As a new low priced stock trader you might be asking yourself, How do they find those stocks to trade each day.  You might have tried a few of the free scanners like Finviz, Yahoo finance or one of the many others that are out there.

Yes you get some hits but they never seem to be the right one's.  Where doe's Sykes and the other's on profit-ly come up with those tickers they post.

Well my young padawan it's going to cost you, yep now that you have delved yourself into this mix called trading you are going to have to separate yourself from your money monthly and before you actually make a single dollar in profits.  And you might have to explain that to your significant other if you have one.

A good scanner platform is actually quite cheap if you are already a profit producing trader but if you are not a good quality scanner is going to set you back each month a $100 or more and don't kid yourself to think you are going to find a free or low priced scanner that is any good, yes they will find a tradable ticker now and then but you will be left in the dust more often than not.

I personally have used Trade Ideas, Market Club, Paid version of Finviz, BlackBox Stocks, TC2000, Equity Feed, Paid version of StockChart, VectorVest and TradingView and a few others.

I won't say which one you should use because I think they all have their respective merits for the right user, but I will say you won't be able to be an independent trader with out one or two of the paid platforms.

I am a strong advocate for using free stuff, well if you are on Profit-ly you are already paying to read this. Moving on, this is just my suggestion but as a new trader use the many watch list that are posted, you have to realize that most of us here posting are getting our picks from a paid platform so why not take advantage of that. I only post what I have deemed are the best tickers for my strategy that I am working on at the time I am posting.

As I mentioned in a earlier posting, work up your own watch list by gleaning tickers from the many WL posted.  You will find that the same tickers are being posted by different members, those in my opinion should be at the top of your list.  Cross ref. your WL with Sykes, if you have one of his that's a keeper and needs to be watched for that day. 

Once again in my opinion and my opinion only finding the tickers is for the most part is the easiest part, once you have a ticker you now need to analyze it and dissect it so you can make the best possible decision as to which way the price action will head the next trading day.  

Some of my scans shoot out a load of possibles but I know what I am looking for so when I rifle through the charts one after the other I eliminate the ugly ones quickly and then concentrate on the pretty one's.

Now we come to WL commentary. I like things simple, is it going up, down or sideways.  I am truly amazed at how much verbiage that is in some of the postings on profit-ly, wowzers.  In my own postings I might let you know what I am thinking but it's in the format of how I am going to place my trade i.e. Price is hitting the 52wk high and has been rejected several times but found support at blah blah blah, or Looking for price to dip down to blah blah blah and bounce but it might also hit lower, will watch for best entry, simple like that.

Some postings are very elaborate and I give credit to those who can come up with all those words I just find it very confusing to me, but I will still read them to the last word, it's just not my style.

And then we come back to study study and more studying.  Each day is a new day and you will have to get use to looking at charts and reading filings and searching for news articles that pertain to a ticker you might have in your sights. 

If you want to succeed in this trading thing get a routine set up and do it everyday religiously and if possible at the same time. For me my pre-trading time starts when AH trading is closed. I take my pre-trading time very seriously and others around me know my routine and respect it.  For me this is not something I think I might want to try its something I must succeed in.  Yes I have made some pretty decent trades but that is because I have gone a couple rounds in the ring of losers and come out bloodied and bruised, but I got back up and put the gloves back on.

If you are serious about changing your financial future and you have chosen this path then do it but prepare yourself mentally and physically.  As the great master has said "Do or Do Not - There Is No Try" Give it your all don't skimp on devoting your efforts to becoming a consisstently profitable trader.

Write down in a note book, not on the computer you need to physically write down why you are doing this trading thing.  Be completely honest with yourself, don't be shy here.  Friends and family may laugh but you don't care it's your dream not theirs and you are doing something about making it a reality and then you'll have the last laugh.  Put that note book in a safe place and once a month take it out a read it make additions or deletions if needed, make comments or just jot down a note to yourself. Keep track of each time you have read your note book either by check marks, dates whatever you like just keep count of how many times you took the time to remind yourself as to the why, trust me on this one you will ask yourself that from time to time.

If your dream is to have a boat load of cash, find some pics online of stacks of cash and post them on your screen, world travels, get some brochures sent to you and pin them on the wall around your trading station, a big boat, have a boat as your screen saver whatever it may be keep it in front of you to remind you why you are doing this because young padawan this trading thing is going to take hard work mostly mental, sometimes physical i.e. when your retching because the losing trade you just closed for a loss of $200 went super nova and you missed making a 10K profitable trade and yes it has happened to me. Keep your ambitions fresh and remind yourself frequently as to the why.

I would like to thank you if you have come to this point in my post and I hope it has inspired, motivated and encouraged you. May your vision be clear so you may see the path clearly laid before you, it is littered with many that have given up just before glory let you not be added to the casualties. Persevere the hardships, be diligent in your study's, and most of all love those who love you.  Let's all be honest here, most of us are doing this for them in the end and not for ourselves we are just the vessel that has taken on the burden.

A dream will always be a dream if it never becomes a reality, reality allows us to dream on.

Good trading to you.