Hey everyone, Ross Cameron here! I just wrapped up my trading day, and while I hit my daily goal, today was anything but smooth. I’ll walk you through what went down, the good, the bad, and what I learned along the way. Spoiler alert: I doubled my goal early in the morning and then gave back half. Let’s dive into the trades.
Starting the Day Strong
My goal every day is to hit around $5k, and today, I did that. In fact, early in the morning, I smashed through my target and was up over $12,000. But here’s the kicker—I had it in the bag and then gave half of it back within a short period. It’s crazy, but that’s how the game works. You’re up one minute, and things can turn fast. Even though I’m still green for the day, it’s tough to ignore what could have been.
This morning, I saw a number of alerts lighting up on my scanner. There were some hot stocks on the move, and I was really excited about the potential today. Yesterday wasn’t great—just a modest green day at $2,000, and I made the decision to call it early because I didn’t want to force anything. Today, I started with a better cushion, and boom, I was aggressive right out of the gate.
Early Action on PRTG
One of the first stocks I traded today was PRTG. It was shaping up nicely with a strong pre-market push, so I got in at $12, targeting a breakout. At 7 a.m., I hopped in around $12, watched it pop to almost $13, and then pulled out at $12.50-ish. That early trade earned me a solid $1,200. That’s how I like to start my days—catching those clean early moves before the market gets too hectic.
PRTG had been active since 4:30 a.m. and had a nice momentum surge. It was testing resistance around $13, and though it struggled to push through immediately, it later broke that level after some bouncing up and down. That’s where my dip buy came into play—I grabbed the dip and rode it to $13, scoring another $4K profit. By then, I had a solid cushion around $5,000, which felt pretty awesome.
The NVVE Rollercoaster
Now, let’s talk about NVVE. This stock was a blast to trade, initially. After a quick spike to around $6.40, I decided to get in on a rally through $6, riding it towards $8. In what felt like no time, I went from being up $3,000 to $10,000. It was one of those fast-moving stocks that can really pump up your heart rate when it’s moving in your favor.
But it wasn’t all fun and games. I had a couple of trades where things didn’t go as planned. I took a big position of 10,000 shares betting it would break $7.60… and instead, it tanked. I gave back about 15% of my profit on that trade. Not ihttps://www.warriortrading.com/day-trading/deal. I shook it off, though, and managed to build myself back up to that $10,000 cushion. But you can probably guess where this is going… The stock ripped again, then got halted, and I thought, “This is it. Another shot.” I jumped in after the resumption around $7.50, and it flushed down to $6.80. On that one trade, I lost around $4,500.
When to Walk Away
By now, I was emotionally activated (to say the least). After giving back nearly half of my profit, frustration started to creep in. But listen, here’s the critical lesson: knowing when to walk away. I still had $5,000 on the day. But the more I tried to claw back, the messier things got. I decided to take a deep breath and ask myself, “Is it worth risking the entire day’s profits because I’m feeling frustrated?” The answer was no.
Here’s a killer tip from a book I recommend, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. If you’re ever in the green and still thinking about pushing it, think again. Walking away while you’re up teaches you a valuable lesson: pay yourself. Nothing good comes out of recklessly chasing after losses, especially when the market doesn’t look clean anymore. After giving back half, I knew the best decision was to step back and lock in that remaining $5,000.
Emotional Challenges in Day Trading
Day trading is an emotional rollercoaster. If you’ve been in the game for a while, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The highs are intoxicating, and the lows can leave you questioning everything. Like today, I was up $12,000, feeling on top of the world. Then, when I saw those numbers slide back to $5,000, frustration kicked in.
But here’s the truth: the worst thing you can do is let that emotional spike dictate your next trades. It’s easy to become obsessed with “getting back” what you lost, but that mindset can wreck you. Instead, focus on respecting your rules and staying disciplined. When you hit a limit, whether it’s giving back half your profit or reaching max loss, just stop. It might not feel great at the moment, but sticking to a plan is what separates successful traders from everyone else.
Tomorrow is Another Day
Yes, I gave up some ground, but I still finished today in the green. I’ll take that over going red any day. What makes day trading exciting is that tomorrow, there could be another stock ready to go parabolic. The goal is to protect your capital today so that you can be aggressive when the market provides clear opportunities tomorrow.
The important thing to remember is that every day is a new chance to grow, learn, and improve. If the market’s hot, I’ll lean in and push harder. But on days like today where things start to get a little funky, I know when it’s time to step back. My goal tomorrow is to be aggressive but also to stay disciplined. You won’t make it far in this game without balancing those two.
Make sure to stay tuned for my small account challenge recap. If you’re interested in watching me trade live, we’ve got a two-week trial at Warrior Trading for just $19, so you can watch over my shoulder and see how I handle these trades in real-time. See you guys bright and early tomorrow morning!
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Disclaimer: The results shared are based on my personal trading experiences and are not typical. Trading involves significant risk, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Always practice in a simulator before trading with real money.