thanks guys for replying. i really appreciate the help, and started to use it on thurs and fri of this past week. on friday, for example, i took some of the advice from this thread, and put in a target and a stop after i opened a position. i didn't submit the orders, but just left them open and ready to go at a moment's notice (i don't like to show specialists/other traders my orders if i intend to actually trade at that price). HOWEVER, i still got scared and exited early, before the move was over, and left some $$$ on the table. i think part of the problem is that i am DESPARATELY trying to become less of a scalper and more of a trend trader. this is a hard habit to break. i also need to take white's advice about not staring at the screen, but when you're a tape reader you need to be constantly watching each tick, and it's tough NOT to overreact when you already have a position on. these markets have gotten so choppy that i get spooked real easily. maybe i need to adopt a new strategy, where instead of getting spooked i buy/sell again if ABC comes back near my entry (but still keep the original stop in place, of course). i used to be better about this. but i think with all the chop lately i've become more of a jittery gunslinger/speculator, and that habit has gotten tough to abandon. i think i need to set a stop even when trying to enter a position. for example, on thursday, i was buying something, and had an entry point picked out -- and this entry would've been absolutely perfect -- about .05 off what turned out to be the bottom and we all know that this would've been some feat considering the market on thurs. but i got impatient (afraid that i'd miss my entry point) and pulled the trigger 0.20 higher. in this case, i should've said "OK, if ABC trades above ___ then i'll be afraid to miss it so if it gets above there i will abandon my initial buy target and buy market." in this case, it was an interesting situation, because this buy order was to hedge a short in a similar company. i was afraid of a strongly rising market, and even though the price was STILL coming into my entry, i was nervous about not being hedged in a rising market. nervous...maybe i'm too nervous...but how can you not be constantly nervous in such a shitty market?? maybe i need a bigger set of balls...or simply a better plan...yeah, if i say OK support here, resistance here -- so those are my targets -- i will be better off. during the day i often get lazy and don't do this, but maybe it's time to grow up and get more serious about this...
Yes and no. I started trading futures in 1987 just before the big hiccup. Big S&P, a minute delay on fills, ugly results. Also traded softs, metals, you name it. After my initial experience with blowing out an account, I did OK for a long time doing short position trades (not really sure what the term "swing trading" means), and losing on a net basis day trading. Worked at Bright for a year in 98 - 99. Bled slowly as I couldn't read the tape like those guys do. Went back to futures cause its more technically based (self fulfilling). Wasn't until minis were introduced that I could make money day trading. That's 90% of my trading now. I don't understand trading stocks: lack of...liquidity, leverage and volatility; not to mention inferior tax treatment, greater costs, and having to deal with specialists/market makers. IMHO, electronic futures are much easier. Jay