QT, I almost always wait for a small pullback from an overbought high (or bounce from an oversold low) before entry. When this happens, the fast stochastic line pivots. The deeper and straighter the trajectory of the fast stochastic line, and the sharper the pivot at the extreme, the more likely the reversal will be strong and swift. I attached a modified ROST chart to show this. The chart also shows how the interruption of a stochastic trajectory after a pivot can be a warning that the landscape has changed. I use market orders more frequently. When I place a limit order it will be a few pennies away from the best bid/ask, or it will be a specific price at which I would like to enter a trade should the price get there, and trust me, I've missed many entries that way.
I day trade off a 3 min chart, but always reference a 30-day daily chart and 1-year daily chart to determine near term and long term S/R levels. This provides valuable data; for example, if I see a stock gap up huge on news but notice it's fallen 70% or 80% from its 1-year highs, I sure won't be jumping into a short position right away because it may be a while before the gap retraces (especially if there's a large short interest).
Very little trading time due to various pre-vacation tasks. Put in a limit target on HANS @ 35.80 pre-open because I had to leave my desk for a while. Came back to find my limit missed by .06 cents and the stock had moved above 37.00, still holding this one, very small position. Tried to short LAMR at 18.45 and no shares available. My IB half running errands, so couldnât short there either. I truly believe I have angered the market gods.
-$1017.48 Day -$9647.48 Week +$10600 YTD SNDA puts expired yesterday. Last of my really bad trades? Let's hope so. Set back to an 18% gain from a 30% gain. Pounded head against the saguaros this evening, then felt much better. How can you stay sad in the Sonoran desert in springtime? On the plus side, I think my friend Geez would agree that my hair looked really pretty today
Doj: How much money have you made since I sent you the PM suggesting that you take a break? You need to stop, and backtest various stop placements within the context of the system that you are presently trading. If you don't, I can almost guarantee that May will be a down month. As I said before, the market will still be here when you get back. This may seem blunt, but, I'd rather see you make money than be your friend. Figure out what makes you money. It's not the same thing that satisfies your emotions. You've got what it takes - time to go to the next level. All the best, BLB
Boosh, I pretty much took a break since then. Last week I realized unrealized losses that I was carrying for some time, and have done little significant trading since. I am in fact still trading very little until I feel confident again. I leave for vacation soon and vacation worked well for me last year
+ $160 Put in a limit order on HANS @ 36.10 pre-open, missed again by very little, it ran up hard, and I offered 37.50 for a much larger position, but it pulled back quickly from 37.36, and I didnât chase. Moved my limit to 36.60 looking to exit on the pullback to oversold where it found strong support Friday. The stock was exhibiting a lot of strength on a very down day in the market and I wanted to re-evaluate a different entry. It bounced exactly off that price filling 100 shares, then finally later it returned for the rest of my shares, $40 gain, and then broke down all morning and ended up dipping just pennies below my original target. As annoying as that was, I really can't complain, because I did what made sense to me at the time. Short HANS @ 36.52, after uptrend from lows finally pulls back below the MAs, intraday or swing, overbought on 30-day chart leaving a doji to the short side under some selling pressure. Stayed around that price the rest of the day, holding. NFLX running up to hew HOD, short via IB @ 49.36 on pullback, looking to scalp the move back to the 20-period SMA, covered @ 49.22 for a $129 gain.
Nothing like the Arizona desert in the springtime Soon the monsoons will roll in and the desert will miraculously green up- everything in bloom.. that unique smell of rain mixed with dust spent the better part of my childhood playing in the desert- I know that feeling well