Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Downward spiral

I started the day with a small loss which festered into a sizable loss. I think I saw it coming but I ignored the signs. We have a tight choppy range bound market. I wanted to make money so I took a lot of impulsive trades. When I had a loss I wanted to comeback so I took more impulsive trades. I finally have to stop myself due to frustration.

I did not get any big hits. I got numerous 10 cent losers on my 500 share positions. In all these 10 cent losers I had the chance to get out at break even or with a 3 cent loss but I held on. I wouldn't feel that bad if I got some winning trades. I think I only had one trade that made $70 which I quickly gave back after a couple consecutive $45-$50 losses. I am down $460 today.



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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.