Rethink is fine, with the emphasis on 'think', don't assume because something works for one person it can work the same way for you. It doesn't make any difference whether I'm profitable or not, it's irrelevant in this context. The thing about people like Alex55 is they don't ask pertinent questions because they don't seem to know what is pertinent and what isn't, that's why when I asked him why he thought my risk was relevant to his trading he couldn't answer. I don't mind helping fellow traders....but some people are beyond help and they aren't 'traders'!
With your 3661 posts on ET, I doubt if you have any time to trade, so who is the real trader here.....
Yeah great, but it still doesn't answer the question.... "What difference would it make to you and your trading if I say my risk is 1% or 5% or 25%...."
lol, you obviously have difficulty telling the time, reading a blotter, and correlating the two! Better add that to your list of attributes! More smoke to try and cover up your ignorance, but why won't you answer the question, after all it was you who raised the issue in this post!
I'd like to think that the strategy I was considering using as a model was profitable. So to me it's relevant. But it is the internet and everybody is a winner. I don't expect anyone to prove anything and would do my own DD before changing my own strategy. When someone says that using a stop is giving my money away, I wonder if I could do something different and still be able to stay in the game. Not protecting my capital with a stop is something I have a great deal of trouble comprehending. Iâm not saying it isnât possible just questioning how much risk is involved. Another reason I ask is personal experience with traders that "work their way out of trouble". I have known several and they all seem to have that one bad day that wipes out a few months gains. How do you control risk?
Apart from the trading risk, there is also technological risk. I can think of a number of scenarios that are potentially fatal to an account that involves IT-fuckups, either on the traders or the brokers end, or somewhere in between. Especially for short-term traders, that typically use a bit of leverage. At some firms you can ring up the trade desk and place orders, but chances are when things go south, all the other clients dial too and block the lines (there are some threads about this here, if i'm not mistaken).
I don't know where you get the idea I don't use stops, I've said repeatedly that I'll close out positions without hesitation if my risk limit is reached. This all started when Pippi questioned my risk:reward and suggested he would have closed a particular trade earlier, supposedly with a traditional stop at xx pips from entry. It was in reply to a post of yours about setting exits when the trade is entered that I replied 'sure if you like giving money away' because in my experience that approach is too inflexible in this market. I've also explained, numerous times, that there should never be a time when there's a risk of excessive loss or a situation when "...one bad day that wipes out a few months gains.....", it's all in this thread, if you want to know just read it.....or don't, totally your choice. The idea in trading is to be exposed to as little risk as possible which is exactly what I attempt to do and I've found it effective.....for me. Instead of repeatedly asking the same questions it might be more productive to read the replies I've already given and then ask other questions if you need to. Alternatively just carry on using whatever it is that you're comfortable using and be happy with it, really it makes no difference to me.
If that's a serious concern then you could always set an 'emergency' stop when the order is entered, or have a second broker.
A back-up broker helps sometimes, but often it can be dangerous, because you don't know what exactly happened (i.e. did the order make it to the exchange, will pending orders be filled or not,will they bust the trade later, what exactly is my position, etc.).
Agreed, all legitimate concerns, I guess those are the hazards of online trading! But what could we do about that? If an (emergency) stop and take profit are set when the order is transmitted then if one got there it's reasonable to assume the other two did. Pending orders are held on the brokers servers so it's likely they'll be executed.....unless everything went down in which case we're really screwed!