I know there's at least one resident Wolf of Wall Street on the site, but for the rest of you who 'dabble', I'm looking for some first-hand experiences.
The last time I bought some stocks was probably 15 years ago. I didn't do any research, dumped a couple grand in on some names I knew and watched it disappear. Now my interest has been piqued again due to a combination CV-19 and boredom. At first I considered crypto, but after trying to research myself, and after asking a half-dozen people about it, the consensus basically came back to it being some sort of voodoo that no one really understood.
Now after more research, I'm looking to 'dabble' with a daytrading account.
Because TBH, it seems easy as hell on paper, and also in full disclosure, I have ONLY been trading on paper and haven't put any hard cash on the line yet. But so far, I'm averaging almost $500/day out of an account that I would have funded with $4k. My account has grown to over $10k in less than 3 weeks. I've pretty much made my mind up, but would still like to hear from some of you that might have some 1st hand experience before I piss away my $$$$.
How many of you do this type of trading? What kind of results have you had? What kind of learning curve did you go through?
When I retired in 2001 I was very interested in becoming an active trader. I was never a day trader. I bought a few books, studied, and did many dry runs on paper. I feel like I'm a savvy market trader and know many rules, dos, don'ts, and watchouts. I have found LUCK, or in my experience, bad luck, trumps all. I did well with several big companies like Pfizer, Duke, etc., but on a whole my overall experience is not good. I would buy index funds, a few bonds, and sector funds. If you can stomach losing, go for it. Believe little of what you hear from Jim Cramer and the talking heads on CNBC. Believe absolutely nothing from Suzy Ormond and her ilk. Most of these people make all their money giving advice to people who will surely lose. Sounds like you've done well on paper. How you do in the real market may be different.
I know multiple people to tried to day trade, didn't last long. If you are just an average Joe without a real clue stick to index funds or buying and holding companies that have staying power. Every time I try to say trade I lose ;D
Now is a good time to get into the market though. Still a lot of uncertainty with COVID but if you want some risk that could pay off buy in on that uncertainty.
Just a quick note of inspiration to prospective day traders:
"The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient." - Warren Buffett
Quote from: Snaketoz on August 03, 2020, 02:41:08 PM
Most of these people make all their money giving advice to people who will surely lose.
The name that I've paid the most attention to is a guy named Ross Cameron. And I agree 1,000% with your statement - his Warrior Trading platform runs about $5k for the classes. I've stuck with the free intro and YT research, but his philosophy seems sound: Set reasonable goals, limit losses and know when to walk away.
Quote from: acme54321 on August 03, 2020, 07:58:59 PM
I know multiple people to tried to day trade, didn't last long.
I spent the first couple weeks just learning how to read the trends and time everything, and if I had jumped in with real $$$ on the outset, I'd already be out everything I was willing to put in. But I didn't.
I've been trading on a simulator that uses real-time NYSE data, Level 2 access and allows the use of hot-keys. I'm basically using a scalping method, where you find the trends, buy a stake and then sell it after it moves up a bit. Like I said earlier, the biggest key seems to be knowing when to cut your losses.
Like I said earlier though, I've pretty much made up my mind what I'm going to do, I posted here hoping to hear from someone that might have had some similar results as to what I'm expecting or vice versa. No one I know personally has even tried.
Example from today:
Time Sym Side Avg Exe Prc Price Qty Exe Qty
8:55:30 DTSS B 5.68 5.72 1000 1000 1000 $(5,680.00)
8:58:11 DTSS S 5.87 5.87 500 500 500 $2,935.00
8:58:17 DTSS B 5.79 5.81 1000 1000 1500 $(5,790.00)
8:58:45 DTSS S 6.05 6.05 750 750 750 $4,537.50
9:00:50 DTSS S 6.13 6.13 750 750 0 $4,597.50 $600.00
9:01:02 DTSS B 6.46 6.48 2000 2000 2000 $(12,920.00)
9:02:12 DTSS B 6.26 6.28 500 500 2500 $(3,130.00)
9:03:15 DTSS S 6.74 6.74 2500 2500 0 $16,850.00 $800.00
9:04:20 DTSS B 7.6 7.62 1000 1000 1000 $(7,600.00)
9:04:35 DTSS S 7.74 7.74 1000 1000 0 $7,740.00 $140.00
Commissions $22.50
$1,540.00 $- $1,540.00 $1,517.50
Between 8:55 and 9:04, I had profited over $1,500 and then walked away for the day.
This is getting to be typical and is why I've moved on from considering it, to already in the process of making it happen. I'm just waiting on approval from the broker to open the account.
SMM I sent you a couple of PM's, please check them out!
Quote from: sanmarcomatt on August 04, 2020, 09:32:18 AM
The current trading environment is a joke. A lovely one,I will admit. Even My dog is posting shots of how much money he is making on his Robinhood app.
Is it not always this volatile? Because every day that I check my scanner, there's always 4-5 stocks that are going nuts every morning and every afternoon - millions of shares of volume before 9am.
And using this scalping strategy, I only need one. And you're right, there are rough days. The hardest part for me so far is forcing myself to take the hit early and move on rather than doubling down and expecting it to reverse as well as shutting it down when I hit my goal.
These lessons continue to reinforce themselves because had I stayed in DTSS the other day, I would have lost money, and then days like this where I kept chasing:
Time Sym Side Avg Exe Prc Price Exe Qty
11:30:25 IBIO B 6.94 6.96 300 300 300 $(2,082.00)
11:36:26 IBIO B 6.85 6.87 200 200 500 $(1,370.00)
11:38:22 IBIO S 6.61 6.61 S-STP 500 500 0 $3,305.00 $(147.00)
11:46:43 IBIO B 6.59 6.61 300 300 300 $(1,977.00)
11:57:13 IBIO B 6.43 6.45 300 300 600 $(1,929.00)
12:11:26 IBIO S 6.73 6.73 300 300 300 $2,019.00
12:34:43 IBIO S 6.86 6.86 150 150 150 $1,029.00
12:35:12 IBIO B 6.93 6.95 500 500 650 $(3,465.00)
12:35:56 IBIO S 7.04 7.04 325 325 325 $2,288.00
12:47:30 IBIO B 6.88 6.9 200 200 525 $(1,376.00)
12:48:12 IBIO B 6.74 6.76 100 100 625 $(674.00)
12:49:10 IBIO B 6.7 6.72 200 200 825 $(1,340.00)
13:49:37 IBIO S 6.18 6.18 S-STP 825 825 0 $5,098.50 $(326.50)
Commissions $26.00
$- $(473.50) $(473.50) $(499.50)