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AbeSmith
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Posts posted by AbeSmith
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Wow. Some of you guys are really lucky. I just have a humble 2 monitor system. AMD Athelon 64, 2GHZ, 2.5 GB Ram, and a backup Vaio Laptop with Intel Core Duo, 2GHZ, 2 GB Ram, and wireless wan or I don't know the name of it but it can use cellphone networks for internet with a subscription. I use the main system for trading, research, email, etc. The laptop is mainly a backup at home, but it is on during trading hours because I also have the Slingbox AV, which allows me to watch my TV from my computer and also from any internet connection. So let's say I'm out of town or in a coffee shop and I want to trade, well, all I got to do is turn on the program and it will access my TV and even allow me to change the channels. I also have a UPS which is backing up my main computer's power supply with 1300VA. I also have my cable modem and wireless router which is in the other room backed up with a 500VA system in case the power goes out I have some time to close my work.
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Hey everyone. I wasn't sure where to place this topic, so please forgive me if it is in the wrong area. This thread is about Multi Monitor Software. Currently I use this software: http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm
It is freeware, very stable, and works with up to 3 monitors. Basically what it does is give the option to have a taskbar on each additional monitor. So lets say you move a window to monitor 2...then the taskbar window information will also move from the main taskbar to monitor 2's taskbar. On the MultiMon taskbar there is also a clock, and also a drop down menue that is really a clipboard of the things you have cut and pasted, so you can easily go back and reselect an earlier cut or copy. And what I like most about this software is that it places a button on the top right corner of the open windows, and if you click it the window will automatically move to and open in the other monitor. I don't know how that button would work with 3 monitors though since I only have 2 monitors.
Anyways, hope this is useful information.
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I'd like to live in Colorado for awhile so I wouldn't have to pay so much for our ski trips. Season passes!!!Ending up in the Dallas area for some time is more likely. I hate the heat but I have to stay close for my family.
Yeah rock. That is exactly the situation I find myself. I have family here, and that is a lot of support that I would not have living in some other state. Free food, help in case of emergency, and a free roof over my head, which is exceptionally great because I don't have to work a full time job and learn how to trade at the same time. That could be so difficult. Once school season starts I will be substitute teaching from time to time to take care of some expenses, but for now I am covered. My goal is to learn how to trade, but I'm not under any severe pressure or fatigue, and that is exactly the situation that I need to succeed.
But enough about me. Tell me more about you.
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I used to live in Texas every summer since basically 3rd grade up until I was a sophomore and my sister was shipped off to Iraq. I used to stay in Killeen/ Temple and would frequently travel to Austin. The weather didn't bother me, I just enjoyed it because it was a nice change from Colorado.Colorado doesn't really have cool weather in the summer. It's usually in the high 80s to low 100s and it's very dry. The mountains are nice, but after living here for 19 years they seem to be like everything else.
And to Brownsfan, what simulators do you recommend for trading futures?
Well, I'm disappointed to hear that Colorado doesn't have cool weather in the Summer. Maybe higher up in the mountains it's cooler. Dry is good though, compared to humid. When it's humid the hot feels much hotter than usual.
But you know, what makes a place good is also the weather. No, I mean the people. LOL.
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Abe - welcome to the board.My suggestion after reading this thread - being in the very infant stages of your trading career, tread carefully and slowly in futures. Many traders would suggest doing well in stocks/options before considering daytrading futures. Having done both myself, I can tell you futures require quick decision making and the ability to accept a loss quickly. Letting a loss run in futures can take all/some of your account in a very, very short period of time. If you think a bad stock trade hurts, be prepared for a very wild ride in futures. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself and trade on a simulator before putting any real money at risk.
Hey Brownsfan. Thank you so much for the advice. And thanks again for the advice earlier. It is much appreaciated. It's good to know that there are good people here who are so kind and helpful.
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Welcome.I will trade you spots, you can come live in Colorado and I will go live in Texas. I've been here for too long, and I love Texas.
What specifically are you trading?
Hey James. Nice to see you again. As you might know, I'm not really a trader. I want to be. LOL. I have only traded stocks until now, and have done horrible. As you might know I lost lots of money in NMX when I could have just accepted the loss. But I was a newbie and so I held on to the stock a few days until I accepted the loss.
Then I traded the Blackstone IPO, and made a cool $400, probably 2-4%, but also because I was so inexperienced I lost it all by failing to take a profit when it was showing signs of slowdown. Got too greedy, and also put the wrong command into Traderworkstation. But this is all probably very boring to you. But to answer your question, yes, I've been trading some stocks, but now the nice people here have turned me on to YM. I would trade YM tomorrow but my internet connection is very unreliable right now with Road Runner, so I must wait until Friday for Verizon Fios 5mbps installation.
Answer me this James, why do you love Texas? There are nice places in Texas, like Austin. Even Dallas is nice. But the weather is so humid. And there is not much beautiful natural scenery, unless you are in Austin or some other places I don't know about.
As for Colorado, I don't know much about it. I know it has mountains, cool weather, lots of trees. But home prices must be more expensive there. Also, I wonder if it is in the kill zone of Yosemite or was it something in the Midwest. They say it might blow up one day. I'm not sure about that.
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DFW, Closer to the AirportThat's so great. I'm so glad that there is a fellow Texas, and Dallasite on board. Maybe we can start a Dallas Daytrading Chapter. Just a thought.
Anyways, tell me about yourself...if you dont mind ofcourse.
I will tell you and everyone here more about myself:
I am very new to trading. I was joking about the professional trader bit, but you probably know that already. Anyways, I am 31 years old. Graduated from law school 2 years ago. Oh how much I hate law. I tried studying for the bar and really disliked it. So I decided to forget about it and do something that is more pleasant and fits my personality. So on 7/7/07 I bought a lottery ticket, but it was not a high probability setup...lol.
For the past month or so, but more so for the past couple of weeks I have been researching about trading. I think if I can master it it would be so good for me because I can maybe then move away from Texas to somewhere cooler...Colorado maybe.
Anyhow, nice to meet you, and thank you again for all the nice advice. I do appreciate it. Thanks again.
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Welcome,Glad to have yet another person that lives to trade on the boards, A fellow Texan at that!
Hey MrPaul. How is it going? Where in Texas do you live? Tell me...
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Hi everyone. How are you doing today? I am good.
Let me introduce myselfe. My name isn Abe Smith. That's not my real name. I am a professional trader. I live for trading. That's all I know. Good day.
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Reminds me of my worst trading nightmare. I once traded FOMC news, it was a bullish report and i immediately went long Market order of 2 YM contracts with a 15 pt stop, I got a horrible fill and on a quick retrace got stopped out. Once it reversed i went long market again, got a horrible fill and got stopped out again. Seeing weakness and a desire to get "revenge" i went short the market and you know the rest.... 3 trades in 5 minutes, 45 pt loss on 2 YM contacts or 450 dollars in 5 minutes. disgusted with myself, i stopped trading, walked away and of course came back right before the close to see the market base and run up 100 points into the close with barely any heat. I have not traded news since. I do trade market reaction to the news after the volatility settles down and i see a clear trend if it occurs, that works well. So, expensive lesson learned. By the way, i "punished" myself for breaking my trading plan and doing everything i knew not to do. I went back to the SIM, practiced my setups and didnt trade for about 9 trading days until i thought i was ready again. Started trading 1 contract until i knew my head was screwed on right. lesson learned...That sounds horrible. Hopefully that will not happen to me. Oh...nevermind. It did. LOL. It was NMX a few weeks ago when there was a report that they were being bought...turned out to be a rumor and I got stuck with the stock and held on to it thinking that it would rebound, and lost alot of money. Classic newbie mistake. You read about these things in books, but they don't make as much sense until you actually make the mistake. Later when I reread some of the advice I read before in other books it made perfect sense.
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Unless you understand how trading the news work, I'd suggest you learn other strategies first before tackling this one. It's one of the easiest traps for newbies, very attractive indeed, but the losses and quick and deadly.The other thing I'm concerned what you just said "there is no limit to how many eminis I can trade per day". This sounds like you're planning to go at it to the max. Start at one and watch your overtrading problem. Eminis and overtrading don't mix because in a few weeks, your accounts may lose 1/2 the value and in 3 months, might be nothing. Leverage is high but so are losses.
Thanks for the good advice torero. What you say about the news makes perfect sense. But you know, I was curious since when I see on CNBC when they report on a breaking news for a company and the stock has gone up and I wonder about the people who got the information before others and were able to trade the stock before the crowd. I was just wondering how they get this info so quickly. But not to take away from your statement of caution. Because as a newbie, I can see how difficult it can be to determine what the effect of a breaking news is on a particular stock and also when it is too late to trade a breaking news stock, and how long to hold on to a position or risk the stock changing direction.
Also, to clarify about my statement of "there is no limit to how many eminis I can trade per day" I didn't mean using the max potential of margin, but rather, to be able to do more trades than I can do now due to the daytrading restriction of 3 roundtrip trades in a 5 day period. I feel that I need more trading opportunities.
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Now I see that eminis seems to be the answer to my question. Thus, as I understand, there is no limit to how many eminis I can trade per day. Thank you all for the very warm welcome and for answering my question. I'm so glad that I found such a good forum.
Now, I remembered another question that was bugging me. The question is, is it practical to trade the news? What I mean is, is there a way to get breaking news very fast so I can trade a stock right before or during the time it is going up initially. I found a site that seems to be suggesting that:
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Welcome to the site Abe,Might I ask why you want to day trade instead of swing trade?
To be completely honest, If you are new to trading and begin your journey with day trading, it is likened to someone knowing just some facts about baseball and then deciding to play in a major league game.
Keep the questions coming that is the best way to learn! :thumbs up:
I'm glad you asked me that. Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know why. It just sort of happened I guess. Now, to be less honest, the reason is, that I feel safer daytrading because of the volitility of the marketplace, especially these days with the high potential of terrorist attacks.
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Oh, I just remembered some more questions if you don't mind. I'm wondering, is there a way to trade the news. I mean to have a system in place that gives you breaking news quickly so you can be one of the first to trade a specific stock? This site seems to be saying something to that effect:
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Hello. I'm new to this site and new to trading. I particularly enjoy the trading videos and awesome advice I have been reading in this forum. Just wanted to say thank you for providing such an awesome site, and how much I appreciate the very nice and helpful people here.
Now to my question. I'm new to trading as you know and I just wanted to get some advice and also just to share my experience with people who are in the same field. I have so many question, so please excuse my ignorance.
1. I don't have the minimum day trading requirement and so I keep getting blocked by IB's daytrading algorithm. What I'm wondering is what instrument I should trade that allows me to daytrade without having 25k minimum.
2. I have so many more questions but now I cannot think of them.
So, thank you again very much for the nice help.
Multi Monitor Software
in General Discussion
Posted
Hi Walter. I have a ATI Radeon 9550 i believe. 256MB. It has two monitor slots, one for DVI and one for VGA. But since I have 2 VGAs I attached at DVI to VGA converter to the DVI.
I purchased this video card on EBAY as a 512MB card from someone that was in Dallas. When I got the box I noticed a 512MB sticker on top of the 256MB box, so I got suspicious. But when I plugged it in it said 512MB so I didn't think about it too much. Later when I had to reinstall my operating system I noticed that it read 256MB. Turned out that there is a trick to overclock the 256MB and that's probably what that seller did. But it's not worth it now to go after the seller.