insight,
Interesting thread. I always wondered what people do to keep track of whatever they do.
I guess what I do is out in right field as usual.
I have been keeping track of the quality of stocks in my universe. This assures that they are price performers and also "repeatable". That is they do the same thing over and over.
I continually monitor the place in the trading cycle they occupy as time passes. This way I know three things continually: where they are; what is next; and how fast the cycle is operating in time.
I rank my stocks by their contemporary money velocity (%gain in price per day. Think of it at two piles of stocks where what I own is on the left with the top rank on the bottom of the pile. On the right is the hot list that I have from me universe with the best money velocity on the top. I continually compare what is on the top of each pile.
I cross trade from the owned to the hot list with money I make available buy selling the owned and buying the hot.
The money velocity of a stock in a cycle peaks as the price goes through the axis of the cycle. This means I am buying stocks that are increasing in money velocity as they approach the axis and selling stocks as they decrease in money velocity after they cross the axis. Typical lower values of money velocity in this market are 4.5 %/day. A three day hold would be like going from 19 to 28 for a better money velocity stock. See the last two runs of IRIS. In a similar range see the last five runs of BOOM.
When one keeps track of sets of stocks (by scores of 1, 0, and 7) Use three portfolios in clearstation.com (I label them 7's ,1's and 0's) which come from a list on stocktables.com sorted by increasing volume (bottom is the 1's, middle is the 0's and the top is the 7's). I just select the ones going through the trough of the cycle (1's to 0's (just before BO) to 7's (just aftr BO)) so I have from these 10 each a selection of HOT list stocks which make up my right pile.
I keep a clearstation HOT list portfolio and I keep my owned stocks available by other means. Both these lists are displayed 24/7 on a bank of computers (google for pics of them) displays (70cm arc through over 90degrees).
All have the envelope of future price showing on the right 1/3 of each item displayed with four indicators (all defaults modified to current data transmission speed levels). The hot list and owned displays are in two parallel columns and where % cange is automatically calibrated for visual comparison, analysis, decision making and acting.
I have never used any of the items most people have listed in this thread.
You may be able to discern that I have a different orientation which is making money.
1. Excellent universe.
2. sorted by the cycle centered on the trough. (Stocks move up the page of the sort as they come into view, approach the trough, cross the through and break out.
3. Repeatability. All stocks get to the tenured list by precisely repeating their money making characteristics.
4. HOT listings.
5. ranking potential buys best to worst
6. ranking owned for worst to best
7. using money velocity to determine timing of trades
8. Cross trading from poorest application of capital to best available appication of capital.
Things that are uniportant to me that I see others posting about.
1. entry signals and strategies
2. exit signals and strategies
3. stop strategies and methods (I have posted on the 12 most frequently used-- it is just a commentary.
4. MA thinking.
5. money management
6. risk management.
7. trend following in the assinine Covel sense.
The primary principal of making money is mathematically based. Their are several variables involved. In order of importance:
1. cycles per unit time
2. profit per cycle
3. money velocity
There are some lesser variables:
1. initial capital.
Using the top two major variables and the lesser variable, anyone can formulate the mathematical equation the prevails for making money.
final capital = initial capital(1 +decimal profit percent)^annual cycles of capital use.
Anyone can conclude that the graph of making money (money velocity depiction) looks like the out put of a multi-phase ac to dc converter. The graph of dc power distributed is the "equity" curve, a continuous (mostly linear) function starting at initial capital and sloped at the money velocity.
If you are a beginner approximate it at 11.1 % every 6.6 days on your chart starting with your present capital. Shift it upward by 20 % if you spend a half day working the screens with me using your method.
One important note. If you do not have white space on the right of each of your charts presently and have the envelope of future price projected there using channels by now, please put me on ignore from here on out. You do not pass the test of being able to perceive that you need to know what the future ball park is for what you are looking at. You are literally up again a mental wall that is blocking your mind in such a way that you cannot build it in any way to learn how to make money.
The objective in trading and investing is to make money. The normal stocks to have in view as you do this are making money at a rate of about 5% a day, 250 days a year. Use this standard on your excel sheets to see how efficient you are.
The list takes 5 seconds to bring up on your screen.
). happiness is the most importnat thing.