Trading Journal - May

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Bro Seanote,

Technically PALM could rebound after today (base on vol. climax). Fundamentally PALM will heel tough competition. I was in SF this Mar and happened to go by the Apple's Dev. Conf. (didn't attend - just looksee in the lobby). They sold out the Sharp Zaurus PDA for $ 200. I think I have seem the light then. see

URL: http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT8728350077.html

PALM will have a tough time in the future with LinuxDevice coming up close on its tail.

Good trading.


Cyberslam
 
Originally posted by deepitm
Seanote,
Today you shifted from swing trader mode to daytrader mode in an effort to recover from the PALM trade. In the past when I have had a rather stinging loss and tried to "make up" for it, I usually made things worse. When I had a big loss it is usually because I didn't follow my own rules or had a completely wrong assessment of a situation and didn't accept it until it was too late.

Now I try to view each trade as independent of any trade that came before it. It shouldn't matter if I've had 10 straight winning days or 10 straight losing days - the only thing that should matter is what's on the table today. Easy to say but not always easy to do.

Did you do anything different on the PALM trade, anything that was out of your normal trading style? What would you have changed?

Thanks again for your posts.
More...

When I first opened the PALM trade I stated up front that this would be a long term hold. It was more of an "investment" in comparison to my swing/daytrading. As I look back on the reasons why I took the trade I wouldn't do anything differently. I used some TA but more fundamentals and potential then anything else. Once in a while a will "stray" away from my normal game plan like the PALM play, going long SOX options, and increasing my share size to 3K - 5K vs. 2K. Since I'm up on the month and year that has enabled me to take a few trades that carry more risk than my normal game plan but gives me more flexibility.
As you mentioned earlier I have stepped up my daytrading over the last few days and all but eliminated swing trading temporarily. Some traders will disagree with me but I fully believe you must have certain trading strategies for certain markets. If you have one strategy/game plan that you stick to regardless of market conditions you will loose more times than not when it's all said in done. With the terrorist's threats and current market conditions I absolutely will not take home any positions overnight unless I'm short and I'm still very cautious about that. I have a lot of confidence in my daytrading skills and did well DT in the past but I started to enjoy swing trading more because it took less time to follow, reduced stress level and lower commissions. I've had a great time DT the last few days and have been somewhat rejuvenated with one of my old game plans and hope that these market conditions stay like they are for a while so I can keep DT.
I plan on increasing my normal share size to 2,500 or 3,000 soon depending on liquidity. I can guarantee you that trading KLAC and QLGC with those share sizes will take a significant cut from my profits so I will probably avoid the increased share size on those stocks. Trading QLGC and especially KLAC the last few days has been very exciting. I've been able to zone in on this stock with a few TA indicators but mostly watching L2 and intraday charts. I'm KLAC will pull a 180 on me tomorrow after this comment but I feel like I'm one step ahead of the MMs with my executions and am there just before the gaps hit. I've mostly gone short but I'm considering going long while I cover my short. If I would have done that each time I closed my short the last few days I would have made that much more. The one thing with KLAC and QLGC is the volatility so you have to be able to have staying power if the trade reverses .25 soon after you take the trade. That's what the MMs are thriving and where they're making all there money. I've been down as much as .45 on a DT with those 2 stocks and ended up making .40 because I stayed and waited out the MMs. If you're looking for .15 or .20 soon after you take the trade then these are not the stocks to trade because the bid/ask will gap that much in 10 seconds and you'll get whipsawed out. Good luck!
 
Originally posted by cyberslam
Bro Seanote,

Technically PALM could rebound after today (base on vol. climax). Fundamentally PALM will heel tough competition. I was in SF this Mar and happened to go by the Apple's Dev. Conf. (didn't attend - just looksee in the lobby). They sold out the Sharp Zaurus PDA for $ 200. I think I have seem the light then. see

URL: http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT8728350077.html

PALM will have a tough time in the future with LinuxDevice coming up close on its tail.

Good trading.


Cyberslam
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I totally agree with your assesment about the company fundamentally, but I have seen so many traders hold out for the rebound because the business plan was so strong but the market doesn't always follow logic. I think it's a great buy now if you can hold long term. It's a different story when you're long 10K shares and the stock is setting 52 week lows. I know PALM sees this and will more than likely issue some type of positive press release to generate interest again but I'm cutting my losses and moving on.
 
Hi Seanote:

I agree w. you re. cutting loss on PALM. I would have done
the same when carrying a 10K position. In the past I just walked away but felt that a true Pro would forget and re-evaluate the situation if a turnaround is confirmed.

In futures trading, there's such a higher art as SAR (stop and reverse) - took me years even just to put it in the practice (easy to say then done), never mind work to perfection. PALM only qualifies for a day trade in any case.

I like your style and echo your intent re. the needs for swing trades - it also generates the biggest winner for me too. Day trading is a slow but positive grind. Both have their places. "Plunge" is also a much needed technique - like today's last hour - you need all the leverage you can get to go long, Bro.

Best of trading to ya.


Cyberslam
 
Originally posted by Seanote
With the terrorist's threats and current market conditions I absolutely will not take home any positions overnight unless I'm short and I'm still very cautious about that.
More...
I agree with you Seanote, caution's a real good idea even for shorts. After all, what if certain al Qaeda or Taliban leaders are captured or killed during market close? Euphoric gap-up the next day, killing shorts....
 
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