Gordon,what stocks are you trading? I focus only on nasdaq.The fills are quick,the stocks have good volatility,and you never get traded through.I currently focus on msft,qcom,nvls,klac,and qlgc,trading anywhere from 1000-2000 shares at a time.I watch a tick chart of the sp 500 futures(not e-mini) and the e-mini nasdaq 100 index futures to determine my entries and exits. I also notice that the majority of the time,stocks tend to trade toward whole numbers.So i'll buy at say 30.80 and look for it to go 31.00 or short at say 30.20 and look for it to go to 30.00,making a quick .20 or .30 profit numerous times throughout the day.But only get into a position if the futures are going the same way and it looks like there is fast momentum.I never hold overnight and i'll get out when the futures tell me to,because you can always try to re-enter at a better price.
if you really knew me, you would not have that opinion of me. i am not that type of person at all. i actually don't think i'm any more special than anyone else. i'm also not blind enough to just expect everything to be fine. i know anything can happen. i realize it's up to me to make this work or not. i am not the guy you think i am. btw, for all you people that think i'm just here for sympathy, i'm thinking about starting a journal. if i do it, i will not hold anything back. i will post all my thoughts and show exactly how i operate. i will be thinking about this tonight.
GG, OK. Here is a book for you: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...805730?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader#reader-link For hundreds of years, Philosophers wondered what the number Pi is. They sat around and talked about it, and talked some more, and one of them probably asked "Why the HELL is it so hard to understand what Pi is?" After all, it's just a stupid number! So they talked some more for hundreds of years, and they got NOWHERE. Then Archimedes came along, basically invented Calculus, and gave the "Philosophers" the first real hint as to what Pi is. GG, stop philosophizing - start a journal and if you are VERY VERY lucky, you will get someone who can steer you in the "right" path... If I knew another way, I would have told you already... nitro
There are simple systems that produce consistent profits, but systems do produce large drawdowns and so require a considerable discipline and some capital to withstand them. Not everyone has these two things, or even one of them. The weak link in system trading is not the system itself, but usually the trader. I believe that even if you are a discretionary trader you are still trading a certain system, except that not a purely mechanical one. You simply have more rules that a purely mechanical system would not be able to handle.
I'm Gordon Gekko . . . not Geico, which could save you 15% or more on car insurance. So STOP CALLING ME!!!!!
All I know of you is what I read in your posts, that of someone who claims to want help, but is unwilling to do what's necessary to receive more than the same old bumper-sticker wisdom that keeps getting repeated again and again and again. Nobody can tell you what you're doing wrong until they know what you're doing. Look at all the posts you've generated in this thread, posts that might have set you on the right track, but which instead reflect a lot of irritated people. You're an alcoholic who can't stay away from the bottle. Stop complaining about how awful everything is and begin to take control of your trading. The first step is to post your trades. If you can't do that, why should anybody take you seriously, much less try to help you? --Db
your greedy and you want it all at once. the more money you lose the more you panic and take shit trades. you think that trading is going to make you rich and instead of taking small steady profits from the market - you think that the markets owe you big, because you've studied and sweated so hard over the charts. you need an attitude change pal. start by being more humble. stop listening to what everybody else tells you and start doing what works for you. The odds of becoming rich beyond your wildest dreams are very slim here, but you can make a nice living. I think you are probably disappointed in hearing that though. good luck