How can I prepare myself best for becoming a trader? Best and

Get a job as a trader. Might be hard to do so, but if you really are into trading and have low funds, this is what you should do.

Practice is everything. Start paper trading today. Plenty of places to do that for free, there's a thread on it already.

Your trading style will gradually evolve as you practice.

Read everything you can. Plug your brain into financial news. TAKE NOTES.

Practice, practice, practice.

>>1030759
>>1030762
I don't have low funds, I am trying this first and if it doesnt work out I will follow the entrepreneur inside of me, had an idea to create something to carry heavy objects safely when moving for a cheap price.

What place would you recommend? And yes I am already taking notes, I tend to do this always, also with business ideas and during the job to see progression.

How can I find recent trustworthy statistics or other crucial information to trade with by the way?

>>1030762
Are the general business news apps a good source? Business insider, financial times, reuters and business line. Those are the one I am currently reading every day, mostly business line though.

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>>1030773
>>1030777

If you've got reasonable funds, get yourself an Interactive Brokers account. You get a free paper trading account to mirror your real one. Their paper trading is the best out there, period.

They've also got pretty great news wire services, but these days all you need is a Google Alert set for your favorites.

You're never going to find a news source that has something the others don't have. This is the twitter age.
It's more about keeping track of important dates[like tomorrow's jobs number], and keeping a close eye on asia and euro markets. Getting your brain in sync with the pace&happenings of the global markets.

It may sound silly, but I strongly suggest watching CNBC or Bloomberg during market hours. Mad Money is great, too. Jim Cramer is a bit of a clown, but he gives a great top-down view of daily happenings at the top of each show.

I can't suggest any good apps these days. I'm pretty far down the road, running purely on my own software but it's all built on the Interactive Brokers API. Their default platform is great by itself and should be more than you need just to get your feet wet.

Paper trade until you've got a firm grasp on all the mechanics and a good feel for the markets.

>>1030817
Thanks!

What are qualities/personality traits of a great trader or speculator in general from your perspective?

>>1030754
Anyone knows any free paper trade platforms?

IB requires a large deposit.

>>1030847
Optionshouse. You can even paper trade options. It's a great site for free practice.

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>>1030834
>Patience.
Everything is about timing.

>Forward thinking.
Never let yourself think "If only I had ______ I'd have so much money today." Learn and move on. Like Han said in Tokyo Drift. "Make Choices and don't look back."

>Beginners Mind.
It's a Zen thing, but it's important to remember that no strategy works forever. Always be ready to adapt to new market regimes quickly.

>Bravery
This is a high stakes game. Sometimes you have to roll the hard six, but that's no excuse to make stupid bets.

and most important

>Obsessive Analytical Thinking
As traders, we're guerrilla fighters making raids against a gargantuan enemy. You've got fight smart, carefully pick your battles and learn to use small size to your advantage.


>>1030847
MarketWatch & Investopedia, there are more listed in another thread. Check the catalog.

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>>1030834
Brass balls, my friend.

>>1030860
Thanks for responding so quickly.
Any last tips or things to look out for?

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>>1030868

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Know your order types and when to use them.

Read everything. Collect useful math. Build a playbook, or war chest, of strategies.

Never hesitate to try a new idea. See above.

Don't trade on half days.

Don't trade anything that costs less than $50/share or trades less than 300k shares per day. Keeps risks reasonable, keeps exits quick.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Programming skill is the greatest advantage you could possibly have in this game. I cannot stress this enough. When you build your own tools you get a serious edge.

Never turn a trade into an investment. "Plan your trade, trade your plan." Suck it up, Take the loss. Carry on. Just like poker.

Take a fiber supplement after dinner to poop before the market opens. A lot can happen to your positions while you're taking a dump.

Keep some dank memes handy for making meaningful contributions to /biz/ threads.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Keep the faith. Keep practicing. It takes time to get good.

>>1030901
Thanks for giving me so much insight anon
Wish me luck!

>>1030930

Shanghai is about to open. Don't miss the show! It's gonna be a fucking blood bath.

>>1030754

Traders are fish, Investors are sharks...

Do you really want to be a trader stuck to a screen 12 hours a day tapping away at shit? Up, down, sideways, all for a measly few percentage points?

Be a Fund manager... they're the ones with the best risk/reward/life balance vs compensation occupation in finance IMO. THe way you can do it is read everyday what happens, where it happens, how markets react, understand human psychology, and reconile the difference between economic theory and economic reality given emprical evidence you have seen.

That way you know most of the time what's happening in the longrun, so you don't waste your time everyday stuck to a screen worrying that a 2% drop in a stock really means something, etc..

>>1031004
Thanks for the insight, I'll look into the profession.

>>1031003
May god have mercy