The Truth About Day Trading Stocks: A Cautionary Tale About Hard Challenges and What It Takes To Succeed

CHAPTER 20

The Perfect Trading Day

 

 

 

Here’s a list of the factors behind the perfect trading day, from the time you wake up until the evening.

• Your broker is pay-per-share.

• Your premarket prep has been thorough.

• All day you’ve been strategically consistent.

• At day’s end you’ve closed all positions.

• You’re not holding overnight.

• You’re thoroughly prepared for tomorrow.

• ... And of course, you’ve made a good profit!

My goal in this chapter is to vividly illustrate the optimum day trading experience. To facilitate this, here’s an in-depth description of an ideal day from my life.

EARLY MORNING ACTIVITIES

First I should mention that occasionally, I kick back and take a day off. It’s never an impulsive decision; I’ve known since the day before. The reason is either the market conditions, or I’ve planned on a very late night.

Today I’m not taking off.

Depending on whether I’ll be trading from home or going to my group-trading floor, I roll out of bed at either 5 A.M. or 7 A.M. (If I’ll be heading out for the floor, which is located way down by Wall Street, I have to be up before dawn. The entrance to the subway is about three city-blocks away, and once I get down in that packed, massive cavern, finding a train with room to cram into can take up even more time.)

It doesn’t matter what the clock says when I first open my eyes: I want a sweet rush of caffeine. Whether swarming humanity is where I’ll end up, or just to my home-based quiet trading desk, the first thing I do, every ...