Day Trading

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Archive for June, 2010

I am thinking about doing some day trading this summer instead of finding a summer job. Does anyone have tips on what brokerages are good and any other advice.

TDAmeritrade or Scottrade. TDAmeritrade has quicker execution times.

http:// www.todaytrader.com. Day trading in stocks is both risky and difficult. Please consult your financial advisor before attempting to trade actively. TodayTrader is not responsible for any content that may be viewed on this channel. These videos are not meant to be recommendations in the market. Day trading equities requires a retail account balance of at least $25,000 and must remain at or above this level to trade stocks actively. This website is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities, options, or futures. The purpose of this content is educational only.

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Why Trade Options?

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Why Option trading? Compare stock trading to option trading.

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If you look at the amount of day trading systems and methods on the web you would think there would be a lot of people making a lot of money.

The fact however is day trading methods don’t work and day trading is NOT a way to make profits, its a way to wipe your trading equity out quickly.

If you want to know why you wont win read the facts

Firstly, I have been involved in financial trading for 20 years and never seen a day trader with a track record of consistent profits.

When you buy a method from a vendor they normally try and persuade you with a few testimonials of odd winners (day traders sometimes get lucky ) or a hypothetical track record of great gains.

Let me explain what a hypothetical track record is. It’s a record made in hindsight knowing the closing prices so it’s hardly surprising you never see one that losses.

Ask anyone selling a day trading, method for the real time track record over the long term and you won’t get one, simply because day trading doesn’t make money.

Lets look at why.

1. Time Frame is to short

The time frame is simply to short. You cannot predict what will happen in a single day and prices could go anywhere. You may as well flip a coin.

2. Volatility in short time frames

Again is random.

Day traders like to place fairly tight stops and normally they get taken out by volatility.

3. You need to run profits

Part of successful trading is to “ Run your profits and cut your losses”

In day trading methods you certainly can cut your losses ( and you will have a lot of them) but running profits is totally alien to day traders.

They normally want to scalp the trade for small profits and get out quickly.

The net result is they have a few profits that are marginal and never make up for the huge amount of losses they take.

The reality is:

Currency markets reflect long term economic conditions and trend longer term.

Each day trillions of dollars are traded in the markets and to try and predict price direction and volatility in a day, or a few hours is not going to work.

The real test of any trading method (not just a day trading method) is if it makes profits over the longer term.

As we said earlier ask anyone selling a day trading method for a profitable real time track record and you wont get one.

Sacha Tarkovsky
http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/day-trading-methods-who-makes-big-profits-at-day-trading-109895.html

Day trading is a style wherein traders either sell all long positions are sold or cover short positions at the end of the trading day. There are many markets for day trading and some of these are currency, stocks, futures and commodities. For simplicity, we associate trading with purchasing a commodity, bringing it home or to our business premises, and then selling it.

Some Facts You Should Know About Day Trading:

1. In day trading, different shares are bound to undergo different resistance and support levels.
2. Day trading systems utilize objective and mechanical criteria to choose the different trades of the market.
3. The day trading signals are the signals acquired when stocks bounce off of support levels or sometimes even off resistance, if required.
4. The stronger faith there is in the trend line, the better it acts as a support for you.
5. Day trading stock picks are selected based on a set of strategies or methodologies, of which the most important are technical analysis, trend analysis, relative strength ranking, fractals and volumes, chart formations, and algorithms.

Some Benefits Of Day Trading:

1. The main advantage of day trading is that one’s stock positions are not held beyond the current trading day.
2. Another benefits of day trading is that since the positions are closed at the end of the trading day, any sudden news of events doesn’t affect the opening prices of trading.
3. One of the benefits of day trading is that since the positions are closed at the end of the trading day, any sudden news of events doesn’t affect the opening prices of trading.
4. It is a safer way for people who do not have a lot of know-how in stock trading; therefore, they can easily follow their stocks during the day and sell them off as soon as they see a rise in the value.

Some Tips For Day Trading:

1. Follow the day trading system rules and standards by remembering the number of open positions.
2. If you plan to invest your money in day trading, see to it you do not put in all your hard earned savings in one go, as this might prove to be quite dangerous for you.
3. According to the day trading system, it is a necessity to always be aware of the share movement and to not make wild decisions based on a margin call from a broker.
4. Do not trust advertising claims that promise fast and guaranteed profits from day trading.
5. You have to work with an experienced day trader, need to learn latest techniques, use latest stock market investment software, subscribe to on-line day trading tutorial and need to devise your own trading plan.

Trading Software:

A number of traders and investors rely too much on software’s used for these purposes, but you do not get a true picture of the market just by using these software’s, as there are many factors which constitute a stock market and some of them can only be assessed through skills and experience. Trading softwares are not only important but necessary to survive in today’s competitive market.

Bercle George
http://www.articlesbase.com/currency-trading-articles/some-day-trading-ideas-you-must-learn-382957.html

Options Trading 101

Posted by admin under learn trading

The individual investor will typically include some stocks in their investment portfolio. And whether they are a long term trader or in it for much quicker returns, many investors understand and feel somewhat comfortable with the concepts and techniques of trading stocks.

Options tend to be much less understood – and therefore avoided. But Options can form an extremely valuable part of your trading strategy as they can provide tremendous returns!

So here I will try and give you some of the fundamental concepts behind trading options.

Options are a contract conferring the right to buy (a call option) or sell (a put option) some underlying instrument, such as a stock or bond, at a predetermined price (the strike price) on or before a preset date (the expiration date). Options officially expire on the Saturday after the third Friday of the contract’s expiration month but because the markets are typically closed on Saturdays, the Friday is commonly used as the expiration date.

A key concept to grasp is that, when you buy an option, you don’t actually own the underlying security. You simply own the right to buy (or sell) at a specific point in time. But, of course, the price of the underlying instrument and the time remaing before expiration both affect the value of the option itself.

So in trading options you have two main ways to make money on them:
- You can hold to maturity and then exercise the option (with the expectation that the underlying instrument is then worth more than what you are entitled to buy it at – your “strike price”)
- You can sell the option itself prior to expiration (in the expectation that the value of the option itself has risen above what you paid for it)

A great many investors do in fact hold until maturity and then exercise the option to trade the underlying asset. Assume the buyer purchased a call option at $3 on a stock with a strike price of $30. (Typically, options contracts are on 100 share lots.) To purchase the stock the total investment is:

($3 + $30) x 100 = $3300 (Ignoring commissions.)

So if, at expiration, the stock is worth more than $33 you’ve made a profit (You can sell your 100 shares for more than $3300 right away).

Speculating on the actual value of the option itself is the second alternative.
Let’s use the same example above.

You bought your options for $3 with a strike price of $30.

If the price of the underlying stock goes above $33 at any time prior to expiration, then naturally more people will want to try and get a hold of that option you own, because they see a high likelihood of making a profit off the underlying security. With the increased demand for that option, the value of the option itself will likely go up. So you can sell the option to that higher bidder for a profit.

For example, if the price of the underlying stock rose to, say $35 then the option itself may become worth, say $4 on the open market. So you sell your options for $4 and make a nice 33% return. Without ever having owned the underlying stock itself.

Those are the kinds of returns that make options so attractive.

Many brokers offer trading accounts to individual investors that allow options trading and frequently at very competitive commision rates.
It really isn’t very difficult to get started.

Options trading is risky, so manage your risk and your assets wisely and only use a small percentage of your overall portfolio for trading options. But do consider them as an additional component of your investment strategy, as they can yield tremendous returns when traded correctly.

Richard Cochrane
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/options-trading-101-120650.html

After reading the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, I came to realize that not only is there a rich and poor path in life but also a rich and poor path in options trading as well. Many options traders experience defeat in their options trading career, especially during the first few months, because they are unknowingly walking down the poor path in options trading. There are many differences in the approach winners take in options trading versus the losers and we shall outline and explore some of these in this article.

Rich Options Trading :

1. Speculative directional options trading using direct call or put options buying only with a small percentage of their fund and only on the stocks with the best chances.

2. Extensive use of Option Greeks in order to dynamically hedge a position when conditions change.

3. Always doubt one’s own conclusions and make provisions for losses.

4. Always have a stop loss policy already in place or in mind. Stop loss points can be in the form of contingent orders or trailing stop orders.

5. Understands the exact options trading style that suits them. Emotional options traders should stay out of day trading.

6. Know that there is no one best way to trade every single situation.

7. Do not chase after profitable trades that have been missed earlier on.

8. Satisfied with a steady, consistent gain.

9. Into options trading for the long run.

10. Think options trading education for a start.

11. “Trades” the market.

12. Keeps a trading log.

13. Learn from mistakes.

14. Understands technical and fundamental analysis.

Poor Options Trading :

1. Speculative directional options trading using direct call or put options buying with all their money hoping to hit a “big one” on stock picks taken from the TV or non-professional friends.

2. Has no idea what option greeks are at all.

3. 100% confidence! Full steam ahead!

4. Realize it’s too late only when it’s too late.

5. Follow whatever options trading style that is supposed to produce extra-ordinary gains only to completely break the rules and your pocket.

6. Stick to only one way of options trading for all market conditions and situations.

7. Missed a trade, watched the price go up and then enters it at that new high price only to see prices tumbling like a rock thereafter.

8. Always looking for ways to make more explosive gains from stock options only to have the dynamite eventually exploding in their face.

9. Start options trading with the purpose of quitting after hitting a big profit.

10. Think money making for a start.

11. “Plays” the market.

12. Forgets the last trade made.

13. Hates mistakes and tries to forget mistakes.

14. Mystifies and follows technical analysis superstitiously.

Well, as you can see from the list of differences above, the difference between rich options trading and poor options trading is not only a matter of technique or method but also a matter of attitude and mental approach. Only when the right mind meets the right technique does rich options trading happen. Are you making any of the mistakes that poor options trading makes?

Jason Ng
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/rich-options-trading-poor-options-trading-699285.html

I am new to day trading and my "mentor" has failed to train me on preparing for the following day and spotting stocks under pressure. Can anyone give me some advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

Pick one stock in each sector and follow them daily. Chasing the news is not a good way to trade. You need to understand the companies and the value of the news.

I’ve looked at several brokers to do day trading with, but they all seem to require a minimum of $25,000 in the account. I appreciate anyone who finds me a broker that doesn’t have a day trading minimum! Thanks – Tyler

It’s federal law that you need $25,000. You can try a shady overseas broker, but it’s illegal…

Learning the proper day trading tips could potentially provide you with a fantastic source of income. Many professional traders live the lifestyle of their dreams because they understand how to trade the markets. Regardless of what day trading guide you read or who you know, it all comes down to one thing. You have to know how to trade the market successfully. If you can actually win more trades than you lose, you can be a successful trader. Here are a few day trading tips and stock market tips that you will want to keep in mind.

One of the most important day trading tips that you can learn is to manage your money. Many traders get caught up in the moment and they decide to risk more than they can afford. You need to come up with some rules as far as how much money you are willing to risk on every trade. If you cannot stick to the rules, you are not going to be able to be successful. If you have a decent trading system and you stick to your money management rules, then you will be able to start making some decent money. Regardless of how good the system is, it is not going to work if you do not follow standard money management rules.

You are also going to need to spend a decent amount of time learning about the markets. You should read day trading guide after day trading guide until you feel comfortable with the markets. There are a lot of things that you need to learn and the best way to do this is by reading about trading. There are many different resources that you could potentially turn to. All of them have some kind of value when it comes to learning about the markets.

Another one of the most important day trading tips to keep in mind is that you do not want to do what everyone else is doing in the market. Just because someone recommends that you should buy a particular stock, that does not necessarily mean that you should do so. In fact, you might want to do the opposite of what the masses are doing. Most of the time, people will get out of a trade after taking a big loss. Most professional traders will actually get into the market when prices are low. This gives them a better deal on the purchase price of the stock and it allows them to make a bigger profit. Therefore, you need to be sure to do your own analysis before making any trading decisions. You should never trade just because someone recommends it.

Overall, you need to focus on trying to get the best day trading tips that you can and implement them into your trading system. By increasing your knowledge on the subject, you will be able to become a much more successful trader in the long run. Otherwise, you are basically just going to be guessing when you should trade and when you shouldn’t.

Here are some more related articles about day trading tips:

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