Looking back at my response, I see that it was too reactive. That tells me that I have still a long way to go. I already used the Anxiety Free side A once, but I think I need to break down my goal. Maybe, this made the situation worse. I was watching a thriller titled "Unfaithful" yesterday and I found it unbearable. I had to stop the DVD player to continue later many times and I didn't manage to finish it. I'm just too picky now. It's part of the process, I think.
But now that things seem to have settled, since you appear to be an experienced trader, I have some questions.
What trading forums you use to visit?
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From your original post:
You must have a good plan that works for you.
I'm working on that plan now. It is still not "perfect" (meaning, totally tested), but my paper trades are showing positive balance of winnings against loses.
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You must have a certain mindset before you call your broker and everyday after that you are in the market.
I'm working on that mindset with the course I'm taking. Yet, it would be more helpful if you give me some details about the mindset you are referring to. I have been learning what successful mindsets would be from the motivators and educators points of view, but a feedback from an actual trader would be really helpful.
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You must keep your emotions in check, ...
I think that being able to be confident and wise (not overconfident), would be the ideal situation. That way I think we would think clearer. What is your experience on this?
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and you must have more winning trade's than losing trade's.
The winnings should outweight the losses, at least that's what the course I'm taking says. But it says that there are times when I'll lose big bucks, it doesn't say that there might be times when I might lose more than my winnings though. Could it be so? I have thought that the key to cut loses is being everwatchful on the portfolio and never regret a decision to close a trade, even when the prices pick up after it, better safe than sorry. It also says that if I get a margin call, then I should close the trade. At least this seem to be the experience on the course's author. What is yours on this?
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Straight options, futures and options, are you going to be a seasonal trader, fundamental traders,( probably not )technical trader, combination of the two,
I'm focusing on futures because the course I'm taking is on futures. Options may be a new choice for a future in which I'm already experienced on futures.
I'm not very familiar with all those terms yet. I'm going maybe too slowly since I decided to train for a full year. So I want to ask;
What is a seasonal trader?, fundamental trader?, technical trader?
I suppose that the technical trader is the one that make use of the prices only along with an algorithm (maybe using computers)to try to predict the direction that the market will take. But I'm planning to take a combination of what there may exist. I intend to learn Photoreading to take advantage of all the tools I could handle. Imagestream could help me on this too by doing it after having photoread printed material on the commodities I'd trade. This could change as the year passes and I learn more. During the year, I plan to photoread more books on futures to expand my knowledge.
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will you get involved in commitment of traders as a tool,
What is a commitment of traders? Advantages? Disadvantages?
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and speaking of tools,will you use software to help you with your trade's and if you do what indicators will you use?
I don't know of any software. Do you know of any good one?
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Some market are easier than others for new traders, some market you should stay away form all together. some markets you could not afford to trade.
What markets are easier? Are there markets that are not good even for experienced traders? I know that there are markets in which a single contract might cost too much for the available money, I think that's what you were talking about.
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You must also consider what kind of trading you would like to do, Long term, short term day trader, swing trader.
I have not decided yet. I tried some paper trades using the outside day method to identify trades, but almost all of them failed. It was almost a joke, everytime I looked for the new prices on a trade opened the day before, it happened to have moved against me. I revised the formula I was using many times and looked on the internet to see if the course was wrong; but I didn't find anything wrong with it. I discarded the outside day system because I failed with it. I may be experimenting a lot more before I decide for sure on my own method.
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How about your seed money, ( account ) will you put in $1,000,$2,000,$5,000 or even $10,000 in your account. Don't even think about putting anything less than $5,000 in your account unless you are trading options and then you would have to be what they call out of the money to trade.
Do you think that $5,000 is the minimum I could begin with? That's the minimum that my course states. Do you agree?
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I know the commodity guru's tell you to paper trade for three months or so. You will do this in vain. This will help you in no way when you or anyone else decides to trade for real. First of all you have nothing to lose, there is no emotion attached to the trade. You don't have to call your broker, and as they say pull the trigger. A big part of trading is emotional and being able to keep your negative thoughts under control.
Well, this is something I must disagree. If I don't paper trade, then how could I learn more effectively? By going live from the very beginning? I don't think so. I'm paper trading to learn. I acknowledge that I said at my journal's first post that I was doing it to get confidence. Now my main purpose in doing it is learning. About emotions, that's what the Ideal Mindset course is about, well, in part; it is much more than that. Bottom line, I don't think I'm paper trading in vain, not for knowing the real feeling on actually trade, that's impossible, but for learning. It's better to know a bit more by doing paper trades before doing the real thing than going without any practice at all to trade.
The negative part that I can say there is in your post is this:
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DON'T DO IT!
The remaining of your post was colored with that first comment. All capitals means shouting, so you were shouting at me to not go and fulfill my goal. A futile advise given the state I am at doing the Ideal Mindset course. After all this time, I realize that you probably were mistaken on what I was about to do and when. Maybe you thought that I was about to go open an account with a broker without the needed preparations.
Telling someone to not do something is aimless, it doesn't provide direction. Instead, telling what to do instead of what not to do does give a sense of direction to your words, which translates on more effective advises. Also, if your counsels come as options on what to do, they reach the target better than if you give them as commands because we as humans always resist to be told what to do.
