
When you start making "virtual" money, then you can risk your own.
http://simulator.investopedia.com/home.aspx
http://investopedia.com
http://investing.sitesled.com/
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/learning/
Blogs
http://winners-and-losers.com/
Training & classes
http://bettertrades.com
http://investedcentral.com
ETF news and analysis
http://ETF-World.Org/
Article: Trading is Timing
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/trading/06/TradingisTiming.asp
Stock Charts
Bigcharts.com
http://www.stockTA.com
http://www.stockcharts.com
http://www.incrediblecharts.com…
www.prophet.net
americanbulls.com
Books on Investing
"Which Is Better, Buy-and-Hold or Market Timing?"
"Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Market Timer
The Beginner's Bible in Technical Analysis is:
Edwards & McGee"Tech. Anal. Of Stock Trends"
Droke, ClifTechnical Analysis Simplified
Kahn, Michael N.Tech. Anal. Plain & Simple
Kamich, Bruce M.How Technical Analysis Works
Lefevre, EdwinReminiscences of a Stock Operator
Lofton, ToddGetting Started in Futures
Lowenstein, RogerBuffet (Warren)-The Making of a Capitalist
O'Neil, William J.How to Make Money in Stocks
Oz, TonyHow to Make Money From Wall Street
Rotella, Robert P.Elements of Successful Trading, The
Schwager, JackStock Market Wizards
Does anyone else keeping finding themselves on the wrong side of the market all the time?
Can anyone give me some constructive (not give up) and practical advise on this to help get my confidence back?
Thanks

made a good profit can go into the floor broker‘s or
desk trader‘s pocket. This is possible as he can leave
buyer/seller‘s name in blank and only fill it in when
reported or taken from the runner (the boy that picks up
the slips from the floor). In some markets this is not
possible since the whole deal (except the shouting) is
immediately recorded. But when trading is wild, a fast
light is put on, which allows 15 minutes to conclusion
instead of only five. I could give you many examples
but this is sufficient to convince you to change both
your trading house and/or floor broker or, better still
both. Find a floor broker that you know and trust, this
is the only solution. It is almost impossible to always
be the loser, so think twice and change your servers.

Online trading has lowered commissions to the point where they are no longer the primary consideration. Ditto for good execution, if indeed they are Direct Access. If you decide later to trade commodities, options, futures, or currencies, TerraNova may be the only one that you can trade everything, real time, online, direct access. A lot of online brokerages claim to give you direct access, but if they take more than a second to execute your trade, it aint direct.
What you probably should be concentrating on is the best trading software or trading platform. But even then, everyone's criteria are different.
Find the articles online that have evaluated and compared online brokerages. I found a good one online in Barron's, but you'll find others in the trading magazines. Active Trader, Futures Mag, etc.
This is worth putting a little time and effort into, because it's a pain to switch, so once you choose, you're kinda stuck with it.
Townsend Electronics, the Parent company of TerraNova, is the one that digitized and electronified the Nasdaq. They are technological industry leaders and have a powerful and well built trading system.
I use RealTick at TerraNovaOnline, but it costs $275/mo. I think the Investor package is free to use, and just uses one screen.
What you should try is a free trial of their Investor platform, which is free. Their rates are good also, but of course, it depends on how often you trade. It will take you months to learn all the bells and whistles of what this program can do.
The other top-of-the line program is TradeStation, but it costs big bucks to join and operate. Some people consider it the Cadillac of trading and technical analysis.
TerraNova is the home of the Day Trader, so they think nothing of you making several hundred trades a day. You don't have to do that, but it's okay here if you do.

I found some useful tips in stock trading. It includes stock basics, how to protect your profit, find a potential increase share, control and manage stock risk, when to sell/buy stock and so on.
http://www.bernanke.cn/stock-trade/
Best Wishes && Good Luck!

Some of the more commonly day-traded financial instruments are stocks,stock options, currencies and a host of futures contracts such as equity index futures, interest rate futures, and commodity futures.
Day trading used to be the preserve of financial firms and professional investors and speculators. Many day traders are bank or investment firms employees working as specialists in equity investment and fund management. However, day trading has become increasingly popular among casual traders due to advances in technology, changes in legislation, and the popularity of the Internet.
I would appreciate any advice of where to look. What's Your experience?
Thanks
Mutual Funds is what I have already in my 401k. I don't plan to touch that.
I am also not planning to do day trading, becuase of the high risk and lack of time (I have a day job). It looks like I will be doing what they call position trading (buy and sell in the time frame of weeks-months).
Which online broker do you recommend?
etrade, Scottrade,…?

Check outthis link at TerraNova Online. The Investor platform is an escellent trading tool for a beginner, and is limited to one screen. I use RealTick and five screens, but it costs $250/mo. Ask about a free trial.
http://terranovaonline.com/
A lot of online brokerages claim to give you direct access, but if they take more than a second to execute your trade, it aint direct.
Find the articles online that have evaluated and compared online brokerages. I found a good one online in Barron's, but you'll find others in the trading magazines.
This is worth putting a little time and effort into, because it's a pain to switch, so once you choose, you're kinda stuck with it.
Townsend Electronics, the Parent company of TerraNova, is the one that digitized and electronified the Nasdaq. They are technological industry leaders and have a powerful and well built trading system.
What you should try is a free trial of their Investor platform, which I think is free anyway. Their rates are good also, but of course, it depends on how often you trade. It will take you months to learn all the bells and whistles of what this program can do.
The other top-of-the line program is TradeStation, but it costs big bucks to join and operate. Some people consider it the Cadillac of trading and technical analysis.
TerraNova is the home of the Day Trader, so they think nothing of you making several hundred trades a day. You don't have to do that, but it's okay here if you do.
Read vociferously:
"Which Is Better, Buy-and-Hold or Market Timing?"
"Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Market Timer
The Beginner's Bible in Technical Analysis is:
Edwards & McGee"Tech. Anal. Of Stock Trends"
Droke, ClifTechnical Analysis Simplified
Kahn, Michael N.Tech. Anal. Plain & Simple
Kamich, Bruce M.How Technical Analysis Works
Lefevre, EdwinReminiscences of a Stock Operator
Lofton, ToddGetting Started in Futures
Lowenstein, RogerBuffet (Warren)-The Making of a Capitalist
O'Neil, William J.How to Make Money in Stocks
Oz, TonyHow to Make Money From Wall Street
Rotella, Robert P.Elements of Successful Trading, The
Schwager, JackStock Market Wizards
Schwager, Jack D.New Market Wizards
Sperandeo, VictorTrader Vic-Methods of a Wall Street Master
Wasendorf, RussellAll About Futures
Slutsky, Scot and Darrell JobmanComplete Guide to Electronic Futures Trading
You can get every one of these books from your local library. If they don't have it, ask about Interloan Library System.

If you are new to trading, then you should definitely take a look at trading systems.
Here's why:
Every minute more than 150 Million Dollars change hands in the electronic index futures markets like the e-mini S&P and e-mini NQ. You can win or lose thousands of dollars in a few minutes; the futures markets can make you rich in a few weeks or months or wipe out your account with no mercy.
If you want to compete in the “game of games” and play against the best traders in the world, then you need to get ready. Too many gamblers are entering the arena without any plan or strategy, completely unprepared, and that's why they lose.
Trading a system will dramatically increase your chances to succeed in trading, because it eliminates five of the top six reasons why unprepared traders fail.
Here are the top six reasons why traders fail,
and how a trading system eliminates them
Let's take a look at the reasons why traders lose money:
1. Lack of a Trading Plan
2. Lack of Discipline to Follow the Plan
3. Failure to Control Emotions
4. Failure to Accept and Limit Losses
5. Lack of Commitment
6. Over-Trading
By all means you have to avoid these mistakes if you want to win.
Here's how a trading system eliminates 5 of the 6 top reasons why traders fail:
Solution #1: Having a trading plan
Having a trading system means having a pre-defined set of rules you have developed to guide your trading. Therefore you HAVE a trading plan, eliminating the No.1 cause for failure.
Solution #2: Following the trading plan
The easiest way to follow a trading plan is to automate it. Almost every trading system can be automated, and you could let the computer trade for you. You won't have to worry about your discipline any longer, as the computer mechanically trades every setup for you.
Solution #3: Controlling emotions
Trading with a system removes emotions from trading. If you don't have a strategy and you try to make decisions when the market is moving, you are liable to become emotionally attached to positions. You may experience panic and indecision when the market does not move in your favor, as you do not have a prepared response. That's when most traders lose their money. If you follow a system you will know what to do no matter what the market does.
Solution #4: Controlling your losses
You probably have heard the saying “Let your profits run”. Unfortunately most traders let their losses run. A trading system will get you out of a position when the predefined stop is hit. Unless you override the system to “give the trade a little bit more room” it will stop the loss and therefore limit your losses.
Solution #5: Commitment
You won't believe how many traders show a lack of commitment and therefore lose money. Lack of commitment means that they stop trading after the first loss, and don't give their system a chance to make back the money they lost. Trading is not a one-way street, and losses are part of our business. If you can't accept the fact that there will be losses, you shouldn't trade. Fortunately a trading system can help you to overcome this problem; an automated trading system continues trading according to the rules, and therefore adds much more consistency to your trading.
As you can see, five of the six top reasons why traders lose money in the markets are simply eliminated when you start trading with a system.
Without any guarantee, your chances of making money rise incredibly when starting with a profitable trading system.
Hope that helps.
ALSO – where (online) can I find the daily amount of stocks trading hands?

http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate?u
There is no single indicator to use as a crystal ball for direction. Volume is generally used as a confirming indicator.
Ok, maybe I shd have stated more in my question.. That question was on behalf of someone who has been in the share market for a looooong time (a decade) and wants to see how experts perform technical analysis.. So answers to my question would save a lot of time for all of us


Learn how to invest:
1. Do not chase past returns. People that buy stocks or funds because they have done well in the past are doing exactly that.
2. Do not market time. Market timing is buying based on your (or your newsletter, or your TV, or neighbor's) guess about what is going to happen in the future. Even if someone knows something, you've already missed the boat. The price already reflects what you just found out.
3. Use index funds. Over time, index funds outperform actively managed funds, mostly because they do not have those high expense ratios. Some actively managed funds do beat their index, but the ones that do usually do not do so consistently. So why gamble? Use index funds. If you want to use a few actively managed funds, make sure that the costs are very low. Vanguard has some good ones.
5. Diversify. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Own a mix of bonds, domestic equities (large, small and mid cap funds), an international fund and perhaps a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and emerging market fund. Four to six funds is all you need. Know your risk tolerance and set up an appropriate asset allocation. Rebalance as needed.
6. Consider taxes. Use the least tax efficient funds in your tax-deferred accounts and the most tax efficient funds in your taxable accounts.



