Monday, August 24, 2009

Moving to a new place

I am getting ready to move to a new home. I need to get settled down before I can trade again. I got to get a new computer, set up an internet connection and all these other stuff. I should be posting again in 2-3 weeks. Good trading everyone!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Daily Summary

7000 shares
+170

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Daily Summary

10800 shares
-105

I was doing ok early on with a $100 in profits and another $100 in unrealized profits. At around 9:55 I went into DKS near the highs and lost $100. I thought the stock was going to break out. The stock fails and promptly reverses. I had 200 shares of HAR at 28.49 and was going to let it run. Stock goes up to 29.12 and spikes down 60 cents. I punch out and all my profits for the day were gone. I traded some more and ended up losing $100.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Daily Summary

18000 shares
-150

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Daily Summary

6800 shares
+25

Monday, August 17, 2009

Daily Summary

7200 shares
+400

Friday, August 14, 2009

Daily Summary

Went out of control today.

34600 shares
-240

My trading evolution

I know I haven't posted any details about my trading lately so I'm going to spill some details now. I took a break from the end of May till mid July. I tend to do better after taking a vacation. When I started trading again I figured I would listen to my intuition. These days when I get into a trade and something feels wrong, I would get out. When I don't see any setups and my mind is telling me to sit it out I'll stop trading. Well sometimes I don't always listen to myself hence my above average lost the other day. I have 8 years of screen time, so I really got to trust myself more.


The good trade should work right away

My trading is not totally intuitive. I still use technical analysis like support/resistance, trendlines, chart patterns, and time/sales. Technical analysis does not always work. I think rely on my gut feelings more now when I see a setup. There is one stock market saying that I believe in now, "Goods trade usually work right away". If I get into a breakout trade or if I buy at a support level and the stock does not move in my favor right away something is up. I will scratch the trade with a small loss. If your analysis is correct then you will have another opportunity to get to stock at better prices. I use other support factors to make my decision. Some things I look at include - how the tape is trading, the stocks relative strength/weakness, and how the broad market is trading(breakout day, inside day, down day). But since there are some many things I tend to do it subconciously because it's hard to take all these things and analyze them when I am in the heat of trading. That is why I choose to trust my intuition.

I am still a scalper

I tried adopting the dummy style used by many acclaimed trading bloggers, such as Trader X, King Jamie, Maoxian, The Addict, Anarco, OONR7, Trader Mike. I have had some success but I did not like my consistency. I am also not comfortable with having wider stop losses. I think the major thing that affected my consistency is my lack of experience. I did not know how to separate good dummy setups from mediocre ones.

I also had the honor to be a part of Dinosaur Trader's little rag tag Virtual Office. We did a little private chat room for a few weeks. I had a chance to observe how Miss Trade, Dinosaur Trader, and Evolution trade. Everyone had their own style and they made it work. I am on a journey to find my own trading style and I think I am going on this path until I retire from the markets.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Daily Summary

15006 shares
+69

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Daily Summary

16800 shares
-260

I tried to keep my green streak alive but ended losing. There was an inner voice telling me to stop when I was down around $50. I got to listen next time.

About Me

I have been trading for 5 years. It took close to a year before I became profitable. I find that I am improving gradually each year. My method of choice is scalping. My edge lies in tape reading NYSE stocks and staying on the side of the specialist. That is the method I learned when I started. As I build up my capital I will try new styles and trade new markets. In late 2006 my trading hit a rough patch after the introduction of the NYSE Hybrid system. For most of 2007, I have been on a search for new strategies that would help me adapt to the market.