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To the more experienced traders.(Tex, Purl and the others) Started trading in April. Jumped right in(dumb move). I lost money right off the bat, but made a nice profit on NDOL, and CBAY. I've had many chances to make a profit, but seem to hold to long. First, I was wondering what you think of my current holdings.(FHAL,CHDT,IPMG,WWEN and KSWJ(obvious).
Second: Suggestions for good reading for trading. Last: How to read charts. Good sources primarly. Thank you in advance.
I was heading for the same destiny as you when I first started (about 4 months ago). I made some money in NDOL, and then slowly started losing it after a few plays.
You know what I did? I STOPPED playing ALTHOUGHTER. First, I was coming up with a new strategy almost every week, trying to convince myself this HAS to work. Well, guess what I lost money in every case. That was a wake up call for me. If I don’t know what I'm doing, I'll stop! And I did.
I changed my approach completely. I researched every possible strategy (and still am). I decided to ONLY play BigBoards and nothing else. You need to put on line more money to make money, but the price variations are much smaller, therefore it’s safer. I doubt I'll get back to the penny stocks.
I used to be addicted to this website (especially) to the penny land forum. Now I can’t stand threads like "Monday runners, Tuesday gappers, etc, etc" All BS, forget about it all. Don’t even bother if you don’t know what you're doing. And even then, the whole OTC:BB seems like a roulette to me. I don’t even visit this forum anymore.
As far as my strategy right now, I don’t have one yet. I'm learning to refine my entry and exits right now. I'm not playing yet. But here are a few things that I'm planning on implementing:
1. Play only NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX 2. ALWAYS use stop loss or trailing stop (this one would’ve have saved tens of thousands one day (no joke)). How about being up 40K just to see it go down to 19K in minutes? 3. Play stocks with good volume. I want to be able to get in and out when I want. 4. Play ONLY companies with great fundamentals. 5. Watch the stock for about a week (at least) and try to best predict your entry. This is probably one of the most important rules. 6. Play stocks with predictable trends. Channeling stocks are a good start. 7. Plan your exit points. 8. Once you find your stock, you will not want to play anything else. After watching a stock for a month, you should have a sense of general direction where is it going. 9. It really comes down to HOW you play it, rather than WHAT you play. 10. Don't play unless you know the rules of the game.
These rules seem obvious, but you’ll see the true benefit once you start playing.
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You just need help from the right people...too many greedy *******s in this game...find a legit mentor and u will make it...i was once a newbie 2 u know.... tty soon Joe
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Hey Cassity...not really an old timer...but here is some info that you may find interesting..also..On the hotstocks board Purl and some others are helping out a poster with a "bad" stock situation...keep an eye on that thread...and see if some suggestions don't help..CHDT...it's great for "flippin"..and it will continue to move up slowly over the next couple of months...Fhal..just sold friday..lookin to get back in Monday morning and sell around .20-.25...just tryin' to flip that one until we see what happens...
Find a few "good people" and follow their posts...read what they say and try to understand it...most of them will explain if you ask...
GLTY...
Some simple and Basic questions:
What do these letters mean? DD=due diligence (Research) MM=Market Maker (definition http://www.sec.gov/answers/mktmaker.htm ) EOD=End Of Day EOW=End Of Week HOD=High of Day PPS=Price Per Share O/S=Outstanding Shares POS=Piece of "Poo Poo" IMHO=In My Humble(Honest) Opinion LMAO=laugh My A** off L2's=Level 2's
How is one "flagged" a daytrader? To avoid being flagged a daytrader, you can not sell and trade the same stock more than 3x's in a 5 day period. Buy "XYZ" and sell it the same day=not a day trader. Buy "XYZ" on Monday and sell it on Tuesday=not a daytrader. Buy AND sell "XYZ" more than 3x in a 5 day period= Day trader. You can buy and sell different stocks...just not the same one.
What are "free" shares? Many People will sell a stock once it has "reached" an increase where they can sell to "get back" their original investment and then continue to let the rest of the shares "ride", these are "free shares" (ones that the gain of the pps has "covered") All of these, once sold, would be complete profit.
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Lots of people in your boat Cassity. Not uncommon at all. It takes time to learn how to turn off your emotions when you are trading. (I'm still learning and I've been playing pennies for over three years now.)
Getting addicted to the run and getting depressed by the drop is dangerous and undiciplined trading.
First lesson. Stop dreaming of instant wealth. Number one killer of traders in pennies. On these boards you can make more in one week than what it takes others month's to do on the big boards. It leads to undue excitement and ignoring important signs that there are problems with your pick. Those signs are exactly what you need to be watching for (downturn on MacD, volume slowing, poor reaction to news, just a few examples) Expect small gains and you will usually end up pleasantly surprised. Expect big gains and you will be continually frustrated.
You are here to make money...not to take risks. If something makes you wonder if it can sustain...get out.
Lesson 2. You will pick losers. No one is perfect (not even prdponce ). How you handle losers is even more important than how you handle winners. Retaining your capital is very important to your sucess as a trader. Being stubborn and holding a loser to wait for another run ties up your captial and ties you to a stock you don't like. There are very few circumstances in which it is a good idea to hold a declining stock.
Lesson 3. Don't chase! (Buy low, sell high) If you are more than a day or two off (sometimes more than a hour or two depending on the stock) the start of a run you will not realize good gains and you set yourself up for holding a bag should the correction come. Learn how to read charts and find stocks that are just emerging from lows.
Lesson 4. (If you are in a cash account) Only buy with settled funds. Sell a stock and then jump in another right away and you have tied yourself to that stock for the next three days. Not smart no matter how good the stock looks. Only trade with settled funds so that you can jump out at a moments notice whenever you need. Rotate your money in smaller positions so that you will always have funds available to trade free and clear.
Lesson 5. Learn the chart. Very important to learn all you can about the different charting and TA analysis tools that are out there. You don't have to use all of them but the more you know the more you will recognize patterns that will tell you potentials of a stock. I personally use Candlesticks, MacD, RSI, Volume, SMA's and CMF as my principle indicators. I am learning to incorporate Aroon and ADX as well.
Lesson 6. Alright...this probably deserves to be higher up than 6 but...Look at the Fundamentals. I know that the 8k's and 10Q's and other financial fillings can be boring and hard to understand but it is important to wade through as there are gems hiden within the yada yada yada of the filing. Always read the fundamentals and if there isn't much to read....ask WHY!
I could go on forever so I'm gonna stop here. Read books, ask specific questions, and develop your own rules that work for you. Find people who will help you find your own answers. If they are just feeding you answers you don't have to work for you won't retain it. As you can see from the above post...I'm not that great at that. I tend to tell people MY answers more than I help them FIND their own.
Good Luck to you Cassity!
Sasquatch
-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues.
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Thank you all, this will help a ton. I wish I would have done this earlier, but any other comment/suggestions are welcome and much apprieciated.
A Beginner's Guide to Short-Term Trading by Toni Turner www.toniturner.com
The Candlestick Course (as well as his other books on candlesticks) by Steve Nison www.candlecharts.com
How I made $2,000,000 in the stock market by nicolas darvas
Trend following by Michael Covel
Reminisces of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre
Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager
New Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager
Stock Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager
There are others but these should be enough to start with... below are some general rules...
1. Don't daytrade especially if you have no trading experience. Swing and/or position trading. You can make just as much $$ as daytrading.
2. Preferably trade in mainstream/big board stocks. They may not be as exciting as penny stocks but you can make just as much $$.
3. If you trade penny stocks be aware that it is very volatile. Make your money and get out.And don't put all your $$ in pennystocks. Keep some for big board ones. Perhaps 1/3 in pennystocks and rest in big boards.
4. Put stop/losses on all your trades whether a actual one or a mental one. Limit your losses and let your profits ride.
5. Never risk all your money on one stock. Do not put no more then 1/3 of your bankroll on a stock.
6. Fundamentals are ok to study but do not waste too much time with them because though they will tell you the health of a company they will not tell you when to enter or exit a stock. Concentrate your efforts more with Technical analysis.
7. Don't overdue it with indicators/oscillators. Don't use so many because you will often then not get mixed signals. 3 or 4 indicators is more then enough. One's I use are volume, moving averages, RSI and MACD.
There are other rules but these are just some general rules. Limit your losses and let your profits ride.
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It seems like your main problem is holding to long. I only play stocks that just had good news come out, or they just started running again. Those you know are going up and you can sell real quick. If it already started to run leave and wait for the next hot play. Always sell before everyone else while it is still rising. Any profit is a good profit. I never hold a stock over night, unless something big is expected. Like XKEM, I held that until approval, then sold.
Try to trade buy Warren Buffet's Rule
"Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1."
-------------------- Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
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quote:Originally posted by Batman: It seems like your main problem is holding to long. I only play stocks that just had good news come out, or they just started running again. Those you know are going up and you can sell real quick. If it already started to run leave and wait for the next hot play. Always sell before everyone else while it is still rising. Any profit is a good profit. I never hold a stock over night, unless something big is expected. Like XKEM, I held that until approval, then sold.
Try to trade buy Warren Buffet's Rule
"Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1."
Then Warren Buffett should follow his own rule because he's lost money in the past year or so.. the market is brutal lately... anyways point im trying to make is everyone loses $$ here and there... it's how you limit your losses is what counts... it's a zero sum game.. for one to win on one side of the trade someone on the other side of the trade has to lose....
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Hi there, I am very new to day trading also but here is one thing that I have learned so far. Holding on to a stock or putting emotions into trading is a recipe for disaster! IMO I have learned to be very very modist in my trading. If I can make 10% profit off of my trade I am happy! Alot better then losing money. I will tell myself that if a certain stock I own goes down by a certain percentage I am OUT! No matter what! I learned to manage my risk. I have lost money but I am learning on how to make money consistantly. (Which I have to say is alot better) I would suggest If I may setting a certain percentage either way as to when you sell the stock. I keep my percentages low such as if the stock goes up 10% - 15% I sell. If the stock goes down 10% I sell. Always stick to your numbers and see where it takes you! GLTA!! Thanks
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Tex, This is actually my 3 time posting ever on the internet I have been on this site a lot but never really posted because I am new and more or less just learning. I hope the person you are thinking of is very successful in the market!! Then it may be me Thanks!
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Current market conditions don't make trading all that lucarative. I've had better luck in silver bullion. To many MM's and short naked short sellers manipulating the market. A good site to keep an eye on them is: www.********** Their list(s) let you know when they're going to have to "buy to cover" thus driving pps up. All the best
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tty soon![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
). How you handle losers is even more important than how you handle winners. Retaining your capital is very important to your sucess as a trader. Being stubborn and holding a loser to wait for another run ties up your captial and ties you to a stock you don't like. There are very few circumstances in which it is a good idea to hold a declining stock.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
setting a certain percentage either way as to when you sell the stock. I keep my percentages low such as if the stock goes up 10% - 15% I sell. If the stock goes down 10% I sell.
