# I have no idea where to begin!



## clarky0 (25 April 2015)

Hey guys, im brand new to the game! Trying to learn as much as possible. Ive been reading up on a few sites, watching some videos and going through posts on here. My biggest issue is i have no idea where to begin. I have been looking for somewhere i can set up a demo account nice and quickly and learn by using that and reading articles etc. Can anyone shed any light on this for me?  thanks! need all the advice i can get!


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## DaveDaGr8 (26 April 2015)

Forget the demo account.

Go and buy a 99c blank book to use as a diary. Every night look at the market and write down why you would buy / sell something. Once you progress from 1 or 2 lines per decision to half a page or more and you're getting things right or can explain why it went wrong you're ready for a demo account.


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## clarky0 (26 April 2015)

DaveDaGr8 said:


> Forget the demo account.
> 
> Go and buy a 99c blank book to use as a diary. Every night look at the market and write down why you would buy / sell something. Once you progress from 1 or 2 lines per decision to half a page or more and you're getting things right or can explain why it went wrong you're ready for a demo account.





Thanks, are there any videos, or great articles to help along the way? Because clicking random posts about things I have no idea about on here is confusing haha, I am a COMPLETE beginner, no experience at all


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## tech/a (26 April 2015)

DaveDaGr8 said:


> Forget the demo account.
> 
> Go and buy a 99c blank book to use as a diary. Every night look at the market and write down why you would buy / sell something. Once you progress from 1 or 2 lines per decision to half a page or more and you're getting things right or can explain why it went wrong you're ready for a demo account.




Then once you've been on your demo account long enough to write your decisions down in a single line
Then you can trade.


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## So_Cynical (26 April 2015)

You could find this story interesting.

http://www.afr.com/opinion/columns/david-walshs-wisdom-beats-the-odds-20131215-ij8gn


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## stevealimore (27 April 2015)

clarky0 said:


> Hey guys, im brand new to the game! Trying to learn as much as possible. Ive been reading up on a few sites, watching some videos and going through posts on here. My biggest issue is i have no idea where to begin. I have been looking for somewhere i can set up a demo account nice and quickly and learn by using that and reading articles etc. Can anyone shed any light on this for me?  thanks! need all the advice i can get!




Hi Mate,

I would suggest that you invest in learning about investing. There is no need to be in a hurry, slow and steady wins the race. I would suggest you start of by reading some of the best books:



One up on Wall Street
Annual letters from Berkshire Hathaway
The five rules for successful stock investing by Pat Dorsey
The winning investment habits of buffet and soros

Try and understand what sort of investing style suits you, trading or long term buy and hold, or technical analysis. Also, spend lots of time on ASF, there is gem of information and experience here. 

Cheers,
Steve


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## travisyoung (29 May 2015)

*Basic question from beginner also*

Hi all,

I'm a new self teaching forex student at present who recently came across a friend of a friend who trades shares as his primary source of income from home. This lifestyle he has achieved has sparked a desire to learn share trading and then decide whether I prefer and shall pursue forex or share trading further.

Thank you for you response in advance.

1. I assume the two primary analysis most use in trading is technical and fundamental. Is this true?

2. In regards to an average trader who works from home trading monday to friday, does he/she just use a program like commsec or is there more popular broker software? and what is the most popular trading software? 

3. Excuse me if this is a very broad question: An average trader, working from home, would he/she be buying selling on a daily basis (example: buy shares in the morning and sell in the afternoon) or more likely buy and hold for several days OR is both unlikely and most would hold trades for weeks?

4. In forex, when you want to buy currency it happens generally immediately and can also generally sell immediately. With stocks what is the turn around time of buying and selling (as a general assumption, I understand it may vary depending on popularity of stock - is this right?)?

Thanks

Travis


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## Habakkuk (29 May 2015)

*Re: Basic question from beginner also*

I'm surprised that nobody has responded yet, so I'll have a go, just keep in mind that you might want to get a second opinion as I'm not a real expert.



travisyoung said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a new self teaching forex student




Teaching yourself is the best way to learn



> 1. I assume the two primary analysis most use in trading is technical and fundamental. Is this true?





That is definitely true. One is better than the other. I don't know which one, though. You could google it or maybe just ask on this forum.



> 2. In regards to an average trader who works from home trading monday to friday, does he/she just use a program like commsec or is there more popular broker software? and what is the most popular trading software?





It's very important to use the most popular program. That way you make the most money. I've heard that NinjaTrader is very popular and makes a lot of money.




> 3. Excuse me if this is a very broad question: An average trader, working from home, would he/she be buying selling on a daily basis (example: buy shares in the morning and sell in the afternoon) or more likely buy and hold for several days OR is both unlikely and most would hold trades for weeks?





The best time to buy shares is at 10:30 AM and the best time to sell is at 3:30 PM. That way you are guaranteed to make the most profit. It doesn't make sense to keep shares for days or weeks. It's far too risky. Bad things can happen over night.




> 4. In forex, when you want to buy currency it happens generally immediately and can also generally sell immediately. With stocks what is the turn around time of buying and selling (as a general assumption, I understand it may vary depending on popularity of stock - is this right?)?





Yes, FOREX is quite different, you need to be quick. With shares it takes some time for buying and selling, usually a few minutes or so, I have been told. Probably because somebody has to do the paperwork. And some days are slower than others. Not too sure if popularity makes a difference but it might.

Anyway, I'm sure you're on the right track. If your friend of a friend trades shares as his primary source of income, so can you. There is nothing to it, really. You might want to check out some cool youtube trading videos and google things like "the secrets of trading", etc.
And let us know how you get on.
Good luck!


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## AverageJoe (22 August 2015)

*Re: Basic question from beginner also*



travisyoung said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a new self teaching forex student at present who recently came across a friend of a friend who trades shares as his primary source of income from home. This lifestyle he has achieved has sparked a desire to learn share trading and then decide whether I prefer and shall pursue forex or share trading further.
> 
> ...




From my experiences of the past, it does not matter if you trade shares or Fx, they each have their own nuances  pitfalls and traps. The popular FX advert is a 24/5 trading session and high liquidity and get the price you desire all the time. Share trading advert is safe, and very cheap by the intro of no frills brokers and regulated by ASIC. 

Here are the typical pitfalls for Fx,

over trading
drill down to 1M time frame
trade the news
Just sit down pick a free time and trade like how you pass the time in a casino
massive leverage
bucket shop brokers
buy actual trading software called ATM machines LOL

Here are the pitfalls of share trading,

Speculative trading are fun and massive profits
CFD leverage = over trading = over exposure
bottom picking stocks
haven't sold haven't made a loss
bottom drawer hold
tips from friends/media/brokers/forums
holy grail maths indicators, strategies, bias stock research

I am sure there are plenty more but I think you will get the picture as you progress.

Next one is self teaching FX student, I suspect you will have a long and steep learning curve not to mention you don't know what you don't know. If you are lucky you will use a demo before real money. Also suspect demo always easy  to make money until you go live.

1. Some are pure FA or TA and some are hybrid that use both. Some just depend on a full service broker who is a human on first name basis and some have privileged knowledge.

2. I think you will need more than a "program like commsec". It helps to cut down cost as it is a no frill broker but you will need some charting package. Some brokers especially CFD offers user friendly charting that you can trade on the screen

3. day trader = open and close same day. Position trader may hold for several days to weeks. Buy and hold investors for months or years.

4. FX unless under extreme circumstance google CHF with Swiss Nat Bank this year, price is very liquid and filled at any price. Shares has liquidity issues of slippage unless the large stocks in top 20 dependent on size of orders. Specs will usually have fairly large slippage dependent on market depth volume etc.


Comparing the 2 markets is like apple or orange. Whatever you decide, learn to equip yourself with a strategy like trend following, swing, rotational, mean revert, counter trend, etc. You don't know until you educate yourself on each of the style and demo trades to see which one suits your personality.

A good starting book is Stan Weinstein, Trading in bull and bear market, 
Here is a good link, http://www.jltrader.com/trading-videos/ 
I particularly like Mike Douglas, when you start out his teachings will be the last thing on your mind but along your journey you will realise it is one of the most important. Schwager is good too. Money and risk management concepts. Keep things simple instead of complicated. You will either follow the math indicator, Elliot wave fibonacci natural progression to Harmonic, raw charts with price action candlesticks or a combination of these. Gann is another favourite. Another is intermarket analysis.

Then there is the time frame from 1min to 1h 4h 8h 12h daily weekly  monthly or any other exotic TF in between. If you go for FX make sure you understand the different type of orders to buy/sell, position sizing and most important beside these basic stuff is TRADING PSYCHOLOGY, the least taught and most relevant.

Lets go make money


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## TazTheTrader (6 September 2015)

Hey mate!

I saw someone that responded that you should leave the demo accounts. I don't agree with that. You should find a broker that you trust, and open a demo account. They reflect the real deal, and in there you can put the theory in to practice that you learn when you read up on stuff.

That's the way I went. I started with a demo account at Trade24 and when I was ready i moved over to a real account. Today I'm trading with another trader, but I was very happy there for a few months and I'm glad I started there.

Good luck!
Michael


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## tech/a (6 September 2015)

*Re: Basic question from beginner also*

Words of a theorist.
Re packaged snippets of everything.
Re gurgitated belief.




AverageJoe said:


> From my experiences of the past, it does not matter if you trade shares or Fx, they each have their own nuances  pitfalls and traps. The popular FX advert is a 24/5 trading session and high liquidity and get the price you desire all the time. Share trading advert is safe, and very cheap by the intro of no frills brokers and regulated by ASIC.
> 
> Here are the typical pitfalls for Fx,
> 
> ...


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