TD 40-44: Ho Hum finally became EXCITING!

 I haven't been blogging lately as I've been trading sort of late into the day which is a very bad decision for me.  I do much better when I trade early and get done.  If I pick a stinker and have to follow it all day to see when to get out, it makes me very frustrated--even if I end up with a gain.

I'll give a summary of Days 40-43 and then share my excitement of a big win on day 44.

Day 40:  

    Traded:  OCGN, 5.2% gain and BNGO, a 9.9% gain

    Notes:  OCGN went sideways on me--I have traded it a few times, it's a covid vaccine play.  I was finally able to get out at a decent gain, but it skyrocketed right after I sold.  I don't even remember trading BNGO at all...ha!

Day 41:  

    Traded:  ALDX, 5.6% gain

    Notes:  Easy momentum trade from premarket

Day 42:  

    Traded:  METX, 5.8% gain  

    Notes:  A Good trade all around.  Found momentum and took it for a swing up in about 15 minutes.

Day 43:

    Traded:  VXRT, 5.8% gain and BTX, 8.8% loss 

    Notes:  VXRT was a great premarket trade.  It and out before 8:30am.  Got cocky and decided to do BTX which had a huge run the day before.  It went sideways and I had to watch it all day.  I finally decided to take the loss because I had to take H to voice lessons. The very moment I sold it, it went way up and I could have sold for a huge gain.  Lesson learned?  Get one good trade for the day and stop.  Don't get greedy

Day 44:

My best trading day yet!!  I started premarket and picked the one stock that had volume, was above VWAP, and had good news. It took a hot minute for that choice to become obvious.  I have learned that the sure things are most likely to be trading above VWAP.  Every now and again, you can find a stock on its way back to VWAP but waiting until it is above is more of a sure thing. By waiting, I did leave some gains on the table, but I have been burned by not making sure that the VWAP will be honored on the 5 minute candles.  I have also noticed that when there is going to be a red market day the herd will really latch on to the best premarket mover because they want their gains one way or another.

I made 2 different trades because of the issue with cash settlement.  I had to buy some on etrade and some on Ameritrade.  Because of the timing, I got to average down my cost per shares.  I felt very good that I would be able to get out at least a 5% gain based on the sentiment on my stocktwits app. People are hot and heavy on this stock, so I knew the volume would continue when the market opened.  The company is a healthcare company that has a covid self test going live on Amazon.  

Because I had 2 different trades, I set my limit at different.  With my bigger lot, I decided to get out at a lower price.  I took more of a risk with the smaller lot.  The market opened, and it was hot, hot, hot.  It halted twice!  That hasn't happened with one of my picks before.  Halts can be dangerous so I got out after the 2nd halt.  The stock is now going sideways, but I think it is still a viable trade and will rally back in the afternoon.  But, I'm glad to be out and not having to watch it all day long!

I am happy to report that I do feel like I am learning viable stock trading skills.  I'm glad to be learning in a really choppy market instead of the bull market of the past year.  I'm still learning how to exit a bad position which I believe is the most critical part of success.  Minimizing losses is key.  I get into the most trouble when I get greedy--that has been true since day one.  

Summary of Day 44:

Ticker:  PRPO

Price bought:  $6.80 and $6.35

Price sold:  $7.95 and $8.95

Gains:  16.9% and 40.9%

Total of my $100:  $448.16, a 7.9% daily average gain

TD39: Love to be a Winner

 2 good trades today.  Well, one good one and one lucky one.

Decided to jump in on 2 trending stocks, OCGN and MVIS.  I knew I had a winner with MVIS based on the chart.  OCGN was a little more iffy but fortunately had a pop.

OCGN:  6.8% gain

MVIS:  9.0% gain

Total of my $100 is $276.14, a 4.5% average daily gain.

I'll take it. I need to get back to more thoughtful blog posts.  That's my goal for next week.  I also need to watch videos on how to use Thinkorswim on TD Ameritrade.  I used my TDA account to trade this week, but I didn't use thinkorswim.  I'm still using trading view for my main analysis tools.  It's time to get more savvy.  I need more charts pulled up at the same time.  That's the key to being a pro trader...lots and lots of screens.  

TD38: Busy Day

 I made 4 trades today which is a record for me and something I don't like to do generally.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to buy VIAC and NNDM.  Both were getting a lot of hype and moving well.  It seemed like they would move higher in the morning, so I went for it.

VIAC:  I made 6.8%

NNDM:  I made 2.0%--it started going sideways in the morning, so I jumped out for a small gain

I decided to buy SKLZ as it was the biggest premarket gainer and was having some great movement.  I turned on Warrior Trading live stream (last one for the summer...boo), and he didn't like it because it had a large float.  I decided to look for an exit quickly and get out.  So, I got a 2.9% gain.

I got excited while watching Warrior Trading this morning.  He streams his entire trading day on Thursdays because he donates everything to charity.  BTX halted, and he jumped in, so I decided to as well. Bad idea!  He is a great trader, but I can't keep up with him as he can trade very quickly.  I bought after the halt and had a loss all day.  I decided to get out for a small 1.3% loss this afternoon when it moved up a bit.  Of course, as soon as I sold it, it jumped up and I would have had a huge gain.  Oh, well.  I'm glad to be out since I watched it in sadness almost all day.

Yay!  Just saw I didn't sell all of my BTX.  I had the wrong quantity.  I sold 11 at a loss for 1.3%, but I sold 7 at a 14.7% profit!

Also, found a mistake on my tracking spreadsheet.  Not sure how it happened, but it is fixed now.

My $100 is now at $239.04, a 3.7% average daily rate.

The market is very choppy these days.  I'm hoping for better trading ahead.

TD 34-37 I'm back!

 The last few weeks have been hectic and hard to trade.  

I only made a few trades while at the beach and then got distracted last week with the trip to Atlanta.

I'll just summarize today and make a better update tomorrow.

My $100 is now at $224.01

On TD 34, I traded ATNF.

TD 35:  VTVT

TD36:  YVR and FSR

TD37 (today):  OCGN

I'm at a average daily gain of 3.4%.  

I've also gone heavy into crypto and have had some wins and losses.  I finally was able to buy Safemoon yesterday, but it's down now.  So sad!

TD33: Learning how to bow out gracefully

 I made 2 trades today which I don't usually do, but I was inspired by Warrior Trading.

I decided to purchase RMO this morning.  It had good news, had a big premarket change, and looked good to me.  I bought it, and it didn't move much.  Should have accounted for volume which is the third ingredient necessary for a good premarket mover.  

Fortunately, I have finally learned when to exit a bad trade.  As soon as the price hits the VWAP, I know to get out.  Don't wait around hoping for a big reversal.  VWAP and slap it out.

So, I lost 1.7% on RMO.  I was watching Warrior Trading live stream, and he purchased another big premarket gainer, SJ.  He was explaining his criteria and the technical indicators, so I decided to jump in as well.  He's big on the first 5 minute candle to make a new high, followed by a pullback on the 1 minute candle as long as everything is above VWAP.  He calls that a bull flag breakout.  

Anyway, I bought at a decent entry and when the bull flag breakout was false, I sold before it came down to my entry.  In and out.  Basically, he sets the next target that the stock should break, and if it doesn't break, then get out immediately.  So, I made a 1.4% gain on SJ.

All in all a 0.3% loss, but so glad to see how to exit a loser at a good point before I lose my shirt.

Ticker:  RMO

Price Bought:  $9.06

Price Sold:  $8.90

Loss:  1.7%

Ticker:  SJ

Price Bought:  $14.60

Price Sold:  $14.80

Gain:  1.4%

Overall Balance of my $100:  $162.29, a 1.9% average daily gain

TD32: Good Trade in PreMarket

Made my first trade at the beach, and it was a good one.  Now, I can enjoy my day being done at 8:10 am central time.

  TICKER:  CEMI

Price Bought:  $5.25

Price Sold:  $5.70

Gain:  8.6%

Total of $100:  $162.81, a 2.0% average daily gain

This stock was good because the news catalyst was that the company got emergency use authorization for a covid test that also tests for flu.  It was the highest volume premarket with the largest gain.  I would have held on with it until the bell to try to get to $6.00, but my favorite trader started live streaming and said he thought it was "thickly traded" based on the level 2 charts that I don't have access to.  So, I decided to go ahead and get out since I was already at a very respectable gain.

TD 30 and 31: Making progress

So glad to be done trading for the week.  The market is closed tomorrow for Good Friday.  

I did a couple of decent trades yesterday, but they left me sweating a bit.  I, again, decided to do multiple trades which does not make for an easy day.  I was glad they both paid off, but as usual, I promise myself that I will stick to one trade going forward.

3/31:

Ticker:  RKDA, 3.0% gain

Ticker:  SVRA, 5.0% gain

I'm sticking with the strategy of going with the premarket gainers.  They tend to move nicely as at each half hour new traders start and see them on their scanners.  I'm getting lazy with my due diligence, though, which makes for a bit of stress when things go sideways, and I'm not sure if I should get out or stick with it.  Sometimes a big mover starts losing off if the news they were triggered on was not enough to keep the momentum.  

4/1: 

Ticker:  JAGX, 5.0% gain

I was so relieved with my trade this morning.  I looked at the top 3 premarket movers around 7am.  JAGX was the only one trading above its VWAP which is a good sign.  I had to take the kids to school, so I bought it around 7:10am. Because I couldn't watch it closely, I set a sell at a reasonable limit.  Halfway through the school dropoffs, my sell order went through.  It is so nice to be done for the day by 7:45am.  I'm so tempted to make another trade, but I'm holding back because I have other things to do today besides staring at a computer screen.

Total of my $100:  $145.71, a 1.5% average daily rate

I am hoping to get a few trades in while on vacation.  We tend to be quite lazy in the mornings, so it might be nice to sit on the deck and watch some tickers.  I also need to start educating myself on the TD Ameritrade analysis tools, so I can start using it instead of etrade.  It will be very beneficial to have a 5 minute chart and a 1 minute chart up at the same time.  My favorite trader always starts his trades when the first 5 minute candle has made a new high, and the 1 minute candle has a pullback.  

In other news, I bought my first cryptokitty.  He's super cute and completely worthless.  I thought I could breed him, but the ethereum network is completely bogged down, and it would cost $5k just to get on the network.  Grrr....I really wanted some cute kitties.