I bought a small amount of GU @ $2.73 as I like the chart and I like that it’s passing both it’s 25 & 10 day SMA today.

Since I only bought a small amount this one will probably really take off. That’s how it’s worked in the past. Getting superstitious?

I need to revise my strategy. What I’d like to do is come up with some competing strategies and then test them out in real world situations with less money invested. With SogoTrade I still have some free trade time left so I can trade with small amounts without worrying about the commissions eating up any profits.

I’ve come up with three basic strategies, “A” being the one I have been using and then “B” and “C” being two new ones.  These are their current screen results (as of about 2:30 PM.)

Strategy A
(based on 10 day SMA)

SRS $22.50
DUG $19.65
FXP $16.15
CBI $11.51
GRM $3.10
GU $2.69
GBM $1.43

Strategy B
(based on 25 day SMA)

WAL $6.46
GU $2.69
GM $1.64
EMKR $1.27

Strategy C
(based on 5 day SMA)

SRS $22.50
DUG $19.65
FXP $16.15
CBI $11.51
WAL $6.44
GRM $3.10
NGD $2.38
DNN $1.92

—

Some of these stocks are showing up on more than one which means they are crossing multiple moving averages at once. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a good idea to look at all three and see if any stock jumps out at me?

Maybe the real key is being more selective (based on chart patterns) of which stocks I buy into rather than what screener I’m using? In other words perhaps the real key is screening my screener?

Maybe I should try something entirely different? Instead of looking for stocks bouncing off lows (like I have been doing) maybe I should take a more traditional approach of looking at stocks making new highs?

I just bought DUG @ $19.61 and I’m already starting to regret it. I’m just pulling the trigger way too quickly on stock picks. I need some discipline.

I should just stick with the picks from TIM ALERTS until I really find some strategy of my own that I feel confident with.

MTW fell through the floor this morning and I had to get rid of it. I sold it at $6 for an 8% loss but it was really a lot more than that because I bought the stock on margin.

I’m reconsidering my use of margin right now. This makes it way too easy to lose huge sums of money. Just an 8% loss wipes out about 20% of my account? Sure it works the other way too. Perhaps if I had more trust in what I was doing it would make sense.

I bought MTW @ $6.50 … my first pick from my new screener (which is basically like my old screener except for looking for stocks over $5.)

I’m heavily leveraged on this pick so my risk is pretty high. I am in for 850 shares which basically means each penny moves me $8.50 up or down.

I’m looking for a gap up tomorrow morning. Most likely will try to sell it tomorrow morning whether it’s up or down. Although I’ll hold if it’s shooting straight up of course.