In Finding a Mentor

Quote from JRL:


Honestly, I'm having a difficult time with choosing a setup! I'm Canadian, aren't working with a huge base, and just don't really know which brokerage house I should be a customer of, which software I should use to follow the market daily, whether or not a Level II is required, etc.

And I'm asking you this because you come across as a guy who's had success yet has stayed grounded, which I respect.

I'm just having a tough time understanding what exactly I need in the way of feeds, accounts, etc. Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated! I'm not asking for any specific methods or setups of trading, just what you stare at all day to help with making trading decisions! :D

Cheers
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I would suggest you first determine what it is you want to trade, what strategy you are going to use and then find a broker or brokers that meet your needs.

I trade from Canada and have accounts with several brokers depending on what I'm trading.

My main trading broker is IB.
 
Quote from dalentar:

But those people aren't as self centered and they actually understand what giving and getting back is about.
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A Mentor can make all the difference; but the disciple needs also to reciprocate by absorbing, excelling and eventually mentoring as well.
 
Quote from JRL:

I wasn't asking for your approach/methodology. I was simply asking which broker & software you use to trade.

Honestly, I'm having a difficult time with choosing a setup! I'm Canadian, aren't working with a huge base, and just don't really know which brokerage house I should be a customer of, which software I should use to follow the market daily, whether or not a Level II is required, etc.

And I'm asking you this because you come across as a guy who's had success yet has stayed grounded, which I respect.

I'm just having a tough time understanding what exactly I need in the way of feeds, accounts, etc. Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated! I'm not asking for any specific methods or setups of trading, just what you stare at all day to help with making trading decisions! :D

Cheers
More...

Fair enough - as I committed


What I trade

I trade stocks – specifically the same ones over & over & over & over & over

My platform set up

Multiple time frames
I watch price, and to a lesser extent volume
I use a couple of ema’s (I do not use them in the typical crossover fashion)
I use between 1 & 5 horizontal lines – updated regularly

Every so often I use Bollinger Bands for volatility – however lately these ain’t been working for crap so they’re turned off for now

Platform – TradeStation (been trading on it for last 5 days – my former broker discontinued their platform this past Jan)

Trading – Little over 9 years – there is an 18 month period before this that I do not count as I was literally wallowing in the crap trying to learn

I initially started trading because my financial planner lost a major portion of my retirement account; it pissed me off so much I decided to learn how to trade and manage my own money….

Been trading full time for a little over 7 years now

I set up an LLC to trade under and manage capital with… I have 3 accounts: Day, Swing (admittedly my weakest so I am in the process of learning how to automate it), and Investment (think retirement so I’m limited to longs only)

Never been in a Prop shop in my life

When I first started out I attended a few trading courses (none of which actually taught me how to trade, but one gave me insight into the trading business).. Out of each I tried to network and find a group of like minded traders – like I described in my earlier post…

Unfortunately it always ended the same – too much bitching and ego, and one trader inevitably being the self professed “expert trader” and wanted everyone to know it… Eventually I gave up looking and ended up trading alone, now I couldn’t imagine trading any other way…


fwiw

Please realize learning to trade takes allot of work…. none of us will ever have all the answers… and none of us will ever know what the market/ or a stock is going to do next.

Learn to be flexible and roll with it – just trade what you see – while more importantly always protecting your capital with stops.



Take Care :)

RN
 
Quote from Redneck trader:

Please realize learning to trade takes allot of work…. none of us will ever have all the answers… and none of us will ever know what the market/ or a stock is going to do next.

Learn to be flexible and roll with it – just trade what you see – while more importantly always protecting your capital with stops
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Thanks - and thanks also to the fellow who recommended using TOS.

The last sentence from your message above is so important. Thankfully, I've made a stupid, costly investment decision in my past, related to real estate (and buying when the market was almost at its peak), and I'm comfortable knowing the sheer importance of capital preservation, not just as some theoretical term, but of something that is always to be top of mind. Had I not have gone through this experience, I wouldn't have such an appreciation, but I'm personally not concerned at all about self-discipline when it comes to stops, after going through what I did in real estate.
 
Quote from duhmentor:

I would suggest you first determine what it is you want to trade, what strategy you are going to use and then find a broker or brokers that meet your needs.

I trade from Canada and have accounts with several brokers depending on what I'm trading.

My main trading broker is IB.
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Agreed.

My plan is to start with shorter-term swing trades. I've had decent success with that in the past, but I've managed them a lot more passively than what I'd plan to do now, given the fact that I now have a ton of free time. Don't think the capital base is quite there yet for intraday, nor is the experience.

And that's a good idea to have separate accounts for intraday, long-term, and medium-term.

Thanks!
 
Ive mentored two traders. We worked out a payout split/fee. Worked out great for both parties.

I would only mentor again for a trader but one has an enough buying power/time to trade/does their best to remove emotions/trade equities intraday only/
 
I use Worden TC 2000 Platinum real time trading system. With your subscription you get access to real time chat, posts and clubs. Got lucky and joined a club dedicated to T.A. The club founder was a Master Trading, lucky me, have been gaining knowledge and guidance ever since. All of us in the club share ideas and work off one another. I should of done this years ago.
Hope this suggestion helps.Good luck to you with your quest to find a Mentor.
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Quote from JRL:

Hi All,

In reading a lot of the "Newbie FAQ" types of threads, I hear a lot of people talking about the importance of having a mentor. Seems reasonable.

Just wondering what form of mentorship that you folks all used; was it a prop firm, was it a friend, was it a colleague, was it a stranger, etc. It'd be nice to hear of peoples' experiences in finding, dealing with, and eventually "leaving the nest", with respect to mentorships.

Thanks in advance.
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First of all, read these message posts I wrote (when I was known as NihabaAshi) about mentor/student relationship @ http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32793&perpage=1&pagenumber=7 and http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66973&perpage=1&pagenumber=3

I myself was mentored and it was a colleague sort'uv speak. More importantly, it was in person that lasted a long time. My point is that if it's not in person...it's not proper mentoring. Simply, online stuff should only be done as a support to in person mentoring. Regardless if the mentoring is free or for a fee...there's no free lunch in this business. Thus, even free mentoring is costly and anybody that doesn't understand such has never mentored another trader.

My mentor did very little method sharing. In contrast, I was taught the aspect of trading itself which is something that can only be taught via in person mentoring. Yeah, sharing your method with someone can be done online but it's not mentoring. Thus, don't make the classic mistake of thinking method sharing and mentoring are the same. They are not the same.

Mark
 
Quote from wrbtrader:



I myself was mentored and it was a colleague sort'uv speak. More importantly, it was in person that lasted a long time. My point is that if it's not in person...it's not proper mentoring. Simply, online stuff should only be done as a support to in person mentoring. Regardless if the mentoring is free or for a fee...there's no free lunch in this business. Thus, even free mentoring is costly and anybody that doesn't understand such has never mentored another trader.

My mentor did very little method sharing. In contrast, I was taught the aspect of trading itself which is something that can only be taught via in person mentoring. Yeah, sharing your method with someone can be done online but it's not mentoring. Thus, don't make the classic mistake of thinking method sharing and mentoring are the same. They are not the same.

Mark
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Mark:

Could you expand on why you think it’s so important to be mentored in person?

Would this not lead to you coping the mentors methodology rather than developing your own?

A mentor should guide one to come up with their own system whether it be in person or online.

A mentors main value is in helping one overcome the emotions that go with trading. In my case, having to justify my actions to someone else was a great help.

In cases where you are thinking about deviating from your plan, if you are being mentored in person the decision is made by the mentor, therefore the responsibility for the outcome is on his shoulders. If you are being mentored via e-mail the responsibility is your own.

Realizing that we all learn differently, whatever works is the right method.

To quote RN “But what do I know?”
 
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