The Ultimate DIY Trader Guide

This guide is for investors and traders everywhere—free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection, no matter your background. Let’s get right into it. No frills. No fluff. Just lessons and insights, for all, and entirely free below.

Bonus Section: Mental Tips to Get Started

• The 10-10-10 Rule for Investors (Warren Buffett Inspired)
• The Three Buckets Rule
• The Rule of 252 for Calculating Returns
• Pareto’s Rule for Big Moves in Markets
• The VIX Rule of 16 for Volatility
• The Beta Rule for Managing Risk

1. Introduction to Trading by Learning Through the Greats 🗿

• 1.1 Warren Buffett Insights
• 1.2 Ray Dalio Insights
• 1.3 Stanley Druckenmiller Insights
• 1.4 Peter Lynch Insights
• 1.5 Charlie Munger Insights
• 1.6 Why These Insights Matter
  • The Best Trades Ever Recorded
• 1.7 Historical Insights to Go Further
  • You Don’t Need Raw Talent To Succeed
  • Read Investing Letters from The Leaders

2. Create Your Plan 🗺️

• 2.1 Defining Your “Why”
• 2.2 Setting Clear Goals
  • Don’t be like Buffett
  • Lessons from Elon Musk
• 2.3 Determining Your Time Horizon
  • Long-term Lessons from Sir John Templeton
• 2.4 Building a Trading Plan Framework
• 2.5 Examples of Successful Plans
• 2.6 Know The Psychology of Money and Your Mind
  • Even The Greatest Scientist Lost

3. Know Market Structure Before You Begin 👨‍🚀

• 3.1 Who Are You Trading Against?
  • Every Exchange You’re Up Against
  • Understanding Wall Street and its Analysts
  • Bear Raids Can Crush You
• 3.2 How the NYSE and NASDAQ Work
  • Reading the Tape of Modern Exchanges
• 3.25 How The Indexes Work
• 3.3 The Basics of Brokerages
• 3.4 Picking the Right Brokerage
  • Understand Margin Trading Terms and Conditions
• 3.5 Every Brokerage to Pick From
• 3.6 Market Makers and Liquidity Providers
• 3.7 Stats About Traders Losing Money
  • The Shrewd Reality of Markets and Randomness
• 3.8 Games Market Makers Play + Cash Accounts

4. What Type of Trader Will You Be? 🥷

• 4.1 Long-Term Investor
  • What Does Buy The Dip Mean?
  • What’s in An Index Like The Nasdaq-100?
• 4.2 Value Investor
  • Investor Tips for Valuing Stocks Quickly
• 4.3 Growth Investor
• 4.4 Swing Trader
  • Lessons From Jesse Livermore
• 4.5 Day Trader
  • Volume Candlesticks for Price Action
• 4.6 Momentum Trader
  • Lesson from Paul Tudor Jones
• 4.7 Options Trader
• 4.8 Quantitative Trader
• 4.9 Hybrid Strategies
• 5.0 Global Macro Investor
  • What Keeps Macro Investors Up At Night?
  • The Founder of Economics
  • Saltwater and Freshwater Economists
• 5.1 Forex Trader
• 5.2 Bond Investor

5. One More Thing Before Getting Started 🧘‍♂️

• 5.1 Tracking All Trades: Setting Up a Trade Journal
• 5.2 Building a Research Platform and Process
  • Free Tools on Economic Research
• 5.3 Taking Notes on Every Trade
• 5.4 Creating a Central Repository for Progress
  • Finding Stocks That Matter Right Now
• 5.5 The Power of Consistency in Tools and Methods
  • The Greatest Athletes Trained in Very Specific Ways

6. Risk Management 🧮

• 6.1 Understanding How Much You Can Risk
  • My Deep Guide on Markets at Work
• 6.2 The Importance of Cash Flow Analysis
• 6.3 Position Sizing Strategies
  • Scale Into Trades, Never Buy All At Once
• 6.4 Diversification: When and Why
• 6.5 Setting Stop-Losses and Limits

7. Indicators and Price Action for Traders 🌋

• 7.1 The Basics of Indicators
• 7.2 Explaining Popular Indicators (RSI, MACD, etc.)
  • Understanding The Volume Indicator
  • Economic Indicators For Macro Traders
• 7.3 The History of Technical Analysis
  • Modern Trading Terms Explained
  • Trading Action and Presidential Elections
• 7.4 CFA, CMT Certifications and Other Credentials
• 7.5 Ancient Trading Techniques and Lessons

8. Fundamentals for Investors 💰

• 8.1 Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
  • Spotting Companies Before They’re Bought Out
• 8.6 Key Ratios to Know (P/E, P/B, ROE, etc.)
  • Market Cap, Enterprise Value, and More
  • Investing Tips for Valuing a Stock Quickly
  • Value a Company Like Peter Thiel
• 8.5 Revenue Growth and New Age Investments
  • Case study: Predicting the Cell Phone
• 8.3 Analyzing Debt and Leverage
  • Red Flags for Any Stock Investment
  • Ghost Stocks To Remember
  • Stock Splits and Share Counts
• 8.4 Bonds: How They Work and Why They Matter

9. The Best Books to Read to Keep Growing ☄️

• 9.1 Investing Books (e.g., The Intelligent Investor)
• 9.2 Trading Books (e.g., Reminiscences of a Stock Operator)
• 9.3 Behavioral Finance and Psychology Books
• 9.4 The History of Markets Book List

10. Lessons You’ll Learn Along the Way ⛰️

• 10.1 Trading and Investing Isn’t Easy
• 10.2 You Will Lose, Everyone Loses, But Stick to Your Plan
• 10.3 The Market Doesn’t Always Go Up or Down
• 10.4 Reflecting on Annual Lessons
  • My Annual Lessons About Markets
• 10.5 The Journey Begins

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