Stock trading for complete beginners

EdGasket

Do pop back in a year's time and let us know how you are getting on. Should be interesting.....

bulltraderpt

EdGasket wrote: »

Do pop back in a year's time and let us know how you are getting on. Should be interesting.....

Apologies I forgot to state I've been profitable right from the off and most data and stats I've read usually indicate if you are going to blow your account you'll most likely do it in six months and at the most two years.

However, I shall leave it there as it does appear as I am a lone voice championing trading stocks for a living via day trading.

TBH most day traders are currency traders I know a 'trainee' currency trader and he knows numerous currency traders but no UK stock day traders so it does appear as though I am truly alone.:)

BTW If the newbie at the start of this thread is interested, I can share with him some great book titles which I found invaluable but he'll have to pm for a reading list.#

Cheers.

Malthusian

bulltraderpt wrote: »

Yes I am, four years in to the journey, and I have no inside information, but I do subscribe to a full on real time information provider, with level II and charts.

As someone once said about the markets; "Many are called few are chosen."

This quote plus the fact that your reaction to being told that your course of action has a 5% chance of success by some measures is to say "Well I'm in the 5%" suggests you have something of a Messiah complex.

I find it odd that you refuse to quantify your success. You said that you were in profit but so is anyone who invested in virtually any stockmarket tracker fund or for that matter kept their money in cash. Most people who'd made a ton of money by day trading would be boasting about the size of their bank account and the luxuries they've been able to afford or how their kids are going to Eton. Don't try and tell me that you're too modest after that Bible quote.

EdGasket

TBH just to be in profit day-trading can be counted as a success as the costs are huge and have to be overcome to make a profit.

I am not even sure that the OP wants to day-trade or just invest now and then; it is not clear.

For day trading, this book sounds like the business and has good reviews:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-Trading-Dummies-Ann-Logue/dp/1118779606/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475074403&sr=1-7&keywords=day+trading+stocks

bulltraderpt

Malthusian wrote: »

This quote plus the fact that your reaction to being told that your course of action has a 5% chance of success by some measures is to say "Well I'm in the 5%" suggests you have something of a Messiah complex.

I find it odd that you refuse to quantify your success. You said that you were in profit but so is anyone who invested in virtually any stockmarket tracker fund or for that matter kept their money in cash. Most people who'd made a ton of money by day trading would be boasting about the size of their bank account and the luxuries they've been able to afford or how their kids are going to Eton. Don't try and tell me that you're too modest after that Bible quote.

OK, so you are obviously one of those online psychologists who will make sweeping statements from a couple of lines. I am not religious but I am very pleased with the way I manage the trades so the quote is a fair one to describe the number of people who do succeed. If it offends you oh well, never mind.

I find it odd that you then try and goad me in to quantifying my success, what does it matter what I am doing, the mistakes I have made and the lessons I have learned? Or the profits I have made?

I don't need to boast as it's a journey, the markets are always changing and I do not need to care whether you think I am modest or otherwise. I mean, who are you?

As for the comment about most people would be 'boasting', perhaps you move in the wrong circles or that's a reflection of your own personality or insecurities?

You see, I too can conduct arm chair psychology as well.;)

bulltraderpt

EdGasket wrote: »

TBH just to be in profit day-trading can be counted as a success as the costs are huge and have to be overcome to make a profit.

I am not even sure that the OP wants to day-trade or just invest now and then; it is not clear.

For day trading, this book sounds like the business and has good reviews:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-Trading-Dummies-Ann-Logue/dp/1118779606/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475074403&sr=1-7&keywords=day+trading+stocks

Hi Ed,

You are correct, the costs are huge and do mount up. As of today I completed 18 trades (buys and sells) 5 went in my favour with 3 against and I increased the pot by 0.32%. But that increase is after costs and so is the cost of doing business.

I read extensively before I embarked on this, I also got in touch with a guy called Anton Krell, (he of million dollar traders fame), but decided not to go and do his course as I felt I only wanted to trade shares and not go through the whole portfolio mgt experience, his course was about £6k at the time.

A lot of the books I have you can now download free from the internet. (I don't have the one you show though.)

I'd recommend the Mark Douglas and Brett Steenbargers books on psychology , because to be honest, looking at a chart is relatively easy to learn, it's your psychology which takes a long time to master.

taktikback

So what % profit have you made over the four years you've been doing it? seems like a fair question people are putting to you, which is being avoided...

I traded derivatives for 3 years - broke even...in hindsight, that was quite fortunate, as I know a bit more about it now than I did then..

richyg

Wednesday 28th September


Index Value Change %

FTSE 100 6,849.38 +0.61%

Today was a good day to own shares and given that more days are good than bad,it seems that day trading is a hard way to do make a living over and above a buy and hold approach.

YMMV

bulltraderpt

taktikback wrote: »

So what % profit have you made over the four years you've been doing it? seems like a fair question people are putting to you, which is being avoided...

I traded derivatives for 3 years - broke even...in hindsight, that was quite fortunate, as I know a bit more about it now than I did then..

Hi taktikback,

I wouldn't know where to start with derivatives or CFD's puts, or options, I only trade what I see.


Anyway, TBH no one has actually asked (nicely) have they?

I got a rather curt unfriendly post didn't I but as you asked nicely, these are the results per year:

OK, no harm in stating stats:

2013 Yr 1 84 %
2014 Yr 2 67.5%
2015 Yr 3 19 %
2016 Yr 4 37.3% (with 64 trading days left this year).

This year so far the stats break down as such: 175 trading days of which 122 have been winning day equating to a win rate of 69.7%

Only on one day this year have I lost 2.15% of my total pot.

But to answer your question directly, if you had started with X in 2013, and you could copy my trades (and got the fills), you would now have 3.72 times X, plus your original capital being X back.

I think these are fair results given I am self taught.

bulltraderpt

richyg wrote: »

Wednesday 28th September


Index Value Change %

FTSE 100 6,849.38 +0.61%

Today was a good day to own shares and given that more days are good than bad,it seems that day trading is a hard way to do make a living over and above a buy and hold approach.

YMMV

A buy and hold approach does given good returns historically, I am not denying that, but numerous thoughts have to be taken into consideration, which would take too long to go into here.

What ever your approach, it has to sit with your psychology otherwise you won't be comfortable with it.

I do intend to swing trade at some stage when specific technical set ups occur, but not just yet.