Ok you trade breakouts from stock patterns... What are your rules for entry and exit around the initial break zone... Now before you reply and say I give a 10c stop when I place an order at break out of $20.01, when current price is $19.95, this may work fine for stocks under $25.00 but its far too narrow for stocks around $50, and a whipsaw will get you kicked out of a trade too quickly. I expect that break out trades will be mostly done by ON STOP orders, as this will allow a you to get filled if its a fast break. The rules I try are enter market at 0.01 after critical price zone, like 20.26 or 20.01 or 25.51, with a stop order. Using 2 min bar chart, if the breakout bar or the following bar after breakout bar smashes down to the break price, say price entry was 20.01, and filled for 1000 shares at 20.05, then price smashes down to 19.95 immediately then I will exit the trade as there is no Break out holding price at the new levels. And try to re enter trade if price makes a new high. The problem with this that when it smashes down far to quickly your losses can be more that expected, and one never has enough time to enter protective stop losses orders. So what do you do...in the break out trade... For example say this is your trade... Price Currentlty at $19.95 Your enter On STOP entry LONG order to buy at $20.01 You get filled for 1000 shares average at 20.06 Then what do you do it trade foes BAD !
I like the Single Stock Futures (personally). Here is today's report. This should give you a better Idea. I use a pseudo "Buy & Hold" trend following strategy that will not be suitable for daytraders and scalpers. For the most part the system is more or less always in the market. It is a long only system with a trailing stop and reverse that gets you short only when your long position has been stopped out!
no matter how dressed up they are and sold, over and over again, what Pristine teaches are these breakout trading patterns. 1-2-3 -- then buy/short/sell -- is a popular pattern
Then why are u answering his question? Hmm.. maybe to indirectly spam your BS services? The guy specifically asked for only breakout traders to reply.
Digs, Could you tell us a little more about your approach? I, unlike trend fader, trade BO's that are differentiated from FBO's. But for equities I only do this in a short term (3 to 8 days) position trading context. As I read your stuff, I think that you may be trading equities BO's on an intraday basis, perhaps. If you let us know a little more, then the people here who do what you do can better help you out. BO trading is a big deal and a fairly low risk trade on some fractals.
I trade breakouts. Mostly 4 day highs and 3 day lows on 2 twice the normal volume at time of breakout. I limit my spread to no more than 8 cents. If I bought the breakout at 20.06 ballpark I cut half of the trade at about 19.80 and the rest at 19.6 if it gets there. Otherwise I may add if it starts heading back to highs on good volume. I also like channel breakouts and support and resistance breakouts all of which I trade daily.
iriekity Thats intertesing, "the volume size factor" allows a more generous tolerance of trade exit if price teases the break out zone again... Good Point !.. Whats a BO or a FBO, Sorry I only do equities
Chris Mercer at www.tradesight.com/strategy.html has a very good process set up for this. You can view his strategy at the above link.