Introduce Yourself Here - Don't Be Shy!!

[StServatius 10]

Hi there!

 

I’m a new new newbie to this site and to trading. I found this site from a book called “Day Trading for Dummies”, I’m sure that probably gives the experienced traders on here the giggles but I figured that was as good a place as any to start. I have already learned a great deal more about the markets and trading from that book and from the few moments I have spent reading this wonderful forum than I knew before, though I am not sure that is saying too much, as I didn't know anything about it to begin with but I digress...

 

I am a big believer in forums and use them for educational purposes for just about everything under the sun…best restaurants in the area, how to decorate a wedding cake, how to fix the computer when software won’t load right (stupid vista), and now I have found a treasure trove for day trading. Thank you for creating such a valuable resource!

 

Now as I said previously I am a newbie to the enth degree, before I picked up that book I didn’t know the difference between options and stocks, when people talked about the market I got this sort of glazed over lost look on my face while smiling politely and nodding my head, and when cnbc was on the tv at the gym I’d give the screen that head turned to one side confused dog look.

 

Now I when I go to the gym I actually put my monitor on cnbc instead of Ellen and actually understand (slightly) what they are taking about…well “understand” may be a bit of an overstatement but it’s starting to make some semblance of sense.

 

So here I am and I am ready to learn how to make my money work for me. I hold no delusions that I am going to “get rich quick”, however realizing a modest profit to supplement our income would be delightful.

 

So where do I start? I have a very slight amount of start up capital ($500 max) and would love to hear what all you think would be the best place for someone like me to get started.

 

Thanks in advance!

[HighStakes 10]

Hello everyone!

 

I`m a young man from Norway that was stupid enough to delve into the world of trading a few years back instead of going to school

 

Hopefully, I will not regret that decision in the end

 

I think I will enjoy my stay at these boards. My impression is that there is a tremendous amount of valuable knowledge here, while keeping noise levels and negativity low.

 

Since the pursuit of trading is a lonely one, it is nice to have some like-minded individuals to share and discuss with.

 

Best regards,

 

John

[chaotic1 10]

Good luck friend. Since it sounds like you have been doing this a few years now, how have you been doing and what type of trader are you (ie stock, options, futures, fx, short/longterm, etc)?

 

I just like to hear about what makes other people tick and what kind of trading they do.

[HighStakes 10]

Thank you, chaotic!

 

I started swing trading stocks on OBX along with my daytime job in late 2007. During the first two quarters of 2008 I was very successful and I more than tripled my account. I did not know much then, but I had a very simple method and I always used a stop loss.

 

As happens sooner or later, one highly leveraged trade went badly against me and I could not pull the trigger and get out when I should have. I held on for a few days and then sold close to the bottom. I then went into revenge trading since I obviously wanted to get my money back. Buying at tops and selling at bottoms again. Hope and fear were my two dominant emotions at the time.

 

Very textbook actually.

 

I lost probably close to 70% of my account before I withdrew all my money.

 

With what I had left, I naively quit my job by summer to start studying the markets full-time and hopefully go live by the end of the year.

 

Of course, I had no clue what I had gotten myself into, so my plans changed quickly. I did study full-time for 6 months or so before I got back to full-time work though.

 

Since then, I have been studying books and the markets whenever I have the time. Looking back, I would have done things very differently and I would not have read as much as I`ve done.

 

I`ve read probably over 80 books and there is so much garbage out there. I feel that I have a pretty good overview now of what works and what suits me though, but I could have saved myself a lot of time and money not wading through all that stuff.

 

My trading plan and all my preparatory work is almost complete, so I will start exclusively demotrading by the end of May.

 

Hopefully, I can go live by September with a small account.

 

I am not quite sure how I will break into trading yet, but I think my best option would be to trade part-time in the evenings.

 

Oh, and yes. I will most likely be daytrading CME futures. Equity indexes, currencies, crude oil or bonds. I have not decided yet, but will know more as I start demo trading.

 

Best regards,

 

John

[chaotic1 10]

Good luck going live. Sounds like you have a plan to meet your goal, I hope you stick with it and find your dream. :thumbs up:

 

I hope to be able to go live daytrading in a few years myself. Although I would rather take a furlough for a few months each year when everything slows to a snails pace and they don't really need me around. It would be a great break. I don't think I have the focus to daytrade full time year round. I have found trading in the late winter early spring to be the most profitable. Trading this time of year has generally been bad and sometimes I give back the winter earnings. :doh:

[besavycom 10]

I have been self employed most of my life and got the notion around 14 or 15 years ago that trading futures would make me rich!

 

I bought a dish for the super high tech 486 and I was in business! It got kind of interesting as I quit smoking about the same time as well. Kristal still laughs when she thinks about the pens I chewed up watching the screen! (practiced with real money)

 

Took a break, got into penny stocks for a while. Lots of leverage.

Had a pretty good run then saw the ugly side. Reverse splits and manipulation.

 

Got back into the futures. (es-emini) No manipulation there!! Wrote hundreds of indicators for tradestation and gave up lot's of weekends.

 

Don't watch the indicators as much as before now and focus more on price action. Like everyone else, always on the lookout for wave 3!!

 

I keep an eye the outside and inside bars in a trend. Seems picking bottoms will make you go broke! Funny how divergence can help in chop and kick your butt in a trend!

 

Anyway, I do my best to diversify my online income (and help others) to make up for the choppy days!

 

All the best,

Ben Alexander

[HighStakes 10]

Thanks, chaotic!

 

You have made some very interesting observations about your own performance. Knowing when not to trade and being disciplined enough to follow it, is definitely an edge.

 

Good luck to you as well!

[OptionsMike 10]

Hello to all. I've been a trader of stocks options and futures for over 25 years. By far my favorite way to trade is to use conservative techniques to sell options. I like entering into cash-secured puts, covered calls and credit spreads. I like the built-in edge that options selling provides: they waste away with the passage of time. I have built an informational website on safe-option trading and I invite everyone to visit it at http://www.safe-options-trading-income.com I look forward to my involvement on this board. Good trading to all!

 

Options Mike

[MC 10]

Hola. I'm new to options...considering selling puts here because VIX is jacking premiums up there. Wondering if anybody has feedback for me?

 

Any thoughts on using the VIX and high premiums to sell puts fellas? I'm looking at the SPY July $105's netting $5 per share premium. I see congruent fib support at $102 which could hold, or maybe even roll down the contracts if need be worst case. This will be in my IRA so it's a long term account...and even if forced to buy I could knock $5 off my cost basis right off the bat.

 

 

Also VIX is at a level where it may retrace a bit. HRMMM.

 

[OptionsMike 10]

Hello MC,

I agree with you. When the VIX is high it is a good time to sell puts with their elevated premiums. I describe this in more detail at Options Volatility Trading. My special caveat on this would be how will you exit the position if the market really goes strongly against you. In other words, have a pre-defined exit position and stick to it so you don't suffer a huge loss.

[TheDude 10]

Hi guys, I haven't traded options in years, but here's my advise: if you're learning, probably best to start in Eurodollar or another STIR contract with low vol. Try the second month - probably Dec10 now as I think they are currently rolling over.

 

I say this because you can get badly burnt with options even when you think you have it nailed. Eurodollars are low vol so will help you understand the greeks, and how they behave under different conditions without risking too much (touch wood). If you do get in the hole, learn how to change your position by adding more strikes - turning a straddle into a fly etc rather than just puking the position.

 

Selling premium by the way is like pinching pennies in front of a steam roller.Your upside is limited, your down side isnt. Not exactly letting your profits run and cutting your losses is it? One day you're gunna get squished. Thats for sure. When it happens, your text book pricing model will be squished with you as pricing moves from a steady theoretical model to one of no model and 100% emotion as everyone pukes and gets what ever they can for it.

 

Like I said, many many years since I traded options, and I can only just remember what vega is! Others may have better, more up to date advise for you.

 

Good luck

[OptionsMike 10]

Dude,

You bring up some real concerns. I believe everyone should have a well-defned plan before going into the options-trading world. Several ideas with which to mitigate some of the risks you bring up: Sell far out-of-the-money options; the win rate is higher and the pennies (or dimes and dollars) in front of the steamroller can add up. Second, always have an exit plan. Get out at a pre-defined loss, well before the option goes in the money. Third, under some circumstances, sell cash-secured puts where you don't mind being put the stock because its part of your plan.

 

Good trading to all!

[MC 10]

Dude,

You bring up some real concerns. I believe everyone should have a well-defned plan before going into the options-trading world. Several ideas with which to mitigate some of the risks you bring up: Sell far out-of-the-money options; the win rate is higher and the pennies (or dimes and dollars) in front of the steamroller can add up. Second, always have an exit plan. Get out at a pre-defined loss, well before the option goes in the money. Third, under some circumstances, sell cash-secured puts where you don't mind being put the stock because its part of your plan.

 

Good trading to all!

 

Thanks for the link...really good info and well organized on the site.

It confirmed that I have a fairly good grasp on option basics and with a little more paper trading I should be ready to go live in my IRA.

 

It goes without saying I think, that a stop/exit plan is set before putting on a trade and executed when triggered, no questions asked. Having been in the market for going on 4 years I understand the basics and mechanics of a trading plan. Fully embracing the risk took awhile to accept, but I'm there now.

 

I'm getting better but my main issues are timing of entry and choosing an expiration date. I would also like a better understanding on greeks but math isn't my strong suit, to say the least. I may stick to a few key greeks since thusfar I've only confused the issue trying to learn how they all work together. LOL

 

Thanks again.

[OptionsMike 10]

Hey MC,

Thanks for the kind words. Happy Trading!

[SIUYA 11]

MC - as a suggestion if you are struggling with the greeks, is to largely ignore all of them except for the delta. (Later you might wish to expand the knowledge)

Most of the greeks are bandied around by people to confuse with jargon, when in actual fact they are largely only relevant for people trading books with multiple positions in them. The greeks then allow them to amalgamate their risks across the books into one set of numbers - the Greeks.

If you are only trading one or two positions then focus on your exposure - the delta. Especially if you are going to go short options. Just remember - when shorting a naked option - the most you will make from it is on the day you sell it.

 

I would imagine the rest of the greeks will be largely irrelevant to you.

[MC 10]

MC - as a suggestion if you are struggling with the greeks, is to largely ignore all of them except for the delta. (Later you might wish to expand the knowledge)

Most of the greeks are bandied around by people to confuse with jargon, when in actual fact they are largely only relevant for people trading books with multiple positions in them. The greeks then allow them to amalgamate their risks across the books into one set of numbers - the Greeks.

If you are only trading one or two positions then focus on your exposure - the delta. Especially if you are going to go short options. Just remember - when shorting a naked option - the most you will make from it is on the day you sell it.

 

I would imagine the rest of the greeks will be largely irrelevant to you.

 

Hey MC,

Thanks for the kind words. Happy Trading!

 

Thanks fellas. I'm all cash and holding out for my expansion of knowledge in options. I was considering buying the pullback as mentioned but I didn't like the VIX spike. Probably going to be a big mistake...just like my buying DDM at the March lows and being shook out a day or 2 before the rally began. 8( LOL

[JonathanJohnson 10]

My name is Jonathan and I am from Austin, TX. I currently attend UT Austin (still working on getting into the business school) and I am very enthusiastic about learning all i can about the finance world...so that's why I am here.

[Tiobingo 10]

Hi Jonathon. Do you trade at all?

[JonathanJohnson 10]

Yes I do trade. Right now I trade primarily off of a earnings reported kind of strategy. So when i think a company is going to beat earnings (or the opposite) I'll generally invest into that company. I'll also look at some technicals.

[Tiobingo 10]

How is it going for you? Are you finding success trading/investing in such a way? I trade mostly futures these days based on patterns that I've found to be pretty dependable. It seems we are both on the exact opposite extreme ends of the spectrum. I'm in and out very quickly, taking several trades per day. It sounds to me like you are investing and holding for extended periods of time. Takes all kinds I guess. Welcome to TL.

[JonathanJohnson 10]

I just started using this method in April,and as you know, this earnings season was pretty good. I tend to hold on to the stock for a couple days. I find that after the initial surprise in reported earnings the price tends to fall back towards what it was before the earnings. It just depends case-to-case.

[WorldTrader 10]

Jonathan,

I was looking at using Options for the earnings plays. It worked out well a few months ago, but I got burned on a Goog option. Oh well, so I am back to trading my system on stocks. Do you use Options at all or just buy the stocks?

[JonathanJohnson 10]

No I haven't used options yet. In fact one of the reasons I joined this site was to learn more about options. I hear it can decrease the risk in one's portfolio though.

[MadMarketScientist 11]

Jonathan - as the others have said, welcome to TL and we look forward to your contributions, and I'm sure you'll learn quite a lot from this excellent trading community. We have some great knowledge out there....

[WorldTrader 10]

Jonathan,

I guess in a way it can decrease the risk. It is certainly a fixed risk. So, you can only lose what you pay for the option. If you trade a Futures contract or a spot currency or a stock. You can have a limited risk with the use of a stop, but then you can have slipage or if you are holding while the market is closed..you don't know where it will open back up with a large gap and you can have a greater loss.

 

I think the beauty of options is that you can trade large priced stocks with much less money or contol more shares with less money. This way you can have a higher percentage return due to investing a small amount of funds.

 

So instead of buying 1000 shares of AAPL for 266K, you can buy 10 options for 18K and if the price goes up $10 you will make 10K on the 266K or 10K on the 18K.

 

The problem is if AAPL goes down you will lose some or all of the 18K. You will lose some of your value on the 266K shares, but you still have the shares and you can hold them till they comeback or sell at a loss.

 

Anyway, I am sure there is an option thread or you can start one. There are smarter options folks out there. I just gave you the simple overview.