Swing Trading Under 25K Capital

Discussion in 'Trading' started by eeleusnosaj, Sep 30, 2003.

  1. blb078

    blb078

    everyone wants to buy at the bottom of a cycle and sell at the top, do you know enough to figure out when the cycle is bottoming and topping out? it sounds like you need to read up more, learn to use some of the indicators out there, read the threads here on ET, paper trade for while then set up a demo account and trade w/that, it doesn't sound like you are ready to jump into the market yet, especially w/only 3k of your own money, you're probably sitting there thinking "oh i can do this" but you won't trust me, in '98 iwas 19 & started w/25k and lost it all because i was stupid and though i new the markets, after i studied watched how the markets move read, read, read. now all i do is trade, i don't go and work for someone else. all because i studied, developed a winning system, and applied it.
     
    #11     Sep 30, 2003
  2. Wow, that's one amazing success story.

    You're right about myself thinking that I already know the markets.
    And you're right that i'll probably lose it all.
    Heck, you're right about everything. I just wanted to get some experience and get a feel for what it was like to trade with real money.

    My goal is to be in your postion. Making consistent profits and providing for myself exclusively by trading.

    How much captial did you start with the second time if it's not too personal?
     
    #12     Sep 30, 2003
  3. I emailed one broker and called the other and this is what they told me, because I only have 21k in the account right now.

    You can do 3 day trades in a 5 day period and it is a rolling period, so that you can eliminate day one when day 6 appears.

    I wish I knew that this morning on a gold stock. I almost trusted what you posted here, but wanted confirmation from my brokers.

    A few years ago before the market tanked there were no rules like that concerning day traders. I hope to get the necessary bucks together to qualify for a pattern day trader, because I do best on the 1 and 5 minutes intraday charts.
     
    #13     Sep 30, 2003
  4. eeleusnosaj, do you have some sort of target that you go for regarding how fast do you want your equity to grow? I mean like some certain percentage per month or week or quarter?

    If you set yourself some kind of goal, it will be much easier for you to handle the size of your trades and the risk you take and you will not blow unless your goal is too unrealistic or you have a very, very bad luck.
     
    #14     Oct 1, 2003
  5. one of the best things you can do for your account if you're not doing this already.... (better not to learn it the hard way) ... choose a stoploss, and ALWAYS use it. this is one of the first and biggest beginner mistakes. I had to learn the hard way... I doubt there are many making money here that don't adhere to a stoploss on every single trade. if you've already figured this out than maybe its not as bad as you think.
     
    #15     Oct 1, 2003
  6. I've been trading for about 3 years now. 2 years papertrading and 1 year real $$. Some helpful points for you to adhere to are:
    - have you paper traded for a significant period (greater than 6 months?)
    - If so have you paper traded profitably during this period?

    If you answered 'no' to either of those questions then you should cease trading immediately and save your capital. It's very easy to get excited about starting a new business and getting over zealous. My two cents of advice are save the money you may lose and invest it in some good books and spend your winter reading and paper trading or spend some money and time on a mentor (wish I would have done that from the beginning). One with a good track record. The markets will always be there.

    If you answered ýes' to those questions than use and obey your stops with no exception. The stops are more important than your targets believe me. Once you get to a point where your stops are automatic then you'll be farther ahead in this game.

    Anyways that's my 2 cents worth. Good Fortune in your endeavors. Z
     
    #16     Oct 1, 2003