3SOF

While looking at the 20-40 stocks, I noticed AVII's gain activity.  I sold all of my positions and bought AVII at $3.45

Took a small profit of $0.05 and bought back NVAX $3.45.

Dang, this is my first "real" day of daytrading...this is work!

Dang, lost count of daytrades I made today!  I am exhausted!!!

CDE definitely prevailed today!  There was large Institutional/Money Manager selling of NVAX.

I am going to convert to cash and let my head clear from today's daytrading!  (I don't know how the daytraders do this day after day!!!) 

I will do a review this evening after work and determine the future of this MB thread, now that I am mostly daytrading.

Well, I am off to work!

= update = Dang, call me crazy, but I am buying CDE back in case it gaps open again like the last two days!

Don't pay attention to thompson FN - those "buy signals" are usually contrarian if anything.

On another note - Nvax looks terrible here. Testing descending triangle support. Probability trading strongly favors a breakdown of 3.30....back to 3.06 -  Although 3.45 is a bulish breakout buy signals.
Those are my pivot points...
Pivot Long - 3.50
Pivot Short - 3.30

For the new swing traders I would strongly encourage you to take a look at this site... http://chart.nu

Type in any stock symbol you want, once the chart comes up click on "swing signals" under the TOOLS menu... experiment with it

Hey Calven. I visited chart.nu and find it pretty interesting.
What is your experience with it so far and how you use it?

Absolutely love the site. I have found voodoo's HILO / trendline signals to be extremely accurate....

Basically the site swing formula analyzes:

1) Ratios of highs and lows of a trading day
2) Volume of these trading days
3) Relationships to trendlines and short term moving averages

If factors in these three things in a complicated formula based on GANN studies...
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/technical/04/042804.asp

If you enter a symbol.... Lets use IBM as an example. Once you enter the symbol, press enter. A chart with trendlines should appear. Next move your mouse to the TOOLS menu to the left. Click on SWING SIGNALS. Next adjust your chart settings to MEDIUM timeframe and HILOCLOSE instead of candle. Now you should have a menu above your chart of IBM. The background of that menu should be highlighted green. If its not you should adjust your monitor's brightness. The background of the menu on top of the IBM chart changes color as the the system turns bullish and bearish on stocks....

Here are some of the abbreviations on that menu:

WR7 = widest range in the past 7 days
NR7= narrowest range in 7 days
trendtest = testing a trendline on the chart
inside = both the high and low of the day were inside the previous day
++ = both high and low were above previous days high and low
^ = bearish/neutral day in an uptrend - no change in sentiment  - consolidation
turtle soup buy or sell = 1 day signals for the comming day, possible swing sentiment change
trend false break = false breakdown of the trendlines

Hope this helps you out...

Hi Calven,

Thanks for the link.  Great tool!!

I agree!  Great link calven... I will applaud you as many times as I can before I pass out tonight.    Thank you.

VooDoo rules!
Very interesting - Thanks Calven.
GLTY,

Gielda

calven, Voodoo Trader is awesome!!! = applaud =

= Notice =
After what happened today and what I have realized about stock trading along with numerous email requests, I am going to completely "restructure" the knowledge base MB thread.

I am going to "focus" the objective of this MB thread and the knowledge base thread to pursue effective stock trading (regardless whether you are day/swing/trend/long-term trader) based on definite disciplines, methods and techniques.

If the knowledge base and this "application" MB threads are to serve to introduce "newbies" to stock trading and to be "effective" traders, "critical and essential" principles MUST be covered so that "newbie" like me, start off trading on the "right" solid foundation (long before more advanced concepts and techniques are utilized).

I sent several emails out yesterday responding to new traders who HAS NOT made any money stock trading!!!  3StocksOnFire exists to provide service to all levels of traders, especially new traders.  I will make it my objective to serve this segment of the membership with this MB and the knowledge base MB threads.

We are in the "transitional" phase into bullish market trends.  To not make money, and worse yet, "lose" money in this market condition is not acceptable!  3SOF portfolio and members know how and made money during the worst "bearish" market trends of July - September, including this newbie.  As we head into "bullish" market trends of November - January, stock trading should only get easier to make "more" money.

Let's trade!

I would like to post some ideas I follow when trading...


# Trade with the trend ALWAYS (trend can be as little as 1 week or 1 year. Just identify the trend - (doesnt apply when playing the breakout IE CNTF OLGC)

# Do not try to buy "stocks at bottom" - chances are you won't (unless very experienced or the 3SOF STAFF tells you to) why not buy stocks going up? Don't be a hero...a lot of base hits are better than the occasional homerun followed by 3 strikeouts... - compounded gains

# Diversify to limit risk with large amounts of money or "non speculative money"

# Never let a sizeable profit turn into a loss - if you are up 15% or more set a trailing stop...

# Never add to a losing position - this goes along with trading the trend and diversification

# Cut losses, let profits ride - (place stops under support levels...)

# Plan your trade and trade your plan. no emotion unless you are up 500% then maybe some emotion...haha

# Know when to cut losses (STOP orders under support levels) and take profits (trading the plan)

# Be more concerned with protecting capital than increasing profits - beginners....  if you blow all your money you cant ever make it back....

Most importantly, never stop learning (this board is a great place to learn - I have learned a ton - thanks everyone) and learn from mistakes...

I like all the ideas you put up... but I don't like the 8-10% cut loss rule.  I usually put a stop-loss at a major support level or at a 20% drop.  I've made about 80% on SWIR... and I got in a little bit too early.  If I had followed the 10% rule, I would have gotten out about 4-5 weeks before the move from 7 to 12.25.  I bought in at 7.49 and averaged down at 6.89 about 2 weeks before it hit a 52 week low at 6.33.  A little more than a month later it started up and it's sitting at just under 13 now.  I've sold about half of my position.  I try to put a 16-20% "rule" in.  It's seemed to work better for me  .  But I've got an investment horizon of 40 years to make up my losses so that helps a little bit  .  Good work on the other tips though.

I definately agree, I will change the rule.... thanks (applause)

Quote from: dwest718 on November 17, 2005, 09:35:49 PM
I usually put a stop-loss at a major support level or at a 20% drop.

dwest718,

How do you define a MAJOR SUPPORT?  Is this calculated my the number of bars supporting the price leve (the more the better)?

Thanks.

It is hard for me to articluate what "Major supports" exactly are but I tend to set some guidelines or notice trends (on 3 or 6 month charts):

1) If a stock has spent several weeks at a certain price (whether bouncing off of it or sitting on top of it before moving gradually off), then I call that a support.  The longer the stock stays at that level, the stronger the support is.
2) If a stock has repetitively bounced off of a certain price and gone up after each bounce off of that price, then this is a support.  I usually qualify 3 bounces (5% or more) but sometimes I'm okay with 2 if the most recent move is accompanied with volume.  The more it touches and recovers, the stronger the support is.
3) If a stock repetitively bounces off of a resistance but then breaks that resistance, the resistance becomes a support.  The more it bounces before it breaks out, the stronger the support line.  <<< IMPORTANT: ANY "MAJOR" RESISTANCE TURNS INTO A STRONG SUPPORT ONCE BROKEN!
4) A trendline that can be drawn to show general price action for a 3 to 6 month period is usually a good indication of support (or resistance).
5) A 52 week low is a strong support level.

These 5 "rules" are not absolutes as you can see by some of the iffy language in my 5 "trends"  .  I am a mid-term trader b/c I do not have a lot of money to tie up in the markets right now so support levels can often come into play for me.  If you want an example of some of these supports in action check out the SWIR thread.

http://www.3stocksonfire.org/trading/index.php?topic=3403.0

If anyone wants to comment... go right ahead.  Like I said, sometimes I have a hard time articulating exactly what I'm trying to say so some of that might have been questionable and I just don't see it.