Fundamentals of Trading Strategy

This is my first post and I would like to say hello to everybody. I am 23 and have a decent amount of knowledge on the markets. I would not call my self a novice but rather an amateur. I can successfully pick winning stock a good portion of the time.

However I would like to begin to develop a trading strategy that takes away my bias, bbut not an automated system. It should be noted that my platform is ToS. Does anyone have any good reading or suggestions on where to begin developing my strategy? Or possibly a sample strategy that I can use to get an idea of how one should fully work and integrate with consideration to price, volume, studies, etc..

Justin,

There are a zillion trading strategies to pick from. So where to start...

I would start by gaining a good understanding of technical analysis. Doesn't have to be an exhaustive study, just start with support, resistance, trend lines, moving averages, and perhaps the basic oscillators like MACD and stochastics.

Make sure you understand the basics of fundamental analysis... Just the basics, like earnings, PE, revenue, growth rates, etc.

Once you have the TA basics going, and you spend some time looking at charts, you can begin to see stocks that trade in ranges and if there's a stock with good fundamentals, you can try to buy it at the bottom of a defined range, or buy it on a breakout, or buy on a reversal.

The next step, would be to look at options. They tend to be more profitable and safer than just owning stock. But only if you understand them and have a strategy. Look at credit spreads. I think that's the king of options strategies.

I have a new book out, mentioned below, that shows my primary trading strategy, which is longer term credit spreads. While I might be accused of being self-serving, it is on a 99c special for a couple of weeks. I think it would help you out... http://www.onlinetradersforum.com/st...foro/clear.png

John

There are a lot of ways to make an omelette...but that doesn't mean only one of them is good. So hopefully there will be a lot of suggestions that help you to find what works for you.

My search led me also to TOS...then inevitably to Tastytrade.com as they are the guys that initially developed TOS. The strategies they use appeal to me more than anything else I have come across. You do have to create an account to see the archives but there is no BS otherwise....it's all free, no spam, no advertising, just solid actionable, investable, tradable information and strategies. Since you are using TD Ameritrade I would suggest also signing up with Dough.com (just sign up using your TOS user ID and password, it's all connected.) Then contact your LOCAL broker TDA representative and tell them your are now signed up with Dough and Tastytrade and your gonna need your fees reduced. They can then reduce your commission on stock trades to 7.95 and more importantly the options to a flat 1.50 per lot.

Good luck