April 20th

After a morning of community volunteer work, I hit the markets around 1:30pm. My first trade was at 1:48 and it was a rocky start. I had losers in 7 of the first 9 trades. The good part is that the losses were mostly small as I was trying to carry forward from last Thursdays effort to "get out quickly" if I felt uneasy about the trade; only three of the nine losses were greater thatn 10 cents per share and only one exceeded 20 cents. After getting a feel for the markets, I hit a stride and went 21 for 27, a 78% win rate on the remaining trades of the day. I had a quick trigger finger on the exit button and perhaps too quick to pull that trigger. But, I was determined to keep ALL losses under 40 cents per share. All but three were under 20 cents per share. I hope to improve on that but I feel that to do so would send my trade count soaring.

I took double positions in two of the trades and both were good set-ups and the add-on to the original position was better or very close to the original buy price. No averaging way down for this guy anymore. If Scott at Fear & Greed calls it foolish for day-traders to average a loser, I'll take his word for it! I was scared out unnecessarily from some great moves. Still, I like the new idea of setting these mental stops and making quick exits. Commissions will go up, but losses will be mitigated. I simply (ha) have to manage my winners better by having faith in their continuation. Average loss = 12.5 cents per share, average win = 15 cents per share.

21 for 36 winning trades, a 58% win rate. Gain of $1.26 per share.

April 17th - No Trades

What a strange day this was. I was watching the market early but didn't see anything which I wanted to jump into. I had a service person show up at my house and spent time with him. Afterward, a billing dispute with a day-job customer took two hours of my day; research and phone time. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate my day-job? Anyway, I came back to the computer, placed a trade, and nothing happened... I got the blue box on the IB order line which states the trade is held and awaiting confirmation. This continued and after four tries, I called customer service. It appears that the Simulated Trading platform is "down" and will likely not be up until tomorrow. So, no trades today. I'm watching the mkts and drawing lines on the charts for my trades but it just isn't as satisfying.

April 16th

Well, I covered my paper-trade position from yesterday's close with a gain of $1.14 per share. Missed up to an additional $7.00 per share by not sticking with the trade. (the trade was a 4x position, four buy-ins)

Glad to take the winner though, after two days of losses.

A day- job appointment at noon forces me to quit on the markets early today. If I can get back to my desk before closing, I will. But for now, the trading day is over.

Addendum: I was able to trade the last hour and twenty mintues of the day. I added 58.5 cents per share to my earler gains after a 9 for 13 success rate in the afternoon session. I really tried to focus on the momentum and on selling at the least sign of a trade moving against me... trying to use mental stops. This really worked...mostly, it gave me confidence to stay in slightly longer (I felt like I had "insurance.") I kept repeating to myself, "it only costs $5 to click sell" all the time I was in a trade.

12 for 17 winners, 71% success rate. Gain of $1.72 per share.