awhoa99

As it pertains to scalping and scalpers, what kinda profit are they looking to make?? I know that they want to keep profits small and losses smaller, but what kind of profit are they willing to take. 5 cents, 10 cents, 15 cents.....I know it depends on what the stock is doing but are they willing to take a 5 cent profit on something?? Also, do scalpers mainly use time and sales or do they use something else? Would pivot points help a scalper in anyway?

Another quick question regarding pivots, when the price does eventually cross the support or resistance line, how do you know when to enter the position, readin the tape?? Also, what type of stop loss should one use? is this done once again by simply reading the tape. Also, are these day trades usually, meaning holding for a longer portion of the day, or can this be used to scalp??

I notice that in a lot of your posts about pivots, that you use it using certain market indexes. Can you use pivots with particular stocks. What stock react best with these types of pivots. I would guess high volume ones that move a lot?? Also, I do not want to sound like a cynic, but it seems that a lot of traders are tied down and in love with their ideas, which makes it hard to decipher what information is pertinent. I can find tons of traders who love MACD and stochastics and trade simply off that, and then I can find a ton of traders who say that is garbage and that pivots and bollinger bands are the way to go. It seems that they say to take emotion out of trading, but when it comes to the type of trading one does, they in fact use their emotion and become in love with their ideas.

thank you so much, im gonna look into this more this week and ill let you know how it goes. And you just put in the numbers for intraday?? Like I use the high, low, and the close from the previous day in order to create the points for todays use?? is that right? and from there, what type of chart should i be using? 5 minutes? still a little confused?

Thanks for all the help. As far as pivots go and fib numbers. I am somewhat familiar with fib numbers, but as far as pivots go, are there any posts on them that go in depth bout them. Are you able to plot them on a chart using software or are they done by hand. I am a little confused by them. Sorry if this question sounds dumb but I am still new and learning

So what type of strategy do you suggest as I start out. Should I just be looking at the level II screens and price movements. Please help me out and give me some direction as to what I should be looking for and how I can choose a winner from a loser. I am considered a prop trader. I have full control of what I do with my capital, and I have a trainer that helps me day to day.

I pay by share, as I am trading firm capital until I am able to make some profits. As far as entry goes, I have charts pulled up. I look at 5 minute charts to see if the stock is going in a certain direction, using MA and MACD to see of any convergence. Then, if there is convergence, I switch to a 1 minute chart using MA and MACD and then I look at the level II and the tape to pick a good entry point. I trade off earnings, when there are earnings, as well as certain commodity stocks, such as gold, steel, oil, coal, oil rigs; NYSE only. I usually do 100 to 200 share lots, depending on how it looks. I feel as though sometimes I am chasing profits, which could be from my use of the MACD and stochastics. Once in a trade, I set a stop of about 10-15 cents, as if this usually gets hit, the stock doesnt retreat back. Please give any suggestions. I read articles all the time, and it is hard to decipher which articles are good and which are not, as they usually conflict with one another, such as the use of such indicators as the MACD. Today, I traded and lost 200 within the first 40 minutes which is very uncharacteristic of me. I was rather upset, and I got stopped out as if any new trader loses 200 in a day, they are stopped for the rest of the day. After this day, i wrote down a few rules to live by, which I hope help. I need to tighten up my trading and begin to have a better way of judging entry points. Please give me lots of suggestions. I have read the other posts numerous times, every bit helps. Thanks

I have been day trading since the 2nd week in July. I have lost about 1300 dollars. Would that be considered a lot, a little, or just about right for the first two months when losing. I probably make about about 30 to 40 trades a day, making that about 5000-8000 shares daily. I was wondering if that is overtrading or just right? Any help would be great. I have felt that I have kept my losses pretty tight especially since ive started in the dreadful summer.