S2007S and cashmoney69, My entry shares vary depending on several criteria: stock's average daily range (volatility), my target gain amount (cents mostly but sometimes in dollar(s) if the stock is very volatile). For example, if the stock trades at 6.50 and has a Avg Daily Range of 50 cents, I would shoot for 20% of the ADR (10 cents) and in this case look to purchase 1000 shares when I buy. My loss stop is 10% of the ADR (5 cents in this case). There are other factors involved, such as the distance to the nearest support or resistance, depending on whether I am going long or short. Volume is a factor too. I want to make sure the stock has enough volume to EASILY execute all my shares instantly when I want to. There are a lot more factors that I can't completely go into due to time but I hope you get my point.
wait a sec ... mt sunggong you have only been trading for a couple of months and are consistantly making 2K a week? I find that hard to believe ... did you ever trade elsewhere or trade longer term with success or trade for a market maker etc ... by the way in my opinion you should not be concerned with making $400 a day ... however focus on being net positive weekly and the rest should take care of itself if you have an edge
SethArb, I've been making 2k week for only about 4 weeks, as mentioned. I quit my job as a management consultant to do this. (Now that is a burn-out job!) I have never traded seriously prior to this year. I was a mutual fund guy just for the sake of 401k and Roth. I worked like a dog my first 2 months because I hate losing and wanted to make money. It's hard to describe but just one day, it clicked for me, and I am now able to find a very good entry point (which is critical because it gives you more room for error). Yes, it involved some luck, but I certainly put in a lot of hours in the beginning.
I see how you trade. I have never tried that before. Seems interesting. I dont use 1 minute or 5 minute charts like many do. I just follow the flow of the market as I see it. Where can I find the avd daily range? By the way who do you use to trade with? I just switched from scottrade to MB and find it very easy to trade when only paying 0.01 a share compared to $7.00. Most of my trades are in blocks from 100-500 nothing more than that unless im extremely confident of a move. Made 5 round trips on friday, total cost $10.00, if that was scottrade would have cost me $70 for the same thing. I know IB is cheaper its just that this was my first time switching to a deep discount broker.
you must have studied hard or taken some course ? nobody just "starts trading as a daytrader and makes money so quickly consistantly maybe you are one of the "chosen few" if you continue to do well you might want to approach a prop daytrading firm for more leverage but be aware that many of these firms only want to make you actively trade and are not going to cry if you lose money and leave them good luck to you
By the way how old are you? didnt know you were only doing this for a few months. Many do it for years and dont make as much as you have. Do you keep a journal or blog????
so now we know there are more to it than just staring at 1m and 5m chart with vol but however, staring at them for couple of years is not a bad idea. ps. judging by the response, it is def a sexy idea.
"you must have studied hard or taken some course ?" yes, i studied very hard when i first began. i didn't take any course (i think they are all one expensive joke.) everything you need for a beginner is available online for free. i guess from my past life, i've learned to really dig up any info that i need from the internet.... i don't really care for a prop route because my method doesn't require a large leverage/buying power. i try to stay within my comfort zone for now, and i intend to keep this way until i can consistently make money for at least 6 months or so.... i think if you're serious about making money in the market and work extremely hard, it's not too hard to make a living as a daytrader. the reason i think the failure rate is so high is because people GAMBLE and look to get rich quickly. i personally find that the market, although sometimes unpredictable and random, clearly repeats its cycle at both micro and macro levels....
"so now we know there are more to it than just staring at 1m and 5m chart with vol but however, staring at them for couple of years is not a bad idea." haha, that may be the case. i guess through my posts, i am finding out that i have a lot of RULES i abide by. picking the entry point still seem pretty instictive to me like some of the posters have mentioned, i need to definitely analyze my trades more carefully and look to write some algorithms to test and refine my method.