umfan92

Hi upullit4, I'm brand new to trading. I've been reading a lot and literally hours of research. I have tried learning several indicators. So far, I would say that I'm struggling as I'm sure many beginners do. What advice would you give a new trader like myself? So far I have only traded stocks and I have only made a few (unsuccessful) trades. I hear many people trading forex and other unfamiliar things and I am not sure if I should see what it's all about or stick with stocks until I gain more experience. I don't really know where I can learn to be a better trader. I am willing to put in the work, but I just don't know where to go from here. Thanks.

Thank you for the response. Do you think you could post an example or two about how to use the RWI. I just don't really quite get it. I understand the theory, but I still don't know how to use it. I looked at the chart you posted of MSFT and couldn't see wha to do with it. When the RWI is low, it's supposed to be a sideways market, right? So mean reversion would be a better method. And the opposite goes for when the RWI is high. But in the chart, it seems to me that the RWI mimics the price chart.

Well I'm always reading! Thanks again for the thread. I am very interested in what you were saying. The only problem is that I couldn't find the RWI as an indicator in any of the charting websites I use. Also, I don't quite fully understand using the RWI yet. So far, I have been more interested in the mean reversion strategy, but from what you have said so far, I understood that it would best be to use both depending on what kind of market in which you are trading. So, the RWI is an indicator that shows whether a certain stock is trending. If the RWI is lower, then it would be best to use a mean reversion strategy? And if the RWI is higher, then a trend-following strategy would be recommended? I don't typically like posting comments because I don't want to hijack the thread and I don't want to sound stupid, but if it encourages you, then I'll follow along and comment from time to time. Keep up the awesome work Do or Die! Thanks.

Hi Do or Die, Thank you for the thread. I will also follow along and I know I'll learn a lot. Which method do you think would be more successful? Do you think it would be more successful to keep it simple and just use the RSI or are there better indicators to use for mean reversion? Also do you recommend this for a beginner trader like myself? Thank you again for the thread.

I am pretty interested in that gap strategy, but how can it be used? How would I look at a stock and buy or sell basing my entire strategy on gaps. I now understand what you mean by gaps, but how can you predict them, or what do you do when you see them? You mentioned that one could expect many selling orders at that point on BBY, so are you saying it would be good to short at that point? I'm a beginner so I don't think I'll be shorting anything for a while since there is a lot of risk, but what about using gaps to determine buying?

Thank you for all the options. I don't want to sound rude or unappreciative, but I really didn't find any that would work for me. I went through each individual one and either it didn't work, or it wasn't easy to use. I actually really like using the freestockcharts.com website. It's a shame that the RSI values are incorrect. I wish there was one similar to that one that had all correct values.

Until recently, I was using my broker's chart system, when someone recommended freestockcharts.com I had no idea what I was missing lol. freestockcharts.com is good but I was told that some of the indicators give false values. So are there any other better ones out there? Thanks everyone.

I thought SIRI would be good for a short term trade. What website should I used for the RSI? Are there any other better chart websites like freestockcharts?

Lol Don't feel worried! I'm not going to spend all my money buying as much ABAT as I can! I will learn to read the charts correctly soon. I saw what you meant about the downtrend. I just thought they could be in a short term uptrend. But I guess that is just because the whole market is going up. Is that more or less what's happening? Also I noticed the Volume increased so I guess the sudden increase was about increased demand? I'm trying to understand what's going on and I think I'm getting it (of course thanks to you!). So I guess what you're saying is that the longer term chart is more important? Is the RSI less reliable in the short term? I'm glad you feel that way! I didn't want to give off the wrong impression. Yeah I was about to buy SIRI at about 1.98 and then it dropped to 1.93, but I decided not to make another rookie mistake like I did on S. So then I watched SIRI climb and climb and I would have made a nice small profit. But I guess that's better than buying SIRI and watching it go down. Thank you for including the chart of AOL. I see how the RS and the RSI is improving. I noticed that even though the low of the price was the same, the low of the RSI was improving. I will look out for these trends. Thank you! And I look forwarding to hearing more about it from you.

Well it seems I have a lot to learn lol. But I will learn it! I've been reading as much as I can about RSI and your explanation helped a lot. In terms of ABAT,you say it looks weak. How come? What stood out to you? It doesn't look too bad to me, so that must mean that I'm missing a lot! I looked at the P/E ratio, which is 1.73. I thought that was good. Is it? And the EPS is 0.57.I guess I don't really know how to properly evaluate stocks yet. I looked at the one month chart with an RSI with 14 periods. It's currently at 54 which looks to be heading up. I hope this isn't misunderstood as me trying to free-load off of your advice so that I can go make a buck. I'm not asking for stock picks or anything like that. I am not looking for an easy way. I'm just trying to learn how everything works. I hope you don't mind the questions. Once again thank you for all your help.

Well now that you mention it, I have been trying to use the RSI on a few different companies. I've been primarily trying to find companies with low prices since I don't have too much money at the moment. I find the cheapest most actively traded companies and try to determine whether they are worth investing. I have had particular interest in SIRI, ABAT, and ALAN. I wanted to buy SIRI when it was below 2.00 and I watched as the perfect opportunity slipped away from me. I could have bought it at 1.93 and it's currently at 2.19. But I guess that happens to even the experienced traders all the time. ABAT and ALAN are my newest interests. I have no intention of buying any shares yet. I am just going through the screening process. So far, based on what you have told me I don't think either of them will be too good. The RSI for ABAT is currently at 33.98, which is terrible. And the RSI for ALAN is at 70, which could indicate a reversal, but I don't think it will last. I still don't quite understand everything that you have said in the last post, although I have read it several times lol. The Relative Strength on freestockcharts.com is compared to the SPY. Is that right? And do you only use the RSI in the yearly charts or is it also a good indicator in the short term such as weekly or daily? Thanks again.

Wow I just used the first free chart website you mentioned and it is really great. It is way better than the one my broker has. I didn't realize how much I was missing. Thanks! I'll try the second one soon too.

Thank you so much! I will be looking forward to hearing from you again. And yes I will post generic questions in that thread from now on.

Well I'm sure this question has been asked and I'm sorry if it has, but I thought it would be a good idea to ask here. What indicators do you guys use and is there a certain point that a stock has to be at in order for you to buy? What I mean is, do you require that certain indicators be a certain way before you buy? I have learned about many indicators recently and I look at most of them when looking at different companies, but I still haven't gotten good at picking stocks (I know it comes with time but I figured I would be better at it if I employed these indicators). I look at the following: Bollinger Bands, MACD, Fast and Slow Stochastics, Relative Strength Index, and 20, 30, and 50 day Moving Averages. I also look at Volume to see if it's too low or above it's 30 day average. What do you guys think? Is this a good repertoire of indicators? Does that mean I'm using them incorrectly? I just don't know what to look for. Thanks in advance.

Thank you Do Or Die for these awesome explanations. I just recently learned about RSI and haven't completely learned how to use it. On my broker's website, they only have the RSI and lets you adjust the periods. It's set to 14, but I'm not really sure what would be the best way to set it. Also, how do you measure it compared to the industry? I also don't have access to the Aroon indicators. Do you know of any websites that have these indicators? So if the RSI is in the upper half range, it is in and uptrend. Does this also work for the short term? How exactly do I use it? I know this isn't the only indicator but in terms of the RSI, when would be the best time to buy? When it's up? When it's down but heading up like some other momentum indicators? Again thank you so much. I appreciate it when people take the time to explain things to the beginners like myself. (I wasn't sure whether I should post this in this thread or the new one so I'm sorry if you prefer it in the other one).

Well I'm really glad I asked this question here. I feel kinda stupid now but I rather be embarrassed and not lose a bunch of money. Thanks a lot everyone. Do or Die, Why do you say that it looks like it could go bankrupt? I know they have decreased a lot in recent years, but what do you see that could be a good sign? I need to learn these things lol. MightyMouse, I'm assuming you're looking at the 10 year chart, huh? Lol yeah that would have been a great opportunity! I couldn't believe they were once so high up and now so low.

Thanks SIUYA. I wasn't sure and I don't want to make any other beginner mistakes. I just don't know how to properly judge stocks yet. I also so the down trend, but thought maybe it would go up in the short term a little bit. I'll keep learning and keep trying.

Cup and handle is a chart pattern that people use in technical analysis. Here is a link to the definition: Cup and Handle Definition

Well I was just looking at different companies. I noticed that YRCW is one of the most bought stocks on my broker's website over the last 5 days. I started looking into it because it has a low price and because of it's recent activity. I looked at the chart of the last 3 months and it sort of looks to me like a cup and handle chart. Am I right? What does this mean for the stock? I looked up the definition which talks about the volume and said, "Volume - Volume should dry up on the decline and remain lower than average in the base of the bowl. It should then increase when the stock finally starts to make its move back up to test the old high." It looks to me like it's exactly as described. What do you guys think? I'm not trying to let you guys do all the work but I'm extremely new at this and some help would be nice. I appreciate it. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to invest in this company in the short term? I'm not sure. Also please let me know how you came to the conclusion so that I can also learn from it. Thank you all in advance. I look forward to hearing your responses. (Also I'm sorry if I posted it in the wrong section).

Sooooo, it's not likely at all? I didn't think so but I read otherwise.

Suppose I sold a call option that was in the money by 9 cents.. Expiration is in 150 days. The price of the option is $0.59. I read somewhere that if an option is in the money by a few cents, it will most likely be assigned. Is this true? If it is likely, is it likely to happen soon after I sell the call? Since I have no experience in the stock market, I have no idea how it would work out. Thanks.

Ok well after much back and forth, I ended up keeping the stock. It was going up the last time I posted here. I was hoping it would keep going up but it took a horrific downturn and is now at 5.08. Does anyone have any advice? I know this was stupid, but I guess I haven't learned yet.

This is all so confusing. I'm trying to learn but I honestly don't have a clue where to start. I read many articles and I just recently got a couple books, but I still don't think I'm doing it right.

Well I noticed that the market has good days and bad days. I also noticed that on the bad days, all the stocks on my watchlist go down, every single one of them. And on the good days, every single one of those stocks goes up. Why does this happen? What does it mean? Also what are indications of this behavior? Thanks everyone.

Thanks everyone. Well Sprint went up a little bit today which is better than going down any further. I think I'll wait a while and see what happens. (although I know one of the worst mistakes is trying to wait until it goes back up and end up losing 50%) I guess it wasn't all bad. I learned a lot and now I know that I have to keep researching and learning more.