Thursday, November 01, 2007

Daily Summary

11600 shares
+208

I started the day down over $200 again after a few trades. I felt pissed because I always tell myself to look for the best setups. I chased SPW going long and lost 30 cents on 100 shares. When it broke the fig. at 103, rallied to 103.50 with light volume and came back down I went short. I was late again and got filled at 102.75. I was stubborn and held on though I had the chance to get out by losing a few pennies. The stock squeezed me for $160 when I got out at 103.50.

After that I went through some struggles and traded with fear. I found AAP and got my money back and was up an extra $40. Like all my winning trades the stock had the following characteristics.

  • A gap open and a consolidation in the 15 minute chart. Stock is also close to the 5MA.
  • My entry is slightly above the high of a narrow range bar. (5th bar)
  • Stock runs up on increasing volume
  • I have a strong feeling that the trade would work as it starts to move my way.

Just when I was feeling better I got into some impulsive trades and lost my gains. Then I got hit with a bigger loss in a long in MTW for $125. I was demoralized again. Like all losing trades this trade had the following characteristics.

  • I chased an entry.
  • I anticipated a bounce and was early on the trade. Stock drops another 25 cents before it bounced up $1. I had 500 shares and I lost 25 cents.
  • I had ample time to get out with a small loss but I held on until fear sets in and I get out with a much bigger loss.
I managed another comeback with CTV. I got long after it consolidated above the opening range and broke out. Made around $250 on the trade. That brought my net back up to around $120. I finished the day with another $80 on a short in MHS. In this past 4 days I did not make much money but I feel an increased confidence in my trading. If I can control my impulses and side step the bad trades I could have some decent days.

4 comments:

Dinosaur Trader said...

Hey

Nice post OBAT. Knowing what works and what doesn't is more than half the battle.

Glad you turned it around and went positive.

-DT

Anonymous said...

hi OBAT!

what criteria you use to select stock in intraday?

Thks, nice blog and posts.

scortiano@hotmail.com
Beto

OBAT said...

Beto,

During earnings season I have a list of stocks that report earnings the previous days close and in the morning. I would watch those stocks for setups.

I talked about my stock selection criteria in the comments section of this post:
http://onebadtrade.blogspot.com/2007/10/daily-summary_03.html#comments

lawrence said...

hey obat,

Just some suggestion, maybe you would want to trade less but pick the best setup that you have. Then go for it. Once you hit the jackpot just let it run.

Another way of maximise your trade profit is when that buggle when up like let say from 4 to 6 buck. You put your stop lost(profit) at 5. then let it run up and slowly increase your STOP lost (profit).

So from a scalp to intraday to interday to short term to long term to investing. you just need to hit 1 jackpot. =)

This is just my suggestion =).

Oh ya you have turn your loses to power and transform it to success. Well Done =)

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.