Sometimes I look at other traders and I see them taking great trades and I miss them, simply coz I wasn’t ready, was not prepared, was late, was slow or it was not a setup for me. Avoid this mental trap to be in every single thing that moves. We cannot trade all stocks, not all gaps, there will be always a stock we miss.
When you make money, that’s enough. Don’t think what you could have done more but think if the trade you took you could have traded it better, better adding/scaling, better entry, better size. I basically watch and when I mean watch I mean stare at chart, tape and bookmap of 1 or 2 charts. The other charts I have running are to see the whoverall sentiment/trend, to see if some A+setup will occur. We need 1 stock x day and even better: 1-2 stocks x week. When you have your A+ setup that 1 stock with size, will be your paycheck. I look at that chart I’m interested in from pm, tape as well, I rarely go even to bathroom in order to not miss the action, a possible soak, trap, hidden buyer/seller.
I track the news and the gaps, each day, all year long. This gives you and edge when you have found your setup with the right news with the right gap. I basically trade gap up and gap down or big extension plays both long and short
So once I know my setup, my news, I then go check filings, I do my job, I research the float, the % sh float, the % IO. Once all is set, once my criterias are met, I then set a plan. I wait till the stock comes to me.
