It Ain’t Easy
This is not an easy game, especially when a major market move (like the bull market that began in 1982) ends. There are probably fewer full-time professional traders in this country than there are professional athletes. You must be prepared to work as hard and to be as persistent as a profe
Keep Costs Low
Because of the high turnover of trading, commission costs must be kept to a minimum. You will have a difficult time maximizing your profits if your trade for more than 6 cents/share. –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading (1996, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.).
Forget About Forecasting
Overall, stock market direction is fun to ponder, but beyond a few days it is impossible to predict. My strategies are based on short-term factors, not macroeconomic news. –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading (1996, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.).
Time Is A Tyrant
Never forget: The longer a position is held, the more things can go wrong. –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading (1996, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.).
Sponsorship” Is Critical
I do not have the patience to wait for the Wall Street Journal to discover the next Microsoft. I trade the stocks that the momentum growth funds are in. –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading (1996, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.)
Watch for Exceptionally Strong and Weak Closes
When a market closes strongly in my favor, it has a higher-than-normal likelihood of following through the next morning. This means that a long position that closes in the top of its range will likely move higher early the nest trading day. I believe this occurs because buyers are not fille
Winning Trades Should Stay That Way
The most successful (price) objectives will be based on straightforward concepts and not complex calculations. –Perry J. Kaufman, from Trading Systems and Methods, 3rd edition (1998, John Wiley & Sons, New York).
Position Size and Multiple Signals
By waiting for same-direction signals you are stacking the odds on your side. When I get multiple signals in the same day I tend to increase my position size. This means that if I were to normally trade 1,000 shares on an individual setup, I will trade between 1,500 and 3,000 shares on the
Creating the Cooper Hit List (3)
New Highs/New Lows–I love long setups at or near new highs and short setups at or near new lows. –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading II (1998, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.)
Creating the Cooper Hit List (2)
Moving Averages–Ideally, my buy setups are trading above their 50-day moving average and my short setups below the average (except for the reversal strategies). –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading II (1998, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.)
Creating The Cooper Hit List (1)
Price–At least $30 per share, and the higher, the better. As I stated in Hit and Run Trading, it is easier for a $60 stock to rise 2 points than it is for a $20 stock (common sense). –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading II (1998, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.)
Protect Profits
Never allow a profit of at least 3/4 of a point to turn into a loss! Remember, day trading and short-term trading is a game of eighths, and profits must be protected. –Jeff Cooper, from Hit and Run Trading II (1998, M. Gordon Publishing Group, Malibu, Calif.)