a plan

C

Coach

Hi, I am new here and this looks like a good place to get
some opinions of experience or share some ideas.
So here goes:

I watch the market on a daily basis with fairly competent tools
such as RealTick w/ futures, DSL feed, etc and am attempting to implement a some-what simple trading plan on a few of the
same stocks that will average around $200-$300 per day.

It's ok to laugh, but that's all it would take to honestly make
a big difference in my life.

Order routing is not a strength of mine, but chart set-ups and
different time frames are not a problem. However, I would prefer to keep the lot size at or below 500 shares per trade.

Please feel free to share thoughts.

Good Trading,
Coach
 
"that will average around $200-$300 per day.

It's ok to laugh, but that's all it would take to honestly make
a big difference in my life. "

I'm not laughing because there's nothing funny about it. A lot of people start out with the same notion, as if making $200-$300 was a piece of cake. I would shoot for breakeven as my first goal with the understanding that that is unlikely. If and when you reach that point you might start thinking about actually making money.
 
Don't minimize making ONLY $200-$300 per day especially in a profession where maybe 20% at most make money.

In this economy making $250 per day multiplied by 250 days a year is $62,500. If you happen to live anywhere other than the high ticket areas like LA, NYC, where else can you make that money rolling out of your bed with zero commute , no ass%$$# to deal with , working 6.5 hours per day, hopefully doing what you love.

Lots of luck
 
Coach.

If trading smaller size, you may want to use IB as your broker. I use IB with a separate RTick feed and have saved a lot while trading small size during my learning curve. The interface takes a bit of getting used to, but gets easy to work with eventually.

Order entry is a skill that you pick up while trading and you just have to give yourself some time.

As far as your goals go, $200-300/day consistently is nothing to laugh at. They're your goals, not anyone else's.

Good Luck
 
Aim to make $200-$300 a day before commissions, once you have gone through a learning curve of about 6months of (hopefully) small losses... that is a realistic gameplan.
 
I have been trading for a little more than a year and I can only average $200-300 a day. If you are starting out and manages to average that, that's awesome! It takes winning days far more than $200-300 a day to actually average that a year, as you will inevitably have down days.

Be ware of the learning curve however, it takes a trader an average of six months to go positive. So be sure to factor in additional living expenses when you do your budget.

One thing is for sure, the day you actually do average $200-300 a day, there is no way you are going to stop there :-)
 
Coach,

Probably four things will determine if it's realistic to think in terms of $200/day or not: 1. Account size; 2. Trading style; 3. Skill level and 4. Market environment. You can't control number 4, but you better be aware of it. I'm assuming your account size is adequate to take at least 200 share positions in 3 or 4 stocks at a time, and a $100 loss will not be more than 1% of your equity, nor will it cause you to throw yourself in front of a bus. If not, better rethink your plan.

Now it comes down to trading style and skill. Pure daytrading is hard, which accounts for all the warnings you're receiving. If you read the trading journals posted here, you can understand how hard it is. You have to come up with your own plan, but if you're shaky on execution, I would strongly urge you to do no more than 200 shares at a time. Avoid the big loss on any one trade. Resist the urge to "give it room" to come back. Believe me, it won't. By its nature daytrading is a game of small winners, so you can't afford a big loser. Good luck.
 
1. Use IB to save commish and learn execution skills.

2. 100-200 shares to start and no more than 2 positions at same time, learn cutting losers.

3 Develop your own game.(What works for you and what's not)

3-6 month, if you can break even, come back to ask more.- Don't forget to thank me :)

Good Luck
 
1. go to www.wealth-lab.com, look at some good chart scripts, or test your own ideas. and find something that is historically sound and withing your risk tolerance.

2. keep it simple, just trade QQQ for the moment. 100 shares.

3. see if you can stick with it for 6 month.

4. if profitable, then expand stock selections and system selections.
 
I would agree with the majority of the comments above. One thing to do is think long term. If you wish to become a professional trader, don't think 2 months or 6 months. Think a few years. Trading can provide a very nice income but to get to that level of experience takes years. Doctors have to go to medical school for a long time. Traders have to go to the school of wall street for a long time. The majority drop out before graduating.

Keep your risk of each position in check. Have stops and USE them. Keep your position size down. Find a few mentors, and try to learn everything you can about the business

Robert Tharp
 
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