I actually hesitate to jump into much of this in large part because of the lack of clearly visible information.
This is wise. Best to learn first, then start slow. Here's a good thing to read:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.1966430Bitcoinity, bitcoincharts, etc. have really spoiled me and while dustcoin might be great for miners it doesn't tell a trader much. Btc-e is strange. The quotes are different when you load the main page than when you visit the specific currency page, etc.
Dustcoin tells you the market caps, which helps you tell if something is over/underpriced. The mining ratio there can give a hint about how miners may be about to move, and if it jumps erratically, that can be a warning flag for that coin.
Don't trust the altcoin wall charts too much, as well as being lagged a lot of the walls are fake, intended to influence price rather than to buy or sell.
Also trusting vircurex/btc-e isn't so easy.
Don't leave much in the exchange, just what you're trading and can afford to lose. Enable 2-factor authentication on both. BTC-E is particularly shady, check out the threads on here about it & beware of the trolls.
