To be a successful trader, you should not ….

Tarzan said:
To be a successful trader or at least semi successful, you should never do the following :
1) buy pre market
2) buy after hours
3) buy the open
4) buy gap ups
5) chasing a fast moving stock
6) panic
7) revenge trading
8) Over trading

There are times when buying the open will render a great trade to where you will make 5-10 points before 10:00 am. That said, its few and far between and its a bad habit to get into. I like to wait at least 5-15 minutes if I need to buy near the open so the smoke can clear. I lost countless amounts of money from buying gap ups at the open only to watch profit takers dump the stock indiscriminately. This is after looking at the charts and determining there was an actual set up despite a gap up. Far too many times I have let adrenaline supercede disipline and patience only to watch my position drop like a rock. The open will also render the most intense losses and it can be hard to get out with a minimal loss. If I get into a position at 9:40 rather than 9:30 and need to get out quickly, its much easier to do at that point than near the open. Im not saying these rules are bullet proof because they are not, intuition is an “ x factor” that cannot be taught but I will tell you, if you follow these rules in conjunction with your research, your chances of being successsful will be increaesed quite a bit. Also, never panic and sell too early. That being said, not buying the open usually avoids this and a pull back can easily be dealt with rationally. You also do t want to over trade. If you make a nice profit, there is nothing wrong with walking away. Why give back a profit?
One final note, its usually best to pre determine where you want to establish a position and let the stock come to you opposed to chasing it and getting in too late to where more upside is minimal. Also have an exit stradegy. You know where you want to buy but where are you selling it and when ?
On a “ final final note”, Never “ bet the farm” on a stock with the hopes of recouping a bad trading day with that one shot in the dark gamble.. Revenge trading causes more intense losses. Its what all gamblers do, they want that one big trade just to break even. It never works.. Go home, get a good nights rest, forget about it, and prepare yourself for the following days trading.
More...

I do all in the list. I am consistantly profitable for over 1.5 decades. The key point is to know what time frame you are trading, and if it does not pan out, what timeframe you are moving up to, and if all the unlikely events happening against you, what risk you are taking relative to your portfolio/account size.
 
Last edited:
I find the people most opinionated about do's and don'ts in trading are the least knowledgeable, and most inexperienced.

I'm a full time trader since Jan 2019, consistently profitable and earn my living from trading after applying thousands of hours into the market and thousands Into learning. I still have a lot to learn, but one thing I do know is what works for one trader doesn't for another, everyone has to find what works for them. There are no hard and fast rules, although generally speaking some things are likely to get you in trouble.

1)Some of my best trades have been premarket on fresh news, being early on a parabolic. Especially since 2020/2021, we have a lot more volume in the market. In 2019 a lot of volume premarket on small caps was 4mil, now 20mil is common. Very easy to get in any out of liquid premarket trades.

2) I personally don't like trading afternoons, power hour or after hours, unless a stock has been in play all day and continues. GME for example had amazing moves after hours after Musks tweet. The reason I don't like afternoons, is I find the market choppier, most people that made money are gone for the day so you get a lot of emotional chop. I don't like giving back or giving myself the potential to go red in afternoons because odds are I won't have an opportunity to make it back. But plenty of people make money during these times.

3)again, one of my most profitable trading periods, quick hotkey scalps on the emotional range at open. I used to trade these horribly but stuck with it and usually make 1/2- 2/3's my profit during this time.

4) my main strategy involves stocks gapping up
5)jump in plenty of times on a momentum trade and ride for quick profits did that on SPRT just Friday
6)I don't really understand this. If a stock isn't doing what I expect I will quickly jump out, I don't know if you call it panic because I feel completely comfortable doing this. Trading is emotional, but experience will reign these emotions in. I don't think avoiding emotions, even panic is entirely possible though and some panic is good provided you make the right choice in the panic.
7)I agree revenge trading is generally a negative, jumping in something just to make back losses while having no edge or setup generally results in bigger losses. I have on occasion revenge trade on actual setups and done quite well though, probably because I'm naturally too conservative in my trading and it unlocks a bit more aggression. Still, overall I prefer to trade as level headed As possible.

8)depends? Is the market hot and you're firing on all cylinders? Usually I like to make my money premarket and first 30 mins to an hour of the day and walk, but if the market is going nuts I'll trade until the setups are gone. If I start chopping around then usually a sign to walk.
 
mrrvogl said:
I find the people most opinionated about do's and don'ts in trading are the least knowledgeable, and most inexperienced.

I'm a full time trader since Jan 2019, consistently profitable and earn my living from trading after applying thousands of hours into the market and thousands Into learning. I still have a lot to learn, but one thing I do know is what works for one trader doesn't for another, everyone has to find what works for them. There are no hard and fast rules, although generally speaking some things are likely to get you in trouble.

1)Some of my best trades have been premarket on fresh news, being early on a parabolic. Especially since 2020/2021, we have a lot more volume in the market. In 2019 a lot of volume premarket on small caps was 4mil, now 20mil is common. Very easy to get in any out of liquid premarket trades.

2) I personally don't like trading afternoons, power hour or after hours, unless a stock has been in play all day and continues. GME for example had amazing moves after hours after Musks tweet. The reason I don't like afternoons, is I find the market choppier, most people that made money are gone for the day so you get a lot of emotional chop. I don't like giving back or giving myself the potential to go red in afternoons because odds are I won't have an opportunity to make it back. But plenty of people make money during these times.

3)again, one of my most profitable trading periods, quick hotkey scalps on the emotional range at open. I used to trade these horribly but stuck with it and usually make 1/2- 2/3's my profit during this time.

4) my main strategy involves stocks gapping up
5)jump in plenty of times on a momentum trade and ride for quick profits did that on SPRT just Friday
6)I don't really understand this. If a stock isn't doing what I expect I will quickly jump out, I don't know if you call it panic because I feel completely comfortable doing this. Trading is emotional, but experience will reign these emotions in. I don't think avoiding emotions, even panic is entirely possible though and some panic is good provided you make the right choice in the panic.
7)I agree revenge trading is generally a negative, jumping in something just to make back losses while having no edge or setup generally results in bigger losses. I have on occasion revenge trade on actual setups and done quite well though, probably because I'm naturally too conservative in my trading and it unlocks a bit more aggression. Still, overall I prefer to trade as level headed As possible.

8)depends? Is the market hot and you're firing on all cylinders? Usually I like to make my money premarket and first 30 mins to an hour of the day and walk, but if the market is going nuts I'll trade until the setups are gone. If I start chopping around then usually a sign to walk.
More...

Outstanding points -- very spot-on, one of the best and most correct posts I've seen in a long time.

Totally right re time of day insights, A+ and important. 2 key words I focus on are volatility and range. Anyways, kudos.
 
Tarzan said:
To be a successful trader or at least semi successful, you should never do the following :
1) buy pre market
2) buy after hours
3) buy the open
4) buy gap ups
5) chasing a fast moving stock
6) panic
7) revenge trading
8) Over trading

There are times when buying the open will render a great trade to where you will make 5-10 points before 10:00 am. That said, its few and far between and its a bad habit to get into. I like to wait at least 5-15 minutes if I need to buy near the open so the smoke can clear. I lost countless amounts of money from buying gap ups at the open only to watch profit takers dump the stock indiscriminately. This is after looking at the charts and determining there was an actual set up despite a gap up. Far too many times I have let adrenaline supercede disipline and patience only to watch my position drop like a rock. The open will also render the most intense losses and it can be hard to get out with a minimal loss. If I get into a position at 9:40 rather than 9:30 and need to get out quickly, its much easier to do at that point than near the open. Im not saying these rules are bullet proof because they are not, intuition is an “ x factor” that cannot be taught but I will tell you, if you follow these rules in conjunction with your research, your chances of being successsful will be increaesed quite a bit. Also, never panic and sell too early. That being said, not buying the open usually avoids this and a pull back can easily be dealt with rationally. You also do t want to over trade. If you make a nice profit, there is nothing wrong with walking away. Why give back a profit?
One final note, its usually best to pre determine where you want to establish a position and let the stock come to you opposed to chasing it and getting in too late to where more upside is minimal. Also have an exit stradegy. You know where you want to buy but where are you selling it and when ?
On a “ final final note”, Never “ bet the farm” on a stock with the hopes of recouping a bad trading day with that one shot in the dark gamble.. Revenge trading causes more intense losses. Its what all gamblers do, they want that one big trade just to break even. It never works.. Go home, get a good nights rest, forget about it, and prepare yourself for the following days trading.
More...

There are not a lot of successful day traders anymore because of algos, unfavorable rules allowing things like adverse selection, etc.

However, most of the big winners specialise in trading the open and from time to time look to do all of the first five.

You have NO understanding of trading but seem sincere, so:

Try to develop a relationship with a strong trader who currently wins, and add value to their life.

You want to be around people who are better than you.
______

You probably can not do what I wrote, but this should be your goal.

______
.
Avoid gurus-for-hire. They are mostly hustlers who used to win or never won.
 
here you also need to understand that not all traders are the same, we are all different, and the understanding of the work is also different, if someone is superfluous to overtrade, then it will be a thrill for another
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top