If you can't afford to loss all your risk capital then you can't afford to trade. Don't encourage this guy with any hope that he may be profitable - cause then you're an 'enabler' of his trading addiction.
I think I'll get in this thread to add my 2 cents....... 100% agree, espcially if he just started trading, on borrowed money.
From your .pdf: "Because I really do need to get ahead for the day, and build myself a cushion like I always do, I decided because the price just exploded up to my stop that I decided to move the stop yet again. B/c I didn't want to take a -$50 loss to start off the day." Here by not honoring your stop not only did you fail to achieve your goal of getting ahead early but you also left yourself in a hole that you could not recover from (on a daily basis). You honor the stop and you are -50 or 1/4 you max daily drawdown. You have the entire day remaining and 3/4 of your powder still intact. You need to know why you are taking position where you do. What is it that you are seeing or what is it that your system is indicating that positions you at breakout points?
Ripley - NEVER ADD TO A LOSER GET OUT WHEN YOU HIT YOUR STOP LOSS THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE OPPORTUNITY. No matter what you gurus of the market say adding to a loser is the quickest way to blowout in this business. You are no longer managing a trade you are wishing that it comes back not trading wishing and peeing your pants as it continues to go against you.
SMAs were down. And there was this small pull back to the top, and thinking that the prices were headed down to establish the lows of the usual daily range, I jumped the gun and shorted it. Even then, my supposed system should allow me to get in anywhere, anytime and be alright if I could stick to my own rules.
God, I havent finished reading this thread yet, but reading this is like reading a horror novel anxious to get to the end to find out in the main character(Ripley) dies(Goes Bankrupt). About losses Ripley, like everyone before me stop trading now. If you continue to(for some reason I think he probably will continue):eek: develop some rules for entry and exits for example, i will buy it at 1 and sell it a 3 or get stopped out at -2. Now back to the novel
Dont you realize what road he is heading down? It not the fact that he may lose the $1000 + interest(neither of which he can afford). Once he loses the $1000 he will be in the "I need to make it back" mentality and sell his mom's house and dog to fund his trading account.
sorry to hear of your tough time trading. you should stop. but if you don't, your $1k and the time u take to post provide a great stephenking-like entertainment. at least at age 25, you have lots of time to learn. good luck
Hello Ripley, Thanks for a very entertaining thread. My take: The psychology or deeper consciousness has to be rewired to be successful in the market. This takes a lot of time and practice. As you grow, most "rules" will feel more natural. eg. When you are profitable or in a good trade you will feel calm and let the position run. On the other hand, as soon as it goes against you, you will feel very agitated and cut your loses quickly. You will do this not because there is a rule but because you feel within yourself that it is the natural or perhaps the only thing to do. Good news bad news: Good news - Your learning curve is very sharp because you are up against the wall. You are also learning inexpensively because your account is small. Most traders have "paid tuition" in the tens of thousands of dollars. Bad news - Its a much longer and harder road than you think. Good luck.