So, here's my dilemma:
I trade only 100 shares at a time on the NYSE. I'm trying to build up some consistency, but I'm still a losing trader -- but barely. I've lost about $3000 since I started, but the loss rate has been slowing down for the most part. I'm starting to see winning days, but they are still scattered and not very strong.
Most days, I am up at least $25-$40 after commissions at the peak. (Key word is "peak.") At the end of the day, I usually have taken out about 40-70 cents from the market -- this is from mid-August to September, since that is roughly around when I started sticking to 1 strategy.
At the end of the day, usually that $25 to $40 might become < $15 or even negative, because I'll overtrade and piss away all the profits in commissions. Now, I know what my problem is -- I overtrade. I'm damn good about cutting losses, but the losses do add up.
However, I can't seem to figure out what my expectations should be like. I trade the same exact NYSE stock over and over during the day. (I'm looking for another NYSE stock to trade. I like stocks that trade from 1-4 mil in volume, are under $80, and flat out MOVE at least 3-4 days a week. Got recommendations?)
Can someone make some suggestions on how I can correct my behavior? Are there other people who went through this problem? How many trades should I make, or how many cents can I expect from 1 stock?
Also, I have developed an eye for when the specialist or floor brokers are involved in a particular stock. Lately, in the stock I have been trading, there hasn't been much activity on behalf of the floor brokers or the specialist. Is this a sign that I should be looking for other stocks to trade?
I hit a solid 25 cent move today when I saw floor broker/specialist activity on the tape. But there was only 1 such opportunity. I assume that these opportunities might be more prevalent in other stocks?
Comments would be appreciated.
I trade only 100 shares at a time on the NYSE. I'm trying to build up some consistency, but I'm still a losing trader -- but barely. I've lost about $3000 since I started, but the loss rate has been slowing down for the most part. I'm starting to see winning days, but they are still scattered and not very strong.
Most days, I am up at least $25-$40 after commissions at the peak. (Key word is "peak.") At the end of the day, I usually have taken out about 40-70 cents from the market -- this is from mid-August to September, since that is roughly around when I started sticking to 1 strategy.
At the end of the day, usually that $25 to $40 might become < $15 or even negative, because I'll overtrade and piss away all the profits in commissions. Now, I know what my problem is -- I overtrade. I'm damn good about cutting losses, but the losses do add up.
However, I can't seem to figure out what my expectations should be like. I trade the same exact NYSE stock over and over during the day. (I'm looking for another NYSE stock to trade. I like stocks that trade from 1-4 mil in volume, are under $80, and flat out MOVE at least 3-4 days a week. Got recommendations?)
Can someone make some suggestions on how I can correct my behavior? Are there other people who went through this problem? How many trades should I make, or how many cents can I expect from 1 stock?
Also, I have developed an eye for when the specialist or floor brokers are involved in a particular stock. Lately, in the stock I have been trading, there hasn't been much activity on behalf of the floor brokers or the specialist. Is this a sign that I should be looking for other stocks to trade?
I hit a solid 25 cent move today when I saw floor broker/specialist activity on the tape. But there was only 1 such opportunity. I assume that these opportunities might be more prevalent in other stocks?
Comments would be appreciated.
