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Strategies & Market Trends : Momentum Daytrading - Tricks of the Trade -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E. Davies who wrote (1986)	6/8/1999 10:49:00 PM
From: William W. Dwyer, Jr.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2120

Eric, Whenever you find it easy to buy a stock at the bid price, you gotta wonder why. Who would sell to you at the bid if the stock is going up? This assumes you're trying to go long a stock you believe is headed up. The only time being able to buy at the bid is a good thing is on the very rare occasion that you have perfect timing instincts and you manage to hit a downtrending stock at the exact instant right before it bottoms and starts to reverse. You buy from the last person willing to sell, then the stock heads north. Not gonna happen very often. Frankly, the best trades occur when the stock bounces off resistance and is just beginning a move up. But you'll be buying at the ask. If you've picked the right stock at the right time, you'll be quite happy (and lucky) to even get it then. Ever notice on a true momentum stock that there are usually trades going off "above" the ask? Those are the traders who really want in. It a situation such as that, it's very unlikely you'll get filled at the bid. In fact, spending any time trying to buy at the bid will often cause you to miss out on the trade altogether, or the delay will cause you to buy at the top and wished you had missed out. My opinion, of course. Bill

To: E. Davies who wrote (1986)	6/9/1999 7:50:00 PM
From: Ken Wolff	Respond to of 2120

Hi Eric, This is always a concern when entering any trade on a guess it is bottoming. I do get shaken out of trades on such action depending on the market and how consistent it is. For example the best markets are those in which the strong stocks pullback from the open a consistent percentage then climb most of the day. Recently the market is very volatile and the strong stocks are not consistent and can make several false bottoms before the "real" climb. When the market behaves like that the only way to keep from getting shaken out of good trades is to watch for an indicator stock that gives you a peek into the action 30 seconds to 1 minute ahead of the rest of the pack. I try to spot the strongest and fastest stock and allow it to lead my lagging trades. Doing this over the years has kept my trading at a high percentage and keeps me from being shaken out of trades. Ken

To: E. Davies who wrote (1986)	7/17/1999 7:45:00 AM
From: H-Man	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2120

I know this is a bit late, but I have to side with the folks that say buy on the ask. I agree with W.W. Dwyer, on his points. I would add the following. When you buy at ask, you are saying to the market, I think it is going up. You are creating the situation where the buyer is more agressive than the seller. When you buy at the bid, the seller is still more aggressive than the buyer, telling the market, this stock has not stopped pulling back. You can try to buy on bid when the stock is going up, but chances of a fill are reduced significantly. An ARCA order of 1000 shares can turn the stock, if the trade has been timed correctly,, ie strong stock, a sufficient pull back,, and a pause in the selling. It is ideal to use exactly the reverse method when going short. Taking out the bid says seller is agressive. If you are getting shaken out of a trade too often, I would guess that you probably need to evaluate your timing and your overall evaluation of the market.