Advice for a US Trader starting out?

[FXTrend240]

Well I've just downloaded a demo platform from thinkorswim and I am probably thinking the same way you did at this point. What made you decide to trade forex?

I guess it's because i've learned all i know whilst with forex . when i blew up 50 or so demo accounts (yeh, i was that bad) i came into contact with a really good trader which helped a lot too. I tried index futures too, but i didn't have enough time in the day to sit and watch time and sales. So i went back to forex, flicked to daily charts with some basic TA trend following, worked really well, made 2000 or so pips in a month, lost 1200 in 2 days though, made that all back in 4, then lost some and stopped for a while. i wondered why i lost money and it was because i was long EURUSD and the whole greece debt thing led to the unwinding of a short dollar carry trade and eurusd plummeted to where it is now.

I wanted to learn how the hell i can make money from this, and began learning currency economics, it's all tied in, stocks, commodities, bonds. There's a reason AUD/JPY flies higher when copper flies higher.

Anyway, im still learning to this day and had some but not great trading. im swing/position trading too, holding for as long as the trend lasts

hope that helps

 

[djmastro]

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it! I am not even to the stage of getting to blow up my demo accounts yet, but I'll make sure to consider your words since you took the time to tell me your opinions.

 

[FXTrend240]

even if you decide to day trade, and if you are a techincal trader, the least you could do is respect that news can create volatility and shake you out, ive seen cable drop 200 pips in a day , EU move 300 on NFP too. whatever you trade: be it stocks, forex,options,commodities, news is gonna make volatility, whether it's NFP, earnings, crop reports or what ever

just because i blew up loads of accounts doesn't mean you will, but there's a 95% chance you will

 

[LoveToTrade]

even if you decide to day trade, and if you are a technical trader, the least you could do is respect that news can create volatility and shake you out, ive seen cable drop 200 pips in a day , EU move 300 on NFP too. whatever you trade: be it stocks, forex,options,commodities, news is gonna make volatility, whether it's NFP, earnings, crop reports or what ever

Exactly my point about News. I don´t particularly use it to trade, but I do make sure I know when it is due and generally keep clear during these times. Doesn´t at all effect the stocks I trade, but with Futures and Fx, sure - be very aware.

 

[LoveToTrade]

I see. Are you familiar at all with the broker thinkorswim ? I downloaded their demo to do paper trading and I am currently trying to figure out how the software works.

Also, would you recommend trading FOREX over STOCKS?

I know TOS very well, I have used them for years. One of the best things about them is the ability to go into the Support Tab and chat live to a Tech. Rep who will answer all your questions, in real time.

Personally I have never really traded Forex ( a few times via SB), but in essence I think it is not a bad place to start. Stick to a couple of pairs and see how they move EUR and GBP vs USD I would do. Watch these two alongside the DOW maybe if you want to look at futures.

With stocks, well that´s a harder one, I always neglected the higher priced stocks and stuck with 10$ or less from the beginning, only problem is the shorting of these lower priced stocks and ThinkorSwim is not the best "Shorting" broker there is, but in my case I primarily buy where stocks are concerned anyway. The illiquidity of these stocks is the reason I wanted to move over to Futures, and I am glad I did.

 

[FXTrend240]

if you want to day trade forex- trade eurusd along with usdchf

 

[LoveToTrade]

if you want to day trade forex- trade eurusd along with usdchf

Why CHF rather than GBP FxTrend ? (Interested to know reasoning behind this)

 

[alexander]

Thanks for your input alexander!

I'm most interested in short to medium term trading. Do you have suggestions for good brokers or realistic trading methods I could start learning about?

Interactive Brokers is one of the better ones. Many add-ons to their platform and good vendor support.

 

[Janiceps]

IB are rather problematic for a few people I know. Good for taking shorts (as the borrows are easily available) but crap for everything else.

I am Euro based, and would only use US platform now. Thinkorswim are good for paper trading, realstic platform and great customer support for new people.

Is trading stocks easier or safer than trading futures like crude oil or S&P ??

 

[pdigio87]

Janiceps,

It depends on how you are trading. If you are trading with out any margin (no credit, no leverage), than stocks will most likely be safer and maybe easier. Then again, if you are trading risky penny stocks and low-cappers, that stuff can get dangerous, too. Generally, trading futures requires more capital and is more highly competitive.

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