Michael Pergrem asked:
So you want to know how to become a day trader. Well I am happy for you. Being a day trader is one of the best careers on earth in my opinion. You can do what you want, when you want. You do not have to answer to anyone. All you need to do is learn how to become a day trader. That being said, it is not as difficult as one might think to learn how to become a day trader. All you need is sound advice and a little patience. If you follow this short guide, you will be on your way to learning how to become a day trader today!
There are three things someone should look for when they are learning how to become a day trader. The first think to look for is an undervalued company. An undervalued company is a company that is very specialized but can contribute to a larger company with its specialized knowledge. If a specialized company with a low stock price strikes a deal with a larger non-specialized company in the same field, the specialized company’s stock price is sure to jump very quickly! Learning how to find specialized companies is a big step in learning how to become a day trader.
The second thing to master when learning how to become a day trader is find pending deals between companies. For example, is the specialized company with the small stock price was to strike a deal with a the large company, you can jump in before it happens and share some of that company’s profits! This has worked for many countless times and is my favorite method of finding great penny stocks to day trade. This was how I first learned how to become a day trader.
Mark Crisp asked:
If you hang on too long, the up tick will have passed and the stock could plummet. More times than not, people wait too long and as a result they don’t make money.
If you are new to trading stocks, it would make sense to start with pretend trading. There are plenty of sites that allow you to trade virtually. This means that you are not using real money, yet you are choosing your stocks, buying and selling as if it were real. You will accrue pretend gains and pretend losses. Don’t laugh! Many people started out this way and then went on to make money when they felt confident enough to become a real day trader investing their real money.
Although the name is day trader, some day traders hold on to stocks for as long as three weeks. They make these decisions based upon market indicators. In order to educate yourself about the market you will need to get your hands on some day trading tools.
1. First you will need a computer with internet access. Your computer should be equipped with a fast CPU speed in order to process the trading charts and graphs quickly.
2. You need to set up a day trader brokerage account. There is an initial investment of a minimum $500 to $2,000 depending upon the brokerage dealer.
3. Because you are trading in such a compressed period of time, you cannot wait for delayed information, so you will need access to real time market data. Many day traders prefer to get this information from their brokerage dealer.
4. Learn technical analysis tools such as range trading or strength index so that you can double check the indicators leading you to buy or sell before you actually do it.
Before you start trading you should set up a few rules for yourself. Limit your losses. You can put a dollar amount on what you will allow yourself to lose in one day, but you must stick to it. Many day traders make the mistake of holding onto stock too long and rather than sell when the stock initially started losing money, they hold onto it thinking the market will change and they can make back what they lost. Instead, they lose even more money than they would have had they sold when the stock hit their loss limit.
Don’t invest every penny you own in day trading. That simply is not smart. Just as if you would like to hold a stock portfolio of diversified stocks, you also don’t want to put all of your eggs into the day trading.
You do not have to trade every day to call yourself a day trader. Skip a day if you need to attend to other business or if you aren’t up to the task. It is better to be able to focus your full attention to day trading than to participate half-heartedly.
Now that you have an idea of what it takes to be a day trader, do you still want to do it? If so, do an Internet search for virtual day trading to start your practice.
Tyler Ziggler asked:
I’m here to give you the top forex trader advice that I use everyday when I do my trades. These are tips to help the trader become better and more efficient at making trades.
When should I trade?
You should trade during peak hours. This is the time when most people trade, so there is the highest volume. I know when it comes to business, people usually suggest to not follow the crowd, but I’ll explain in this case. There is such a high volume of trades, the currencies really do follow market forces or “the invisible hand”. During the lower volume times (off peak hours) big banks and firms with a lot of money can make trades that affect the direction of the market. The last thing you want to do is trade at this time because they can make a currency go up or down, which is very unstable for you.
I don’t seem to be making much on my profitable trades, and I seem to lose more when I make bad trades. Why?
Well, skill could very well be the problem. Assuming you’re a good trader, than you probably have poor margins to make profits. Basically your broker needs to be paid for trades, and they take a cut, which is the difference between bid and ask prices. As you know, the broker is going to get paid no matter what, so your losses are often worse and your profits are often small. All you need to do is make larger trades that are for more money. This reduces the percentage taken by the broker and you should notice that your profits will be more and losses should be less(as a percentage).
What do I do when I make a bad trade?
Just cut your losses. This is probably one of the most simple rules you could take in, but most people have a hard time with it. Just sell it and move on.
This is my top forex trader advice and I hope this makes you into a great trader.
William Mccready asked:
There are certain psychological characteristics that can negatively impact your ability to succeed as a futures trader. Learn to recognize these behaviors in yourself and guard against them.
THE CHEAPSKATE TRADER
Many people are foolishly cheap. They are so anxious to start trading on the futures markets that they ignore the necessity of first acquiring the proper education, tools and software to succeed. These people will lose more money in their first round of trades than they would have spent on the tools that would have allowed them to succeed. You can’t be “penny wise but pound foolish,” as my grandmother would say. Don’t nickel and dime your training budget. If you truly want to succeed as a futures trader, spend the money to learn from the best and acquire the best tools available.
THE IMPATIENT TRADER
We lived in a society increasingly driven by instant gratification. We don’t want to wait for it or earn it; we want it now! Futures trading is a fast-paced, risk-filled environment that seems to attract people who like to live in the fast lane. These people are so blinded by the dream of instant wealth that they neglect their training, fail to take the time to develop a reliable system, refuse to stick with their system and, as a result, crash and burn. As grandmother would say, “You have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run.” If you want to succeed as a futures trader, slow down and take the time to learn the ropes and develop and practice your system.
THE GREEDY TRADER
Futures trading is not the way to get rich quick, though some seminar organizers use that as a marketing ploy to lure the unwary. Successful futures traders are not gamblers. You cannot succeed by trading out of greed or desperation; or as my grandmother would say, “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Using emotion as a basis for trading is a quick path to failure. Successful futures traders learn all they can, develop their system, work it and stick to it. Success as a futures trader comes from accumulated profits over time (often small at first), not one big score.
THE OVERCONFIDENT TRADER
If you want to succeed as a futures trader, park your ego at the door. Ego distorts rational thinking. The overconfident trader allows emotion to rule his actions. He is so certain that he is right that he will overstay a position to avoid admitting he was wrong. The market is fluid, ever changing. A futures trader must also be fluid and be able to change position in order to succeed. You will never be smarter than the market; the market will always win. As grandmother would say, “Pride goeth before the fall,” to which granddad would add, “Don’t bump your nose on the way down.”
We all have at least some of these traits; however, futures traders must be vigilant that quirks of personality do not become liabilities on the road to success.
Brian I Park asked:
Meta Trader 4 is forex trading software which serves as a highly user friendly platform for investors, traders and daily spinners alike. Meta trader 4 is software designed by Metaquotes. It’s arguably world’s most renowned forex trading platform. It provides absolute connectivity to the internet which means you would not miss out on any pip placement.
The uptime is less than 1%. It provides all the possible functions that may be required of a trading platform and at the same time is extremely intuitive and let’s a user grasp the subject of forex trading completely. Most automated forex systems or the robots thrive on this software today.
Meta trader comes in desktop and PDA versions and succors windows and Palm OS plus windows mobile respectively. Your broker can provide you with the Meta trader data. Now this will help you stream lime real-time data pertaining to the charting software and other associated facets; for instance the screenshots.
Apart from forex, it’s highly recommended for CFD and futures market. More than hundred brokerage units across the world trade through this platform and are immensely satisfied with its performance if unbiased testimonials are to be believed.
Its front-end trading interface bestows acute technical analysis and expert opinions apart from providing charting software and screenshots full of indicators. On these, the trading programs or robots perform their Fibonacci, trend lines and candlesticks. With Meta trader 4 you can develop your own strategy and do exceedingly well with it. Meta trader’s success broke new grounds. It began to seek the best in terms of expansion beyond the desktop meniscus.
Traders loved automation but that still required some office hour if only to place trade with the brokers. How where those to manage who were continuously out of office campus? Meta trader brought trading over mobile operable over palm OS and windows mobile. It helped people trade via PDA throughout the world.
Meta trader 4 has penchant for those indicators which can be dragged and dropped on the screen. Many such indicators can be downloaded today. For those who are absolute novices with the subject, using Meta trader 4 will come automatically. The idea is to get the software and start right then. It would not even be necessary to read the instruction manual.
MOL4 is a trading strategy programming language that can be used on a Meta trader 4 platform for assuming technical indicators.
Even if you have more than an account or if you are managing some one else’s account, you can go ahead with Meta trader 4 multi terminal. Meta trader 4 can utilize “expert” feature to design and incorporate robots. So you get a platform as well as a trading system on buying the software. The robots can clinically analyze entry and exit points for a trade to gauge buy and sell positions.
Technical analysis in real time mode was never this easy. Meta trader 4 has changed how people would like to perceive forex trading this given day.
Meta Trader 4 has truly arrived.
L. Sampson asked:
Its a well known fact that most, about 80%, of all day traders struggle to beat the market or even make a profit trading stocks. There are many, many different types of trading techniques that are taught and talked about. Most day trading techniques involve studying stock chart patterns, setting up preset times to sell and times to buy a certain stock.
Study Different Techniques - Before you start trying to trade for a daily income, it’s important to study all of the types of techniques that are available. Once you have read a few books and studied a few types of techniques, decide which trading style fits your personality best. Start with small trades and practice trading before you slowly build up how much money you are trading with.
Try a Demo Account - Some stock trading companies offer demo accounts that allow you to practice trading stocks without using real money. Thats a good way to try out the new techniques you have learned.
Study The Actual Companies Fundamentals - Since day trading can be so risky, it’s important to learn as much as you can not only about trading techniques, but the fundamentals of the companies you are trading with. My personal preference is to only trade with companies that I know enough about to invest in long term, that way if I’m not sure whether or not I should sell a stock, I can be comfortable just walking away from the stock with confidence that it will probably do well in the long run.
Choose a Low Cost Online Broker - As a day trader, keeping your costs low with each trade is important. If you choose a trading service online that is charging too much for each trade, that cost can eat up too much of your profits. Choose an online trading broker that has discounted online trading.
Ron Lewis asked:
There was a short segment on CBS Sunday Morning that was titled, “The Psyche Of A Day Trader.” As day trading is what I do for a living; I thought it would be interesting to tune in and see what they had to say.
The premise of the segment was that there was a correlation of the effects on the brain of what a day trader does and that of what a gambler does. Somehow, (I don’t pretend to understand the methodology of the study), measurements of the brain activity of a day trader and a gambler were analyzed while both subjects were involved in their various pursuits. Apparently, there were certain similarities between the two. This begs the question: Are day traders’ gamblers or are they entrepreneurs?
There is something to be said for the rush of being in a trade that is making you money. To a certain extent, day traders are addicted to the feeling that they were right, that all of their hard work to get to a level of profitability is paying off. On the other hand, the sheer frustration and bewilderment a trader feels when a trade goes against him/her is equally as devastating.
Most any successful person in life has experienced similar feelings. If you are a salesman, there are similar emotions associated with closing a big deal that go beyond the aspect of “just making a living.” If you are a research scientist, solving a specific problem that you have been working on must carry the same feeling. If you are a detective and have just solved a particularly difficult crime, would in a certain sense, again create the same feeling of elation. So it stands to reason that just being a day trader and having feelings of excitement doesn’t make you a gambler; it just makes you human.
So the next question for the day trader is how do you adequately deal with the ups and downs of your profession? For the active trader, learning how to deal with this predicament is as important as finding the right trading system to use. As any seasoned trader knows, taking a losing trade is as inevitable as death and taxes. The best way to deal with this situation is to have a very defined set of rules and the mind set and resolve to carry them through. It is also important to have enough confidence in your trading system to have a positive expectation about the result of the trade. That way, when you do take a losing trade, you know that the probability of the next trade being a winner is high.
On final thought. There is no way a gambler can stack the odds in his favor. The house is always going to win. Why do you think they have all of those big beautiful casinos in Las Vegas? At least with day trading, a trader can, with a lot of practice, turn the odds in their favor. Is it easy? Nope, nothing in life that is worthwhile is ever easy! Is it possible? Absolutely!! With enough practice, the right system, the right money management rules, the right mind set combine with the integrity to follow through on those rules, day trading can not only be profitable but very rewarding.
Nadav Snir asked:
The average forex trader is flooded with tens, sometimes hundreds of propositions for automated trading systems that can make their own trading decisions and trade alone, while the trader himself watches TV or sleeps. Most of these systems are complete scams, and they cannot make a nickel. Some of them are very good, and able to create thousands per day. Forex Funnel is one system that claims to make hundreds of thousands per year, and testing it certainly shows there is a reason for these claims.
First, the page explaining about Forex Funnel and its download page certainly show there is no scam behind it. They are both neatly organized and good looking, which shows there are some dedicated people behind it and not someone trying to make a quick dollar. The download page explains exactly how to download every file and also gives an address for technical support, so it is clearly reliable.
After downloading, you get a zip file with two files: an instructions manual and the trading system file. The instructions manual tells you exactly how to install the system on MetaTrader, how to set up the correct chart, and how to activate the automated trader. Five minutes after the download you can already start trading.
Immediately after Forex Funnel is installed, it already makes some trades. It has a very unique way of trading. It opens trades to both sides and puts pending trades right from the start. This creates the funnel - the trades funnel the exchange rate to a specific point of maximum profit.
Forex Funnel has a very interesting way of trading, and that lets risk intolerant people use it. Risk nearly evaporates with this system. It keeps a miniature loss, usually less than a dollar, for a while. Then, when the exchange rate is right, it pockets all the money and starts new trades. This way, of always being in the market and taking small profits, eventually creates a huge profit for its users. The small risk is the best benefit of this system, where a loss is almost never felt.
Overall, Forex Funnel is a superb system designed especially for beginners and intermediate level traders. Its unique trading strategy, the fact that there is almost no risk involved, and a small capital required to start make it perfect for anyone who never traded the forex market, but really wants to create another revenue stream for himself and his family.
Ricky Lim asked:
Like all businesses, day trading can be extremely lucrative. I suppose that is the reason why so many people want to become day traders. However, the risks are equally great and it is important to know what it takes to become a day trader.
There are a few things you need to consider before you decide whether a day trader job is suitable for you.
A day trader’s job can be very stressful and taxing. Since you have to sit all day looking at a computer terminal spotting market trends and movements, some people may not be suitable for this type of job.
You need to have an analytic mind to analyze large amounts of data and derive which stock to trade and profit. This isn’t easy and comes about partly from experience. However, you need to have lots of patience to analyze such data.
When you are first starting out in day trading, the odds are you will lose money first. Therefore it is important you have enough financial banking to cover the losses especially when you are starting out.
Always remember a day trader does not invest in stocks, they ride with the stocks. It means they buy a particular stock when it’s rising and sell them the moment it’s heading the other direction. All done in a single day.
Day traders do not buy stocks and hold them. You should also not get emotional with any stocks you have. You should treat stocks like commodities, buy when low and sell when high.
If possible, you can join a trading company and learn the ropes. Usually, if you are new to day trading, a mentor will offer advice and show you the day to day trading. Most trading companies have expert traders who can provide you with tips and experience.
You can also try trading simulations that mirror the real world to test your knowledge of day trading. Using trading simulations are a great way for you to learn the in and out of day trading without actually losing money.
It is very important you seek the right advice when you start a career as a day trading. You want to look for day traders or trading companies who have made their clients money.
Day trading can be an easy way to make money in a short period of time but also remember you can lose a lot of money in a short period of time as well. That’s why it’s important you have the knowledge, experience and financial resources before pursuing day trading.
William Barnes asked:
So how does the Trading From Home Trader Success Program work, and can you really create an income with it? It is basically a piece of Forex trading software that buys and sells currency pairs automatically. They can work with any amounts of capital and have no minimum investment requirements. In this article, I will discuss more about the features of Home Trader Success Program as well as the materials that you will receive as a member of the site.
The Results of the Trading From Home Software So Far
At the time that I joined this site, they had close to 3,000 existing members already, and all of them were showing a profit with this trading software. More than 70% of their members have reported being able to generate a stable monthly income with the software.
Why Download Trading From Home Trader Success Program?
The best feature of this robot is that it is completely automated and its internal trading system is very reliable and low risk in nature. It frees me up from having to sit in front of my computer all day trying to identify trading opportunities. This software typically makes a small profit on every trade, and cuts it losses quickly when the price of the currency pair moves against it. By making many concurrent successful trades, this software has managed to create a consistent income stream for me too.
Other than this money making feature, the program has also provided materials for me to learn about the Forex markets and helped me become more educated about the currency market. This lets me understand what the robot is doing for me and why it trades at various positions.
Materials Included in the Home Trader Success Program Package
The entire package contains the F.R.E.D trading software technology that you can find out more about at its website, its history of trading activities and all the latest happenings in the currency trading industry.