The best thing a first time stock trader can do to improve the chances of making money in the stock market is to dive into the research.  I’m not talking about grinding away at the fundamental analysis about companies that you may be interested in buying (although that is hardly a meaningless pursuit).  I’m talking about learning as much as you can about how the market works and how you can maximize your trading repetroire.  There are many valuable stock trading tutorials that can give you a solid understanding of the stock market and the tools available to traders.

One of the first things you will need to do is find an online broker that offers a paper trading account.  Once you have an account open you can explore all the analysis tools and different trading techniques.  A very common mistake that many new traders make is to jump right in to trading as soon as they open an account.  Have a little bit of patience and force yourself to do some reading on stock trading.  Play around with your fake money account to get comfortable before risking your own capital.

It’s a good idea to read a little background about how the stock market actually works.  I am of the opinion that even if the knowledge doesn’t directly translate into better trading performance, understanding the stock market fundamentals is worth your time.  After all, you are going to be putting your money into that very market.  An informed investor is a profitable investor.

Once you have the basics of how to trade, you will want to delve into the different order types available for buying stocks.  There are quite a few different ways to purchase stock, and you would be well served to examine each of them in detail.  Once you can describe exactly when to use a trailing stop and how it works you are well on your way to becoming a trader.  Read more about limit types and other stock trading basics at stocktradingtutorial.org.