Where do I start?

[kawaman]

Hi guys! Thank you for your answers!! So you do not really recommend that I started trading alone... I kept on searching and I found that there were managed account services for those dummies like me. Would you recommend that?

 

[Bint_Crusher]

Hi guys! Thank you for your answers!! So you do not really recommend that I started trading alone... I kept on searching and I found that there were managed account services for those dummies like me. Would you recommend that?

Absolutely. PM me , send me your money to trade and I will give you back 50% of the profits and 98% of the losses. That will truly manage your services.

 

[PollyM]

Hi guys! Thank you for your answers!! So you do not really recommend that I started trading alone... I kept on searching and I found that there were managed account services for those dummies like me. Would you recommend that?

Kawaman

This is one way of thinking about it. If you want to learn how to ride a motorcycle, you teach yourself how to ride a motorcycle. If you want to learn how to play a particular sport, you teach yourself how to play a particular sport. If you want to learn how to trade, you teach yourself how to trade. The subject is different but the process is the same, the movement from knowledge to knowing. You can draw confidence from your existing 'knowings' to help bring together the new knowledge of trading into a similar personal knowing.

It is your choice whether you learn on your own or find a group who have similar interests. Neither is right nor wrong, it depends on your own personality. The resources are out there for whichever way you choose.

You can start by paper/demo trading, or if you want to get straight into the driving seat then start with very very small stakes. This means less stress, and clearer decision making. Keep testing your trading method/engine before you start pouring large amounts of fuel (money) into its tank.

Let your learning grow naturally, and keep asking questions of everything you are unsure about. The answers will come in time.

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 5 of 22)

The fifth video begins the filter process which chooses the DM figure to be taken forward for each particular period, including the situation where we may have an inside day or an outside day.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 5 of 22) - YouTube

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 6 of 22)

The DM calculation for each period is completed in the sixth video, including some test or check columns to ensure there are no over/underlaps in the calculations.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 6 of 22) - YouTube


If you're able to set up your computer with two screens then this will help in constructing your own interface, and also for trading generally, as it allows you to have two good sized windows open at once.

I'm out and about at the moment with my laptop only and have realised that the re-inputting of the YouTube data onto a spreadsheet can be quite difficult on just the one monitor. To help, you can try the zoom function on your browser to make the video larger (choosing also the 'Expand' button on YouTube), meaning you can have both the browser window and the spreadsheet window showing on the monitor at the same time in a tiled arrangement, rather than having to keep switching from one full screen window to another for each tranche of inputs.

 

[Cumbrian]

Friday evening and I'm behind the computer... Can it get any worse? Nevertheless it's for a good cause. Trying to keep the poor sheep away from the wolves (vendors). I can only tell you about futures since I trade forex myself, but I think trading stocks, options or whatever product wont be much different.

You can have a degree in gardening, jigsawing, physics or economics it doesn't matter. What does matter is:"do you have the mental strength that it takes to be a day trader"? If you think you do, try to find info on volume in combination with price movement. What moves the market? Volume does! Not a MACD, stochastics or any of the other crap! Read more about it in the attachment.

Concerning "teachers" in this business. Would you work at a company (client support, administration) that teaches others how to make money day trading? No, you would buy their course and start making thousands of dollars from the comfort of your own home. Then why do people work there? Because the, sometimes thousands of dollars courses teach you nothing but crap. They know it and that's why they stick to the 9 till 5 job for the monthly insult.

You should consider yourself lucky that I read your post. Why? Because in general people that make money trading trade! People that don't kill time on a forum. I started realizing this when I was structuraly making money. Put yourself in my shoes... Would you be hanging out here if you were making money? And I don't mean enough money to buy you a soda. No you wouldn't.

I'm not here to discuss, that would be a waste of my time. I make money, PERIOD. You can take from the info what you like.

You got one hell of a bumpy road ahead of you, but the biggest bump; VENDORS you should be able to avoid with my advice.

I wish you lots of fun and you can thank me later!

Besides that I can recommend the 2005 Rioja "Marques de Riscal Reserva"arty:! I'm gonna get me another refill of that!

That is a very cynical view of the Forex trading. What it seems to ignore is the activity of the industrial and commercial users of foreign currencies. The £1 per pip trades that we bet on the market movements have very little (if any at all) affect on the exchange rates and whether they move up or down. The big trades are made, day in and day out by the banks on behalf of their customers who need to pay a supplier for goods or services provided by overseas (from the UK) companies. Their bills need to be paid in the agreed currency no matter what the exchange rate is doing on the day. So when diamonds move from South Africa to Amsterdam the jewellers buying said diamonds probably pay for them in US dollars. When SA breweries need to pay for their last month's deliveries of hops and yeast they probably pay their German suppliers in Euros. So they are buying Euros to pay their bills. As the SA Rand has gone down over the years the hop suppliers probably won't accept payment in SA Rands. So those companies ring their banks and tell them they need to buy the large quantity of Euros and the bank places the order. If that bill must be paid by the 15th day of the month following teh month of invoice then that is the deadline. SA Breweries can't wait until a few days later to see if the rate changes in their favour. Those are the big trades that are going on in companies and banks all over the world every day of every week. Lots of manufacturing/commercial businesses keep accounts in several currencies other than that of their own country. So if they sell to the USA and get paid in dollars they may just hold those dollars to pay a supplier from another country in dollars at a later date. They may hold onto dollars if they feel the exchange rate is moving in their favour for a short while, but come the day when accounts have to be settled then the currencies will be swopped or spent as necessary. That is the world of the real markets in real currencies, but when you add up all the millions of companies trading with foreign countries all over the world with currencies moving back and forth all of the time it adds up to mega millions being traded regularly, and a vast amount of it is real money, not just "bets".
Yes those companies will take out "options" with their banks to buy (or sell) a currency ahead at a fixed rate, which is effectively an insurance policy, just in case the rate moves against them between now and the day they need to actually pay their foreign bills. They pay a percentage of the deal to cover their exposure to market movements over a fixed period of time, exactly like we insure our house or car.
It is therefore my submission that the real market depends on the world trade figures more than speculation and gambling that traders make.

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Parts 7 & 8 of 22)

Videos 7 & 8 show the calculations for the 21-day and 126-day Directional Indicators respectively. Brought into the calculation method is the accumulation technique and the rounding of numbers as employed by Wilder.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 7 of 22) - YouTube


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 8 of 22) - YouTube


These figures form the basis of the decision making filter for the long, short and out positions, and are also used to build the indicator charts, both the line charts and histograms.

 

[Ristic]

Hi guys, Ristic here, I'm a student from Sydney, Australia, currently studying Finance at University.
I've come to this thread because I'm fairly new to trading and wanted to ask a few questions to help me get started.

Firstly, what are the staple websites for traders for news and information on markets and current events? and for news and info on Australian specific news/markets?

Secondly, I've just bought John Murphys book on Technical Analysis (hasn't arrived yet), but are there any books/articles that serve as useful guides to Fundamental analysis?

Finally, as far as trading strategies go, what types of strategies are best for beginners? Could I start off something as simple as 'buy when price moves X% above the open market price' etc?

Cheers in advance for any help provided,

Ristic

 

[PollyM]

Hi guys, Ristic here, I'm a student from Sydney, Australia, currently studying Finance at University.
I've come to this thread because I'm fairly new to trading and wanted to ask a few questions to help me get started.

Firstly, what are the staple websites for traders for news and information on markets and current events? and for news and info on Australian specific news/markets?

Secondly, I've just bought John Murphys book on Technical Analysis (hasn't arrived yet), but are there any books/articles that serve as useful guides to Fundamental analysis?

Finally, as far as trading strategies go, what types of strategies are best for beginners? Could I start off something as simple as 'buy when price moves X% above the open market price' etc?

Cheers in advance for any help provided,

Ristic

Hi Ristic

Have a look back to Post #98 on this thread where a similar question is discussed re books.

One thing to remember is that to approach trading from a purely money angle can be like trying to understand what a plant is by just looking at its flowers. Seek to understand what creates markets, as this source traces particular fractal patterns which can be mathematically modelled and visually framed, such as in the cases of Hurst's Cyclic model and the Elliott Wave Principle respectively.

Have a good read through this thread. I've posted a series of sessions which discusses a 3d model of the markets, and also provides a basic interface which you can construct as a 'starter kit'. Whilst it is but one way to trade, it provides a benchmark for all other methods you may come to choose.

Being based in the UK I'm not familiar with the best reference points for Australian markets, maybe another forum member could help with this one.

Keep posting as many questions as they pop into your head. Some may have a simple answer which we can help you with quickly, and others may be more lengthy, on which we will let you know of any related material.

 

[kawaman]

Kawaman

This is one way of thinking about it. If you want to learn how to ride a motorcycle, you teach yourself how to ride a motorcycle. If you want to learn how to play a particular sport, you teach yourself how to play a particular sport. If you want to learn how to trade, you teach yourself how to trade. The subject is different but the process is the same, the movement from knowledge to knowing. You can draw confidence from your existing 'knowings' to help bring together the new knowledge of trading into a similar personal knowing.

It is your choice whether you learn on your own or find a group who have similar interests. Neither is right nor wrong, it depends on your own personality. The resources are out there for whichever way you choose.

You can start by paper/demo trading, or if you want to get straight into the driving seat then start with very very small stakes. This means less stress, and clearer decision making. Keep testing your trading method/engine before you start pouring large amounts of fuel (money) into its tank.

Let your learning grow naturally, and keep asking questions of everything you are unsure about. The answers will come in time.

Thanks a lot, PollyM, this is very encouraging.
I think maybe I'll start trading on demo accounts and simultaneously open a managed account to see how a pro trades and earn as well.

 

[thearabsmith]

Hi guys, Ristic here, I'm a student from Sydney, Australia, currently studying Finance at University.
I've come to this thread because I'm fairly new to trading and wanted to ask a few questions to help me get started.

Firstly, what are the staple websites for traders for news and information on markets and current events? and for news and info on Australian specific news/markets?

Secondly, I've just bought John Murphys book on Technical Analysis (hasn't arrived yet), but are there any books/articles that serve as useful guides to Fundamental analysis?

Finally, as far as trading strategies go, what types of strategies are best for beginners? Could I start off something as simple as 'buy when price moves X% above the open market price' etc?

Cheers in advance for any help provided,

Ristic

Hi Ristic

I too am totally new to this game. I've been working my way through a few web sites and forums to help me understand T.A, money management etc... The best learning sites I've found are https://sites.google.com/site/tradingstrategiesschool/ and informedtrades.com. Both have a start and end process and after a few months I think I've found where I was going wrong.

Hope this helps?

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Parts 9 & 10 of 22)

Video 9 sets out the columns which will eventually be plotted on the price chart as coloured bars. The columns are populated with reference to the alignment or otherwise of the 26-day and 126-day DI Histograms.

If both DI Histograms are above zero then the signal is 'long', if both DI Histograms are below zero then the signal is 'short', and if the two Histograms are at variance with each other then the signal is 'out'.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 9 of 22) - YouTube


Video 10 set outs the columns which will be plotted for monitoring and backtesting purposes, essentially keeping track of the basic gross profit and loss from the signalled trades. As this particular spreadsheet is designed for inputting around a year's data, the backtesting element is currently restricted in its output, but I will in time show how to extend this to analyse longer term price data.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 10 of 22) - YouTube

 

[Ristic]

Hi Ristic

Have a look back to Post #98 on this thread where a similar question is discussed re books.

One thing to remember is that to approach trading from a purely money angle can be like trying to understand what a plant is by just looking at its flowers. Seek to understand what creates markets, as this source traces particular fractal patterns which can be mathematically modelled and visually framed, such as in the cases of Hurst's Cyclic model and the Elliott Wave Principle respectively.

Have a good read through this thread. I've posted a series of sessions which discusses a 3d model of the markets, and also provides a basic interface which you can construct as a 'starter kit'. Whilst it is but one way to trade, it provides a benchmark for all other methods you may come to choose.

Being based in the UK I'm not familiar with the best reference points for Australian markets, maybe another forum member could help with this one.

Keep posting as many questions as they pop into your head. Some may have a simple answer which we can help you with quickly, and others may be more lengthy, on which we will let you know of any related material.

Awesome, thanks for that, Polly. I'll do my best to read up on the subjects (heard they're mentioned in John Murphys book).

 

[PollyM]

Had another thought today for an analogy of trading ... Wait Training.

I think this one has legs (pardon the pun) and will develop it on the website.

The detail is in its early stages, but I think this analogy could show itself to be a helpful guide, its aim being to hone the strength and stamina of the trading mind.

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Parts 11 & 12 of 22)

The first 10 videos have set up the basic spreadsheet, bringing in the root numbers of the price data, and then the logical operators (if, and) and other formulas for the analysis of the past data.

The next two videos focus on the leading edge of the chart, and the inputting and projection of new price data.

Video 11 shows how to name the cells at the leading edge. This naming is necessary so that the cell links are maintained when you insert a new line for the new day/period.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 11 of 22) - YouTube


Video 12 shows the insertion of the large and small spin buttons which enable increments/decrements of 1.0 and 0.1 units respectively to the new line of data.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 12 of 22) - YouTube

 

[Ristic]

Hi Ristic

I too am totally new to this game. I've been working my way through a few web sites and forums to help me understand T.A, money management etc... The best learning sites I've found are https://sites.google.com/site/tradingstrategiesschool/ and informedtrades.com. Both have a start and end process and after a few months I think I've found where I was going wrong.

Hope this helps?

Hey thanks so much for this arabsmith. These look like some really good sites to help me get started, especially the first one.

 

[Bint_Crusher]

Hi Ristic
When second nature tells you what these signals mean you are well on the way.

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Parts 13 of 22)

Video 13 begins the process of chart construction, the first three streams of data being the filter outputs for long, short and out positions, coloured blue, red and green respectively.

The video shows the close prices first being plotted using a basic 'points only line chart' format. You may have noticed that the 'stock chart' format is not chosen in this instance, unlike the earlier S&P500 Charts video, as this does not have a facility to individually colour the price bars. The next video shows how price bars are created on the line chart by the insertion of y-Error Bars.

A note on the use of colours. You will find some charts use green to represent 'up' and red to represent 'down'. The harmony interface uses blue instead of green for 'up', with green representing the neutral or middle position 'out', in a similar order to the normal colour spectrum.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 13 of 22) - YouTube

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Parts 14 of 22)

Video 14 shows the procedure for creating the full high-low range of the price bars for each day/period.

I should mention at this stage that because there are no 'long' signals generated from this batch of price data, the 'long' plots sit at the default zero point of the x-axis. The y-Error Bars function is still however added at this stage so that it is not overlooked once the scale of the y-axis is adjusted at the end of the video.

The appearance of the price bars is different to the conventional look. In OpenOffice, the spreadsheet package we are using here, I've found that the facility to remove the top and bottom tails from the bars is not yet available, but still we have arrived at the current look as a reasonable substitute.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 14 of 22) - YouTube

 

[PollyM]

Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 15 of 22)

Video 15 begins the process of creating the indicator and monitoring/backtesting worksheets by first copying and pasting the price chart across to these pages.

The original price chart is then moved into a position on the first worksheet where it can be viewed in the same frame as the leading edge data inputs.


Build Your Own Trading Interface (Part 15 of 22) - YouTube