Professional Traders Lifestyle Choices

[Dax Devil]

Dear @Dax_Devil you have said
" I entered prepared by systematically spending 5 months learning the TA and doing demo trading, so no loss and no painful learning curve."

Can you pls throw some more light on this. From where you have learnt trading and acquired TA skills.

I am new to stock trading and want to acquire some serious day trading skills.

Thanks and Regards

Bulk of my TA learning came from just 4 books which I studied intensively like textbooks, making notes as well as crossreferencing them by doing live trading on GCI demo account.

Technical Analysis of Financial markets by John Murphy
Japanese Candlestick charting techniques by Steve Nison
Elliot Wave Principle by Frost and Prechter
Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns by Thomas Bulkowski

However, as you mention that you want to acquire daytrading skills, a word of caution. In my understanding, none of the above books was written keeping daytrading in view. Charts being fractal in nature therefore they appear on screen exactly the same irrespective of the timeframe, but trading them is not the same, trust me. Daytrading, as such, requires less knowledge of TA but more of money management, alongwith a brain adept in mechanical processing of infromation in seconds and acting on it instantaneously - which in turn requires fast fingers on the keyboard. These skills, I am afraid, don't come by reading books or discussing on forums or thinking about them. They only come through sustained concentration and practice over a considerable time period. One has to work on them systematically and dilligently.
Good luck, friend

Note: There are many popular books on daytrading but most of them are are just that - popular. However, among the lot I find books by Al Brooks on Price Action the most articulate, honest and intelligent.

 

[id4trade]

Dear Dax,
Thankyou very much for a very articulated honest reply.

The thing you said about the day trading is exactly what I felt about it, that it can't be learned by copying bookish theories, and real life scenario require practice and quick actions.

I haven't read any book, but did extensive study on Internet.

For last 2 months I am daytrading equity with small amount and gradually learning market behavior.

And what is GCI for demo account you have said above.

 

[Dax Devil]

Dear Dax,
Thankyou very much for a very articulated honest reply.

The thing you said about the day trading is exactly what I felt about it, that it can't be learned by copying bookish theories, and real life scenario require practice and quick actions.

I haven't read any book, but did extensive study on Internet.

For last 2 months I am daytrading equity with small amount and gradually learning market behavior.

And what is GCI for demo account you have said above.

GCI is just one of many online trading companies like Fxcharts, Alperi etc. All are good, all are on metastock platform. But as you have already started playing live with equity in live markets, that is better than demo trading.

BTW, as I said earlier, you don't need postgraduate level of TA knowledge to become good day trader. 10+2 kind of level will suffice. More important are money management, nimble brain and fingers. Besides, you don't need to trawl through the whole internet. Traderji forum has/had enough good members who generously gave their time to get any noob started on trading journey. Smart trade has done, is still doing, a tremendous job in sharing his experience with one and all. Xray, Suri, healthraj, columbus, amit and others are contributing regularly. VJAY for example is imparting very thorough knowledge on pivots right know. Pivots as standalones though being not as effective trading tools as they used to be in the past, but if combined with other tools are very very essential to trading in all TFs. Avny's thread, Master One Trick, was an accidental find a few weeks ago. And it is an absolute gem of a thead, and is my favourite. There are many many more. Seriously, if one can't learn to be a successful trader by studying thoughts and experiences of these few good men, then he or she should hang up the trading boots and do something else for living. Period.

 

[id4trade]

Agree on everything you've said.

When I've started, I struggle to figure out why and where I should enter or exit.
But now; I do able to understand where I should enter or exit.
Currently I am at a level where I do have a working strategy developed and ready, but am struggle to execute it perfectly, I hope sooner or later I will learn to execute it flawlessly. And from that day I might earn consistently.