Marshall,
Thanks for the note, it was indeed a most amazing day in the markets. This was strictly hardball-city, us vs. the big boys.
WRT your post, please allow me to direct your attention to my first three rules of daytrading (from a prior post):
#1: Don't lose money!
Rules #2 and #3: are the same rule.
Seriously, if you're switching to full time, here's the best advice I can give you. Go read my "Equity Curve" technique (archived on this thread), build yourself one either with a pencil and paper, or in Excel, and stare at it, focus on it, every single day. I still do that everyday, and I can testify that this is the single most powerful technique in my arsenal to insure you don't violate rules #1, 2, and 3. Because you're staring at a chart of your Trading performance (gain/loss in equity marked-to-market including carryovers), updated every day. The feedback is sent both to your conscious logical mind, and very powerfully to your subconscious thinking, which will go to work to improve your trading performance. It works, trust me on that. The best athletes all use this kind of stuff, it is not hocus-pocus. Good trading is a lot like high-intensity sports competition.
If you don't damage your trading equity, you can stay in the game... but your post sounds a little scary. Being in the market real-time is like flying an F-18, you'd must become very decisive, more than anything else! I'm sure others can add to this starting point recommendation. The deer-in-headlights syndrome is well known to us all, and effects almost every trader at times (excuse me while I move my antlers :)
Good trading, -Steve |
