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Best markets to trade for a living - full or part-time

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nomore4s said:
Twiddle,

Trading of any instrument should...
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Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it.

Are the any good resources of places to start for someone like me that you would suggest?

I am aiming for a year of research before I enter the market.
 
Twiddle said:
Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it.

Are the any good resources of places to start for someone like me that you would suggest?

I am aiming for a year of research before I enter the market.
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First, if you are serious about trading futures the best thing to do would be open a Interactive Brokers account so you can get a demo account through them set up. Be warned though, it is a bit of a tedious process and requires a minimum capital requirement.

Once you have a demo account you can look at the different markets and how they move etc etc.

Secondly, search this forum for info on futures trading and read as many of TH's post as possible and also check out his blog as well as this blog.

You will also need to decide what instrument you want to trade & over what time-frame and also how you are going trade it - as in what method/system you are going to use. And then you need to learn to apply that method, which is the hard part.

It will take a while for everything to sink in but you will need to practice and practice and practice. Just keep asking questions on this forum as they come up and normally someone will answer them. Just be prepared to put in a lot of hard work.

Good luck.
 
nomore4s said:
Secondly, search this forum for info on futures trading and read as many of TH's post as possible

Good luck.
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This poster is a scalper, yes? I would like you to show us a post/postings where the art of scalp trading is explained please. Thanks. :)
 
Wysiwyg said:
This poster is a scalper, yes? I would like you to show us a post/postings where the art of scalping is explained please. Thanks. :)
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I'm not really a scalper, although I do tend to scalp on Crude a bit more then I usually do.

TH is probably the best to answer that, if he is willing:).

While TH is a scalper it is his understanding of the markets and knowledge of how to improve & practice you should be concentrating on, not his methods.
 
Wysiwyg said:
This poster is a scalper, yes? I would like you to show us a post/postings where the art of scalp trading is explained please. Thanks. :)
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Actually my core method has moved away from true scalping, looking to do bigger size with larger targets but still pretty active but that doesn't make me a scalper.

By the by you will not get a 10 step program to scalping or any other short term discretionary trading. Its the implicit knowledge that makes the difference between success and just another newbie blowing up an account on the race to riches.
 
nomore4s said:
You will also need to decide what instrument you want to trade & over what time-frame and also how you are going trade it - as in what method/system you are going to use. And then you need to learn to apply that method, which is the hard part.

It will take a while for everything to sink in but you will need to practice and practice and practice. Just keep asking questions on this forum as they come up and normally someone will answer them. Just be prepared to put in a lot of hard work.

Good luck.
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Thanks again.

In choosing a method/system are their resources for learning specific systems? Do you have any suggestions on a good one?
 
MS&T did a scalping thread a while back, if you're interested in an outline: https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15175

Because it's such a good, free resource for new folk, and becuase Forex is open to pretty much any time frame and style, and because a lot of the general themes are transferable to several other types of trading, I think this is one of the best resources around: http://www.babypips.com/school/

Forex has really suited my routine, since my job keeps changing hours. Not that I've got money in it yet (mine's in two-week share CFDs - breakouts and half-arsed fundamentals), but this is the most enjoyable stuff I've found and what I plan to do longer term. Stressed from work? Hop on to IB and play Forex.

It's like tetris, only there's hopefully some money at the end of it.
 
Twiddle said:
Thanks again.

In choosing a method/system are their resources for learning specific systems? Do you have any suggestions on a good one?
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Trial & error.

To be honest you really need to develop your own method based on your understanding of the markets and how you like to trade. This is why it takes so much hard work to become profitable and why so few actually become profitable. Most people are looking for a magic system when in fact it is your own experience, understanding & views on the market that have the most influence on your profitability.

I could give you a run down on how I trade but that doesn't mean it would work for you, in fact I could almost guarantee it wouldn't. You need to adapt things to suit your own needs.
 
nomore4s said:
Trial & error.

To be honest you really need to develop your own method based on your understanding of the markets and how you like to trade. This is why it takes so much hard work to become profitable and why so few actually become profitable. Most people are looking for a magic system when in fact it is your own experience, understanding & views on the market that have the most influence on your profitability.

I could give you a run down on how I trade but that doesn't mean it would work for you, in fact I could almost guarantee it wouldn't. You need to adapt things to suit your own needs.
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OK, so it seems like research, learning and practice are in order until one is completely familiar with the market. Once then a system should naturally evolve?

I took a look at Interactive Brokers, it seems you need a 10k investment to open a paper trading account with them. Are you aware of any others which offer free paper trading accounts which will have all the required things for learning?

While I can afford the 10k and will use that in the future, I would just like to learn more about it before hand, if you get what i mean.
 
Twiddle said:
OK, so it seems like research, learning and practice are in order until one is completely familiar with the market. Once then a system should naturally evolve?

I took a look at Interactive Brokers, it seems you need a 10k investment to open a paper trading account with them. Are you aware of any others which offer free paper trading accounts which will have all the required things for learning?

While I can afford the 10k and will use that in the future, I would just like to learn more about it before hand, if you get what i mean.
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Twiddle, IB is probably the best as it is the platform that you will probably been using and gives direct access to the markets - completely different to CFD's.

You will get interest on the money and you should be able to withdraw it after opening the account. Not aware if there are any other good options available.

Yes after a while a system does tend to evolve but tbh it will probably take you more then a year. It is like any other profession or trade it takes a great deal of time & practice to become efficient at it.
 
nomore4s said:
Twiddle, IB is probably the best as it is the platform that you will probably been using and gives direct access to the markets - completely different to CFD's.

You will get interest on the money and you should be able to withdraw it after opening the account. Not aware if there are any other good options available.

Yes after a while a system does tend to evolve but tbh it will probably take you more then a year. It is like any other profession or trade it takes a great deal of time & practice to become efficient at it.
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OK great, IB it is.

Thanks for your help.
 
Twiddle said:
OK great, IB it is.

Thanks for your help.
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As much as i luv IB and hate all that CFD stand for and provide. Maybe have a look at them as well.at least it will cost you nothing. IB will cost you $10 USD a month plus data if you are not trading.
 
Oh and one lost piece of advice if i may.

Which market, specifically, would be the best to trade, living in NSW and planning to trade from 5:30 pm to 10:30pm at night?

I need to pick one so I can start familiarising myself with it and start my learning process.
 
Trembling Hand said:
As much as i luv IB and hate all that CFD stand for and provide. Maybe have a look at them as well.at least it will cost you nothing. IB will cost you $10 USD a month plus data if you are not trading.
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Thanks for the suggestion.

You guys are so helpful.

Going down that route I would still be able to familiarise with the same markets as I would be looking at with IB, just using an inferior way to interact with it?
 
Twiddle said:
Oh and one lost piece of advice if i may.

Which market, specifically, would be the best to trade, living in NSW and planning to trade from 5:30 pm to 10:30pm at night?

I need to pick one so I can start familiarising myself with it and start my learning process.
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Pick 3. that way you learn how markets move in correlation to others.

I'd say 1 forex EURUSD, one Equity Index DAX or FTSE & one commodity gold or oil.
 
nomore4s said:
In saying that you probably don't need to open an account straight away, as you still need to get the basics of how the futures markets work. Things like contract roll overs etc etc.

While I've never really looked at this site properly it might be a good place to start to understand the basics

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-futures-and-options-trading.html
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Cheers, yeah I plan on learning for a while before opening an IB account anyway. :)
 
Twiddle said:
Going down that route I would still be able to familiarise with the same markets as I would be looking at with IB, just using an inferior way to interact with it?
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Yep same markets but not they are synthetic. that is the prices are "made" by the provider rather than market participants. To get a toe in thats not going to matter much until you play for a few months or more.
 
Trembling Hand said:
Yep same markets but not they are synthetic. that is the prices are "made" by the provider rather than market participants. To get a toe in thats not going to matter much until you play for a few months or more.
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Great, thanks a lot.

Let the research begin. :)
 
I would've thought the best market (futures) for a beginner would've been the mini hang seng index futures contract, margins are quite small and tick value is a little over $1 AUD, however from my calcs. you would need to make about 6 ticks just to b/e.

Any other futures contracts with small margins/tick size, with small commissions out there that move as well as the hsi?
 
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