ssi, that is exactly what happened to me in 2000. I was trading on margin and did not sell it while it was dropping. Datek at the time sold my shares that where bought with $7k of my own money after they sold it off twice I had only $77 left.
I'm ready to get back in after learning not too trade on margin and cutting my losses quicker.
A friend that I know is a professional trader and gave me a little advice. His advice was don't trade if you don't know what you are doing... Was hoping to get some better advice than that.
its a lot like handicapping...... in many ways.....
go read an online book "Phantom of the Pits", im sure you can google it and find it...... written by Art Simpson...
also "Turtle Trading" by Richard Dennis......
many other things to tell you........ for one, stop daytrading on margin, in fact stop daytrading altogether........ call it short-term trading, could last one day, one week, one month..... try and get into Long positions in strong uptrending markets on pullbacks and inversely, try and Go Short in downtrending markets on the bounces..... this is done by recognizing the overall trend and entering on support and resistance points...... the charts can help you with all that......
sorry but no magic pill to take.......
go read an online book "Phantom of the Pits", im sure you can google it and find it...... written by Art Simpson...
also "Turtle Trading" by Richard Dennis......
many other things to tell you........ for one, stop daytrading on margin, in fact stop daytrading altogether........ call it short-term trading, could last one day, one week, one month..... try and get into Long positions in strong uptrending markets on pullbacks and inversely, try and Go Short in downtrending markets on the bounces..... this is done by recognizing the overall trend and entering on support and resistance points...... the charts can help you with all that......
sorry but no magic pill to take.......
start small, build your bankroll... much the same advice as in sports wagering.........
are you trading stocks or commodities or both........
you can paper trade until your blue in the face and it wont do much good... id suggest just starting out trading on a small basis........ and then build up......
its a very tough business, you just think sports wagering is tough.....
be careful trading on margin....... do not do that until you have experience.. also dont sell any options for quite a while...... you can buy or sell covered calls or puts but do not sell options naked, until you know what your doing....... you can lose more than you have if you do that...
are you trading stocks or commodities or both........
you can paper trade until your blue in the face and it wont do much good... id suggest just starting out trading on a small basis........ and then build up......
its a very tough business, you just think sports wagering is tough.....
be careful trading on margin....... do not do that until you have experience.. also dont sell any options for quite a while...... you can buy or sell covered calls or puts but do not sell options naked, until you know what your doing....... you can lose more than you have if you do that...
DONT GET EMOTIONAL!!!!
Can't stress that point enough, just because a stock made you 75% in a week does not mean it can't drop 75% and wipe out all your gains and then some. Don't fall in love with any stock and don't hate any stock; be calculating, cold, and set buy/sell points in advance but be flexible as well. Sometimes you fuck up and call a stock wrong, it happens. Cut your losses and move on. Sometimes a stock drops 30% and you still think you're right, hold onto it and buy more. You have to have balls or you won't last 6 months. Realize that your initial analysis may be incorrect, reassess and take it from there. It may sound easy but it is incredibly difficult to see your stock lose 30% and be able to buy more of it, or see it jump 30% and sell it. If you get scared, you're fucked. If you think you can't be wrong, you're fucked. If you get greedy, you're fucked.
I never used chart analysis but I'm sure it can only help. I always thought that chart analysis in and of itself was useless and is only useful simply because so many other people use it.
It's not easy but it is doable, get to work. I wish you well.
Can't stress that point enough, just because a stock made you 75% in a week does not mean it can't drop 75% and wipe out all your gains and then some. Don't fall in love with any stock and don't hate any stock; be calculating, cold, and set buy/sell points in advance but be flexible as well. Sometimes you fuck up and call a stock wrong, it happens. Cut your losses and move on. Sometimes a stock drops 30% and you still think you're right, hold onto it and buy more. You have to have balls or you won't last 6 months. Realize that your initial analysis may be incorrect, reassess and take it from there. It may sound easy but it is incredibly difficult to see your stock lose 30% and be able to buy more of it, or see it jump 30% and sell it. If you get scared, you're fucked. If you think you can't be wrong, you're fucked. If you get greedy, you're fucked.
I never used chart analysis but I'm sure it can only help. I always thought that chart analysis in and of itself was useless and is only useful simply because so many other people use it.
It's not easy but it is doable, get to work. I wish you well.
Definitely agree
Perccocetthreat, we share the same opinions about trading.
You have to be a machine. You have to be cold enough to treat each trade as if it means nothing to you, other then the next step to the other thousands of trades you will be placing as soon as you are done with that one. The problem with a lot of traders, is their emotions get involved. That is the BIGGEST problem. There are some very, very, good traders out there, who can make money....problem is, they can only deal with seeing green. They can't deal with seeing red. At all. And that's where they fail.
Green and red come hand and hand when trading. Just keep your heart cold, and program your head to know that the green will come more than the red....that is if you are a good trader. And, you can't get greedy, or scared. If you just made 30-45% profit, let it go and move on to the next trade! Yeah, sometimes you'll hit the big 100%+, but, it's not consistent. You know?
And, bottom line, NEVER trade margin! Just build your money up normally, and steadily, and you'll have the money to trade what you would have "risked" of money that wasn't yours, soon enough.
All and all, a good trader, is someone, that knows, you don't need to fall in love with every really good trade, ...someone that realizes the power of leverage (trading options), and someone that realizes that tons of 5-15% gains, with very low risk, is much better than 1-2 50-100% gains, with very high risk.
Wish you the best my man.
Perccocetthreat, we share the same opinions about trading.
You have to be a machine. You have to be cold enough to treat each trade as if it means nothing to you, other then the next step to the other thousands of trades you will be placing as soon as you are done with that one. The problem with a lot of traders, is their emotions get involved. That is the BIGGEST problem. There are some very, very, good traders out there, who can make money....problem is, they can only deal with seeing green. They can't deal with seeing red. At all. And that's where they fail.
Green and red come hand and hand when trading. Just keep your heart cold, and program your head to know that the green will come more than the red....that is if you are a good trader. And, you can't get greedy, or scared. If you just made 30-45% profit, let it go and move on to the next trade! Yeah, sometimes you'll hit the big 100%+, but, it's not consistent. You know?
And, bottom line, NEVER trade margin! Just build your money up normally, and steadily, and you'll have the money to trade what you would have "risked" of money that wasn't yours, soon enough.
All and all, a good trader, is someone, that knows, you don't need to fall in love with every really good trade, ...someone that realizes the power of leverage (trading options), and someone that realizes that tons of 5-15% gains, with very low risk, is much better than 1-2 50-100% gains, with very high risk.
Wish you the best my man.
Sure 
No problem.
But, my man, unless you have high risk tolerance, I would avoid swing trading. But, if you have the heart for it, you can make up to 100% of your capital month after month swing trading....that is, if you swing trade options. But, if you're going to swing trade options....the best way to go about it is "retracement"....do some research on the subject, and you'll see how powerful it is.
Here's a tip....when trading options, trade low cost stocks, between $15-$50. Also, ...say for instance, if you feel stock 'X', which is now $17 a share, will go up $2-$3, then you would buy the $20 strike call, because it will be cheaper, and will give you better leverage than the $15, or the $10 call. You know?
A $1 a share option, can go up to $1.4 a share, with just a $1.5 upward move in the stock. $1-$1.4 a share is 40% profit! Which can happen in one day.
But, be aware of the premiums, and the risk that comes with trading options. Don't run scared, if your position starts out red, ...and even gets a little redder before going green...that's the nature of trading options.
No problem.
But, my man, unless you have high risk tolerance, I would avoid swing trading. But, if you have the heart for it, you can make up to 100% of your capital month after month swing trading....that is, if you swing trade options. But, if you're going to swing trade options....the best way to go about it is "retracement"....do some research on the subject, and you'll see how powerful it is.
Here's a tip....when trading options, trade low cost stocks, between $15-$50. Also, ...say for instance, if you feel stock 'X', which is now $17 a share, will go up $2-$3, then you would buy the $20 strike call, because it will be cheaper, and will give you better leverage than the $15, or the $10 call. You know?
A $1 a share option, can go up to $1.4 a share, with just a $1.5 upward move in the stock. $1-$1.4 a share is 40% profit! Which can happen in one day.
But, be aware of the premiums, and the risk that comes with trading options. Don't run scared, if your position starts out red, ...and even gets a little redder before going green...that's the nature of trading options.
Trading didn't work out that well for me either; I did okay but I feel that fundamental investing is not only easier to do but it is more profitable. All the things myself and the others have said may sound easy to do but it is really difficult to develop that discipline. However, we all have that "get rich quick" instinct that sometimes cannot be subdued until we give it a shot. Just tread lightly.
Good post Hitman.
Good post Hitman.
Control of emotions for sure. Now when I buy a stock, I hold it unless something very bad happens to change the way a company is going to make money. That way I'm not scared out of what I feel are quality stocks on the whims of the market or world events.
