Complete beginner, point me in the right direction

Hi all, I'm totally clueless to trading, but want to give it a solid go
Seems fun and exciting, I'm pretty smart and a quick learner

My questions are where's the best place to learn everything from scratch?
Maybe the best book for a total beginner who knows nothing about the subject
Literally need something like "trading for dummies"

I've looked online and on this forum
And a lot of the material is more for people who have a rough idea of what they are doing, and not for a total beginner

What's the best trading platform to use?

And why spread betting and not forex trading?
What are the key differences, I've read it's all about not paying tax on spread betting, however I have noticed that quite a few people still trade forex

There is loads of free information on the internet, some really good material on this very site and aimed at complete beginners.

Just be sure to distinguish between "information" that is intended to support sales of some or other account, product or training, and actual text book knowledge. Actually, there is much to learn and absorb about how the markets are structured, how geo-politics affects them, what central banks do - and on and on. But the most valuable learning is from experience of planning a trade and then experiencing the feelings of how it affects your decision-making.

Try demo first. Try some simple strategies. Plan what you will do if price goes here or there before you even open the trade.

As for spread-betting, its a very low cost way of getting trading experience. Go for someone based and registered in the UK, the bigger the better.

Finally, don't start with day-trading, take longer term trades so everything slows down to give you time to plan and time to learn.

Ninjaninja said:

. . . I've looked online and on this forum
And a lot of the material is more for people who have a rough idea of what they are doing, and not for a total beginner . . .

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Hi Ninjaninja,
Welcome to T2W.

I'm a tad surprised by the comment I've quoted, as this site is dedicated specifically to the total beginner like you. I recommend you go back the e-mail you received when you registered, read it carefully, and then methodically plough through the links in it. Everything is signposted. Once you've done that, if there are things you don't fully understand - or just want a more in depth explanation on specific points - post your questions here and you're sure to get some answers.

A word of warning. If you hoped or imagined you could spend a mere few hours on T2W (or anywhere else for that matter) and pick up sufficient knowledge to then start trading and hit the ground running - you'll be bitterly disappointed. That ain't gonna happen. If it were that simple, the world and his wife - or her husband - would be traders and be making serious coin from the markets. That never happens. I'm sorry to say that contrary to the popular myth, there's no 'get rich quick' in this game.
Tim.

In the beginning just don’t think about earning. Things look different when you are not part of it. Being a beginner It is suggested to open an demo account first and learn the trade and then accordingly decide with how much money you want to start the trade with. Dont just enter with large amount of money untill and unless you have the knowledge.

Start back testing every strategy you can find until you find an edge that works for you...

Quantt said:

Start back testing every strategy you can find until you find an edge that works for you...

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Definitely must put in the work.
A question how can I tell between the true "edge" and the dreaded "curve fit"?
what clues should I look for???

piphoe said:

Definitely must put in the work.
A question how can I tell between the true "edge" and the dreaded "curve fit"?
what clues should I look for???

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I wouldn't worry about curve fitting in the beginning... just back test the strategy to see if you have an edge, the curve fitting would be to play with precise Kelly, precise to a cent entries and stops, etc.. The biggest mistake if worried about curve fitting would be the use the the exact Kelly and the solution as per Ed Thorp is to use 1/2 Kelly instead... After you have and edge you can always forward test from some point in the past to make sure it works in both bull and bear markets and you can always paper trade froward as well... we are in a raging bull market now, but the bears might be right around the corner...

some advice

Hello. There are a lot of good books about trading, try to get ones from active traders or people with a lot of experience. For example, the Market Wizards series are amazing books because the biggest traders and hedge fund managers tell you what they do. Have in mind that these people have a lot of resources and they can afford high technologies and they have a lot of people working for them. Trading is a long journey. Becoming consistently profitable takes around 18 to 24 months. Try to get in touch with professional traders. For now, you can read a couple of books or check information online and I'd recommend opening a paper trading account. I hope it helps. Good luck!!