Donkell, I am still trading 100/200 share lots. Sometimes even 50 share lots. ( I get even with the specialist that way, 50 share lots ) I see no reason to up my size until I slay whatever dragons are keeping me from consistancy. QQQBall, I think that the GS trade was one that I was going to ride til it was profitable or bust, so I didn't book profits at the first resistance. Then it came back down, but looked to be stabilizing off support. So, then I added another 1/2. Probably not real clear thinking, but I was trying to DO SOMETHING to hang in trades longer. Didn't do much today either. Didn't have any positions going in, and didn't see much opportunity. Hope tomorrow is better..
maybe scaling out is a better way to stay in trades longer? but, "sometimes" we continue with habits we develope early on and they can be very hard to break - like you close your eyes and hold on and it turns out fine and our minds tend to focus on the times it works vs. the more frequent times that it doesnt. a lot of the successful traders here on ET tend to preach the same thing: work out a system (plan your trade and trade your plan), and that would not preclude intuitive trades (which i believe are 1 part of the the brain solving the problem before the more conscious part of the brain realizes what is there). if you set out to scale then try to scale. if it doesnt work for YOU over time, then stop. if you are gonna be all or nothing, then maybe that will work for you - one trader here sets his sell order and wont scale out, and if it goes up to 80% of his target and then back to his entry, he is fine with that - it works for him... but, setting out to scale - getting a profit and then deciding its an all or nothing trade might get confusing... cause it might tend to re-enforce helter-skelter type thinking: one hour its this way and the next its another... and that didnt work, so the next day its something else until another ideas pops up... i am working on my exits too. i hit NDN and some reits on swing trades near perfect last week - just pristine entries in terms of timing and price... and i have been selling into this rally (scaling out daily) - about 11 am pst today, i had a quick flash through my mind that i sold too much too early - and maybe i did - but given that the market was choppy and the trend is still down, i can say i sold when i could, not when i felt i had to. i view trade risk as a function of share size and time, so as i decrease my share size and my time in the trade, i reduce my risk, while taking profits... too much out of me... im a part-time trader trying to make the leap to full-time.
Couldn't get any traction today, just spun around. Second SPY trade lasted a LONNGGGG time for me. I did well in the patience department. In hindsight, I probably should have passed on the KLAC trade. But, one of these days I'll catch one like that that really goes, then I will be saying.. "sure am glad I took that KLAC trade". Here are the trades.
Just remembered something, I also did an options trade today, or guess I should say I am doing one, since I am still in it. Bought a put on EXPE just after that 11:30 ramp up. BOT (1) put Nov 50 @ $3.50 Watched EXPE for a while and it seemed to be quite strong today. So... I was getting worried about my put position getting very negative. SO......... I bought 50 shares of EXPE at 51.33 as a hedge. I am going overnight with 1 EXPE Nov 50 put and 50 shares of EXPE long. ISN'T THIS EXCITING. !! I think I will make a little money if EXPE shoots off to the moon in the next couple of days. The put should decrease in value at a slightly slower pace than the stock price rises. But it is really only a hedge. Lets me stay with my put through this wiggle. I should make money if EXPE falls on hard times in the next couple of days. If I do nothing and EXPE falls, the put will increase in value progressively faster than the half lot of EXPE stock will decrease in value. If EXPE looks to be faltering, I will take off the stock at a small profit and let the put do it's work. If EXPE does nothing significant in the next few days, I will have to find a spot and get out before time decay does it's dirty work on the put value. That the theory anyhow. In summary: 1 EXPE Nov 50 put @ $3.50 50 EXPE long @ 51.33 Let's see how we do.
Just churned my account. Traded with decent discipline, and the setups were tolerable for such a day. BUT.. part of being a successful trader is knowing when to step aside. I was trying to make something happen, and the market simply was zigging when I need a zag. Only the very first and the last trades should have happened (at most). I was guilty of some dumb fumbling around too, trying to change my order entry settings and accidentally sending orders.. Another lesson learned the hard way. WILL IT NEVER END ??! :eek: Here are the trades.
Another no traction day. Finally got one late in the day to take some of the sting out of it. Waiting for that really good day to come along. Was in a good spot with the KLAC trade, but I had entered almost on a whim, so I exited it since I had no plan. Would have turned out great. But, since I had no plan, I had no business being in it. Here are the trades.
posted by Tony Finally got one late in the day to take some of the sting out of it. Waiting for that really good day to come along. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tony, your losing your audience because you are doing the same thing now as you did in the beginning. Maybe you should take a break. by secco -------------------------------------------------------- i don't know what you call what you are doing.....but that ain't trading!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------- A couple of guys asked what happed to your charts. Why not post them, they could better show you what was going on before and after you are making your decisions. If you don't do something different you are going to slowly bleed to death on commissions alone. You trade so few shares that even when you win it's doesn't cover the commissions in most cases. You stated you are waiting for a good day. What the heck was wrong with yesterday. It was great. Shorts made money before noon and longs made money in the afternoon, which was very similar to Friday's. They ain't going to get much better anytime soon. You seem to be lost. Why not try a mentor. Or just sit in with someone in your area and watch what they do. You probably could get a few offers if you asked. If no one is close take a few days vacation and travel to where they are. At least it would be something. I feel for you, but sometimes it seems you don't have a clue so you just keep doing the same thing, and it isn't getting you anywhere.
Tony, by the way. Today is starting out down so I would be looking for shorts not longs, but that could change, watch the trend. Check out both the mini contracts and/or the QQQ's. If possible, I don't know what your set up looks like but put a couple of charts on all of the above or as many as you can.
I was just reading Don Bright's journal and some of your posts. Just maybe his style is not for you. I would suggest you try someone else. It can't hurt. You have to change something, and just because it may work for him doesn't' mean it will work for you. There are many styles of trading, and you have to adopt one or two to yourself, and then adapt it, (change it, adjust it) as the market changes.