I’m new to trading obviously, and I’m going to have a go at trading the Dow Jones If anyone would like to join me, this is where I will be posting trades etc. I know that this is the Big Daddy of indecis, but I feel if nothing else, the experience will be valuable.
As a beginner, I would not start there, you need some experience before diving into the deep end. Learn the basics for a year first.
If you’re still around after a year, start with the SP500, it follows the DOW but with less risk. Mind you, it can still wipe you out if you’re not careful, but not as fast as the DOW can…and will.
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Thank you for your advice, it is appreciated. I’ll see how I get on with a micro account. I plan to post all my trades here and learn along the way. Yes, I will probably lose money, but nothing I cannot afford to lose. Hopefully, it will be a valuable learning curve.
Have you considered opening a practice account first? At least then you will get a feel for things.
Yes I have, but I just don’t think I’ll be disciplined enough on it when it doesn’t matter if I lose or win. I reckon I’ll learn faster if there is some small financial risk involved. Some say a demo account is the only way to start, others disagree. I guess I’ll find out.
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will keep an eye thanks
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I work nights, so only US hours trading, so from the New York open to around 7pm, UK time, but anyone who wants to post on this thread is more than welcome 24 hours a day. I’m trying to trade off of a 1 minute time frame, so should be entertaining if nothing else. Aim to make a start tomorrow.
it isn’t the BigDaddy of the indices - far from it, and that’s why it will be particularly dangerous to you, and make the learning experience much less valuable
it’s a small and very highly skewed index, which means (among other things) that you’ll lose more quickly and learn far less that would be useful to you going forward, than if you traded the S&P instead
that’s a good and healthy attitude, and if you can afford to pay for the experience, it may well suit you better than a demo account
but be very clear before starting that trading the Dow in preference to the S&P means two things (you don’t yet have enough experience to appreciate why) -
- you’ll lose more quickly
- the learning experience will be much less valuable than if you traded the S&P
in short, i think you should pay more attention to the good and important point made above by Matty
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I trade the DAX almost exclusively sometimes Nasdaq - believe me, I concur with @MattyMoney absolutely ! The DOW will wipe you out, it will be like a beginner swimmer diving into an Atlantic storm or a learner driver trying formula 1. 
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Thank you. I shall bear this in mind.
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My word, looks like the Dow has quite a reputation. I like a challenge though, so I’ll accept it and see what happens, with low risk, strict discipline ( hopefully ) and a realistic approach.
I just say “Good luck !”
But remember casinos don’t make their big money on their ‘edge’ but on ‘brave losers and timid winners’ 
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Well, the casino won’t make much money from me, I’m far too poor. What I’m hoping to take from them is experience. I definitely do not want to trade demo, so if the Dow proves too much, then yes, I shall try the S&P, which as you say, pretty much mirrors Dow by the looks of it.
But wouldn’t it be better to do it the other way around - start in the shallow end first rather than take a rinsing in the deep end first ??
Probably, but I reckon it’s always better to try the deep end as the fastest way to find out if one needs the shallow end. I’ll give it a go anyway.
I hope you survived the morning, it was pretty crazy!
As I work nights, I only get to trade the New York session. Just wasn’t sure which way it would go at the open. As it turned out, sharply down to my S3 pivot. A buy off of that would have been good, but I was far too chicken! No trades today yet then, I think I would have been killed. FOMC later, so market now probably awaiting that I guess.
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Smart choice!
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I like your thread by the way, not just trades, but good clear analysis via your charts. Something for me to emulate given time.
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Sold Dow 30,820, SL 50, See how it goes.