badvestor
Registered: Nov 2011
Posts: 253 |
10-17-12 10:27 PM
Quote from decker103:
OK, I want to be a millionaire soon, but I am going to be realistic. I have been paper trading and have a small trading account with a somewhat obsolete broker (many times my orders do not get filled, and this is not only during high volume times). Anyhow, I have some actual money that I would like to proliferate into a million over the next two or three years. I think that is a realistic goal starting with 300k.
I have been paper trading on and off for the last five years, started off keeping track of it all in an excel file, then I discovered the TOS paper option.
What is wrong with science, Dr, you say? Well it is unbelievably slow for my taste and I have been labeled a rogue by multiple bosses, accused of thinking outside of the box too much. I caused them to second guess their own hypothesis  That and the events of the last few months have caused me to question my life, it's been um....Virginia Woolf like; here I come Dr. Phil! I know the grass is always greener, but I will give it the old college try before I quit my day job.
I wanted to write a journal to help me keep track of what I am doing and most importantly get some feedback on my methods. Right now I am waiting for the arrival of my cash into my new IB account. I decided to go with this brokerage mainly because it appeared to be the most widely used broker among us non professionals trying to erg out a living.
Over the next few days I am going to be contemplating my entry strategy for this pile. I have to admit my last actual pile did not do so well, the bulls, the bears and the scammers all had a bite, now it's tied up in small caps that are not moving anywhere at all. I guess it can just keep on sitting there for now.
The biggest lesson learned with this small account -> Set rules and FOLLOW them rather than giving into those seagull noises in the back of my head "mine" "mine" "mine" (yes, I have a son). I have managed to get a handle on that and now I am kinda stuck in some loooooong term positions. I can certainly deal with the loss of 1k better than 100k, just have to keep rule in mind.
That aside, I do not think it a good idea to start off shorting, although I do find negative trends easier too predict for one reason or another. What are people into for midcap industries? I don't want to get my fingers in too many pies to start off, would it be advisable to start off with indices and big high volume guys like AAPL?
Also, I currently have a higher end run of the mill laptop, is it advisable to go over the top and spend 5k on one, some alienware? Or what the heck, I could buy another house and fill it with servers?!? No really though, have people found processor speed to make much of a difference when you are relying on the speed of your wireless router and cable connection then the broker and so on? Can I watch TV while I trade(just kidding, I think)?
One last note, if anyone is curious about clinical trials I don't mind helping to analyze the science behind the product being tested, in trade for good advice; obviously 
Thanks for taking a look! Will update very soon, look forward to your advice, comments and defaming, enjoy the night 
LOL. Why would you quit your job to trade fulltime in this economy when your odds are very high of ending up destitute. Homeless, broke and all alone. I've been trading for more than 10 years and can confidently tell you how to succeed in trading, I will charge you a reasonable consulting fee.
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