I gave up future trading and switch back to daytrading stocks, cause personally I still feel I am suitable for stock trading. I have been daytrading stocks(NYSE, NASDAQ) for 4 years.
Today I start to set up my stock daytrading journal in here, including my Ninjatrader and live stock screening system.
My method for trading stocks is to screen best trending stocks among S&P500 and Russell 3000 component stocks, screening conditions are:
A. Stock price between $5 to $35 B. daily average volume >2M and 2000 shares, so I can easily in and out, I don't like the stocks always suddenly up and down>3 cents.
If level II is OK, then I will get in 100 share to test it, if you just watch the level II, you can't get the real feeling of what market maker is really thinking, then I will watch time&sale, to see if some big guy long or short at the key level, then I will start to increase my shares, 200-300 shares per time, when adding, while watching, this can control the risk, if stocks suddenly reverse, I just lose $10-12, also I never get in 2000 shares at one time, trust me, someone or program trading computer will find you, they will wash you out untill you cut loss.
By the way, I think you can open SIM DOM and Real DOM at the same time, use 1 car to trade SIM to get the feeling, then trade real if you trade futures.
My stoploss is $200, max shares 2000, buying power $100,000, I am using Sterling Pro.
I trade max 100 share during 9:40am-10:00 am eastern time, max 1500 shares from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, 100-200 shares during lunch time, after 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, max 2000 shares.
I use 3 min to trade, 5 min for me is little bit longer to trade stocks, I also have 1 min in ninjatrader chart, 15 min, 60 min daily charts in freestockcharts.
Right now, I need to overcome the problems of overtrading and should have more patience.
I have four 22" monitors in my home, two for stock screening(freestockcharts), one and half for ninjatrader charts, half for Sterling Pro Level II and T&S.
I don't trade the opening range breakout(ORB), I don't do Gap trade, and also no stock news trading. I just check the ForexFactory news.
For the Ninjatrader chart, I mainly use them to find the key support/resistance and entry/target. There are no indicators in ninja chart panel 2, even without volume. But I do have two indicators in my freestockcharts, +DI -DI and Elder Bull, Elder Bear.
But for the indicators, frankly, I don't know what other people are thinking, I just think they are helpful but not so useful, like Mike said, indicator is really really not the key answer to my trading result, I wish we can analyze the detailed transactions we made for the trading time, and we can study the candlestick patterns, money management, emotion control or even take the video of Level II or DOM moving then learn it...etc. during our spare time, but searching for Holy Grail system, brand new colorful indicators (especially on ninjatrader chart panel 2) for me now, how to say.. I am not doing that any more. But we have to pass the procedure...
By the way, one indicator called MarketEmotion in my chart is the same one with "MyDynamicPivots" posted by aztrader9 ( in elite dowload section. I still like incators in panel 1, haha....
I talk too much, but still want to share some lessons from what I learned in this great Big Mike trading forum and from my trading in the future, I will post my every trading day's result in my journal (I don't trade on Tuesday for my personal reason), if you are interested in stock daytrading, I would like to share my good and bad lessons, and I really really want to learn from you guys, any recommendations, suggestions to me are truly welcome, I do wish I can keep on trading, cause I like it so much.