New to day trading, change of career - best tools?

[Pigsky]

Be careful dude.... the trading education world is a sea of sharks looking to separate you from your cash.

Take a year or two to learn about markets and strategy development before putting capital at risk.

Do your best to find reputable sources of advice. This won't be easy because of all the snakeoil sellers, some are very convincing. Be skeptical of anyone without a verifiable track record of success in markets (either their own success or their students success).

This is a highly competitive arena... you don't just walk in off the street and start banking cash....

 

[dozu888]

Get a job

 

[padutrader]

edge.

When a golfer was asked what he would score he would have to shoot to win, he famously said' the rest of the field'

 

[Handle123]

Do yourself a huge favor, find another job. You don't realize that most have taken several years plus to become consistent. You going against HFTs, large traders automation and large traders manually who have done it for decades, some of the smartest people on the planet.

Most wannabee day traders would give up their first born, wife and right "nut" just to make $50.

Commissions will eat you up fast, if you paying more than a buck for 200 shares. Check these rates. https://www.lightspeed.com/pricing/commission/ At the wrong broker, you can easily be paying a couple thousand a month in fees if your active.

I know of one guy who is a billionaire that made it in day trading, and many billionaires who made it longer term, this says much as how tough it is for day trading.

I started in long term stocks for several years, then thinking day trading was going to be just as easy, but what I didn't know was the 80s was huge bull run, took me 7 years to learn how to do long term commodities and scalping, wish I never did day trading. You learn every weakness within your mental being that is bad, very very slow path to becoming consistent for most.

Very few vendors worth it, if 99% could trade, they wouldn't be wasting their time teaching others for so small money.

Way too many have unrealistic dreams of how much they need to pull in, takes years to just get to being a breakeven trader.

Learn how to swing trade and options-credit spreads and hedging.
http://thepatternsite.com/index.html learn like the back of your hand till "know it" instead of having to think about it.

Good luck.

 

[padutrader]

Do your best to find reputable sources of advice.

if you cannot watch a profitable trader at work....meaning sit next to him when he is trading, since you cannot watch them trading on TV, since they are not televised live, like the sports pros,THEN DO NOT GET INTO IT.

i do not want to discourage you but 99% all new traders and all new businesses go bankrupt in the first year.

it took me 12 years...to even have clue of what was going on, I had to go out of the maze of what is known as technical analysis.

I should point out that if anyone takes money from you by misleading you in any area of the world, that person is liable for a jail term.
if the same thing happens in markets, that person is liable for a bonus.

so continue to venture into the markets but with both your eyes open.

the market will mislead you into thinking it is going up and it will go down....unless you are able to withstand this charade without going bankrupt, you will never become a trader.....

I lost 135000usd before I had a clue what was happening....

today I can look the market in the eye without fear and know what it will do.

but please decide NOW whether you are willing to pay the price...a cover charge or admission fee, demanded by the market to join the most exclusive club in the world, The Profitable Trader's Club

 

[GRULSTMRNN]

You are a beginner and aim to generate 312% returns,are OK with penny stocks and look to lock in 5-10% within 1-2 sessions. Thank God for the stupid and uneducated, hopeless cases. Without you folks trading would be so much harder.

Hi all,

I'm new to day trading. We'll, still mostly new. Been trying it out for the last 6 weeks or so and as far as my outcome, it's about flat. I currently use Fidelity Active Trader Pro (because mine and my wife's 401k/IRA are with them). Also have an account with TD Ameritrade for last kid's college funding, but don't use that platform as often.

I'm trying to make a go of this as a means of making a living on it. Looking for a change of career (for about 10 years anyway). I don't need to depend on this income though.

My goal with day trading is to make a minimum of somewhere in the neighborhood of $300/day or $1,500/week...on average.

I have right around $25k in an account for this purpose.

Looking to stay with trading stocks at this point for now.

I have a moderately high tolerance to risk, so I don't mind high volatility or "penny" stocks.

Looking for ways to identify entry points for stocks that are ready to go up at least 5-10%, then setting a trailing stop % or just selling after such a profit. All, hopefully, within 1 or 2 sessions.

What are the best tools for newbies to use for this type of scenario?

I just ran across TradeSmith, specifically ideas smith. Anyone using that, recommend it?

Some time ago, I discovered finviz.com. Anyone use that at opening to see upward trends to get into for the day?

Thanks in advance!

 

[GRULSTMRNN]

Yeah of course it has nothing to do with you that your company let an experienced IT veteran go to have him be replaced by an inexperienced, more highly paid, foreigner where the company has to bend over backwards to get that visa approved. Coupled with your claim that after 17 years with your employer you still did not make 6 figures and that you were replaced under the circumstances you described, could it possibly be that you are a total asshole or a complete retard? There is no way that anything you mentioned so far is remotely true.

lol, yeah...well, my last employer of 17+ years in the I.T. field decided to outsource (really insource) my job to an H1B visa. Even though I wasn't making 6 figures, they figured it was still more palatable to shareholders (ironic, my new career move I know) that they bring in a less experienced H1B person at a slightly lower rate.

Maybe this is - if ya can't beat em, join em - type situation? haha.

Anyway, thanks to you and Times for the replies. I appreciate them.

 

[GRULSTMRNN]

Thank you so much. I was about to ask whether it is just me who is a total asshole and imbecile to berate others the way I just did, but I can't help it when I come across the idiocy displayed by OP. Am I the only one who either smells utter lies and a fraud or a complete idiot. Until I read your comments. Are there seriously multiple ET members who took what OP wrote at face value? How is that even possible? Are there really such few people on this site who know what they are talking about?

Do yourself a huge favor, find another job. You don't realize that most have taken several years plus to become consistent. You going against HFTs, large traders automation and large traders manually who have done it for decades, some of the smartest people on the planet.

Most wannabee day traders would give up their first born, wife and right "nut" just to make $50.

Commissions will eat you up fast, if you paying more than a buck for 200 shares. Check these rates. https://www.lightspeed.com/pricing/commission/ At the wrong broker, you can easily be paying a couple thousand a month in fees if your active.

I know of one guy who is a billionaire that made it in day trading, and many billionaires who made it longer term, this says much as how tough it is for day trading.

I started in long term stocks for several years, then thinking day trading was going to be just as easy, but what I didn't know was the 80s was huge bull run, took me 7 years to learn how to do long term commodities and scalping, wish I never did day trading. You learn every weakness within your mental being that is bad, very very slow path to becoming consistent for most.

Very few vendors worth it, if 99% could trade, they wouldn't be wasting their time teaching others for so small money.

Way too many have unrealistic dreams of how much they need to pull in, takes years to just get to being a breakeven trader.

Learn how to swing trade and options-credit spreads and hedging.
http://thepatternsite.com/index.html learn like the back of your hand till "know it" instead of having to think about it.

Good luck.

 

[SimpleMeLike]

You can avoid the pattern day trading rules by trading futures. I suggest the new micro futures as you learn, since they are not as big as the minis.

As for education, I would suggest Theotrade. I am very impressed with their education and hands on approach to education. Best wishes!

Sweet Bobby,

1. Do you have any verified proof, that teachers at Theotrade make money trading for the past +3 years?

2. Have you see the teachers trade in real time and see them make money consistently for at least 2 months?

Thank you

 

[SimpleMeLike]

Be careful dude.... the trading education world is a sea of sharks looking to separate you from your cash.

Take a year or two to learn about markets and strategy development before putting capital at risk.

Do your best to find reputable sources of advice. This won't be easy because of all the snakeoil sellers, some are very convincing. Be skeptical of anyone without a verifiable track record of success in markets (either their own success or their students success).

This is a highly competitive arena... you don't just walk in off the street and start banking cash....

I agree with Pigsky,

Whoever or wherever you learn from, if the teacher can not prove to you he or she is making money with YOUR own eyes,you will lose a lot of time and money.

I mean actually see them pull the trigger on a real account for at least 2 months.