Millennium-Traders Monthly Trading Lesson http://www.millennium-traders.com/run.aspx?task=rss&category=MonthlyTradingLesson Site news 14 Sep 2007 20:20:49 +0000 en noSite news40.02847-79.110503http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/http://www.millennium-traders.comhttp://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/fb_pwrd.gifMillennium-Traders Monthly Trading LessonMillenniumMonthlyTradingLessonhttp://feedburner.google.comDay Trading Futureshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MillenniumMonthlyTradingLesson/~3/kXZ-MJ2B0IM/daytradingfutures.aspx19 Jan 2012 22:37:00 +0000http://www.millennium-traders.com/daytradingfutures.aspx<b>Day Trading Futures</b><br> <br> For many traders, day trading emini Futures is preferred over trading the stock market. Trading the Futures markets is substantially slower than the stock exchange, allowing more opportunity to analyze potential emini Futures trades. When trading emini Futures, traders must watch charts, just as they would while trading stocks. While the time frame a trader monitors for trading Futures varies from stocks, without charts, a Futures trader would be trading blind. Hence, it is highly recommended that no trader attempt to trade Futures, without charts. Generally, it is recommended a trader monitor at least a two hour time frame, for any emini Futures you decide to trade. Futures traders should consider our <a href="http://www.millennium-traders.com/services/chartssettings.aspx">Futures Chart Settings</a> which show what our moderators look at every time they make a call inside the Futures Trading Room. <br> <br> Just as with stocks, demo trading is provided by many Futures Trading Brokers and is highly recommended. If you are new to the Futures trading market, you should begin by getting set up to demo trade, from the get go. Start by utilizing the same amount of demo funds, that you intend to use, when you begin to trade live. It would be foolish for a trader to demo-trade with an amount of capital substantially more than what they actually will be using. Simply put – that would be totally fruitless and a waste of time.<br> <br> Be prepared to demo-trade emini Futures contracts for several months until you feel comfortable with your trading platform, your setup and most importantly, your trading strategy. You will need to determine your stop loss, based on your individual loss risk tolerance. No two traders will utilize the exact same stop loss so, while you may discuss Futures trading methods with other Futures traders, don’t try to ‘copy’ their trading style or methodology used. You need to develop your own trading system based on the amount of profits you intend to reach for. Just like no two Futures traders are alike – neither is two Futures trading days. The day of the week, geopolitical news, economic data and holidays, will determine the type of Futures trading activity you will see. Some Futures trading days will be very slow with tight ranges – these are the riskiest days since many traders try to force trades – just to make a trade as this is very foolish and costly. Experienced Futures traders who are trading live, will switch to demo Futures trading during days when the markets are weak or whippy, creating a hazardous trading atmosphere. <br> <br> New Futures Traders should consider our Training Programs to assist them in developing a successful trading strategy. Our <a href="http://www.millennium-traders.com/services/training.aspx">Training Programs</a> are not just for new Futures Traders, many veteran Futures Traders reap benefits as well, with a refresher course to the Futures markets.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p><b>January 2012</b></p>Day Trading Futures

For many traders, day trading emini Futures is preferred over trading the stock market. Trading the Futures markets is substantially slower than the stock exchange, allowing more opportunity to analyze potential emini Futures trades. When trading emini Futures, traders must watch charts, just as they would while trading stocks. While the time frame a trader monitors for trading Futures varies from stocks, without charts, a Futures trader would be trading blind. Hence, it is highly recommended that no trader attempt to trade Futures, without charts. Generally, it is recommended a trader monitor at least a two hour time frame, for any emini Futures you decide to trade. Futures traders should consider our Futures Chart Settings which show what our moderators look at every time they make a call inside the Futures Trading Room.

Just as with stocks, demo trading is provided by many Futures Trading Brokers and is highly recommended. If you are new to the Futures trading market, you should begin by getting set up to demo trade, from the get go. Start by utilizing the same amount of demo funds, that you intend to use, when you begin to trade live. It would be foolish for a trader to demo-trade with an amount of capital substantially more than what they actually will be using. Simply put – that would be totally fruitless and a waste of time.

Be prepared to demo-trade emini Futures contracts for several months until you feel comfortable with your trading platform, your setup and most importantly, your trading strategy. You will need to determine your stop loss, based on your individual loss risk tolerance. No two traders will utilize the exact same stop loss so, while you may discuss Futures trading methods with other Futures traders, don’t try to ‘copy’ their trading style or methodology used. You need to develop your own trading system based on the amount of profits you intend to reach for. Just like no two Futures traders are alike – neither is two Futures trading days. The day of the week, geopolitical news, economic data and holidays, will determine the type of Futures trading activity you will see. Some Futures trading days will be very slow with tight ranges – these are the riskiest days since many traders try to force trades – just to make a trade as this is very foolish and costly. Experienced Futures traders who are trading live, will switch to demo Futures trading during days when the markets are weak or whippy, creating a hazardous trading atmosphere.

New Futures Traders should consider our Training Programs to assist them in developing a successful trading strategy. Our Training Programs are not just for new Futures Traders, many veteran Futures Traders reap benefits as well, with a refresher course to the Futures markets.
 

January 2012

]]>http://www.millennium-traders.com/daytradingfutures.aspxWhat Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part IV http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MillenniumMonthlyTradingLesson/~3/UoxlvvlUhQ4/whatdoesittaketobeadaytraderpartIV.aspx02 Dec 2011 15:51:14 +0000http://www.millennium-traders.com/whatdoesittaketobeadaytraderpartIV.aspx<b>What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part IV</b><br> <br> So you have your equipment and your trading desk is all set up. You have your trading account set up with your broker of choice. Your trading platform is set up on your work station and now – you are ready to trade. Not so fast turbo! You now need to develop a successful day trading strategy and doing so needs assistance from a professional day trading service. Your job as a day trader is making the trades. You need guidance for stocks on the move, what’s hot and what’s not. You don’t want to be searching and symbol hopping throughout the trading day; you want the pros to let you know what’s on the move. You definitely want nothing to do with a service that is hyping stocks – that’s for losers and partaking in their losing game, you will become one of them. <br> <br> Professional day trading service provides serious tips on stocks that are seeing actual trading action, stocks that have the attention of the big boys, the market makers and institutional traders that help keep the stocks moving. Set up an account with such a service and get ready to move forward on your day trading career. Review their potential Training Programs and seriously consider taking part in them. While at first glance a trader may view the price as a lot of money but when you take into consideration the amount of money you can lose, it’s a nominal fee to pay for the potential end reward.<br> <br> Flip that switch on your platform to the DEMO mode and now you’re ready. Even after initial training in any profession, you need practice and DEMO mode is the only place you should be practicing when day trading. <br> <br> In DEMO mode, you will have the opportunity to get use to your trading platform, changing symbols, moving chart to chart – looking at different Level II data, placing DEMO trades – entering, exiting, placing stop losses, placing trailing stops – all the whistles and bells available on your platform. Now is the time to take several months – that’s right I said months. When you rush the process, you only rush the time it takes for you to lose your trading capital. That’s a foolish mistake and one you don’t have to make. Practice shorting. Get use to entering and exiting a short trading position. Get familiar with the feeling of taking a stop loss without actually losing any real money. <br> <br> DEMO mode enables you the opportunity to adjust to emotions that become a part of trading. While emotions are a key factor that can make or break a trade, they must be controlled. You make a good DEMO trade – aright - but calm down turbo! You make a DEMO trade and it hits your stop – remain calm turbo. Evaluate each and every DEMO trade you make – what did you do that helped you show a gain or what you did that resulted in a stop loss. <br> &nbsp;</p> <p><b>December 2011</b></p>What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part IV

So you have your equipment and your trading desk is all set up. You have your trading account set up with your broker of choice. Your trading platform is set up on your work station and now – you are ready to trade. Not so fast turbo! You now need to develop a successful day trading strategy and doing so needs assistance from a professional day trading service. Your job as a day trader is making the trades. You need guidance for stocks on the move, what’s hot and what’s not. You don’t want to be searching and symbol hopping throughout the trading day; you want the pros to let you know what’s on the move. You definitely want nothing to do with a service that is hyping stocks – that’s for losers and partaking in their losing game, you will become one of them.

Professional day trading service provides serious tips on stocks that are seeing actual trading action, stocks that have the attention of the big boys, the market makers and institutional traders that help keep the stocks moving. Set up an account with such a service and get ready to move forward on your day trading career. Review their potential Training Programs and seriously consider taking part in them. While at first glance a trader may view the price as a lot of money but when you take into consideration the amount of money you can lose, it’s a nominal fee to pay for the potential end reward.

Flip that switch on your platform to the DEMO mode and now you’re ready. Even after initial training in any profession, you need practice and DEMO mode is the only place you should be practicing when day trading.

In DEMO mode, you will have the opportunity to get use to your trading platform, changing symbols, moving chart to chart – looking at different Level II data, placing DEMO trades – entering, exiting, placing stop losses, placing trailing stops – all the whistles and bells available on your platform. Now is the time to take several months – that’s right I said months. When you rush the process, you only rush the time it takes for you to lose your trading capital. That’s a foolish mistake and one you don’t have to make. Practice shorting. Get use to entering and exiting a short trading position. Get familiar with the feeling of taking a stop loss without actually losing any real money.

DEMO mode enables you the opportunity to adjust to emotions that become a part of trading. While emotions are a key factor that can make or break a trade, they must be controlled. You make a good DEMO trade – aright - but calm down turbo! You make a DEMO trade and it hits your stop – remain calm turbo. Evaluate each and every DEMO trade you make – what did you do that helped you show a gain or what you did that resulted in a stop loss.
 

December 2011

]]>http://www.millennium-traders.com/whatdoesittaketobeadaytraderpartIV.aspxWhat Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part IIIhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MillenniumMonthlyTradingLesson/~3/TZR7Q7Lqxzo/whatdoesittaketobeadaytraderpartIII.aspx18 Nov 2011 14:38:36 +0000http://www.millennium-traders.com/whatdoesittaketobeadaytraderpartIII.aspx<b>What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part III</b><br> <br> Just the thought of setting up your trading platform can be extremely overwhelming – almost makes you want to break out in a cold sweat. Be prepared to spend an uninterrupted amount of time to work on this. Remember, when you are done setting up your trading platform – you should make little if any, adjustments. <br> Throughout your trading platform set up process, save your platform to the name of your choice frequently, as you make new changes. Throughout your setup process, you will have the opportunity to ‘save as default’, different parts of your platform such as Level I, Level II and Charts – utilize this option as it will save you a lot of time. Open a new Chart for example and play around with the indicators available or, be simple, not complex and utilize the Chart Settings we offer. Using too many indicators can confuse even the most experienced trader. Configure only the settings you will need and don’t be tempted to add a bunch of clutter to your charts. Colors of chart background are at the discretion of the individual trader however, you want colors that are easy on your eyes if you intend to be looking at them for an extended period of time. Black chart background tends to be a favorite color for many traders as it works best for remaining colors that will appear on your chart such as green and red candles, for example. Final color will remain the discretion of the trader. You will also have to set the view time of your chart – we recommend a 90 minute time frame using one minute candles. You need to view action when it occurs, not 3 or 5 minutes later. <br> <br> The actual layout of your trading platform will be dependent on the number of monitors you have. Most traders use three monitors. They will use one of the monitors for the professional trading room they utilize during the trading day and the remaining two monitors are used for the actual trading platform. You should place your Level II above the chart for same symbol – most platforms allow you to connect the two together so that when you change the symbol on the Level II, it automatically changes the symbol of the chart as well. Remember, during the trading day, you want everything simple with as few key strokes as possible. <br> <br> The actual view size of your chart is vital. Too small and you don’t see enough - too big and you still don’t see enough. Try to fit across the top of one of your monitors, 3 charts with Level I and Level II and same for the bottom portion of the monitor. Depending on how you size them, you may not have a full view of all six at the same time but, this gives you something to start with. You have the ability to click on any one chart to have a full view; if that is the stock you are watching at that particular time. If you are setting your platform up on two monitors, you should also have a ‘watch list’ of frequently monitored stocks. You should also load a chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to monitor throughout the trading session. <br> <br> Read more on next months session!<p><b>November 2011</b></p> </p> What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part III

Just the thought of setting up your trading platform can be extremely overwhelming – almost makes you want to break out in a cold sweat. Be prepared to spend an uninterrupted amount of time to work on this. Remember, when you are done setting up your trading platform – you should make little if any, adjustments.
Throughout your trading platform set up process, save your platform to the name of your choice frequently, as you make new changes. Throughout your setup process, you will have the opportunity to ‘save as default’, different parts of your platform such as Level I, Level II and Charts – utilize this option as it will save you a lot of time. Open a new Chart for example and play around with the indicators available or, be simple, not complex and utilize the Chart Settings we offer. Using too many indicators can confuse even the most experienced trader. Configure only the settings you will need and don’t be tempted to add a bunch of clutter to your charts. Colors of chart background are at the discretion of the individual trader however, you want colors that are easy on your eyes if you intend to be looking at them for an extended period of time. Black chart background tends to be a favorite color for many traders as it works best for remaining colors that will appear on your chart such as green and red candles, for example. Final color will remain the discretion of the trader. You will also have to set the view time of your chart – we recommend a 90 minute time frame using one minute candles. You need to view action when it occurs, not 3 or 5 minutes later.

The actual layout of your trading platform will be dependent on the number of monitors you have. Most traders use three monitors. They will use one of the monitors for the professional trading room they utilize during the trading day and the remaining two monitors are used for the actual trading platform. You should place your Level II above the chart for same symbol – most platforms allow you to connect the two together so that when you change the symbol on the Level II, it automatically changes the symbol of the chart as well. Remember, during the trading day, you want everything simple with as few key strokes as possible.

The actual view size of your chart is vital. Too small and you don’t see enough - too big and you still don’t see enough. Try to fit across the top of one of your monitors, 3 charts with Level I and Level II and same for the bottom portion of the monitor. Depending on how you size them, you may not have a full view of all six at the same time but, this gives you something to start with. You have the ability to click on any one chart to have a full view; if that is the stock you are watching at that particular time. If you are setting your platform up on two monitors, you should also have a ‘watch list’ of frequently monitored stocks. You should also load a chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to monitor throughout the trading session.

Read more on next months session!

November 2011

]]>http://www.millennium-traders.com/whatdoesittaketobeadaytraderpartIII.aspxWhat Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part IIhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MillenniumMonthlyTradingLesson/~3/AynqjlwEKEo/WhatDoesitTaketoBeaDayTraderPartII.aspx22 Oct 2011 00:13:43 +0000http://www.millennium-traders.com/WhatDoesitTaketoBeaDayTraderPartII.aspx<p class="MsoNormal"><b>What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part II</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Last month we covered some basics so, be sure you review the issue from September 2011 before reading this session. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m going to address more time regarding equipment and overall traders setup. Traders should consider using more than one monitor while trading. Depending upon whether you are trading stocks, futures or forex markets, you will want to monitor more than one chart. Even if you are only making one trade at a time, you will want to monitor the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the same time in order to keep an eye on the overall market activity. Additionally, you will want to have one monitor for your trading platform which you want to have opened every moment you are trading. You do not want to have your trading platform minimized while you are trading, it’s the brain behind the whole process so, you need to be able to see it in front of you at all times. The additional monitor can be used for our <a href="http://www.millennium-traders.com/services/premiumservices.aspx"> Trading Room</a> and any other windows you *need* during the trading day, such as a news source, for example. The ultimate setup for a trader is to have more than two monitors which allow that many more charts to be viewed simultaneously. You can have your trading platform take up two monitors and the other monitor for our Trading Room and the other windows you *need* during the trading day. Some traders will use both a PC and a laptop, one for their trading platform and the other, for browser windows.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Remember, during the trading day, you should completely refrain from surfing the web. Surfing the web can bog down your computer and at any given moment, opening the wrong page could cause your computer to crash therefore, take this potential problem out of the equation by doing your surfing, when you are not trading. Additionally, depending upon the size of your processor, you may need to clear your cache in the middle of the trading day. If you notice that your computer seems to slow down or appears sluggish during the day, normally, clearing your cache may be in order. Frequently traders who experience sluggish activity will do so, at about the same time each trading day. Therefore, you may wish to clear your cache at the same time of day – before you notice the sluggish activity. For example, let’s say you notice your computer starts to get sluggish around 1:00 pm – you would then want to make it a practice to clear your cache at 12:00 pm noon – do it before the problem starts. Remember; make sure you are not in any trades when you decide to clear your cache! You can adjust the time you clear your cache around the time you are all cash, and no open trades at that time. Additionally, at the end of every trading day you should also clear your cache and, in the morning as well before you begin trading. Proper <a href="http://www.millennium-traders.com/news/traderscomputermaintenanceamust.aspx"> computer maintenance</a> is vital.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If your broker account is separate from your trading platform, you will want this open during the entire trading day as well. Take time when you are not trading to set up your monitors, how you will view your windows, while you are trading. Each day you should get set up at least 30 minutes or more, before you are ready to begin trading. Know ahead of time, what will be positioned where, on your monitors. Every day, you should set up your monitors, browser windows and trading platform, the same way. You want to avoid any confusion or clutter and have a steady flow of your workspace. At some point, you should almost be able to set up your monitors - browser windows and trading platform with your eyes closed – that is how uniform everything should be. Everything should have its specific location on your monitors, every single trading day – same position, day in, day out. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">If over time you see something is not working out where you have it located on your setup, move it around during off trading hours. You should not be distracted during the trading day, trying to resize or reposition anything you use during the trading day. Don’t jeopardize a trade because you are resizing your charts, for example. Do it after trading hours, not during.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We’ll cover more, in our next months Trading Lesson. <br> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>October 2011</b></p> What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader – Part II

Last month we covered some basics so, be sure you review the issue from September 2011 before reading this session.

I’m going to address more time regarding equipment and overall traders setup. Traders should consider using more than one monitor while trading. Depending upon whether you are trading stocks, futures or forex markets, you will want to monitor more than one chart. Even if you are only making one trade at a time, you will want to monitor the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the same time in order to keep an eye on the overall market activity. Additionally, you will want to have one monitor for your trading platform which you want to have opened every moment you are trading. You do not want to have your trading platform minimized while you are trading, it’s the brain behind the whole process so, you need to be able to see it in front of you at all times. The additional monitor can be used for our Trading Room and any other windows you *need* during the trading day, such as a news source, for example. The ultimate setup for a trader is to have more than two monitors which allow that many more charts to be viewed simultaneously. You can have your trading platform take up two monitors and the other monitor for our Trading Room and the other windows you *need* during the trading day. Some traders will use both a PC and a laptop, one for their trading platform and the other, for browser windows.

Remember, during the trading day, you should completely refrain from surfing the web. Surfing the web can bog down your computer and at any given moment, opening the wrong page could cause your computer to crash therefore, take this potential problem out of the equation by doing your surfing, when you are not trading. Additionally, depending upon the size of your processor, you may need to clear your cache in the middle of the trading day. If you notice that your computer seems to slow down or appears sluggish during the day, normally, clearing your cache may be in order. Frequently traders who experience sluggish activity will do so, at about the same time each trading day. Therefore, you may wish to clear your cache at the same time of day – before you notice the sluggish activity. For example, let’s say you notice your computer starts to get sluggish around 1:00 pm – you would then want to make it a practice to clear your cache at 12:00 pm noon – do it before the problem starts. Remember; make sure you are not in any trades when you decide to clear your cache! You can adjust the time you clear your cache around the time you are all cash, and no open trades at that time. Additionally, at the end of every trading day you should also clear your cache and, in the morning as well before you begin trading. Proper computer maintenance is vital.

If your broker account is separate from your trading platform, you will want this open during the entire trading day as well. Take time when you are not trading to set up your monitors, how you will view your windows, while you are trading. Each day you should get set up at least 30 minutes or more, before you are ready to begin trading. Know ahead of time, what will be positioned where, on your monitors. Every day, you should set up your monitors, browser windows and trading platform, the same way. You want to avoid any confusion or clutter and have a steady flow of your workspace. At some point, you should almost be able to set up your monitors - browser windows and trading platform with your eyes closed – that is how uniform everything should be. Everything should have its specific location on your monitors, every single trading day – same position, day in, day out.

If over time you see something is not working out where you have it located on your setup, move it around during off trading hours. You should not be distracted during the trading day, trying to resize or reposition anything you use during the trading day. Don’t jeopardize a trade because you are resizing your charts, for example. Do it after trading hours, not during.

We’ll cover more, in our next months Trading Lesson.
 

October 2011

]]>http://www.millennium-traders.com/WhatDoesitTaketoBeaDayTraderPartII.aspxWhat Does it Take to Be a Day Traderhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MillenniumMonthlyTradingLesson/~3/QoYGKTWd-R0/WhatDoesitTaketoBeaDayTrader.aspx17 Sep 2011 15:46:32 +0000http://www.millennium-traders.com/WhatDoesitTaketoBeaDayTrader.aspx<P class=MsoNormal><B>What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader</B></P> <P class=MsoNormal>So, what does it take to be a day trader? First and foremost, you need access to discretionary funds. Discretionary funds that you do not need to survive. Funds that are not tied into a retirement fund, college funds or any type of funds set aside for a specific purpose. Discretionary funds are an amount of funds that are over and above your normal living expenses. We are all fully aware that in todays economy, discretionary funds tend to be a light-weight in the budget of most households. Frequently, there is little to none left over. However, if you are more fortunate than others and have the financial ability to maintain a budget that contains allotment for discretionary funds – you may decide to try to put the money to work for you, by day trading or short term swing trading.</P> <P class=MsoNormal>Aside from discretionary funds – you need the right equipment. Potential day traders need to have access to the highest Internet speed possible. Reliability of your Internet connection is just as important as the speed of your Internet connection. While WiFi has become extremely popular, it is not something you should use as a day trader due to its instability. A day trader cannot afford to lose connection to their trading platform, for even a second. Interruption of your Internet speed will affect the data you rely on, to base any trade – whether entering or exiting. Your Internet speed and connection are your blood line to your trading platform. No connection to your trading platform means the blood flow is interrupted and without an efficient flow of blood, your main organs needed to survive – data feed and ability to execute a trade – are immediately hampered.</P> <P class=MsoNormal>Whether you are using a desktop computer or a laptop, you need reliability and a process with the ability to process the amount of data that will be flowing on your computer seamlessly, while you are trading. You also need to maintain your computer on a daily basis in order to retain this quality of your computer processing ability. Clearing cache and history at least once daily is required. Surfing the web while you are trading is not something we suggest. Crashing or locking up your computer while you are in a trade – is not a good thing. Professional traders will have a separate computer they use for trading thus, no outside surfing from it when they are not trading. This is a safety net and will help to prevent picking up a virus etc.</P> <P class=MsoNormal>A reliable and affordable broker can make or break any day trader or short term swing trader. While it is advised all potential day trader or short term swing trader review options and fees from several different brokers, immediate phone support is just as vital. If you are in a trade and for whatever reasons need to contact your broker by phone to exit a trade, the last thing you want to hear is a busy signal and you certainly do not have the luxury of being put on hold either. While you are evaluating a potential broker, phone contact is an issue you need to discuss with them, in depth. You need to ask your potential broker if they provide that type of support, when you need it the most. </P> <P class=MsoNormal>More to come on next month’s edition of ‘What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader’.<BR><BR><STRONG>September 2011</STRONG></P>What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader

So, what does it take to be a day trader? First and foremost, you need access to discretionary funds. Discretionary funds that you do not need to survive. Funds that are not tied into a retirement fund, college funds or any type of funds set aside for a specific purpose. Discretionary funds are an amount of funds that are over and above your normal living expenses. We are all fully aware that in todays economy, discretionary funds tend to be a light-weight in the budget of most households. Frequently, there is little to none left over. However, if you are more fortunate than others and have the financial ability to maintain a budget that contains allotment for discretionary funds – you may decide to try to put the money to work for you, by day trading or short term swing trading.

Aside from discretionary funds – you need the right equipment. Potential day traders need to have access to the highest Internet speed possible. Reliability of your Internet connection is just as important as the speed of your Internet connection. While WiFi has become extremely popular, it is not something you should use as a day trader due to its instability. A day trader cannot afford to lose connection to their trading platform, for even a second. Interruption of your Internet speed will affect the data you rely on, to base any trade – whether entering or exiting. Your Internet speed and connection are your blood line to your trading platform. No connection to your trading platform means the blood flow is interrupted and without an efficient flow of blood, your main organs needed to survive – data feed and ability to execute a trade – are immediately hampered.

Whether you are using a desktop computer or a laptop, you need reliability and a process with the ability to process the amount of data that will be flowing on your computer seamlessly, while you are trading. You also need to maintain your computer on a daily basis in order to retain this quality of your computer processing ability. Clearing cache and history at least once daily is required. Surfing the web while you are trading is not something we suggest. Crashing or locking up your computer while you are in a trade – is not a good thing. Professional traders will have a separate computer they use for trading thus, no outside surfing from it when they are not trading. This is a safety net and will help to prevent picking up a virus etc.

A reliable and affordable broker can make or break any day trader or short term swing trader. While it is advised all potential day trader or short term swing trader review options and fees from several different brokers, immediate phone support is just as vital. If you are in a trade and for whatever reasons need to contact your broker by phone to exit a trade, the last thing you want to hear is a busy signal and you certainly do not have the luxury of being put on hold either. While you are evaluating a potential broker, phone contact is an issue you need to discuss with them, in depth. You need to ask your potential broker if they provide that type of support, when you need it the most.

More to come on next month’s edition of ‘What Does it Take to Be a Day Trader’.

September 2011

]]>http://www.millennium-traders.com/WhatDoesitTaketoBeaDayTrader.aspx nonadult