MikeFriesMN

This trade had a great result but I am afraid the strategy behind it was flawed. I knew GE was reporting earnings before the bell this day so I was curious to see if the stock would make a move. I hate to do anything pre or post market because the volume can be non existent however on this day GE was trading good volume in pre market. I missed recording the entry but I did bid for the position and was filled without any draw down. My idea was GE was trending higher from what was likely good news in the earnings report and I wanted to hitch a ride for a couple minutes. I had no idea how far I thought it would go or where I would get out at the top but I did have a rule set for myself to only buy 100 shares max and cut losses if it went against me by ten cents. Probably not a very high probability trade but this is how I learn. Once the order was filled and the adrenaline subsided I looked back a day or two to check for potential resistance and thought 16.70 or 16.80 would be a good place to exit. You can see me fill out the order to sell 100 @16.70 and it was filled shortly there after. I think the stock peaked about a dime higher than my exit but I am happy I was able to take the chunk that I took. Risk to reward of 1:2.5 and I received ecn credits for adding liquidity on the buy and the sell.

Brendan Egan

Hey Mike,
Glad to see you starting out a journal! I think you will find it very helpful in learning from your trades. Looking forward to following along

Take care,
Brendan

pmccandless

Hey man welcome to the site. Hope to see some good stuff.

Please tell me you're a vikings fan.

Pat

MikeFriesMN

Brendan, I agree with you. I feel a trading journal is a very important part of the learning experience. I'm not sure how often I will be able to use it because I am still tied to my day job for now. However I will be taking a day off here and there to get some seat time in and when I do I will be using camtasia to record all the action. Even if its loaded with mistakes. The last day I traded was 01-22-2010 and that day was loaded with mistakes. I will post more videos from that day as I find time to edit them. There are some painful lessons to be learned from the footage I have. Notably the importance of cutting losers/adhering to stops. In the interim I have begun reading an excellent book on the subject called Tools And Tactics For The Master Day Trader. This will be the sixteenth book I've read about trading but I need to make it clear that I am as green as they come. After all, just because I may have read ten or even twenty books about flight and airplanes does not mean I can jump in a 747 and fly spring breakers to Mexico. I have little to no experience so I am taking baby steps and have recently set a max share size in Lightspeed of 100 shares. Hopefully I can find the discipline to stick to that size.

Pat, as far as the Vikings are concerned, I am a fair weather fan only. Of course being a St. Paul native the Vikings are the only team I would root for. I grew up playing ice hockey and that remains my passion to this day.

Thanks for making me feel welcome!

Mike

Shootanappleoffmyhead

Hi Mike,

Welcome to TradingApples. I'm glad you decided to share your journal with us. The more the merrier as we can all learn from this exchange of information and insight.

Keep the journal entries coming.

Shoot

__________________
Memoirs of a Day Trader by Shoot ~~~~~~> The Pro Course

MikeFriesMN

Thanks for the welcome Shoot. I appreciate it. Constructive criticism is welcome.

pmccandless

Well I'm bored so here u go...

MikeFriesMN

pmccandless

hey mike i think u need to set the video to "public" so we can all watch them. it's set to private right now.

MikeFriesMN

Here is a list of the trading books I have read thus far...

The Market Makers Edge
Trading For A Living
Market Wizards
Day Trade Online
Getting Started In Options
Technical Analysis Demystified
The Electronic Day Trader
How To Get Started In Electronic Day Trading
How I Made $2 Million In The Stock Market
Mastering Fundamental Analysis
The Master Swing Trader
Profiting In Bull And Bear Markets
Direct Access Execution
Mastering Direct Access Fundamentals
Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes
Day Trading The Currency Market