Just want to vent and hear some advice

It was at least a good way to find out, who is a friend and who isn't

My 2 cents: Your losses are a very expensive schooling tuition. That's what it sometimes takes to get good in the market. When I started around 8 years ago I turned 50K of hard earned money into 280K within 6 months and then lost it all. I took a long long break from it all then I gradually started again. During that time-off it all sank in, all the peices came together for me. Now I can say "I am back"; The pain that you will suffer now will one day turn into joy.

cheers, rednite

Thanks rednite,

so, what was it that you do now that is different than what you did back then?
do you still daytrade or do you buy and hold?

What has changed since the massive losses?

danny,

When one starting out has high success during times when odds supported anyone to have success, one starts thinking and believing that he is good. As the market starts proving you wrong, you become as the gambler, then little later one might become more desperate and go for that hail-mary when odds are not with you, and you end up losing more. Now this is the general case but since you are seeking to find out more that means you are on right track to long recovery. Here are a few of my suggestions:

-- I had suggested earlier that if possible take some time off, Actually you might want to forget about the markets for a long while; I know this is hard but that's what helped me intitually get back on track.
-- Find out what type of trading or investing style/method suits you best (for me intermediate term does); Consider all aspects of it. And try to stick to one and only one for now and for a while. Do not mix and try doing all sorts of stuff at once. If you cannot do this then you still do not have the disciplinbe it takes.
--Once you decide to start your method/style of trading, start with a small account. Think of it as schooling in progress and not "I need to try and get back all I lost".
--You know yourself; Do you have the discipline it takes? Can you comfortably use some reliable technical analysis tools to tell when to buy/sell or stay put? Are you patient or do you feel like the folks in Vegas who want to be rolling the dice all the time even when odds are not on their side? Can you guage where we are in a market cycle? Can you spot topping patterns? If you do can you pull the trigger on that company you loved? Or would you be in paralysis waiting another day to see?
--What trading books did you read? How do you guage or conclude that they were any good? Lots of Bozos have written lots of books. People new to trading won't have a clue which is which. Another reason to take your time. My suggestion is read and re-read, and the meditate and read again all 3 books by Justin Mamis.
--In case you watch CNBC, CNNFN, spend time web sites like street.com then my advice is forget them. They are nothing but "noise generators" that will affect your judgement.
--Watch out from the crowd mentality. Do you feel the need to be loved and approved of on message boards. This and previous bullet could make you very blind to be objective about your stock and market analysis.

well, I hope I was of help to you. Best wishes.

rednite

thanks rednite...

I think you are right. the temptation to overtrade is so easy... I think what really worked for me when i was on "the edge" was that I was taking things one step at a time and not rush. i think I can't decide whether i want to be a swing trader or day trader... i often want that extra buck.... I don't know why... despite my journal telling me not to... it's so easy to do exactly opposite of what you learned.

I traded ADBE with a small account the other day. I shorted it with a plan. problem is, when the tick started going the other way, I backed out immediately. It took nearly a week for my plan to materialize. i couldn't stand around waiting for it to happen, so i went back to trying to get that quick buck... sigh...

I didn't see the reversal a lot of time until it's too late. That's pretty bad on my part. Especially with this market. I don't know when to see when I'm making money and i don't know when to sell when i'm losing money. I still have the same problem now. I simply can't short the market... i don't know why.

I don't watch those shows anymore... they're more misleading than anything...

I really appreciate your help. wish we can exchange ideas somehow when we see something on our charts...

I like this one. Very true, very good.

They are not so misleading if you understand motive