Daytrade Futures: bracket "walk away" orders or "trade live"or "both"?not talking about website trading 'buy' and 'hold' for days...talking about your using daytrade margins trading futures... *It takes GUTS to use bracket orders where you walk away like from a Strategy Runner trading platform or other C++ type program etc.. *do most daytrade futures with daytrade margins through trading live and real at the 'screen' or do you bracket some of the time if you have to 'eat lunch'...'make a meeting' or 'run an errand'...to date...I have not used a bracket 'parked' order daytrading futures...only live and real market orders...thinking of doing some late night trades either entering or set up exit by bracket orders...say enter 11PM Eastern time USA and set up bracket exit while I sleep...or enter in morning and set bracket...what do you do?...by bracket I mean..."set up an exit or entrance order when the price is hit...either limit or stop/market...thanks...I think using brackets can help 'overtrading' as it is based on your strategy and analysis and not the 'emotion' of viewing the screen right there...thanks in advance...
Will I use programmed entries to get into positions when I'm not there? Hardly if ever....but to exit at a profit or stop loss? Definately. In my case, since I hit the gym at 1045-1145 ET and run errands during the lunchtime doldrums I won't leave positions open without protection on both sides. I routinely use stops/limits to bracket open positions both for losses and profits -- especially in *this* market --- and always if I'm going to be away from the desk for a while. However, that's not to say if I'm at my desk doing active trading that I won't "trade naked" (i.e., without a stop) though.
thanks..interesting...I would think people are more likely to use the program to enter rather than exit...due to the fact of 'what if stop loss blown through'...do you also use the 'maximum money can lose per day' feature?...so, really 2 stop losses?
Nope - max$ loss per trade is a subjective thing for me at the moment. If there's a danger of a SL getting blown thru (ie fed day or econ data release), chances are I'll be at my desk trading it live myself anyway and can work the trade based on conditions on the ground so to speak.....eg I've been down BIG on a Dax position but decided it was worth the risk to hold on and ride it out, which I did, and actually came ahead by a nice amount an hour later.
If you're using exchange native orders, it's always good policy to use brackets. If your connection to your broker goes down you'll have somewhat of a peace of mind knowing that the order is on the exchange server with a predefined risk.