General securities trading and discussion

Discussion in 'Finance, Investing & Economy' started by bostonsoccermdl, Oct 26, 2005.

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  1. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Okay, I am planning on posting a thread on my intraday trading activity with the hopes of learning from it (Many trading gurus suggest doing this as an educational method), and also to help generate discussion about trading (chart reading, risk/reward, strategy, etc) in general.

    This is a tough gig, and I am trying a new strategy which I developed. For a little backgrounfd I used to trade NASDAQWstocks for a trading firm, but due to decimalization and electronic trading platforms, my firm and our competitors went out of business (business models became obsolete.)

    The odds are, that it wont work. Only 10% of traders succeed, (various reasons I will get into later), but I feel like I have at least gained enough experience to to overcome the obvious obstacles.

    Only time will tell. The goal is to start off trading small and if profitable I will gradually increase the share size in trades.

    I will post daily, my biggest winner and my biggest loser, and reasons behind these trades.

    If this fails, I will go probably go into real estate

    Comments and questions are welcome, and I WILL NOT GIVE ANY ADVICE ABOUT FUTURE TRADES. This is purely to look at the past and to learn from.
     
  2. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    here is todays best.
     
  3. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    and todays worst. I was expecting a breakout, and it failed. Losses are part of the game, and NO system is immune from them. the key is kicking out bad positions early, and not letting become losses that ruin your day.

    Overall, the system looks promising, and should perform in strongly trending (up or down) markets..

    I did end the day down a little (after commissions), but only time will tell how I do.




    This bad trade was a classic example of getting "shaken out" or "chopped up."
    Basically, it means that you were right but got headfaked....

    The had a nice run to the upside shortly after I sold it. Its the whole hinsight is 20/20 thing.

    Again, this happens all the time. You must rely on your winners to bring home the big gains and cut your losses short.
     
  4. OmiKell

    OmiKell New Member

    May 2, 2004
    Tarrytown/Luxemburg
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH

    A Technical Analysis thread!

    I have a hard time to do it for two reasons:
    1. I don't have the time to stay and watch my stock quotes
    2. It's an insult of the Random Walk theory.

    I would dream to have stories from guys who did real $ with it. I know for sure you could use some insiders to now when and where some microcaps would perform, but not away from Wall Street I guess.


    NOW, switching from day trading, if it fails, to real estate, that's really a brutal decision. You gotta evaluate some big caps stocks that will surely help you more than some land property papers.
     
  5. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    True. But I have no choice. My old industry is dead, and I have to make a career change. I figured I would give this a shot b/4 I went into something new.

    I kind of have an offer to fall back on luckily if it doesnt work, so that takes some of the pressure off.
     
  6. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Okay, no trades today folks. I am feeling sick today, and am not going to trade..

    Tommorrow (Friday) are generally slow, low volume days, and are historically choppy (back and forth without any clear direction).

    The bottom line, is you need to be even more selective in your trading candidates, and be willing to call it a day if things arent working.
     
  7. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Are you familiar with stop loss orders and trailing stops? These allow you to lock in profits and cut losses short without eyeballing the screen.

    I use these on winning trades for the final 3rd portion of my trade. When a trade is going your way, you can sit back and lock in profits as you go.

    You would have to believe in the theory, i dont :D
     
  8. OmiKell

    OmiKell New Member

    May 2, 2004
    Tarrytown/Luxemburg
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal


    I know me, if I do enter in this, I will kill my F5 (Refresh) key
     
  9. Ian Lozada

    Ian Lozada Member

    May 29, 2001
    The Pick Four Pool
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    You know, my mother in law has a sign in her house reading:

    "If you can't be a good example, you'll probably serve as a horrible warning to others."

    Daytrading is for people who believe they can hit the lottery.
     
  10. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Yes, but I plan on being a good example.. :D
    10% daytrading odds are a little different than lottery odds, but anyway...

    For some perhaps. I was lucky to learn (they say 2-3 year learning curve) on the companies dime (studying charts and tendencies at work while I traded customer orders), and I think I have a good idea of the various principles involved.

    What kills most people is the lerning curve. It costs $$ for software, and lessons learned the hardway. Most people slowly bleed out their accounts, or give up,( sometimes wisely) and never get to the point they need to be.

    This is more of a hobby at first, only risking more if my strategy works.
     
  11. Ian Lozada

    Ian Lozada Member

    May 29, 2001
    The Pick Four Pool
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Just remember that like in horse racing, the takeout (in this case, commissions) will put you behind before you even get started.
     
  12. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    very good point. Commisisons have dropped dramatically in the last few years which is good news.

    I pay .006 a share which is pretty decent.
     
  13. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Okay. today is a little slow, but I managed to stay profitable. Typical slow Friday, with very little direction so far. I will probabyl call it a day to avoid pissing away the $$$ I made.

    Was about 5 for 8 today with ESRX being the best and UNH being the worst trade. Again, the key is to kick out losses quick, and let the winners run.

    Have a good weekend everyone.
     
  14. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Made a little today. Pretty close to a breakeven day however.

    Nothing really worth writing about. The good news is that the programmer I hired finished writing the code for the "short seller" filter I use.

    This allows me to scan the market for specific criteria, and make trades for both sides of the market, as opposed just conventional buy trades.
     
  15. Dammit!

    Dammit! Member

    Apr 14, 2004
    Mickey Mouse Land
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    this thread is great.

    re:costs, how much does the program cost?
     
  16. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    I have various costs. I used a platform for scanning called Tradestation which runs me $250 a month. It is pricey but you can program it to endless options if you take the time to learn. It is the ferrari of platforms b/c it is so customizable and you can have it enter orders with certain strategies and create algorithims.

    I also trade through a firm that charges me $100 to use their order execution software. They also let me leverage 10:1 capital so I dont have to put up as much, and can afford more buying power.

    It isnt cheap, but those costs are nothing if the idea works out.
     
  17. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Can you loan me $5?
     
  18. Dammit!

    Dammit! Member

    Apr 14, 2004
    Mickey Mouse Land
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    What's the difference between Tradestation and say, Scottrade?

    And are you having it enter orders automatically for you?
     
  19. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    customization. Scotttrade will give you all the basic indicators (moving averages, RSI, MASD, etc) but I think that is it. I think a platform like this is better for overall investing or swing trading (holding days to weeks), where you dont need as much attention to detail.

    Tradestation allows for backtesting. which is running a strategy through history to see if it was profitable, etc... tradestation also offers many more analysis techniques than many platforms.

    Its biggest draw is you can create your own indicators using their computer language and even do automated trading.

    Currently I dont use automated trading.
     
  20. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Okay, today was a crap day. a dead market that really didnt do anything.

    Good and bad news. The bad news is that I made 5 trades right around the open and got hammered on all of them. 0 for 5 right off the bat. I slowly clawed my way back and ended up profitable (barely.) The market was in a flatline so I didnt trade after 11:00....

    best trade NVDA, worst BIIB
     
  21. Sachin

    Sachin New Member

    Jan 14, 2000
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Wow... two of my buy and holds made $1.28 and $.96 per share today... Ended up more than a $1,500 up!

    Yay for stagnant markets!

    Sachin
     
  22. Dammit!

    Dammit! Member

    Apr 14, 2004
    Mickey Mouse Land
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Matt needs five dollars.
     
  23. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Thats why I keep the 401K account in safe hands!
     
  24. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Today sucked. Horrible. Barely anything worked for me, and I ended up down...
    The worst part is is that it was a great trending market, and I found great candidates to trade, but my timing was of, and I got shaken out of positions again and again.

    Anything I bought basically dropped immediatly and I sold, or inched upward then collapsed. Then of course once I sold, within 15-30 minutes, it sprinted where I thought it would.

    Nothing worth posting as far as pictures , all losses were minimal $ wise , but plentiful, causing a slow painful bleed today..

    There is something wrong with my risk tolerance or my actual "entry" method, b/c I am getting close, but somethign seems off. I am going to switch back to the demo account and trade it until I figure it out, so I wont be posting results for a week or two.

    $$ wise, it wasnt that bad, but just very discouraging.
     
  25. Footer Phooter

    Jul 23, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    Re: Matt's Daytrading experiment and journal

    Well, after Microsoft's earnings announcement and drop on Thursday, I thought that it would be a good time to buy it. Of course I put off actually opening my brokerage account. It's up 5.6 % since then. Damn.
     

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