The Super Terrific Happy Hour
- Thread starter Max E.
- Start date
Today is choppy galore, -- I still managed though to leave with a nice % return,
I predicted at the open it may potentially be a neutral day...and that's exactly what's unfolding,
But you're right...when you find yourself sitting around, hoping things will work out in your favor...you're in trouble,
You should never be in that position
I wrote that I knowing you were FAR from a newbie. It was just my intuition. You needed to hear it.
All the greats have coaches/managers and there's a reason for that. No matter how good one is, the right words at the right time can make all the difference in the world for the next, and subsequent performances. I just wanted you to pull off the side of the road, get out, kick the tires, take a look under the hood, wipe your hands, get back in..... and head on down the road.
I find systems trading interesting. Its the perfect way to remove any emotion out of the trade, but of course, its probably missing far too many nuances that a discretionary trader can see. Once again though, given what you wrote, I wonder how badly the system would have done in the end if you didn't start averaging into stuff as you say, which doesn't sound like it was part of the plan to begin with.
How did this mentor trade? From most stories I have come across over the years, many traders have their best years and then they can never match this performance again. I like the saying that you only need to become rich once, so you push it while the going is good, and then scale back to go into preservation mode. But I do wonder about the luck factor here because there are times when holding is good, and times when taking small profits along the way is good. You of course only know after the fact, but unless someone knows exactly when to switch between the two modes, you have to almost rely on luck that you're using the right strategy at the right time.
On the flip side of "darn, I should have held this longer" is always "darn, I should have sold for the tiny profit I had". I'm sure that if you look at your past 20 trades, those that hit $1 profit will be more numerous than those that hit $2. Likewise, if the target was 50 cents, there would be even more winners. So if you're gonna want those $2 profits or more, it seems like you will have to get comfortable with a smaller win rate. But the fact that you were proud of you 8/8 win rate (which you should be of course) means that win rate is important too.
I guess what I'm saying is that you seem to be hard on yourself, but I almost don't feel as if you should be. Based on what you're saying and how you're trading, you're making the best decisions with the info you have in the moment. I of course fully understand how in the moment, the tape causes you to exit, which in the long run might not mean much when you zoom out, but I think this is how you trade, and you have to do what feels most comfortable.
Can you hold out though? Would holding longer mean that you're using a wider stop? Its one thing to stay in a trade that is going sideways, but its another if its going against you, and even if you thought you could use a wider stop, in the moment, you perhaps don't want to use a wider stop. If currently you use a 20 cent stop and a dollar target, but you say you'd like to hold longer, lets say for a 2 dollar target but use a 40 cent stop, can you really hold for one or the other? I bet that in the moment, when you see something you didn't like, you would abandon the trade, which then puts you back into the short term vs. swing trader.
As corny as it sounds, you talk as if you want to fly, but alas, you were born with flippers, so you're designed to swim.
You say the way you trade is stressful as hell, but I imagine holding stocks overnight for multiple days will prove to be just as stressful. At least when you're day trading, you can get out any time. These are of course all personal details, so its a matter of finding out what is right for you.
Whatever happened to your mentor? It sounds like you are no longer in touch.
You're starting to sound like Madoff. You seem to excel during any market condition, and not show a single trade.
Hey this is ET, everyone makes a mill by lunch.
Damn, man. Sweet call! I hope you took that one.
Hey guys sorry for the lack of updates, ive got major renovations going on at my house, both inside and out, i was hoping to be done my deck by this weekend, so i have a nice place to go to, and i can enjoy my hot tub this long weekend, instead of being inside in a mess, i made a couple hundred bucks yesterday on some nothing scalps on the open, and didnt even do anything today, now im going back out to finish off the deck, thx for the replies, i will respond to all of them in a couple of hours when im done putting this last coat of paint on my deck.
All total made about 2800 on the week, pretty good summer time week, wish i had taken Vanzandt's call though, that was definielty the trade of the thread so far
All total made about 2800 on the week, pretty good summer time week, wish i had taken Vanzandt's call though, that was definielty the trade of the thread so far