REAL WORLD

Rise And Shine, Daytraders

Intraday Trading In The First Hour

by Josh DiPietro

This system could allow you to earn consistent profits by trading during the first market hour.

Not every would-be daytrader has the time to sit at his or her trading station for the entire day’s market session. That can be tough to do even part time. During the trading hours of 9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern time (ET), many people aren’t available at all. If you live on the West Coast, however, you’re in luck. You have the advantage of being able to start trading at 6:30 am Pacific time (PT) and going into your day job on time.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not trying to make this sound easy. You have to be wired for action when the birds are just starting to sing. If you weren’t a morning person before, you certainly have to be if you’re daytrading at the open. Fifteen minutes before the ringing of the bell, you have to be studying your charts. You have to be alert and in tune with your strategy, just as you would be if you were trading full time. You have to be ready to concentrate on an hour and a half of daytrading before you are out the door to your regular paycheck.

You may get stained teeth from extra coffee consumption, but if you follow this system, you may find that it is worth it. Ultimately, you may find yourself earning profits of $100 to $300 per day, all in that tiny dawn window, whether you start at 6:30 am PT or 9:30 am ET.

Before the opening bell
My trading methodology requires you to execute real-time equity orders during the first market hour. During this period you have to be riveted to your station, focused on each entry and exit. You cannot take a break for a bowl of cereal and come back munching to see how your trade is doing. All your trades must be done in real-time, buy and sell (long and short positions). During this hour you will place two to five round-trip trades (four- to 10-order executions), and this must be with one stock only.

Once you progress, you can add a stock, and then a third, for a maximum of five. When you’re trading as many as five tradables, you can place 15 to 25 round-trip trades in an hour. But mastering this takes time. This strategy can put you in the poor house if you fail to implement it properly.

Do not expect quick success. In any trading system, it takes time and hands-on experience to gain consistent profits. My system works, but learning it takes dedication.

Image 1

FIGURE 1: COUNTERTREND TRADING STRATEGY. In this strategy you will open a long position at a specific price level after a support level is broken and open a short position at a specific price level after a resistance level is broken.

…Continued in the June issue of Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities

Excerpted from an article originally published in the June 2012 issue of Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine. All rights reserved. © Copyright 2012, Technical Analysis, Inc.

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