---------------------------------------------------- I agree with Don. My winning percentage is too high for it to be just random so the system works. My only concern is that certain stocks may get worked over too much by Don's bootcampers all trying to exit at the same time. I'd like to know what stocks the rookies are doing just to be able to avoid them. I got out fast today also, done by 9:35:27, 15 fills 2 losers 13 winners. No home runs, just lots of base hits.
Just to make a point (not to argue at all), I make sure that I include Only the stocks that my bootcampers use so that I can "lead by example"....(as I said, just one of many "real life" teaching tools).... When I start putting out our advanced trading strategies, then I will likely be shot by a couple of hundred traders....LOL.... Don
Aren't Don's minyans exiting for only 5 or 8 cents? The stock's not even at the range I start to peel a little off by then. 6 wins, a loss and 3 scratches today, +.82 gross. December will be my best month ever for openings, I'll post some stats after tomorrow.
Last day of the Year... Another quickie, well not "that quick"...out by 9:37:09 (LOL)... Up $320.... All 3 longs....and, yes, out too soon.... Reading press releases for BT for the New Year...be sure to keep your eyes peeled to the wire services....Probably hit on Monday or so.... Don
20 trading days. Made money 17 out of 20 days. Those 3 days were the worst 3 day losses I have ever incurred, happily they were offset by some good opening days. Could have made more the last couple of days but exited too quickly. 286 executions 544,600 shares traded in/out. Gross profit $7489 minus $2733 commission = net profit $4756. Not enough to retire on but more than enough to pay the bills. If broken down to a time basis for those interested in trading part-time I ususally spend about an hour a day doing the prep work and trrading so that equals $237.80 an hour. I guess that is a little bit better than minimum wage. Happy New Year to Don and the other opening traders.
Whne I was running OO's, I found this to be the case also.. It works great and you make good gradual $$$. then you get tattoed a few days in a week, and you lose confidence.. It pretty much happened twice. The fist time I just got hurt, plain and simple, and the second time, I had locked in my pre-market futures in @ 9:15 and didnt see the minis turn dramatically b/4 the open. My software package was the old one (never got the e:mail to upgrade ) and didnt update the spu's until teh open.. Needless to say, I got hurt b/c my price envelopes were off vs. the opening spus.. Anyway, my question is, on the days you get hurt, is it mainly one or 2 losers that kill you, or the overall market action?
Traded all 22 days of the month. 14 winning days, 6 losers and 2 scratches. I count a scratch day as +- $50 net. 105 longs, 154 shorts 150 wins, 20 scratches for a 63% win rate 7.4% average fill rate (using .9% envelope on most stocks) Biggest winning day $3719 net on the 16th. Biggest losing day $-2001 net on the 1st. Average winning day $1307 Average losing day -$538 2.0 net cents per share traded (counting both the entry and exit) December was my best month for openings, netting about $2000 more than the previous record from October of last year. I'm trading more stocks and larger size than then, but that month had an incredible fill rate average of almost 15%
Traded 222 of 252 days in the year (lost over 3 weeks switching firms) Winning weeks 37 Losing weeks 11 Longest losing weeks streak- 4, Sept 8 - Oct 3 Longest winning weeks streak- 12, Oct 6 - present Winning days 149 Losing days 61 Scratches 12 Volume 6,579,000 Gross $100,287 Net cents per share traded (in and out) 1.0 Average fill rate at .9% envelope for most stocks: 7.8% 61.7% win rate Top 5 days net $4395 03-24 3719 12-16 3037 12-15 2351 04-11 2339 12-02 Bottom 5 days net -3325 08-13 -2709 10-03 -2215 06-09 -2001 12-01 -1717 10-27
OK, good job...If I can get all my traders to start the day with a "smile" (and a profit), then the real money will be much more likely to come.....positive mental attitude and all that really does make a difference.... Happy New Year....I'll start a new Thread for 2004....and have a couple of other things up my sleeve for 2004 (after next week)... Don Oh Yeah...BTW..all of you who are trading at those "other" firms: Your Free Trial Period of the "opening only strategies" are expiring today. So you'll have to switch over (or back) to BT for 2004, sorry for the inconvenience!
Here's some things I learned or had re-enforced for me regarding opening orders in 2004. Homebuilding stocks will either make you a lot of money, or cost you a lot. There is no middle ground. My two biggest losing days of the year came when I missed or misinterpreted news about this sector and got filled on all 4 of them on my list. I've also had wins of $1.00/share or more on a couple occasions. The bad losses almost always are a result of news. They can provide some great wins too, but if you want a smooth equity curve, I think you don't want to swing big size in news stocks. I've been experimenting with it the last few months, and overall it's been positive, but the jury's still out on whether or not it's worth it. Screw-ups happen and there's nothing you can do about it. My spread sheet is full of notes about how much I should have made if only the macro didn't screw up, or I hadn't bought more of a tanking stock by accident, or some other dumb-ass move. Overall, it's a numbers game, and in the end the glitches don't matter too much and aren't worth stressing over. If a strategy has a proven edge, push that edge and trust in the stats. That means learn to trade size and as many positions as you can handle. Always within the parameters of what kind of drawdown your account can handle of course. Here's to a prosperous new year to you all, no matter what strategy you trade. And to all you opening orders bashers I hope you are able to resolve whatever inner conflicts you are having that don't let you accept the fact that because you can't do it, doesn't mean no one else can. Cheers, Corey B