Hey guys, Im going to uni in september and was wondering if anyone here has a system or technique that they recommend which can consistantly make a couple of hundred pounds a day? or if anyone can recommend some books which arent the usual mainstream ones like Reminiscences of a Stock Operator that can help me acheive this?
James,
I can recommend some books for you, but if you think you'll be able to read one book and bingo ! £200 a day - off you go, then you are dreaming. Trading isn't as simple as that. It takes months and months (even years) of reading, studying the markets, hours and hours of screen time (for me 10-12 hours a day for nearly 18 months so far) to even BEGIN to understand what is going on and start making a profit. And you need to work out what works FOR YOU. Timeframes, style, preferred markets ... etc etc
It's a long long road ....
That said, if you are looking to make money from a technical analysis approach, I'd recommend :
"Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets" by Murphy. That would be a good starting point.
There is also tons and tons of info on this site for FREE ...
Good luck !
Paulie
I can recommend some books for you, but if you think you'll be able to read one book and bingo ! £200 a day - off you go, then you are dreaming. Trading isn't as simple as that. It takes months and months (even years) of reading, studying the markets, hours and hours of screen time (for me 10-12 hours a day for nearly 18 months so far) to even BEGIN to understand what is going on and start making a profit. And you need to work out what works FOR YOU. Timeframes, style, preferred markets ... etc etc
It's a long long road ....
That said, if you are looking to make money from a technical analysis approach, I'd recommend :
"Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets" by Murphy. That would be a good starting point.
There is also tons and tons of info on this site for FREE ...
Good luck !
Paulie
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meanreversion
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Is a couple of hundred a day what you plan to spend on beer once you get to uni? 
You have the right idea though, read some books before investing any money in the market, but as the previous post said, it's a long road and the vast majority (90 pct+) are unable to consistently make money. Try "Market Wizards", which will give you a great perspective on markets.
You have the right idea though, read some books before investing any money in the market, but as the previous post said, it's a long road and the vast majority (90 pct+) are unable to consistently make money. Try "Market Wizards", which will give you a great perspective on markets.
Hoggums
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james - your expectations are totally unrealistic.
Think about what you've asked - if you could find something that made £200pd then don't you think everyone would be doing it? No-one would bother going to work, they'd simply sit at home raking in £200 every day. But, of course, this would create a bubble (just like the housing bubble where everyone was making money) which would eventually pop.
You are a student with limited funds - STAY AWAY FROM TRADING. You can't afford losses.
meanreversion
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Hear hear. A simple bit of arithmetic proves this point.
£200 a day = £50,000 a year, allowing for 250 trading days.
A good return on capital would be 20 pct or so, which implies you need starting capital of £250,000.
£200 a day = £50,000 a year, allowing for 250 trading days.
A good return on capital would be 20 pct or so, which implies you need starting capital of £250,000.
Hey guys, Im go to work every day and was wondering if anyone here has a system or technique that they recommend which can consistantly make a couple of hundred pounds a day? or if anyone can recommend some books which arent the usual mainstream ones like Reminiscences of a Stock Operator that can help me acheive this?
meanreversion
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I wouldn't say DON'T trade, because I traded small size at uni (many many years ago) and I ended up becoming a bank trader. Each year we would take on a new batch of recruits from various unis (usually Imperial) and they would all sit down next to me and say "I want to be a trader". I would then ask what they had traded... at least 75 pct would say "I've never traded before".
I disagree with this slightly. Hoggums is right that you shouldn't be trading away your student loan, but there's nothing wrong with starting out. Just don't jump in and blow all your cash and wonder how you're going to afford the rent...
If trading is something you want to do in the longrun, then certainly start whilst at uni by reading, studying the markets, trying demo accounts and see how it goes. But don't commit any money until you have demo-ed something that works consistently for you.
No need to "stay away from trading" completely, just tread with extreme caution.
Paulie
foredog
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robster970
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You will end up donating your money to the market. Don't do it.
Alternatives would be to go to Uni and get a degree with your sights more realistically focussed on casual work to pay for beer rather than thinking you can turn £50k per annum through trading your grant/student loan.
If you're serious, read up and trade demo for a very long time.
Alternatives would be to go to Uni and get a degree with your sights more realistically focussed on casual work to pay for beer rather than thinking you can turn £50k per annum through trading your grant/student loan.
If you're serious, read up and trade demo for a very long time.
meanreversion
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Some of this advice is seriously high quality, and completely free. Ah, the power of the internet. How does this website make money anyway, is it from advertising?
B
Black Swan
I don't agree with this, if he spread bets. Plenty of opportunity to start with a grand and make 200 quid a day...once you've lost the first grand over a couple of months 'learning'..
thanks guys for the feedback. So from what you have all said can any of you recommend some good strarting systems or techniques for day trading/scalping which you yourself have tried and have been proven to work so I can practice them and see if they fit my personality/style?
meanreversion
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Once you open an account with IG (for example), you can use their excellent charting package which allows for backtesting. Then try a simple strategy such as - when 2hr RSI crosses over 30/under 70, buy/sell (according to the direction of the trend, determined from the daily chart). Place your stop one ATR away, and try to target 2:1 payout with a trailing stop where possible.
meanreversion
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You might have to wait a while for a signal to trade, but better not to trade than trade for the sake of it and lose money... i.e. be patient..
trader_dante
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Good post - I've said the same thing before when I've been advising people on how to get in at firms. I don't understand people that say "I want to be a trader" and yet they've never traded before. It is completely illogical to me. Reminds me of my days interviewing at firms...surrounded by wannabe traders that could breeze through the math test but had to check the FT to know what the price of a barrel of Oil was...it still makes my blood boil to think about it. If I was in recruitment, the minute they said that, it would be a case of "next please"...
ive just started reading jake bernsteins books and have found some interesting techniques. are there any other books you guys like that are along the same lines?
(I find moving averages very intersting so if there are any good books on how to use them that would be great)
(I find moving averages very intersting so if there are any good books on how to use them that would be great)
chilltrader
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I know some really good S&P and Forex traders who don't know (and don't care) about what Oil is upto. :whistling
meanreversion
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I've been trading FX successfully for many years now and I DO care what oil is up to, as I drive a car. It certainly doesn't kill to have a rough idea of what commodities and equities are up to, even if you ONLY trade FX, but what I can't stand are those "correlation" trades.... e.g. I think gold is heading lower so I will sell AUD/USD. Huh?? If you think gold is going down, sell gold...
