I am losing stocks going my way

Discussion in 'Trading' started by Pholeuon, Aug 22, 2007.

  1. Hello,

    I hesitated writing a little but I need some advice.
    I started trading in begin of April after a month of paper trading. I am relatively old (over 50). I know, I should start 30 years ago but was living behind the iron wall (still living there but wall vanished).
    My P/L is about -4000 netto with account that is just just enough for daytrading /my fees at Etrade are nearly twice as my P/L/ and if I consider that I lost about 10000 USD by major failures of internet or for example when I was congratulating my daughter and returned after 5 minutes and was down $3500 – Greenspan opened big mouth on teleconference –
    or I gave first time trailing stop $14.30 on stock priced $14.70, etc. I still feel that it is not that bad. I need learn and I learned a lot and I was down more than $9000.

    I am former chessmaster (like kid I thought that I will be world champion but Gari and other healed me very quickly from my craziness). I speak about 10 languages sorry for my English but it is just my 5th language. I am leading scientist in one very small science branch – that nobody needs and nobody can pay for it. I had very successful business with collectibles where again I am one of the leading sellers for something special with ebay feedback over 5000 but this business is going belly up – because US Dollars lost over 50% value compared with my local currency since 2005 – I will bankrupt in short if the trend will continue. So I choose the trading for living – I am forced to do it.
    When I was paper trading and chart reading I felt like Warren Buffet. But reality is others.

    I am reading charts like other books. I understand them quite well and I see when market maker went to lunch, etc. My trading decision are more than 80% correct and my purchases easily go to these targets – in 90% without me.
    My stops are hit it is not important if I place them tight or not. I am now placing them tight because that way I keep my losses small. And immediately turn to that direction that I need. Do you believe that one day all 9 of my 10 trades the stop was hit exactly at 0.01 and one with 0.07 /stock priced about $50/? How probably is that something like this happens? 1:billion?
    My brain sees just few possibilities:
    a/ god is playing computer game with me
    b/ market makers know that I will take lot of their Money in future so they try destroy me as early as possible
    c/ I am the most unlucky man during whole history of universe
    d/ I am placing stops in logical pivot point so market maker always need clean them before the real move starts.
    Which one is true?

    I am most successful when I am manually observing stock. Problem is that my internet often has breaks and I hit several big losses to it. Another problem is that I can observe
    at once just one stock so if I purchased one and I am babysitting it I am paralyzed.


    How you guys can work at once with that many stocks? I need some system that will care and sell automatically what I have but I am not programmer and there is long way to go.
    I have exact system for exits – there are 4 conditions if some is met I exit the trade but to do it I need watch the stock without interruption.
    And now examples from yesterday showing exactly my unluck:
    TBSI long 9.50 at $32.90; 9.57Bracket hidden stop 32.8 target 34.92; 10.13 stopped out
    UAUA long 11:45 $41.30; 11:48 Bracket hidden stop 41.20 target 42.88; 11.54 stopped out.
    WFT short 11.09 at54.50, 11.13 Bracket cover 54.45 target 53.52;.11.30 stopped out
    LUK long 12.28 at 44,10, 12.29 Bracket stop 43.9 target 44.90; 12.31 stopped out (ok, this was not best entry)
    After 4 attempts i ended trading. I was observing FWLT but I always overlooked best entry. Result of the they P/L -$113 instead to be about more than $2000 plus
    And day like this is typical for me. I have some days $1000-2500 plus – when the market makers are not shooting my stops, but it is not common, in average once per week.
    God thanks by strategical analysis works well, otherwise already I blew out my account. But I am pissed terrible purchase correct stock and loosing it again and again

    What I am doing wrong? Do you have some suggestion? I repeat if I put large stops they were triggered same way with same just with more damage? What to do?
    Some experienced trader can look on my yesterday trading and say what what wrong?
    Entry? Stops?

    Does exist some simple automated system that will be able care for my purchased stocks?
    And will work with Etrade brokerage?

    Something like (just examples, in fact my decision are different, I prefer not publish it, but if is possible programming bellow they will work with my system):
    a/ if close price on 1 minute chart end bellow 20 Ema – sale the stock -
    b/ if DMI- crosses DMI+ on 3 min chart – sale the stock
    c/ if my profit was over $100 and I am losing 30% – sale the stock
    d/ if there are 3 red candlestick following each other and the price is bellow 5 day SMA sale the stock

    I am sure if I will solve my problems with stops I will be successful. But now I can not go through my problems. Even if I observe stock manually i tis very difficult not to sale i fit is bouncing against me in my face. But like I wrote I must have there stops because with my unluck I am loosing internet connection exactly than when I made wrong decision and the stock starts going against my position. Because I can observe just one stock I am buying often a lot /for example 1000 shares of $80 stock/ and if I lose connection and it will turn, ough... It will be better for me purchase from 5 stocks 20shares each, and more safe, but I can not work at once with more than 2 stocks – one that I bought, one that I am trying to purchase. If I have 2 – I am 100% paralyzed. I must give there stop and I know – in few minutes they will be triggered, they will serve like swimming pool wall to start to new heights/lows but without me.

    Did have somebody similar problems and was able go over? Which way?

    Thanks for any advice, Pholeuon