Do you know how to become a trader in the stock market? 1. Study the different types of strategies. 2. Determine whether you want to become a day or swing trader. 3. Choose a broker and fund an account. 4. Practice your strategy in a simulated account until successful. 5. Slowly scale your way up trading with real money.
Steps on How to Become a Trader
Here are some steps to becoming a trader:
- Decide your style of trading: momentum, swing, long-term
- Choose your broker based on your style
- Take a course to get started
- Candlestick patterns are the most important indicator
- Learn how to draw trend lines
- Practice in a simulated platform
- Manage your risk
- Scale your way up when trading with real money
- Consistency is the key to success in the long-term
So, you just finished watching The Big Short, and the genius of Michael Burry inspires you. My attention is anyone who can short the entire financial sector and make $700 million for investors.
Burry
The movie is inspiring; I’ll give it that. Burry was an institutional trader – think suit, tie, sitting at a desk on Wall Street. But what about the rest of us who want to join the game?
Do we need to quit our jobs and move to NYC? Thankfully, no, because we have another option. Have you heard of retail trading?
Well, if not, you’re in luck because today, I will outline the steps to become a trader from the comfort of your living room – no suit or even pants required!
Do you know how to become a trader? If you google that question, you’ll see a million different answers.
It becomes overwhelming. As a result, you either give up, or you get confused. The good news is you can learn.
It does take hard work and dedication. That’s something people don’t want to point out right away. However, we believe in being honest about that.
Therefore, you’ll see that everywhere within our service. We don’t sugarcoat it because we want you to know what you’re getting into when learning to become a trader.
Becoming Successful
Let’s look at the steps for success when learning to become a trader. First things first, if you don’t have a clue where to start, consider the following:
- Education
- Broker
- Platform
- Tools
Choosing Your Education Provider
Winners learn from winners.
I don’t think I revealed anything mind-blowing here, as it’s a proven fact: winners learn from winners. That’s why I believe choosing the right education provider is, hands down, the most essential step in learning how to become a trader.
I don’t care if you have the best laptop, software, broker, and platform at your disposal; if amateurs surround you, you won’t succeed. I like to think of your education provider as a mastermind group.
One of the most powerful tools ever used by successful people is the mastermind group.
Andrew Carnegie had a mastermind group. So did Henry Ford. Ford would mastermind with brilliant thinkers like Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and others at their private winter mansions in Coral Gables, Florida.
You might be asking, why join a mastermind group? Well, the most successful traders know that taking your results to the next level requires greater mastery of oneself.
Most traders hit plateaus and ruts that are difficult (and sometimes impossible) to overcome alone with books and courses. In my opinion, being part of a mastermind group can be a real powerhouse to your trading. And that’s why being part of a community like Bullish Bears is so important.
COMPANY |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| DESCRIPTION | Experience TradeStation's professional-grade options trading platform, built for serious traders seeking value and power | ThinkorSwim is for more advanced options traders. It features elite tools and lets you monitor the market, plan your strategy, and implement it in one convenient, easy-to-use, integrated place | Trade options on stocks, ETFs, and broad-based indices. Trade equity and ETF options online for $1.00 per contract opening commission and $0 commission to close, capped at $10.00 per leg |
| HIGHLIGHTS | Solid overall trading platform • Ease of use • Reliable broker • Great customer service • Low commission rates Tradestation | Top charting platform • Customizable scanners and indicators • Easy order entry • Reliable • Great customer service • Low commissions Thinkorswim | Award-winning platform • Great customer service • Order chains • Low commissions • Liquidity rating indicator • Watchlists TastyTrade |
Choosing Your Broker and Platform
Stock analysis and charting software are typically combined into a platform. This program is then used to place orders.
The platform contains charts to help you visualize a stock’s price movement and gauge the market’s overall sentiment.
A platform that allows you to add lots of indicators to your chart to help you decide when to place a trade and when to sit tight. If your broker doesn’t use a platform or software with Hotkeys, you won’t get in and out of trades fast enough. You need quick execution with a fast order execution platform, so I highly recommend a good broker with a fast order execution platform like DAS TraderPro.
Below, you will find a few of the popular brokers and platforms out there.
Execution Is Key
We all know that in the world of racing, speed is the name of the game. But you can’t run a high-performance race car on low-octane fuel.
You could have the nicest car in the race, but it doesn’t matter if you’re using the wrong fuel. And speed, what speed?
You don’t even hope in hell to get out of the gate. You might as well sit in the stands with your popcorn and watch the show.
Similar to racing, speed is the name of the game in day trading. Day traders need a fast and flawless order execution platform and broker, as their entry and exits are often only one or two seconds apart.
You need quick, fast, and direct access to the market; otherwise, you’re in the stands watching everyone else get their orders filled. But to have that speed, you must have the right fuel to get you there.
And that fuel is your platform with direct access to the market.
Final Thoughts: How to Become a Trader
Let’s talk about the type of computer that you’ll be using. Even this is something to consider when becoming a trader. You have two choices: a desktop tower or a laptop.
Even though tower-based computers are easier to upgrade over time, laptops are much more mobile. What I like about a laptop is that I can trade anywhere with a good internet connection.
When you start your search for a computer, like most things, choices are endless. But to simplify it, consider the Central Processing Unit (CPU).
The central processing unit (CPU) is the brain of your computer and is responsible for interpreting and executing the commands from the software you are using.
The clock speed of a processor is measured in gigahertz (GHz), and it signifies the number of tasks it can process in a second.
Some processors have a single-core, while others have a dual-core or quad-core. Each core represents an individual processing unit so that a dual-core CPU can handle twice as many instructions every second as a single-core processor, and a quad-core processor can process four times as much information.
Translation: go with a quad-core as it drastically improves performance. Our recommendation at Bullish Bears is the Intel Core i7.
Frequently Asked Questions
You need to send time studying quality courses. Then put what you've learned into practice. Open a paper trading account and make sure you understand the basics of trading like support and resistance, candlesticks, and patterns.
You're never too old to learn trading. In fact, people who retire learn trading so they can have an income not tied to their retirement.
You need money to trade if you're trading live. You can paper trade without having money. But live trading takes real money.
