So there I was at 7am on Friday putting Creme Eggs on all the tables in the seminar room thinking.. "How on earth am I going to do it today?"
I'd managed to pick up Christopher's cold and cough. Not only did I feel lousy, coldy and coughy but also I was having some trouble talking. Not great!
I couldn't exactly cancel it! People were already on their way. Maybe I could do it in sign language via an interpreter? Please see page 888.
In the end I just had to breath deeply and hope for the best. I do have a mike so I knew that would help - but then again did I want a mike broadcasting me blowing my nose? Ewwwwwww...
(One presenter apparently forgot to take the radio mike off when he went to the toilet, you can imagine what happened and what was broadcast to the room).
Everyone arrived and I just had to hope for the best. And it wasn't too bad - put the mike up at full pelt which meant I could talk quietly and still be heard..
Someone has specifically asked for a Bounty Bar - which I duly presented, and was about to hand over when I realised I'd eaten half of it the previous evening! Whooops.
What a lovely bunch of people! It ended up despite my troubles being a brilliant day which I really enjoyed despite the handicap.

Great questions and interesting twists and turns thoughout the live markets that happened on the day. I never know how these days are going to go or where they will lead which makes them fascinating for me.
Some interesting tales from delegates during the psychology session, it is amazing how much your brain and attitude to life really does affect whether you can make a profit or not.

There were quite a few interesting level 2 screens to look at live and we also looked at some live direct market access where I put one or two orders onto the order books to show how share prices are easily manipulated by market makers and participants.
The hotel even did a better lunch than ever - a new chef apparently. He's doing well. I had a great steak and kidney pie.
In the afternoon we did research, accounts, more on timing entries and exits, charts, debt, and spreadbetting where we did one or two live trades and compared prices on offer from different companies. And then there was some live finding of interesting shares and lots more. As usual I got carried away.
All I remember is seeing the clock saying 8pm as we finished and I could do no more. My voice gave out. I was very flattered that most of you stayed so late.
Oh and well done to Mark who got £150 for winning the FTSE competition! And of course to Mrs NT for all the backup and organisation which helped the day go so well. I hope you have all had the noted mailed to you by now.
As I cleared up at the end I'd hoped there's be a few creme eggs that hadn't been eaten that I could take home - but not one was left!
And not surprising as one creme egg fan showed me his hoard at the bar - he's going to have a gooey weekend..
A lot of fun characters in the bar afterwards and I could hardly believe that I and many others were still in there at half midnight.
I met so many interesting people from IT developers, website owners, to cab drivers, to students to those who work from home to those who want to work from home! And may I here and now inform a certain party: I am definitely not going to Las Vegas!
But I do love hearing how people make a living and the stories were tremendous. It's so good to meet people with such energy and drive and determination. I'm pretty certain many of you will make good traders or investors even as a sideline.
I had to have three "hot toddies" to try and calm down my throat. Which wasn't such a good idea because..

I went to bed at 1am and then couldn't sleep. I guess the high from the day - but probably mainly all the coffee and booze....
Anyway after all that my voice has just about returned and the cough and cold gradually receding!
Once again thanks to all of you who came and made Friday such a good day. And thanks for all the positive feedback coming in which is much appreciated! I wish you all the best with your trades in the future. Next seminar is May 15th, more details in a mo.
Coming home on Saturday I couldn't talk at all and had to use sign language the whole day to the amusement of toddler Christopher! The day went in a haze and I ended up falling asleep a lot.
On Sunday there was a big boat race party in the park next door with big screens and a fair.

Mrs NT and grandma watched it from the apartment - while it was on I was watching Christopher on the bouncy castle rugby tackling 12-year-old girls and bringing them down!
He has no fear that boy and that's something I'm very glad about. Then his girlfriend from nursery turned up and he persuaded her to bounce up and down with him (!).
At last on Sunday night I managed to get some sleep and also at last I'm starting to feel a bit better!
Usually I wouldn't do another seminar till the end of June but I've added an extra May seminar his year as there seems a lot of interest - so it is only 6 weeks away - on Friday May 15th and booking is now open. Some of you have booked already.

Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com for details with "Seminar interested" in the subject line if you're interested in coming along. There is a decent early booking discount available.

It's designed for beginners, dabblers and improvers and deals with everything from how to look for winners, how to research, spreadbetting, level 2 use how to time trades and short, how to use advfn properly and run your portfolio without having to spend money on systems and tipsters.. and tons more.

A lot of the day comes directly from the live markets and I show you many of the tricks I use to get good prices live. And there might even be the odd live trade or 2!

There is more detail on the seminar below.
Thanks for the great spreadbetting stories - winning and losing stories for my upcoming spreadbetting book welcome at thenakedtrader@aol.com (spread stories ONLY to this address please!! -please use my normal address for anything else).

Did you lose spreadbetting? Why and what happened? Or have you found it easy and you're a winner? Tell me! Anyone whose story I use gets a free copy.

Hurrah! Spreadbetting firm Tradefair (Betfair's sister) has upped its offer exclusively to Naked Trader readers to a £100 credit!
I've been using them for a few weeks to check that I'm happy with the service. As you know I don't take ads or allow referrals on the site unless it's a company I've used and I feel confident about.
What I like about it is it's easy to use, spreads are surprisingly tight on the smaller companies and interestingly an automated stop loss is applied to each trade - so beginners know what their max loss is from the outset.
Anyway they now offer a £100 credit as long as you deposit £100. You get the credit after you placed 2 trades (non equity)

If you'd like to open an account with Tradefair and get the freebie and try them out e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Tradefair" in the subject line and I'll send you info on how to claim the new £100 credit.
Still with BT for your phone line? Why? Move over to Utilities Discount Warehouse under me and pay just £8.99 for your line rental, and deal with a nice company. I get commission and in return you get my e-mail - this site into your mailbox at every update!

You could also add energy, guaranteed cheaper than the top 6 suppliers and get the lot on one bill every month. Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you fancy it. Easy to do!

I'm glad to say MF Global has improved its offer to readers....
First you get a free £2 bet on the FTSE.. and secondly when you place your first bet with them they will cover the potential loss of up to £100 if the trade moves against you.
I use MF Global myself for spreadbets on the smaller companies as they have more online than anyone else and offer spreads on pretty much everything.
To take up the offer either click the MF banner you should find somewhere on this page, or cut and paste this link into your browser and you can sign up online:
http://tinyurl.com/6lrpbs
Terms and conditions obviously apply, check them on that link.. I think those are good offers.

Many of you enjoy the cheap advfn toplists bronze deal through me as do many of you with the cheap level 2. However many of you say you want a half-way house to include real-time share prices always on.
So I'm pleased to announce I've managed to seal a new deal with Advfn for its "Silver" service - that's always on real-time share prices for a good saving (Bronze toplists etc are included in this).
The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £138.06 inc vat via me instead of £167.47.
Just mail me for full details if you'd like it with "silver" in the subject line.
The money - real money - is already coming on from my own internet shopping site which is at www.ei42.com/nakedtrader.

In fact I've already made £1,000 - that's in a very short time and as this grows I think there could be a very good income there.

YOU can make money out of this too - by simply doing your online shopping as normal but via your site (it costs nothing) and then tell friends to open their shopping site using the link from yours - you then get commission on their buys!
Have a look at this link:

http://www.ei42.com/Nakedtrader/

So for free you can sign up and get this site for yourself.

Everytime you buy anything yourself on your site you get commission.. So if you normally shop online anyway it's a no brainer: just use your own site instead of going direct and get some commission every time you shop.
Then you just get some friends to sign up and get their own site too - when they do online shopping using their mall, you get commission too. Simple as that.
It's all explained on the site top right.. just click "Make money with your own shop find out more" and it's all explained. Or click here

http://www.ei42.com/?10850514
So you just shop away as normal - but now you earn commission - and there's also decent money off coupons too on top of that!

They've just re-published "The Zulu Principle" by Jim Slater who's written a 2008 update at the beginning.
This is a brilliant classic book. Reading this is a real pleasure and it was a great idea to republish.
Jim believes like I do the best gains can come from smaller stocks and in an easy to read style takes you through how to evaluate smaller companies that are about to become bigger ones - he uses some excellent examples.
Really this is a must read for all more longer-term investors or anyone looking to grow their money... a number of you have also written to me about this book and praising it.
Here is the link to buy it:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/167207.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Here's a very topical one: The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets by Peter Schiff.
The book is all about how to keep portfolios up in a down market. He focusses a lot on how to play commodities and win with some sensible advice especially on natural resources and precious metals. He is very much a realist and there is no rubbish here: some straight talking and some interesting strategies.
Everyone who invests should think seriously about keeping portfolios up in bad times so this book should be read.
Well worth picking up at this link:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/271958.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
To order my new book Naked Trader 2 for next day delivery click this link... or the cover of the book top right!
http://books.global-investor.com/books/27120.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
I've had heaps and heaps of praise from many of you regarding The Financial Spreadbetting book.
The book really seems to have helped a lot of you understand spreadbetting a lot more than you did. You say it's really helped you with ideas too. The writer deserves commendation. With the ability to go short so important in these volatile markets, it's a must read. To order click this link... http://books.global-investor.com/books/23307.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Several people have asked me for a recommendation on a book which shows how to study accounts in a reasonably easy way. The one I like the most is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Robert Leach. Ten crunch questions to ask before buying any company.
It' s a decent easy-to-read book with several key chapters and it's highly recommended. It's one I keep and dip into from time to time. To order, click this link... http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
The best book on charting and easiest read on the subject is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Alistair Blair. Click here -> http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Another good one is the second edition of http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Peter Temple. Included in this one is how to use spreadbetting, CFD's warrants and trackers to reduce risk. And there are some decent trading strategies too.
This is an excellent book for new investors and also experienced ones. It explains all the things you may not be sure about in the markets and will explain the tools that are there. To order The Investors Toolbox by Peter Temple (new edition) click the following link for delivery in 24 hours... http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

Fancy spending a day with me, learning all the ways I have learned over the years to find good shares and play the markets? Well, you can at one of my seminars!
Booking is still open for the next Naked Trader seminar on Friday May 15th. Price is £495 plus 15% vat. However there is a large early booking discount available!

That includes three course lunch, Starbucks coffee, parking etc. And most importantly it covers choc bars and fruit gums too.

The seminar is mainly aimed at beginners and dabblers though improvers are welcome too.
Topics covered using live market feeds all day include: Market psychology, level 2 - a simple guide to how to use it for better timing; how to value companies; finding companies that are about to rise. I will also cover techniques for handling events such as the recent meltdown and volatility.
Spreadbetting: How to use it to gain an edge and go short. Market makers - how they work and how to beat them; how to stop losing money and make it instead and plenty more.
How to plan trade entries and exits - how to research companies and understand reports, plus all those niggly questions you always wanted to ask. How to set stop losses and targets. Charts and how to use them.
Also covered: Market maker tricks: How to spot tree shakes and use them in your favour, How to tell when NOT to buy a share. I use live ADVFN all day with lots of level 2 and looks at all kind of live market data.
The idea behind the seminar is SIMPLICITY. I don't use jargon or fancy words - everything is in PLAIN ENGLISH! No question is too stupid and the event is held in a friendly relaxed and supportive environment.
The idea is you will come away from the event I hope a wise and better investor with lots of new ideas. I try and translate complex topics into easy bite size pieces. I also aim for it to be entertaining as well as instructive.
If you are interested please e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "May seminar interested" in the subject line and I will send you full details of the event including comments from those who have come to previous seminars and you can then decide whether you would like to come. See you there!

One seminar attendee Clare wanted to write a testimonial about her experiences at the seminar which follows now!
"I've just come back buzzing from one of Robbie's seminars. What a day! He's just brilliant, and manages to pack an awful lot into one day, and with his enthusiastic and humorous delivery the day just flies by. There are no gimmicks, no sell, no "˜get-rich-quick' promises, just his own solid, sound approach which he has learnt over the years and which works.
He shows you how to minimise the risks and maximise the profits and points out the banana skins on the way. Where the seminar really comes into its own is when he teaches using live level 2. Hearing him talk through his thought processes and reasoning is invaluable, and really brings home everything from the book. He has endless patience answering peoples' questions, and really seems to care that everybody understands.
On top of that, you meet some really nice like minded people and swap e mail addresses, you're plied with
chocolates and coffee all day, have a great lunch and spend the evening getting tiddled with Robbie in the
bar afterwards! You might even get to see the amazing crocodile boots . . . .

Don't worry about the cost, it's easily worth it, and you'll soon make it back with your new-found investment skills, and in what you're no longer losing. If you're thinking of going along to his next seminar, whether you're a novice or an experienced trader, don't hesitate ""just go!
Thanks Clare, did you want the tenner in cash, or will a cheque do?

Exclusive One Point Spread, £250 Cashback Offer

Still a massive response coming in for the sensational 1 point indices spread offer plus £250 cash back on losses - my mail box continues to be full of enquires - don't miss out!
I have arranged a deal with a spreadbet company that gives you just ONE POINT spreads on all the major indices and very tight spreads on everything else. A one point spread is just amazing and you can use it on the FTSE, DOW, Nikkei etc...
Not only that, I can offer those of you interested a fantastic £250 cash back on any realised spreadbet losses made within your first 8 weeks. That means you get back any losses up to £250 which could come in extremely handy.
If you'd like the details of this offer just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "£250 cashback offer" in the subject line. This really is a great offer which will have a limited lifespan so if you want it, get cracking!

. Mf Global Spreads is one of the few companies that offers spreads on smaller companies valued at just £6m or more, including AIM stocks. And you can trade them online too.
So now you CAN deal in small companies without having to actually buy the shares in the market and you can deal in them on margin if you wish.
Every naked trader reader who opens an account with them though me will get a completely free £2 a point bet on the daily FTSE on a day of your choice.
As you can imagine get it right and this free bet could be worth a few quid. The bet cannot be a loser, because if you lose, it is as if you never placed it!

And MF now also offers £100 refund on your first bet if it becomes a loser.
So here is your chance to open an account to spread bet the smaller companies - of course you can deal in the whole range of usual spread betting with them too including the bigger companies and indices bets as well.
To take up what I think is a brilliant offer, simply cut and paste this link into your browser and sign up online:

http://tinyurl.com/6lrpbs

I've started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit!

So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 2 spreadbets (non equity).

To get the offer, click here:

http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

So Jacqui claimed for porn movies eh?! You have to laugh really. But the one thing I don't get is:
how come they had to watch Oceans 13 twice? It's crap just the once! I think that is really the issue and why she should really resign, never mind about the porn.
More seriously she ought to quit. She won't as she's on over £140,000. The question is if you were on that sort of money would you really claim 88p for a bathplug?
Politicians who start off on moral crusades always fall down at some point so it serves her right. I almost feel sorry for Gordon Brown if he hadn't been wrecking the country over the last 10 years
.
Last year she criticised men who go to lap dancing clubs. Then her family home is her second home? Etc, etc. Sorry, girl, it's just too much. If you go into high office then you have to set an example.
At PMQ's today Brown's defence that he sold off the country's gold at rock bottom prices was "Well, we bought some Euros and they've gone up."
Feeble. He should have said sorry. After all we could really do with the gold right now!
This G20 nonsense is so silly. These leaders are going to talk for just 4 hours and it's going to cost something like £50 million!
Have they not heard of video conferencing? And couldn't the money being spent on it really be put to better use?
How many hospitals might that money have bought? Or how much aid to the poor?
Yet again our great leaders show they just love spending other people's money.
It's time they woke up and budgeted everything carefully like everyone else has to. That would be a start. Let's hope none of them start accessing the adult material no doubt available at their hotels!
If they start going back through back expenses I wonder just how many movies John Prescott ran through?
The G20 protestors that I can see all look under 21 and seem to just want to have a party.. lots of students having fun.
Hah! Just wait till they have kids and start paying bills! Of course most are good natured, most probably want a day out, some really want to protest and sadly just the odd one or two just want a fight.
Which is a real shame. I could see some of them with masks on brandishing poles. They really are a small element of the crowd but will of course grab the headlines.
The Apprentice was entertaining of course. Only thing was, did you think Sir A had a bit of a scriptwriter this time? Some of his lines felt a bit "written" for him. Come on, you don't need a writer. I could be wrong but it looked a little stilted.
You'd really have thought if you got a letter saying "You're an Apprentice candidate" you'd have the self-realisation to know: "Oh no! That means I must be an absolute t

---

".
Which is probably why one contestant legged it right at the start. He fired himself and that might end up being the best decision he ever made!
It was pretty obvious SirA had taken a dislike to the lawyer! I do wonder though what job SirA really has to offer? He doesn't own Amstrad anymore and it's a string of property companies.
Anyway looking forwards to tonight's. Best bit last week was Margaret's comment about "Never have so few cars been washed by so many people in such a long time".

For a betting preview of the weekend sport, click "sport" above..
If you want to bet on sport here's the sign up link, very large free bets for newbies: To open a Sporting account click here:
http://www.sportingindex.com/?tpid=6755
Do remember if you do bet you ought to treat sports spreadbetting as entertainment - and expect to lose! Also with spreadbetting work out what your max loss could be and make sure you can afford it! In other words if you say backed the favourite at 15 for a fiver and they come nowhere your max loss is £75.

Bill writes:
Many thanks for a very informative, interesting and enjoyable Seminar. Having mentioned that I went on a seminar last year costing £2,500, I expected a lot less,

However, you carried on til 8pm showing drive and enthusiasm, proving that you don't have to be ripped off paying unecessary high fees.
Having read your book several times and now attended your seminar, I can honestly say it was well worth the time, money spent....and lunch was good and meeting other interesting colleagues.
I think anyone considering the course should book it, you should easily recoup your investment and learn some great ideas from the experience.

Thanks Bill, the fiver is in the post!

Mark writes:
I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar on Friday. Thanks to you and your wife for putting in so much effort. I was exhausted at the end so you must have been shattered after talking for 11 hours! I thought the day was
excellent value for money, I learnt loads and was especially pleased with the level 2 coverage!

I also met some great people, was nice to talk about ideas and experiences with people in my situation. Overall I'm feeling much more confident and looking forward to making some better trades in the coming months. So thanks!
Thanks Mark, glad you found it useful and good luck using level 2!
Sajid writes:
Could you please explain why some shares go in to auction during the day? eg Barc was in auction during midday on one trading day. Why does this happen and and what causes it to happen.
Hi Sajid!
Yes, a share automatically goes ito auction for 5 minutes if it has moved by more than I think 10% - the idea is to calm it down a bit. It then comes out of auction and would go back in on any other big moves. It happened a lot with the banks this year as they were so volatile. Smallcap stocks all go into automatic auction for 5 minutes at 11am and 3pm.
Tony writes:

Having destroyed the company he has worked for, having made big losses on last year's accounts (even bigger losses predicted for this year,even worse
next year) and run up the biggest debts in the company's history do you think Gordon Brown should forgo his pension as he has advised fred the shred?
Hi Tony!
Well, to be fair to Gordon that's probably a bit unfair. But having said that politicians have fat cat pensions, along with cheap booze and "expenses". Time for them to take a cut maybe considering the mess they've made of things.

I have 3 great offers from ADVFN. First great deal: If you want level 2, though me it is only £299 for your first year including VAT!
This compares to £360 PLUS vat from ADVFN direct (£423) so this deal saves you over £100! ADVFN level 2 also includes all the live trades made through Plus Markets which I find invaluable.
To accept this great deal just e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Level 2 offer" in the subject line and I will tell you how to get it. Level 2 for only £299 for a year (including vat), or under £25 a month!!

Deal two is ADVFN's bronze subscription - normally £60pa - available from me for only £40! That's a saving of £20! You get access to the premium bulletin board which contains my discussion forum with direct access to chat to me and some very good traders.
Plus you get ADVFN's premium top lists which I talk about in my book and think are a must for finding great stock picks. That includes great lists like ex dividend dates, market maker buys plus chart breakouts and downs.
To take up the offer, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with Bronze in the subject line and I will tell you how to claim the deal.

Deal three is ADVFN's silver subscription - for those of you who want all the benefits of Bronze AND always on real-time prices.. no more using the back button and getting frozen out!

The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £138.06 inc vat via me instead of £167.47.
Just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you'd like this deal with "silver" in the subject line.

Want to try out broker Selftrade superb trading system for no risk? You only have to trade once to get £50 bunged into your account!
All deals are just £12.50 with no funny small print. So it's a no lose situation! Follow this link...

http://tinyurl.com/57hp4n

Well, it's been a very good week indeed especially given the markets haven't really moved that much, sidewaysish with big upmoves cancelled out by the downmoves. Remains a fascinating time. Crazy volatile today as the markets try and work out whether G20 is a good thing or not. Up then down, up then down, go figure.
Right, it's been a while so a few trades to report! At the seminar as usual I presented my current shortlist, a list of shares I'm interested in.
Out of my current shortlist, those at the seminar voted that I should buy Microgen (MCGN). So back home on Monday I thought they were probably right and I bought 10,000 at 45.6. Target 60 stop 37.
An interesting share I think - very strong balance sheet with plenty of cash, profits are up and forward statement encouraging. I even picked up the dividend as it went ex dividend today and didn't go down, another good sign. I also do wonder whether this would make a good fit for a larger company so I've bought with a medium-term outlook, possibly long-term if the current strong uptrend continues.
Second most voted for from the shortlist was Hunting (HTG) and I bought some live on the day as a spreadbet as my broker let me down live - but on Monday I did get some in the market picking up 500 at 389.6. Target 450 stop 370. Although Hunting is in a short-term downtrend it looks a cracking company and I reckon if that downtrend reverses it'll happen bigstyle. Fairly short-term view on it but possibly longer-term if a bull market kicks in. I also added to the spreadbet placed at the seminar!
Another on the shortlist that didn't get any votes was an old favourite of mine Aveva (AVV) - not to be confused with insurer Aviva! Made a lot on this during the bull market.
Looked like a good entry point on Monday again so I bought 400 shares at 537.4 - again a great-looking balance sheet, it looks really oversold to me - its markets seem to be resilient so far in the teeth of the recession. Target 650 stop 495. It's made some good gains already this week and especially today. I've also had a decent spreadbet on it too.
Elsewhere it's all pretty good with some massive gains across the board.
Great gains continue from Heritage which looks like it's going to try and have a bash at 350 resistance. Press speculation was a bid here at 500p but again it's all speculation but I hope there is some truth in it.
Little gamble Aminex is doing ok after "steady as we go" results. Could perhaps be snapped up. Petrofac goes very well. Dragon has been breathing fire as it tries to tackle 200p.
Morse has been looking strong with a 25% gain now - some talk in the press about a 15p bid offer being rebuffed though there has been no statement from the company so I guess it's just gossip in the press - there was also talk in the papers that 18p was what was required! I hope so and remain hopeful of a bid. If there isn't one then I think it's still worth my buyin price anyway!
Recent buy New Brit Palm Oil has gone very well and has just pushed over 300 - whole numbers always prove resistance.. but if it can push past there's every chance of 350 for me... looks good.
Lancashire has started moving up at last - interestingly my broker refunded me the stamp duty I paid on buying it - apparently it is not subject to stamp duty, no idea why!
The banks go well, if I hadn't been at the seminar on Friday I think I may well have taken the 170 on offer at Barclays. Still, I nearly sold at 130 so for now I'll hold! Very volatile of course.
So, extremely happy with the portfolio where pretty much everything is in profit, some in very big profit.
The only thing is a profit ain't a profit till it's banked. I haven't quite worked out whether I'm simply being too greedy in holding for more or whether I should bank gains and just take the rest of April off!
I've been getting e-mails regarding my use of direct market access and who I use. I've tried a few and for me the easiest system for me is here:

http://www.igmarkets.co.uk/?QPID=1079&QPPID=1
Direct market access means you can place orders directly onto the order book bypassing brokers and market-makers with a chance to buy at the "sell" price. I would suggest you ensure you know what you're doing first but IG does provide much education with its "tradesense" educational tool which comes with it.
I also use its spreadbetting service too along with other firms like Tradefair because it now provides trailing stops which to me is a pretty sensible way of trading. Link is here: -
http://www.igindex.co.uk/?QPID=1078&QPPID=1

that also includes a pretty decent educational programme. As usual before opening accounts please read all the warnings on the sites. You can lose a lot of money if you're not careful so pay close attention to them and make sure you always understand what you are doing and what your potential losses are.

I've also started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit!

So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 2 spreadbets (non equity).

To get the offer, click here:

http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

If you want to get the contents of The Naked Trader website into your mailbox instead of waiting for the update to come through, plus exclusively news on the progress of my SIPP from the old Sunday Times column inc new higher risk Aim buys made for that, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with SIPP in the subject line for details of how to get it.

Want to quit the rat race? Try and start a new source of income so one day you can tell the boss to stuff it? You could do what I did to escape my grotty office job and become an independent distributor for the Utilities Discount Warehouse.
You get to sell great broadband, phone packages and energy to friends, relatives, contacts and anyone else you find and you get cash for each sale but more importantly you get a cut of their spend EVERY MONTH for as long as they are a customer!
It's called residual income and is a far better way to enjoy a ripe old age than relying on a pension. Because even after you stop selling the money STILL comes in!
I still get paid EVERY MONTH for sales I made back in 1999! Every time a customer uses broadband or the phone or switches on a light you get paid.
It's a great business and backed by a stock market company (Telecom Plus), a dedicated team of advisors.. and me to help you on your way!
Not only do you get paid out every month for each customer you can take on distributors. encourage them like I do and get paid on their sales as well.
One day, say you could made redundant, needed a year off or wanted to retire early can you imagine what joy it is to have the regular income coming in. It's wonderful.
You have to work at it, but if you do genuine repeat wealth could be yours. I did it. You can too. For full details, why not email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com.
An overview is also available at http://www.telecomplus.org.uk/fabdeal you can sign up directly there but do tell me!
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Trade tables follow! Trades are current open and recently closed trades. Closed trades feature the closing price and the amount I won or lost. All others are open. Trades get updated a little later than the narrative. Trading costs are ignored, however I also do not add in dividend payments and with the kinds of companies I buy, dividends tend to equal or outweigh costs. Spread rollovers ignored for web purposes. Tables as accurate as poss however a mistake or two can creep in and very occasionally if I forgot I sold or bought something it will be added at a later time.