don't need any more Law of Jante, as I live in a country full of it.

But my question is rather simple, although the process of getting there might not be: How do I get a good understanding of trading?

The thing is, that there are 100's of books, thousands of youtube videos, forums and so on, regarding trading, but none of them seems like a good place to start, so to speak.

They all more or less require some sort of knowledge on the subject, which I don't have atm. Or else it's for total imbeciles.. Either people start out explaining on an expert level, or else they REALLY cut the cake for you by saying things like "The stock market is a place where.... blah blah". - Obvious things. It's like there are 2 sides to choose between: The ones that assume you're an expert already, and the others that assume that you're a downright idiot not being able to use a calculator.

So I was wondering if any of you briefly can tell me how you got started? - Are there any good A to Z books without much demeaning "You're total idiot" stuff in it, that I might want to read?

I know about demo accounts and all that, which I'm intending to use until I have a consistent profit on a monthly basis for at least 4 months. But thanks for your concern anyway. :-)

Sorry for being so straight forward, but I'm just really tired of getting poured bucketloads of crap in my ears, when all I in fact want is a good start and the right tools/books/you name it.

Long story short: How do I get started without being treated as an idiot initially?


And if there's something you don't understand, then don't ask me unless you find it relevant for helping me. - I'm not a quiz.
More...



IMHO:

Learn as much as you can.

As an amateur, I was ( or am ) unable to distinguish the good traders from the bad ones, good advice from the bad one, etc. Hence, an open mind may help. Also, prepare to waste a lot of time going down the wrong paths.

Trading is process of personal creativity. At the end of the day, a trader should create a strategy that matches his/her personality.

When you feel lost, try to regain focus by summarizing your trading strategy within a few sentences.

Just my two cents.:)
 
First, let me welcome you to Elite Trader... A forum for impatience people that are looking for a quick fix in a sea where their is no water wet enough to extinguish the fire in your brain...
 
Get yourself a quote feed. And No you don't need real money for a long time. Just a FYI Ninja Trader is Free plus data!

Make a list of stocks that have between 300k to 800k shares a day traded. Stay away from active stocks because they are too difficult for even most professionals to read. You could also look at futures like Feeder Cattle but it limits you on trading opportunities.

Use whatever set-up that you decide to believe in (news, technical analysis, flip a coin and so on...) and pick no more than 10 stocks to trade for that day plus the SPY,QQQ and DIA to compare the stocks to.

Load up a quote sheet with the net change, bid, ask bid ask size, last trade and price.

Now spend many moons reading that quote till you get a feel for it. It is all about behavior and reading the buyers and sellers or lack of. Sometimes it is just the hesitation of the quote that tells what to expect in a few minutes. By comparison you can read a dog’s behavior. Aggressive, scarred, friendly and so on. That is what trading is about.

Everything else is garbage is B.S….
 
Quote from ATJIM:

But my question is rather simple, although the process of getting there might not be: How do I get a good understanding of trading?

Long story short: How do I get started without being treated as an idiot initially?
More...

Buy low sell high. It works best in the direction of the longer timeframe wave. Don't overthink it; even the humble MACD indicator is useful, though I use an ma cross :eek:
 
Quote from smallStops:

Satan'Helper : very good advice you are giving there.
Does not really fit your handle though - giving good advice. :D
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Easiest way to administer poison is to hide it in a delicious meal......

The devil was originally an angel of light :(
 
You can open up a free demo account with thinkorswim that gives you access to live equities, options, futures, and forex data, and also thinkorswim's desktop application which has very nice charting and analysis tools.
 
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