When I Turned the Corner
I got into the market in 1998 after getting married, and soon I was watching the market quite closely. I didn’t have a lot of money to trade with, but I was eager to learn and grow the modest nest egg we started with. CNBC became part of my morning routine before I left the house each day. In the evening, I would update my TC2000 charting program and begin to look through many charts, hoping to find two or three that looked promising. I did well trading breakouts and momentum plays, as the market was ripe for such a trading style for the next couple of years. This evolved into a passion for trading, and when the time was right, I decided to make trading my full-time job.
The first day I became a “full-time” trader, I placed 4 day trades and made $1006.00 after commission. I was so excited! My 4-point winning trade on the short side of GENZ with 200 shares made my day, and I was convinced that soon I’d be very wealthy. After all, it wouldn’t be long and I’d be stepping up my trading size and imagine what a better trader I would be by then! If I can make a comma ($1,000 or more on a trade) my first day, I couldn’t wait to see what results I’d be getting 6 months later.
Then reality set in.