Essentials Of 'New to Trading'

Re: Essentials Of 'First Steps'

Hi knocklyonbohs,
Welcome to the site.

If I wish to trade indices live on a daily basis which time frame on TA charts is it best to set at.
If you mean you wish to open and close trades on an intra-day basis, then most traders tend to use timeframes of an hour or less. However, this is a generalisation and there's no particular time frame that's better than any other. Some traders prefer to dispense with time based charts altogether and, if they use charts at all, prefer to use non-time based charts such as Point & Figure or Renko. For more info' about charts, timeframes and TA, check out this Sticky: Essentials Of Technical Analysis

Also is the M A breaking the trend line a good criteria to work on. I using the word trend line as in the line showing stock price movement.
No one can answer this for you. Your results will tell you if the idea has merit or not. Look at your success and profit ratios and work out whether or not you have a positive expectancy. If you have, you're in business. If you haven't, you will need to figure out why not and make any necessary adjustments which may (or may not) include the use of MAs breaking trendlines. If you're unfamiliar with any of these terms - they are all explianed in detail in this Sticky: Essentials Of 'Risk & Money Management'

Am I mad considering trading indices with only demo account experience. I have been trading dax,cac,ftsi,dow and done quite well with above strategy. Seems a very basic strategy but maybe I lucky.
There's nothing wrong with 'basic' - most experienced traders advise keeping things as simple and as straightforward as possible. If what you're doing works for you - stick with it and don't worry about what other people think. If you get stuck, you can always ask for help from fellow T2W members. There's a good recent example of the sort of feedback you can expect in this thread: Stuck
;)
Tim.
 
Re: Essentials Of 'First Steps'

Hi Tim,

Having traded with many companies over the past 7 years, would it be pertinent at all to advise new and existing traders of some of the pitfalls of spreadbetting, as some of these companies employ tactics that hinder traders. It would be helpful to educate them (particularly newbies) to overcome some of these pitfalls? If not here, could you please suggest where it would be appropriate to do so. Thank you, Richard
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: Essentials Of 'First Steps'

Hi Tim,

Having traded with many companies over the past 7 years, would it be pertinent at all to advise new and existing traders of some of the pitfalls of spreadbetting, as some of these companies employ tactics that hinder traders. It would be helpful to educate them (particularly newbies) to overcome some of these pitfalls? If not here, could you please suggest where it would be appropriate to do so. Thank you, Richard
Hi Richard,
Welcome to the forum.

The short answer is 'yes'! The more we can do to educate and inform our members about the perils and pitfalls of trading - regardless of whether they trade via direct market access or a spread bet broker - the better. Some of the tactics that SB firms allegedly employ to hinder traders have been discussed at length on numerous threads. Less common is discussion offering practical steps to help traders overcome said tactics (other than not using SB firms). So, if you'd care to start a thread offering your insights - that would be great! As and when I get around to writing the Essentials of Spread Betting & CFDs Sticky, rest assured this topic will form a substantial part of the main post. In the meantime, if you do a search and find a quality thread that encapsulates the main issues, bring it to my attention and I'll add it to the Best Threads in the Spread Betting & CFDs Forum Sticky.

Thanks for your post.
Tim.
 
Last edited:
Re: T2W First Steps Tips & Tools

Many, many (belated!!) thanks for that comprehensive reply Tim ! I hope with my late reply you can see I'm in no mad rush to get on the markets. As for timeframes, I can foresee trying out both intra and interday in my paper phase to get an idea of which one I'm best suited to.

Now I've read extensively (both in content and time) about money management, the importance of stop losses, cutting losses, letting profits run etc etc, and feel a bit like the learner driver who has passed the Highway Code, but still hasn't sat behind the wheel yet, and am wondering what my psychology is going to be like !!

Seems to me that the next phases are
1) Build a strategy (which requires a lot of research I imagine);
2) Learn how (not the when, just the how) to actually enter and exit trades, place the stop-losses etc,
3) Backtest,
3.5) Revise, if necessary
4) Paper trade.
5) If successful at this point, go live incrementally

Questions:

1) Building a strategy, any good, meaty articles (or preferably Youtube vids) I can watch that guide through the process? Preferably via spreadtrading? I know there's a PDF on here but that talks mostly about the money management side and like I said I want to go for a test drive!! Also, how long does building a strategy typically take for an experienced guy?

2) I know Americans aren't allowed to spread trade, BUT I will be over there this summer, if log in from there will I be allowed to trade, or do the UK brokerages firewall off any traffic from US IP's even though I'll be a legit client?

Cheers,

Carlos.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: Essentials Of 'First Steps'

These steps are great. Really useful for traders. Thanks a lot for your advice.
 
Re: Essentials Of 'First Steps'

Hi everyone! Very good staff, very nice community. Im trading based on order flow mainly liquid instruments.
 
Re: T2W First Steps Tips & Tools

Hi Carlos,
Apologies for not replying sooner!

Seems to me that the next phases are
1) Build a strategy (which requires a lot of research I imagine);
2) Learn how (not the when, just the how) to actually enter and exit trades, place the stop-losses etc,
3) Backtest,
3.5) Revise, if necessary
4) Paper trade.
5) If successful at this point, go live incrementally
This looks like a sound approach to me.

Questions:
1) Building a strategy, any good, meaty articles (or preferably Youtube vids) I can watch that guide through the process? Preferably via spreadtrading? I know there's a PDF on here but that talks mostly about the money management side and like I said I want to go for a test drive!! Also, how long does building a strategy typically take for an experienced guy?
It's next to impossible to provide a 'one size fits all' answer to this as there are just too many variables involved. From your earlier post, I'll assume you want to trade equity indices intra day. I'll also assume that when you refer to 'spreadtrading' (quoted above) that you actually mean spread betting? They are two completely different things - not to be muddled up. You can learn about each of them in these two articles:
Spread Trading - Less Risk and Improved Returns by Don Dawson
Spread Betting for Beginners by Dave Baker

I'll further assume that you've read the First Steps stickies and associated FAQs and that you understand what you're trying to achieve, namely, that you're looking to create a positive expectancy. How you set about achieving this is down to you. Most people here use some form of technical analysis - which may or may not utilise technical indicators such as moving averages. Day traders that specialise in trading instruments such as the ES (the S&P 500 e-mini futures contract) often focus on the Depth of Market (DoM) price ladder and Time & Sales - rather than charts and indicators etc. Only you can decide which approach will suit you best. As a starting point, check out these links:
Developing a Trading Strategy by Tim Wreford
Best Threads In The 'Trading Journals' Forum For the most part, the threads listed centre around forex, but most of the principles discussed will apply to trading indices as well.
Is There a Strategy or System that I should Use and where Can I Find it?

Regarding your question about how long it takes to build a strategy - that's akin to asking how long is a piece of string. Not a helpful answer I know, but it would be quite wrong and almost certainly misleading for me to put an average time on it. Furthermore, I should point out that many aspiring traders never achieve it and, of those that do, many find their strategy is successful for a while but then starts to break down as the market changes. Make no mistake, developing a successful trading strategy is not for the faint hearted, the work shy or those after simple cookie cutter holy grail solutions. It's an exceptionally tough gig!

2)I know Americans aren't allowed to spread trade, BUT I will be over there this summer, if log in from there will I be allowed to trade, or do the UK brokerages firewall off any traffic from US IP's even though I'll be a legit client?
I've no idea I'm afraid. As you'll appreciate, I can't advise you to break the law, so you'll have to take advice from the spread betting companies themselves and/or the U.S. tax authorities to see if there's a way around this. If you can't open a U.K. based spread betting account, then the nearest alternative would be to trade CFDs - which you can do from just about anywhere in the world. If you want to know how spread betting and CFDs compare, check out this FAQ: What are the Pros and Cons of Spread Betting Vs CFDs?

I hope some of the above is of use - good luck!
Tim.
 
Last edited:
What is trailing stop? How to place it? can any body describe in full?

A training stop is loss sets the stop at a fixed amount below the market price with an attached trailing amount. As the market price rises, the stop rises by the trail amount but if the stock price falls the stop loss price doesn't change. You can place the stop at the point of the trade or at any point after.
 
Excellent post. One of the best Ive seen on any forum about any topic!
One big issue though, as a virgin trader (actually virtually uninitiated to the commerce world), I have/had no idea what spread betting is, what options contracts are, etc. and there wasn't any link that was very obviously displayed for me that described and explained what these were. Particularly the options and spread betting forum, which already assumed I knew what options contracts were, how to trade them and what spread betting is. It took a considerable amount of extra research simply to understand a quarter of what was being said on those forums.

Perhaps it was already discussed in this thread, however if it is added to the original post, I think it would make this guide many times better.

Otherwise, thanks so much for the help.
 
Last edited:
Excellent post. One of the best Ive seen on any forum about any topic!
One big issue though, as a virgin trader (actually virtually uninitiated to the commerce world), I have/had no idea what spread betting is, what options contracts are, etc. and there wasn't any link that was very obviously displayed for me that described and explained what these were. Particularly the options and spread betting forum, which already assumed I knew what options contracts were, how to trade them and what spread betting is. It took a considerable amount of extra research simply to understand a quarter of what was being said on those forums.

Perhaps it was already discussed in this thread, however if it is added to the original post, I think it would make this guide many times better.

Otherwise, thanks so much for the help.
Hi jsung8070,
Thanks for the feedback. I'm in the process of re-writing all the introductory content for new members - so I'll take your comments on board. Did you get as far as the 3rd post entitled Tips & Tools? Descriptions of the main markets are covered - along with the various ways to trade them. This includes spread betting and options - but the latter in particular is weak (just a link to another thread) and the presentation of this section leaves a lot to be desired!

Not everyone would agree with me, but I'd say by all means learn about options but, as a newbie, don't trade them. They're a sophisticated product which is best put on the back burner until you've got some experience. Spread betting is the usual starting point for most U.K. traders (not sure whether or not it's available in NZ) and all the brokers offer very comprehensive guides as to how it works.
Enjoy!
Tim.
 
Last edited:
Trading is just like any other form of making money outside a traditional job requires three things in order to become successful:

1- Money (start up)

2- Experience (learning curve) Be patient especially if you have never invested before.

3- Time- It can take some people years to really learn how to invest and actually turn over a profit.

Many people make the attempt to learn how to become a trader but it really will take some time, money and consistent effort to make money.

Don't ever invest any amount that you aren't willing to lose.

Why?

Because your return is not 'guaranteed'.
 
Has anyone else come across the problem of having the knowledge how to trade, but just don't quit have the confidence to do so.that's a problem I am faced with at this point in my journey to this world of trading, Hell I even seem to hesitate on my paper trading I guess to coin the words of Nike I just have to learn to" just go for it".Wil this feeling stay with me or will it fade with time
 
Has anyone else come across the problem of having the knowledge how to trade, but just don't quit have the confidence to do so.that's a problem I am faced with at this point in my journey to this world of trading, Hell I even seem to hesitate on my paper trading I guess to coin the words of Nike I just have to learn to" just go for it".Wil this feeling stay with me or will it fade with time
Hi railrunner,
The problem you outline is very common. On the other side of the coin is over trading. Of the two, I'd say you're suffering the lesser of the two evils. Usually, but not always, it boils down to a lack of confidence in the methodology being deployed - as opposed to a lack of confidence in one's own ability. If the methodology is one that's thoroughly tested and you're comfortable with, the issue is likely to resolve itself as the number of trades builds and your equity curve starts to rise. If you had a crystal ball and could see into the future and know that your methodology definitely makes money, then the chances are you'd have no problem pulling the trigger.

Take a look at the articles in Psychology section as there are quite a few that touch on this and related issues.
Tim.
 
Thank you for your reply I will look at the article that you have recommended, I am my own enemy in fact I find myself hesitant some times to even trading with my Demo account, as you have said its a lack of confidence in my system it can make it a little intimidating when you don't really have the correct blue print or knowledge of a successful trading plan thanks again.
 
You need to pull the trigger. Pick a small amount of capital you risk. Don't see the loss ( as inevitably it will be as -"throwing money down the drain" it;s the start of your learning curve! You wouldn't expect to become a dentist nor architect without experience.!
 
Trading is certainly game of risk but with experience, the risk can be minimized. For now, you should just focus on gaining knowledge and with knowledge will come the confidence. Then you can surely go on investing.
Cheers!
 
Hey.

Im just back to trading after a looooong time off.
Last time around i didnt have the knowledge that i should have, lets say that this time im doing it differently,
Started with trade-24 this time, and so far it's going better.

Looking forward to good results...
 
Top