Like I said previously if I recall correctly, things are easier since I have simplified things with trading. I don't take hours to read SEC filings anymore, but at the same time I notice that I am not reading them at all the past week since I have simplified things. I think that is too far in the other direction.
One major thing that has occurred to me more and more as the week went by, was that I am seriously over trading. I forgot to mention, but Tuesday or Wednesday I gave back all my gains and then some. I lost nearly $6k on stubbornness and I have the video to prove it. It all started when I missed my entry because the paper trading would not allow me to trade pre-market. I've already forgotten all the gritty details but the moral of the story is simple, I over traded, traded too large, and worst of all, didn't cut losses quickly. More and more lately I have been giving stocks a chance even if they don't do exactly what I want them (and think they should) do, immediately.
When a stock crashes and forms a very stable downward momentum, I want to see a mirror image reversal. If it doesn't do that I should get out, and I've been holding and taking a loss.
The other big and somewhat depressing thing becoming clearer to me, is that there's no way I'll be successful trading with the Pattern Day Trader rule over me, if I am over trading like this. So, even though I have been able to grind some profits out of the market, I have to approach things differently.
One thing that seems apparent is that the first trade of the day seems to be the best. The initial crash that I buy seems to have the best retrace. Picking the right stock to trade, and then trading it correctly (which means executing the right entry and exit because you only get one shot) is a daunting thought that leads me to feel like this will freaking take forever. But, people have gotten over it.
I will have 6 accounts opened pretty soon here, so that means 18 day trades per week. That should be plenty. I want to spend some time analyzing Roland's (Roland wolf, a new and great student of Tim's) initial trades that where under PDT. I don't know what I will find or what I am looking for, but I feel there may be something helpful there.
Anyhow, I do also feel some pressure about the upcoming deadline for funding the account with $3k to get the 60 days commission free trading. I really shouldn't let that pressure get to me. If I am not ready to trade real money, I should respect that, because if I can prove to myself with paper trading a few times a week that I can grow an account, then when I am ready commissions shouldn't matter that much anyhow.
Starting next Monday I intend to approach trading with the mindset of:
- Taking only the very best setups and trading them perfectly, win or lose.
- Getting out of a trade if it is not doing what I want it to do within reason.
- Not focusing on my P&L, for entries/exits, but the chart and what it is telling me.
- Trading each trade as if it is a separate trade, not needing it to get me anywhere.
We'll see how it goes. I will continue to record my trading sessions, even though it is a real bitch to upload gigs worth of video on my slow ass .7Mbps upload.... I do think I will be successful at this if I just don't give up. I need to step my game up and be more involved in certain aspects, but I think I am getting there.
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