[Snowbear]

Hey guys. I'm new around here and I'm looking to learn what I can. I wouldn't call myself a trader at the moment, I just hold some managed funds and ETFs in small amounts. I'm 27 and I can't get enough of the markets (all of em) and economics in general.

I'm not looking to get rich, just looking for some extra side money and the experience along with it. I'm a former sports gambler, so I have an iron stomach and I know how to take losses. Hopefully that's enough of a psychological foundation for a trader, but I don't know as much as I should to do anything useful at this point. I check my positions every day, even though I have next to zero intention of changing them, just because I get so excited when I see even the most modest gains in the portfolio.

So what is everyone in to? I want to learn whatever I can. Any suggestions on some moves to do that don't require a huge amount of capital? i.e. like $5,000 in expendable cash? Even if I lose it all, that's the cost of education I suppose, but I hate to think of losing 5 grand in a snap.

[MadMarketScientist]

Welcome to TL Snowbear. Good to have you here.

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away I also dabbled in the sports betting arts. So, the fact that you've done that, and can take the frequent losses that goes with it is probably better training than most have in that side of the equation. Most people come to trading always wanting to be right, or certainly not used to being proven wrong on such a regular basis.

You are going about the right way -- learning the markets, trading some ETFs, not looking to get in and out in rapid fire succession. Good for you on that.

As for the $5K there's a lot of ways to get an education in trading, and usually that education does come with some losses. It's hard to make a perfect recommendation since I don't know if you want to just spend 5-10 minutes a night, or even once per week, or if you're looking to trade an hour per day on a day trade. So much of that depends on what you would more specifically be looking for.

Keep sharing your experiences, ask questions and stay involved here on TL. Those that do learn a ton about trading, and sometimes even themselves.

MMS

[Snowbear]

I can devote hours a day to learning whatever I need to learn and researching decisions before I make them. I'm looking for something that requires a little bit of monitoring, maybe taking a glance every day and making adjustments throughout the week, but not to the point where if I get up to go to the bathroom I miss my exit point and I'm left holding the bag.

Do you have any suggestions on a good starting point based on my style and my funds available?

[MadMarketScientist]

What you describe to me sounds like swing trading for sure. Not daytrading.

With $5K you are looking at either trading call or put options on stocks -- looking for swing moves on those stocks.

Or, you can trade forex on a swing basis.

That's the two I would look at -- and only swing trading.

I would definitely follow a technical approach not try to fundamentally predict either a stocks movement or a forex market - in my opinion anyway way too complicated. You'll likely want to look for something that gives you the odds in your favor maybe 65% - 75% of the time though in the 60s on a percentage basis is fine as long as you can maintain above 1:1 on the reward to risk.

That's at least a starting point in your investigation.

MMS

[sundaram iyer]

all the best for ur trading

[Snowbear]

Originally Posted by MadMarketScientist »

What you describe to me sounds like swing trading for sure. Not daytrading.

With $5K you are looking at either trading call or put options on stocks -- looking for swing moves on those stocks.

Or, you can trade forex on a swing basis.

That's the two I would look at -- and only swing trading.

I would definitely follow a technical approach not try to fundamentally predict either a stocks movement or a forex market - in my opinion anyway way too complicated. You'll likely want to look for something that gives you the odds in your favor maybe 65% - 75% of the time though in the 60s on a percentage basis is fine as long as you can maintain above 1:1 on the reward to risk.

That's at least a starting point in your investigation.

MMS

This sounds like a plan to me. Any thoughts on some good things to read or some learning resources I should start with? I know how the basics of options work and I know a little about the techniques like the collar, the "box" thing, etc. but I don't know the technicals or the specifics.

I was looking online and I found this one course that looks like it's talking about swing trading options making small profits with small risk. Called Trading Options Lab: Options Made Easy: Your Video Guide to Trading as a Business

I don't like the hype on the site about 'fortunes' and all the bloated claims of success, but from looking at some of the videos, it seems like it's good info at the core. There have been people that have said that if someone was good at trading, they wouldn't make courses, but I disagree. Some people like sharing things with others, some people enjoy teaching, and some people just want to interact with others and not live in a cave and hide their money all day. Now granted who knows if that applies to this place, could be a sham, but what are your thoughts on these mini-courses in general? Are they best avoided, or is there good info on there a lot of times?

I did notice this place heavily advocates TD Ameritrade's think or swim platform which is a little pricey compared to Options House or that Options Xpress place.