Hi,
I'm very interested in daytrading, or even week-trading with currencies. I believe I have the fundamentals, the basics, but I have no far-fetched illusions about becoming rich with it, or even making money, on the contrary as I know most people only lose what they bet. So it's more like (or developig into) a hobby, but I'm confused. There are so many sites offering free / not-free strategies, so many trading platforms, news about frauds, rigs, ect, I just can't decide where to open a demo account. I still believe that
the whole thing is mostly a hokum, where the bigger fish eat (who have more capital, thus can withstand greater volatility) the small fires. But still it sounds like fun
Does anyone have any relevant experience / information about this?

You can download metatrader and get a demo account on one of the test servers. Alternatively, you can go play around with a test account on the Oanda broker's platform. I use both - metatrader for its better interface and charting, and then place the order using Oanda's worse online interface.

Like you have probably imagined, there is no holy grail strategy and sites offering strategies or buy/sell signals are most likely wanting to part you and your money. Your best bet is to develop a strategy of your own that works, and stick to it. There are millions of people out there trading and not all of them are as smart as patient as you. Its a zero sum system, so if everyone is supposedly losing money, it must be moving to someone else.

Some friendly tips : Your biggest enemy is yourself. You must find patience and subdue your greed. Keep your strategy simple. The hardest part of trading is not trading.

Learn basic strategy for Blackjack, some money management skills and then go and gamble in Las Vegas. You can just about break even if you do it skillfully and get your room, meals and booze comped. A heck of a lot more fun than gambling with day trading.

I have some experience with FX trading and a few years working for investment banks.

If you're sure you want to do this you're going to have to invest in training and books.
Don't start to trade with real money until you can afford to throw that money in the toilet, as it takes time to be profitable/break even.
Trading is not like gambling - if you think it is you are going to lose.
Get a lot of demo accounts from various brokers and see which one you like.
learn about economic fundamentals
learn about charting.
learn about money management and managing your greed/fear.
Mostly, learn about not letting losses run because you think that the next ticks will go in your favour. And don't ever enter a trade 'just for fun' or because it looks good - always prep the entry and exit or you will lose money.

Honestly, why are you asking this on a Japanese forum when the is a lot better places you could try?

Read BabyPips.

sikieiki Wrote:Its a zero sum system, so if everyone is supposedly losing money, it must be moving to someone else.

The economy is not a zero-sum game. Everyone (apparently) loses money once people realize that the stocks are overpriced, and everyone (apparently) wins money once people realize that the stocks are underpriced. You win or lose (real) money depending on whether you realize what the real prices are faster or slower than the other investors.

Buy yourself a copy of Kabu Trader Shun and combine your Stock market and learning Japanese passions into one.

I've been trying to swing (swing generally means to trade on an intermediate term basis IE a few days to a couple months) the S&P E mini futures for a year or so with little success. I had some good success in swinging stocks but that took too much research for too little money and my interest was always on the S&P chart anyway. The forex sounds like an even greater beast to tackle with such a big market and absolutely zero downtime but that should be no problem for a super short term trader. I'm sure you can tame it if you really work at it.

I've been unsuccessful so my advice shouldn't account for much, but I say dont spend to much time paper trading and throw some money in there. Just make sure the money you use is disposable. Stock trading is at least 50% keeping emotions in check and there's no better way to get over the fears and greed then dipping your toe in the water. I did it by buying like 500$ worth of stock on very stable companies.

You'll learn the general must follow rules of good trading like use stops, plan your trade, ext. through research but I think the number one secret rule of trading is this:
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/aim-to-fail

Go back in time 10 years and buy apple stock. It's up 800% since then.

Jarvik7 Wrote:Go back in time 10 years and buy apple stock. It's up 800% since then.

And it seems easier to do.

Also I have exactly opposite opinion than mistamark on this matter.

Trading (stocks, forex, etc.) is not science, its just an opinion, collective opinion about something (price per share) from people playing the game. Nothing more.

You can read and memorize every single book on this matter, go to seminars & gurus and generally become a master of theory and you can still lose money!!! Just because some dick has some inside information and a lot of money to burn and all your technical analysis is worth crap. There is no magical equation to solve or game the stock market you either bet on the good horse or not.

Think about it logically, if you've found a way to get rich beyond belief would you bother to write a book about it? Even if you did that knowledge is devalued just because everyone knows this "secret" and can play/act accordingly.

If anything trading is about human psychology than any other science.

thurd Wrote:Trading (stocks, forex, etc.) is not science, its just an opinion, collective opinion about something (price per share) from people playing the game. Nothing more.

You can read and memorize every single book on this matter, go to seminars & gurus and generally become a master of theory and you can still lose money!!! Just because some dick has some inside information and a lot of money to burn and all your technical analysis is worth crap. There is no magical equation to solve or game the stock market you either bet on the good horse or not.

Think about it logically, if you've found a way to get rich beyond belief would you bother to write a book about it? Even if you did that knowledge is devalued just because everyone knows this "secret" and can play/act accordingly.

If anything trading is about human psychology than any other science.

Some of this comment is off track. Yes, daytrading is psychology, and more precisely, it's discipline. Self-discipline. Actually there are books about people who got rich beyond belief, but of course they were only lucky. The goal would be, to make some money on the long run, with preditable profit / risk ratio, and with the right strategy, it could be done, I think. There is no holy grail, of course, but there are strategies wich work more or less. The question is, can someone take the temporary losses, psychologically,(and financially) or not.
I believe information does not behave the way material obejcts do. Just because everyone, or a lot of people know about certain information, does not neccesseraly have to mean, that the value of the info is diminished. For example, if I were to sell a strategy, which tells the traders to buy at a certain point, and I would also buy at that point, there's no way I could lose, except if I miss the right exit-point of that trade...or something like that..

mistamark Wrote:Honestly, why are you asking this on a Japanese forum when the is a lot better places you could try?

This...
At least post this non-Japanese related stuff in the koohii lounge forum. This forum is for general discussion about Japanese stuff, not just anything.

Day trading is gambling. Not only that, you are gambling against the mega-rich who invest millions to get information you can't. You are gambling against those who are skilled at cheating in this game, and only in rare occasions get caught.

yukamina Wrote:

mistamark Wrote:Honestly, why are you asking this on a Japanese forum when the is a lot better places you could try?

This...
At least post this non-Japanese related stuff in the koohii lounge forum. This forum is for general discussion about Japanese stuff, not just anything.

You're right. I've been searching for a delete topic button but couldn't find it. Please let me know how to delete a topic, and it's done...

People can be real jerks to other people who are just asking questions

sethg Wrote:People can be real jerks to other people who are just asking questions

When it comes to helping someone avoid loosing money, sometimes straight talking is best.

iSoron Wrote:

sikieiki Wrote:Its a zero sum system, so if everyone is supposedly losing money, it must be moving to someone else.

The economy is not a zero-sum game. Everyone (apparently) loses money once people realize that the stocks are overpriced, and everyone (apparently) wins money once people realize that the stocks are underpriced. You win or lose (real) money depending on whether you realize what the real prices are faster or slower than the other investors.

Stocks aren't a zero sum game, but forex is. Which is what he was talking about

And I'd stay completely clear of forex trading unless you can dedicate alot of time to it. Forex companies love people new to the game - no matter what you do, a forex trader who can sit at his computer 24/7 is going to beat someone with a day job. And, as said previously, its a zero sum game, you'll end up on the losing side. Likewise, day trading shares is not a good way to make money unless you can dedicate alot of time to it.

And trust me, you don't want to do it for a hobby. Try it once, and see how you like it. Buy a currency, see it devalue a little, and buy it back. It's about as thrilling as it sounds. If you make a second trade, then I question your sanity

Stocks are a good option if you want to hold them, you can get quite good at swing trading (holding positions for a week or two) if you follow the market news and play the game seriously (don't go into it with a gamblers state of mind).

I made a few thousand dollars trading currency a few years ago when the Canadian dollar was weaker, just by buying traveller's cheques. I could have made a lot more without the overhead of TC.

lagwagon555 Wrote:

iSoron Wrote:

sikieiki Wrote:Its a zero sum system, so if everyone is supposedly losing money, it must be moving to someone else.

The economy is not a zero-sum game. Everyone (apparently) loses money once people realize that the stocks are overpriced, and everyone (apparently) wins money once people realize that the stocks are underpriced. You win or lose (real) money depending on whether you realize what the real prices are faster or slower than the other investors.

Stocks aren't a zero sum game, but forex is. Which is what he was talking about

And I'd stay completely clear of forex trading unless you can dedicate alot of time to it. Forex companies love people new to the game - no matter what you do, a forex trader who can sit at his computer 24/7 is going to beat someone with a day job. And, as said previously, its a zero sum game, you'll end up on the losing side. Likewise, day trading shares is not a good way to make money unless you can dedicate alot of time to it.

And trust me, you don't want to do it for a hobby. Try it once, and see how you like it. Buy a currency, see it devalue a little, and buy it back. It's about as thrilling as it sounds. If you make a second trade, then I question your sanity

Stocks are a good option if you want to hold them, you can get quite good at swing trading (holding positions for a week or two) if you follow the market news and play the game seriously (don't go into it with a gamblers state of mind).

It depends on your style of trading...
A day trader with a day job would be hard pressed to profit, considering the markets are usually slowest when people get off work in the american/european session. However, for a swing or long term trader or even trading based on interest, it is very viable. You can set some orders and leave for a few days or weeks and come back with a nice profit. I have profited off of various strategies but my current style has me placing orders around 6 times a month on about 7 pairs.

Raschaverak Wrote:

yukamina Wrote:

mistamark Wrote:Honestly, why are you asking this on a Japanese forum when the is a lot better places you could try?

This...
At least post this non-Japanese related stuff in the koohii lounge forum. This forum is for general discussion about Japanese stuff, not just anything.

You're right. I've been searching for a delete topic button but couldn't find it. Please let me know how to delete a topic, and it's done...

I'm not saying it should be deleted or anything, just moved in the right forum.