Trading Journal, November

Coming to work every morning, I would pass areound an alley leading to the front of the NYSE. I guess with the terrorists threat and anthrax, they have road blocks set up and they have one guy there every morning with a white labrador retriever sniffing every car and van that comes by.

which is a good thing, but if you can see the look on the dog's face. He seemed so DEPRESSED, there's no bounce, no joy in what he does. His face is sooooooooo long, his tail hanging low, droopy ears, skinny body !! I feel sorry for the dog !!

"Oh here comes another vam I better sniff away"

How do you like to be that dog?
 
Sad for us humans, but watch that dog get happy when he smells what he's been trained to smell. (they get rewarded with food & praise when they are in training)
 
Contrary to all the reasons listed above, it is simply much harder to make a living by trading now than it was a couple years ago or even 20 years ago. Just a few of the reasons:

1) Narrow spreads. Typically, one-cent. Remember those full one-point spreads from a few years ago? Or maybe you were not even trading back then?

2) Improved technology. Day traders are using direct access and multiple monitors. Compare this to a couple years ago when some traders made their living with a single monitor and an online broker. Yes, some are still doing it, but those traders are the exception rather than the norm.

3) Margin requirements. Who doesn't know about this one? Many of the early day traders began with as little as a few thousand dollars from a credit card advance and the momentum from Internet stocks. These days one must realistically have a minimum of $50,000 to begin trading. Never mind the recommendation that figure has always been in place. There is a difference between $25,000 recommended and $25,000 required.

I could probably think of a few other reasons. But the point is the greater challenges that presently exist have nothing to do with attitude or discipline or any of those things. There is a much tougher market now than there was years ago. It is not going to get any better, only more difficult as time passes. The golden age of day trading is history. As with any fad and quick fortune, there is a window of opportunity for the lucky few of us that got established back then. After that window has passed there is no going back.
 
73.06 ALL
Good sector play but I get in late. IUX was ripping and I didn't have the have the confidence to get more stocks, should have get moe stocks. GOT OUT TOO SOON on this one. I got out when the IUX looks like it was ticking down, should have stick with my charts, 20 EMA and the futures. The stock did not cross the 20 EMA until late in the day.

-25.48 BAX
Tried to short a drug stock when the sector is trending lower, but this was too strong a stock. The stock was hangin around the 20 EMA pretty much at the later part of the day. Broke it several times but it didin't go down much. The stock gapped up to the close.

21.80 BCR
This was the trade of the day !!!! Came out with bad news and gapped down several times, but eventually bounced up 3 points from the low!!! EVERYBODY MADE A KILLING!! Even Mr.K, a rookie like myself made $750 on the stock trading 200 shares .... and I WAS TOO DAMM SCARED TO GET IN !!!!! Oh well, just didn't want to lose 2 points when the stock gap down.

99.63 BVF
This was suppose to be a great trade. Gap down later in the day and started to retrace upward, somehow there was a big seller in the stock and kept hitting bids. Didn't get much out of the stock.

70.40 HI
Got out too soon on this one. The stock kept hitting the 20 EMA and retrace, for like an hour, eventually got tired of watching it, it broke the 20 EMA and flew up 60c! SHIT!!!!

-61.60 JNJ
Sector play but got in too late, when it started selling off, thought the 20 EMA would hold but it didn't

68.22 LM
Shorted this several times, but this stock wouldn't go DOWN even when XBD was selling off..... got out after it did a 30c spread down. The stock retraced, but not all the way breaking the technical resistance. Covered, too tired of watching !!! GOT TO HAVE MORE PATIENCE!!!!!

64.64 MAY
A gap late in the day, didn't see it and got in late, could have made $160.

-124.67 PRX
The WORST TRADE OF THE DAY!! The stock gapped up $1.25, to $33.80 couldn't get a bullet for almost 5 minutes!!!!! Got filled at $33.40, MAN! too much risk for a stock that trades 200K a day. The stock went down another 10c before doing a U turn. I didn't keep my cool and over bought to cover my stock, bought 600 shares at 65c, had to sell the other 300 at 45c. What a rip off

241.68 TRF
Should have been a better trade, got it almost at the low, and all I had to do , was hold on to the close. The stock looked strong all day long!! I got in and out couple of times and churned away some of my profit!!

-25.82 UHS
Another sector play that i got in late.


Well a better day than yeaterday, I made $400 after commission today. As I said I cannot believe my eyes, when I see that Mr. K made $1100. DAMM ... but I think he got lucky today, he usually is not a very good trader, broke his 3 weeks losing streak today. Happy for him, but wished I MADE that money myself!!

On my blotter yesterday, I told Mr.T that I felt I was spinning my wheels and I asked him what can I do to break out. He said that I am in the situation that I am in because of that MOC day, and as soon as he sees more consistency from me, he would raise my limits and then I can break out. EMPTY PROMISES? I don't know, but just hope I hit a 2 week winning streak and get my limit increased, getting bored trading 300 shares!!
I also asked him where he thought I stand when compared to the guys who are in my group and the guys in the firm in general.

From a scale of 1 to 5,

I scored a 4 when compared to the guys in my group and a 3 compared to the firm in general. There guys here who have been trading for a few years. So take it any way you want, at least I am not a 2 !! Which I know I am not anyways.

Tomorrow is FRIDAY, so far I have made back all the money I lost last week and Monday, hopefully I will have a big day tommorrow and get in the BLACK. I need it.


Sallyboy,
It gotta be BORING if all you do is sniff cars all day!

Private
I am sure it is true but there are guys here who average 2, 3 K a day every day!!! So it could work ! Just wish I know what the hell they are doing right!!
 
stockk
how do I get more info on Generic? I know they're a division of Carlin...but I can't find any info on the website.
How did you get involved with them?

:cool:
 
-28.33 AES
Tried to short it in the morning, when XNG was tanking got in late and there was not much room to go, I was in the money for a while before the sector did a u turn and ripped!!! Some rumors about airlines buying crude oil as a protection. Missed the rally whole day should have bought WFT, HP.

-76.44 APD
Try to short when CEX was going down, but got APD almost at the low, the stock didn't do anything the whole day.

148.35 BBY
Bought it almost at the bottom when RLX did a U turn almost at 3 pm. Rode it for 50c, left about 30c on the table. Oh well

276.03 BDX
Stock gapped down 75c to $31.00 and jept selling, large prints were going off at 85c, I wanted to put a buy stop at $31.01, since there was a big offer of 40K sitting at $31.00. I out in the WRONG ORDER, a limit order to buy at $31.01, got filled at 85c. WHICH WAS 5c form the low of the day. I got scared and sold market!! Silly me. I got printed at $31.00, offer started lifting and the stock stated to retrace, got back in at $31.20 and held it for almost 2 hours, didn't think it would break the 20 EMA which was incidentally at the $32.00, sold it at 93c, and the stock went up another 30c.

214.05 BJ
A great pick when RLX started rallying.

58.51 C
300K to buy. MOC PLAY!! I only did 300 shares, shoyuld have done 5000.

-97.32 EOG
Shorted it at the open , broke my own rule of not trading till 9:45. The stock ripped up after 10 am when XNG started gong up.

-94.20 EVC
THE WORST TRADE OF THE DAY !! THE STOCK PRINTED DOWN 50c ON 250K PRINT AND DIDN'T GO UP, COULDN'T GET OUT HAVE TO SELL MARKET TO COVER AT THE CLOSE.

58.59 GE
800K to buy, great MOC play, wish I did 4000 shares like Mr.L, he was up $100 until 3:30pm and he netted $1600 after commission!!!!!! Man wished I was here longer so that I can play size...

-31.32 NBL
Shook out early on !!!!! the stock ripped 2 pts after I sold it , WHY DIDN'T I GET BACK IN!!!!!!?????? XNG WAS RIPPING!! THE STOCK PRINTED 50c and I got out at 85c, so I don't feel too bad. BUT STILL, PAY ATTENTION!!

184.74 TRI
This was a funny stock, the stock got hammed when a market short of 35K kept stepping down from $26.00 and bottomed out at $25.25, when the offer started lifting I tried to NX 26c, 25K offer gone in literally 5 seconds in 10 prints ......... NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE, Mr. A and I tried to get 26c but befor our order was sent the offer was gone. Had to buy market, filled at 43c, I held it and sold at $26.11, the top was 20c. Mr.L told me to sell it because it was a 20 SMA on 5 minute, but who knows, my 20 EMA is working fine.


-112.51 VZ
Shorted it this morning, because it gapped up 75c at the close last night! Sould have done OPG. Shorted it 15c from the open, but this is a stock ON CRACK!!! It tredned down nicely and the without warning gaps up 60c ??????? That's the price you pay trading at the open with a thick stock like VZ!!!!!! Should have made at least $100.

-44.10 WMT
The only MOC that didn't work. 500K to buy and the stock didn't go!

-22.28 WPI
The stock was too weak didn't want to leave it's 20 EMA. Should have known that they had bad news yesterday!!


72.90 XOM
MOC play 400K to buy, but I got back in several times and lost some of my profit!!

This morning I got in late and re did some of my sector stocks. for some strange reason the freaking computer froze 2 minutes after the market open and I didn't even know it. finally figured it out when VZ does not seem to move in 10 minutes!!
Damm I had 2 other stocks too, by 10 am I was already down $300, because I didn't realize that my screen froze !! Luckily i held my composure and fought back. It is a good feeling to have when you are down and you fought your damdest and end up victorious!!

Ended up $1253 for the week. Minus the $620 that I lost I am up $600 in two weeks. Not too great, but at least I have a positive week after last week's apparent debacle.

So what changed? I have read Hitman's journal and it had inspired me to try to do things that he does, and this has somehow sped up my learning curve 5X or more.
Thanks Hitman!!

Have a good weekend all. And we shall meet again !!
 
The branch that I am working for does't have a web site. But if you like i can send you a phone number so you can call up and find the info you want.
 
That's what you have to be a top notch trader because when the general public is panicking, they are the most vulnerable, and you can take their money away in a flash and they will be thankful.

Some insights from Don on being cool and collected

The overall psychological makeup of a successful trader seems to consist of a "peaceful" and "objective" view of what they're doing. Too much emotion tends to make a trader get "happy too soon" and "stay upset too long"....(translation: they get out of winners too soon, and ride the losers, saying to themselves..."#@!# this CAN'T be happening" or some such internalization). Being objective, and realizing that the market, the individual stock, and everything else you look at in the marketplace not only CAN, but WILL do whatever it wants...and there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot predict a disaster, but you can plan for it. Good traders are sure that they will be "able to play the next day"...by being concerned about risk, but not getting into a state of panic. Many new people "freeze" when something goes wrong....and that is an awful way to go broke...it not only costs you money, but drives you to the nuthouse as well.

We do go into some detail about how to handle situations emotionally (it is hard to "handle" an emotional situation, by definition, so we try to get traders to take as much emotion out of trading as they can). We have even gone so far as to suggest that certain people take an hour or a day off while they sort themselves out. Also, the basic breathing techniques, displacing oneself, and the other "secrets" taught by some "trading coaches" apply....mostly common sense....if you use it, you'll be ok.
 
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