Done early
Entered 3 trades (2 winners) and passed on two others (FMCN, FISV) which would've been winners. I'm happy with my gain and the day's still early over here so I may just kick the soccer ball around with my son.
Trades: STX, ASML, FTE (small loss)
Posts
9 comments:
Nice trades.
If use used prior bar high as a stop on STX you probably had a nice 4/5:1R... money!
Generally what kind of return are you looking for (1:1, 2:1 etc.)
Also are your bear flags really just descending triangles? How do you distinguish the two? Thanks.
rz: thanks. I used to look for r:r ratios before entering trades but it just became so tedious. Hell, if I can make 1:1 on a really nice chart I'll take it. I don't think I'd go less than 1:1, but I mostly eyeball the ratios anyway. Plus, my scans and watchlist prep usual weed out the small percentage movers.
As for my bear/bull flags. Yeah, they're not technically accurate. They're like a combination of bear/bull flags with ascending/descending triangles. They usually always include 2 narrow range inside bar that form in the lower half of the primary bar. In any case, if this pattern forms at an area of support or resistance, it usually makes for a nice setup.
"Plus, my scans and watchlist prep usual weed out the small percentage movers."
Where do you usually get your watchlist for the day? Gapping Up/Down from briefing?
How do you tell if something will move big? Hell, its easy to tell after the fact but how can you determine if something is ready to explode midday? High relative volume? Big daily value change?
Thanks.
rz: I get my gap up/down list from my broker (IB) and prophet.net. The briefing stocks are usually always in these scans (at least the ones I'm looking for). I look for stocks whose open is above yesterday's high (longs) and low (shorts). My candidates my have gapped up at least 1.5% from yesterday's close and should be moving on unusually higher than normal volume compared to the 30 day average.
As for your next question... wow, I have no idea for certain whether a stock will move or not. That's the challenge of trading. I would like to think I can find trades that have a higher probability of success... but that's not always the case. However, I've been scanning gap stocks for a long time now and I can say that subtleties in price and volume can be a precursor to a move. All I can say is keep looking at charts of winning trades and try to find commonalities in all of them (candles, volume, price, first bar, etc...). Sooner or later, you'll start seeing one type of pattern that happens often and then you can build off of that pattern. Trader X used to say that same thing and I took his advice.
Trader X, I see his name mentioned a lot throughout trading blogs. Guess I should read it. I know it hasn't been updating in a long time so I never bothered.
Would you mind explaining how you scan through IB. I'm assumming using the "Create Market Scanner" page. What parameters and filters do you use? How can you check for higher than normal volume compared to a 30 day average?
oonr7.
Nice educational last post.
anarco: thanks
rz: Check out Trader X's blog (traderx.blogspot.com). Lots of great information there and in the archives. Doesn't matter that it hasn't been updated in a while.
As for scanners, in IB I've been primarily using the 'Top Close to Open % Gainers' and also the losers one. Only parameters is that price is above $5 and volume above 100,000. I run this at around 9:35 in the morning which helps to highlight the big volume movers. I run my prophet scan at 9:45 and look for the criteria I mentioned in my previous comments to you.
traderam: thanks, nice trading today.
market is changing so frequently that strategies that work today won't work tomorrow.what do u think about day trading in todays situation?
prd: I think a good, well-planned strategy that allows for multiple types of entries will work in any market situation. For me, the issue comes down to the number of candidates to choose from every day. The less amount of candidates.. the less amount of trade opportunities. When the markets whipsaw up and down like it has been recently that screws everything up for me (watchlist-wise). There have been a few days over the last month where it's been slim pickings. Now, with earnings season there's plenty to choose from. But really, I think if I just looked at the Most Active stocks everyday (and ignored whether it gapped or not) I feel confident I could apply my trading plan just by looking at the support and resistance areas.
Also, even the best trading plan is worthless when a trader is indecisive. I have often passed on good setups because I tried to question what the market was doing that day or what the recent action has been like. So, on days where I either didn't make money or lost some... I probably could've made other trades (for profit) if my confidence allowed me to.
That's why I'm still striving for that 'perfect trading day'. One where I take all the setups that are presented to me and they are all profitable. I was as close as I've ever been to that this past Tuesday. My challenge, as a trader, is to make the most of my opportunities every day.
You know, I have to say that I enjoy making posts to my blog but what I enjoy the most are the comments. The comments section in most trading blogs is where you'll find some great information (for both the blogger and reader).
Post a Comment