I'm New and Somewhat Lost

[xkr1962 10]

wow!!!! that is a lot. i have started to going through it, it is going to take some time to get through it all... there is apart of me that is more lost than before.

 

Keep it simple and after 10 - 20k hours of screentime you will crack it no problems at all. Practice makes perfect.

[zdo 20]

So, I have read through this whole thread. I have to say…

I am currently investigating the course ….

 

It's a pretty hokey layout, but has some incredible advice for the beginner.

 

For starters, it recommends a minimum of 9 months of paper trading. It goes on to say one should learn to hand chart first, before ever trying to paper trade with the computer. …

 

Although the above course is well worth it's pricey cost… I have also found a small e-book…. The third trade strategy especially is worth millions in the right hands alone. It looks like a super simplified Turtle trade to me…

 

Speaking of Turtle trading, I highly recommend the book …

 

An examination of WD Gann's basic stuff is also recommended. There is a Yahoo Groups page set up for the study of his various methods. Search for it….

 

John Bollinger, on Bollinger Bands is also a must read.

 

Start by learning the basics, like how to form trend lines, support and resistance lines, figure replacement levels, and spot the major charting formations…

 

…

 

Last, and again, don't listen to anyone who tells you to try and learn by actually putting money in the markets. …”

...the industry speaks the industryspeak...

Right out the gate, Noobs always have simple but difficult choices.

Are you going to mire yourself in the herd and it’s ways or are you going to really differentiate yourself.

Are you going with the many or are you going with the few?

(The low quantity of additional 'industry' posts so far is heartening … even on TL it sometimes gets pretty treacherous for noobs..)

 

I have to say the poster who recommends live trading right away, is hoping to be on the other side of the transaction. It's a sure way to get wiped out fast. It's a set up for failure.

 

…

 

Last, and again, don't listen to anyone who tells you to try and learn by actually putting money in the markets. Losing 100 straight trades is not going to teach you anything, but how to be a loser. Learn to win first, THEN risk real money.

some ppl can't see good 'risk’ management even if it is right there in plain sight...

sneaky wording, but "accommodate" is not the same as "Losing 100 straight trades "

First lines again once again for the slow ones..

Capitalize and (or) De-leverage and (or) PositionSize to the point that your account can accommodate 100 losing trades in a row and it would still be only in a 40% drawdown

This more than ameliorates risk of ruin.... ie Structure your world as if you are already successful. That’s how the the rich get richer. And btw, that’s quite the opposite of “jumping off the roofs of buildings”

Instead, the industry knows its “Ways of the Stoploss” will actually put you together to be too careful too learn to thrive. (and :hell no: this is not saying AT ALL that you shouldn’t use stops! )

And if you’re reading this and thinking "but my beginning account IS too small for that” (which is the prevailing implication so far herein) then you dang tooten I want to be on the other side of your trades… because one of the ways to structure the 'first line' is most likely off to the side or at the top of this page and it begins with an o.

 

re “One really needs to master the mechanics of their system inside and out, in real time simulated trading, before trading for real. Otherwise you have to deal with the learning curve AND all the psychological stuff that comes with trading real money as well.”

 

More from the industry - straight out of the small ‘psychology’ section of a thousand or more trading method teachers’ web sites.

:hello!!!!!!!: All the psychological stuff IS the learning curve. Trading is simple. In the beginning, complicate methods and techniques by going for the ‘intricacies’, etc. at your own risk…

Noobs have another simple beginner's choice –

head off on an other-directed / guided grail search (usually without yet even knowing what the grail is)

OR

watch the markets and watch yourself watching and really participating in the markets and uncover what your primary approach(es) is / are to trading by actually trading. ( btw, where is the grail really found? The High History of the Holy Grail )

THEN, when you know from within the way you want to trade, THEN seek out and learn from others who have compatible orientation and who have mastered a similar approach … and THEN train on sim…

Noobs. the industry is telling you to go to school first, then go to life. I’m telling you go to life first, then go to school. Only if it were a single art or a single science would it be sensible to ‘go to school’ / read / study / take courses first. School and sim will only teach you about right / wrong! It will not really teach you about victory / defeat, or love / loss, and luck / no luck. Only live trading will teach you all four, in the way YOU personally need to learn them! Another simple, but difficult, choice to implement…

 

re “…Kinesiology and sports psychology…” ???

spear, sincerely hope you are the only one in here who completely missed the point (pun spread out in that last trading sentence…

 

Noobs - question the industry!!! One more convenient example of industryspeak: “… It goes on to say one should learn to hand chart first, before ever trying to paper trade with the computer. The author feels hand charting is a learning tool that better etches the material into your brain”

Nothing wrong with that on the surface until we consider charts are only representations of the markets and that “The map is not the thing mapped" and remember what if legacy type time charts are the very last representation of the auctions a particular noob should, by nature, ever ever use? As I said in post 8, explore / flit about the various representations of auctions to find the one(s) most compatible with your own brains and inclinations…

if it is traditional charting THEN drawing by hand has a great chance of helping…

Another simple, but arduous, choice - Noob settles down immediately into the representational system the industry wants OR noob trials the whole range of representations of the auction to find which one really fits him…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What’s really important?

What would we want to do if this weren’t an issue?

If we could do it again from scratch, how would we do it differently?”

paraphrasing my ‘thinking’ coach

Edited December 5, 2011 by zdo

[SpearPointTrader 10]

Don't trade real money, untill you can win consistently in simulation. Anyone who tells you different does not know what they are doing, and does not know how to teach.

[tradingwolves 10]

so then i should stay with my demo account until i get better and spend more time doing my reading

[xkr1962 10]

so then i should stay with my demo account until i get better and spend more time doing my reading

 

Forget reading IMHO, find a method you like and just keep trying to trade it using strict rules of entry, exit and stoploss until you can do it in your sleep.

 

Train yourself to trade like a machine, no emotions.

[SpearPointTrader 10]

so then i should stay with my demo account until i get better and spend more time doing my reading

 

Yes. Never trade real money, untill you can prove your skills in simulation. If you can't win in practice, you can't win for real.

[zdo 20]

Don't trade real money, untill you can win consistently in simulation. Anyone who tells you different does not know what they are doing, and does not know how to teach.

the industry speaks the industryspeak

 

 

 

Potential,

consistently

real ~ in the ground, the root system of alfalfa goes down to as far as 12 feet

sim ~ in a sprouter, the root system of alfalfa goes ‘down’ to as far as 1/2 inch … quickly, consistently, and that's the limit

 

fun and funny ( but, be advised, it's bad non – industrial age advice…)

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Video on TED.com

 

so then i should stay with my demo account until i get better and spend more time doing my reading

yes, you should... do what you should do

Edited December 6, 2011 by zdo

[tradingwolves 10]

thanks for all the feed back...

 

dose anyone out there know of anything that tells you when to get into a sell or buy and when to get out/