Well today was my first day as a full time trader. i quit my 40k job to trade full time because i LOVE the markets. anyway i lost about 2k today which is about 10% of my trading equity. i knew better but didnt bother with a stop loss. im a decent trader but this is a bad start. i need advice and maybe some cheering up and dont tell me to get my job back! i want to do this for a living. thanks.
Geeee! What do you trade? Sounds like u have no system, or a plan. You won't last long with out those 2!!
How do you know you are a decent trader? A decent trader would not have jumped into the markets with as much risk and with as little risk management as you did on their first day. Whats your experience level as far as the markets go?
Get your job back! Sorry, I had to say it because it is a correct thing to do for a trader---cut your loss short, and let your profit run. Sincerely, Pension_Admin
Umm, at this point it doesn't matter if you have a system or whatever. You need to be trading 100 shares dude. Let me point you to this post. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1878385&highlight=earn#post1878385
I think you're trading too much size, losing 10% in one trade will wipe you out in a hurry. Your stop losses pretty much depends on your trading style; if the market or stock goes against you, you should get out immediately and wait for a chance at the bat once again when the time is right. Timing is everything IMO. sg20
Take tomorrow off and paper trade. You need a plan and you need a daily limit stop. 10% is not a good limit. In your case, if you still want to trade set your daily limit @ let's say $100-150 and trade 100 shares. You'll lose, but your tuition cost will be low.
well i recovered about 4% AH so i didnt do as bad as I thought. I do have a plan and i have beat myself up enough today so i'm going to let it go and make sure it doesn't happen again. 1.5% daily loss and im done for the day. Also, im 21 and im not going back to my job. I will blow my account trying to make it, but that won't happen. thanks for the help guys and you will hear more from me.
I wish you the best of luck. However, I fear for your financial well being. Gambling after hours on a day you lose 10% of your account, surely isn't a good sign. Once again, I wish you the best of luck because I know you're going to need it.
I sent you a PM and I'll say it here as well. Most people try to make the money back they lost ASAP, this is the wrong way to go about it, especially if your relatively new. What you need to do is size down (as small as you can go) until you get your groove back. Be carefull, this is a serious game the money can come in very fast and it can also go very quick. I've been on all sides. Take it slow or you will be going back to your old job.