Newby with some questions....

[LiamH]

Hi all,

Although this is my first post on here i have been reading the t2w boards for over a year now and think this is a fantastic resource for traders.

I've been learning about trading for a good few years now and i'll admit that for the first year or so i was convinced i would be driving a ferrari by now LOL! I can confirm that i am over this and realise that there is a lot of work involved and although it is possible to do well it certainly isn't easy and takes alot of work.

I was made redundant just over a year ago and decided to have a crack at trading with £300 which i lost within a couple of days due to no strategy and chronic over trading which i pretty much expected. Back in August last year when the credit crunch came along i managed to turn £30 into £350 within a couple of days then went and lost it within the following week - Again, over trading and no strategy.

This is all very silly because like i said, i have done a lot of learning, i just didn't apply what i know - I guess i just didn't realise the importance and just got carried away.

I'm now in the process of saving. I will wait until i have 2k so will be near enough christmas time when i get going but this time will be trading with a strategy and strict money management which leads me to a few questions...

Stop losses - I have never traded without them but have found that pretty much every time i got stopped out, had i set the stop wider or had no stop at all, within a couple of days i would have been in profit. So, how do you guys calculate where to put your stops? I understand my entries will need to be worked on but this is still something that worries me.

Charting software - Can you guys recommend some that I can use? I will be looking to purchase next month but have no idea where to start.

Finspreads - My trading account is with finspreads but i have found, in my limited experience, that getting in to and out of trades online can be difficult with substantial delays that have cost me numerous times. Is this normal? Or should i open an account with another company?

'TP' - I have seen this term numerous times in peoples posts but have no idea what it means... Can someone please enlighten me?

I'm really sorry the long post and will appreciate any advice you guys can give me.

Thanks

 

[Lightning McQueen]

Hi LiamH and welcome to T2W

First off I would like to suggest that if your stops are getting hit then your stop distance is too close for your entry strategy and would suggest work on your entry first rather than worrying where to place the stop for now. There is a broad church of members opinions on stops here that range from the evangelism of really tight stops to the atheist no stops at all and all the variations in between lol. I would suggest looking at the entry strategy first getting that sorted then matching up the stop strategy to that. Check out threads on stops for some good reading and debate.

For example, if you observe a price movement that repeats itself daily and you identify an entry strategy that catches that move on the run so to speak then tight stops are in order, alternatively your entry may require some wiggle room to be successful therefore tight stops will kill you so they should be wider in this instance. A crap strategy will kill you with either the tight or wide stop option and the reason I suspect of the no stops fraternity

If you are having probs with fins then open an account with IG index, they have really good charts that blow away finspreads pathetic offerings by far. Check out prorealtime.com for free EOD charts that show what they will be like, you obviously get intraday charts with IG as well as EOD

Best of luck with your quest and please keep us informed of your progress

 

[forex999]

all brokers have pros and cons
they make money not by you losing money but by trading too much!
the key is be selective and only trade when there is a signal

 

[LiamH]

Thanks for your responses. Yeah definitely won't be over trading again - It's funny really because i knew all the classic newby mistakes before i went and made them myself! I guess sometimes it doesn't matter what you've read, you just have to go ahead and make mistakes yourself.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what 'TP' means? I think certain posts i've read will make much more sense once i know what this means!

Thanks

 

[MrGecko]

TP = Take Profit ??

 

[LiamH]

Cheers MrGecko - I had a feeling it may be something like that

 

[shadowninja]

Finspreads - My trading account is with finspreads but i have found, in my limited experience, that getting in to and out of trades online can be difficult with substantial delays that have cost me numerous times. Is this normal? Or should i open an account with another company?

I could only recommend IG Index. Let me know if you want to sign up and I'll get them to contact you.

 

[LiamH]

I could only recommend IG Index. Let me know if you want to sign up and I'll get them to contact you.

Shadowninja - Yes i would like to sign up, thanks. The only problem i have at the minute is limited internet access as i only have internet at work for the time being. It will be another month or so before i get sorted with a connection at home so will sign up once that's done. Are you affilated with IG in some way?