I entered what was meant to be a stop-loss order 6 pts away from my entry only to find out that it was executed soon afterwards, so I must have entered something else. Now, was it really me, because I swear I did that right, or was it IB TWS? Bracket Trader somehow refused to cooperate with me this time, so I did that using the IB TWS. Well, did you guys happen to have problems like that too? Yep, I would have made over 10 pts in ES... refused to chase the market which moved straight in my direction after the stop-loss was hit. That's really bad luck! It sucks, doesn't it? I am expecting some consolation...
You want to know what sucks worse than that? Try this one out ... You put a stop order to get stopped into the market and get a long fill at the high, then you sell it for 3 points less than you bought it and feel angry. Then, you see that ES is falling hard, so you sell it at 882.50, only to buy it back 2 points higher. Then, after these two trades, you are really pissed and you put on a third trade, where you proceed to lose another 3 points. Ironically, I can only laugh at myself. The money is unimportant at this stage but to just look back at how I reacted to the market -- I really deserve what I got. And here is the kicker -- imagine starting the day fresh, only to load up TWS and see you are long an NQ contract that you apparently bought the night before at 8pm and are out around 12 points. That isn't a joke, either -- that was a stop that I left open apparently the night before. I slept the entire night holding a future's contract and didn't even know it.
Yep, I know what you mean. I once had two option contracts, and thought I sold both of them for a profit only to find out that the next day that I sold only one of them. The other one was still in and of course, according to Murphy's law, it was showing a loss...
MURPHYâS LAWS FOR COMMODITY TRADERS 1. It is morally wrong to allow a sucker to keep his money 2. Everyone has a trading strategy that wonât work 3. For every expert who says prices are going up, there is one who says they are going down 4. If you can drink it, donât trade it 5. The market is not logical; it is psychological 6. The successful speculator is one who dies before his time comes 7. If you drop a dead cat far enough, it will bounce 8. The market goes your way the day after your stop was hit ITS COROLLARY 9. The big move begins the day after your option expires 10. He who sells uncovered options goes broke 11. If you feel like doubling up a profitable position, slam your dialing finger in the drawer until the feeling goes away 12. The perfect strategy works every time until you start using it 13. If your strategy seems to be working well, you havenât been using it long enough 14. The guy who owns the horse when it dies is the loser 15. When it comes to luck or skill, you canât beat luck 16. Pigs wonât eat $5 corn or $500 meal 17. When the plate of cookies goes around the table, donât forget to take a couple 18. When the market is wrong, it doesnât pay to be right 19. He who sells what isnât hisân, pays the price or goes to prison 20. Be right; sit tight 21. The best way to make a small fortune is to start with a large one 22. He who knows doesnât tell, he who tells doesnât know 23. When youâre hot youâre hot, when youâre not, take a vacation 24. The market knows more than the sum total of everyone in it 25. What everyone knows ainât worth knowing 26. The market will do whatever is necessary to fool the majority 27. Fundamentals are seldom what they appear to be 28. If you always do what youâve always done, youâll always get what youâve always got 29. The first five letters of âbrokerâ spell âbrokeâ 30. The market punishes those who make mistakes
There's a difference between chasing an enty and joining a trend. Never chase an entry- you'll get whipsawed and stopped out for the classic .75 ES point loss. Joining a STRONG trend is a good percentage trade even though it feels wrong to those with counter-trend trading instincts because you are buying at a higher price.
I think you are right, except that when you are trading some system, you want to stick to its rules. OTOH, I do not take all entries this system generates, because some simply won't work (say, it tells you to go long when the market is already 20 pts up from its intraday bottom and is more likely to pull back than to keep going up) so I guess I should have entered the trend, but somehow got pissed off and refused to go with the market. Silly human behavior!!! I could have missed 2 pts, but I ended up missing 10!