posted
it's difficult to explain without me drawing it out for you.. but basically you want to use 3 MA's to confirm a uptrend.. i use 20,40 and 60 day... you want the 20 above , 40 in the middle and 60 at the bottom of all 3 moving in a unison UP... and yes in July is when this uptrend began from what i can see in my own chart.. it did very good on the day it closed at $28 but I probably would of bought the next day when it was around $28.50 because it broke Resistance on decent volume.. $28 was the Resistance... from there on the 20 MA moved up and crossed over the 40 and 60 Day MA... and they been in unison ever since... also if you notice the last time not too long ago when this stock did a pullback about 10 trading days ago.. it used the 20 day MA as SUPPORT.. that is why i like MA's... if the stock had gone under the 20 day MA i would of been concerned... but anyways this is just examples of what you can do with MA's... you can learn more about them in the Toni Turner book i recommended and other books you can find... you also need to be able to "read" volume.. for example when a stock does a pull back on low volume it usually means that people are still holding the stock and the pullback is temporary and not a indication of a beginning downtrend... anyways as for stop/losses that stop you out.. maybe you are putting them in the wrong place... I tend to put them about a 1/4 point below the low of the day when i enter a trade and move it up daily if the stock goes up otherwise i leave it where it is... a 1/4 point below the low of the day gives it some wiggle room and if it hits the stop on the first day then perhaps that stock ran it's course... if a stock later goes into overbought territory i move the stop/loss up more... sometimes trading is instinct more then technical or fundamental... a little bit of all.. have to get a feel for it by looking at a chart etc... anyways for now on do yourself a favor and put a stop/loss on all your big board stocks if not a actual order then a mental stop/loss.. if you get stopped out you get stopped out .... you can always reenter the trade... but it's better then being sorry as you were with JLG ... and get Toni's book to learn and master the basics of swing/position trading...
A Beginner's Guide to Short Term Trading by Toni Turner www.toniturner.com
Also read : How I made $2,000,000 in the stock Market by Nicolas Darvas (should really been named Education of a Stock Operator/Trader lol )
Here's a chart I pulled up for GT (which I do own). I did as you suggested and put 10-day, 20-day and 50-day across it (I didn't see 60-day on Yahoo)
Would this signal an uptrend since the 50 day is at the bottom, the 20 day in the middle and the 10-day at the top with the PPS above all of them.
I bought in to this in the beginning of April and I see now on the chart where it crossed into negative territory in mid-may and I probably should have sold it then.
I will soon be even on one of my lots of it. I'm trying to determine from the chart if I should hold it and try for some gains or just sell it and break even. (after being a loss for some time).
Jo
BTW: Update: Deficit got a little smaller 7.37%
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
My personal opinion... I wouldnt sell this one... I'm looking at it through Bigcharts... don't know how this one passed my radar... broke Resistance of $12 and went/is in a current uptrend.. the 20 day is in a nice uptrend and the 40 day is about to cross over the 60 day so all 3 MA's will be lined up perfectly in a uptrend.. it is in overbought territory with a RSI of 80 but for now it will most likely go sideways between 13.50 and 14 till the bulls/bears decide what to do next whether to upside or downside.. i would probably move my stop/loss up depending on where you have it currently... perhaps put it at $13 or higher and watch how this stock performs carefully in the coming trading days... with oil going down lately and that auto index as you saw in a uptrend in the last 2 + months could mean more orders for GT in the foreseeable future... but that is just my analysis... you should make your own and decide on your own...
-------------------- Let the world change you... And you can change the world.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna Posts: 4669 | Registered: Mar 2004
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depends which pennies... they work well for pennies that have actual patterns like GT does lol usually pennies that are in the big boards... just in case you don't know Penny stocks are any stocks under $5 per share... I hope I enlightened you about chart reading... and it will help you make better decisions... basically what Iv'e been telling you has been a mini course... your better off reading a book on it and you know I'm going to recommend the Toni Turner book lol along with the others i have already recommended... and remember don't try to predict but try to confirm a Trend (whether up or down) and go with the Trend... no one can predict the market 100% but you can see a Trend in the charts.... the pro traders don't even buy a stock till it breaks out of a Resistance or in the middle of a confirmed uptrend...
-------------------- Let the world change you... And you can change the world.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna Posts: 4669 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
if you can't get it cheap enough on Ebay .... try getting it used on half.com or amazon.com has used ones also... cheap... a good site to compare prices over different sites is www.bookfinder.com ...
-------------------- Let the world change you... And you can change the world.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna Posts: 4669 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Good day today. GT, JLG, JSDA, FRPT and SLJB all had good gains and now on paper I've got a deficit of -5.19% That's a big improvement over last week when I was down over 8%
Jo
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Hey Jo, not bad here either. Almost bacck to 7000/8600. Bkmp and nmcx were the heavy hitters today. Good luck 5 or 6 percent is sounding good
Posts: 49 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Hey jo, I have a feeling I will be buying. The last two days have been an absolute bloody mess. Nsmg has is heading south with some nice momo into an empty pool. I continue to hold probably against my own better judgement. I need to probably start pulling my head out of my ass and cut my losses. 5555/8600. good luck
Posts: 49 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Don't dispair. Reread some of the advice in this thread. Especially Machiavelli, Bigfoot, Tex and 10 of 13.
BTW, thanks again Machiavelli for helping me read those charts on GT. I held onto it and now both my lots are finally in the green. Gonna keep an eye on it.
Had a pretty good day today, led again by FRPT and now my portolio is down only 4.35%
I'm just hoping some of the penny stocks that I've held too long rebound. And I'm hoping that JLG bounces with the earnings report on the 25th of September.
Jo
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I can hardly believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. I don't want to get too excited though cause I know how quickly things can change. BUT....
I am now down only 2.24% !!!
Mach, I took your advice and set a stop-limit on a couple of the big boards, just in case they do start a decline, but today was a great day.
The last 2.24% is going to be the hardest to overcome, I fear. Unless one of my dogs decides to run!
Jo
Edited to add: AND, my toni Turner book came today! What a great day!
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
Thats good to hear Jo... just take it one day at a time... You'll get there... hope you enjoy the Toni Turner book... pssst stop Hoping.. there is no hoping in this game or shouldn't be lol jk
-------------------- Let the world change you... And you can change the world.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna Posts: 4669 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
A little up a little down, but overall down. My deficit is now 2.79%
My stop hit on Goodyear. I had it set for a trailing .15 stop and wouldn't you know it went down that much in the AM, but now it is up past where I sold. Typical for me. But at least it was green.
I've had some gains today on some of my real losers, so I am going to have to decide tommorrow whether to sell still at a loss, but a smaller one, so I can get rid of some more positions.
Here are the stocks I am going to make decisions on:
CKYS - up 36%, but I'm still down 55% DTGP - up 16%, I'm down 54% PAIM - up 17% today, but I'm down 17%
If anyone has any ideas on those three, lemmee know.
Jo
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
you had a .15 below the current price stop/loss on Goodyear? thats a pretty tight stop/loss... i usually do .25 below the Low of the day i entered the trade... and have it trail the stock price from there....
-------------------- Let the world change you... And you can change the world.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna Posts: 4669 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Today is the day!! I turned the tide and my account is now back in the green! Pretty much due to FRPT and it's amazing climb to $8.85 from 7.67 today, my portfolio now shows (on paper) a gain of 3.66%.
It's been a long struggle and I am sure it is not over yet. One bad day with FRPT and I'll be back in the red. However, it is so nice to see green for the first time in months!
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice. I hope never to be in such a bad position again.
Jo
Edited to add: I just noticed that my first post on this subject was 7/18/2006 exactly 2 months ago.
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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Yes, Mach, I believe I have learned from my mistakes. I still have a few mistakes to clear up and out of my portfolio, but I think I'm learning. My situation right now is still tenuous, because I still hold too many positions. However, now that I am slightly in the green, I don't feel as desperate. I've been only monitoring the stocks I have, and I haven't been buying any others in some misguided attempt to make up my losses.
I've been reading the Toni Turner book you recommended. When she writes about what happens when "greed" and "fear" dictate our trades, I feel as if she must have watched my trading from April to July.
I have especially highlighted this paragraph:
quote: "By the way, if you languish every time you leave money on the table--get over it. Just as you're going to take small losses, you're also going to watch stocks rocket to the moon the day after you sell your position. don't drive yourself bonkers by adding up the profits you could have made. Learn to shrug off missed money. It's part of the business.
Ironically, it is my fear of "missed money" that has caused me to hold onto loser stocks that then go down even more. So I am learning to take profits when I can and not beat myself up over the ones that get away.
Jo
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
That's the hardest part is taking the profits alittle sooner and then not worrying about the ones that get away. But the bright spot in that is that there will always be another stock that is ready for you to take profits on.
I'm no expert in the trading market but it sounds to me that you are well on your way to getting in the GREENNNNN
I am quite sure I owe you a drink. Been keeping up on your venture and feel you are taking some good advice and well eventually come out on top. I have a few stocks that are boardering on no return... adnl is one. Many of the others are looking sad. NSMG has really exposed my inexperience as that was a large play that I can not possibly sell and will wait until next year to even think of moving. Nmcx has begun to run and I should probably sell but am trying to make up ground....the rookie trap. I have hopefully learned a lesson but will play it out and with the pennies I am in. Future investing will be big board. I have lost over half of 8600. I wish you the very best of luck. If something ever rockets expect a case of your choice.
You have a lot of great help here, and a lot of respect goes to those who have helped and are helping.
Taking profits early and not looking back (which is damn hard to do. heck, I have the calculator out after I sell and am like, "gees, I would have made $xxx") is a hard habit to break. Hindsight trading is tough, but this helped me...
Something that keeps me in the green, is that everytime I make $300-$500 profit, I pull it out of my brokerage account, and into my high interest yielding savings account with ING Direct. They pay over 4%. I keep a base amount in my brokerage account and whenever it makes $300-$500, I yank it into something stable. I figure that if I can do this once a week or so, I can make some good money over time. I got caught up in seeing folks say "I bought 20k worth of XXXX and made, blah blah..." I also quit paying attention to that. Most of us here, I'm guessing, just want some supplemental income. After making uneducated trades about 2 years ago, I started with $2000 of my own money last April. I have since withdrawn well over that back into my ING account. Now, I have "free" money to play stocks with, and my high interest savings is looking pretty good. I have also been studying charts, books, and just perusing the internet nightly to try to learn this game better.
I have been following your story for a little while now, and just thought I would share something that helped me. My style is not for everyone, but hope that helps! GL!
Posts: 2741 | From: Seattle | Registered: Feb 2005
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I sure hope I can someday be in the position of making $300 once a week.
Unfortunately, right now, I am only just barely in the green. But I AM still green, so I've been able to breathe a sigh of relief over the past month, rather than breaking out into a cold sweat!
Right now, I am concentrating on getting the timing right for selling some of the real losers, so I can pretty much start over.
As a few folks mentioned earlier in the thread, I have way too many positions in pennies at the same time. I hope to get it down to about 8-10 by end of year.
Jo
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss Posts: 3387 | Registered: Mar 2006
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