Very new to trading --- tips

Also a newbie. I really enjoyed Dr. Elder's book. The study guide was very useful. I also found that as I read it a second and third time it was increasingly more meaningful. Now I'm working on Steve Nison's book on candlesticks. It's really useful. I know that Elder says that candlesticks and bars contain the same information and that he recommends bars because you can get more of them on one screen but I find that the candlesticks give me much more information. In any case, to all the veterans who share with us newbies:

" An evening spent with a superior man is worth more than ten years of study"

T.Y.
Jorge
 
thanks for all the help guys and i really appreciate your comments



its clear to me that it takes patience, dedication, and definately willingness to lose money starting out in order to become a good trader in the future.
 
Quote from indioo:

...definately willingness to lose money starting out in order to become a good trader in the future.
More...
WHAT? NO.

Unwillingness to lose money should be #1 on your list. It is the single most important skill you can master, and all you have to do is acknowledge it. If you revolve every trading idea around the minimization of the possibilty of the loss of money, you are a long way to becoming a trader.

Learn "to shave on someone else's face" if you can. If you cannot, you WILL LOSE MONEY and WORSE possibly learn nothing. The next best thing is to go and get professional training at firms like Bright or Echo.

nitro
 
I generally agree, but I think that the point being made is that you have to be willing to look at a small loss, and be willing to take it quickly, and perhaps often, instead of stubbornly waiting to be "right", and taking an occasional big hit. I think it was Ed Seykota who said that wanting to trade without losses is like wanting to breathe without wanting to exhale. It wasn't until I saw my losses as being as integral to my trading as my wins that I began making consistent money. Once I did that, the big losses stopped, and the profits grew.
Jessie
 
Quote from jessie:

I generally agree, but I think that the point being made is that you have to be willing to look at a small loss, and be willing to take it quickly, and perhaps often, instead of stubbornly waiting to be "right", and taking an occasional big hit. I think it was Ed Seykota who said that wanting to trade without losses is like wanting to breathe without wanting to exhale. It wasn't until I saw my losses as being as integral to my trading as my wins that I began making consistent money. Once I did that, the big losses stopped, and the profits grew.
Jessie
More...

Great point!
 
nice insights... agree with the 38 and others... I think it's the "you have to work hard and follow rules (including risk mgmt) and have patience while you learn" that are essential to success and make or break traders..

 
Quote from jessie:

...you have to be willing to look at a small loss, and be willing to take it quickly, and perhaps often, instead of stubbornly waiting to be "right", and taking an occasional big hit. It wasn't until I saw my losses as being as integral to my trading as my wins ...
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If there is a secret to trading, this is it.
 
Trade small, never blow a stoploss. Do not overtrade. Reflect on you trades. Learn from various resources.

I started about 6 month ago and I am comfortably breakeven now--by following the above rules.

Protect your captical is your uttermost priority. Having a well paid day job helps immensely psychologically.

However, my final advice is: do not trade.

It is hard. Probably very few people realize how hard it is when they start. Otherwise there would not be so many people trying to do this. I sure did not expect it could be so hard. When I started out, I am both humble and confident. Humble because of the books I read about trading. Confident because my background (advanced degrees both in Economics and in Statistics) and my past life experience. I figured, if I could not make it, how many are out there that could? Yes! I am arrogant! I think I am better than most. I did fair out better than most I believe. My equity stayed mostly in the positive territory. The lowest it ever gets is 97 dollars below initial investment. Still, this is way below my original expectation.

Would I still do it if I knew it is so hard before I start? Yes. Because of the potential. Do I recommend anyone to try it. No.

At the very least, HAVE A PRE-DETERMINED STOP, WHEN YOU HIT IT, QUIT TRADING AND DO NOT LOOK BACK. 90% of people should benefit from this advice.

Frank
 
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