one good thing that I've got out of the new pattern day trader rule is being forced to be patient. Using Terra Nova is great, except if you're like me and have a small acct. However, it has helped be very selective in the trades I make. I really only have one or two shots in the day, so I have to make them count. And the size is rather small 100-300 shares, which forces me to avoid the .25 point scalps and go for .50 or even 1 point . anyhow, thaks LH for shaking me out today! If anyone has any other new lessons to share this might be a good place. If not kill this thread! Here's my only trade today. 1/17/01
10k thanks for the compliment! It's a yahoo private chatroom..not a paychat. A couple of traders from this board mostly...it's kinda run by a couple other guys that make calls...some do NYSE some scalp nasdaq..it's fun
Uptick, Thanks for posting your trade (and a few others earlier). It is very helpful for me to learn.
wan2b- Thanks! My only advice to you if you really want2b a trader is, don't give up! Learn as much as you can. Read everything . When you think things can't get any worse, just take a break. I like what TonyOz wrote in one of his posts, I think it was something about recognizing trades that you would have fallen for when you were a rookie ...then you know you've learned something. I think back to a year ago when I was saying to myself, "I just left a good job to trade, and its falling apart". But I didn't give up. I made ok $, paid the bills, took some nice vacations, and will soon have an acct w/ a pro firm so my buying power will be better. Visualize! And it will happen!
Nice trade, and thanks for the post. High of the day on increasing volume, any other indicators or conditions that helped you pull the trigger? I am in UT and I have to say they have been taking a lot of stops lately with the low volume. I just kind of watch all day and seem to be afraid to pull the trigger. Did you ever have to overcome this problem on the early days, and if so can you comment on how you overcame the problem. Also, how frequently do you have to endure those nasty wiggles? It seems that with the market constantly changing characteristics that methods are out the window and it seems that traders are utilizing experience and intuition more than anything else. I have been in UT's chatroom for 3 mos and I never seen as many stops being taken as I have over the past few days. Setups present themselves, but the lack of volume prevents followthrough. If it does move in your direction the move is only one-third to one-half of what we would have seen when volume was "normal." In case you can't tell, yes I am struggling with this monster called daytrading, but I am determined to not fail. Congratulations on your trade and methods, it does however make us struggling newbies a little envious. Keep up the good work! --arky
arky- Thanks for the compliment. Other than breaking the new high, I also keep the S&P futures, Nas 100 charts on my screen...they were also near new high's for the day. In addition I keep to alert boxes on my screen..one shows all of the nas100 stox making new highs or lows, the other shows all the s&p 500 stox making new highs and lows. I use Realtick3. Yes pulling the trigger is difficult if you don't have the confidence. It's kind of like public speaking...you just have to do it ...and in time you won't even break a sweat. When I first started, I could actually feel my palms sweat a bit, and I'm sure my heart rate went up...now I don't get any of that. It just comes in time and with confidence. So just keep going. Do size you're comfy with. Visualize! And it will happen! uptik2000
uptik: Good post with example and brief explanation. Very helpful to others. Wish others here at E.T. would take note. Ah.....Maybe it's more fun/productive to argue, namecall and bash and try to prove who has the most intelligence......NOT. Thanks. BSAM
Thanks BSAM. Yeah, I almost didn't post any more trades 'cause the last two i posted people mostly just tried to critisize it. And it wasn't like I was saying "Hey look at this trade. My way is best" I just use old basic technical analysis stuff...and only started posting because I thought it would be helpful to myself and others. So thanks again...I'll keep posting my trades. Peace!
Thank you again for sharing valuable information someone can actually benefit from! My palms do get sweaty and I like the analogy of public speaking, since I spent 20 years as a sales engineer to the printing and publishing industry. I had a mid-life crisis and decided that I wanted to daytrade for a living. I spent an entire year studying and practicing on a simulator, and went live w/ RT 3 mos ago and I still can't do this without hand holding, as embarrassing as it is to have to admit. So thanks again for contributing your little golden gem here on Elitetrader. These gems are indeed becoming scarce as so many people seem to be using this forum as some sort of weird entertainment. --arky