Best Thread The Basics of Trading

You can never underestimate the psychology of the market ! After you've read the relevant books & courses & put what you've read into action, only then can you decide what & how to trade. Every person will trade differently according to their personality. The only thing I use now for Futures Trading is short & medium term MA's & also check back to see what previously happened in the trade. I work out my stop loss against % of account, spread price, trailing stop & how much per point/pip. I lose more trades than I win & get stopped out in about 60% of them, but I keep my losses small - stop loss & my wins as big as possible - try to take as much profit out of the market trend as possible, after all the market goes sideways & countertrends most of the times !
 
Many of the charts are missing because they were hosted off site, and are no longer available.

we have had some success at restoration up to post 60 using web caches and archives, but thereafter has been a bit of a fail, it would appear the web spiders got fed up at that point and went home.

so if any kind soul has this thread saved and would like to assist in the threads restoration, please get in contact :D
 
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Here is my advice for any newbies.

Capital Preservation is paramount and in my opinion you need to work with successful traders to learn the craft. I know I will get flamed for this, but it is VERY difficult to learn this trade yourself.

Think of the old Japanese sword maker who would take years to teach his student the art - the student would take time, but would in the end learn and learn extremely well.

Systems : There really are no "magical" systems that you can plug in and they will make money for you. It may well be the case that there are anomalies that can be taken advantage of by certain programs - at certain times. However, sooner or later these will blow up in a spectacular fashion. Probably just when you are thinking about increasing your leverage as you have been doing so well.

So - what is the best approach for new traders ?

Here is what I suggest.

Go and find a trader, or signals provider - that has a long term verifiable trading record. This part is important - look for precise recorded entries and exits and not just someone who claims they predicted the following day's highs/lows/pivots - BUT did not issue any real trades.

When you work with successful traders, you end up not getting your account blown away. You also have time to learn the trade and then be able to go off and develop your own trading ideas.

My suggestions are : secretsoftraders.com ($5k purchase) futurescomsignals.com (free trial). If people want a more exhaustive list of what I do, please get in touch.

One thing is for sure, you CAN make money trading. This is my way of doing it, everyone has to find their own.

Good Luck !
 
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Hello

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Rich and I joined because I wanted to learn more about forex. I have seen commercials on TV and wanted to figure if this is something I should be considering as a way to diversify my portfolio. How long has everyone been trading forex? Have your experiences been positive so far? Do you find that it requires a large time commitment? Thanks to everyone for sharing.
 
Rrossi333 said:
Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Rich and I joined because I wanted to learn more about forex. I have seen commercials on TV and wanted to figure if this is something I should be considering as a way to diversify my portfolio. How long has everyone been trading forex? Have your experiences been positive so far? Do you find that it requires a large time commitment? Thanks to everyone for sharing.
Click to expand...

Hi Rich,
Good to see that you are interested in trading forex. I have not been trading forex for very long, but I have found a few simple methods that have helped me get started without too much of a time commitment so far. I have focused on reviewing some ORB (opening range breakout = just google that and you will find a plethora of web sites) plays during the London open (6AM-8AM London time) and been watching some of these methods during New York open (c.7AM-9AM NY time). Those time frames are generally the most "liquid" for FX trading and often time some type of breakout move will happen. As with most breakout methods, you will find they are susceptible to the "fake break" syndrome, which is why you ALWAYS need to do your own testing and not take anyone's word for it. Ultimately, you are searching for what Mark Douglas refers to as "random outcomes that produce consistent results", so that you can accept the risk.

good luck & good trading
 
Hey,
Don't have a financial markets background.Have just started trading Eurodollar Futures at CME.
My question is very basic : Why does the price ladder have prices in the form of 100-r and not r { r- interest rate}.
And can anyone please refer a good book or a web source from which I can know more about Eurodollar futures - something which even a layman can understand.

Thanks.
 
HI,

On the first message on the thread it was stated that there are 3 types of charts that can be used and it is your own personal preference which one you wish to use.

My question to who ever is kind enough to answer, is there any advantages over using candlesticks to bar charts?
 
i think candlestick is better

MR Spread said:
HI,

On the first message on the thread it was stated that there are 3 types of charts that can be used and it is your own personal preference which one you wish to use.

My question to who ever is kind enough to answer, is there any advantages over using candlesticks to bar charts?
Click to expand...

just read few hours ago about this...
here's a good website about it http://stocata.org/ta_en/candlesticks2.html
according to the webpage:
"When comparing the commonly used bar charts in Western technical analysis to the Eastern candle charts, it is evident that candle charts have a bigger visual impact.
Figure 6.11: A bar chart has limited information." you can see more on the link above
 
karen2009 said:
just read few hours ago about this...
here's a good website about it http://stocata.org/ta_en/candlesticks2.html
according to the webpage:
"When comparing the commonly used bar charts in Western technical analysis to the Eastern candle charts, it is evident that candle charts have a bigger visual impact.
Figure 6.11: A bar chart has limited information." you can see more on the link above
Click to expand...

candle charts have a bigger visual impact.
and can lead newbies into a false sense of knowing what price is doing.
 
counter_violent said:
candle charts have a bigger visual impact.
and can lead newbies into a false sense of knowing what price is doing.
Click to expand...

Certainly for a scalper or day trader, japanese candlesticks offers
a better picture of the condition in the markets.

As I trade futures this does'nt really apply to me,
as I use the an old turtle system called the
donchian with a couple of added filters, but
I can see the value of candlesticks.

All the Best

Mark :clap:
 
yup am a mix of day trading and long term does with 2 accounts. held me and my husband. day trading which is usually done by my husband and i do the long term trading. so far we've found japanese candlesticks works on entry points and exits. I more understand the charts though coz i look for longer term investments
 
You can have all the bells & whistles
in the world, but If you don't have
strong mental discipline, then you
won't succeed.

The three most important things in trading are -

:smart: Discipline :smart: Dispcipline :smart: Discipline :smart:

Mark :clap:
 
Dividends

I am a relative rookie and need some help!
I am interest in diverting my efforts towards making money via dividends.
If a share is purchased before the ex dividend date, how long do you need to hold it to obtain the dividend before the share can be sold.
 
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Re: Dividends

intheblack said:
I am a relative rookie and need some help!
I am interest in diverting my efforts towards making money via dividends.
If a share is purchased before the ex dividend date, how long do you need to hold it to obtain the dividend before the share can be sold.
Click to expand...
Hi Intheblack..
Hate to tell you but I dont think there is any money to be made in the strategy you are proposing.. On the ex-div date the stock virtually always opens lower by the exact amount of the dividend and you also have to factor in commisions,tax and stamp duty (for uk)-there is no arbitrage opportunity- lets say a £1 share pays a 10% dividend, the day it goes ex-div the share will open at around 90p - so yes you get your 10p div but your stock is worth 90p so you have no profit - I am sorry if I am over simplifying it but I wouldnt want to see you waste money- brokers would :love: you for paying so much commision !
 
Re: Dividends

intheblack said:
I am a relative rookie and need some help!
I am interest in diverting my efforts towards making money via dividends.
If a share is purchased before the ex dividend date, how long do you need to hold it to obtain the dividend before the share can be sold.
Click to expand...

You can buy it the day before the Ex date and sell it the day after the Ex date to get the dividend.

However, be careful with this strategy as the market will discount the dividend from the share price on the Ex date. Therefore, the share price would have to recover for you to make any profit from this.
 
shmeeko69 said:
You can have all the bells & whistles
in the world, but If you don't have strong mental discipline, then you
won't succeed.QUOTE]

A great point made here. A point that far too few traders invest time on. You can learn all the trading systems in the world and have the best strategies but unless you get your mindset right you will not succeed.

A clear-strong-positive mindset is the one ingredient possessed by ALL successful traders!!


Cheers
Jonathan
:)
Click to expand...
 
As one just seeing the effect of mental discipline, I heartily agree !

The brain has to be controlled.

One should feel neither gladness on a winning trade nor sadness on a loosing trade, but keep the mind in a neutral position albeit no feeling at all.
 
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