- I trade the IWM commission-free, but I can only trade it from the long side. The commission-free trades are huge because they allow me to focus on making good trades (with small trade sizes) without worrying about eroding my account with fees.
- Order execution is critical. I am familiarizing myself with the new trading platform. Unfortunately, there are no hot keys for placing trade orders. I have to use the point-and-click method. I need to determine the best way to place my orders. I am using limit orders. I work full-time, so I will not always be able to actively manage my position once it is initiated. I am currently evaluating multi-contingent, OCO, and OTO orders.
- I am limiting myself to one open position at a time in only IWM until I gain more experience.
- I need a way of defining if IWM is in a short-term down trend and I should take profits quickly, or if is is in a short-term up trend and I should let my profits run. I will summarize my trade performance to determine the size of my winners/losers and my expectancy.
- It is easy for me to exit trades at my stop points.
- It is difficult for me to enter trades. I find that I am missing fills on my limit orders by a few cents. Once I miss my target entry, I tend not to try and re-enter. This is especially bad if it is followed by a long trend. I need to practice entering a trade quickly and exiting quickly if it moves against me because I can't afford to miss those moves.
- My goal is to break even each day while I am learning. As my skills develop, I would like to be able to exceed the daily movement in IWM on a per share basis. Example, today I made $0.15 per share while IWM closed the day up $1.01. I would like to have exceeded $1.01 per share.
Daily Trading Summary (08/24/11):
Number of trades (round trips) = 6 (3W, 3L)
Trade Size = 1 share
Average Win (Winning %) = $0.15 (50%)
Average Loss (Losing %) = -$0.10 (50%)
Average Return = $0.025
Total Return = $0.15
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