So you are performing online trading and trade stocks and/or options and call yourself a day trader. Do you know the requirements of day trading? In our user’s group, many times this question comes up and what happens if I accidentally (or on purpose) violate one of these rules? There are several variations of actions that can occur that may trigger day trading and I will try to answer most of them. As each situation is different, I will list the most common.

What Is Day Trading?

In this article we are only discussing day trading as it pertains to stocks and options. Commodities and Forex do not have the same day trading rules. I do not know about other trading disciplines.

If you buy and sell a stock or option on the same day, that is day trading. For instance, if you buy 1000 shares of stock ABC (fictitious symbol) at 9:30 am and sell the 1000 shares of stock at 12:15 pm, you have just entered into a day trade.

What Is a Pattern Day Trader?

A pattern day trader is defined in Exchange Rule 431 (Margin Requirement) as any customer who executes 4 or more same day trades within any 5 successive business days and your day trading activities are greater than 6 percent of your total trading activity for that same 5 day period (from FINRA web site).

What Are The Rules Of Day Trading?

1. Account over $25k. — To trade and not encounter any problems the equity in your trading account must be maintained over $25,000.

2. Buying/Selling same day — For accounts under $25k, if you buy and sell the same stock in the same day, any proceeds from that stock’s sale cannot be used in another trade on that same day. (May depend on brokerage account. My brokerage allows it but warns you about it.))

3. 3 times in a week — You are allowed only 3 trades within 1 week (5 trading days). The 4th day trade may subject you to a 90 day suspension of all day trading activities.

What Are The Penalties?

1. You may get a 90-day suspension of all day trading activities.

2. Your account can be suspended for 90 days and no trading will be allowed in that account.

How to Avoid Violating The Rules Of Day Trading

1. Maintain a minimum of $25,000 equity in your trading account.

2. For accounts under $25,000 do NOT buy and sell a position in the same day, hold your position overnight.

3. If you buy and sell the same stock/option in the same day, do not enter into a new trade where the monies from the sale of the stock just sold will be used in the purchase of the new position.

4. If you have purchased a position from monies from a prior same day sell, it is best to hold that position overnight.

5. Do not perform a day trade activity more than 3 times a week.

I have attempted to outline the day trading rules as I have encountered them over my years of trading. You can get much more detailed information by searching the internet for day trading and pattern day trader. A good source is Wikipedia.

I have traded several years in accounts under $25k and have never had a 90-day suspension rule applied, but have had several warnings about a trade that may trigger the 90-suspension rule. When this happens I just do not perform the trade and will wait till the next day. Happy trading…

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Why you ought to be responsive to signs of strong stock and signs of weak stock in the markets. Putting your faith in hope won’t get you profits in the markets. You need to realy understand how the markets work. And being able to name uptrend and downtrend in the markets is essential

The’re two questions that are always asked:

1. What you should do when the security is trending down?

2. What you should do when the security is trending up?

Before these two critical questions may be answered, Continually don’t forget that true weakness comes in on an UP bar and ….

True strength Continually comes in on DOWN bars.

On true signs of downtrend you ought to:

a) initiate new short position(s)

b) reverse old long positions to short

c) close out any long positions

On signs of uptrend you ought to:

a) initiate new long position(s)

b) reverse old short positions to long

c) close out any short positions

Why is your reaction to a strong uptrend (or downtrend) so crucial?

Because whenever a genuine uptrend (or downtrend) is seen the market makers and professionals will observe it right away and react appropriately.

So what is meant by a “true” uptrend (or downtrend)?

You should find a powerful volume bar right away to support your role.

If no such bar is present, that shows that the professional money is not curious about the move because they know the market is still weak (or strong) and you can expect a move in the opposite direction to what you might have thought. Probably resulting in another period of accumulation or distribution prior to the next signal.

The Golden Rule:

Understand where the professional money is and follow them. If they aren’t interested, neither should you be. If they’re interested (shown by buying/selling), then back your judgement.

Most traders don’t have a clue as to what’s going on in the markets. But you will, if you take the time to understand how the experts operate and what causes the moves on the market. You will have to time your entry and exit indicates near perfection.

For instance: After a sharp move up you ought to expect a down move. After a powerful bar up, sellers are tempted by the new high costs. This can be viewed by any lack of follow through and the look off a powerful down bar. Those who matter ( the experts) would see this, enter their positions, and force the market down.

Then again, after a sharp down move, you can anticipate weakness. Look for a classic “test” Search for the experts entering the market and go with them.

It is essential that you actually understand how the markets work before you set about trading. So many people ignore this fact. This is one of the reasons why they never really “get it”.

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Technorati Tags: commodities, day trading, dow, dow jones, forex, ftse, nasdaq, nikkei, online trading, shares, stock exchange, stockmarket, stocks, trading

So you’ve heard about the stock market right? How about the foreign exchange market or forex for short? What about day trading? Did you know that there are now very affordable ways to be your own broker by doing online trading? That’s ok not many people who don’t do this stuff every day know much about this otherwise excellent opportunity to make many investment dollars. So you are getting in at a good time before there is a glut of investors creating competition and parity and driving profit potential way down.

In the foreign exchange people exchange their money into different (foreign currencies) according to how they think the economy of that country compares with others and/or the public perception there of. Just like in the stock market if you buy low and sell high you make money. And the potential is there to make a lot of money in online trading depending on how knowledgeable you are about international economies and how current events affect people and their confidence or lack thereof in any given economy. People who know the systems whether it is the stock market or foreign exchange and are therefore willing to invest and assume that risk, will make money.

So how do you learn online trading? Well one way is to just strike out on your own and learn by making good and bad choices (hopefully more good than bad!) and weather those first few stormy years before they get good enough to be profitable. The other way (which I prefer) is to learn from those who have gone before and have made the mistakes learning valuable lessons. Basically if you can gain experience without the risks you can start out making a profit. Sounds great right? Sounds worth a small upfront and one-time cost to get this valuable knowledge?

Let me assure you that it definitely is, but you have to be careful. Just like in the rest of life you have to discern between good and bad advice. So look at the track records of the people offering online trading advice. How long have they been at the game? Are they well known in the industry? Are they upfront people, willing to talk with you about their product? When you find this “mentor” latch on to their system and learn it well. This really is your best chance to have good success without the pain of large financial loss from stupid mistakes.

Technorati Tags: online trading

A Winning Approach to Trading in the Stock Market:

Many traders lose simply out of ignorance. They base their trades on hunches, news, or tips from friends, and do not define specific risk and profit objectives before placing trades.

Others have the merit of educating themselves but fall victims of their emotions. They hold on to losing positions hoping they will turn into winners and sell winners by fear of losing a small gain. They overtrade to fulfill a need for action or by fear of missing out.

The consistent winners follow a winning approach:      

They have a strategy to enter and exit trades

They use good money management 
They take consistent actions, they follow a trading plan 
They keep good records so they can review their actions 

They avoid overtrading 
They have a winning attitude 
A strategy to enter and exit trades
You need to a strategy to put the odds in your favor for each trade you take. Your  strategyshould be as objective as possible and include the following elements:
      
Entry: conditions required before you can enter a trade – may include technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or both. 
      
Initial stop loss: price at which you will close the entire position if it does not go in your favor. The risk per share is the difference between the entry price and the initial stop.
  
Initial price objective: price at which you will take some or all profits if the trade goes in your favor.
Trade management: set of rules that dictates your actions while a trade is opened. It may include trailing stops, closing position, etc.

For every action you take, the reason should be clearly described in your strategy. 

Money management rules to keep losses small
The goal of money management is to ensure your survival by avoiding risks that could take you out of business. Your money management rules should include the following:

Maximum amount at risk for each trade. The different between your entry price and your initial stop loss is your risk per share. Your maximum amount at risk for each trade determines the share size.
Maximum amount at risk for all your opened positions. 
Maximum daily and weekly amount lost before you stop trading – avoid trying to trade your way out of a hole after a loosing streaks. 
During your learning phase, your goal should be to survive, not to make money. Start with low limits and raise them as you become a consistent winner otherwise you will simply go broke faster.

 
Good record keeping
Although the process of gaining experience cannot be rushed, it can be made much more efficient by keeping good records of your actions. Good records will allow you to: Review your actions at the end of each day to make sure you followed you strategy, not your emotions. 
Learn from your losses – they cost you money, make sure you get the education in return. You should also keep a journal of your observations.
A trading plan to keep emotions out of  your decisions.
During trading hours, emotions will turn smart people into idiots. Therefore you have to avoid having to make decisions during those hours. This requires a detailed trading plan that includes your strategy and your money management rules. 
For every action you take during trading hours, the reason should not be greed or fear. The reason should be because it is in the plan. With a good plan, your task becomes one of patience and discipline.
You have to follow the plan without exception. Any valid reason for an exception – for example, correcting an oversight – should become part of the plan.

Overtrading
Sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing. Not trading on those bad days is key to becoming a consistent winner; in some situations it is very tempting to overtrade: 
       If you trade to fulfill a need for action, to relieve boredom
       If you can’t find the proper setup but can’t wait
       If you fear you are missing out on a great trade or on a great market
       If you want to make up for losses (revenge)
       If you trade to feel like you are working instead of sitting around. Trading involves a  lot         of work other than the actual buying and selling. 
      
      You should not trade under the following conditions: 
      
       You are not following your trading plan 
       You have reached your daily or weekly maximum loss 
       You are sick or very tired
       You are very emotional (upset, pressured to make money, self-esteem destroyed) 
       You are using new tools you are not completely familiar with 
       You need time to work on your trading plans
           
A winning attitude
Losing traders look for a “sure thing”, hang on hope, and avoid accepting small losses. Their trading is based on emotions. You must treat trading as a probability game in which you do not need to know what is going to happen next in order to make money. All you need to know is that the odds are in your favor before you put a trade. 
If you believe in your edge, which is you believe that the odds in your favor for each trade you enter, then you should have no expectation other than something will happen. 
Your attitude will have a direct influence on your trading results:Take responsibility for all your actions; do not blame the market or world events.  
            
Trade to trade well and for the love of trading, not to trade often and not for the money. The money will come as a result of trading well. 
 
Do not be influenced by the opinions of others. Reach your own decisions and follow them.  
Never think that taking money from the market is easy and never assume that you know enough.
Have no particular expectation when you place a trade because you know that anything can happen. 

Do not try to guess the future; trading is a game of probabilities. 
Use your head and stay calm; do not get excited or depressed. 
Handle trading as a serious intellectual pursuit. 
Do not count how much money you have made or lost while you are in a trade – focus on trading well.

Technorati Tags: day trading, day trading courses, online trading, stock market, stock trading, swing trading, trading logs, trading software, trading systems

They have a strategy to enter and exit trades         They use good money management.          

They take consistent actions, they follow a trading.

They keep good records so they can review their actions.          

They avoid overtrading        

They have a winning attitude A strategy to enter and exit trades. You need to have a strategy to put the odds in your favor for each trade you take. Your strategyshould be as objective as possible and include the following elements:      

Entry: conditions required before you can enter a trade – may include technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or both.       

Initial stop loss: price at which you will close the entire position if it does not go in your favor. The risk per share is the difference between the entry price and the initial stop.  

Initial price objective: price at which you will take some or all profits if the trade goes in your favor.

Trade management: set of rules that dictates your actions while a trade is opened. It may include trailing stops, closing position, etc.

For every action you take, the reason should be clearly described in your strategy. 

Money management rules to keep losses smallThe goal of money management is to ensure your survival by avoiding risks that could take you out of business.

Your money management rules should include the following:

Maximum amount at risk for each trade.

The different between your entry price and your initial stop loss is your risk per share. Your maximum amount at risk for each trade determines the share size.

Maximum amount at risk for all your opened positions. Maximum daily and weekly amount lost before you stop trading – avoid trying to trade your way out of a hole after a loosing streak. 

During your learning phase, your goal should be to survive, not to make money. Start with low limits and raise them as you become a consistent winner otherwise you will simply go broke faster. 

Good record keeping.

Although the process of gaining experience cannot be rushed, it can be made much more efficient by keeping good records of your actions.

Good records will allow you to: Review your actions at the end of each day to make sure you followed you strategy, not your emotions. 

Learn from your losses – they cost you money, make sure you get the education in return. You should also keep a journal of your observations.

A trading plan to keep emotions out of  your decisions. During trading hours, emotions will turn smart people into idiots.

Therefore you have to avoid having to make decisions during those hours.

This requires a detailed trading plan that includes your strategy and your money management rules. 

For every action you take during trading hours, the reason should not be greed or fear.

The reason should be because it is in the plan. With a good plan, your task becomes one of patience and discipline.You have to follow the plan without exception.

Any valid reason for an exception – for example, correcting an oversight – should become part of the plan.OvertradingSometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing.

Not trading on those bad days is key to becoming a consistent winner; in some situations it is very tempting to overtrade:       

If you trade to fulfill a need for action, to relieve boredom.      

If you can’t find the proper setup but can’t wait.       

If you fear you are missing out on a great trade or on a great market.      

If you want to make up for losses (revenge).      

If you trade to feel like you are working instead of sitting around.

Trading involves a lot work other than the actual buying and selling.            

You should not trade under the following conditions:             

You are not following my trading plan.        

You have reached your daily or weekly maximum loss.        

You are sick or very tired.      

You are very emotional (upset, pressured to make money, self-esteem destroyed).        

You are using new tools you are not completely familiar with.        

You need time to work on your trading plans.          

A winning attitude

Losing traders look for a “sure thing”, hang on hope, and avoid accepting small losses. Their trading is based on emotions. You must treat trading as a probability game in which you do not need to know what is going to happen next in order to make money. All you need to know is that the odds are in your favor before you put a trade. If you believe in your edge, which is you believe that the odds are in your favor for each trade you enter, then you should have no expectation other than something will happen.

Your attitude will have a direct influence on your trading results:

Take responsibility for all your actions; do not blame the market or world events.              

Trade to trade well and for the love of trading, not to trade often and not for the money. The money will come as a result of trading well.  

Do not be influenced by the opinions of others. Reach your own decisions and follow them.  

Never think that taking money from the market is easy and never assume that you know enough.

Have no particular expectation when you place a trade because you know that anything can happen. 

Do not try to guess the future; trading is a game of probabilities. 

Use your head and stay calm; do not get excited or depressed. Handle trading as a serious intellectual pursuit. 

Do not count how much money you have made or lost while you are in a trade – focus on trading well.

Technorati Tags: day trading, day trading courses, online trading, stock market, stock trading, swing trading, trading logs, trading software, trading systems