CHAPTER 20
The Perfect Trading Day
 
 
 
Here’s a list of the factors behind the perfect trading day, from the time you wake up until the evening.
• Your broker is pay-per-share.
• Your premarket prep has been thorough.
• All day you’ve been strategically consistent.
• At day’s end you’ve closed all positions.
• You’re not holding overnight.
• You’re thoroughly prepared for tomorrow.
• ... And of course, you’ve made a good profit!
My goal in this chapter is to vividly illustrate the optimum day trading experience. To facilitate this, here’s an in-depth description of an ideal day from my life.

EARLY MORNING ACTIVITIES

First I should mention that occasionally, I kick back and take a day off. It’s never an impulsive decision; I’ve known since the day before. The reason is either the market conditions, or I’ve planned on a very late night.
Today I’m not taking off.
Depending on whether I’ll be trading from home or going to my group-trading floor, I roll out of bed at either 5 A.M. or 7 A.M. (If I’ll be heading out for the floor, which is located way down by Wall Street, I have to be up before dawn. The entrance to the subway is about three city-blocks away, and once I get down in that packed, massive cavern, finding a train with room to cram into can take up even more time.)
It doesn’t matter what the clock says when I first open my eyes: I want a sweet rush of caffeine. Whether swarming humanity is where I’ll end up, or just to my home-based quiet trading desk, the first thing I do, every ...

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