Newbie !

[Time4change]

Hi all
I've been interested in trading since seeing a programme last year and have opened a demo account with plus500 . Whilst reading all I can about trading I came across this website , but the info available looks complex .
So many pros and cons about which platform to use, but no definitive "I use this one and it's good " ..so first question is "what platforms/ companies do you use"? I've read about plus500 and problems getting withdrawals, etc and pros and cons about other companies but, who do you use ??
The first day I used the demo account with a virtual 20k , I lost the lot in about an hour! Okay , start again...next day had losses of 25k !! Okay , start again, next day had loss of £1,500. Gaines of 5k. Since that day , over a 3 week period I'm up 13k , no losses. I trade commodities . I tend to buy and sell within a few minutes. I tend to trade between 7.30am and about 11am ish, and have another quick look around half 2 in the afternoon. I have found I like to trade when the markets are quick, up down and all over the place . I keep it simple and only have 2 or 3 trades open at one time, have a motto that any profit is good, as it all adds up ! I am under no illusion that this is a get rich quick and understand I could lose everything in a blink of an eye . I concentrate on the % , to see if it's up or down ' on the day' , have a quick look at a chart , and this seems to work for me. I don't want to complicate it , I want to keep it simple and trading things like oil, silver , copper etc ( my favourites ) seems to be working . I just seem to get an instinct/ feeling to buy or not, and it seems to be working...at the moment . I don't want to fill my head with news feeds, politics masses of charts, I just want to keep it simple . IM SURE THEYLL BE LOTS OF THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS ON MY POST SO BRING IT ON , ANY INFORMATION IS VAULABLE ! ! Thanking you all in advance .

 

[timsk]

. . .Whilst reading all I can about trading I came across this website , but the info available looks complex. . .

Hi Time4change,
Welcome to T2W.

Your desire to 'keep it simple' is fine as far as it goes and, certainly, many experienced traders will agree that simple is (often) best. However, I fear you're confusing 'keeping it simple' with not taking the time - and it can take a long time - to really understand what you're getting yourself into, If you find the info' presented on T2W complex - especially that provided in the FAQs and Stickies - then I recommend you walk away from trading and devote your time and energy to something else. Failure to understand and apply the basics that underpin success in this game always has the same result: tears, pain and regret. Oh, and a blown account and, possibly, a huge debt. Sorry if this sounds negative - but it's better to be told at the outset the way it is from someone who's been there and bought the T-shirt than it is to find out the hard way having wasted a lot of time and money.

Good luck!
Tim.

 

[Time4change]

Hi Time4change,
Welcome to T2W.

Your desire to 'keep it simple' is fine as far as it goes and, certainly, many experienced traders will agree that simple is (often) best. However, I fear you're confusing 'keeping it simple' with not taking the time - and it can take a long time - to really understand what you're getting yourself into, If you find the info' presented on T2W complex - especially that provided in the FAQs and Stickies - then I recommend you walk away from trading and devote your time and energy to something else. Failure to understand and apply the basics that underpin success in this game will always has the same result: tears, pain and regret. Oh, and a blown account and, possibly, a huge debt. Sorry if this sounds negative - but it's better to be told at the outset the way it is from someone who's been there and bought the T-shirt than it is to find out the hard way having wasted a lot of time and money.

Good luck!
Tim.

Hi Tim, thank you so much for your comments, any info is appreciated, good or bad. I really want to understand ' the basics' but find the way they are worded as complex/ mind boggling! To me the basics are " to buy at the right price, sell at the right price, make a profit' . If I don't feel the price is right I don't buy. Some days I don't trade as don't feel the market is right . Don't trade forex , don't like it ! Can I ask, as you've been there and bought the t shirt, do you still trade ? I'm not jumping in head first and thinking I'm going to be a millionaire ! I want to learn the basics, but can't find them in terms that a newbie can understand . If there is anyone that can let me know ' the basics' then I'd be most grateful , I want to learn but feel the info on this site is more for seasoned traders than beginners ...everyone was a newbie to trading at some point , weren't they ? I am devouring every bit of info I can find at the mo' so ...more please !

 

[tomorton]

Welcome Time4change.

Unlike you, I do think this is a get rich scheme, I've been on the very edge of getting rich quick for 16 years. And I've been 6 months from obscene wealth for the same amount of time.

There are loads of things to do and to not ever do when you start out. Preserving capital with risk management as a new trader has to be No.1. There are innumerable ways to win the game but the only way to lose it is to get knocked out. And that usually happens when people put themselves in that position through a human failing.

What does this actually mean about feeling the price/market is right/not right?

 

[barjon]

Hi Tim, thank you so much for your comments, any info is appreciated, good or bad. I really want to understand ' the basics' but find the way they are worded as complex/ mind boggling! To me the basics are " to buy at the right price, sell at the right price, make a profit' . If I don't feel the price is right I don't buy. Some days I don't trade as don't feel the market is right . Don't trade forex , don't like it ! Can I ask, as you've been there and bought the t shirt, do you still trade ? I'm not jumping in head first and thinking I'm going to be a millionaire ! I want to learn the basics, but can't find them in terms that a newbie can understand . If there is anyone that can let me know ' the basics' then I'd be most grateful , I want to learn but feel the info on this site is more for seasoned traders than beginners ...everyone was a newbie to trading at some point , weren't they ? I am devouring every bit of info I can find at the mo' so ...more please !

Mmm, you've become interested in racing motor cars so you've leapt into an F1 simulator, crashed at the first bend a couple of times then managed to skid round and hold yourself on the track for a short time. Louis Hamilton watch out

A serious joke .Best bet is to follow the links in timsk's signature and go on from there.

 

[timsk]

. . . If there is anyone that can let me know ' the basics' then I'd be most grateful , I want to learn but feel the info on this site is more for seasoned traders than beginners ...everyone was a newbie to trading at some point , weren't they ? I am devouring every bit of info I can find at the mo' so ...more please !

Hi Time4change,
You're quite correct in that everyone was a newbie once and everyone has to start somewhere. For a long time now, T2W has focused on exactly this group of novice traders, and the FAQs and Stickies are written precisely with them in mind. If you're unable or unwilling to take the time to get your head around them - then I repeat my earlier advice to you which is to walk away and do something else - trading is not for you.

You need to understand that you are attempting to break into one of the most complex and difficult arenas of human endeavour. If it were possible for complete newbies to surf a few forums, read a book or two, watch a few YouTube videos etc. and then start trading profitably from the get go - then everyone would do it. Anyone who knows anything about trading will tell you that this simply doesn't happen. Ever. Run a mile from anyone who tells you otherwise, because the only reason they want you to believe that you can make silly money in next to no time is so that you buy their course or subscribe to the signal service or whatever else it is that they're selling.

Lastly, if you choose to plough ahead in spite of my advice and that offered by two other very experienced traders, don't be surprised if you lose your shirt. If you want to gamble and, make no mistake, trading based on gut feeling is gambling pure and simple - you may have a bit of beginners luck and enjoy some early gains - but you will lose all your money eventually. I'm afraid that comes with a cast iron guarantee. Again, sorry if this sounds negative and harsh, but at least you can't complain that no one warned you from the outset about the realities of trading and just how hard it is for most traders just to stay in the game - let alone make any money.
Tim.

 

[Oscar Reed]

Spend two years learning everything you can.
Then spend the next two years forgetting 90% of what you leaned.

Just keep what makes you profitable.

Hope this helps.

 

[Time4change]

Hi Time4change,
You're quite correct in that everyone was a newbie once and everyone has to start somewhere. For a long time now, T2W has focused on exactly this group of novice traders, and the FAQs and Stickies are written precisely with them in mind. If you're unable or unwilling to take the time to get your head around them - then I repeat my earlier advice to you which is to walk away and do something else - trading is not for you.

You need to understand that you are attempting to break into one of the most complex and difficult arenas of human endeavour. If it were possible for complete newbies to surf a few forums, read a book or two, watch a few YouTube videos etc. and then start trading profitably from the get go - then everyone would do it. Anyone who knows anything about trading will tell you that this simply doesn't happen. Ever. Run a mile from anyone who tells you otherwise, because the only reason they want you to believe that you can make silly money in next to no time is so that you buy their course or subscribe to the signal service or whatever else it is that they're selling.

Lastly, if you choose to plough ahead in spite of my advice and that offered by two other very experienced traders, don't be surprised if you lose your shirt. If you want to gamble and, make no mistake, trading based on gut feeling is gambling pure and simple - you may have a bit of beginners luck and enjoy some early gains - but you will lose all your money eventually. I'm afraid that comes with a cast iron guarantee. Again, sorry if this sounds negative and harsh, but at least you can't complain that no one warned you from the outset about the realities of trading and just how hard it is for most traders just to stay in the game - let alone make any money.
Tim.

Hi many thanks for the reply, but you misunderstand . Please do not confuse niavity for stupidity.
I merely stated that the terminology is complex for a newbie . At no time did I state I was unwilling or unable to learn. You have no idea if I have sat down and compiled a plan ( I have by the way) . I am not " ploughing in". I am willing to learn , asking questions and have opened a demo account which I'll have for a long while until I save enough to start for real. I have read loads of stuff , and will continue doing so.
I have no emotions about money whatsoever , it is not important in life . you either have it or don't . If I save enough to start trading for real, and lose it, then , I lose it . Then and only then will I Walk away . There are more important things in life than money . With all due respect You don't know me and have no idea if trading is for me or not, you've made you're assumption on the fact that I'm a newbie . If we walk away from everything in life without trying , we would achieve nothing . I appreciate your advice and respect the information given, and thank you for your reply

 

[Signalcalc]

Save your money, then trade with that money, then get back to us with how it feels. Unless you have your own skin in the markets you will learn very little about yourself as a trader. Demo trading is fine but it teaches nothing about how you react when it is your money on the line, and there is only one way to find out regardless of how you feel about money now, that may all change once you start using it for trading [emoji3]

 

[Dowser]

Hi Time4change

What terminology are you struggling with? I find stockcharts.com and investopedia.com helpful with new terms and concepts.

Chris

 

[timsk]

Hi Time4change,
Apologies if I've caused you offense; I assure you that wasn't my intention!

. . . Please do not confuse niavity for stupidity.
I merely stated that the terminology is complex for a newbie . At no time did I state I was unwilling or unable to learn. You have no idea if I have sat down and compiled a plan ( I have by the way) . I am not " ploughing in". . .

No, I'm not saying you're stupid at all. It's more to do with how interested one is. Within reason, I can get my head around most things if I have real interest and desire to learn. If I don't, then I just look for short cuts, quick fixes and cookie cutter solutions etc. For example, my wife has just bought a new laptop and I couldn't get it to 'talk' to the printer. I have zero interest in computers and techie stuff and just wanted it to work with minimal input from me. That approach isn't going to work with trading, and the (possibly false) impression I got from your posts is that maybe this is what you're hoping to do. If that's wrong and you're willing to study hard - that's great - I'm glad to hear it. All that I and others who have replied to you want is to be sure you understand and accept that trading isn't the get rich quick scheme that many newbies imagine it to be.

. . . You don't know me and have no idea if trading is for me or not, you've made you're assumption on the fact that I'm a newbie. . .

Indeed, I don't know you and wouldn't dream of making any assumptions about whether or not trading is for you. All I have to go on is what you've written in your posts, which are quite revealing about your grasp of the topic. That is all my comments are based on.

Feel free to post any other questions you may have and we'll do our best to help.
Tim.

 

[dbphoenix]

Hi all
I've been interested in trading since seeing a programme last year and have opened a demo account with plus500 . Whilst reading all I can about trading I came across this website , but the info available looks complex .
So many pros and cons about which platform to use, but no definitive "I use this one and it's good " ..so first question is "what platforms/ companies do you use"? I've read about plus500 and problems getting withdrawals, etc and pros and cons about other companies but, who do you use ??
The first day I used the demo account with a virtual 20k , I lost the lot in about an hour! Okay , start again...next day had losses of 25k !! Okay , start again, next day had loss of £1,500. Gaines of 5k. Since that day , over a 3 week period I'm up 13k , no losses. I trade commodities . I tend to buy and sell within a few minutes. I tend to trade between 7.30am and about 11am ish, and have another quick look around half 2 in the afternoon. I have found I like to trade when the markets are quick, up down and all over the place . I keep it simple and only have 2 or 3 trades open at one time, have a motto that any profit is good, as it all adds up ! I am under no illusion that this is a get rich quick and understand I could lose everything in a blink of an eye . I concentrate on the % , to see if it's up or down ' on the day' , have a quick look at a chart , and this seems to work for me. I don't want to complicate it , I want to keep it simple and trading things like oil, silver , copper etc ( my favourites ) seems to be working . I just seem to get an instinct/ feeling to buy or not, and it seems to be working...at the moment . I don't want to fill my head with news feeds, politics masses of charts, I just want to keep it simple . IM SURE THEYLL BE LOTS OF THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS ON MY POST SO BRING IT ON , ANY INFORMATION IS VAULABLE ! ! Thanking you all in advance .

You needn't concern yourself with platforms, brokers, tax questions, commission rates, news feeds, economics or even money. Your only concern is learning how the market works. Once you understand that, the rest is simple. If you never understand it, you will eventually go broke, preferably sooner, but most often much later. Perhaps years later.

If you're interested in indicators, that is a subject in itself. If you're interested in trading price, the following may be a better fit:

A chart is a visual representation of transactions. The results of these transactions are depicted by either a line which will look like a map of the Pacific Coast Highway, or by a bar which represents the opening price (the little notch on the left side of the bar), the low for the day (the bottom of the bar), the high for the day (the top of the bar) and the closing price (the little notch on the right of the bar). At the bottom of the graph you'll usually also find volume bars which will tell you how many transactions were completed that day.

But beyond all this, a chart is a visual representation of buying and selling behavior on the part of traders, not just a tally, and this behavior creates patterns, like ranges, or "boxes". Thus if you approach this from the viewpoint of psychology and sociology rather than cut-and-dried mathematical models, you'll have a leg up. These patterns do not exist in nature. They are created by the buying and selling dynamic.

Much nonsense has been circulated about trading over the past seventy years or so, the bulk of it since the internet made possible discount brokers, affordable charting software, real-time streaming data, chat rooms, trading rooms, trading websites, blogs, and so forth, all of which offered fertile ground to a literally endless assortment of books, DVDs, courses, seminars, "alert" services, mentors, counselors, trading software, indicators and so on, all designed to separate the beginner or struggling trader or otherwise low-hanging fruit from his money.

There is, however, only one essential, one lynchpin, one fundament when it comes to understanding the auction market: supply and demand and the Law thereof. Everything else – support, resistance, trend, price movement, volume – stems from the balances and imbalances between supply and demand, selling pressure and buying pressure, sellers and buyers, yet struggling traders are generally incapable of accurately assessing the state of these imbalances, i.e., determining who's in charge at any given moment or interval (some are capable but can't implement what they know, but that's another subject).

Trading price hinges on the ability to assess the state of these imbalances not only in the abstract but in every moment of the trading session. If one does not thoroughly understand just what it is that he's looking at, he will be lost. When trading price, the trader knows at all times who's in charge, who's dominant, who's holding the good cards. If he doesn't know this, he's just guessing, and that's not the route to consistent profits, no matter what you read on message boards.

Why bother? Because once you learn how to trade price, your edge* will never fail. You will understand trend and how to play it under all circumstances, including its endings and reversals. You will also learn how to distinguish between trending and ranging, the latter including "chop" which is a collection of micro-trends which generate tons of commissions and very little if any profit.

*the knowledge you gain through your research and testing that a particular market behavior offers a level of predictability that provides a consistently profitable outcome over time (from Douglas)
​