Newspaper - Being Burn

[akalawoo]

Today i read the newspaper ... guess what ... the headline is a guy lost 700k in a months ... he lost alot of money when the market meltdown... He lost alot as he was hype by the easy money that he make earlier on ... 80k ... then he convince his dad life saving of 300k to let him invest ... and poor thing him ... lost 700k + his long time girl friend of 8 yrs .... he did paper trade for a few days ...

Lesson learn ....
- Even in Virtual trade/paper trading ... set your account that suit you ... Dun set it 100k when you cant afford to fund it or even stomach so much money
- Formulate your rules and hone your skills - stick to your winning rules and keep on study and learn new skill ...
- Cut loses and never ever invest on credit ... as your fear will dictate your way cos you cant afford to lose the money
- Learn how to win in a bearish and bullish market ... then trading will be so fun and enjoyable ...

Hope all of you have a happy trading experience ...
feel sorry for that poor guy ...

[aaron]

Hi akalawoo, I am a noobie starting to read up on investment stuff.....may I ask what does it mean by paper trading? Is it using the simulation tool that online broker provides?

May I also ask what are the different kinds of account? If set it to 100K does that mean one has to have 100K to open the account? And thereafter had to maintain it above this level? I try to open an account at optionxpress and there are so many things not sure such as how do I fund it? Do I need to link it to my bank account? etc. etc. Wished there is some sort of FAQ somewhere on the net I can read....but haven't found it to-date.

Sorry I so blur.....had just finished the book by Conrad and Adam but there is no mention about account and such.......

Many thanks for your advices!

[akalawoo]

Hi aaron,

Paper trading = virtual trading = simulation trading which mean you trade on the real market by using virtual money.

There are quite alot of online brokerage. Just to name a few will be Interactive broker (IB) , Optionexpress (OX), Thinkorswim(TOS). I did a write up on my blog on these 3 online brokerage. so feel free to visit it otakalawoo.blogspot.com .

To open an account you need about average US 5k . What i suggest now is you just open an account with OX and PLEASE DO NOT FUND IT YET .

Just use OX virtual trading tool and its chart to get a feel of how trading like.

You need to find out what kind of trader you are first before you fund an account. OX is quite an expensive brokerage if you do day trading or interday trading.

PLEASE DO NOT FUND IT YET .

[aaron]

Thanks bro! I was reading your blog and more questions came out. I opened a new thread in the correct section at patterntrader.proboards106.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=faqnqna&thread=1185002379

You had done great analysis on GOOG! Really appreciate your advices. Many thanks.

[traderkeefe]

i would like to say, yes paper trading is the best way to train yourself! Give yourself time as you would give yourself time to study for finals! Put in your best effort, study it as you would do for a final exam! AN d of course you definitely need a teacher to teach you the information. No use paper trading, have a few wins and just BAM into the market. Psychology has been a major lesson learnt from WAT and i would like to thank everyone at WAT, Conrad, akalawoo.