thinkorswim tutorial: a comprehensive guide to platform features

Thinkorswim is a powerful trading platform that's packed with features to help you succeed. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but don't worry, we'll break it down for you.

Thinkorswim is designed for active traders, offering advanced tools and research capabilities. You can access a vast library of educational resources, including videos, webinars, and articles.

The platform is user-friendly, even for beginners, with a simple and intuitive interface. Thinkorswim is a product of TD Ameritrade, a well-established and reputable online brokerage firm.

Trading on thinkorswim involves buying and selling securities, including stocks, options, and futures, in a commission-free environment.

The platform uses a trading ticket system, which allows you to place trades quickly and efficiently.

You can choose from various order types, including market orders, limit orders, and stop-loss orders.

Thinkorswim also offers a range of risk management tools, including position sizing and stop-loss orders.

The platform's charts and technical indicators can help you analyze market trends and make informed trading decisions.

Thinkorswim's trading hours and market data are available 24/5, allowing you to stay up-to-date on market activity.

You can also use thinkorswim's paperMoney feature to practice trading with virtual money.

Thinkorswim offers over 400 different charting patterns, so you can find one that suits your needs. You can also customize the charts extensively, choosing from various types like Candle, Bar, Line, Equivolume, and Heikin Ashi.

The default chart style is a candlestick, with a price column on the right and time along the x-axis. Rectangular bubbles display the lowest and highest prices in the time frame; icons indicate earnings announcements and stock splits. Below, you'll see a bar chart that shows daily volume.

You can adjust the time frame, colors, cursor, and even the background of the chart to suit your preferences.

To display multiple charts, click the "charts" tab on your dashboard and type in the ticker symbol you want to look at. You can then switch between different chart types, such as line charts and candlestick charts, by clicking the "style" button.

You can add pre-built studies to your chart under the "studies" button, allowing you to include features like bollinger bands and moving averages.

To view multiple charts at once, look at the bottom of the screen, where you can see all the charts you've added. This is a great way to quickly compare different charts.

If you want to trade a chart, you can click the "trade" button on the side, but be sure to do your research first – this option is not recommended for impulsive decisions.

Thinkorswim (TOS) offers a range of features to enhance your charting experience. To add Average True Range (ATR) to your chart, you'll need to access the charting software, which can be found on your dashboard by clicking the "charts" tab.

You can also add Expected Move to your chart, but specifics on how to do this are not mentioned in the provided article sections.

To access different chart types, such as line charts or candlestick charts, click the "style" button within the charting software. This will allow you to switch between chart styles easily.

To add pre-built studies to your chart, click the "studies" button. Here, you can add features like bollinger bands and moving averages to your chart.

The Average True Range (ATR) is a useful tool for measuring volatility in the market. According to the comprehensive guide to using ATR, this tool can be a valuable asset for traders looking to gauge price movements.

If you're interested in learning more about using ATR, a dedicated tutorial on the subject is available.

Charting the US Dollar against major cross-pairs is a crucial aspect of forex trading.

Coach T uses the Thinkorswim trading platform to chart the US Dollar in his Forex Trading 101 tutorial video.

The US Dollar can be charted against various major cross-pairs, such as the EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY.

In the Thinkorswim tutorial, Coach T explains how to use the platform's features to analyze the US Dollar's performance against these cross-pairs.

Using the Thinkorswim platform can help traders gain a better understanding of the US Dollar's movement and make more informed trading decisions.

Looking at charts is a crucial part of the charting and analysis process. You can view different stock charts by clicking the "charts" tab on your dashboard.

To access a specific chart, simply type in the ticker symbol you're interested in. This will bring up the charting software, where you can start analyzing.

You can switch between line and candlestick charts by clicking the "style" button, giving you a choice of how to visualize the data.

Inside the charting software, you can also add pre-built studies to your chart under the "studies" button. This is a great way to add tools like bollinger bands and moving averages to your analysis.

Viewing multiple charts at once can be helpful for comparing different stocks or time frames. This feature is located at the bottom of the charting software.

To trade quickly, you can hit the "trade" button on the side of the chart. However, it's essential to do your research before making a move.

You can adjust the Risk Graph for Theta in Thinkorswim using the platform's features. Theta measures Time Decay, which is a crucial factor in options trading.

Coach Matt takes a look at how to adjust the Risk Graph for Theta in a video tutorial on Thinkorswim. This feature helps traders understand how time affects their options positions.

Adjusting the Risk Graph for Theta is a great way to visualize how time decay impacts your trades. This can help you make more informed decisions.

Coach Matt's video tutorial is a valuable resource for traders looking to master the Risk Graph feature. It's a time-saver technique that can help you optimize your trading strategy.

By adjusting the Risk Graph for Theta, you can get a better understanding of how time decay affects your options trades. This can help you reduce risk and increase potential returns.

The Market Maker Move Tool is a powerful feature in Thinkorswim that can help you analyze earnings gaps and make more informed trading decisions. This tool is used to determine the Market Maker Move (MMM) for earnings gaps.

To use the Market Maker Move Tool, you'll need to follow the steps outlined in the Thinkorswim tutorial, which can be found online. The tool is designed to help you understand how the market will react to earnings announcements.

By using the Market Maker Move Tool, you can gain valuable insights into the market's behavior and make more accurate predictions about future price movements. This can be especially useful during earnings season when market volatility is high.

The Thinkorswim Market Maker Move Tool is a user-friendly feature that can be accessed through the Thinkorswim platform. It's a great resource for traders who want to improve their analysis skills and make more informed trading decisions.

Thinkorswim is a powerful trading platform that offers a range of tools and features to help you manage risk.

To calculate PIP Risk, you can use the Thinkorswim platform, as shown in the Morning Mailbag tutorial.

The risk graph is a useful tool for measuring Time Decay, and can be adjusted for Theta using the Thinkorswim platform, as demonstrated by Coach Matt in his tutorial.

Managing risk is crucial when trading credit spreads, and Thinkorswim offers features to help you do so, as explained in the Morning Mailbag tutorial.

You can set up a contingency in Thinkorswim to manage a credit spread, as shown in the Options 101 tutorial.

The risk graph is also useful for options trading, and can be used to set basic stops on naked puts and covered calls, as explained by Coach T in his tutorial.

To manage stock trades, you can use the Thinkorswim platform, as demonstrated by Coach T in his tutorial.

Understanding how to use the risk graph is essential for managing risk in options trading, and Thinkorswim offers a range of tools and features to help you do so.

You can enter trades on thinkorswim using the Trade tab on your desktop or the Trade icon in the mobile app. To buy stock on desktop, pull up the Trade tab and type in the symbol on the All Products sub tab.

The average time it takes for market orders to be executed is 0.06 seconds, according to TD Ameritrade. This is fast, but it's still important to double-check your order before sending it.

To buy an option on desktop, navigate to the Trade tab and find the Option Chain section. Type in a ticker symbol, select an expiration date, and click on the ask price (Ask X) to fill out the order form. You can also select the amount of shares by moving the “share” arrows up and down.

Here are the key fields you need to manage on the order entry window:

If you decide on placing a limit order, there is a section where you can indicate the price you want to use for your limit order.

Entering a forex trade on Thinkorswim or MT4 is a straightforward process. Coach Matt takes a look at how to do it in his tutorial video.

There are multiple parts to the tutorial, with Coach Gino Poore showing how to set up a "customized" bracket order in Thinkorswim (TOS) in each part.

The process of setting up a trade on Thinkorswim is similar to buying stock, where you can type in the symbol on the All Products sub-tab and see the name, last traded price, gain or loss, and more.

You can also find the Company Profile for even more detail, including Thinkorswim's take on what drives the stock, valuation highlights, and key trends.

Trade executions are generally fast, with an average time of 0.06 seconds for market orders to be executed.

To buy stock on Thinkorswim, you can pull up the Trade tab, type in the symbol, and see the name, last traded price, gain or loss, and more.

You can then click the ask price, labeled Ask X, and an order form should come up at the bottom.

Enter how many shares you want, the price, what order type you want, and how long you want it to be good for.

Then confirm and send.

It's also worth noting that Thinkorswim allows you to be basic or complex in your order entry, so you can tailor the order to your needs.

Here's a summary of the order entry process:

By following these steps, you can enter a forex trade on Thinkorswim or MT4 with ease.

Entering Covered Calls with Contingent Orders can be a bit tricky, but it's a great way to manage risk and potentially increase income from your investments. ThinkorSwim offers a feature called Contingent Orders that makes it easy to enter covered calls.

To use Contingent Orders, you'll need to have a basic understanding of how to enter covered calls. A step-by-step guide on ThinkorSwim's website can walk you through the process.

Contingent Orders allow you to specify a condition for entering a trade, such as a price level. This can be especially useful when entering covered calls, as you can set a stop-loss to limit your potential losses.

Coach T recommends setting a basic stop on a covered call or naked put position to manage risk.

In the Positions Section of the Thinkorswim Mobile App, you can view your portfolio details by tapping the "Positions" icon in the bottom menu.

Each security in your portfolio is itemized, showing its individual profit.

You can see the total profitability for the day and for all open positions at the bottom of the page.

The "Net Liq" value, or Net Liquidity, reflects your total account balance.

You can tap any of the ticker symbols on this page to review information about the security or create closing orders.