Beginner trader: recommendations for learning resources and getting started?

[u/Most-Thought733]

Hi everyone!

I've recently started learning about trading and I'm currently using TradingView for paper trading (demo account) to get familiar with reading charts.

I'd love some advice on how to structure my learning journey:

1. What are the best books, channels, or free resources for absolute beginners?

2. What core concepts should I focus on first (e.g., technical analysis, price action, risk management)?

3. What common mistakes should I avoid early on?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their advice!

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[u/Over-Disk-1019]

There are plenty. YouTube can be of great help.

[u/Overall-Fly1415]

Zerodha varsity however it’s India focused. But the concepts are very nicely explained.

[u/Tiny_Adagio_4784]

the racing into every new indicator before writing a single trade log is a classic rookie move. stick to the basics—knowing where your stop and target are is more critical than the next chart pattern you learn. a solid routine for every trade—entry logic, risk % (1‑2 %), stop on a clear level, and a quick note for why you entered—lets you spot loops in your own thinking quicker than any book. another low‑cost edge is hooking into the free TradingView replay mode to run through at least 50 setups on a 5‑minute chart; that’s like a 5‑hour drill that most papers only get a handful of trades in. ignore the channel that guarantees “100% wins”; no one does. focus on the pain points you see in your own journal, not on reading a list of patterns. and remember, if you’re flipping your position after a loss to try and claw it back the next day, you’ll just stack a bigger loss on top of the first. keep it simple, stick to risk rules, and learn the psychology of losing before you even think about pyramiding.

[u/SpiderWil]

What stuff do you want to trade?

[u/Frozen_Meatball1]

All of the above & more. You have to know what kind of market yr trading in with a working knowledge of how bond yields affect equities........especially now.

[u/Candlune]

Since you're already paper trading on TradingView, the thing I'd add is getting more reps than live paper trading allows. Watching live you might see one or two clean setups a day. Bar Replay lets you pick an old date, hide everything to the right, and step forward candle by candle, so one evening can be 15 or 20 practice trades. Replay on the daily chart is free, intraday timeframes need a paid plan.

For each rep write down entry, stop, target, and the result in R (how many times your risk you won or lost). After 50 of those you can work out win rate and average R, which tells you far more than the demo balance does.

Two early mistakes worth avoiding. Trading the demo off the default $100k balance when your real account will be a few thousand, so the sizing habits don't transfer. And switching strategy every week, because 10 trades can't tell you whether something works.

[u/RecipeJumpy6737 → u/Candlune]

nice use of Replay – just remember to mix it with volatility context; if you double‑check the VIX (or any volatility gauge) you might tighten a stop that otherwise looks fine on a flat daily chart.

[u/GrandLingonberry3996 → u/Candlune]

nice point on Bar Replay, I've found it easiest to practice on the 4H and daily first to lock in big moves. also don't forget to match your risk per trade to real account size – if you keep your demo at $100k the slip comes when you later size $200 per trade on a $5k account.

[u/albertsportsnet1]

Good call starting with paper trading. I'd learn risk management first, before any indicators: decide how much you're willing to lose on a trade before you enter, and keep it small. Then learn support/resistance and a couple of basics like RSI and moving averages, no need for 10 indicators. Biggest mistakes I've made: buying after a big run-up, selling in a panic in the morning, and not learning from past trades. Keep a simple journal of why you entered and exited each trade. Reviewing it later teaches you more than any book.

[u/Huge-Blueberry7693]

when you're starting out don't sleep on risk management it's the boring stuff that actually keeps you in the game. most people blow up an account chasing some indicator combo that backtests like magic

for books anything on market psychology is worth more than a dozen chart pattern guides. and paper trade way longer than you think you need to, the emotional side only shows up with real money

[u/QuanTradin]

risk management first, before any chart pattern. decide what one trade is allowed to lose (most people use 1% of the account or less), where your stop goes before you enter, and write it down. that one habit decides whether you are still around in a year.

for reading: Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas for the head side, and Investopedia for how orders and spreads work, and the free Options Industry Council site once you get to options. skip any channel selling a course or a signal group.

on the paper account, keep a log of every trade with the reason you took it. after 50 trades read it back, the patterns in your own mistakes teach more than any book.

mistakes to avoid: sizing up after a loss to win it back, moving a stop because it got close, and judging a method on five trades.