Newbies Trading Strategy - Possible??

[Nephin]

Greetings fellow traders!

I am new to trading and have been reading this forum for several weeks and am amazed at the quality of the information.

My question is this: I wish to trade for a living in about 12 months. Is this feasible for a new starter with little experience of the markets. ( I will have about £10k to furnish a trading account with in the new year).

Thanks for any help.

Nephin

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi Nephin

Welcome to T2W

I'm not going to say it isn't possible, because it is, but it will be difficult to trade for a living with only 1 years experience.
Having £10k to trade with is fine, but at some point you will need to withdraw money to live on, which can greatly hit the trading capital

Either way, spend the next year learning the markets as much as possible, and then decide closer the time if you can trade for a living.

Hope this helps.

 

[Nephin]

Thanks for the prompt reply FTSEB.

Funilly enough this morning I've printed off your "newbie" guides to trading which are an excellent resource, so thanks.

My biggest query at the moment is which stocks to trade and which markets?

I know I am partially restricted to the US market as I work during the day. However with so many companies to choose from, I find myself overwhelmed with information.

I'm also still confused about basic terminology, ie stocks versus shares, options, futures, etc. and the strategies ie swing versus EOD etc. Any suggestions where I can find clear simple explanations of the terms??

Thanks again

Nephin

 

[TBS]

Not impossible butit depends on how much time you have to learn between now and starting.

Have you any idea what you want to trade?, Time scales, time frames, eqpt required?

Systems trading, FA, TA, US, UK, Futures, stocks, currencies, commodities, options, warrants, swing trading, electronic platform, online broker, phone broker, back-up systems, computer systems, number of screens?

Time for boyfriends, girlfriends, children, spouses other commitments. Paying a mortgage - heat, light, power, food, clothing, car, insurance etc.......?

If you are really that interested in trading for a living the very least you need is a justifiable business plan - and thats before you even get near a market.

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi Nephin

I hope the guides are useful

Just because you work doesn't mean that you are restricted to trading US stocks. I would be looking to trade UK FTSE 100 stocks (that way you cut it down to a manageable size of trading instruments to look at ) and use a swing trade strategy (so hold for a number of days). When your at work, just make sure you put a stop-loss in.

If you are going to trade the UK shares, then first have a go at the T2W Competition. Best way to learn without risking any capital In my humble opinion.

As for the various terms, have a look at the T2W Glossary. All the terms should be there, if not then just ask

HTH

 

[Nephin]

FTSEB - Thanks for the advice.

TBS - Thanks for your reply.
Time to learn: I am learning now, every day. My strategy is to become fully engrossed in all aspects of the markets. I view it like taking a Phd. Fit in all my studying, reading etc into all parts of my spare time while keeping free time for the essentials of life - family, relaxation etc.
What you want to trade: this causes me the biggest problem. Very unsure but hoping the steep learning curve will give me guidance. Don't feel suitably knowledgable to distinguish between the various options yet - but hope to in a few months. Total immerssion for me!!

All in all, for trading to become my living I need to treat it as a new business start up with all its pitfalls that this entails.

Any help on the way will be appeciated.

Keep up the good work on this forum as it has given me the impetus to go for it.

I'll keep you informed of how I progress.....

Thank you.

 

[madasafish]

You need to study a lot.

IF you REALLY want to make money trading
then you MUST read:
High Probability Trading By Marcel Link.

Amazon have it.( a few second hand as well I think)

It's subtitle says it all.." Take the Steps to Become a Successful Trader".

I can wholeheartedly recommend it..

 

[Nephin]

Madasafish,

just had a look at the synopsis on Amazon - sounds really good.

Is it better than Elder's "Trading for a Living" in your opinion??

Cheers

N

 

[madasafish]

better than Elder?

I personally think it's more down to earth..

 

[Nephin]

I'll have to put both books on my Xmas wish list then.........I wonder if it's too late for Santa??

 

[kevin546]

madasafish

Could you elaborate in what areas do you consider Marcel Link's book is better than that of ELder. I am referring to his 'Come into my trading room' which I found really good. If as you say Link's is better I would be very interested.

 

[Gwenallt]

NOT INTRADAY TRADING STRATEGIES

To FTSE Beater,
Read your posts in reply to Nephin's initial query. Helpful for me too, thanks.

You mention a strategy of swing trading FTSE 100 stocks as being possible for somebody who is unable to watch the 'live' screens throughout the day. I have a non trading job and do not have access to market data throughout the day. I am very interested in finding out more information about appropriate trading strategies and am wondering if you know where I could read further about this approach / style of trading.

In advance, I am very grateful for your help and any information ?

G

 

[al-motor]

Mada,

saw the title to Link's book- is it indicator based/pattern based or ??


cheers
Al

 

[al-motor]

Nephin- like the others say, study different mkts, methods etc......... U will have a trading personality that u are not aware of, what u need to do is to find what methods/mkts within trading suit u............

e.g. some traders work off indicators, whereas others work from price patterns- yet at the end of the day, both could be making money ! there is no right or wrong answer............

Also, when people start to criticise certain methods, they are saying that because it does not work for them, but someone else could be successful from the same method ( hope this makes sense0-

Anyway, good luck............ just do not rush it !!


Al

 

[FTSE Beater]

Re: NOT INTRADAY TRADING STRATEGIES

To FTSE Beater,
You mention a strategy of swing trading FTSE 100 stocks as being possible for somebody who is unable to watch the 'live' screens throughout the day. I have a non trading job and do not have access to market data throughout the day. I am very interested in finding out more information about appropriate trading strategies and am wondering if you know where I could read further about this approach / style of trading.

Hi Gwenallt

Apart from looking around T2W, I don't know of any books or websites that would cover this
If you don't have access to the internet during work time, then I feel you have 1 of 4 options:

• Trade the US markets in the evening. If you have a look over Chartman's Dow posts, you will see that there is usually a good move between 7-9pm
• Look into spreads trading. This is what I'm doing at the moment. (The basic information on it is Here)
• Trade off a weekly chart. This will show the longer-term movements of a stock, which means you don't have to worry during the day of the price movement because your holding for a long period of time
• Automate a swing trade. With a spreadbetting company (I think Deal4free will let you do this) place various orders into the market. Place a limit order to get you in and a price your happy to pay, set a stop-loss to get you out if things go wrong and a target to get any profits that come your way

My favourite way for trading UK stocks End of Day would be the last option, and use the Basic Strategy to pick the trades to do
If you want me to explain it further, then let me know and I'll start a new thread for it - before I hijack Nephin's thread

Hope this helps

 

[Nephin]

Al-Motor:

I like your sentiments "u have a trading personality that u are not aware of"......... something I've never encountered anywhere during my research - very interesting and thought provoking

FTSEB: please feel free to "hijack" the thread: the input you are providing is very enlightening.

Cheers

N

 

[Gwenallt]

Re: NOT INTRADAY TRADING STRATEGIES

FTSE,
Thank you for your informative reply.
Re alternative #3, ie, 'trade off a weekly chart' , I am struggling to identify a strategy which tests successfully. Wondering if you had any ideas about the most appropriate type of strategy, For example, if I traded the FTSE100 via CFD or SB, is there a strategy you know about (or discussed on T2W) which I could start to read about. Most of my thoughts re trading strategy currently involve using supp/resistance with a few moving ave and momentum indicators.

Very grateful for any thoughts.
Thank you, have a good Xmas.
G

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi Gwenallt

I'm sorry I haven't replied yet. Christmas and New year got in the way
(Actually, it's taken me this long to come up with a usable strategy )

Most of my thoughts re trading strategy currently involve using supp/resistance with a few moving ave and momentum indicators.

I'm not one for indicators, but I can see how a moving average could help you to find good directional trending stocks.

I think you need to look for stocks that are trending on a weekly chart. This will give you the direction, and you can then look on a daily chart to find set-ups eg. Charting patterns.
The tricky bit is finding stocks on a weekly chart that are trending

Just had a quick look and it seems my old favourite AVZ has been trending well.

I hope this explains it a bit better. If not then please let me know.
I haven't traded like this, but there is no reason why it wouldn't work well