ProTrader Ed makes no investment recommendations and do not provide financial, tax or legal advice. Content and tools are provided for educational and informational purposes only. Any stock, futures or options symbols displayed are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to portray a recommendation to buy or sell a particular investment. Trading Stocks, Options and Futures, involves risk. All trades and charts are paper trades for learning experience only.

“The simple fact is we individuals will rarely, if ever, be able to compete in trading when the primary question is why [prices move]. However, if we change the essential question to what (a price has done in the past and is doing now), then we can compete. ‘Why’ is concerned with knowledge; ‘what’ is concerned with observation. … Therefore, the correct approach for the individual trader is to trade on what you see, not on what you think." Chick Goslin - Trading Day By Day

My Sample Trading Plan for learning to trade without Blowing out Your Account. Here are the basic things you will need to get Started:

My Recommended Broker is Matthew Zimberg from Optimus Trading Group.
Their NinjaTrader is Driven by Rithmic which is a low latency, unfiltered and very stable data. Please ask for matt at 800 771 6748   local 561 367 8686 email :  matt at (replace at with @) Optimusfutures.com 
Futures trading involve a substantial risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Let Matt know I sent you.

What does it mean to learn another traders method?

We are not going to go into what a trading method involves, except to say that it is the entirety of the traders approach to trading, from start to finish. When considering learning a trading methodology there are some key concepts and considerations a new or experienced trader needs to take into account. Firstly, I would classify an experienced trader as someone who had been trading at least 2 years, successful or not. I would also say that a trader who has been trading 2 or more years without some kind of consistency and recognizable pattern to their trading should definitely consider getting some in-depth guidance. A determination needs to be made as to whether it is the trader, the method, the approach, or maybe the chair you sit in as to why after 2 years you cannot recognize your trading pattern of behavior...good or bad. Once this pattern can be defined, a significant improvement can come from some direct guidance or mentoring.  

When a trader goes to look for a mentor to guide them in their trading, the most significant disappointment is going to be discovering that you are affiliating with a mentor who is nothing like you. So, good research is required, and very important is to verify as many testimonials from past students as possible to be able to determine if there is a match of temperament.  If a trade room trial is available then take that trial. When you are ready to get some direct help, then learning another traders method means to let go of your method or whatever comes close to be calling it a method, and starting with a clean slate. The only thing you should bring is your past positive experience. Leave the negative home, but remember it to help you remain cautious.

Unfortunately another big disappointment can come in the realization that the method you are learning you are unable to follow. There could be many reasons for this. So, once again, take as many trials as you can. I have heard many educator's say that one week is enough to decide/ Really? I disagree. We are talking a career choice here, we are talking about the hard reality of real loss, loss of time, and serious dollars investment so thorough comparative research is crucial. Once you plunk your money down the commitment begins. I would not want you to make a decision that will require 1 or more years of study in just 1 week's peek at someones style and method of trading. You are going to have to put in a lot of time to learn how to trade like someone else before you can expect to get similar results. Unfortunately, many rooms only allow you to trial about 1 week. That is too bad. At Jaguar Traders Club you can trial as many times as you like in 1 week increments, just not concurrently. I wouldn't want you to be shadow trading without being fully prepared.

This entire issues becomes less complicated if the methodology under consideration is very mechanical. There are some pretty good, mostly mechanical rule based methods out there. The simplest ones will rely on more discretion. If the indicator system is hidden and just puts out signals, then more faith will be required. So finding the balance that you can relate to is part of your research. At Jaguar Traders Club, the trade signals are based on price defined by range bar charts and basic ATR indicators such as SuperTrend. Trade signals alone will not make you a better trader. The answer to your trading woes is not in the indicators.

The very first thing you really need to decide is if you want to learn to fish for yourself, or do you want a good fisherman to feed you, or maybe both? There are good trading educator's who are good traders, and great traders who suck at teaching. Finding a balance depends a lot on what you are able to bring into the equation, and how impersonal the education is. How much time does a big trader education outfit really have to spend on you? The environment you are going to learn in has a lot to do with your ability to learn. Hopefully this article will help you understand how direct guidance is often the best way, but not the only way to learn to become consistent, and then profitable with your trading. 

To learn more about the course go here: Jaguar Trading Club