ASX Sharemarket Game - Give me some tips!

[Callaghan]

Outline

- Ok, so you start with $50 000 hypothetical cash. So far after two days I am down to $49 707.

- National leader is at approx 51k

What I would like to no

If you can spare a second!

Not necessarily who to invest in. I need to learn how to figure it out for myself. But some starting tips would be great. I.e. a company name - and primary reason why you would choose them. [I ask this so I may read and learn to think for myself as such]

So far i have invested in


Code Holding Current value Current price
BHP 264 $9,807.60 $37.15
WES 288 $9,993.60 $34.70
WOW 377 $9,990.50 $26.50
RHC 20 $198.80 $9.94
AOE 100 $293.00 $2.93

Are there any i should pull out of? If so, what would be a simple reason for such. What are some tips you can lend to look for in other companies.

Please note

I am a novice. Beyond my basic understanding of the financial and capital markets I am not great at F/A or T/A. Also, for the sake of me understanding anything you say please explain your use of acronyms [Thanking MRC for my F/A and T/A]

 

[Callaghan]

none?

 

[So_Cynical]

Dude...my account is at $50.350 and im still 60% in cash.

U picked the wrong stocks....so far.

 

[Julia]

Could you say why you picked those particular stocks?

And on what basis did you choose them?

 

[Whiskers]

Outline


So far i have invested in


Code Holding Current value Current price
BHP 264 $9,807.60 $37.15
WES 288 $9,993.60 $34.70
WOW 377 $9,990.50 $26.50
RHC 20 $198.80 $9.94
AOE 100 $293.00 $2.93

Are there any i should pull out of? If so, what would be a simple reason for such. What are some tips you can lend to look for in other companies.

I'm with Julia. Give a rundown on why you decided on these stocks and your trading strategy, ie whether you have/use charting software (TA) or are more of a FA and whether you are intending to trade frequently or infrequently, so we can walk you through some processes.

Of the bunch you have, I'd say AOE is the worst pick. I see the POO only going down and AOE's chart has a MACD crossover and seems to confirm that to me at least in the short term.

The rest I think at least have upside potential in the medium term.

PS: I'm not competing this time. Gonna put all my time into the read deal since it's about to launch off again.

 

[Callaghan]

To be shamefully honest I have no real strategy because I am not experienced enough to devise one. I bought into well known bluechips and read into some peoples advice on here.

I have no critical analysis skills as of yet.

That's why i am here looking for a starting point.

 

[Whiskers]

To be shamefully honest I have no real strategy because I am not experienced enough to devise one. I bought into well known bluechips and read into some peoples advice on here.

I have no critical analysis skills as of yet.

That's why i am here looking for a starting point.

Well, first things first, do you read charts, ie do you have any understanding of chart analysis (TA) or are you relying (apart from what you have read here) entirely on Fundamental Analysis (FA)?

 

[Callaghan]

I would have to say, that as far as I am aware, i have no charting analysis skills.

I have FA as far as

-reading recent reports and looking at balance sheet and income statement to figure out if i company is profitable or too highly geared etc. This I did NOT do for the game because that is more or less for buy and hold [investment] strategies not for a 3 month charting game.

thats about as deep as my skills run unfortunately

 

[highonoctane]

Yeah I'm playing this also with absolutelly NO experience or knowledge, just been reading as much as I can on hereand some other articles...

I also put 10K into AOE and sold out half way though day 1 with a loss...

I'm watching about 15 different stock and trading a couple of times a day.

I'm trying different strategies with each stock just to learn the outcomes

EG I'm gonna hold a couple of strong performers probably for the duration of the game, and these are buisiness I'm following much more closely.
Some other bets I've just bought at lows without doing much research and hoping they go up! (Gambling I know )
I've bought another stock 1 day before Ex Div to hopefully capitolise on the rather large dividend and sell out in a weeks time when the price recovers a bit...

I'm also keen for any advice on which/why stocks to buy and when to sell...

 

[saiter]

Newb here having a go at the game too! I'm using T/A. Here are my stocks:


BBG

It looks like wave 4 has just broken through wave 1, but daily data says it's going up. Going to hold this for ~2-4 weeks until I find something better and reap benefits from possible wave 5.



CBA

Wave 2 retraced wave 1 about 80% (more than the 30-70% guideline). Nevertheless, there's a nice rise so it might head into wave 3. Hoping to sell near the top of wave 3 and move to another stock or re-buy at the bottom of wave 4.



HVN

I thought this had a good elliot wave going but after I re-analysed it (after I bought in of course!), wave 4 had broken through wave 1 by alot! Nevertheless, it's still increasing so I'll restart the count and see what happens.



JBH

I saw two elliot waves overlayed, both meeting at wave 3. Hopefully wave 4 will retrace to a point just above the horizontal lines and that's where I'll buy in.



NCM

This chart looked like it was trending downwards in a cyclical fashion. I bought in at the bottom whilst it started to increase and am hopefully going to sell at the top in ~3-5 weeks.





PS: How do you add captions in Amibroker?

 

[strudy]

I use the asx trading game as away to paper trade. Trying out different systems to see how they work without risking my capital.

I also use the monthly game at **** as well.

Some ideas work ,some don't but at least you don't do your dough.

 

[Callaghan]

I'm lost

 

[dodox]

I'm lost

I second that!

I'm starting out too and I'm a bit confused. Can anyone give some tips about where to start if I'm completely new to the market?

Does the AFR help much?

 

[agro]

I second that!

I'm starting out too and I'm a bit confused. Can anyone give some tips about where to start if I'm completely new to the market?

Does the AFR help much?

place 25% of your portfolio in FMG - Fortescue Metals Group

my tip

 

[dodox]

place 25% of your portfolio in FMG - Fortescue Metals Group

my tip

Hi Agro. Thanks for the tip!
Woohoo! I have about 20% already in! they took a bit of a dive the past few days
wait are you serious?
if so why?

 

[agro]

Hi Agro. Thanks for the tip!
Woohoo! I have about 20% already in! they took a bit of a dive the past few days
wait are you serious?
if so why?

because i know something you don't know that i wish not to disclose

nah in all honesty, they are the new force in iron ore, the third big boy which BHP/RIO don't want..

they got contacts for next 12 years

i could go on - see google finance or something

 

[Julia]

Callaghan and Dodox, I'd suggest you are perhaps trying to jump in at the middle rather than at the beginning, i.e. choosing a bunch of companies without any particular reason for buying those stocks.

My suggestion would be to read carefully through the education section of the ASX website. This will give you a basic understanding of how the market works and the difference between FA and TA.

Then if you are an E-Trade customer (and I expect other brokers also have similar facilities) there is also education on their website.

This is an exceptionally difficult and volatile time to be 'trying your hand'.

I don't think you should be considering buying anything - even just on paper - without a basic understanding of charting.

 

[cordelia]

Callaghan and Dodox, I'd suggest you are perhaps trying to jump in at the middle rather than at the beginning, i.e. choosing a bunch of companies without any particular reason for buying those stocks.

This is an exceptionally difficult and volatile time to be 'trying your hand'.

I don't think you should be considering buying anything - even just on paper - without a basic understanding of charting.

Good advice..under no attempts try to actually trade this market with your lack of understanding.

As for the game... the amount of cash you can allocate to each position is limited as I recall. You might like to consider which shares you are more likely to get a better return for your money

ie: if you can only buy 100 BHP shares and they move $1 but you can buy 1000 AOE and they move 50c then obviously AOE makes more sense....

For a basic understanding of charting go to
www.incrediblecharts.com or http://www.investopedia.com/

or (don't laugh) "Charting for Dummies" seems like a good basic intro to charting. I was looking at it in the bookshop the other day and its perfect for someone who knows absolutely nothing about TA...
That's if your going down that path....

 

[questionall_42]

I don't think you should be considering buying anything - even just on paper - without a basic understanding of charting.

Disagree. Paper trading is a fantastic way to trial new methods/systems, even if you have no idea what you are doing. The only thing you lose is time. And what you can get out of it could be valuable insights. If you take the time after each trade to analyse what went right/wrong and why then it was a worthwhile exercise. If you have no idea about trading, then it can be a great way to test your appetite for volatility and begin to understand the psychology of trading.

I am playing the game in my spare time and am trying to loose all my money... ... I am biased in wanting to find +ve trends: I need to learn to look for -ve trends.

 

[Callaghan]

Thanks for your advice guys, it's much appreciated.

Julia - paper trading is pointless if you are an absolute novice as you will get discouraged until you have a small idea what you are doing.

I haven't yet read into t/a though I am starting too now, I no about f/a [didn't know it was called this] stuff like p/e ratio and so on. Not that i have much of an idea how to analyze these ratios.. yet.

looks like the ASX is pointless for me this year round, i need to study more in the meantime.

questionall_42 - i agree, though i probably wont be able to recognize why i went wrong with particular trades atm - which is why i am back to square one - study.

cordelia - thanks for the tips. the for dummies series is rather good, i have share investing for dummies and it is definately well written.