Welcome back!
Overriding "rule" - don't let any trade risk more than 1%, 5% or whatever, of your pot. £20k, means max 200 if you use 1%.
GTFO - get the funds out.
I know it's clear with hindsight, but I hope I would have been out of that trade where the (very short) line of the lower highs is broken:
You didn't have enough of a trend to follow it any distance at all. When a trend starts, it can end just as quickly. If it shows a sign it's over, get out! If you spot a trend and think it's been going a long time, the market will think the same and also decide, it's far enough! If there's no catalyst wait for a pullback and use tiny size. Treat it as fragile. Look at that trade - if you'd got out directly underneath the V of VWAP you would have taken as much as if you'd waited for the trend to break "ideally" where I indicated with hindsight.
That's what Catena does when he's trying to get to #1 on the floor. He scalps all the steps just one way, so if one goes wrong he's only lost a tiny bit. A lot of effort but that way wins most. He can do it on several names at once. I can't, that's for sure.
Ah well, under the bridge.
Here's one to watch, c/o Brian Shannon of Alphatrends
NCNO
If it breaks that resistance at 35.40, it should jump upwards.
Stop would go under the most recent low.
TP would probably be by eyeball but near one of the levels from the left side of the chart, watch the volumes. Those will be expected so be ready to reenter for a quick in out.
If it drops down then the setup isn't valid so forget it, don't enter.
I've paused trading mostly, been looking after the lumps I've put away. They're all stockmarket related so a drop of, y'know, a third, is possible. There's some in Japan, some in India, but they're all related. There are some big U.S. numbers out tomorrow so that could be a catalyst for a collapse. The yanks are all a bit shocked by the thought that their interest rates might NOT come down soon, as just indicated by Powell. If Europe's do and theirs don't, Their currency will go too strong and they won't be able to export. Panic.
Also, Crypto has more or less stopped its run, fuels aren't doing very much, chips have got to the top, so there's not much running several percent a day, which is what I find easier. GE in the US and RHM in Germany have been very holdable/ swingable, and RR until recently.
I'll soon have a shiny new S&S ISA's worth, but at the moment I don't know what I'd use it for.
If things are going OK then maybe QQQ5 or S&P500x3. Spreads are a bit wide but you can day trade them.
Gold/silver could finally have a bit of a run. I put some in Blackrock Gold & general a couple of weeks ago. It's up a bit, but Managed Funds aren't quick to deal with, so you miss.
DId you watch TTV today - I sort of did. They had a messy time.
I checked your msft trade.
Did you have a stop-loss? Try to have a SL whenever you plan a trade. You MUST plan the trade. I think you go on hunches too much and then hope. If you were using the crossings of MA's, you entered rather early and were lucky,and you shold have got out when it crossed again - you'd have been up, thought not much.
Maybe you'd be better off sticking to more obvious trades. AND always use a SL. A TP is a good idea too, they're so quick, even if it only takes a portion out. You know this!
I only looked at GOOGL because it was SC's main preference. The levels were there from APril 2, and there was a catalyst.
I find I'm often looking at the tops of the wicks for a reversal.. If you get 2-3 the same, it's a strong hint. That and levels.
SC thought the goog would rise (catalyst) then drop to around 154 then bounce.
It was rising premarket so I went long, though a bit late.
The reversals were mostly at matching wick peaks, or the levels. There's a level at the top of the letters GOOGL The red circled ones I got wrong, and got back in later. At the second major peak (the highest one) it was going flatter so I expected it to go down to the major level, and it did. I nearly got out at that first reversal going down, but it matched the rising one so I stayed with it. Again it forecast its turn. I nearly got out at about 16:00, or I may have done, can't remember. It added up to about 5% but I wasn't that confident so had less on, but it was ok considering I was doing something else at the time.
I dunno how obvious you find that.
What I would suggest, is RANGE trading, ie where something just goes between level and back, or within a channel. You have to WAIT until you see one. So you might not trade for a few HOURS, but that's better than making losing trades.
Similar is DIP trading, where there's a solid level you know it's likely to move away from and come back to. Planning the exit is important.
You need a plan like you will enter when it does X, with a stop at Y and an exit at Z. If it does P then you'll alter to do Q. If it starts to go outside your plan, close.
It's pops (up) or dips. Usually it's safer to go towards the level, but SC always shorts.
So have a number of stocks up or cycle round, and I'd say have TTV on. They have a new channel, "more tradertv live" so you can have a phone sideways and watch what the 2 main guys are doing. Adara often trades ranges. There's also a vertical format - confusing.
Let's have a look...
Parts of Coin, Pfizer, Gme, Docu, Twist (often good) would have worked. Haven't found a real classic but SC did. Tesla had strong levels you could work off.
For slightly longer term look at ANET and HALliburton on eg a 15min chart. They're both very swingable. They both seem to be on a rise. HAL looks good for swinging on almost any timescale. Look at 30min. You buy when it goes properly green and sell when it's a red, simples!
Can you use Trailing stops??
Also look at cocoa (and the 3x ETF if you have it) and maybe coffee. Chocolate is bonkers, 450% in 3 months.
SC is good, he usually comes at the top of the pile, but he's a BSer. The other day he went backwards $3, then forwards $10. Only mentioned the one while he was crowing, of course. They must earn from the youtube because it's educational, but it's all about getting traders in there really, hence the other streams. They're very lucky to have Adara. Note she's still on the simulator after 6 months, only winning inconsistently. She does the morning reports - the ones they email out.
Oh, T212 has a new TV front end. No good yet for day trading, too slow.
Sorry that was a bit long.