Quote from NY_HOOD:
do not day trade low volume stocks with size,you will get killed. trust me on that. stick to some liquid stocks if you just started.
He's correct. If you trade 5000 shares of an 6 stock, a twenty cetn swing will make you puke. You can't control your risk. I used to be the king of swing in those numbers, but daytrading, you can't hang on if you're wrong. If you're disciplined, you're gone. And then, Mr. Market takes you're baby up without you on board. TASR is even difficult at 15 bucks. And it's a great story. But it's tough.
However, trade 100 goog, or 200 BSC, 400 RIMM you'll get five dollar moves, and you can control your downside. Get yourself a list of five. Maybe RIMM, BSC, GS, ....Others can add. Learn those stocks, so , if by ten o'clock, Rimm gaps to some resistance, you know it's resistance, and you can let some go. Or, conversely, if if gaps down , you'll know the support held, say, two times before, and you can act.
Write your plan, chart out your levels, and be disciplined to the downside.
There are other ways; start with this one. Even if you just make a few hundred a day. If you've been losing 3 bills, and you start making 3 bills, that's a swing of 6. And don't get greedy.
I used to be a gambler. A pretty good one too. I didn't lose. I kept a log. I read this great bit one time about this fellow that would hit the casino on his lunch hour with forty bucks at the crap table. If he lost the forty, he'd leave. They hated him, becasue they knew they couldn't beat him. What does that say about a game where the odds are against you, and the house hates you because it can't win? Now what's the normal guy do? "I can beat em today. I feel it. " and he gets another forty, then a hun, then gets a credit line..... And next?????
There are many excellent parrallels in gambling when it comes to money management.
Here's one for you. How much of a stake should a $25 blackjack player , a counter who has odds slightly in his favor, have. Would you believe ten g's????? Why. Varience. The fact that if you flip a coin 100 times, the first 25 could be heads, and you're gone.
The day to day isn't sexy. But if you like working in your underwear, keeping your successes to yourself and still enjoying them, There is enuf in this post to take up today, tomorrow, and be ready for Monday. This is a GREAT market to trade.
Hope this helps.
