10KTrades

If only we could go back in time...

I remember taking a stock market class in college and recognize my apathetic view at that time of tracking stocks. We picked symbols from a newspaper and tracked the returns. I didn't care about the class, I had no passion for it, I just wanted to enjoy my time in college and at that time stock returns did not motivate me. Probably should have paid more attention in that class!

Outside of a 401(k) account that I had through my employer (an account that I eventually liquidated, more on that later) I bought my first individual stock on January 27, 1999. The stock was PCMS and I bought 600 shares for $8.00. I cannot remember what they did or why I chose that stock but I sold all 600 shares the very next day for a $9.00 commission fee for a total gain of $573.82. This was kinda FUN!

This was the beginning of the journey to ten thousand trades.

I'm going to try and post a few times a week and I'll keep the posts short, quick and easy to read.…

Welcome to 10KTrades.com. As the name implies, I've executed nearly 10,000 transactions during my trading career.

During my 21 years of trading, I've won some (60%) and I've lost some (40%) and I hope I can share my experiences, regardless of the outcome, to educate you on some of the things I've learned over the years.

As you follow my blog, you'll see how much I love the water and I often will use boating terms as metaphors for trading. If you follow along you'll need to interpret the sea conditions, nautical charts and weather forecasts and how they impact my heading and course. Here are a few of the interpretations:
Ticker Symbol/Stock Position = Boat or ship or vessel being tradedAll Ticker Symbols/Stock Positions = FleetNot Invested = At the dock, port or harborSymbol Purchase = Leaving the dock or port as in set sail, cruise or voyageTrade Strategy = The course, heading or direction the boat will be taking at seaDistance = The amount I am investing. The …