Free money has consequences? Terrorist detected.Worst yet.
I like that you are developing rules for yourself and keeping good records. I have seen this movie before and it's tempting to tell you the ending, but I think you are on the correct path. Don't lie to yourself, continue to keep detailed records, and continue to adjust methodology. 90%+ of people fail at this game and you are trading the easiest market maybe ever, it will be important to see how your plans adapt to different market environments. Likely to find that different mindset and rules are needed when there is a shift in sentiment and flows.So, I followed all my rules today. Started trading the open and done by 10 AM CST. Made $1,632 on real AMD trades, and 400 on simulated trades on Tesla. No losing trades. When I follow my rules, I win 90-95% of my trades and I end up ahead for the day. When I don't, I do horribly. Half the gain from AMD came from holding overnight, the BABA trade is a simulated trade just to see how I'd do if I held a longer term short position.
Not bad for 1 hour 15 minutes work, but I know if I sit here I'm gonna blow up my gains. Out by 10 AM is a rule I do so much better with. Eventually, I'll have a trade go the wrong way, and since my brain can't handle a 50 loss, I'll turn it to an 800 loss.
My goal is to stop simulated trades by December and do real full time. My trades in real money are now 50k a trade, and the fake ones are 100k. "Trading in the stock market is an expensive way to deal with your emotional baggage." I forget who said that.
What type of trading are you doing exactly? AMD was only going up up up yesterday until the last 90 minutes or so when it cooled off.$400-500. Has been mostly simulated trading on thinkorswim. Yesterday was the first time in awhile with real money. And it was a $2,500 day, except I broke my rule about trading for no more than 1.5 hours. For the last 60 days, when I make 400, I step away and do something else. Yesterday, I couldn't walk away. 100% I am to blame for not following my rules. I keep a log, anytime I'm sitting there trading pre market, or outside of that time range, I'm not doing well.
I like that you are developing rules for yourself and keeping good records. I have seen this movie before and it's tempting to tell you the ending, but I think you are on the correct path. Don't lie to yourself, continue to keep detailed records, and continue to adjust methodology. 90%+ of people fail at this game and you are trading the easiest market maybe ever, it will be important to see how your plans adapt to different market environments. Likely to find that different mindset and rules are needed when there is a shift in sentiment and flows.
Most people who succeed long term would say they took some pretty hefty losses during the early learning process, success from failure is about who learns from those failures and successfully adapts. Seems you are already becoming aware of the number one enemy which is your emotions. Just don't ever let your guard down that it's a defeated enemy, the fight with our instincts never goes away.
Always have a plan, and stop losses by themselves are insufficient as there are situations where they won't protect you. For example a trading halt and a reopen substantially below your stop or a flash crash. Do you take the loss even if its massive? You don't have to answer that but it needs to be thought out so that you aren't left flat footed when the unlikely happens.
I did get stopped out with a stop loss of 1%. And the last hour, I held. I sold it this AM at 106 and did some scalping. I can go look at the times, but I haven't had time to review the tape yet.What type of trading are you doing exactly? AMD was only going up up up yesterday until the last 90 minutes or so when it cooled off.
I try to not be on anything so risky that it has a trading halt. I used to, but last time I was on something that was halted was BIIB, and that was just three shares. In general, I hate hate hate pharmaceutical companies after playing the covid vaccine companies last year. Sure, I had winners like Moderna and NVAX, but also had losers like INO or VXRT. I believe ABBV is the only pharma company I own right now.For example a trading halt and a reopen substantially below your stop or a flash crash. Do you take the loss even if its massive? You don't have to answer that but it needs to be thought out so that you aren't left flat footed when the unlikely happens.
So youre just buying and selling $50k worth of shares?I did get stopped out with a stop loss of 1%. And the last hour, I held. I sold it this AM at 106 and did some scalping. I can go look at the times, but I haven't had time to review the tape yet.
1. Mental stop losses are better, but it takes really paying attention and much more discipline. A very common move is to just breach support hit peoples obvious stops then move immediately up. Sticking to actual stops is the safer play but you are going to get dumped out of winning trades.I had heavy losses and gains in February, but I've been at my PC every day since then. I do keep a log, I do go over the data, I try not to make the same mistake twice. The last two months I consistently make 500-700 four days a week. And one day, I lose 1,000-1,500.
Six months of never missing and training, I've grown more consistent. That one day where I blow up my account, several things are at play:
1- At first, I did trades with no stop losses. And when I did stop losses, I didn't know how to set them based on volatility. Fixed. I get emotional, say the company is worth it, and the next thing you know I'm holding over night.
2- I used to be the biggest revenge trader out there. Now I realize every trade is separate. Because if I get stopped out, then I'm trying to make crazy moves to get even, and then it gets worse. On the bad days, instead of losing 1k, maybe I lose 400 on this alone.
3- I don't make the trade unless everything is lined up. If its not, I wait. By going over the tape, I can see that if I waited five more minutes for a clear signal, I'd have won. Its better to wait for confirmation, because your mind can play tricks on you.
4- I don't trade on anything with more than 5% volatility. Too hard to get a clear signal.
5- Its OK to have a losing day! Mistakes start happening if you stay too long. I try to not trade past 10 AM CST. Again, I've kind of figured out how to limit my one losing day to 500, and make at least 400 on the other days of the week.
6- I don't try to trade more than two stocks at a time, I do own a business and get distracted.
I'm still a work in process, because I realize that this is more emotional for me than anything. I didn't think I had emotional issues, until I found myself cussing at my screen at the top of my lungs and scaring my children.
Oh, I've found that the more I spend per trade, the higher the degree of success for me. I tend to be a scalper, I don't stay in positions long. I'd rather buy 152 shares of Tesla and make a quick $45 trade that lasts a minute. I found that when I was doing lower amounts, my profit expectations were too unrealistic. So my winning percent when down.
Like I said, December is when I start moving to 100k a trade, every trade. It is 100k a trade when I simulate and 50k for real trades right now.
I know 100% its my emotions. Wife goes to the ER, I'm still trading and lost my ass. Employee got stolen by another company, shit trading day. In a rush for a customer appointment, shit trading session. I actually log my mood at the time, and try to stay away from things that put me in a mood. I no longer cheer or cuss at my screen. If you were to see me trading, you wouldn't know if I was winning or losing. My wife and kids, walk in, see my trades and clap, and I tell them we don't have emotion when trading.
I'm my own worst enemy. I have to master me. I will say this is the most fun I've had in a long time. I'm 50, and I'm having to teach myself a different way of thinking. In my business, I have to be an alpha. In trading, I have to be a beta. You know, when you own a business, you have to get what you want, not take no for an answer and never take a loss? Its the opposite. I have to take acceptable losses.
I put the band back together a few weeks ago when ABT came out ahead of earnings and said since testing was down they expected less "super human" revenue the rest of the year. Algos sold it down brutally. I bought it and of course they crushed earnings a few weeks later. Im up like 10% in a month. Just in case you dont know, ABBV was spun off from ABT a while back. I put them back together.I try to not be on anything so risky that it has a trading halt. I used to, but last time I was on something that was halted was BIIB, and that was just three shares. In general, I hate hate hate pharmaceutical companies after playing the covid vaccine companies last year. Sure, I had winners like Moderna and NVAX, but also had losers like INO or VXRT. I believe ABBV is the only pharma company I own right now.
So many masks and hand sanitizer got produced stores are giving the shit away. Even some mask mandate in Blue states wont be enough to eat that over-supply up.I really wanted to hold AHPI over the weekend but that price was just so overextended that the inevitable happened and I still don't think its done, will see how the opener is on monday and will watch this a bit depending how people react to the mask mandates. It should have been a no brainer hold but theres a ton of pushback for masks.
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Hey I know, post what you're buying/selling here in real time!So, I followed all my rules today. Started trading the open and done by 10 AM CST. Made $1,632 on real AMD trades, and 400 on simulated trades on Tesla. No losing trades. When I follow my rules, I win 90-95% of my trades and I end up ahead for the day. When I don't, I do horribly. Half the gain from AMD came from holding overnight, the BABA trade is a simulated trade just to see how I'd do if I held a longer term short position.
Not bad for 1 hour 15 minutes work, but I know if I sit here I'm gonna blow up my gains. Out by 10 AM is a rule I do so much better with. Eventually, I'll have a trade go the wrong way, and since my brain can't handle a 50 loss, I'll turn it to an 800 loss.
My goal is to stop simulated trades by December and do real full time. My trades in real money are now 50k a trade, and the fake ones are 100k. "Trading in the stock market is an expensive way to deal with your emotional baggage." I forget who said that.
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I scalp with 50k trades, yeah. 50k real, 100k on the simulator. Yesterday, I must have done 100 trades with 50k, was a bit too many and made me get careless.So youre just buying and selling $50k worth of shares?
I understand that I have mental limitations that cause me to not be able to stop loss myself out. For real. I used to be one of the worst revenge traders out there. I'd rather program it in. When I used to have a $1500 loss day, it was from not having the self control to get out. I have to have the bracket order force me out. That cut my loss days in half.1. Mental stop losses are better, but it takes really paying attention and much more discipline. A very common move is to just breach support hit peoples obvious stops then move immediately up. Sticking to actual stops is the safer play but you are going to get dumped out of winning trades.
2. Size should be incremental, if you are succeeding and not spending your gains then size should be able to naturally progress from your success. I stayed at the 100k range for quite awhile on trade size. I trade seven figure trades now with a fraction of the emotion I use to have on a 100k trade.
3. Record the trades you don't take see what the win/loss is on the trades you aren't taking. Part of really getting better at this for me was learning to take some trades that I previously wasn't.
4. Vol is both friend and foe, I tend to stick to tamer names.
5. Losing days are inevitable with day trading the key is to not blow up 3 weeks of gains in a day.
6. Good move on limiting the number, I have added the caveat that I only trade names I would actually invest in. This is largely done for psychological reasons, I have more patient and less fear when trading a name that I wouldn't mind being caught in. A trade may go wrong but that doesn't have to mean loss of capital. This is just part of how I do it and for others maybe they don't need or want that. I very rarely take a loss only a few a year for peanuts. A trade may go "wrong" that usually just means a period of some capital being tied up. This came about because I tracked what positions did after I took a loss, and after a few years I looked and it was like 97% of my loss trades would have swung to a gain within 5 days.
I no longer day trade after doing so for years, it taught me a lot and helped me hone my overall strategy but swing trading and options selling has been far more profitable. I wait for the right setup I pounce on it when it comes. There are times when I get impatient because it takes awhile and nothing and I'm getting antsy but I usually find something.
2020 averaged 32 trades a month which was above average
2021 YTD has been 26 trades a month and trending down (current market is a yawn fest)
Again sounds like you are on the right path, I do think allowing for a 1% loss while going for .25% wins can feel like the right move, I did the exact same thing for a period. I think longer term success is going to take shifting that to allowing wins to be much bigger than losses, grizzled traders are going to very consistently tell you this. 1% loss/5% gain with a lower win rate will make more money. 95% win rates feel great but in the end of the day I assume you are doing this to make money. I kept track of how much further my trades went after I exited them. Do the same and I bet you will soon see how much is being left on the table when you have a good setup. Those big gains are what let you shrug off the trades that don't work. I'm hesitant to tell you this because I think it's a process to mature into as a trader. So do what you are doing but keep in the back of your head that it's not the goal line it's skill building.
Now 1% loss/5% win isn't going to happen in a day trade without switching to options, it's also why a lot of people gravitate to swing trading over time. If you really want to stick to scalping then stop thinking about % at all. Obviously varies by share price but a scalper should still be looking for a 1:3 or 1:4 loss vs gain (.25 loss limit/0.75-$1 gain goal)
I look at it this way, if I can make 500 a day doing five trades at .1% profit apiece, why take on more risk? I know I'm scalping for pennies, but I've had times where I can go one week with no losing trades.Again sounds like you are on the right path, I do think allowing for a 1% loss while going for .25% wins can feel like the right move, I did the exact same thing for a period. I think longer term success is going to take shifting that to allowing wins to be much bigger than losses, grizzled traders are going to very consistently tell you this. 1% loss/5% gain with a lower win rate will make more money. 95% win rates feel great but in the end of the day I assume you are doing this to make money. I kept track of how much further my trades went after I exited them. Do the same and I bet you will soon see how much is being left on the table when you have a good setup. Those big gains are what let you shrug off the trades that don't work. I'm hesitant to tell you this because I think it's a process to mature into as a trader. So do what you are doing but keep in the back of your head that it's not the goal line it's skill building.