Category: Q&A

I have received a lot of questions over the last week. I attempt to answer them in the videos below.

1. Can you trade OTC stocks with Sogotrade and how are their borrows for shorting OTC stocks?
2. Will ThinkorSwim have better borrows on shorts once they merge with Ameritrade? Answer: no.
3. Why did my stop loss on my long position in CRWG get executed before the market opened?
4. How do you set a bracket order on an already-open position at IB? Answer: No clue.

Video #2:

1. How high will PEPR go? How did I know it was going to be pumped? Answer: I didn’t.
2. Why don’t you respond to my email about a specific stock?
3. Have I ever been asked by stock promoters to join in a stock pump & dump?
4. [Question answered previously and not answered]
5. Which brokers have a scrolling high of the day (HOD) list like Scottrade?

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

I answer the following questions:

1. How do you set up your pages on Interactive Brokers TWS so that symbols don’t disappear when you disconnect?
2. Do you recommend Tim Sykes’ TimAlerts service to those who have no experience trading? Do his DVDs explain very basic stuff like how to make a trade on a trading platform?

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. I am a TimAlerts lifetime subscriber and have other relationships with Tim Sykes, which are discussed in my terms of use; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

Video #1 questions:

1. What is up with Interactive Brokers’ Time & Sales feature? It seems to have multiple prints of large trades that don’t occur?
2. How do I enable AQS Stock Loan / Borrow in IB? (I suggested seeing my post on that and then signing up to my email list so you can see another post on it; there is a link on the right-hand side of my blog).
3. How should I determine my position size for trades?

Video #2 questions:

1. Do you know about using Canadian brokers to trade penny stocks or to evade the PDT?
2. How did you get the nickname Reaper?
3. It seems that the term ‘short squeeze’ is used too loosely? How do you tell if something is a real short squeeze or if it is just momentum buyers?
4. How do you find stocks that you buy that are potential pumps?
5. What are IB’s commissions for very low-priced stocks?

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

Questions asked include:

1. How do you set hotkeys in IB TWS?
2. How to configure charts in IB TWS for indicators other than volume?
3. How can you configure IB charts to show news?
4. Really long question about level 2.
5. What will I do when I am rich and my account is too large to trade penny stocks any more?
6. What do I do with the money I don’t keep in cash in my brokerage accounts?
7. What are the best investments for traders?

I probably do not completely any of the questions. Part of the reason is I will not do basic legwork for you, my beloved readers. I am happy to help, but please put some effort into trying to learn things on your own.

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

If you have a question drop me an email and I’ll try to answer it in my next Q&A post. In the video I answer the following three questions:

1) What settings do I use on my charts in Interactive Brokers Traders Workstation.
2) How does one trade without level 1 real-time data? Is level 2 necessary? How do I see a large bid and decide to cover a short because of that?
3) Who are my favorite traders and what are my favorite trading books?

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

In the video I answer the following questions:

1. How does one interpret the cumulative size and average price on Interactive Brokers’ Market Depth?
2. How do you find pumps and is it a good strategy?
(Note: I will not answer any more questions on this topic because besides being ethically dubious, buying pumps is the riskiest kind of trade I have done and I do not recommend it.)

Please use the contact form to send me questions that I will answer in the next Q&A video.

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

Watch the video for my answers to these questions.

1. Where can I go to get good OTC level 2?
2. How can I scan for stocks getting volume spikes?
3. Where do you get the live news that I have seen on your trade recaps?
4. How do I scan for OTC stocks I’m looking to buy to hold overnight? I should add the caveat that this strategy has lost me money and is very risky. I don’t see why I get so many questions about one of my worst trading strategies.
5. How do I determine which stocks to trade on non-OTC stocks?

Disclosure: I an affiliate of Speedtrader although I have never received any money from them. No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

I answer your questions in the video:

1. What are the cancel order and trade bust fees at Interactive Brokers?
2. What is the difference between bundled and unbundled commission structures at Interactive Brokers?
3. Where do I find out about different stock promoters (pumpers)?

Disclosure: I am a happy customer of Interactive Brokers. No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

In the video I answer a few questions:

1. How do I spot volume breakouts during the day?
2. How do I set alerts at IB?
3. How did I get an account at Goldman Sachs?
4. How do I find stocks moving in the pre-market?

If you send me an email your question or use my contact page to ask a question your question will likely be answered in the next installment of this (perhaps weekly) series.

Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.