Got into trading after college, 1 year retail, 1 month prop so far...I have issues..

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neveral0ne

So I started trading in 2008 in a retail account, lost a crap load of my savings, had no clue what i was doing. Graduated college in May, joined a prop firm a month ago, different world.

Also did alot of research on tech analysis, price action, volume, pivots, trend lines, candles and patterns, which helped me some...

in the current firm...

My first assignment is to have 3-4 days of consecutive profit days, using only 1oo share, before we get bumped up to the next level. So far I have been losing every day a small sum usually about 5-10$ bux a day.. for the past 8 trading days. They also allow us and want us to have a max loss per trade of 2-3 pennies, to practice discipline, but its soo hard because almost always I get shaken out on the candle shadows that appear...it always scares me and I end up selling out at a loss, or takin too quick of a gain. How do I counter this ? How do I know if its a fake/shake out vs a real move ?

It seems like every time I buy a stock, it always goes the other way around. For example, today I played AMR.... I bought it at the top of a candle @ 7.52 .... started drooping... droped to 7.42 low of the candle... i couldnt keep up changing my order coz it droped so far, I got out with a 10$ loss @ 7.42, the next 3 candles it rocketed from 7.42 to 7.60. I mean this is crazy, i have like the inverse of perfect timing - but for maximum losses, lol.

I know i need screen time, I read alot of books, but so far none of it really actually has helped me make money.

Could I get some sparring/support here ? Any opinions or pointers would be appreciated...thanks everyone and good luck.

Also... im still young so I can afford and allow myself to keep doing this with no profit for a while since Im still at home, but i dont know how long is long enough before the tide turns around...
 
I trade at a NY prop firm (Q uad Capital). I can't imagine being held to a $.03 loss per lot on any stock. I would enter limits 5-6 cents under your signals on buys, over on shorts. You'll take fewer signals, but at least you be stopped less. One of the traders here trades solely from candles and made >2mil this year.

Good luck!
 
sounds like youre waiting for confirmation

ie you want to go long; like the stock, then it goes up a little and you feel comfortable

as soon as you buy it pulls back....its actually safer to buy at a low point in many cases.

this type of trading is really tough, I wonder what your firm is thinking.
 
Quote from neveral0ne:

They also allow us and want us to have a max loss per trade of 2-3 pennies, to practice discipline, but its soo hard because almost always I get shaken out on the candle shadows that appear...it always scares me and I end up selling out at a loss, or takin too quick of a gain. How do I counter this ? How do I know if its a fake/shake out vs a real move ?
More...

The simple answer is that you should be looking to enter your trades on the "shadows that appear" instead of stopping out there. If you are consistently getting stopped out but your strategy is sound then you have to either loosen your stop which has negative implications for your Risk/Reward and could erase your edge, or you have to enter the trade at a better price. Waiting to enter at a better price means you will miss some of the opportunities and you will have to deal with the emotions of feeling left out on the occasions that you do not get a fill.

If you are asking "How do I know", you are being too aggressive in my opinion, especially as a newbie. You should be saying, "I don't know what is going to happen therefore I am going to wait for the best possible entry that gives me the best possible chance of profit, otherwise screw the market, I'm not placing a trade."
 
Why not try doubling your stop size and halving your position size? They want you to trade 100 shares? Trade 50 with a 2x stop...Trade 33 with a 3x stop. Your risk is the same but you're less likely to be shaken out by noise. Your stoploss needs to be dynamic to account for changing market conditions.

Perhaps try scaling in to your position rather than an all or none approach.

You're in learning mode, so try an bunch of different things and see how they work.
 
I'm in a similar situation as you...

- Graduated in 2008 and been trading prop.

- I'm still learning but I may be able to help you somewhat as I've been able to gain more consistency.

PM me and we can talk.
 
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