Hi all,
I'm still a novice trader. The market has been very good to me for the most part, but I keep getting shaken out of highly profitable trades prematurely (2nd straight time this month). I use discretionary stops based on daily profit loss percentages to around 2.5% (?which is substantial?)
Here's my most recent trade:
SZYM BOT on 3/7 @ 11.88 (knife-catching? I know. sorry guys! Thought I saw good support from previous periods)
3/12: Gap up @14.18, breaks 14,
breaks 13.90,
breaks 13.80, I type in my order,
breaks 13.75, I brace myself,
breaks 13.70, I vomit. and hit the sell.
SOLD @ 13.65
4:00 pm closes over 13.90. I curse the world.
Today. Closes over 14.43. I am too chicken to get back in saddle. (trading on cash acct w/3-day settling) and I curse the world some more.
Now part of me pats myself on the back for making a profitable (albeit riskily initiated) trade. The other part kicks me for being a slight wuss in a bull market and not using wider stops.
Can I please get some feedback on this trade?
Any & all constructive criticism appreciated.
Thanks so much!
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Za Trend trader;
Well, frankly i wouldnt call buying @50 day moving average area a ''falling knife'', but a buy on a ''no earnings ''stock ,can easily result in''no earnings'' especially since you pretty much bought it under 200 dma/tried to catch a falling safe.
You may want to study a 11 period ema;
especially since it can preserve some profit. Not that a new trader should auto buy under 200 day moving average.As Mr Alan Farley says, ''bears[sellers] live below 200dma''.....................
Sorry, but 2.5%/profit % stop on a $11 stock sounds like noise.Wider stops on a buy below 200dma???????-No thanks
Nice buy, if it was above 200dma;
or if it was SLV or silver, i may/may not buywith discretion below 200dma, but not a no-name no- earnings stock. Remenber 11 dma helper.
Thanks everyone for the amazingly informative pieces of guidance.
I've since tried out many of the suggested techniques, including entering on a stop, and setting a wider threshold for my stop losses.
More importantly, I think the hardest thing for me to pick up is to know the difference between fighting the tape and standing against a shakeout. I'm still charting my way through the SZYM trade, having lost a good chunk of profit from the 16.00 level. I have strong doubts about closing out at this point since I see a clear asc. triangle forming... which might turn into a double top tomorrow, given the shitstorm that seems to be coming.. No idea yet. Waiting for confirmation, but from the looks of the broader mkt now... almost definitely a double top lol..
The level 2 reading on this stock has always looked scary, bids are usually 8-15 cents away from each other, sometimes maybe even 25 cents.. red flags? Not sure how indicative level 2 is ..?
I'd like to extend my sincere thanks for all the contributors who have shared their insights on this post. I have read every single post and owe you all many thanks for helping me on my way to becoming a better trader. Best of luck to everyone in the upcoming week!
1. SZYM- why did you enter at all? Why then? I read the entry as being several weeks earlier, but I want to be a buy and hold guy and was not sure I could sleep with the trade (and all money was tied up). It broke out of a trend line 3/9, that was a better entry than on 3/12. http://4nursebee.blogspot.com/2012/01/szym.html
2. What time of day was your entry? What time were the other prices? I have the sense that (and I see it many times over in the market) that a bullish stock opens high, retreats during the day, and then shows it strength towards the close. Seems like this was the case. I am not sure if it is true or not, but I picture a market maker working his book, trying to fill orders at the best price for mutual funds. He scared you out and lowered his VWAP for the day...the opposite is true for bearish acting stocks, the bullish smile shaped chart gets flipped and the psychology is also.
