We all start from the same place. I've done this for 20 years.

So this is for you….and the others as well.

How did you gain your edge in trading? Was it a handful of books you read where you gained some knowledge? Did you have a mentor? A course in school? Something else?

A lot of this stuff is not intuitive. There's def technical indicators but also having a hunch has some value.

So where did you all pick up these skills? Did OA spur a lot of you on? Where did he learn to trade so well?

I'm impressed daily by you guys and afraid to follow on some of the trades you call out, not because I doubt any of you, but that I don't see the set up you're seeing or something. Often times, I can't follow close enough to buy and sell so quickly either, so I stay On sidelines.

Would appreciate further insight.

BaylorSpineGuy said:

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So this is for you….and the others as well.

How did you gain your edge in trading? Was it a handful of books you read where you gained some knowledge? Did you have a mentor? A course in school? Something else?

A lot of this stuff is not intuitive. There's def technical indicators but also having a hunch has some value.

So where did you all pick up these skills? Did OA spur a lot of you on? Where did he learn to trade so well?

I'm impressed daily by you guys and afraid to follow on some of the trades you call out, not because I doubt any of you, but that I don't see the set up you're seeing or something. Often times, I can't follow close enough to buy and sell so quickly either, so I stay On sidelines.

Would appreciate further insight.

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I learned the hard way. Losing lots. Nothing replaces screen time.

#1 thing: don't make stupid trades. Go with the flow.

#2: position size correctly

#3; I'm either right or right out.

Thriller said:

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Another quick question.

Assuming a 50K account, not tied to retirement at all, how much do you keep in cash reserve waiting to take a new position?

I'm learning, and following the advice laid out by 30K above. I just didn't know if I should hold half back, 1/4, etc? I'm willing to be moderate/medium risk and if a portion of the account goes to "real-life tuition", that's a good investment as well.

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I'm trading a 50K, now 56K account live for you all. I don't think I've used more than half of it at any point in time.

You can read 1,000 books, but that is just knowledge. Nothing can replace screen time, which for you is difficult. I did a year long mentorship to learn to day trade. But for most, you need time in the seat, understand price action, and not being biased on direction.

Trading is not intuitive, it goes against most everything you have learned growing up. We are taught to not want to be wrong, which in trading will kill you, makes you hold losers hoping not to be wrong. The name of the game in trading is risk management, be wrong quickly and cut the trade, let it go when right.

$30,000 Millionaire said:

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McInnis 03 said:

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$30,000 Millionaire said:

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I'm going to buy 100 shares of ZIM in the 50K account. We are going to sell an ITM covered call on Monday.

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Does dividend risk come into play here?

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Yes it does. I am going to sell an April or May 50C at close. If we get exercised early, so be it.

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This almost seems like a guaranteed $1700.

Lets say you buy 100 shares at $85 ($8500) on Monday (3/21). You could then sell a 4/14 CC for $34 (4/8 looks to be going for ~$34 too). As long as the price is above $34 on the expiration date, you don't lose a dime (85-34-17). Anything above $50 at expiration and it's a 18.8% increase in 4wks ($8500 --> $10,100 since you'd be giving your shares away at a $84 price tag (buy at $85, sell a $50 CC for $34 + $17/share dividend).

Am I missing something?

BaylorSpineGuy said:

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So this is for you….and the others as well.

How did you gain your edge in trading? Was it a handful of books you read where you gained some knowledge? Did you have a mentor? A course in school? Something else?

A lot of this stuff is not intuitive. There's def technical indicators but also having a hunch has some value.

So where did you all pick up these skills? Did OA spur a lot of you on? Where did he learn to trade so well?

I'm impressed daily by you guys and afraid to follow on some of the trades you call out, not because I doubt any of you, but that I don't see the set up you're seeing or something. Often times, I can't follow close enough to buy and sell so quickly either, so I stay On sidelines.

Would appreciate further insight.

---

Hey Doc.....just my personal take and journey. A little long but hopefully some perspective. Nothing revolutionary but I have learned applies to about anything in life. My faith, my marriage, raising children, business and yes...trading/investing.

Most of my career life (I'm 54 now) has been in start-ups, M&A and greenfield. Very entrepreneurial pathway with an exit strategy with each deal. Mrs. FJ has been through the early feast or famine approach bless her heart. Early on I thought I had all the answers but quickly learned through a few losses, waking up stressed and frustration that I didn't. Until I learned to apply lessons learned, each one was bumpy until it wasn't. As time went on they became smoother, better executed, less stressful and more lucrative. Now with less hair and more gray, I have as you say a 'hunch' that isn't random but based on experience, OJT and lessons learned from mistakes...and successes. Now nothing is random but disciplined...if this then that. That only came from seat time in an Executive chair navigating teams, circumstances, opportunities and consequences of decisions.

A few years ago I exited a deal after the sale of another company. I thought I would just hang up my spurs and finally immerse myself into mastering trading. I typically don't invest in the markets but trade the markets. I've had money in and out of the markets for decades but not because I knew what I was doing. Real estate and private companies is where my investing has been. So, I did that (immersed myself in TA trading) and spent several years immersed no less than 12-14 hours a day (4am- often 6pm+) reading, observing, following, weeding out to a limited few I 'learn from' and applying. Along the way I found what works for me and was a combination of things I've learned from reading, other traders and my own applications. Now I have my personal system.

A can't pass up opportunity presented itself late last year. Now I am in another M&A deal with defined exit . I love helping people and building things. It is my passion I guess you could say. Will this be my last and return to full time trading? Only God knows.....

Most on this board I would guess are motivated, to different degrees, to learn trading, building wealth and managing their own money or they wouldn't even be on this forum.

• Seat time. Nothing replaces it.
• Most want to trade like a professional, but don't or can't devote what it takes to be one. Just like being a Doctor.
• Determine how active you can or can't be. This helps determine what type of trading is realistic. Weeklies probably aren't your thing although they sound like a lot of fun (FOMO). Longs, swings, selling premium, some monthlies and leaps are my guess.
• Stay surrounded with those you respect their knowledge and trading prowess.
• Don't fall into buying blindly from some Twitter furu.
• Never stop learning or refining.
• Define what is your style and what you enjoy.
• Start small until you prove it out. If your 'system' doesn't work with $100 it won't with $1M.
• Apply, with hyper discipline.
• Don't give up.

I have no doubt you will succeed at this. None whatsoever. You didn't become a Doctor by random chance but by hard work and discipline.

$30,000 Millionaire said:

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We will be taking a gamble. What I'm hoping is we can go far enough out that the calls won't be exercised.

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30k gambling....now we're talking.

Really appreciate and like these thoughts. Am still trying to feel out exactly what my style will be and how to trade accordingly.

But these sorts of posts provide good boundaries/guidelines that are supportive of many different trading styles.

BaylorSpineGuy said:

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Really appreciate and like these thoughts. Am still trying to feel out exactly what my style will be and how to trade accordingly.

But these sorts of posts provide good boundaries/guidelines that are supportive of many different trading styles.

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Anytime.

Just guessing but you may have to phone app trade for the most part given your schedule. At the moment I only make 15-20 trades a week all from a phone app. In the facility I am mostly in I cannot access my trading accounts via a PC. It wasn't uncommon a few months ago for me to make 50+ trades a day (not all were day trades). At present my schedule doesn't allow for that, although I miss it...a LOT.

I use evenings and o'dark thirty early morning to do my homework on set-ups. Then set alerts, buys or sells.

This past week I made a number of trades premarket while on a treadmill. It can be done.

Fidelity app sucks. Use TOS or trading view.

Too often we over complicate things from a TA basis. While I look at a wide range of indicators on any given day (ATR, RSI, MACD, Fibonacci, etc., etc.) a few are just meat and potatoes for me....the rest just confirm or add seasoning.

A guy can successfully trade or manage with just a few key indicators.

• Volume
• Support & Resistance Levels (SRs)
• 8EMA (green) - 21EMA (yellow)

• Want to add one more....add the 50EMA (blue)

Can't stand just 3....add the 200EMA (red) and call it day.

HD while may look ok....not quite the same as LOW.

Volume - Check
Gap Fill - Check
EMA cross and over 8&21 - Check
Death cross intact - Check

I'd be watching the 50 & 200 before I would enter this one. Could be turning or in play just not until confirms 347.50ish. Just me.

BaylorSpineGuy said:

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So this is for you….and the others as well.

How did you gain your edge in trading? Was it a handful of books you read where you gained some knowledge? Did you have a mentor? A course in school? Something else?

A lot of this stuff is not intuitive. There's def technical indicators but also having a hunch has some value.

So where did you all pick up these skills? Did OA spur a lot of you on? Where did he learn to trade so well?

I'm impressed daily by you guys and afraid to follow on some of the trades you call out, not because I doubt any of you, but that I don't see the set up you're seeing or something. Often times, I can't follow close enough to buy and sell so quickly either, so I stay On sidelines.

Would appreciate further insight.

---

I don't know how you found us Doc but you're a valued member of our clubhouse and thank you for slumming with us on TexAgs.

If this runs on, sorry, it's not intended to be a lecture. This is just my opinion and what helped me become a successful trader/investor in almost 3 decades of being in the market. Everyone has to forge their own path and find what makes sense to them and builds their confidence and wealth because there is no silver bullet to the market.



For me, pain has improved my discipline and returns more than anything. You have made, and will make, mistakes but it's important to be able to analyze and learn from them so you can avoid them in the future. DON'T ALLOW A MISTAKE TO TURN INTO A FAILURE! If you don't learn something from it, then arrogance is clouding your judgement and you will make the same mistakes over and over again. Failure is also giving up because more of your trades go bad and you haven't turned 10K into 500K like ALL the Twitter badasses, because you know they're being completely honest. Hell, McInnis almost gave up at the beginning and had to be talked back from the ledge. Now look what we did, he's become a good trader and his confidence has grown to the point someone poured water on him and now we have 4 McInnis gremlins.

In the early years of trading I blew my account up at least 7 times, but I learned from everyone of those. I'm not saying anyone should blowup their accounts to learn but no one in here should give up. I also take on a lot of risk and utilize margin, which I tell everyone to avoid until they are very seasoned because it's a punishing evil ******* when you're wrong.

Second most for me is familiarity/screen time. That doesn't mean do 3 surgeries, come home, eat and disappear from the fam for 3 hours because you'll just hurt the most important people in your life. It also doesn't mean trading everyday. Pick 20-25 of your favorite stocks and just briefly look at their chart for that day. Most will look normal, those don't require opening another tab. However, the ones that had a significant move up or down, then go to the news on the stock that corresponds to that time of their chart and find out why. This daily routine will soon become second nature and take about 20 mins. You will learn something everyday even if you don't realize it.

I'm not a "day trader" but more of a swing/momentum trader. I look for stocks with solid fundamentals and potential that shouldn't be that low, like TTD last May. I have a core holding in it for Mom, Michael and accounts I manage, because I still believe the future is so bright. I also didn't fret when it made a death cross, nor when NVDA almost did, because they both are solid and are down due to the correction. Death Crosses made by stocks with more questions than prospects is blood in the water for shorts and that's how I play those.

I can't stand drive by posts during corrections when someone comes in and emphatically states "traders always lose and buy and hold is the only way". That's just them posting confirmation bias and couldn't be more wrong. In hindsight, I should have done for Mom, etc what I do in my own trading account and sold TTD at $110 in November and bought twice as many shares back in at $55. I'm still pissed at myself for not doing that. Almost every stock that people rode up but didn't sell is now at the same price, or lower, than when they first bought it. My preferred way of trading allows me use the profits to buy even more shares when they fall out of favor. I'm positioning in a handful right now, which I've posted on this thread, because if no WW3 I think they should easily return 50-100% by Christmas.

Books and videos are good but nothing is better than success and pain. No one's preferred trading style is the WAY. Everyone needs to see different trading styles, which is another reason this thread is the best on TexAgs, and find one that clicks with them and makes them successful.

Hope that helps

Nice advice, thanks for commenting. I don't remember how I find this website. I think someone from the Baylor website mentioned it that they had found it helpful at some point. I now spend more time here than I do on SicEm365…..an unforgivable sin if you ask them haha.