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My Day Trading Journey Ep5 - From Confusion to Plans

When first getting into something new preconceptions inevitably quickly give way to confusion and frustration. Having paper traded a few days I realize how quickly I give up many of the lessons I assumed formed a foundation and which instead were quickly forgotten in my desire to start the process.

I feel that I'm approaching this with such baby steps that I'm not diving in deep like I was. I did join the Bullish Bears, but I haven't really done anything with it yet except watch some of their videos, and used a couple of their scans for ideas. I have not yet joined their community or talked to members live. Part of it is I'm battling with the thinkorswim platform and trying to understand how to use the tools properly.

The gaps I see now.

1. Understanding and using the trading buttons properly. I have not yet mapped any hotkeys, so using the right trading buttons in the right way is important and still a gap for me.

2. Scaling the charts the right way is something that's difficult for me to master. It's not intuitive in the interface. I see videos of people stretching it back and forth and the tools provided don't come with instructions on proper use. I believe I have the manual trend lines figured out, and I can add VWAP and RSI to the various charts. The EMA indicators I can do, but thus far I've been concentrating more on VWAP and RSI.

3. I'm weak on recognizing candle patterns and figuring out proper entry points.

4. Due to the other interface issues I'm not 'getting' yet, figuring out the proper risk-reward ratios relating to entry point and exit point is very much taking a back seat.

5. Due to the factors above, paying attention to the Level 2 numbers has also taken a back seat.

6. Looking at a chart and quickly being able to determine its trade-ability is something I need to work on. This includes recognizing levels of resistance and support.

Given the list above, it's obvious to me that while I may understand some of the theory behind what I'm trying to get done, the mechanics are messing me up enough that I'm unable to do this 'trading thing' properly. For that reason, I need to step back from the paper trading long enough to learn the bits and pieces necessary so that when I return to it, I'm not an idiot at it.

My plans now are to go down through all of the Bullish Bears training videos, including the extras, and read their candlestick eBook. I'll also reread Andrew Aziz's trading books. In the meantime, I will look at how to work with the charts in thinkorswim, and look at how to work the right buttons at the right time, and search stocks for patterns. 

Again and again I keep being told that I have to pay money to make money. Towards that end, I keep being told that I should spend money to get Trading Ideas Pro and Benzinga Pro. Increasingly, I also see people use and are being told that Trend Spider is another one important to use. The platform is another question for another day, as I'm committed to thinkorswim until it's decided what's happening with my job. If I can keep it, I can look more closely at other platforms and Trading Ideas Pro.

Here's some of the costs I'm looking at:
Trend Spider: $564/year.
Benzinga Pro: $1,440/year.
Trade Ideas Std: $1,068/year.
FinViz Elite: $25/mo. ($300/year).

Question I have: If I have Benzinga and Trade Ideas and the use of thinkorswim, why would I need FinViz or Trend Spider?

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