what is the ENORMOUS difference?! so if you have a decent loss on your first entry, it's not a 'loss' as soon as you convince yourself... "hey, I'm just "scaling into" more of this; NOT really adding to the loss I already have on paper"? Ok..... I got it! Just took a while. b.t.w. is that because as your losses mount then your original thought about direction and strategy becomes even MORE sure... and you're even more determined to be RIGHT in line with your original thinking which the market has already proven WRONG so far?! Ok... now I really get it! bonne chance with such a strategy/definition. ICe
First of all, Iceman, I am the first to accept constructive criticism and I can't imagine that your comments related to such are directed toward me. If so, can you kindly point out where you feel that I was getting defensive or unappreciative of others opinions? Second of all, imagine that you are George Soros. Do you think that he sells his whole wad at one price and never scales into a larger position within a certain 'target zone'? In other words, nobody can predict what is the exact right entry level on a trade. All I can say is that I have a lot to go and I wanted to scale into a trade at some sort of average level. Mind you, I am not a day-trader. This does not mean that I don't have risk tolerance and will cut my losses when I deem appropriate. As far as the amount of reward, I cannot say at this point. I do not believe in setting pre-defined reward parameters (only risk parameters). I will take what the market is willing to give and I will monitor the situation on an ongoing basis. If it's a loss, it won't be my first and certainly won't be my last. Hope this clarifies things. Neal.
iceman1, I think scaling into a winning position is avearge "up," and adding to a loser is average "down" -- big difference in my opinion. I often pyramid into my winning trades but never the losing ones.
no need to defend "adding on" if you're convinced you're not really adding to a loser.. and that the higher (lower) level represents an even better entry point than what you first presumed was a "gift", that has now turned out to be a decent loss so far. I do add on in options strategies, and once in a while equities with swing positions;but not when I am incurring a decent loss from the get-go and I have no solid reason to believe the risk is less just because the price changed. Think about that over the weekend; but don't ever let anyone influence you from beating to your own true drummer in employing your funds and resources in the marketplace. JMHO I
Y that was in my original point.. and most good traders I have known have a knack for adding to winners on the way up, or down... in fact, that "knack" is what separates the wheat from the chaff, imho.. all the way to the bottom line! regards, I
I am in the same position so call me stupid too. I bought $5 for every $8 sold today, but my trading pnl is still up. Losing money on my holdings from yesterday though. It is just too easy to be long right now. Who wants to be short over the weekend? Trading isn't easy.
Obviously, I thought that something was awry given my ? as to whether this was a gift or stupidity on my part. I understand full well that when something seems like a gift, it's usually a klunk. I hesistated to be overly aggressive, however, the spirit of my hypothesis has not changed. Much of that hypothesis is predicated upon a selloff late in the day today (run up by smart money, sideways distribution, no bids). If this does not pan out, I will be lightening up my position at the end of the day and if evidence continues to prove me wrong, I will be out of the trade in short order (small gain or loss) and will possibily go the other way early next week. I'm flexible. Best. Neal.