Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Another lashing please

Yesterday I nearly got whipped and I was lucky to come out unscathed. Today I was asking for another dose of pain. I was watching STP at the open and the stock looked strong. I was playing the stock from the long side but my entries were terrible. I went in small at first and then added more shares as the stock went up. I would have a good size position and be in the money only to watch it reverse on me. The stock would go through my average price and I would get out with losses. I had some wins but my losses far out number my winners and I lost over $200 on the stock alone. By 11am I was down over $300 again and I was pretty disappointed by my lack of discipline.

This is how my trades losing trades looked. Buy at the top and sell out at the bottom of a retracement.


My trades in STP. I traded 16000 shares in the stock.


I managed another comeback today with a short in CMI. After I came back I just stopped trading. Good thing I did because the market looked choppy and I would have lost money. I think I learned my lessons. I will have to see. If I were a candlestick maybe I formed 2 hammers this past two days and I should reverse to the upside.

1 comment:

Dinosaur Trader said...

I had the same experience in that STP today. I think I made $50 in the stock, yet I was on the right side all morning. Just choppy.

The volume is way down. There is no conviction right now. Best to trade lightly and not let your confidence and account take hits.

-DT

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.