Its easier to identify with someone going through the same thing you are going through, and to encourage them and tell them things will improve..and hope some day they might say the same stuff to you. Your doing great, keep it up and don't worry about the crowd. If the journal is helping you, keep it up. Brandon
Hey Jpomerenke, I once made mention that I have been reading your journal...watching your progress. So far so good. I would guess by now you have more than begun to cultivate the discipline neccessary to stay the course of trading for the long term. Now if you feel comfortable it may be time to size it up. Only you can make this decision of course. I would up your regular shares by about 10% every 3 weeks from here on in until you get to about 50% higher than you are right now. So basically in 3 months your should be trading 50% more than you are now. If you method is working there is no such thing as hocus pocus that will cause this method to come undone if you up the size this way. I am also risk adverse...but I know when to take an easy lay up and recognize that its not just a trap from years of experience. As you begin to develop this eye...go with that instinct which is being shaped through your experiences each trading day and feel free and "deserving" to size up. Good Luck...keep up the good work. P.S. Think of sizing up your shares as though your going to the gym weight training. You have to increase the weight to see further progess.
HMM i dont rember saying i was making alot. Read back in my journal, iv said many times, i still consider myslef in the breakeven stage, and also the learning curve. If i said anything remotely arrogant it was that ive made money every month. Not tons, but its the truth, so no arrogance there. Also i said i shot 90% this week. Not arrogant, just the truth.
You absolutely right. There is no way of knowing what size to put on a trade. It all comes with experience, and knowing the market, stock, etc. The setup could be perfect, but if another factor isnt going your way, you could easily get stopped out.
I read your journal and like Corvus, enjoy seeing that you are consistent. You are definitely doing things the right way as far as starting out small and just trying to stay consistent. I think if you keep this up and don't try and get ahead of your knowledge and ability you will do ok. I don't trade stocks, and as you don't go into much detail about your setups, I don't see much that I can contribute here. I suspect that many ET'ers are the same. Lack of participation doesn't always mean lack of interest.
I guess i dont need help with setups. I know them well, and have a very consitent plan with a great edge. Usually i ask some advice on various subjects. Main reason i pissed and moaned was i was just curious if i was wasting my time spending the 30 min doing this journal. Im busy everyday with trading, then school work, and on top of that the business work for my dad's company....and any misc. things i have to do. But gald people read it...ill keep it up... I for got to add the charts from the winners, and losers like i said i was going to do. Here they are.
Joey, Obviously, people are reading your journal. But even if not a soul read your journal, it would still not be a waste of time for you to do it because a trading journal is something every good trader ought to keep even if it is a private journal, not one publicly displayed on an online forum. Keep up the good work. And think of it this way...the fact that you have not gotten a lot of replies on this thread means you're doing well. A surprisingly large number of people secretly hate those who are doing better than themselves...this is basic human psychology. The mark of a trader who has the talent as a trader to make it big is the ability not to give a shit what other people think of them or their trading. The PnL tells the real truth. Good trading, PEG LEG JOE
It is good that you are profitable right now but you are playing with chump shares that doesn't really hurt you $$$ wise and give you stress when you make a mistake and in this uptrend you won't be afraid of buying in as your risk is low Try playing with 1000-2000 shares If you can be profitable like you are now with this size then you probably made it Right now in this uptrend and with your small shares theres really nothing to be afraid of The odds are in your favor that you will be profitable Let's see you have the same mindset when the stakes are higher and bigger $$$ is on the line This all IMHO