Don't imagine that learning trading will only take a few weeks.
I've been trading since 1987, on and off.
You need to be realistic about the time it takes to become profitable.
You wouldn't expect to learn a skill in a few weeks of evening classes, so don't expect to become profitable in the same timeframe. Expect a year of study. Good for you if you crack it before then, but be wary of hubris. The market is set up to have many pitfalls for you, and you can make one mistake and be back to square -5 before you can say "WTF happened". If you can make 3-4% 3 months in a row then maybe you know enough to up the size you trade.
While you are waiting, try these hints:
Examples of pitfalls:
Spread hours in FX, where you get stopped out 20 pips away from the real market. (50 sometimes)
Trading halts in stocks.
Unexpected assignment in options.
Holding a position over the weekend and a war breaks out.
Thanks for listening to my Ted Talk.
You need to be realistic about the time it takes to become profitable.
You wouldn't expect to learn a skill in a few weeks of evening classes, so don't expect to become profitable in the same timeframe. Expect a year of study. Good for you if you crack it before then, but be wary of hubris. The market is set up to have many pitfalls for you, and you can make one mistake and be back to square -5 before you can say "WTF happened". If you can make 3-4% 3 months in a row then maybe you know enough to up the size you trade.
While you are waiting, try these hints:
- Don't quit your day job because you had a big win. You have no idea how easy it is to lose what you just made.
- It's a "learning on the job" process. No matter how much you read or how many YouTube videos you watch, when your money is on the table and your position is going against you, you find out what trading is like. Some say (and I agree) that you aren't really qualified until you have learned your lesson with a stonking loss.
- Demo accounts teach you nothing. Start small. Or use a prop firm. That way you get the true experience.
- Protect your capital. Use a stop loss set at the price where you know your initial feel for the market was just wrong. If you think you don't need a stop loss because you are there watching it, then just wait for your first unexpected gap move to learn that one. Have a backstop, at least. People have a habit of running losses, don't be like them. Have the discipline.
- Don't risk too much on each trade. Great traders can get 10 losses in a row. They know it's part of the game, but that's why they don't put 10% of the account on each trade....
Examples of pitfalls:
Spread hours in FX, where you get stopped out 20 pips away from the real market. (50 sometimes)
Trading halts in stocks.
Unexpected assignment in options.
Holding a position over the weekend and a war breaks out.
Thanks for listening to my Ted Talk.
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THE CITY TRADERS: thecitytraders.com/?aff=9
Discord: discord.gg/Ma7SnExcWA
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