Full Time

I'd put my overall trading today in the crap pile. But there were moments when things were good and my skills showed some development. I made $20 in my account and $611 in my friend's account.

First, I think working the two accounts at once will keep my mind on trading, prevent me from overtrading my account, and allow me to make a little extra money overall. It would've worked brilliantly today, had I not placed my first trade without looking at anything other than a small portion of a 10 minute chart. I went long right out of the open (only in my account) and didn't realize the implications for a few minutes while my other computer booted up. I took a hit right off the bat (aside: talk about word play). I didn't know how far the drop would be so I took a $300 or so loss just to keep my mind at ease. Didn't want to break my account today.

Anyway, I use the other computer to run IB's platform which gives me $TICK readings, stock quotes, etc. After that booted up I began to trade my friend's account too. This kept me much more focused on the game, although it took me quite a bit of time to work off that initial loss, mostly because I would get scared of my initial perceptions. There was a lot of second guessing that probably didn't need to happen.

By the end of the day, his account, which allows me to trade up to 6 contracts (but I maxed at 2 today) was up quite nicely. My own account may have finished up better if I had left on the short I put in at 994 for a little longer than 1.5 points. The closings make me a little nervous given I can only day trade that account, so I tend to get out as close to 3:30EST as I can.

Overall the screw up at the beginning of the day contributed to a fear throughout. Because of this I took many winning trades off too soon and cut some trades at breakeven that should've been allowed some more time.

Monday is a holiday, but I will be back for more next Tuesday through Friday.

Take care.