You can believe everything you read on the Internet – RIGHT? Of course, you can – it’s in print – RIGHT?  Wrong!  There is so much stuff out there regarding trading it’s not even funny; most of this “stuff” can be found on the internet.  Here’s a little tale of how I got a serious disease and was cured.  See if you can relate it to your trading journey.

A few months back I got a nasty sinus infection. I got a broad spectrum antibiotic, and I was cured – of the sinus infection.  About two days before I was supposed to stop the pill regimen, I started to have (you don’t need the details) “digestive problems” (an understatement… trust me!). 

What was wrong with me?  Am I going to die?  “I know, I’ll check the internet!”  I started getting ALL kinds of advice from people with screen names like “panelvanbill” and “catwoman468”.  I am a bit of a hypochondriac, so I was sure I had some kind of rare nasal Cancer! Needless to say, it was time to see a professional.

I saw my doctor within days, and although I told him what panelvanbill and catwoman468 said, he felt my condition was more likely a rare side effect from the broad spectrum antibiotic – he was right!  They cured the condition with another antibiotic, and all my tests came back negative.  I was cured of my Internet “Cancer”!

So what’s my point here?  There are so many places to get day trading advice it can make your head spin!  And just like my medical problem, you may be getting this advice from people that are not necessarily qualified to offer you trading advice.  Free is good, I love free!  But beware; sometimes you get what you pay for! 

Let’s say you pop over BigVendorTrasher.com for tips and a free indicator, no big deal, right?  The big question is what do these people actually know about YOU in order to offer up this trading advice?  Do they know about your experience, do they know what you’re actually trading?

So then you go to TradeToWhine.com start a new thread and ask about money management. What will the answers be?  This will vary from person to person and I can almost guarantee that EVERYONE poled will offer up completely different answers.  This is fine, but what’s the right answer?  Do you accept “deathclownfrombelow’s” trading advice, or do you listen to “bigmeathead41”?  The problem with this approach, at least it was for me, was that I found myself accepting the answer “I” wanted to hear….not what was in my best interest. 

Another thing; do you really want to take advice from people that are anonymous and don’t even have a name?  I spent 9 months of my trading career dealing with people on TrashingSchools.org that only had crazy screen names and in the end, you guessed it, it did not bode well for me. Do people really know about YOU in order to offer up this trading advice?  Do they know about your trading personality, do they know your risk tolerance?

So back to the “free” thing. I get it.  But before you send yourself down that rabbit hole ask yourself just a few questions:

• How much time am I willing to spend in search of a sound answer even if you don’t want to hear it?
• Am I willing to risk my high dollar trading PC on unproven, untested code?
• Does that free tool come with support and instructions?  Many times early in my trading career I used some of these free tools, and some were great, but there were a few indicators that ultimately I wasted many hours of testing on only to give up because there was no real support.  Just because ILoveKittens22 says, it’s the Holy Grail for him/her doesn’t mean it will be for you.
• Here’s the big one: If you have problems, don’t understand, or need help, who can you contact? 

Look, trading is challenging enough, don’t let some anonymous person on TradersLavoratory.com that you’ll probably never even get to know their real name diagnose you with Day Trading Cancer.  Talk to an expert with a real name, e-mail, and a phone number.

Erich Senft is a seasoned trader and CTS. He has been trading futures since 1995. Erich is well respected in the trading community, he uses his REAL name, and he can be reached anytime via e-mail or phone if necessary.  ALL the above things mentioned are what give Erich, and any other Indicator Warehouse Team Member credibility.  We are real people with real names.