Is it more effective to learn through books and internet than expensive courses?

It does not matter if you take a course, read comments online, or read free books if you do not trade real funds at the same time. You will not have the ability to distinguish between theoretical material that looks good on paper and does not have merit in real trading, versus practical material that does have a foundation in real life. When you have no experience, it all seems good. It is up to you how you filter information and choose your mentors. It is very hard to "unlearn" bad concepts if you were exposed to a wrong foundation while building your trading blocks.
 
learner88 said:
There are short 3-day courses which charge thousands of dollars for teaching you how to manage money. At these prices, they are even more expensive than the most expensive college in the U.S on a daily rate.

Will learning trading through free books borrowed from libraries and free websites and forums such as this one be just as effective? I am highly doubtful how much a person can learn within 3 days. How can one absorb so much knowledge within 3 days? Wouldn't taking time to absorb the knowledge through books and forums be more effective?

Do elitetraders agree that books and internet are more effective than expensive courses? It is definitely more cost-effective.
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You can pretty much learn all you need to learn about trading stocks in the internet these days.
If you traded stocks long enough, you would know who the true traders are from the charlatan, snake oil salesmen. Those salesmen will tell you that you will easily make millions in the stockmarket. They never address money management, setups, having a trading plan, maintaining a trading journal, etc. In short, these guys know squat and should be avoided like the plague! You want to be successful in the stockmarket, you have to figure out what kind of a trader you are. Are you a day trader, swing trader or position trader? Do you use breakouts, pullbacks, reversals as your trading strategies? You will know your personality, your strengths and weaknesses to craft a trading system that will work for you. I know of a couple of good traders on this website and they are all good but, use different approaches. I have my own trading method as well. So, do not be afraid to try things but, backtest them over 500 trades or thousands of trades to see if you even have an edge.
 
Don't take any courses unless they're free or dirt cheap. Those who can't do, teach - with a few exceptions.

3 days of studies? Get real, pal. 3000 days are more likely.

Ultimately, you'll need to write your own book on the markets. Backtest, backcheck, archive/log data, screenshots of your market observations, create your own rules for entries and exits, etc. When you've mastered the market off-line, start testing in real time, but not with real money.

I think there are some books which can be worth reading. I wish I read less when I started, but in the end it's a learning process which involves trial and error.

Maybe you read a book which teaches some concept. Now test it. Is the claim that double tops are a reliable signal? Now test it. Compile your own statistics. Maybe you'll find that it's a 50/50 proposition at best. Maybe it's 80 %. Maybe other stuff can be added to exclude false signals.

Always be skeptical and don't believe anything you're told unless you can verify it yourself.
 
learner88 said:
There are short 3-day courses which charge thousands of dollars for teaching you how to manage money. At these prices, they are even more expensive than the most expensive college in the U.S on a daily rate.

Will learning trading through free books borrowed from libraries and free websites and forums such as this one be just as effective? I am highly doubtful how much a person can learn within 3 days. How can one absorb so much knowledge within 3 days? Wouldn't taking time to absorb the knowledge through books and forums be more effective?

Do elitetraders agree that books and internet are more effective than expensive courses? It is definitely more cost-effective.
More...
It is definitely hard to pickup everything in 3 days. I hope they give packets or downloads to take home, otherwise it would be pretty pointless.

No matter what course you take, you'll still have to follow the same path....trade, make mistakes, figure out how to get better by researching online, books, or courses.
 
Nobert said:
lol, i didn't pay attention to that at first place, it's not even about the trading itself, but how to ,,manage" money.

Irational red flag at it's best.
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Yeah, I too missed it on the first read when he said the 3 day course cost more than the most expensive U.S. college.

If such were really true about the cost of the 3 day course...he may just as well go to college and get a degree in something close to "money management"...a finance degree ?

Heck, I remember when I enrolled in college...the guidance couselor was giving students free pamplets about "money management tips for students" that talked about budgeting your income, purchasing used school books, eating at home instead of dining out and many other things.

I thought it was funny until I came across apartment listings in the back of the pamplet. That pamplet was very helpful because my roommates and I moved around every year in college. In fact, we went to the guidance couselor every year to get a new updated pamplet just for the apartment listings.

wrbtrader
 
Nobert said:
Iv read over 10 books on trading ( 8 of them had no value ) , watched >1000 videos on trading/investing, had 2000 hrs of screen time and made >5000 trades with 10 different demos, during the luch brakes at work i check 100~ stocks, and only then pick up 1/3 with the best edge imo,. 10 months like this so far, and still developing my own system and approach, reinventing perspective every 2 months.

All of it costs nothing but my time.

And only now i could see ( although im looking for none ), which courses seems to be ,,legit".
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Nobert,

Good comment, my journey as well.
 
Nobert said:
Thank You.

Don't know your real name Simple, but, glad to see & ,,meet'' people, who are placing effort, to turn their lifes ,into something more than avarage status Quo.
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Nobert,

I am just an intraday trader trading what I see on the charts everyday my own way. I no longer read books any more, I do it all my way. I think reading books is a waste of time. Video courses are more quicker learning. Whatever the charts look like to me, I do. I do watch some youtube videos that I think help influence/educate me. But overall, ET members have helped me the most by asking the right questions.

I stare, I make decisions, I record stats, screenshot, think alot, test, etc etc.
 
learner88 said:
Do elitetraders agree that books and internet are more effective than expensive courses? It is definitely more cost-effective.
More...

learner88,

Ask specific questions right here on ET forum. There are very smart traders here with years of experince to guide and help you.

Great question, but a challenege to respond too. I can only share what I would have done years ago.

I would say decide what type of trader you want to be. Day trader, Day trader stocks/future. Or swing trader of stocks/futures.

I would not buy the 3 day course unless you a millionare and have money to blow.

Save the money for now. You may be buying crap.

After deciding what type of trader you want to be, watch a few youtube videos ask MANY good questions here and open the chart and trade. You can demo trade and see what fits you. Nothing beats experience.
 
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