Absolute Newbie Seeking Input

[xjgper 10]

Howdy Folks!

 

Let me start by saying I'm a complete newbie to anything trading related. I will preface this with the fact that i have traded before but was ill informed and didn't know what i was doing. I do have an account with scottrade that i've had for the last 11 years, however i've only ever bought and sold 4 times (due to lack of time and a thing called life getting in the way). However, times have changed, i've gotten life under control and I've found a career that allows me ample time away from "working", and I have a fair amount of downtime between projects.

 

My main reason to want to trade is to be come more knowledgeable, as well as to supplement any income I have and give me something to do when I'm not on a project. I don't have a huge amount to invest but i have a nice steady income that has some extra to dabble with (1k to play with atm). So with that said, eat me alive and give me some pointers! I am completely open to any idea so long as it exposes me to the ins and outs of something more than putting money in a savings account.

 

Thank for your time.

 

Dave

[BlueHorseshoe 10]

I am completely open to any idea so long as it exposes me to the ins and outs of something more than putting money in a savings account.

 

You might find what you're looking for here. The weather there is probably good as well . . .

 

BlueHorseshoe

[SIUYA 11]

just start reading some the longer threads here

examples; by DbPhoneix which i think have value

 

Also - learn about what you are going to trade, the instrument, how your system works, some of the terminology.

Ask questions.

Dont waste your money on a system, get rich quick or educator - you dont have enough of it, and most things are available for free, and it wont be until you really work out what you are wanting to trade, how and why until you want to spend money on things.

welcome to potentially the most humbling and frustrating things in life (apart from relationships and golf)

[MightyMouse 12]

Howdy Folks!

 

I don't have a huge amount to invest but i have a nice steady income that has some extra to dabble with (1k to play with atm). So with that said, eat me alive and give me some pointers! I am completely open to any idea so long as it exposes me to the ins and outs of something more than putting money in a savings account.

 

Thank for your time.

 

Dave

 

At some point you are going to have to learn about having the right account size and appropriate position size for your account. You need to decide if you want to learn this before you lose your $1k or learn by losing your $1k. Some people never learn. If you learn now, you are ahead of the curve.

 

Instead of dabbling, I would recommend dribbling. I suggest you take your 1k and get several relatively decent prostitutes; local market conditions will vary. Regardless of market conditions, you will be a lot more content dribbling than dabbling. Dribbling puts you at the right end of the stick no matter how much it costs.

[zdo 20]

... I am completely open to any idea so long as it exposes me to the ins and outs of something more than putting money in a savings account.

 

Thank for your time.

 

Dave

 

xjgper,

 

Preface: First, I’m going to assume you have already allocated funds to ‘chasing love and lovers’ and that this ‘1k’ is actually purposed to trading.

 

Here are some recommendations…

With those funds, open a live account at OandA. Set the leverage at 10:1

 

Strip the right three numbers off the right of your Balance. In this example, you would be stripping 0.00 off of 1000.00 to get 100. 100 is the max size you would commit to any position. Note: That is ultimately NOT the right size for you in this account. It is simply a beginner’s starting place from which you adjust as you develop your own methods, how many different instruments you are in at once, etc, etc… how close you can run to optimal – f…

 

Set the Default Stop at 115 points. Note: That is categorically NOT the right stop for whatever methods you develop. It is just an adequate starting place for a drop dead stop. Right out the gate one of your goals will be to never let the placed order stop be what got you out… but at least you will not be letting positions ‘get away from you’, ie as my flow coach says “go to the pain, not through the pain”

 

Start exploring and learning the ways and methods that leverage you strengths, aptitudes, and inclinations/interests. Start testing the ‘timeframes’ you are compatible with, ie the ‘crowds’ you have affinity with and from there study the ‘crowds’ you are competing with. If you’re drawing a complete blank on ways based on your strengths, aptitudes, and interests, then the referrals to DBP’s publications (and threads) are better than most places to ‘begin’. Flit flit through to understand the basics of the various methods as quickly as you can… it’s an important, but temporary, stage… btw… you’re looking for the right questions, not the right answers

 

One of the things you are avoiding with this recommendation is sim. Sim has its place, but in my experience it’s best applied after learning - not before learning… ie beware of the jet fighter or race car sim analogies to sim trading… they fall down more than they hold up. And yes, FX is a tough instrument class to learn in… get tough and courageous… if you can do it in FX you can do it in any class of instruments... takeaway from this paragraph = forget safety. get real, you're dealing in adverse, uncertain, ever changing external AND internal 'environments'.

 

Now why would I tell you, a raw beginner, sht that 90% of the ‘good’ posters disagree with and would never recommend? I tell you this stupid bs because I have never seen it fail to reveal the truth! It reveals your real truths for you to see for yourself and keeps you from paying that 1k in ‘tuition’ … and what if it were 100k?you sure wouldn’t want to pay that in tuition would you … (blowing up many-k accounts is not a fun hobby… blowing up any account is not a fun hobby…)

...and guess what - you’d best be learning how to trade like you’re trading ANY account size… so - every time the remaining chars change you strip off the right three chars to increase (or decrease ) your size … and you can add money to this account and still strip off the right three chars to get your new size … and if you ‘practice’ while you’re ‘playing’ well enough, you can gradually (and/ or rapidly) progress on to FCM accounts.

 

zdo

[xjgper 10]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm not too worried about accumulating enough to resources to start trading with a sizable account.. However, I really want to learn all i can so when i have a chunk of money to invest i'll have a comfortable place to start from. I'm open to any other resources you can suggest to better educate myself.

 

 

Thanks!

Dave