So today I was a very busy trader. Busy losing money. $161, my biggest loss to date. Had a very exciting time, and learned myself some more lessons. I didn't see much at the open in the way of stocks in play, so I bought some QQQ to hang onto for a while, and day traded some more. Traded SQQQ/TQQQ, and TVIX, and had another stab at my nemesis, BYND. Curses! Foiled again! A few stocks popped up in the screener and I had a go at a few. I kept at least 3 trades open, sometimes as many as 5, from about 0940 to 1535
What I am taking away from this day is I have been moving my stops up too early and not letting the stock run up and down. Especially choppy stocks like BYND when it is infested with black box traders. I have always been pretty cautious and today I was even more cautious, and looking at all my charts I started seeing great moneymakers that were taking my money instead of making me any money, because the price chops up and down more than my stop distance. Also I figured out the reason for a lot of my price slides on the buy. My chart is way late in populating. My data is coming in plenty fast. I tried trading by the ticks, and made a couple of great entries on the bottom bounce. But the chart takes a second or two to repopulate from the data feed. I am thinking that my graphics card, PSU, and monitor together are bogging the system down a bit. My trading setup is crazy... I got to get a decent gamer and one good 60" 4k monitor.
Strategy today was a simple Bollinger play. If center line trends up and stock bounces hard off the lower line or the center line, I buy limit on the ask, with stop and target orders. I use upper Bollinger as a possible line of resistance. It usually works okay but I see now that it has potential to work a lot better if the stock is just allowed to run free for an hour or so.
I was seeing very well defined trends from mid afternoon to 1630. I actually was making back my losses. I should have stayed on BYND for just another 15 minutes to let it make me just a bit closer to profitable. Once I had it figured out I was tempted to bet out stronger but that was not the plan. I had firmly resolved to not play any position at more than 100 shares or 200 for a very low priced stock. I really feel like that decision to stick with the plan late in the day cost me a day in the green. But it wasn't a terrible beat down and I will trade again tomorrow and it will be better. I will save the tight stops for the bull flag plays and keep it loose for trend following or scalping.
Another bad habit I am breaking right now once and for all is trying to scalp long on a choppy bearish trend. Short selling is such a PITA. By the time my stock is located, the situation has already changed. So I am very much a long player. Sometimes I do pretty good taking cheap shots at a falling stock when it takes an upward bounce. 20 cents here, 15 cents there, it adds up. If I hit it right. But you know what? from now on if it is trending down but chopping up, I just leave it alone.
Also I left 100 shares of QQQ on the hook overnight. I was thinking it might be a good thing to load the boat overnight with ETFs and solid megacaps rather than just leave the money out of play overnight. Maybe only sell what I need for trading each day.
I might take some screenshots or screen caps tomorrow for the entertainment of my viewers. I was just so busy today, and doing some configuration changes at the same time, urrrrr. And I was supposed to replace the tail light on the truck today so we can get a brake tag. (Louisiana-speak for "Inspection Sticker") and it is still sitting there on the coffee table and I haven't even cooked supper yet. I think it will be a Papa John's night tonight.
