Reminders, for myself, in no particular order. Some of the lines are mine, many are gleaned from others.
If it's a BB... ARE THEIR FILINGS CURRENT!! if not, think twice, then 3x and be aware, of E date, and possible delisting date.
If it's already pink, what is the status of their filing? ALWAYS check the charts, check the news, and I especially check the number of posts, and who has posted, on SI. If there has been a lot of hype, and it's already run up, best to wait, never chase.
Don't chase them up. Get in, when it drops back, simply because, THEY ALWAYS DROP BACK, they HAVE to, it is just part of the mechanics of the market maker system, and of course, the inevitable profit taking, and if you aren't taking profits relentlessly, then what the hell are you doing here? Opens, and the first 20 min to an hour, are for selling, not buying, unless you can buy lower or at the previous close.
Market order?? It just ain't in my vocabulary.
If you have not read books on how the MM system works, I suggest that you do so, ASAP.
If you haven't already, learn some T/A especially Williams%R, stochastics, MACD and maybe volume+. Go to clearstation.com to the education section.
For volume+ and Williams% use Big Charts. bigcharts.com and learn to set up the interactive charts.
Control greed, learn discipline, set reasonable targets, and stick to them. Ya right, if it breaks xxx it's gone, sure Jim, sure...
ALWAYS reduce risk/reward at the first opportunity. That may mean selling 1/3 or 1/2 a long way from the top, but I'd rather protect my investment, and live to play again, than just slowly let the original pile erode.
A profitable trade, is a good trade.
Get out, when you CAN, not when you HAVE to. Sell into strength. When everyone else is buying, you want to be selling a few, and when they are dumping, and you like it longer term, buy their shares on the way down.
Stocks move in the path of least resistance. If it is hard to buy, it is going higher, if it's hard to sell, oooops, it's going down, or maybe you are already stuck in it.
When you have what you want, take it and run, and don't look back. Don't wait, for the market to take it back.
NEVER let a winner, turn into a loser. But we all do, why? Think about it, one answer, always....GREED!
NOBODY wins all the time. Learn to take your losses, EARLY, and keep them small, don't let them grow, until it's too late.
A big gap up, in the morning, is a gift, ACCEPT ALL GIFTS. It's worth repeating sell into strength.
MM's biggest trick - making stocks look their best, before they make them move, in the opposite direction.
Over time, there is only one thing that always works, and that is, dance with what the market likes and make sure you are dancing close to the door.
Volume precedes price.
As long as there is volume, and volatility, $$ can be made, bear or bull.
Timing - all stocks go up eventually, but all stocks also go down, eventually.
YOU CAN'T FALL FAR, FROM A BASEMENT WINDOW, LOOK FOR BOTTOMS This is my favorite.....and so true.
Good luck, and if you're going to play with BB's or Nasdaq's, GET A LEVEL II |