Getting Into Trading

mad_max

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I am an engineering graduate based in London.
I want to move into trading - got any advice on books, contacts etc ??

Cheers :)
 
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Hello

I also just starting out, also graduate. Just about to step into trading proper. I can't give you much adivce right now, apart from what I've experienced so far. I've started with Spread betting, which is relatively cheap. I use Finspreads. Its by no means perfect (See the boards for discussion about this) but its a good intro for someone like me with little money - it allows you to trade with pennies for the 1st 8 weeks . Other advice is to read as much as you can from the boards and chat rooms on this sight. I've learnt a lot from the more experienced guys, who have been really helpful in the chat room.

Good luck buddy

Good to see a fellow ex student finding ways to escape the real world ;)
 
Real world?

This is the real world.

Nothing else exists outside of trading.

Options
 
Hey guys, I don't even pretend to know loads but I started trading by going into penny shares on the AIM. I had limited capital aka student loan :) and mainly acted on information i received monthly. This market is very volatile but then again the shares can be real cheap, like 4.00p a share. 10,000 of these would cost £400.00 and a share increase of 1.00p would net you £100.00 (excluding any dealing costs). Thats the way i looked at it and I used The Sharecentre for my dealings (www.share.co.uk) they're fair enough and competitive. I have only recently acquired the CT manual and am still partially disecting it. Capital is my biggest restraint at the moment but i am interested in starting with USFs and spread betting,

good luck whatever happens,

an undergrad :cool:
 
What is it with Engineering Student as trading? I know quite a few who are/were Engineering Students.

Hi Mad_Max

I would say the best place to start is by reading these articles.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/technical/ (start from the bottom and work up. The important ones are the ones on Support and Resistance).

http://www.hardrightedge.com/tw.htm These are more advanced articles but definately worth a read :)

Strewthmate is right. Spreadbetting is the place to start, and start very small. Put £100 tops into an account, and see if you can make money using that, and if you can then increase the account size, but getting to the stage where you start making money can be a long time in the future


Hi Zero Cool

OMG you started penny trading. The riskiest share trading of all, but if you can make money doing that then superb :cool:
 
Hey FTSE Beater, (I like the name, it inspires all the junior members :) ) but in all honesty I have heard a lot of negetivity surrounding spread betting. I was reading other posts about it and quite frankly I was put off by what people were saying. Of course Mad Max its up to you but as fellow beginner I think I'm going to stay away from spread betting at the moment.

I'd like to get more involved with CFDs and USFs. Which reminds me, FTSE beater, you know of any good resources for these intruments, I hope you don't mind but I'm going to check out those articles you mentioned.

All the best people
 
Hi Zero Cool

Your right there is a lot of negative views about spreadbetting, mainly because I believe people are using them as if they were professional trading tools. If you are trading UK shares, then their great, because your using them for what they were designed for - after all you wouldn't bang a nail into a wall with a spanner, well you can but I would suggust using a hammer. :D

From what I know of CFD's, there's not much difference between them and spreadbetting - well for shares anyway. For example using www.deal4free.com the spread on US Shares is the same, and UK shares with a spreadbetting company are quoted at the actual price anyway.

Please have a look at those links, well worth a read. :)
 
Yo FTSE Beater, so you think when it comes to spread betting stick with shares? I am currently using the software trial for deal4free on cfds. This morning I went short on MMO2 at 48.00 hope I didn't misinterpret the CT-signal but at least its a demo :)

Btw, already started on your articles, do you use bigcharts.com and if so have you tried using an EMA instead of an SMA for the moving average line? Your articles seem to indicate that this is better but I don't know.

Let me know what you think, cheers
 
SB's and CFD's via D4F are ok so long as you stick to longer timeframes- hours rather than minutes and go for the longer plays. Watch out for the overnight NASTIES that can wipe you out- Cable and Wireless- 85p - 37p. Otherwise take the real route to safety and only put say 10% of your capital into any one stock- a 50% hit will only drop you 5% of your capital. You aren't gonna get rich quick either, but you will still be in the game tomorrow, and the next week, and next year!
 
Hi Zero Cool

The most important thing with trading is to stay in the game. That means risking as little as possible to start with and Chartmans right when he says you still want to be in the game next year. Most new comers to trading don't last a year!

I'm using Sierrachart as my charting package. I've used bigcharts before and it's not bad considering it's free. I prefer the charts on www.advfn.com

With regards EMA's and SMA's. I use EMA's for longer-term MAs (200 and 50 Day) and SMA's for shorter time-frames. This is what Alan Farley told me to use and I have no reason to change them, but its whatever works for you.

Is the CT signal, the Champion Trader one, and if so it might be worth posting a chart up with your views, and seeing what others people's views are on MMO2 :)
 
Hi guys,

staying in the game sounds good to me and it makes sense to. I'm not looking to get rich quick, I would just like to slowly build on the capital I invest I guess. I'll check your chart web link out and let you know how I get on.

The signal I was referring to was indeed a champion trader one I have included the chart for you and anyone else who is interested.

Chartman - do thes types of nasties happen often?? Something like that would cripple me. Of course, thats why I will use smaller amounts, I am starting to learn more already :)

Thanks again guys (and gals) let me know what you think of the going short on mmo2.
 

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Long term uptrend support is at 44p so limited ....Price has been in an up trending channel since June this year. 23% retracement from 95p is 48p and to me that would be a nice long entry,breaking through there with a 58p (38% fib) target.
Maybe a short at 42p with 35p as target, but right now it's in no man's land.
 
Hi Chartman, sorry but I am still trying to familairise myself with the terms being used :confused: . Can you by any chance explain your interpretation of the chart in laymans terms please?

On another note, congratulations for you and Carol and I hope you have many happy days together :)

Thanks
 
Dont get into trading the pros will take all your money. I guarantee 95% of people who use this site lose money. Unless you can afford a few years learning and substantial losses in the mean time keep your money out of the markets. I know this sounds kurt but its true.
 
Zero. In laymans terms, wait a bit before trading this stock. It's neither a long or a short, and trading either way therefore purely speculative. That's the last thing you want to do. This business is risky enough for the wary. Learn to sit on your hands, as patience is a virtue. Don't trade for the sake of something to do.
A short would give you a target price of 42p ( support), and to go long you need the price to break out above the downtrend resistance.
 
spoon102 said:
Dont get into trading the pros will take all your money. I guarantee 95% of people who use this site lose money. Unless you can afford a few years learning and substantial losses in the mean time keep your money out of the markets. I know this sounds kurt but its true.


Hi Spoon,

The market will only do what you let it to your capital. YOU make the decisions and are in control (or should be).

Learning to trade takes time and it is hard work, I don't think anyone here would disagree with that. But it doesn't necessarily mean you need to lose lots of money. You just need to get good value (ie work hard at learning) from each trade and especially from each loss you make. That you will lose some money at first is very likely, however careful you are.

I think the people that get wiped out do so because they run before they can walk, think it's easy money, a fast buck. Which it isn't, it's probably the hardest money you will ever earn initially, way below the minimum wage for the hours spent in learning and obessing.
 
My input is this find what you are naturaly good at and work at it.I know a trader who is useless at running trades but he is unbelieveable at arbitraging.So thats what he does.Look at the time you can spend learning the markets and choose a strategy that might work in that time frame.If you get home from work at 6pm then trade the final move of the US day.It starts at 7pm gmt.

Look at the US markets because they give you an edge.(Yes i'm biased) Although people moan about paper trading i dont think there is anything wrong in the beginner keeping a log.Write on all the charts why you took the entry ,how you managed it etc,etc.

When you realy feel definately that you should go long,enter a short position on paper.The exact opposite of what you feel you should do.Then manage it and see what happens.If it keeps making profits you've just learnt something havent you!

Practice,practice,keep getting it wrong until slowly you learn from your mistakes.I remember i kept buying breakouts when i was learning,i felt exhilarated by it moving in the direction i wanted.I needed a little confirmation so i entered late.Low and behold the stock turned around and i was stopped out.I soon learnt that what suited me was buying the pullbacks.

When the stock broke out great,but now i sit back and wait for the pullback which was the opposite of what my emotions made me do when i first started trading.
 
When I first started out trading I tried to trade it all, and didn't do too well. I then started looking for a certain set-up, and I traded that - it was an ascending triangle breakout. My results improved dramatically.

So therefore my advice would be to look for something you can trade (a pattern, or a combination of indicators), get to know it inside out and back to front, and just stick to trading it. Patience wins at the end of the day.
 
A great discussion, this! Also remember that once you find a method of trading that suits your own skill set and temperament, don't expect this match to last for ever.

I started off by swing trading and holding for weeks or months during the late 1990's bull market. But when the market changed it was essential to change with it. Now a long term hold is something I still hold after lunch, and I very rarely hold overnight! This too will eventually change - but who knows when?
 
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Hey all, well there is certainly alot to reflect on here, I am still trying to find the technique I am most happy with, plus I am working strictly from the CT manual until I feel safe enough to try and tweak it. For those of you who are interested here is an updated chart of MMO2 on the FTSE100. I apologise in advance for the childlike additions but after reading Helens post on TA and getting some tips from our 'professional' Vanessa, I couldn't help myself ;)

Anyway I identified the signal and the price hit the DSL (down signal line) before the AL (abort line) so I entered the trade going short. I carried this out on paper and also in the competition currently being run on this site. I admit I entered the trade a tad early and got 30180 shares for 49.75. I sold today and the competition is giving a profit of £679.00 Wouldn't this be great if it was consistant? Of course when I start to trade for real I will not have the capital available to deal in this volume of shares but , well we were given 50k to work with so I just amplyfied it up.

Thanks for reading! Hope I didn't bore you too much, all thoughts suggestions, critism whatever, Christmas songs even, are welcome :)
 

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