# My first trades



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

Hi, only yesterday I made my first trades. Here is what I did. I bought 1000 MAD shares at 0.5 and bought 300 EVN shares at 1.905.


----------



## tech/a (9 February 2012)

and----------------


----------



## peter2 (9 February 2012)

...... do you know how much you are risking on each trade? Will you watch if MAD shares drop in price to 0.20 or EVN to 1.30 ?

Do you have plans to sell them at set price targets or are you using a trailing sell exit to protect any profits if you see them?
Do you know the break even price for each trade (including your brokerage costs)?

Are these trades started with a planned approach that you have tested and know to be profitable?


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

peter2 said:


> ...... do you know how much you are risking on each trade? Will you watch if MAD shares drop in price to 0.20 or EVN to 1.30 ?
> 
> Do you have plans to sell them at set price targets or are you using a trailing sell exit to protect any profits if you see them?
> Do you know the break even price for each trade (including your brokerage costs)?
> ...





Well, I don't  have any plans to sell them. IN a book I read, it said that there is no reason to sell a rising stock. What I will consider doing soon will be to put in a stop loss, so that should it drop off, I will still earn a profit.

The books i have read are 'how i made 2 million dollars in the stock market and the battle for financial survival.


As for the brokerage, I have none. I am taking advantage of the $600 free brokerage from commsec.


----------



## matthewdean (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> Well, I don't  have any plans to sell them. IN a book I read, it said that there is *no reason to sell a rising stock*. What I will consider doing soon will be to put in a stop loss, so that should it drop off, I will still earn a profit.
> 
> The books i have read are 'how i made 2 million dollars in the stock market and the battle for financial survival.
> 
> ...




An approach that is used with a lot of other important factors. Looking at MAD i'd say if you had of bought before the break out then that that may of been an acceptable statement. 

You're just gambling if you don't have a plan in place for these trades.


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

matthewdean said:


> An approach that is used with a lot of other important factors. Looking at MAD i'd say if you had of bought before the break out then that that may of been an acceptable statement.
> 
> You're just gambling if you don't have a plan in place for these trades.




What exactly do you classify as 'before the breakout.? I bout it at 0.500...Isn't that before the breakout? Also, i am not gambling because i minimise my risks through stop losses.

What do you mean by a plan? I have no idea when i should sell the stock. I will try to sell it at its top, but I cannot in anyway predict that.


----------



## matthewdean (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> What exactly do you classify as 'before the breakout.? I bout it at 0.500...Isn't that before the breakout? Also, i am not gambling because i minimise my risks through stop losses.
> 
> What do you mean by a plan? I have no idea when i should sell the stock. I will try to sell it at its top, but I cannot in anyway predict that.




There is enough information around these forums and web to explain what a trading plan is.

Good luck with your trade, I hope you survive to trade again!


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

matthewdean said:


> There is enough information around these forums and web to explain what a trading plan is.
> 
> Good luck with your trade, I hope you survive to trade again!




Survive?? what do you mean? I am already up $80 dollars. besides that, i have a lot more capital plus a steady job. I am not going to go bankrupt here...

Sorry if i seem rude, but i am only going off what I know. After reading nicolas darva's book, i was told that one must plan going into a trade, but one one is in, there is really nothing one can do in terms of predicting the top.


----------



## McLovin (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> What exactly do you classify as 'before the breakout.? I bout it at 0.500..




The SP was at $0.20 in January. I'd say that was where the breakout was.


----------



## investorpaul (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> What exactly do you classify as 'before the breakout.? I bout it at 0.500...Isn't that before the breakout? Also, i am not gambling because i minimise my risks through stop losses.
> 
> What do you mean by a plan? I have no idea when i should sell the stock. I will try to sell it at its top, but I cannot in anyway predict that.




If you dont mind me asking how old are you? (nothing wrong with being young (if you are), I bought my first shares at 12). I am just curious as to how you came to the decision to start trading?

Also what made you chose MAD and EVN? Was it on your own analysis? due to a broker recommendation?


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

investorpaul said:


> If you dont mind me asking how old are you? (nothing wrong with being young (if you are), I bought my first shares at 12). I am just curious as to how you came to the decision to start trading?
> 
> Also what made you chose MAD and EVN? Was it on your own analysis? due to a broker recommendation?




Why did I choose EVN? I chose it because I know that the price of GOLD will rise. What companies would profit from a rising gold price? Well gold mining companies. After looking through all the gold mining companies on the ASX, i thought that EVN was the most buyable for me (low price) and looked safe (the price was not volatile). So when people realise gold will reach 2000, I think that EVN will rise. 

As for my age, i just finished high school and am trying to earn money.

MAD I bought because I noticed a few days ago that it rose from 0.5 to 0,59 and then dropped off to 0.5. I then read about the company. It tunes out that they have more than 30 years of experience drilling oil. I also noticed that the price of crude is rising (because of the falling dollar).


----------



## McLovin (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> Why did I choose EVN? I chose it because I know that the price of GOLD will rise.




How do you _know_ that? Thinking you know something can be very dangerous. There are no certainties in the market, if there was there wouldn't be a market.



zwiiyt said:


> MAD I bought because I noticed a few days ago that it rose from 0.5 to 0,59 and then dropped off to 0.5. I then read about the company. It tunes out that they have more than 30 years of experience drilling oil. I also noticed that the price of crude is rising (because of the falling dollar).




This is a gamble, plain and simple.


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

McLovin said:


> How do you _know_ that? Thinking you know something can be very dangerous. There are no certainties in the market, if there was there wouldn't be a market.




The price of gold will rise because America and Europe are keeping interest rates low. This action depreciates fiat currencies. For this reason gold will rise.


----------



## matthewdean (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> Survive?? what do you mean? I am already up $80 dollars. besides that, i have a lot more capital plus a steady job. I am not going to go bankrupt here...
> 
> Sorry if i seem rude, but i am only going off what I know. After reading nicolas darva's book, i was told that one must plan going into a trade, but one one is in, there is really nothing one can do in terms of predicting the top.




Nicholas Darvas was trading stocks with much less volatility. While I enjoyed reading about his success, he was  lucky that he was trading in an extremely big bull market.

Good luck with your trade.


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

matthewdean said:


> Nicholas Darvas was trading stocks with much less volatility. While I enjoyed reading about his success, he was also lucky that he was trading in an extremely big bull market.
> 
> Good luck with your trade.




Yes, I got that impression too. TO me it seems that the current state of the ASX is pretty boring (bearish). Why is it that stocks in the NYSE can reach $100 but in Australia they struggle to get $50?


----------



## McLovin (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> Yes, I got that impression too. TO me it seems that the current state of the ASX is pretty boring (bearish). Why is it that stocks in the NYSE can reach $100 but in Australia they struggle to get $50?




I'm not trying to sound rude and I commend you on wanting to get into investing/trading at a young age, but you're question is extremely naive and I would suggest really learning and understanding the basics of shares before you go and blow your money.


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

McLovin said:


> I'm not trying to sound rude and I commend you on wanting to get into investing/trading at a young age, but you're question is extremely naive and I would suggest really learning and understanding the basics of shares before you go and blow your money.




ok


----------



## investorpaul (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> Why did I choose EVN? I chose it because I know that the price of GOLD will rise. What companies would profit from a rising gold price? Well gold mining companies. After looking through all the gold mining companies on the ASX, i thought that EVN was the most buyable for me (low price) and looked safe (the price was not volatile). So when people realise gold will reach 2000, I think that EVN will rise.
> 
> As for my age, i just finished high school and am trying to earn money.
> 
> MAD I bought because I noticed a few days ago that it rose from 0.5 to 0,59 and then dropped off to 0.5. I then read about the company. It tunes out that they have more than 30 years of experience drilling oil. I also noticed that the price of crude is rising (because of the falling dollar).




What research did you conduct to determine that EVN was the best value gold stock on the market (given your criteria outlined)? 

I believe in the long term potential of gold, but not very gold stock will deliver strong returns because of a rise in POG. It comes down to the potential of their projects, the management team, drilling success, funding capacity, etc, etc, etc.

You also need to move away from the concept of low price and look at the market capitalisation. for example:

Company A has 100 shares at $1 each = Market cap of $100

Company B has 200 shares at 0.50 each = Market cap of $100

Both company's are worth the same amount even though one is "priced" lower than the other.

Also buying a company cause they have 30 years experiencing drilling oil means nought. I follow MAD occasionally and do believe it is a good stock, but you have essentially taken a punt that the price will continue to rise, even though it has already had a massive run over the last few weeks.

I know our comments may seem harsh but we are trying to protect you from blowing up.


----------



## investorpaul (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> Yes, I got that impression too. TO me it seems that the current state of the ASX is pretty boring (bearish). Why is it that stocks in the NYSE can reach $100 but in Australia they struggle to get $50?




As per my post above the dollar value of each share means jack. Please research this concept at the very least.


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

investorpaul said:


> What research did you conduct to determine that EVN was the best value gold stock on the market (given your criteria outlined)?
> 
> I believe in the long term potential of gold, but not very gold stock will deliver strong returns because of a rise in POG. It comes down to the potential of their projects, the management team, drilling success, funding capacity, etc, etc, etc.
> 
> ...




I understand. I know that it was probably just luck that i picked it, and that is one bet that I can't count on holding for long. Thank you for your ideas. I obviously have a lot more to learn. Do you have any books you could recommend?


----------



## McLovin (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> ok




The ASX has a series of online modules that might help you understand the basics of investing in the sharemarket. I highly suggest doing those, at the very least, before you do anything else.

http://www.asx.com.au/resources/online-courses.htm


----------



## investorpaul (9 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> I understand. I know that it was probably just luck that i picked it, and that is one bet that I can't count on holding for long. Thank you for your ideas. I obviously have a lot more to learn. Do you have any books you could recommend?




Sorry no books per say but I agree with McLovin the ASX provide an excellent resource/education series for people new to the markets.

Start there, read forums, ask questions,etc


----------



## prawn_86 (9 February 2012)

#1 rule for beginners. NEVER invest money you cant afford to lose. If you need this money you are trading with, then take your profit and run.

If you are willing to lose it in the process of learning then have fun, it will probably take you at least 5 years to be consistently profitable, and then by then the market will have changed. Members here will help as long as you are willing to listen and do not pretend to KNOW what you are talking about.

I would suggest reading thouroughly through the entire beginners forum. If you have a question, it will have been asked before. Make use of the search function


----------



## zwiiyt (9 February 2012)

prawn_86 said:


> #1 rule for beginners. NEVER invest money you cant afford to lose. If you need this money you are trading with, then take your profit and run.
> 
> If you are willing to lose it in the process of learning then have fun, it will probably take you at least 5 years to be consistently profitable, and then by then the market will have changed. Members here will help as long as you are willing to listen and do not pretend to KNOW what you are talking about.
> 
> I would suggest reading thouroughly through the entire beginners forum. If you have a question, it will have been asked before. Make use of the search function




thank you.


----------



## TangOU (13 February 2012)

Just check MAD and it is 0.68 now. This is 40% increase within few days of trading. It is amazing and may be a beginner's luck.

For myself, I start buying stock three weeks ago with one account in IG ($1000) and one account in IB (A$10,000). The IG account is used to trade DAX and have A$290 left now (stop trading).

IB account is to trade ASX stock. For the first two weeks, the balance on this account was down all the time and never have one winning day. Thanks for low commission costs in IB, I changed the stock around and just see the balance going to +A$1000 on last week.

I added another A$10,000 into the IB account and bought more stock on last Thursday. However, the whole balance was reduced to A$500 again on last Friday (ASX was down on last Friday). 

Today, it seems back again.

I have traded stock 10 years ago and never made any money. Tried Forex few years without any luck.

From reading many posts in the forum, finally, I have some clues on trading. I think the best spending is to buy the VSA software last week although I haven't used the software to buy any stock yet, but I learn heaps from VSA and completely change my views about trading. There are tons of material from internet about VSA. Or just search the VSA keyword in this forum and some good posts are coming up. VSA is actually adding one more dimension on top of traditional technical analysis - the Volume which is called trading activity/effort in VSA.


----------



## Tyler Durden (13 February 2012)

zwiiyt said:


> I am already up $80 dollars.




Do you know how much of that will be taxed?


----------



## alexc2005 (14 February 2012)

Nice pick with MAD

You got lucky though, don't let it make you cocky.


----------

