Day Trading Stocks : Progress Thread

[bmw335isedan]

Hello everyone

I joined Fastlane forum yesterday and I have introduced myself on introduction section. However, let me briefly introduce myself again in case anyone missed it.

My name is Austin. I am 24 years old male from South Korea and live in Seoul. Currently I am trading Kospi (it’s like SP500 stocks in USA), and Kosdaq (it’s like Nasdaq in USA) stocks only in the morning just for an hour for quick speculative profits.

Just like everyone else in this section of forum, I wanted to start my own progress thread to the road of Fastlane.

As of March 22[SUP]nd[/SUP], 2013, my statement shows that I have about $19K USD. Obviously in South Korea, we use Korean WON as currency, but to make it simple I will convert it to USD.

My initial goal is to increase my balance to $100K USD by end of this year. After that I will take $50K to US Brokerage such as TradeStation to try out American stocks and leave rest of $50K to trade in Korean market.

Ultimately, I want to trade twice a day. One hour in Korean market session and an hour or two in New York session.

From now on, I will be posting results of my trade everyday after I am done trading.

My strategy for quick profit is a trend following system only targeting very liquid stocks, which I have been using for a while.


I will be very interested to hear about anyone doing similar business as I am doing. Also I am interested in Forex, Futures and automation of strategy.

So feel free to share what you know!

Any tips and comments will be very appreciated.

 

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[AlexV]

Welcome Austin,

Let's see some Koreean Stock market action around.

 

[InLikeFlint]

Welcome Austin, or should I say Anyung ah say oh! (I go to school with a few Koreans)

I am EXTREMELY fascinated by day trading, and will most definitely follow your daily updates.

Really good to see you on the forum, welcome and I hope you can reach your trading goals!

 

[KeonTheGreat]

I remember skipping the first half of classes my senior year of highschool because i would spend that time trading stocks. Made $300 in one morning and to me that was a lot of money to make just sitting on my a$$. It currently takes me a week to make $300. Do you read any books on it or are you "self taught?"

 

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[Xyros]

Welcome Austin!
Your strategy looks a lot like the strategy I had when I used to daytrade a year ago (I was a trader for 3 years).
I traded only crude oil futures and usually 2-3 trades a day, and not a single trade more.

May I ask why you chose stocks over futures?

 

[CommonCents]

Someone should write and sell an ebook on how Americans can buy Samsung and Hyundai stock.

 

[The-J]

Care to share your current experience? You don't sound like a newbie at this.

How long have you been doing this? How did you start?

We've got a lot of people who will be interested. Also, for keeping a progress thread I'll give you some speed+

 

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[bmw335isedan]

Welcome Austin,

Let's see some Koreean Stock market action around.

Yes you will! Everyday starting tomorrow morning! (Monday).. Keep in mind that South Korea moves 16 hours a head of California and 13 hours a head of New York.

Welcome Austin, or should I say Anyung ah say oh! (I go to school with a few Koreans)

I am EXTREMELY fascinated by day trading, and will most definitely follow your daily updates.

Really good to see you on the forum, welcome and I hope you can reach your trading goals!

I received your PM and you may definately ask any questions you have. I created this thread to share knowledge so ask away!

Sent a PM

I remember skipping the first half of classes my senior year of highschool because i would spend that time trading stocks. Made $300 in one morning and to me that was a lot of money to make just sitting on my a$$. It currently takes me a week to make $300. Do you read any books on it or are you "self taught?"

Jesus, I can't remember how many books I read on the subject of trading stocks. If you go to Amazon and type "day trading," I probably read most of them. Spent about $3000 in books. I also read almost all books related to trading stocks in Korean book store as well.

To make long story short, eventually you have to come up with your own idea. There is no such book that will teach you EXACTLY how you can make money in the market. Simply everyone is different. Some people are comfortable holding position over night and some people (myself) want to take their money out before the market closes. My current trading method is made by me so I guess I am a self taught, but I got ideas from reading books.

Welcome Austin!
Your strategy looks a lot like the strategy I had when I used to daytrade a year ago (I was a trader for 3 years).
I traded only crude oil futures and usually 2-3 trades a day, and not a single trade more.

May I ask why you chose stocks over futures?

I choose stocks because simply there are more choices. There are about 2000 stocks to choose from in South Korea and about 12000 stocks to choose in New York (correct me if I am wrong). I am a trend follower, so I cannot trade all the time. I always have to wait for chart to signal. There are more chances to find signals from 2000 stocks than finding signals from 20 futures (not sure how many there are accurately, but much much less than stocks). Sometimes futures do not give me any signal at all and waste all my time.

Someone should write and sell an ebook on how Americans can buy Samsung and Hyundai stock.

haha, for a day trader, those stocks are too big to trade and they have low volatitily. I think US market provides plenty of opportunity so no need to look else where.

Care to share your current experience? You don't sound like a newbie at this.

How long have you been doing this? How did you start?

We've got a lot of people who will be interested. Also, for keeping a progress thread I'll give you some speed+

Sure, I've been doing this for 3 years. First 2 years no success, but last year was pretty good. I got started because before even reading MJ's book, I realized that even with IVY League degree, it looked tough to get very rich. Trading stocks looked like the only way to get rich comfortably in my home. It is also Extremely scalable, you just need to add earnings to make more earnings doing the same thing.

 

[SeanKelly]

Wouldn't it be a bit unrealistic to turn 19k into 100k in one year when you're fairly new to trading? I'm not saying that its not impossible, just highly unlikely. If you do manage to complete that ambitious goal, why would you switch markets instead of continuing to tend to your money tree? I wish you best of luck regardless.

 

[Jonleehacker]

Can you explain how trendfollowing and just trading the first hour goes together?

Are you looking at trends on very short timeframes? If so do you base decisions off of Daily charts at all?

 

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[bmw335isedan]

Wouldn't it be a bit unrealistic to turn 19k into 100k in one year when you're fairly new to trading? I'm not saying that its not impossible, just highly unlikely. If you do manage to complete that ambitious goal, why would you switch markets instead of continuing to tend to your money tree? I wish you best of luck regardless.

Good question. Right now when I see the buying signal in stocks, I buy 90% of my equity. So for example, when samsung stock signals me then I buy about 18K of my equity for quick profit.
Since I only have 19K right now, I have no problem buying and selling at any time, but when the money get large like 100K, there might not be enough liquidy available for me to get in and get out on time. South Korean market is very small compare to American market. So it is the liquidy issue that I will be facing in the future.

Can you explain how trendfollowing and just trading the first hour goes together?

Are you looking at trends on very short timeframes? If so do you base decisions off of Daily charts at all?

South Korea market starts at 9:00 AM and ends 3:00PM so I only trade 9:00AM ~ 10:00AM. I usually target high volume liquid stock with high volatility and I use 1 minute candle bar. I glace at daily chart for possible resistance.

 

[bmw335isedan]

Just like SeanKelly said, it might be highly unlike that my 19k will grow to 100K, but no one can stop me from trying

Here's my tough agenda for making 100K USD within a year

I am expecting about 1% daily profits assuming 4 weeks (20 trading days) as a month

Everytime I trade, I will be using my entire balance, at least 90%

(1.01)^20 is about 22% so I will use 22% profit as a monthly goal

For simple math, I will round up
Starting March 25th, 2013 - 19K

April 22th - 23K

May 20th - 28K

June 17th - 35K

July 15th - 42K

August 12th - 51K

September 9th - 63K

October 7th - 76K

November 4th - 93K

December 2nd - 113K

what do you guys think?

 

[loop101]

Wouldn't it be a bit unrealistic to turn 19k into 100k in one year when you're fairly new to trading? I'm not saying that its not impossible, just highly unlikely.

Actually, it is pretty common for someone to run an account from $5k to $100k in a short amount of time. You can take risks and use leverage when you don't have much to lose. Making the next 20x increase from $100k to $2M is an entirely different story. No one trades $1M like it is $1k. After they run their account up to $100k, they get very defensive, and usually churn or give back their profits.

 

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[Xyros]

Well as a trader nothing is impossible.
I also used to be a trend follower but only on Crude Oil futures, and when I had certain targets for the week/month that I thought I would never achieve but it happend.

It's funny because I also always used to trade first 2 hours after opening, that's one of the best parts of the day.
So it seems like you kinda have the strategy I had.

 

[loop101]

I am expecting about 1% daily profits assuming 4 weeks (20 trading days) as a month

Your end result is certainly possible, but I do not think you will get a steady 1% each day. I wrote about trading in these threads:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/in...ane-100k-turned-into-105-million-4-years.html

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/investing-trading/45277-howard-bandy-trading.html

 

[bmw335isedan]

Actually, it is pretty common for someone to run an account from $5k to $100k in a short amount of time. You can take risks and use leverage when you don't have much to lose. Making the next 20x increase from $100k to $2M is an entirely different story. No one trades $1M like it is $1k. After they run their account up to $100k, they get very defensive, and usually churn or give back their profits.

Is it really from 5k to 100k? By the way, I will not be using any leverage

Well as a trader nothing is impossible.
I also used to be a trend follower but only on Crude Oil futures, and when I had certain targets for the week/month that I thought I would never achieve but it happend.

It's funny because I also always used to trade first 2 hours after opening, that's one of the best parts of the day.
So it seems like you kinda have the strategy I had.

In my opinion, first hour or two is the best in any market

Your end result is certainly possible, but I do not think you will get a steady 1% each day. I wrote about trading in these threads:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/in...ane-100k-turned-into-105-million-4-years.html

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/investing-trading/45277-howard-bandy-trading.html

kool I will check it out

 

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[loop101]

Is it really from 5k to 100k? By the way, I will not be using any leverage

If you are not using any leverage it will take longer. You will have to be much more consistent in your wins.

There are basically two trading methods, but it boils down to how are you going to take your losses. If you are using a method where you win consistently, you will be at risk of infrequent massive losses. Option sellers use this method. They make money selling options, and occasionally they lose big. EFT trading methods that claim 80% winning trades use this approach. Trend trading uses the opposite method, they take a lot of little losses, and infrequently score big when a good trend develops (like Seykota or the Turtles).

If you start with $6,500, you have to double your money 4 times to get $100k. It's like flipping a coin and getting heads four times in a row, somewhat common. If you double your money *another* 4 times, you will have $1.6M. I might bet $6,500 that I would get 4 heads in a row, but I would not bet any money that I would get it 8 times in a row. This is called Martingale trading, double-or-nothing until you attain your goal or go bust. Stock market trading forums are replete with people who went from $5k to $100k and back down to $5k.

If you are doing Forex, you could carry trade or grid trade, and you would make consistent money for a long time - until the prices went to a new place, and did not come back. That method is referred to "picking up nickles in front of a steamroller". Using that method, you are betting that a trend will *not* develop.

All trading comes down to guessing whether prices are going to remain the same, or go to a new level. You can add leverage, time, and other complexities, but the basic bet is still the same. If you can consistently be a better guesser, the rest of the stuff is academic.

Some traders use "random entries", not because they think they are better guessers, but because they think they are better traders than the average. Their whole method is about getting out of a trade at a profit. If you are doing micro-forex trades, you might want to try it, it is actually very liberating, because you don't have to worry about which way the market is going to go.

 

[loop101]

To me, the crux of the trading question is: Do you think you will be a better guesser? You don't have to be the best, just better than the people who are taking the other side of your bets. Any time there are small profits to be taken somewhat safely, the people on the other side of the trade are usually the professional traders. If you have 6 months experience, and are buying options, the person selling them to you probably has 20 years experience. On average, who do you think is the better guesser? Yet amateurs do sometimes make it big. Often they make it big because they are able to integrate new data that has not been digested by the majority of the pros, such as Mart Schwartz ("Pit Bull"). Sometimes they beat the pros because they are able to limit their trading (Nicholas Darvas). Or they might notice a repeating pattern before anyone else ("Dogs of the Dow"). Th best trader ever, Peter Lynch, claimed that he operated on the edge where uncommon knowledge became common knowledge. He regretted spending his life doing that, because it took a huge toll on his family. He basically had to become the system to efficiently operate within it.

Most of my approaches to trading are based on mining historical data. Due to governments influencing the markets much more than they use to, my approach is basically invalid now. So I am out. However, it might be a good time for traders who are not making their decisions on past statistics. It might be the best time for them.

 

[The Autobahn]

Good luck; i dont want to sound like a a**hole, but keep in mind that 90%< of day traders are going to fail.

The Top Seven Reasons Why 90% of Daytraders Fail

 

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[Jonleehacker]

i dont want to sound like a a**hole, but keep in mind that 90%< of day traders are going to fail.

As the article says, this applies to any business, so you could post this on every thread in this forum.

This forum is more about how to be the 10% that make it

 

[bmw335isedan]

If you are not using any leverage it will take longer. You will have to be much more consistent in your wins.

There are basically two trading methods, but it boils down to how are you going to take your losses. If you are using a method where you win consistently, you will be at risk of infrequent massive losses. Option sellers use this method. They make money selling options, and occasionally they lose big. EFT trading methods that claim 80% winning trades use this approach. Trend trading uses the opposite method, they take a lot of little losses, and infrequently score big when a good trend develops (like Seykota or the Turtles).

If you start with $6,500, you have to double your money 4 times to get $100k. It's like flipping a coin and getting heads four times in a row, somewhat common. If you double your money *another* 4 times, you will have $1.6M. I might bet $6,500 that I would get 4 heads in a row, but I would not bet any money that I would get it 8 times in a row. This is called Martingale trading, double-or-nothing until you attain your goal or go bust. Stock market trading forums are replete with people who went from $5k to $100k and back down to $5k.

If you are doing Forex, you could carry trade or grid trade, and you would make consistent money for a long time - until the prices went to a new place, and did not come back. That method is referred to "picking up nickles in front of a steamroller". Using that method, you are betting that a trend will *not* develop.

All trading comes down to guessing whether prices are going to remain the same, or go to a new level. You can add leverage, time, and other complexities, but the basic bet is still the same. If you can consistently be a better guesser, the rest of the stuff is academic.

Some traders use "random entries", not because they think they are better guessers, but because they think they are better traders than the average. Their whole method is about getting out of a trade at a profit. If you are doing micro-forex trades, you might want to try it, it is actually very liberating, because you don't have to worry about which way the market is going to go.

A lot of good information! thanks Loop. Let me clarify what my rules regard to stoploss. I do 2% trail stoploss regardless of any entry. This means that there is no way I can lose more than 2% per trade. For example, after buying a stock, it goes up 1% and moves down 2% then I will be stopped out with 1% loss. 2% trailing stoploss calculate 2% from the highest price since the purchase of the stock.

Good luck; i dont want to sound like a a**hole, but keep in mind that 90%< of day traders are going to fail.

The Top Seven Reasons Why 90% of Daytraders Fail

Sounds good haha, if there were no failures then I would have no opportunity to make a lot of money.

 

[bmw335isedan]

Okay first day of trading with Fastlane forum

I actually did pretty well for Monday. Usually Monday and Friday suck because on Monday, New York market hasn't started yet so less volatility and on Friday everyone is closing their position so market tends to go South.

I bought it at 2945 and sold it at 3065 = 4.07%, but after taxes and broker fees it came out to be 3.73% profit for today.

South Korea charges 0.3% taxes on the value of stocks when sold. For example, when I sell 100K worth of stocks, I get taxes of $300 regardless of making money or not.

Broker fee is 0.04, so my net profit will be Profit - 0.34%

It sounds horrible, but there's no capital gain tax. No other taxes to be worried about if you make under 5 million dollars a year.

Let me explain my screenshot, the one circled in blue is like a ticker symbol, but instead in korea, we use 6 numbers.

If you want to take a look at the chart, then go to Yahoo! Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News and type 900050. You will see the chart.

The one I marked skyblue is where i bought and sold.

I had little less than 19K about 18.8K, but now it is showing 19.4K =D

 

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[bmw335isedan]

Okay first day of trading with Fastlane forum

I actually did pretty well for Monday. Usually Monday and Friday suck because on Monday, New York market hasn't started yet so less volatility and on Friday everyone is closing their position so market tends to go South.

I bought it at 2945 and sold it at 3065 = 4.07%, but after taxes and broker fees it came out to be 3.73% profit for today.

South Korea charges 0.3% taxes on the value of stocks when sold. For example, when I sell 100K worth of stocks, I get taxes of $300 regardless of making money or not.

Broker fee is 0.04, so my net profit will be Profit - 0.34%

It sounds horrible, but there's no capital gain tax. No other taxes to be worried about if you make under 5 million dollars a year.

Let me explain my screenshot, the one circled in blue is like a ticker symbol, but instead in korea, we use 6 numbers.

If you want to take a look at the chart, then go to Yahoo! Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News and type 900050. You will see the chart.

The one I marked skyblue is where i bought and sold.

I had little less than 19K about 18.8K, but now it is showing 19.4K =D

Oh by the way, Red candle is going up and blue candle is going down. I believe in asian countries, it is opposite. Also is there a way to make attachments larger?

 

[InLikeFlint]

Wow, you did really well today!

Could you explain why you chose to buy and how you predicted the big rise? Was this considered a risk in your eyes?

Looking forward to tomorrow's update!

 

[bmw335isedan]

Wow, you did really well today!

Could you explain why you chose to buy and how you predicted the big rise? Was this considered a risk in your eyes?

Looking forward to tomorrow's update!

I am little embarass to talk about my strategy because it is way too simple. I just look for stocks that go down a little bit and move up and when it moves up I simply join until the ride is over.

Whenever I enter, I automatically get 2% risk, but as stock rises, my risk diminishes very quick. Of course, it had a risk in fact every position will have a risk.

 

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[Jonleehacker]

Oh by the way, Red candle is going up and blue candle is going down. I believe in asian countries, it is opposite. Also is there a way to make attachments larger?

That freaks me out

So this stock was up 15% on the day, how did you select it as a trade possibility? Did it have had news coming out, or earning report so you knew to be watching for your setup?

 

[bmw335isedan]

That freaks me out

So this stock was up 15% on the day, how did you select it as a trade possibility? Did it have had news coming out, or earning report so you knew to be watching for your setup?

South Korea has 15% limit rule meaning, in any given day stock can only go up to 15% and go down 15%.

I looked for 3 major things.

1. Liquidity, as you can see on chart it traded 200k volume in one minute that is about 600k worth of dollars traded in 60 seconds. That might not be big if you compare it to APPLE stock, however I am only dropping about 18K so more than enough.

2. very clear up trend with huge red bars (redbars are good! dont be confused)

3. it broke above starting price

 

[bmw335isedan]

That freaks me out

So this stock was up 15% on the day, how did you select it as a trade possibility? Did it have had news coming out, or earning report so you knew to be watching for your setup?

I forgot to answer your second part. I do not watch news, no earning reports nothing. I am not smart enough to understand reports. Also by the time I am done reading them, the action is over.

 

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[Xyros]

It's really funny to see that you have exact the same strategy as I used to have, because my strategy was also the breakout of the opening bar.
Goodjob bmw on your win .

Did you back-test this strategy for month or weeks?

 

[bmw335isedan]

It's really funny to see that you have exact the same strategy as I used to have, because my strategy was also the breakout of the opening bar.
Goodjob bmw on your win .

Did you back-test this strategy for month or weeks?

Hmm personally I do not believe in back testing. It feels like checking the past week's lottery number. Back testing only shows past volume, candles, moving averages, news, etc. It does not let you feel the overall market. Also I cannot see the Level 2. When you back test and see the buying opportunity, sometimes there's not even enough liquidity to trade but it might misled you to think that it was a good entry point. Backtesting only shows the half the picture in my opinion.

I am not sure about other people, but I do not back test.