Any advice for a first time trader

LeeForThree

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I'm thinking about getting into trading stocks. I had pretty limited knowledge until the last month. I have been doing a lot of research and following of the markets to get some idea of what I'm getting into.

Does anyone have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated
 

GatorCatsi

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“Don't focus on making money; focus on protecting what you have.”
“The most important rule of trading is to play great defense, not offense.”
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is how good are you at risk control."

~ Paul Tudor Jones
 

FireFoley

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Good advice @Taco Gratis. As someone whose entire career was in trading financial instruments, don;t ever think about or what you hope to make on a trade. Trading and Investing are 2 different things In trading always define what you are willing to lose and stick to it. Always know what the downside is!. In reality as a trader you don't care about the upside b/c that is what you are trying to do and that is gravy. Concentrate on the risks. Most investors always want to know what they can make, almost none asks how much can I lose? Lastly, never turn a "losing trade" into a long term investment.
 

Detroitgator

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The spate of these threads is evidence that we are not yet into the full mania phase, we're just getting there.
 

Concrete Helmet

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Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye....never assume that corps are still cash heavy and looking to grow.....and there's no way you can lose a bet that the market will come up almost 5000 during the virus pandemic....ever...you are a lock to win.....signed Bammer...
 

bradgator2

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What is your goal?

Dividend producers? Long term holdings? Ultra-long term holdings? Day trading? Just playing around with a few bucks?
 

LeeForThree

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Good advice @Taco Gratis. As someone whose entire career was in trading financial instruments, don;t ever think about or what you hope to make on a trade. Trading and Investing are 2 different things In trading always define what you are willing to lose and stick to it. Always know what the downside is!. In reality as a trader you don't care about the upside b/c that is what you are trying to do and that is gravy. Concentrate on the risks. Most investors always want to know what they can make, almost none asks how much can I lose? Lastly, never turn a "losing trade" into a long term investment.
I only have a small amount of money that I am going to be using to start. I was going to focus on day trades and short term swing trades at first trying to build up the total hopefully. If I lose it, it wouldnt bother me too much (just a few rounds of golf lol). I have been making trial runs the last 2 weeks trying to minimize losses and maximizing gains. I'm going in expecting to lose at first, even though the trials have been decent to good more often than bad. Switching to the actual trading system and not on paper I'm sure will take some getting use to
What is your goal?

Dividend producers? Long term holdings? Ultra-long term holdings? Day trading? Just playing around with a few bucks?
Currently I'd say day trading/swing trading. Starting with a small amount trying to increase it as quick as I can, if I can lol
 

bradgator2

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Currently I'd say day trading/swing trading. Starting with a small amount trying to increase it as quick as I can, if I can lol

I will admit... I dont think I ever seen a single post in here regarding anything along those lines. Enjoy the ride!!!
 

NovaGator

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This reminds me of the time, back in 2003, a friend of mine asked me for my advise.
It seemed that he had always wanted to get into the used car business, and someone told
him that the best way to generate sales was to open up as a "buy here-pay here" lot.
He told me that he had $50,000 to put into the venture. My advise: "Just ride down
Main Street and throw the money out the window. You will end up in the same place
and you will have saved yourself 2 years of your life and a whole lot of aggravation."

00505_o2TmdrQdjA_0oc0jm_600x450.jpg

"OH, WOE IS ME!"

Moral of the story is you will be a minnow in a school of sharks. I have never
meet anyone who has made a successful living as a Day Trader. For long term
success you will be better off on putting your money in a well known and trusted
Mutual Fund.
 
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FireFoley

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Speaking of trading and first timers, has anyone heard from the guy who was inquiring about jumping into the ForEx market?????? :boom::boom::suicide::suicide::suicide:
 

sharkbite

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Speaking of trading and first timers, has anyone heard from the guy who was inquiring about jumping into the ForEx market?????? :boom::boom::suicide::suicide::suicide:


He is right here. Still messing around with it. I have good days, I have bad days. I enjoy the challenge of learning it. I am learning that the brokers are the ones making all the money. The spreads change so quickly that even on a breakout gain they take nearly all the profit on the spreads. I am actually looking for a new broker who has fixed spreads (if there is one) so I know what I am in for in the beginning and not have it change based on the amount of profit that may be made on the trade or the market change.

Thanks for asking Mr FireFoley. :)
 

no1g8r

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He is right here. Still messing around with it. I have good days, I have bad days. I enjoy the challenge of learning it. I am learning that the brokers are the ones making all the money. The spreads change so quickly that even on a breakout gain they take nearly all the profit on the spreads. I am actually looking for a new broker who has fixed spreads (if there is one) so I know what I am in for in the beginning and not have it change based on the amount of profit that may be made on the trade or the market change.

Thanks for asking Mr FireFoley. :)

How many pips wide are the spreads you're seeing? Generally, spread width is an indicator of liquidity, so you'll find the tightest spreads when you trade during peak hours and in currency pairs that are commonly traded.
 

sharkbite

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I have seen spreads within 4 and as much as 30. When there are spikes one direction up or down, the spreads widen as the spike does....at least with the last broker. I even emailed them a screenshot that they completely took my position and took all of the profits. What was a 30 pip spread in my favor with decent profit; I actually lost money due to the spread. Their answer, we have to right to change the spread based on "market volatility"

One thing I would tell someone new and doing demo accounts. DON'T BELIEVE THE DEMO ACCOUNTS. THEY USE VERY FAVORABLE PAST MARKETS THAT ARE EASY TO READ. I WAS ABSOLUTELY KILLING IT WITH DEMO ACCOUNTS......REAL TRADING IS VERY DIFFERENT.
 

no1g8r

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I have seen spreads within 4 and as much as 30. When there are spikes one direction up or down, the spreads widen as the spike does....at least with the last broker. I even emailed them a screenshot that they completely took my position and took all of the profits. What was a 30 pip spread in my favor with decent profit; I actually lost money due to the spread. Their answer, we have to right to change the spread based on "market volatility"

One thing I would tell someone new and doing demo accounts. DON'T BELIEVE THE DEMO ACCOUNTS. THEY USE VERY FAVORABLE PAST MARKETS THAT ARE EASY TO READ. I WAS ABSOLUTELY KILLING IT WITH DEMO ACCOUNTS......REAL TRADING IS VERY DIFFERENT.

30 pips is insane.

If you're trading pairs involving EUR, you'll see more liquidity during the London trading session that runs from 3am-noon Eastern time, especially during the overlap with the NY market, which opens at 8am ET. though you'll see more volatility as well, which can drive the spreads wider as the broker uses the spread to mitigate risk when volatility is high. But that high volatility is also what drives the breakouts that you are looking to trade on, so it's kind of a necessary evil. That said, unless you are trading around a MAJOR economic announcement involving one of the currency pairs, you should NOT be seeing spreads involving either the USD, EUR, or GBP that are more than a few pips, and often less than 1.0 pips. If you're trading something with less trading volume, such as AUS/NZD pairs, you might see spreads go up to 10-12 pips, but that should be the exception, not the rule.

I'd seek a different broker, make sure to trade currency pairs that have high trading volume, and trade during major market trading hours for the currencies involved.
 

sharkbite

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no1g8r, thanks for the info. I am only trading with major pairs. No exotics whatsoever....not comfortable with those at all.

I am looking for a new broker....any suggestions?

I just left Forex.com.

I went with TD but they took two weeks to actually apply my funds to my account and then restricted my availability to use those funds. Dropped them.

I tried IG.com. This is where I did my demo trading. Really liked their platform but again, they could not figure out how to actually get funds into the account. Two weeks later, I closed the account.

It appears that these Forex Brokers are shady are really new and do not have it figured out yet. (just my humble opinion)
 

no1g8r

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no1g8r, thanks for the info. I am only trading with major pairs. No exotics whatsoever....not comfortable with those at all.

I am looking for a new broker....any suggestions?

I haven't traded forex in over a decade, so I can't really give any first-hand suggestions. I've heard folks say that they like IG, and also know that TD Ameritrade FX is a popular trading platform from a reputable, well-known US broker.
 

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