Twodaystocks' account talk

[twodaystocks]

Boehner speaking at 1115?? Im guessing he is going to talk for 5-10 minutes while at the same time saying nothing.

 

[Birchtree]

At least he's not wasting money flying to nowhere to try and make useless points.

 

[twodaystocks]

SPXU in my sights and my finger on the trigger. Waiting on boehner to determine should I squeeze or not.

 

[twodaystocks]

At least he's not wasting money flying to nowhere to try and make useless points.

I see your point, I just feel like they should spend more time negotiating and less time making speeches to tv cameras. I don't see the point in standing in front of the U.S media and saying "no progress, they wont do this, they wont do that." If I were to tell my coworkers and supervisors everytime I didn't get anything done, I am fairly certain I would hear them tell me to get back to work and let them know when I AM done.

 

[twodaystocks]

Long SPXU @ 38.30. It is just now above its 5 day moving average, but I jumped in a little early. I hope, for my account, it stays above the 38.52 level. I am cheering for the SPX, but Ill take a short term gain on SPXU short term, hopefully not more than a couple of days. My tsp needs the boost from the SPX.

Current holdings, non-TSP: Long SPXU, GILD, JVA, DRV.

 

[sniper]

I see your point, I just feel like they should spend more time negotiating and less time making speeches to tv cameras. I don't see the point in standing in front of the U.S media and saying "no progress, they wont do this, they wont do that." If I were to tell my coworkers and supervisors everytime I didn't get anything done, I am fairly certain I would hear them tell me to get back to work and let them know when I AM done.

I hear you man, i wish they wouldn't go up and speak in front of the nation unless they have a deal worked out. I'm not interested in how it's going unless work is actually being made to get a deal done, which it sounds like it isn't. Both parties are unwilling to budge and that's not good business, there's gotta be some degree of sausage making for stuff to get done.

Went short on the S&P as well (SPXS @ 17.07), buy stop got triggered this am

 

[twodaystocks]

there's gotta be some degree of sausage making for stuff to get done.

Sausage making?? I have never heard that one. lol, sounds like a weird pay-per-view. Nice trade on SPXS, those quick one and a half and two percent trades make a big difference over time.

 

[sniper]

Sausage making?? I have never heard that one. lol, sounds like a weird pay-per-view. Nice trade on SPXS, those quick one and a half and two percent trades make a big difference over time.

my co-worker uses that term a lot when he talks politics, generally when it comes to dealing with congress, one party can't get everything they wants. compromise = a little bit of this and that = sausage haha.

thanks haha, yeah i've made a good return this year from playing stocks/etf's, and mostly attributed to taking 1-5% gains here and there. My strategy is mostly centered around collecting these small wins, and hitting high % singles instead of going for the homerun every time haha.

 

[twodaystocks]

my co-worker uses that term a lot when he talks politics, generally when it comes to dealing with congress, one party can't get everything they wants. compromise = a little bit of this and that = sausage haha.

thanks haha, yeah i've made a good return this year from playing stocks/etf's, and mostly attributed to taking 1-5% gains here and there. My strategy is mostly centered around collecting these small wins, and hitting high % singles instead of going for the homerun every time haha.

You cant hit a homerun everytime. Nobody ever has and nobody ever will. Trading ETF's is so much easier than searching individual stocks. The small gains are the ones that add up when compounded over time. 5k turns into over 14k in a year with only 2% gain every week. Not an impossible thing to do if you stay on top of your trades. You can figure what the 14k will turn into after a year averaging only the same 2% gains.

 

[twodaystocks]

Speaking of not hitting a homerun everytime, I got stopped out of JVA -.10/share loss and GILD +.05/share gain. Ill get back in soon, hopefully before they have a large bounce. Both have the ability and history of large quick gains.

 

[twodaystocks]

Long ZSL (short silver) today. Gapped up, then tested its 20ma before going higher. Trailing stop @ 2%
Long TZA (short small caps). 2% trailing stop.

 

[not_too_shabby]

Do you have a margin account?

 

[twodaystocks]

Do you have a margin account?

Yes I do. I like the freedom of being able to buy a different stock or etf without having to wait up to 3 days for the funds to be available again. If you use a margin account, be sure to read over the portion regarding the day-trader rule and margin calls. Margin is a great and valuable tool, just be careful.

 

[Khotso]

You cant hit a homerun everytime. Nobody ever has and nobody ever will. Trading ETF's is so much easier than searching individual stocks. The small gains are the ones that add up when compounded over time. 5k turns into over 14k in a year with only 2% gain every week. Not an impossible thing to do if you stay on top of your trades. You can figure what the 14k will turn into after a year averaging only the same 2% gains.

Isn't that the problem? Staying on top of your trades? How does one do that and work too? Assuming you aren't retired of course. I can't pay serious attention to external stuff like the markets at work, and when I get home, I'm often too tired and busy with family things. Or maybe it's just that I don't make trading and markets my priority. Any observations you can share Twodays...?

 

[Sensei]

Isn't that the problem? Staying on top of your trades? How does one do that and work too? Assuming you aren't retired of course. I can't pay serious attention to external stuff like the markets at work, and when I get home, I'm often too tired and busy with family things. Or maybe it's just that I don't make trading and markets my priority. Any observations you can share Twodays...?

The quandry of the working stiff. I live it well.

 

[PessOptimist]

Isn't that the problem? Staying on top of your trades? How does one do that and work too? Assuming you aren't retired of course. I can't pay serious attention to external stuff like the markets at work, and when I get home, I'm often too tired and busy with family things. Or maybe it's just that I don't make trading and markets my priority. Any observations you can share Twodays...?

Khotso, I can so relate to that. Maybe in a more passive/agressive way. I find time to get interested, move things, and then find no time to follow up. If I had left things alone back in January I would probably be up about 7% now. Instead I moved some out, planning to move back in and never did. Now I may get 3% for the year. It is a long term thing, not a yearly contest. I keep telling myself that.

PO

 

[sniper]

Isn't that the problem? Staying on top of your trades? How does one do that and work too? Assuming you aren't retired of course. I can't pay serious attention to external stuff like the markets at work, and when I get home, I'm often too tired and busy with family things. Or maybe it's just that I don't make trading and markets my priority. Any observations you can share Twodays...?

Use a system that works for you, as well as your time constraints. I usually only make trades at the last 5-10 minutes of the day which prevents me from goofing off during work. Though most of my trades are punched in after hours, in the form of buy stops, telling my brokerage to purchase x number of shares the next day if the price reaches a target I'm looking for. All this can really be done outside of work time.

Swing trading is totally doable if you're a fulltime worker, and in my experience, I do better the less I'm monitoring the market. I buy when I get a signal, and set stop losses so I don't need to look at what the market is doing while I'm at work. Depending on what the market does, I'll raise my stops and eventually get stopped out for a profit if it goes my way.

Day trading is another story. impossible to do that unless it's your fulltime job

 

[twodaystocks]

Use a system that works for you, as well as your time constraints. I usually only make trades at the last 5-10 minutes of the day which prevents me from goofing off during work. Though most of my trades are punched in after hours, in the form of buy stops, telling my brokerage to purchase x number of shares the next day if the price reaches a target I'm looking for. All this can really be done outside of work time.

Swing trading is totally doable if you're a fulltime worker, and in my experience, I do better the less I'm monitoring the market. I buy when I get a signal, and set stop losses so I don't need to look at what the market is doing while I'm at work. Depending on what the market does, I'll raise my stops and eventually get stopped out for a profit if it goes my way.

Day trading is another story. impossible to do that unless it's your fulltime job

Khotso,
I absolutely agree with all of the comments on this topic. I used to try to not have stops because I was afraid I would get stopped out before a big move higher. The only thing I got was a trade that I quickly found myself way upside down on. I love using trailiing stops of about 1.5-3% depending on how volatile the stock, and how much risk tolerance you have. With the trailing stop, you know your gains are going to be there and you won't lose more than you are comfortable with. The small 1.5-2% gains seem miniscule at first, but after time, they do add up. Also, to avoid getting slammed with brokerage fees, look around for a broker that offers a bonus for a new account. I know TD Ameritrade offers 60 days or up to $600 in incentives when you open a new account. Zecco/Tradeking offers trades for only $4.95/trade as opposed to TDAmeritrade which is $9.99. I have used both and have had ZERO issues with either one. I wish you the best of luck in all your trades and if you ever have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. This site is a great tool with lots of good traders who are ready to help if someone needs it.

 

[twodaystocks]

DRV still working nicely for me. Up another .5% today and hitting new HOD's. Still have my stop 1% behind. Also still holding SPXU, ZSL, and went long TTC today because it had a huge day Wednesday, then I think the markets pulled it down yesterday. Today's low matched the low from yesterday and its high is pushing into the 5 day ma. I think I can get some more out of this one.

Too bad the C fund isnt looking so strong.

 

[MrJohnRoss]

DRV still working nicely for me. Up another .5% today and hitting new HOD's. Still have my stop 1% behind. Also still holding SPXU, ZSL, and went long TTC today because it had a huge day Wednesday, then I think the markets pulled it down yesterday. Today's low matched the low from yesterday and its high is pushing into the 5 day ma. I think I can get some more out of this one.

Too bad the C fund isnt looking so strong.

View attachment 21481

Funny that you're holding the 3X Bear Real Estate ETF, while I hold onto homebuilder KBH.