1) I only buy from your list of stocks in the breakout tracker
2) I gather possibilities the prior evening and put them in a watch list using Medved Quote Tracker. This gives me real time tracking the next day. Real time alerts are also set in QT for my mental buy stops.
3) Unless the market is on a tear (I think I’ve forgotten what that is) I won’t buy until 30-60 minutes after the open. A couple of times I’ve gotten lucky because by the time I have gotten your buy alert the market has changed to a more favorable condition for my buy. I’m convinced you planned it that way for us amateurs.
4) Right after making a buy I set my sell stop at 5% or less. As soon as I make more than $20, I bring my sell stop to just above break even (including commissions and spread costs). If I can stay home and watch the market (which I can do a couple days a week) I keep adjusting my trailing stop by finding an intraday support and bringing my stop to just below that. Granted I have missed some great runs but the chance of finding one of those in the current market is pretty dismal.
5) Your hammering on money management finally woke me up to stop wishing the market would do what I want after I pull the trigger. I’ve only been holding positions for a short time — about six days on average, although the time gets shorter each week.