Why You Have to Use Technical Analysis to Make Profits

Technical analysis or more commonly known as TA is actually nothing more than probability studies used in mathematics.

In all types of trading, we as traders are concerned about the occurrence of certain events. Plainly said, we want to buy low sell high. Which means that we will look for that : "edge" which will give to us the ability to consistently make profits in our trading.

TA are a group of studies to help maintain and create that edge. Of course it is not the whole pie, but TA is a very large portion of that pie!

Some of the more common forms of TA are (1) averages (moving, exponential, simple). They can be used for a variety of strategies as well as help the trader spot entry and exit positions. Most commonly they are used for trend studies.

Price points, or pivot points, bollinger bands and fibonacci. These basically tell you about the support and resistance levels of the investment.

There is a lot of TA that you can use, and using TA correctly can make your trading a lot easier.

When you trade, focus on using TA that complement each other and help you spot entry and exit positions.

This will ensure that your trade has a good edge to capitalize on market movement. There are times that TA cannot help you, but I can say then you are most likely using the wrong indicator.

For short-term traders, or long term traders, using TA as part of your trading strategy can help you ascertain the type of trade you wish to enter. Of course that also means that you will have to use fundamental studies to qualify your trades, but TA will help you make buy/sell decisions.

TA have become the staple for many traders these days, so use it wisely to your advantage.

Why Money Management is So Important to Professional Traders

Not only is technique and analysis of data important to the success of a professional trader, but also the way they manage their money. Proper money management is crucial, because it can minimize losses and allow for the highest possibility of profit. By keeping spending and losses within set boundaries, a trader will always be able to stay ahead of the game and make a fine living.

Professional traders need to understand their market so that they can prepare a budget regarding trade spending. Money management means that the amount risked is dependent on factors such as trend or market strength (whether bull or bear). The safer a trade is, the more money is allocated to this portfolio. High risk trades receive the lowest investment amount, but if successful they also bring the highest net returns which once again adds to profits and not losses.

Another reason why money management is so important to professional traders is that it can keep most of the profits made safe and in their pockets. This is done by taking only small percentages of each profit and re-investing them based on the risk factor. Once a certain loss has been achieve, the professional traders then pull out and don't risk losing their returns over a bad trade. Diversifying trade deals, that is trading a wide array of things, also provides the greatest opportunity to make a gain.

Professional day traders need to manage their money especially carefully. This is because they need to minimize losses on a daily basis and have to keep constant eye over the trends throughout the day.

Day Trading - Good Or Bad?

Day Trading is seen by many people as a way to get out of the daily grind of having to get out of bed to go to a job and to make good money at the same time, which is most people's goal. But while there are a lot of advantages to day trading, there can also be pitfalls that you need to avoid.

The good stuff : You can work when you want, you have no boss on your case, you can dress how you like, take breaks when you like, take time off when you like, spend more time with your family and friends, you don't need to get yourself to work, you just fall out of bed and you're there. You have time to do what you want when YOU want to do it and, if you get it right, you can make a stack of money!

The bad stuff : You have to discipline yourself to do the job properly and not take silly risks, you have to learn when to get out of a trade (not necessarily right at the top), and if you're losing you need to know when to cut, because if you get this wrong, you could lose everything.

You must only use money that you can afford to lose. Day trading is just another form of gambling, but if you work at getting it right, the rewards can be fantastic. You can find a lot of help and information on the Internet, and while some isn't very good, a lot is excellent. There is also software available to help you to trade more safely and even free software that allows you to simulate trading. You would be wise to try this first before you invest your hard earned cash.

Auto Forex Trade - The Way to Make Money in Your Sleep

If you want to auto trade forex first you need to understand exactly what it is. Essentially it involves using a computer program to select trades for you. There are obvious advantages to getting a computer to do the hard work for you. The main one being the processing power of PCs today means they can analyze vastly more data than you ever could and as a result can help to quickly find positive trades.

How can forex trading be automated?

As with most types of trading these days it is possible to design and write computer programs that will implement a trading strategy and automatically select and execute trades on your behalf. To private individual investors this is a relatively new concept however this has been happening amongst the large corporate and investment banks for a few years now.

The advent of high powered PCs and especially the internet has meant that it is now possible to select and execute trades with split second accuracy. This allows the trader to exploit small discrepancies between prices around the globe and take small profits from a large number of trades. The best thing about trading this way is that it enables you to set and forget. This means you simply set up the program and let it get on with it which means you can even make money from trading forex while you sleep!

How can you auto trade forex?

These days it is relatively easy to get started. The price of forex trading software has fallen drastically in the last couple of years and there are now several systems on the market. This has meant these systems are now very affordable to individuals and are no longer only feasible for large corporate investors.

It is best to select one that offers a full money back guarantee which means you can effectively try it out before you buy.

Day Trading Stock Picks - The Best Way to Start Trading the Penny Stock Market

I know that many people are interested in receiving day trading stock picks. Many people just don't have the time needed to learn the complexities of the stock market. Or sometimes people would rather spend their time doing something they love rather than watching charts all day. But what happens if you are a total newbie to the stock market or in most cases you don't have that much money to invest in?

The single biggest obstacle for new traders is money. It's real easy to have a huge, diversified portfolio if you're already making a six-figure income. But what if you're like most of the public and have only a couple thousand dollars to invest in the market? Are you just stuck buying 10 shares of Wal-Mart and 15 shares of Microsoft? Nope! Try trading penny stocks.

Every single month, there are penny stocks that come from nowhere to explode onto the scene. The tricky part is that it takes some time to scan through the penny stock market to see which stocks have the best chance of exploding. It's an awfully big pool of stocks.

Luckily for all of us, two developers have created software that can automatically scan the penny stock market to see if there are any potential gold mines out there. They have an excellent newsletter where they offer day trading stock picks. They only make recommendations when there is a high percentage of upward movement. At it's peak, It is estimated that if somebody invested $5000 in the stocks that were recommended in the newsletter, that would have grown into $380,000 dollars over a month span.

Where Can I Find Good Penny Stocks to Invest In?

I had always been impressed with the tales I had heard about amateur investors somehow being able to pick the right stocks to invest in and grow their portfolios. In fact I was sick of hearing about friends picking killer stocks that rose 20% or 30% overnight making them huge amounts of profit.

This was a real problem for me until I discovered that their success was not really about their due diligence, any special research techniques or even the newspapers they were reading. What I did to turn my investing around was to use an automated stock picking software service to do the hard work for me.

I want to reveal this invaluable service to you right now. If you are looking to make some healthy returns from stocks then this could be the most informative article you read because the information I am about to disclose has the power to dramatically improve you wealth.

I used to spend hours and hours each week pouring over the financial press and the Internet researching potential stocks to invest in. I was using a combination of fundamental analysis (looking at the companys profits and balance sheet) and technical analysis (looking at price movement trends) and felt I was fairly competent with both despite my lack of results. Occasionally I would pick a winning stock however I would also pick bad ones and I never managed to significantly grow my portfolio of stocks.

What I found really difficult was when I did buy in to a good stock I did not know when to sell. I often found myself sitting on a 10% gain only to see it eroded away over the next few weeks. In a similar vain I was unsure when to buy in to a stock I thought offered value. All too often I would 'miss the boat' and spend my time working out how much money I would have made had I bought the stock.

I was introduced to the service by a close friend that worked in one of the large investment banks. He told me that for some years now the big banks have been using computers to select their trades. The benefit being the huge computational power they offer. He showed me the service and more importantly the profit and loss on his trading account. My trading has gone from strength to strength since that moment.

Now I use a automated stock picking service all of the hard work is done for me. I receive a weekly newsletter with my picks in. I then do some high level research to get some more background on the companies then simply invest when the suggested buy price is reached and sell at the proposed sell price. By doing this and spending just 2 hours per week on my trading I make roughly $5,000 per month more than I did when I was spending 15 hours per week researching the market by myself.

How to Get Rich From Trading Commodities

Investing money and investing successfully is often over complicated by people. One of the main deterrents and stumbling blocks facing individual investors is the over analysis of their trading formula.

The devil IS in the detail

Often when individuals invest they tend to get bogged down in over analysis of detailed data surrounding potential investments. When this happens it is often the case that your judgment of the overall position becomes clouded. The worst thing about this problems is very rarely do you notice that it is happening.

Some of the most successful investors out there stick by a very simple rule which is to keep it simple. Stick to the basics and only invest in things you understand and can explain. By doing this you will be amazed how easy and successful your investing will become.

How to keep it simple and make good investment decisions

The easiest approach is to look for long term trends. It is easy to notice that commodities such as oil gas and agricultural produce have been rising in prices for some time. In fact at a time when stock equities are on a downward trend commodities are still booming. Much of the reason for their rising value is because production is limited or finite. In addition the booming economies of China and India mean that demand is growing more and more.

Such is the worlds consumption of commodities that it looks increasingly likely that their prices are set to continue to rise. We have now burnt over half of the worlds oil reserves and continue to consume more and more each year. The demand for bio fuel made from crops has soared in recent years thanks to governments committing to use them as part of the fight against greenhouse gases.

5 Swing Trading Tips For the Successful Swing Trader

Swing trading is a style of investing in which you try to exploit the natural oscillations of stocks. Often stocks travel within a specific range of prices over a period of time, allowing you to profit from these periodical ups and downs. Swing trades are usually held for a few days to a few weeks so it's much easier than day trading but doesn't require you to forget about the money you invested for years live positional investments.

Swing trading can be a profitable business but it can also be a tricky one, so make sure that you follow the tips I provide in this article:

1. Don't be a day trader in disguise - A lot of people simply call themselves swing traders but practice day trading. If you're monitoring the markets constantly or going in and out of trades all the time, you're setting yourself up for a fall.

2. Set your exit levels properly and stick to them - Swing trading requires discipline. When you enter a trade, set your stop loss and take profit levels. These aren't up to any modification due to hunches unless the market data changes sufficiently to justify it. You need to work with your initial settings to avoid turning this into a job.

3. Follow a strategy - The best swing trading tip I can give you is to not follow tips but a sound strategy. You need to have a system down so you can trade efficiently as well as profitably. There are a number of strategies. Find one or more which work (even if you need to take a course to learn them) and simply apply them again and again.

4. Be emotionless - This is the culmination of the previous 3 tips. To be a successful swing trader you must act without emotions. Emotional mistakes are the worst things a trader can suffer. You must follow your logical strategy and eradicate worries and feelings as they will lead to mistakes.

5. A mentor - Finding a mentor which can teach you the ins and outs of swing trading techniques is a marvelous thing to have. A good mentor can save you a lot of time, money, and frustration. He or she can also cut down your learning curve massively so you're making more money faster.

3 Key Concepts For Successful Trading

There are three things that a share trader needs to understand if he is going to make money on a consistent basis in the market. These are the concepts of prosperity, survival and mentoring.

The concept of prosperity is a mindset. You will not prosper if you have a poverty mindset. You need to believe that you have the right to prosper. You need to believe that you have the right to be a winner. You need to understand the principles of money management from a prosperity mindset and not from a poverty mindset. This may sound strange to you, but it is crucial to being a successful trader.

The reason it is necessary for you as a trader to have a prosperity mindset is unless you know how to handle large sums of money you will find yourself making decisions which will cause you to lose more money than necessary. A prosperity mindset will prevent you from entering into a losing spiral that causes you to lose everything you have made. You might think that this does not happen, but when people go from being just an average player to becoming very wealthy, not being able to function from a prosperity mindset often becomes their downfall.

One person I knew went from being broke to a multi-millionaire in just a couple of years. However, his new found wealth got the better of him and he started making decisions from a poverty mindset rather than a prosperity mindset and was not able to break out of his downward spiral back to poverty.

The idea of survival may not seem worth taking on board, because you want to prosper not just survive. Yet if you cannot survive when things are tough, there is no way you are going to prosper. If fact, one young man told me that he did not need to learn how to survive, he just wanted to know how to prosper. In the good times, things just came easy for him. But when things got too difficult, he could not cope with the effort that was required in learning how to survive. It just seemed so futile to working so hard just to keep his head above the water, when beforehand he was accumulating wealth without doing anything really. When you are in a bull market and shares are going up, you will congratulate yourself of your excellent trading simply because you were buying shares and they were going up in value, just like the rest of the market. The difficulty is when the high tide goes out. If you haven't learnt how to survive at low tide in a bear market, you are not going to be trading very long. The same applies if you have not learnt to trade in a choppy sidewards market.

If you have learnt how to survive in bear markets and markets trading sidewards, then you will be able to prosper. Learning how to survive is the key to being a winner. One of the problems many novice private traders face is not knowing how to survive in the markets during the tough times. This can be rectified by either doing an apprenticeship or finding a mentor, which is effectively the same as doing the apprenticeship.

When people do apprenticeships, they have a mentor. Apprentices are usually assigned to a tradesman or a master, which is the same as a mentor. The apprentice's mentor not only demonstrates how to do the job but also can cover up any mistakes made. This luxury is not afforded to you as a private trader, even if you have a mentor. However, having a mentor to guide you and show you how to make money on the markets, so you can survive the tough times, and help you keep the right mindset during the heady times, will ensure that you become a successful trader.

Losing? How to Figure Out Where You Are Going Wrong

One of the most common questions asked by struggling traders is "where am I going wrong?". There can often appear to be such a mind boggling array of variables in trading, that it seems impossible to unravel the primary issues.

When you strip away your emotions on the subject and look at your situation with cold hard analysis, there are really only two main variables:

1. Are you using a profitable trading system?

In other words is your trading method giving you entry and exit signals which if executed correctly lead to profit, in the balance of trades. Do you know your trading system's expectancy?

You would be amazed at how many traders can't answer this question. For many traders in their first few years of trading, the market has such an aura of mystery about it, and there are so many details in terms of charting, order entry, brokers etc. that they forget to ask the most obvious of questions. Don't be one of these traders! Don't be willing to go out and risk your hard earned money on hope. You wouldn't drive your car somewhere unless you had a reasonable certainty that it was going to get you where you wanted to go. You wouldn't eat food unless you were reasonably certain that it wouldn't make you sick. So why trade without knowing what to expect from your trading system?

If you want to gamble, surely it would be more fun to go and bet on a sports game? Despite what some may say, serious trading is not gambling. The profitable trader knows exactly what to expect from his system over time. He won't be able to tell you if his next trade will be profitable, but over a week or month he should be able to tell you with reasonable accuracy his trading system's expectancy.

So test your system, either using the back testing functionality of your charting package, or by paper trading it over an extended period. Knowing the expectancy of your trading system is your foundation, without it you have NOTHING! Really, NOTHING! Without knowing your trading method's expectancy you are building a house on sand.

This first step is really a gate keeper. If your trading method is not profitable there is no point in going any further.

2. Execution

Once you know for certain that your trading method has is (or has the expectancy to be) profitable, the only other variable is executing it correctly. Yes, you may be saying "duh!", that's really obvious. But when you boil your trading down to these two simple variables - when you know what to expect from your system - then you can place 100% undivided focus on mastering your ability to execute your trading system.

The mistake that many traders make is focusing on the wrong thing. Your job isn't being the trading system! Its not to decide which trades look promising. That's the job of your system or method. You should have a set of rules which tell you this, which you follow. Unless you are incredibly experienced or have psychic powers, don't do discretionary trading. Don't get lost in price movement and make up the rules as you go along.

Your job, your only job, is to sit patiently and wait for your system or method to indicate that its time to enter - and then with great focus, you execute the trade as planned, and you get out again either at the predetermined profit targets, or when your stop loss gets triggered.

I know this seems really basic, but remember that 99% of traders fail because they either don't have a profitable system, or because even with a profitable system they don't follow it. Taking trades not indicated by the system, second guessing the system and not taking trades given, hesitating and getting in late, anticipating and getting in early - these are all commonplace. They all boil down to a lack of faith in the system, and not having a burning focus on accurate execution.

Where does mindset fit in here? Focus on staying focused - on execution. Make it a meditation. The more you develop the ability to step back from price movement and watch the market dispassionately - waiting for a signal to trade, the easier it will be to master your emotions. The easier it will be to witness the fluctuations of your emotions without getting sucked in to them - and allowing them to throw you off your game.

Tips For Day Trading

There are good number of people who want to make a killing in the stock market, and there are several people who want to make day trading their source of regular earnings. but day trading is the most risky when you simply enter without having sufficient knowledge or experience . In order to make new day traders a better informed, some tips are being given , so that they may just make profits only from the day trading. Here goes the tips.

Day Trading Tips

If you are doing day trading, always remember the following tips

1.You must know about the company, you wish to trade its shares.

2.Go after only the liquid stocks.

3.Risk as little as possible in the beginning.

4.Trade stocks of profitable companies.

5.Start small, and then do big from the profits only.

6.Consider risk vs reward ratio.

7.Trade with funds you can afford to lose.

8. Plan out your stop losses carefully.

The three important rules of a successful trader

1. He is unemotional.

2. He is hardworking.

3. He is disciplined

Plan a Trade

Before you start your day trading, you must prepare a plan for the trade.

A check list is given below for such planning.

1. What is the entry point on this trade?

2. How much you will pay to gain a position?

3. What price you will sell at?

4. How many shares you can afford to buy?

5. At what price, you will exit to pull out profits?

6. At what price, you will exit to minimise loss?

7. Where will you put your stop loss?

Where to Take Free Online Forex Trading Courses

Profiting from free online forex trading courses is easy when you know where to take them. These training sessions are free and the only thing you are asked for in return is a little conviction on your part. With your conviction you can achieve success much like how forex trading greats have. These free training will surely take you a step forward towards gaining your fortune.

Your fortune is really what's important here. You should have all the information necessary for making and maintaining your fortune. It is really just good sense on your part if you gather all the information needed for you to make correct decisions that concern your finances.

When life changing decisions are involved, you need to be constantly informed. Preparation will truly get you far. Similar to how generals choose to do battle, you need constant and correct reconnaissance to mobilize your troops and resources. You need this information to profit in the battlefield of the market. The calculated risks you take should always lean toward you making a profit. There is no point in taking unnecessary misinformed risks.

After you take free online forex trading courses you no longer have to make stupid risks with your finances. You already know the theory behind the workings of currency dealing. You are taught all this with no charge to you. Taking this courses will only take away from you your time which is actually a pretty good investment since you can then convert this time into profit you get dealing in FX.

You are probably thinking what you gain exactly when you take these lessons. What you gain is a good chance of getting the fortune you deserve. These trainings only have your success in mind.

The available free online forex trading courses bestow upon you the essentials of the FX which you will require in correctly making your decision in the currency market. The sensible advices they impart have already made many their fortune. Why not let them guide you to yours?

The things you will learn taking these courses will build in you confidence you will use when buying and selling currency. This is inevitable as you will already have enough knowledge on the whole trading scene. Confidence in yourself is the next logical progression.

Head on over to the following site if you want exclusive detail on where to take free online forex trading courses and learn how to trade forex successfully.

3 Day Trading Tips You Can Use Today

Easy money can be earned the first hour of the day if you are ready; keep it simple to earn consistent money. Sometimes in this internet age it can be very easy to have information overload. When you have too much to choose from it can feel like you have all the tools in the box but no idea how to use them.

These tips are a few of the key ingredients of our trading plan.

#1 Share size comes last! Too many traders initiate trades with the same share size all the time no matter the volatility of the stock or the market conditions. Your first consideration should be how much I am willing to risk per trade; this is a specific dollar amount. Next decision is the stop loss based on charts or any other criteria you use. Be sure to allow the stock to sufficient room to breathe, never place your stop at the exact number. When you know risk amount and stop loss parameters, then you allocate shares.

#2 Be prepared for the open. You must have a prepared plan before the market open. You must know which stocks you plan to trade long and which ones short. It amazes me how many traders I mentor that basically "wing it" the first 45 minutes. On top of that which of the stocks in your morning list are the cream of the crop?

If you have a list of 10 stocks which are trading in sync with the market? Are any of them consolidating the last few days that would setup an easy breakout trade? Those are the ones you can't miss. Order flow is easiest to read in the morning and you should get solid follow through. Take advantage of it by being ready. Our traders have the first 60 minutes mapped out for them; it is just a matter of reading the order flow letting the market play itself out.

#3 Have an idea but not an opinion for the day. What is the difference? If you have an opinion you will only see what you want to happen, or to put it more bluntly you will only see one side of the market. The side you want, the side that validates your brilliant analysis. When this happens you will be caught off guard if it doesn't unfold the way "you knew it would." That translates into bigger losing trades.

If you have an idea you have a bunch of "if-then" scenarios mapped out in your head for both your stocks and for the market. You have a game plan for what "should happen" but you will trade what actually does happen. I know this sounds insanely obvious but I can tell you most plans go out the window as soon as the bell rings. Remember having a plan and following it is how you repeat success.

One last point, on any given day you may have 4 stocks to short and 6 stocks to go long. It may be common for 8 out of the 10 to not act according to plan. That is fine let those trades go, you only need those two to play out to make a great living.

Six Golden Rules to Keep Away From SCAM HYIPs

I list here some of the most important criteria for recognition that an online high yield investment opportunity is real and secured. I called them gold rules because I select them from tens of signals from hyips according to our long experience.

I. The most important factor to determine that a HYIP is a true opportunity is its payment record. Normally a program which has paid for more than 1 year surely involves high yield investment ventures.

II. Usually a high yield investment program has a profit payment of 15%-100% monthly. Rates more than these are rare and can be considered as scam.

III. Quality of a site is another important factor. Notice that a real online high yield investing program spend a good money for its site to look attractive and professional. Also an SSL certificate especially from well known companies may be considerable.

IV. Real and best HYIPs usually backed up by stocks, FOREX, NASDAQ, precious metals and objects, high-tech inventions, offshore investing banks, gold (e-gold investment opportunities) or in general any valuable object positive price fluctuation. Therefore, finding any reference to such activities on a site can be a signal to make us to conclude that business may involves a real and true high yield investment (HYIP) program.

V. For to be assure that a hyip is not scam check its contact, ip, whois, physical address and direct phone number. Better than this is a verified registration number or VAT for an investment company to prove it is genuine.

VI. If a hyip company lacks all or many of above characters keep away from it.

Mental Toughness

If you want to be a winning trader, you have to learn to handle extreme levels of stress. The markets are often chaotic and unpredictable; they are, no doubt, stressful. You mind has limited resources; when you feel stressed, a great proportion of your resources are devoted to managing the stress. You tend to have little energy left with which to focus on trading. It's a lot like "cramming" for an examination in school. It takes twice as long to learn material when you cram. Why? It's because you are more stressed when you are trying to learn under duress.

When you're struggling to cope with the wildness of the markets, you are similarly trying to perform under duress, and under less than ideal circumstances. As you push yourself to the limit, you use up mental and emotional energy. As you use up resources, there is little mental and emotional energy left for trading smoothly, easily, and with retaining your poise. You are more prone to panic, and may ride an emotional roller coaster as you face winning and losing trades. You may even begin to panic and behave irrationally. It's essential for survival to be able to cope with the ever-increasing demands of the markets.

Research has proven that, if you can learn adequate ways to cope with stressful situations, events that usually produce stress need not necessarily produce the stress response. You can develop "mental toughness." The mentally tough person can endure high levels of stressful events, yet not feel stressed out. Coping with stress is similar to weight lifting. If you lift more than your body can physically handle, you can damage muscle tissue. But, if you never push yourself to the limit, you'll never develop additional strength. Just as you build up muscles gradually, you gradually build up your ability to handle stress.

The key is to learn how to handle greater levels of stress, but also to find time to recover. When it comes to the markets, for example, it's tempting to trade all day, then work late into the night back testing and trying out new trading strategies. However, working tirelessly at such a pace is bound to wear you out eventually. It is very important to rest and recover. That doesn't mean shrinking back from the markets, but learning to deal with the pressures of the markets at a gradual, realistic pace.

By pushing yourself to greater levels of challenge, but at the same time resting and recovering, you can build up mental toughness in the same way that a weight lifter can handle greater and greater physical loads.

There are some basic steps that a person can take to prepare for stress and become adjusted to it. First, as I've stated many times, it is essential to get as much rest and relaxation as possible. People who do not get the proper amount of sleep have limited psychological resources to cope with daily stressful events. Getting extra rest is important. This may mean taking planned naps during the day to rejuvenate. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you'll be "missing out" on a trading opportunity by taking a break. Look at it this way: how much are you going to make if you are too tired and wiped out to focus on the market action and trade easily? The proper amount of rest can increase your ability to cope with stress.

Second, it is also important to exercise and eat correctly. Emotions are physiological responses. The more energy the body has to cope with stress, the more "tough" the body can be when extreme levels of stress are encountered. Regular exercise helps the body and mind release pent-up stressful emotions. By making sure you allow your stressful emotions to dissipate, your body and mind will recuperate and be ready to deal with extreme levels of stress.

Day Trading - 5 Things You Should Consider Before You Day Trade

So, you want to become a day trader? That's great. It surely has to one of the most satisfying, rewarding and time efficient ways to earn a living. I say earn a living, however, once you've learned to become proficient, earning is hardly the word you'll feel like using. You may even feel rather like you're cheating sometimes. Why would this be? Because you need only spend a fraction of your time making the money you'd otherwise have to really work for.

1. First and foremost, you need to properly educate yourself. There's a splendid range of tutorial material to devour and keep you occupied. But, I don't think you'll find it a chore - really. A bit difficult to get you head round to start with, but then it become irresistible. Remember, I'm only talking learning at the moment.

2. You need to learn how to train your mind. Don't get caught up in emotional trading because it'll put you off forever, and it honestly doesn't have to be like that. It's all part of the education, the psychological side. Don't worry; tools are plentiful to get you in the right frame of mind to become a successful day trader.

3. You can start to trade with as little as $200, but the more you can deposit in your account, the better, $2000 is ideal.

4. I think it's far easier to trade online, rather than in the traditional manner, by using a broker. Nowadays, day trading platforms are so good and user friendly. You also have a splendid range of charting software, for both technical analysis with charts, and fundamentals, looking at company information.

5. Never, ever go trading with money you cannot afford to lose. Your account has to be what I call playtime money. I don't mean to downplay it but it's important. Never use anymore than 5% of you capital on any trade either. That's critical too.

The biggest error people make when they start to trade is to rush in where angels fear to tread. I cannot over emphasise the importance of using you head, not your heart. If you can stick to the guidelines above, you can carve out a fruitful hobby, or even replacement career for yourself.

Bollinger Bands As a Trade Decision Tool

The Bollinger bands are used to display stock price volatility on a chart. They are made up of three bands: the middle band, which is a simple moving average (SMA), the upper band, which is the SMA plus the standard deviation (times 2) and the lower band, which is the SMA minus the standard deviation (times 2). For more info on moving averages, please take a look at the moving averages post.

Standard deviation is, as its name implies, a measure of how much sample values differ from the average. For each period (day on a daily chart), the deviation is obtained by subtracting the simple moving average (SMA) from the price. If you take the sum of the squared deviations divided by the number of periods and then the square root of that number, you obtain the standard deviation. Standard deviation indicates volatility, that is, how much the price varies from its average. The more it varies, the more volatile the stock is (more possible returns but also more risk). The less it varies, the less volatile the stock is (less risk but also less possible returns).

The Bollinger bands give an immediate idea of how volatile the stock is. The wider the bands are, the more volatile the stock is. Inversely, the narrower the bands, the less volatile the stock is.

The Bollinger bands can also be used as a trade decision tool. If the price walks up/down the band (the prices are touching or slightly breaking the upper band in an uptrend or the lower band in a downtrend), the Bollinger bands are giving a continuation signal. When the price moves away from the band it is walking up/down, it is signal the trend is running out of steam. A buy signal can be upcoming when the price forms a double bottom into the low zone (between the middle and lower bands) and the second low doesn't break the lower band. The signal is confirmed when the price breaks the middle band to the upside. Similarly, a double top in the high zone (between the middle and the upper bands) indicates a signal to sell when the price dips below the middle band. When the bands contract (squeeze), a breakout is imminent but you usually don't know in which direction the stock is gonna go unless a price pattern is also present. A contraction of the bands may lead to a spectacular uptrend or downtrend.

Learning to Make Confident Day Trading Decisions

Can you make a persuasive argument for your trades?

A good portion of my mentoring is assessing whether or not a trader is improving at making good decisions. You would think that the first thing I would look at is a traders P&L. I can understand why someone may expect that to be my top priority but as a veteran trader I can tell you that P&L alone does not always tell the story.

This article was inspired by two incidents that occurred this week. One particular day last week was a very busy trading day. If you know anything about myself and Erik we will be the first ones to tell anyone within shouting distance if it is a tough day to trade or if volume is very light to do nothing or at the very least cut down your share size.

Well on this day it was a very good day to trade. We had a trader who was new to the office listening to me throughout the morning telling everyone to get busy. It was one of those days to "belly up to the bar" and get involved. It was a morning to make some good money. After lunch Erik called him into the back and told him you can't be passive on a day like today, you have to sit on the edge of your seat and trade like you expect to make money.

What was his response? He sent an email after the close telling us he wanted to trade from home. Why would he do this, we were mentoring him and promising to help him improve? Believe it or not this is not the first time we have experienced this. He didn't want anyone to critique his trading. Now mind you this is NOT an experienced trader who is earning a consistent living and he is trading OUR money. His first day trading from home I reviewed his trades for the day and his decisions were horrible.

I emailed him and asked him to send me his journal for the day so I can see what his thought process was for the days trades. It is 10 days later and I still have not heard from him. He can't back up his decisions. He can't make an argument. If you aren't willing to learn, you will never improve.

The other situation happens when I bring new traders into the back room for small group mentoring. We mentor everyone on the trading floor and online but a trader can make themselves disappear by being quiet. When I bring them into "the SHED" I force them to talk me through all of their possible trades they want to make.

When you are in The Shed, there is nowhere to hide. You must make a case to me like you are on trial. I force you to get good at making good decisions. It amazes me how often Erik and I hear "I was hoping, I don't know why, I wasn't paying attention to that, I didn't see that support."

Picture in your mind the next day you are trading. Visualize yourself in a room full of 100 traders. Now picture that you are required call out every trade you are considering to the whole room for judgment. How many of your current decisions would you call out proudly and loudly!?

Use this visualization technique to improve your decision making ability and I will guarantee your P&L will become very consistent.

Take my advice, don't hide behind your monitor and try to figure it out on your own.....ask a question!

Investing 101 - How to Profit Through Commodities Trading

Investing 101: "Stagflation"-Wall Street's flavor of the week-is a market environment comprised of anemic GDP growth and persistently high inflation, especially from food and energy. How does one invest in this climate? Not surprisingly, through commodities trading.

In the current market, certain sectors are cashing in on the record prices of oil futures by playing a role in the ever-intensifying quest for new oils sources. Similarly, anyone fully-invested in agriculture stocks is well-positioned to profit from soaring food prices.

Monsanto (MON), for example, is in the agricultural seeds business. This company is a ring-leader when it comes to finding innovative ways for farmers to increase their productivity. Grain demand is at an all time high, and MON is ahead of the game as it plans and cashes in on future agricultural needs.

Similarly, Syngenta (SYT) produces seeds and chemicals used by farmers to expand crop harvests. Both SYT and MON are seeing tremendous sales and earnings growth due to rising commodities prices and are great stocks to buy if you're a commodities trader.

But food demand isn't the only factor pushing these stocks' prices higher. The race is on: Companies-and the nations that harbor them-are competing for the largest slice of the energy pie. Alternative energy stocks are hot investments as more investors see "green." But what's really driving up the prices of agriculture stocks is the brewing of biofuels, which places a strain on grain products.

It's estimated that one third of U.S. corn crops are committed to ethanol production as a means to offset oil dependency. Ethanol is in huge demand all over the world, which means corn farmers have their work cut out for them. According to a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmers use about 137 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre. As these corn growers look to expand their acreage, they require exorbitant amounts of fertilizer- which they have to buy from somewhere!

Companies like Mosaic (MOS), Potash (POT) and Agrium (AGU) are experiencing unprecedented growth and margin expansion thanks to the demand for their fertilizer products. These three stocks are a great way to profit from rising food prices-and commodities trading in general.

It's important to remember that the commodities bubble isn't going to pop any time soon. The fact is, we've witnessed a major spike in worldwide demand for both food and energy. Even if people drive less and buy more fuel-efficient cars, crude oil supplies are waning. There's no quick-fix solution to high oil prices. It doesn't matter how much we've changed our behavior as of late-the changes haven't been drastic enough to make a significant difference.

Another lesson in Investing 101: As long as demand continues to grow and supply, at best, flat lines, this type of market behavior will persist. The way to profit from this stagflationary environment is through commodities trading. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Make Easy Money - With Minimal Effort

In this article I am going to share how I make money relatively easily with very little effort. Like most people I am keen on building an additional income on top of my regular job. At first my aim was to build a second income to help save towards my retirement however more recently this income has allowed me to cut back the hours I work during the day as well as help fund some treats for my family and I, the most recent of which was a holiday to Southern Italy!

For a few years I dabbled in the stock market trading here and there, mainly on tips from friends and occasionally from rumors I had heard on the internet or sometimes on my own instinct. As with most individual traders I both made and lost money on my trades but I kept encountering the same problem. What I found tricky was simply the huge amounts of options open to me. I found I was often unsure where to start looking for stocks to invest in and unsure how to pick the good companies from the bad.

During a conversation with a good friend of mine he let me in on a secret that until recently he had faced these problems. He had subscribed to a newsletter that was put together by a computer software program that was created by an ex Goldman Sachs employee. (Goldman Sachs are arguably the most successful investment bank ever). What this newsletter gives him (and now me!) is a short list of stocks that are deemed as great investments. Not only are these stocks selected from a database of thousands but along with them you are also told at what price to buy and sell them.

This seems to good to be true right? Well I've been using it for about 6 months now and not every stock selected is a winner. However I have found that the majority of the stock selections perform as predicted. What i tend to do is apply my own judgment to the selections to further filter out the best ones that should make me a profit. For the last 4 months I have averaged just under $2,000 per month. Based on this I am soon going to be increasing the amount I invest each month to hopefully achieve even bigger profits.

Why this newsletter is so good.

Well there are 3 things that attracted me to this service:

1. The recommendation from my friend


2. There is only a small one off fee. This gets you a lifetime subscription to the weekly newsletter.


3. There is a full money back guarantee meaning if you are not happy with the subscription you can get a full refund at any time.

Nasdaq Penny Stocks and Micro-Caps - What You Need to Know

When an investor is wanting to involve themselves in the stock market, they need to understand that companies are not just born, they are made. They have to work their way to the top just like every other company has. Investors sometimes think that investing in Nasdaq Penny Stocks, will find them the next big fortune maker but this is not the way to think.

Nasdaq Penny Stocks and Micro-cap stocks are stocks used on the Nasdaq that are interchangeable. The Nasdaq Penny Stocks are stocks that are considered to be five dollars or less, some think they are three dollars or less, and others classify them as under a dollar. There are some that even classify them as not being on the major market sheet.

The main thing that any investor needs to know about the Nasdaq Penny Stocks or the Micro-cap stocks is that these stocks are much riskier then the regular stocks. There are four major issues that an investor must think about when buying these Nasdaq Penny Stocks and Micro-cap stocks.

The first is the lack of information to the public. This mainly pertains to the Micro-cap stocks and not the Nasdaq Penny Stocks because these stocks are usually found on the pink sheets where the companies do not have to file with the SEC so they don't have to publicly give out the information about their company.

The next is there are no minimum standards. If the Nasdaq Penny Stocks cannot hold their own on the major market exchange, then they have to move to one of the other exchanges. On these exchanges, there is no minimum standard requirements in order to stay on the exchange.

The next is lack of history. This also applies to the Micro-cap stocks and not mainly to the Nasdaq Penny Stocks. The Micro-cap stocks are usually from companies that are fairly new or are companies that are approaching bankruptcy and do not have a good history of strength.

And the last issue is liquidity. If the Nasdaq Penny Stocks do not have much liquidity, then the stock may not be able to be sold. Liquidity refers to the volume that the Nasdaq Penny Stocks have or the amount of activity and money flow that the stock has. Source: Buypennystocksinc dot com.