jay,
i may not be the best person to ask. in fact, i know that i am not. :) all i can do is share a couple of insights. but, again, i am not the one to be handing out advice.
i trade almost exclusively off volume. i want a stock that is trading a minimum of a few million shares a day. i use level2 to attempt to predict movement and direction. i see the bid strengthening, i want to get in long. i see the ask building, i know there is too much inventory, and the price will likely drop. but these are just indicators, because as you and i both know, things are not always as they appear! :)
i would add further that trading strictly off volume is enhanced if one watches and becomes familiar with the range a stock is trading in that day. sometimes i'm making money going both ways inside of a 1/2 or 3/4 point range.
and that is another point that should almost go without mentioning... going both ways in trades. imo, a daytrader who does not short is the equivalent of a one-armed man in battle, for want of a better metaphor.
and i believe that new traders who go to a trading room on mirc, like #daytraders, and blindly follow certain "gurus", are headed for financial ruin. even if the "guru" has no hidden agenda, even if he or she is on the up and up and is trying to help everyone earn profits, i just think that it takes away from your own development as an independent, knowledgeable trader. but if that guru is out to take advantage of you, well, let's just say he usually gets his way. distractions alone in a place like that are enough to cause cerebral whiplash.
the very best advice that i see being passed along is to be disciplined, particularly about cutting losses. keep them very minimal. i also close out every position before the bell each day. just my way of doing things. i am not by any means saying that anyone who position trades is wrong to do so. i am saying that i have not had success at it, and i prefer not to be held hostage by a stock that opens the next day lower and i continue to hold it and hope it goes back up.
hey, back to trading, huh? :)
good luck,
mark |
