Day Trading - And How Not to Make the Big Scary Mistake I MadeWhen I became aware of the increasing use of the stock market, or in other words, when a colleague suggested I look at trading instead of saving bonds, I started to buy a well know stocks and shares magazine, from the local newsagent. I remember getting really interested in some of the advertisements for trading tuition, one company stood off the page to me at the time. Anyway, I invested in a day course and took up their subscription offer for daily bulletins, which basically gave me one or two trading position to open up, based on their analysis - which they kept secret behind locked doors. I wish I had been wiser. They really did want to give a trader fish to eat, rather than teach them to fish! Under no circumstances were they about to divulge their system. Anyway, I was receiving those bulletins and trying to make head and tail of them along the way. There's only so much you can remember from a day seminar, in spite of load of scribbled notes, you know what I mean, even writing notes around the punched holes in the paper. So there were a few emails going back and forth and I was opening a trade or two. Unfortunately, my account at the time had just tipped over the minimum starter allowance of a penny a point and now I had a minimum of 50 pence a point; I was spread betting and still use that same vehicle. Anyway, based on the figures I received, I opened a position. I think I bought Gold. However, I made a grave error. I failed to use a stop loss management order! The first five minutes were not too bad as I watched the price moving about within a reasonable margin, but then it started to drop. And I started to panic. I watched with utter horror as my little account fell about $1200 Dollars in about twenty seconds. It had all but wiped me out by the time my frantic key tapping had found the BUY facility in my online platform. No choice. Needless to say, that taught me a valuable lesson. If you day trade or swing trade, never ignore that stop loss button. There are very experienced traders who wouldn't use one, for their own valid reasons, but for the beginner, or hobby trader, unless you're scalping, I would suggest using it. Labels: day trading Should You Invest in Futures Trading?In futures trading you are speculating about whether the price of a commodity will rise or fall.For example, let's say that you decided to speculate on hogs. If you thought that hog prices would be rising in the future you would purchase a hog futures contract. If you thought that hog prices would be falling then you would sell your hog futures contract. Whether you wanted to buy or sell, there has to be a buyer and a seller. Investors are attracted to futures trading because it isn't terribly complicated. In traditional stock markets there are literally thousands of stocks to choose from, whereas in the futures market there are only about forty markets to speculate on. Another reason why investors like futures trading is because it is very easy to buy or sell futures. The futures market is affected by the extreme weather conditions such as droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, and freezes because these can affect agricultural crops. Money can be made whether prices go up or whether prices go down. Still, another reason that futures trading is viewed so positively is that commission fees are much lower than those paid in stock trading. The most important reason that traders dabble in commodities is because there is an enormous opportunity for big gains in a short period of time. Of course, the potential for big profits exists because there is a risk for huge losses as well. No trader should ever get involved with the commodities market with the intention of getting rich quick. Those who do that usually endure huge losses. Only take risks that you construe to be acceptable losses. You can begin trading in the commodities market with small purchases. The smaller the trade you make, the less that you risk. You can still make profits on small trades, but it may take you quite a long time. Gains and risks are interrelated. The more that you put at risk means that there is more to be made in gains. The trouble is that you must be able to manage your risks. No one can consistently make the right calls about what to buy and sell, so at some point you will be wrong. Never invest more money than you can afford to lose. The other way to minimize your risk is to put a stop loss order in. The stop loss will automatically kick in when it reaches your set price and then your commodities will be sold so that you can stop the loss from getting too bad. If you think you can handle these risks, then give futures trading a try. Penny Stock Trading can be the most lucrative form of making money in stocks. What other vehicle can make 500%+ in less than one month? Learn to trade the correctly and you can make a fortune. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Crisp |
