Looking towards the 2nd Half
Now that there's 1 trading day left in June, and the fact that I really haven't been able to trade all week, I'm looking forward to the 2nd half of the year.
I've been compiling goals and altering my trading strategy to incorporate the fact that I will now be away from my trading desk more often than I will be at it.
I figure I will have the first hour to hour and a half of each trading day to make trades and observe the market in real time. The rest of my market observations and trade planning will take place in the evenings when the market is closed.
The one thing I'm currently contemplating is what to do with day trades that still look good when I have to step out each morning.
Right now I figured that the bread and butter of my day trading strategy going forward will depend on the gap base & break setup I've been using more frequently over the last few months. The reason I say that, is because these trades can setup as early as a few minutes into the trading day and often have quick exits.
Getting back to managing trades away from the desk. My only real consistent way of following the market when I'm working, will be off of my Palm Treo (soon to be replaced with the new iPhone). The huge drawback of this is that I still don't know of a way to chart in real time off of it, and pages can load very slowly.
Another option is to get some type of wireless internet connection for the laptop and have that on me at all times. That's still up for debate and has to be looked into.
Finally the last option is to remain in the trade with a trailing stop.
For now I think my best option is to close out any day trades that I may be in before I leave my desk each morning. If I do attempt any remote management of day trades, it will be thoroughly tested via paper trading first.
In general though, the majority of my trades and trading profits will now come from swing trades. Just based on current market conditions alone, I'm guessing this will be harder than day trading has been the last few months.
As far as blog postings of my trades goes: Postings will now generally be in the evenings. I will still try to post every daytrade and swing trade I make. Posts definitely will not be as prompt as they were before (I used to try and post as soon as the market closed), as I will be away from my trading desk at the market close.
Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it :)
Good luck with the change!
"Another option is to get some type of wireless internet connection for the laptop and have that on me at all times. That's still up for debate and has to be looked into." - For about $60 a month this is really not a bad idea.
Cheers
PDT said... June 30, 2008 at 4:19 PM
close 'em.
i still get gummed up when my biz gets busy. i got slammed so many times when the market was more volatile (2000-2002). i'd be driving around wondering what was happening, calling my old partner to tell me what the quotes were... not healthy, not efficeint... if you see that you are leaving too much on the table, you can carry 1/2 order with OCO order, but its a real adjustment... watch for burn-out - i did it, trade, work, set-up trades late at night; trade, work, review trades, set-up trades, over & over... there is some psychological capital in having your head in trading everyday while you are doing something else.
best of luck on the new approach.
Anonymous said... June 30, 2008 at 5:23 PM
Agree with QQQball. If you don't close the trade before you leave your desk you'll be thinking about all the time instead of focusing on your other work.
Good Luck with the new work and good trading!
TJ said... June 30, 2008 at 6:51 PM
PDT,
Thanks.
Yea, I definitely plan on looking into a wireless connection and how useful/practical it will be to carry a laptop on me all day.
Trader M.D. said... June 30, 2008 at 7:26 PM
qqqball,
Thanks.
That definitely will be my approach for now until I've thoroughly tested it out. I can only imagine how nerve wracking it must have been to be in a day trade with out a real time way to manage it.
Trader M.D. said... June 30, 2008 at 7:28 PM
Thanks Jamie.
One thing I'm going to have to constantly remind myself is that the market will always be there, especially when I close out a trade and see it run thereafter.
Trader M.D. said... June 30, 2008 at 7:30 PM
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