Technical Analysis and Chart Pattern Recognition for Small Account Retail Traders

Trend Following, The Wall Strip Edge, High Priced Stocks and All time Highs

by davidjohnhall on February 22, 2012 · 0 comments

in Stock Market, Stock Market Book Reviews

Read it!

I just finished reading The WallStrip Edge by Howard Lindzon co-founder of StockTwits and before that, the creator of the WallStrip video blog — and gahhhhhhd only knows why I didn’t read it before.

To be honest, I’ve picked this book up at the bookstore a couple times over the years, and probably read most of it crouched in the bookstore aisles. Yeah, I’m that guy.

But I’ve been sick as a dawg the last couple days and looking for something to read — so I downloaded it to my iPad.

Good call.

It’s a quick, funny read filled with golden nuggets that make a lot of sense. Plus, the dude is successful and I always say that nothing else succeeds like success. That’s why I like to look at winning charts. That’s why I immerse my brain in them.

So I can spot a potential winner – before I even know that I’ve spotted it.

Yeah, that’s deep.

And, although I don’t always trade all time highs like Howie, I do subscribe to the general tenants of trend following.

Such as: [Read More…]

Tagged as: FFN, ROST)

{ 0 comments }

Watchlist Additions – 3 New Low Priced Stocks

by davidjohnhall on February 20, 2012 · 0 comments

in Trading Watchlist, Weekly Watchlist Update

Yesterday I posted 5 new watch list candidates on The Sunday Night Watchlist.

With today a market holiday I had a little more time to shop around and I found a few more pretty solid candidates.

Here they are:

Looking for a thrust here here up to .90 to 1.00

Nice wedge breakout! Looking for follow-through to 2.50's.

A break above resistance takes us to 2.00's...

Looking good here! Let’s see what the week brings. As always, do your homework!

Stocktwits Links $ANX, $UTSI, $ZIPR

Tagged as: Adventrx Pharmaceuticals, Adventrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ANX, GCVRX, Goldman Sachs Struct Large Cap Val R, Inc., UTSI, UTStarcom Holdings Corp., ZIPR

{ 0 comments }

New to Trading? Learn With a FREE Virtual Trading Account at Wall Street Survivor

by davidjohnhall on February 20, 2012 · 0 comments

in Free Trading Tools

WallStreetSurvivor has been around for awhile – and I use it often to test out new strategies — in real time.

For me, a virtual trading simulator is the next step up from backtesting. That’s because backtesting is missing one very important trading element — time.

When you backtest a potential trading strategy – you can take hundreds of trades in the span of seconds.

When you are actually placing those trades you have to wait (in real time) for them to play out – and you’ll soon see that spending a year in a backtested trade that only takes 5 seconds is a lot different than spending the same amount of time in a real position.

And because it’s important to find a strategy that matches our own personalities, it’s important to test those strategies in as close to a real time environment as possible.

Enter WallStreetSurvivor.Com

{ 0 comments }

New Sunday Night Watchlist 2-19-12

by davidjohnhall on February 19, 2012 · 0 comments

in Stock Market, Trading Watchlist, Weekly Watchlist Update

To be honest, there isn’t a whole lot happening out there in market-ville that I like.

That’s because there hasn’t been a lot showing up in my scans.

And when trades don’t show up in my scans, there’s nothing I can do to force it.

But still, there are 5 picks I am looking at – and they’re all listed below.

Looking for a breakout here -- then a move to 2.75 - 3.00

Noce consolidation here -- could easily bust to 5's

Nice Breakout -- solid volume -- look for 4.75 - 5

Least excited about this one -- but I like that wedge. Looking for 2.20's and beyond.

This could be a total stretch -- but I'm loving the outside day fakeout here. If it's legit we can see 1.30 - 1.40 easy.

There you go. 5 Trades from the trading desk of yours truly.

As always, do your homework, set your stops and never, ever load up on any one single trade.

StockTwits Links: $GERN, $CAK, $ACLS, $AAV

Want to learn what I look for in my trades, chart patterns, and how I use technical analysis? Then check out this post that details my entire trading plan.

You might also want to check out my ebook Breakouts for Beginners or Trend Analysis for Beginners.

From one retail trader to another — let’s rock this market!

Tagged as: AAV Want, ACLS, Axcelis Technologies Inc., CAK, CAMAC Energy Inc., GERN, Geron Corporation, Nice Breakout, technical analysis

{ 0 comments }

Are You Taking Enough Time Off From Trading? Here’s 20 Things You Can do When You Need a Break

by davidjohnhall on February 18, 2012 · 0 comments

in Articles, Trading Psychology

Clear Your Head Before the Market Clears Your Wallet

Bike ride to Redondo Beach -- Awesome!

I know this sounds weird coming from me — because I am freaking obsessed with the market — but are you taking enough time off from trading?

Like anything else trading can become an all consuming activity if we don’t check ourselves and go get some freaking rest.

I know — it’s happened to me before. Especially in the beginning when I was losing for three years straight.

I’d stay up all night — backtesting, reading, studying. Then I’d go to work in the morning.

Ugh.

It was even worse when I was losing. I would obsess endlessly over finding the holy grail to trading. The magic indicator that was never wrong. The trading guru with the 100% winning streak.

Seriously — if this is you, then take some time off. Now. Why not? The market will be here when you get back.

What do I do? I’ll tell you.

My top 20 things to do when I’m not trading

Blog (duhhhh)
Read — sometimes about trading — but I’m not sure this counts
Work out
Go to the movies
Hit the beach
Surf (living down the street from the beach rocks!)
Go skating on my longboard
Buy a cheap watch (that I’ll wear for a week)
Hit up the book store.
Ride my fixie bike
Buy some new clothes
Go to a coffee shop
Hang out at a park
Tweet random trading tweets (okay — that might be like trading)
Do P90X (the plyometrics workout will kick your ass)
Go buy some Adidas (what can I say — I like sneakers)
Write a movie (I’ve written 14 — nearly got an agent — am totally getting one this year)
Go to a lounge club or a rave
Listen to music
Wash my car (I like to keep that baby clean)

See — there are a lot of things we can do besides obsess over trading. And once I figured out what those things were — it made my life a whole lot easier and my trading got better, too.

What do you like to do besides trade? List some of your fave steam-blower-offers in the comments below and make sure you do them regularly!

Want to learn what I look for in my trades, chart patterns, and how I use technical analysis? Then check out this post that details my entire trading plan.

You might also want to check out my ebook Breakouts for Beginners or Trend Analysis for Beginners.

From one retail trader to another — let’s rock this market!

Tagged as: technical analysis

{ 0 comments }

Chart Patterns Like This Will Make You Money All Day Long

by davidjohnhall on February 18, 2012 · 1 comment

in Stock Market, Trade Review

I never get tired looking at winning charts and winning chart patterns.

Why?

Because nothing succeeds like success.

In fact, I study them all weekend long.

Here is another awesome chart: $CIE. [Read More…]

Tagged as: CIE, HUGE, New Highs, THINK

{ 1 comment }

Lions Gate Films (LGF) Hits New 52 Week Highs…Without Me

by davidjohnhall on February 17, 2012 · 0 comments

in Portfolio Update, Stock Market, Stock Market Basics, Trade Review, Trading Psychology

One of the hardest things for me to do when it comes to trading and technical analysis is to remain calm after a position I’ve closed keeps heading north…without me.

Seriously!

It’s like watching an ex-girlfriend do better…AFTER you break up.

When this happens I become the 16 year old version of myself. I start stalking the charts. Checking in every once in awhile…to see how they’re doing. Pulling up news. And silently dying inside!

If you have this same problem, then you know what I’m talking about. It can be really debilitating with regard to carrying out your trading plan. [Read More…]

Tagged as: BETTER, Inc., LGF, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., P, Pandora Media, Pandora Media, Inc., technical analysis

{ 0 comments }

FFN — Back at it With 9% Move

by davidjohnhall on February 15, 2012 · 2 comments

in Stock Market, Watchlist Update

$FFN is back at it again. Already up over 100% since it was highlighted less than 14 days ago in the Sunday night watchlist — this bad boy just doesn’t want to quit — so of course I’m putting up the chart again. What am I gonna do — ignore it? [Read More…]

Tagged as: FFN, FriendFinder Networks Inc.

{ 2 comments }

Complete Genomics (GNOM) has Awesome 41 Percent 1 Day Run 5 Days After Making The Sunday Night Watchlist

by davidjohnhall on February 13, 2012 · 0 comments

in Watchlist Update

To learn what I look for in my trades, check out this post that details my entire trading plan. You might also want to check out my ebook Breakouts for Beginners or Trend Analysis for Beginners.

I didn’t put up a watch list this Sunday for the simple reason that I didn’t find anything I wanted to trade. Which is fine.

One of the benefits of being a retail trader is that you can easily get in and out of the markets when you want. Don’t feel like trading? Stay out. Don’t see anything you like? Stay out. Not feeling it? Stay out.

The big guys — they have to trade all the time. But not us. [Read More…]

Tagged as: GNOM

{ 0 comments }