Where do i start???

The first thing that any aspiring trader must do is to make a commitment - a commitment to acquiring the necessary knowledge BEFORE placing trades. And there's lots of it to acquire. If i had to summarize what you have to learn, I'd list it as follows:

- Entering orders (long orders, short orders, stop losses, etc) on a brokerage platform.
- Reading charts (technical analysis)
- Understand how different currencies behave in relation to each other
- Understand how the news and various economic factors affect your trades and the market.
- Writing systems
- Testing systems
- Become disciplined
- Make a money management plan
- Manage risk
- Learn how to take losses
- Know when and when not to trade
- Control your emotions
- Create a trading plan.

Overwhelmed yet? The list can go on for much longer, so if you are feeling overwhelmed you should be. It's ok! What i am trying to do here is dispel any myths that might be floating around in your head that trading was supposed to be easy. You need to give yourself some time and set daily learning goals. You are going to have to break things down into little tasks. Forget about how much you stand to gain in the market for now and, instead, think about what you stand to lose if you don't learn the necessary things.

Get started by reading a book on the basics. Here are a few excellent suggestions:



Professional traders spend alot of their time reading, and newbies are no exception to that rule. Read everything you can get your hands on. In the markets there is always something to learn. If you get to the point where you feel that there is not much more to learn technically, you will always find there is something to learn about psychologically. In fact, 90% of the books i pick up now are on trading psychology.

I personally prefer reading books because they present information in a condensed manner. You can find everything you need on the Internet but it is scattered and takes time. Books are easier to reference later on (and it starts to look nice on your bookshelf after a while).

Just a word of caution: In the beginning it is very likely that you will feel overwhelmed, especially with the reading you will be doing on Technical Analysis. There are literally dozens of indicators, even more applications for those indicators, combinations of indicators. Just read them over and try and grasp a few of the main ones (Support & Resistance is important). As you practice them on your own charts, they will start to make more and more sense.

And don't worry because we will be talking about each of these factors in detail in future posts.

Until next time...happy reading!