I'm a "converted" fundamentalist and with the market being what it is, I've found myself daytrading far more now than I ever wanted to.
I use scottrade elite and wondered what settings you may use.
Scott in KC
Hi Scott
I use Scottrader, rarely Elite, and Tradestation on multiple computers with and without multiple monitors.
First, I have used Tradestation for about 8 years but it is now an overpriced bloated PIG. Even with today’s low volume it choked during the first ˝ hour making me use what? You guessed it, Scottrade’s software which after many poor years now executes like crazy.
If you have multiple monitors, …, great. If not, try this.
Setup Scottrader, not Elite, with about 10-15 quotes in the right hand corner of the screen.
To the left of it set up a 60 minute chart in the remaining space with the same height as the quote screen.
Above all of that, set up 3 more charts with 1 min, 5 min, and 10 minute time frames.
Stay with me on this.
Set the charts to the same equity, ETF, etc. with only a 20 MA and volume for indicators. Nothing else!
Trade in the direction (up/down) of the 20 MA on the chart with the time frame that suits your style with an eye on volume. Use the shorter time frame charts to give you a heads up on a potential change of trend (up or down) of the 20 MA on your working chart. I personally trade the 10 minute chart with an eye on the 1, 5, and 60 minute charts. You will find in time any move worth trading will start to get some volume behind it within 2-5 bars on a 1 minute chart. After a while, you will get a feel for how simple and effective this method is without a boat load of indicators to mess up your decision making.
However, you can still use Elite for a more in depth view. Just open Elite, do what you want, and then minimize it and use Scottrader to move in and out of your trades. I overlay the order entry over the bottom of the quote screen since it is easy to minimize or bring back. I also leave a very small sliver of the change order and open position screens on the right hand side for when needed. Each application only requires 10-15MB in memory so you should not have any troubles with a memory starved machine.
Hope this helps and for darn sure, …. , do not upgrade to Tradestation unless you like killing time during slow periods or after hours and paying heavy fees for the entertainment. Unfortunately they are a bunch of arrogant ?>#$'s that have turned a great product into a non-productive pig. You know they are going out the door.
KC
