Trying to Start Off Well Prepared

[Derutrade 10]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm a newbie trader dealing with a double edged psychological sword. I like to prepare myself overly well, which causes me to not take any action until I feel ready. This has held me back from even properly demo trading because I wanted to find a method that works for me.

The positive side of it is that I'm not inclined to jump into live trading to soon and that the worst rookie trader mistakes will not easily be made by me.

The negative side of it is that you can't find a method that works for you if you don't trade it.

Anyway, I do believe I have found something I'm willing to run with - using supply and demand levels on indicator free charts. I'm confident that this will help me learn to gauge price action much faster than if I were to run with indicators.

Determining where the strong supply and demand areas lie is a challenge, but I'm planning to get good at that.

 

I'm hoping to find traders in this forum that use a similar method, perhaps even someone willing to look at my trades every once in a while and give me a pointer or two.

 

If nothing else, I'll be frequenting this forum to look for bits of info, such as the 12 Commandments of Trading Live Webinar Replay , which was made entirely of the good stuff.

[pa18 10]

Planning everything down to the last detail is good. I commend you for waiting until you are ready with the technical side. BUT IMHO I think in most part this is a 'complete waste of time'.

 

If I had to start off again, I would jump into live trading as soon as possible because I wasted 2 years of my trading life 'thinking' rather than 'doing'. Trading profitably doesn't involve a college degree or whatever qualification you have, its all about the live practice that you put in, that will separate you from being a winner and a loser (I hope some regular TL members can pip in and agree with me here).

 

AND I'm not saying bet the whole house, use microlots. As a newbie its inevitable that you will blow your account but you will learn a lot from this experience.

 

Anyway, rambling again ... back to topic

 

Yes, naked price action and SR is my style, I will help you if I can, no probs

[Do Or Die 10]

Hi Derutrade.

 

I prepared for around 8 months before taking even my first trade... essentially I wanted to be positive from the first month itself. That didn't happen, but such approach helped me a lot in being objective towards trading as a business.

 

Anyway, I do believe I have found something I'm willing to run with - using supply and demand levels on indicator free charts. I'm confident that this will help me learn to gauge price action much faster than if I were to run with indicators.

Determining where the strong supply and demand areas lie is a challenge, but I'm planning to get good at that.

 

IF you plan to trade stocks, maintaining a proper watchlist will be 50% of the task... you will essentially find some stocks a lot easier to trade than others.

[Derutrade 10]

@pa18: Good advice, thanks. I realize that demo trading doesn't provide the same experience as live trading, but I do want to get some experience with my trade plan before starting with real money. My actual plan is this:

 

1. Demo trade until comfortable with trade plan and able to turn a profit. Do this for a couple of months. (I'm here now)

 

2. Fund a live account with a small amount of money (amount to be determined) and trade that for a while.

 

3. Get excited about positive results, deposit a larger amount of money into my account.

 

4. Losses!

 

5. Oh no, lets get that extra money out of my account and go back to step two.

 

6. ??

 

7. Trading god!

 

Okay, maybe not step 3-5. When I start off with the small live account I'm planning to slowly build it up. If I cant do that, then I guess I'll have an even smaller account left. Plan doesn't change, I'll just have to build that smaller account up. I'll only ever consider depositing more money into my account if I can show myself consistent long term profitability. Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment. If I fail, then I'll have to work harder to get that account to where it was and beyond. :crap:

 

@Do or Die: My current plan is to trade spot forex, mainly because of the 24 hour markets and the fact that you can trade obscenely small accounts without paying high commissions.

I have traded some stock in the past without keeping a trading journal. I thought I was making money. I wasn't. I guess 'hm, price looks low, I should buy' is not a perfect trade plan... :doh: I was not happy when going through my old trades and calculating the results of my trades over the year. On the plus side, I was much less agitated than I thought I would've been, nor was I extra afraid to take trades afterwards. That should be a good thing, right?