I want to make my past self, who thought 'I have to trade more,' read 'The Textbook of Swing Trading'

Since I started trading stocks, the time I spend looking at charts has increased.

I used to look at the stock prices of popular companies before I started, but it has clearly increased (laughs).

After all, when your own money is involved, your perspective changes.

Even if I heard on the news that ‘Company XX’s stock price rose,’ I used to just think ‘Oh, I see’ and leave it at that.

Now, I’ve started thinking things like:

‘Why did it go up?’
‘Will it keep going up from here?’
‘Is it too late to get in now?’

Maybe this is what having a sense of ownership is all about.

And once I actually started trading, I found there were more things to worry about than I had imagined.

I would buy a stock thinking ‘This one looks like it will go up,’ only for it not to rise as expected, forcing me to cut my losses.

Conversely, after selling out of fear, the stock price would go up, and I would regret it, thinking,

‘I should have held onto it longer…’

As I repeated these things, I started to think about something.

‘In the first place, what kind of trading do I want to do?’

I am also interested in day trading.

It seems interesting to complete trades in a short time, and I do have a desire to try it.

But it is difficult to keep watching stock prices while working a job.

At the same time, just doing long-term investing aimlessly feels a bit off.

Thinking about it this way, I started to feel that,

‘Swing trading might be the right fit for me.’

It was at that moment that I read Hamitako’s ‘The Textbook of Swing Trading’.

Reading this book didn’t just teach me ‘how to swing trade,’ but it became a catalyst for me to think about ‘how I want to engage with stocks.’

The following three points left a particularly strong impression on me:

* The concept of a ‘half-signal’

* Margin trading isn’t scary. But it is scary (laughs)

* You don’t actually need that many trades

And among these three, the one I thought would have the biggest impact on my own trading was the idea that,

‘You don’t actually need that many trades.’

When you’ve just started trading stocks, you inevitably feel like you ‘have to do something.’
The market is open.
Stock prices are moving.

Yet I am doing nothing.

Just that alone makes me feel like I am somehow losing out.

But is that really the case?

Since reading this book, my way of thinking has changed a little.

Perhaps the option of ‘not buying’ is also a proper part of trading.
From here on, I will write about the three concepts that left the biggest impression on me after reading this book, and how I intend to incorporate them into my actual trading.

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1. The concept of a ‘half-signal’

The thing that left the biggest impression on me was the concept of a ‘half-signal’.

When you are trading stocks, you inevitably want to look for the ‘perfect buying opportunity’.

The moving average is like this, the chart is like that, the volume is like this…

I find myself wanting to buy only after as many conditions as possible are met.

I was the same way.

‘It will definitely go up here.’

I would stare at the charts, feeling like that kind of timing must exist somewhere.

However, if you think about it, no one knows the future.

No matter how much you analyze the charts, you cannot say for sure that tomorrow’s stock price will rise.

That is precisely why I thought the concept of a ‘half-signal’ was interesting.

Instead of waiting for a perfect answer, you make a decision based on the fact that,

‘I have my own reasons for buying.’

Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s okay to buy aimlessly.

It means accepting that things are not certain, while still having your own rationale.

I wanted to keep this way of thinking in mind as I continue to trade from now on.

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2. Margin trading isn’t scary. But it is scary (laughs)

Another thing that left an impression on me was about margin trading.

Until now, I had a very scary image of margin trading.

‘Buying stocks with borrowed money.’

Just hearing that makes it feel scary.

With cash trading, at worst, you can think in terms of the money you put in.

However, with margin trading, that is not the case.

Because of that, I even thought,

‘Maybe it’s better to never do margin trading at all.’

However, after reading this book, that way of thinking changed a little.

I realized that it’s not so much that margin trading itself is scary, but how you use it that is important.

Manage your funds, don’t take on unreasonable positions, and control your own risks.

Thinking about it that way, it’s not as simple as ‘margin trading = something scary’.

…That said, it is still scary (laughs).

I don’t intend to start margin trading right away, but I realized it is important to think about it after understanding the mechanisms and risks, rather than just deciding that ‘it’s dangerous because it’s margin trading.’

But it’s still scary (laughs)

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3. You don’t actually need that many trades

And personally, this might have been the biggest realization.
It is the idea that ‘you don’t have to trade that much.’

When you start trading stocks, you inevitably want to do something.

You check the stock prices in the morning and think,

‘What should I buy today?’

If I don’t have any stocks, I think,

‘It’s a waste to do nothing when the market is open.’

However, if you think about it, trading itself is not the goal.

If the goal is to make a profit, there is no need to force yourself to buy when the conditions aren’t met.

It is fine to wait until the conditions are right.

It is fine to have days where you don’t buy anything.

Rather, I thought it might be important to have the option of ‘doing nothing’.

This was a pretty big discovery for me.

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Things I want to be conscious of from now on

Just because I read ‘The Textbook of Swing Trading’ doesn’t mean I will suddenly be able to win at stocks.

In the actual market, I think I will continue to lose money as usual.

There will be times when I think, ‘I should have bought it then,’ and there will also be times when I think, ‘Why did I buy it here?’

Therefore, I want to start by changing my trading little by little.

Specifically:

* Don’t look for the perfect signal too much

* Have my own reasons for buying

* Don’t force a buy when conditions aren’t met

* Don’t make increasing the number of trades the goal

* Think about the stop-loss line before entering

* Think about the exit when a profit is made

* Don’t try to win big in a single trade

* Always reflect after a trade

I want to be conscious of these things.

And I believe that as I repeat buying and selling, my own style of trading will emerge (laughs).

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Conclusion
Reading ‘The Textbook of Swing Trading’ didn’t suddenly make stocks easy.
If anything, there might be times from now on where I find it even more difficult.
However, the feeling that ‘I must always be doing something’ has faded a little.
Wait until the right timing comes.
Even if it’s not perfect, enter with your own rationale.
And on days when there is nothing, do nothing.

For me right now, this kind of distance might be just right.
I want to continue searching for my own way while actually trading.

And when I read this note again someday, I hope I can think, ‘I’ve gotten a little better than I was back then.’