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Strategies & Market Trends : DAYTRADING Fundamentals -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Magnatizer who wrote (4395)	9/24/1999 12:16:00 AM
From: Dave O.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18137

David, Regarding the aspects you mentioned (time frame, commitment, market); another one, that basically has driven my whole approach is financial objective. In this regard I want to make "x" dollars per day, kind of like I made "x" per day in my past corporate life. I also strongly prefer consistency in meeting my objectives on a day to day and week to week basis. Another facet or constraint I work around is capital risked per trade. I am not willing to buy 1000 shares of an expensive stock and put too much of my trading account at risk. I rarely risk more than 10% of my capital in any single trade. Thus, there is a correlation between my profit objective per trade and the capital risked. My goal is at least 1.5% net after commissions. For me, my trades last from a couple hours to a couple days. Trading less, and being much more selective in taking positions has increased my batting average higher than I thought possible. As long as we have volatility I can find plenty of short/long candidates using TA. And I put in whatever hours I need to reach my goals. If I have a good day, hit my target by noon I may watch the market the rest of the day but not pursue any more trades. Or I may go enjoy the rest of the day. Not sure if this is the type of input you're looking for. Dave

To: Magnatizer who wrote (4395)	9/24/1999 6:24:00 AM
From: Ken Adams	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18137

David, I'm not a day trader in the purist sense. I trade almost daily, but my preferred vehicle are options on the OEX. I've found that the simpler I can keep my rules, the better my results. The more volatile the market, the better my chances for success. I exited a put position a few minutes before the close yesterday for 63% after commissions. I entered that position the morning before, so the hold was 2 days. That's about typical. I let the market tell me what I should be doing. I watch for about 20-40 minutes before I decide to trade, or not. I rarely have more than one position open at a time. That may change, as I've added the QQQ to my watch list. Lastly, I stay small. Needless to say, options can be a fast swinging two edged sword. I chose the OEX because of liquidity. Without that, I think option trading is a sure way to go broke. Lastly (version 2), I trade with an online broker. So, when I'm on the verge of entering (or exiting), I set up the trade in a separate browser. In another browser, I watch the OEX real time with 5 minute candles. When I feel right about it, all I need to do is hit "send" and the order goes in. I enter with limit orders, exit with market orders. When it's time to go, I want out! Hope this is somewhat close to what you are looking for. Ken