Thursday, November 30, 2006

Had a tough workout today

It is not fun being down over $400 by 10:30 am. Some days I would take my loss and stop trading. I was near my limit today. I was also filled with a burning desire to recoup my losses.

The $167 loss in KWK got to me. I had 3-4 chances to get out at break even but I held on. Then I tried trading R on the short side but ended up getting chopped up for over $100. Negative emotions such as fear, frustration, and anger are hitting me at this point.

I cut my size down to 200 shares and watched. I know I need to find something that is moving. I saw home builders making new highs with volume. I focused on VMC, a sector related stock. I managed to recover most of my losses. Then a few scalps in HLX brought me to positive territory. I end up making $100 today.

Today offered another lesson on the importance of discipline. If I was selective in my trades I would not have to go through the trouble of making my losses back.









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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.