Going for prop money

Discussion in 'Journals' started by foible, Dec 9, 2005.

  1. foible

    foible

    #shares: 5200
    #trades: 50
    adjusted net: $3.56
    gross: $2.70

    Worked to make sure I went into the day with a positive attitude. I had a reasonable day and I wasn't self-destructing, so I guess that's something. The morning was quiet so I just traded for the spread in L and EWJ but frequently found the trade going against me. I found that BRUT is offering credits on ETFs, so I ended up trading EWJ exclusively. If I made the spread, great, but if I didn't, I could still go flat for a profit. A nice way to lose :)

    Big event was the fed announcement. Everything was quiet in the lead-up, then *pop*, futures jumped and all of my stocks went crazy! What a hoot! I didn't have the conviction to jump in for the ride, but started taking some trades when things calmed down a bit and made most of my profits (such as they are).
     
    #11     Dec 13, 2005
  2. nlslax

    nlslax

    Foible, can you explain how credits work?
     
    #12     Dec 13, 2005
  3. foible

    foible

    Sure. You can go to http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/trader/tradingservices/productservices/pricesheet/pricingprint.stm and see some more details, but in short, all of the ECNs are competing for business. Many charge to trade on their systems, some are free depending on whether you add liquidity or remove it, and some actually pay you to trade.

    On NYSE (haven't traded NASDAQ yet), ISLD will pay you 0.001/share if you remove liquidity, and BRUT will pay you about 0.0022/share if you add liquidity. Currently, the BRUT credit is only offered on NYSE through the ETFs, but I think it's offered everywhere on the NASDAQ, but don't quote me on that.

    It means that if you post an offer on BRUT, the tier gets swiped and you post a bid at the same price, you get paid 0.0022/share each way, though you have not made any profit.
     
    #13     Dec 13, 2005
  4. nlslax

    nlslax

    Thanks Guy
     
    #14     Dec 13, 2005
  5. bobble inet pays .0009 fro taking liquidity on the nyse and charges .001 for taking it. its the opp of other ecn's who charge for taking and pay for adding
     
    #15     Dec 13, 2005
  6. foible

    foible

    #trades: 117
    #shares: 14200
    adjusted net: $13.84
    gross: $10.40

    Started the day going for BRUT credits on EWJ. It was initially stressful as the best ways to get filled are when a level swipes, but this means I'm constantly going against the market. Had to take frequent breaks to calm down and refocus.

    By the end of the day, though, I was trading confidently, had hit my internal price target of $6.00 for the day, and was actually feeling a bit bored. Suspect that I should pick a more agressive target, or not pick profit targets at all, but focus on how I am trading.

    I'm tempted to boost my default share size from 100 to 200 or 400 in an attempt to make $25 and so work on my next milestone while also completing my current one (three consecutive days positive). But one more day won't hurt and I do want to complete the first milestone (I'm the only one in my group that hasn't).
     
    #16     Dec 14, 2005
  7. i did not know it was actually possible to be net positive credit trading new york, thought the credits were too small, are there any rebate traders who strictly do it on new york?
     
    #17     Dec 14, 2005
  8. foible

    foible

    dwl,

    I've no idea what real traders are doing. I do know that the *ETFs* on NYSE pay 0.22/100 shares which has been enough for me to be profitable.
     
    #18     Dec 15, 2005
  9. foible

    foible

    Stressful day trading. Got caught short on LU when it made a big move this morning and managed to get out for a small loss before it became a big loss. Went back to EWJ and stupidly tried to go for credits in the early morning without thinking that this only works when the stock is stuck in a channel. Which it wasn't. Ouch!

    After it went against me for two cents, I retailed out and by 10:00 I had a sizeable loss. I tried to hit a couple moves, but was gunshy and pulled out, missed the move, or would close for flat.

    After a bit of a re-evaluation, I smartened up, made a couple cents, lost a couple, and then agressively traded for credits as EWJ hit its channel. It was stressful and horrible, but I did manage to end the day positive. Barely.

    But this is the end of the milestone, so now get to swing for bigger targets!

    #trades: 62
    #shares: 9400
    adjusted net: 0.1450
    gross: -8.8000
     
    #19     Dec 15, 2005
  10. foible

    foible

    Another good day. Got some more buying power and was able to take advantage of it, though once I hit my target of $25 net at 2:20 I stopped trading :)

    #trades: 47
    #shares 12624
    adj net: $26.8082
    gross: $34.00
     
    #20     Dec 16, 2005