The Drummond Geometry Forum

I'm trying to control my costs and not knowing what Tradestation sw costs (unless they have a free eval), is it a requirement for the initial phase of the course or can I use spreadsheets, etc?

p.s. what is meant by time period coordination?

P.G.

I am not completely sure about TradeStation's pricing since I am a developer and have a special rate with them, and they change their policies from time to time and I don't know what their current pricing is. I believe that if you trade with them they will give you the software free but if not, or if your account is small, then they will lease it for about $100-$200 a month. This is not a bad deal considering the quality of the software and that they give you the live data along with this. However you would have to chat with their sales people to know what your actual cost would be.

Time period coordination means understanding the position, nature, and usage of support and resistance in different time-period charts, and how to match these up, and how charts drawn using one time period (such as weekly or daily) effect and influence charts drawn in another time period (such as hourly), and how to take advantage of this information when making trades.

I am ready to go forward.

(i) Have not got in touch with Tradestation folks...available only market hours....if I get the sw in a little while will it hinder any learning during the initial phase of the course?

(ii) do I need the P&L indicators as I go through the course and/or when I trade? Or both?

P.G.

re TradeStation adn the software... no, you can start with the software immediately or later, it makes no matter in the final analysis. However if you purchase the software in the beginning at the same time as the lessons you can secure the discount and then receive delivery of the software at a later time when you are ready to start with TradeStation. This saves you an extra $50, if that is a concern. An option, anyway. Most students find that after they have completed five-seven lessons they start to want to play with market data and software on their own machines as they begin to understand the concepts. Others start immediately, others wait until the course is finished. TradeStation and the software are not a necessity for going through the course, as the lessons are self-contained.

Unless you are a gifted programmer who really likes to program for your own pleasure, as some of our students are, then purchasing the software is a practical if not a technical necessity if you are doing computer-based trading, as are 99 percent of our students. There are some who like long-term hand charting on paper, and for these there is no need for any kind of software. The theory and the concepts are not dependent on software.