Using Desk

Trading Desk Information and Guidelines

This page contains important information that can guide you every time you get on to the Trading Desk. The aim of this page is to provide members as well as trial members the much needed information related to trading activities.

Trading Desk Overview

The Trading Desk serves as the existing virtual trading floor where currently active members gather to move on to their activities during market hours. It is also the virtual room where they meet to exchange information relevant to trading activities. Real-time breaking news about the stock market as well as stock trading alerts are provided along with the help of moderators that serve as hosts of the trading floor.

News and alerts about active stocks in the market are provided and pointed out. It is then based on the discretion of the members on which one they see as positive and those that are not. To be precise, the trading desk is designed for the more advanced traders. The main idea is for the traders to decide on their own on how to deal with the trades with the guide of stock news and alerts. Furthermore, the Trading Desk aims to instill the value of a team instead of following only what is indicated since the Trading Desk is mainly created for alert service purposes.

New Members

As a reminder, new members are advised to first watch and observe the trading movements before finally submitting yourself into the real action. Everybody knows that the stock market is a very unpredictable market and being caught unprepared might end up in substantial losses that may be hurting for a new player to endure.

Try to familiarize yourself first by reading some of these relevant links to have an idea of how the play will run through.

DayTrading Strategies
Swing Trading
Security Analysis
2.5 Percent System
Short Selling
Options Trading
Option Price Codes
NASD Rule 2520
Five Letter Tickers
On-line Brokers
Equipment & Software
Glossary of Terms
Market Holiday Schedule

Reading List / Book Store

You should also be informed that not all that is present in the Trading Desk are members who are watching and observing. There are also interested ones who are eager to share in the discussions. However, you have to be watchful of your words and your behavior when you are participating in discussions because unprofessional and ungracious behaviors are not tolerated in this virtual room.

In conclusion, we want to welcome you as part of the family of Day Traders.com. Join us in making this room a more profitable and harmonious environment for members to trade each day.

General Trading Desk Rules

It has been a practice to allow and entertain information contributed by members for the benefit of the room. However, there are certain rules implemented that every member should follow whe using the trading desk. This is to ensure that members will continue to execute action in a professional and orderly environment. The rules are as follows:

  • Your input is always welcome; however members are instructed to allow the staffs to call the plays.

  • Members should always see to it that they act professionally and treat others with high respect.

  • Foul languages are not tolerated.

  • Copyrighted materials are not allowed for posting in the room.

  • Promotion of competitor sites are strongly prohibited.

  • Asking for e-mail addresses of users are not allowed.

Note: The room is intended for trading related purposes alone, any member distracting the room or doing activities not related with stock trading purposes will be given a warning and/or a 30-day view only period. There are also cases wherein termination of membership is given without prior notice. It is best that you consult customer service support by emailing support@daytraders.com before you react on your own to prevent further complications.

Accessing The Desk

The Trading Desk can be accessed in two ways:

  1. Through the Windows based software that comes with several enhanced features, This software is available free of charge by downloading from the main page of the website.

  2. The next method is supported by any standard Netscape or Microsoft compatible browser.

If you are using a web browser to access the desk, what you need to do is right-click in the main chat window and click Reload. This is always effective when you are accessing the desk on the road or when you are away from your computer especially when you are using older versions of Netscape.

Joining the Chat

All members are invited to join the action in the Trading Desk. However, it is advised that inputs be limited only verifiable market data in relation to stocks actually in play at the desk. For other inputs not directly related it is best that members emailed to moderators. This is done by clicking their name. New members are also advised that they first observe how everyone interacts in the discussion to make them feel at home first. This is to make sure that you won’t be doing actions that might be somehow inappropriate to the discussion and the rules of the room.

It is also advised that chats not directly related to stock market trading be kept on hold since this is not a social chat. Keep in mind that you are here to earn profits and not just merely chat about anything under the sun.

Types of Stock Alerts Provided

The moderators at the Trading Desk are directed to provide different types of stock as well as new alerts for the benefit of the members. The following are the outline of the types of alerts used in the Trading Desk.

Trading Alerts take the following format
BUY Consider buying a stock
SELL POSITION Consider closing out a previous trade
SHORT Consider shorting a stock
COVER SHORT Consider covering a previous short position
CANCEL ORDER Cancel a previous alert and/or order



Types of News Alerts Provided

News alerts provide helpful hints when carrying out trading activities. The following are the number of news alerts used in the Trading Desk:

News Alerts take the following format
NEWS A general news story regarding a stock or the markets
RUMOR A rumor alert regarding a stock or the markets
RESEARCH General market news or research information
BLOCK TRADE An indication that a large block trade has crossed on a stock
ANALYST An Analyst upgrade, downgrade or rating change
EARNINGS News release regarding corporate earnings or estimates
STOCK SPLIT An announcement regarding a stock split

Abbreviations and Definitions

Listed below are the abbreviations and definitions that members can usually find at the Trading Desk.

Commonly used abbreviations at the Trading Desk
3X&D Three moves against resistance & then breaks down
Ax The market maker that leads price movements of a stock
Band A stochastic reading; values from 0 to 100
Blox Block trade
Bone $1/share
brb be right back
btw by the way
Copex to describe a stock which is about to drop in value (e.g. that stock is about to copex). Derived from the follow post on the internet
Dime 1/8 ($0.125)/share
$ wirz Fee based news service that DT accesses for market information
DT DayTrader; the host of the Trading Desk
DTM Decisive Trade Management - A trading philosophy which means having a plan to exit a trade before you enter the position; cutting losses quickly if the trade is not working out the way you expected; and never letting a profit turn into a loss. Act decisively to preserve your trading capital as your first priority
DTO Short hand for DayTraders.com
Dumper A stock that opens significantly lower than its previous day trading range
ECN Electronic Commerce Network; computerized NASDAQ trading system.
Gap & Trap A market maker move to gap the price of a stock up at the open, then lower prices thereby trapping buyers that bought the gap
Heat A sudden increase of buys in a particular stock
imo in my opinion
imho in my humble opinion
lol laugh(ing) out loud
MBT Manhattan Beach Trading; a brokerage firm that caters to the needs of professional day traders
MM Market maker; a firm that makes a market in the shares of NASDAQ stocks
Nickel 1/16 ($0.0625)/share
rof rolling on the floor
Stick $1/share
Stone $1,000
Teenie 1/16th
tia thanks in advance
TRIN Trading Index of buying Pressure vs. Selling Pressure. [ 1.0 = neutral ] [ under 1.0 = Buying Pressure ] [ over 1.0 = selling pressure ]
TOS Time and sales; data from Level II source
wtg way to go

Commonly used MM/ECN Abbreviations
ARCA Archipelago ECN, shows as RCHIP on Level II
BEST Bear, Stears & Co., Inc.
DLJP Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities
GSCO Goldman, Sachs & Co.
HRZG Herzog, Heine, Geduld, Inc.
ISLD The Island ECN
INCA Instinet Corp.
MASH Mayer & Schweitzer, Inc.
MSCO Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc.
NITE Knight Securities, Inc.
TNTO Terra Nova Trading, LLC
TSCO Troster Singer Corporation
SBSH Salomon, Smith Barney Inc.

Moderator Warnings and View Only Mode

Room moderators see to it that the room is maintained orderly within the professional environment. There are cases wherein members will receive warning messages. If in case you did receive one, there is no need for you to panic and over react This is only a reminder that it is time for you to review the house rules that are implemented to be obeyed by all members. In case you have questions or a slight reaction, all you have to do is email the moderators to help clear some matters and any misunderstood information. This is also an effective approach to make sure that everything is clear and understood.

However, after receiving email warnings and still you are doing the same actions and violations again, there is a possibility that your account will be placed in ‘view only mode’. You still don’t have to be frantic about it though because with just a few emails and explanation, your account will again be placed in its active mode.
However, since you are aware that this is a business. We have all the right to terminate any account based on our discretion with or without notice.