"scale in using QQQ's or QQQ options As 1 NQ = 800 shares or 8 options so scale in maybe 200 at time ?" example from friday ... QQQ's trading at 20.25 you buy 200 when they reach 20.50 you sell them
NQ initial stop loss - past week I don't use stop losses 5 20.00% .5 to 1.5 points 1 4.00% 2.0 - 3.0 points 7 28.00% 3.5 to 5.0 points 6 24.00% more than 5 points 6 24.00% Total: 25 votes 100% Interesting results: would appear the size of the stop loss is based on personal preference and type of trading. I am somewhat suprised that 20% of respondents don't use initial stop losses. Thanks for the input. Perhaps the bottom line is to get a good entry and stay out of the chop regards doher
I have been using 3-5 point stops (stop limit) more like 3 now because I found out if it goes against me more than that my entry was flawed from the start. I have always had a hard time letting my stop being hit, on some entries I want it to move my way the next 30 seconds on others I can wait that 's when I will let the stop be hit. NQ is actually quite slow compared to ES and you need patience as x-or pointed out but if you wait too long it will retrace all or most of your profits too, much harder to let your profit run ( a 5 point move will retrace 30-60% most of the time) that 's why I think you need a tight stop. I like the way ES trade better but it's a much bigger contract, if you watch closely your quotes, ES trades closer to the charts I would say while NQ you'll have the last sale at say 825.5 but bid/ask will be 823.5/824 then 10 sec. later 825.5/826, not very fluid trading, it can burst or drop suddenly when it seems to be stalling, there is more depth in ES.
It's a trade-off. You want your stops to be reasonably tight so that you don't give up too much of your profit. OTOH, you don't want to be shaken out unnecessarily because that means you have to enter all over again (and again and again) with all the accompanying risks and risk:reward assessments, extra commissions, more time in front of the computer blah blah. You may want to look at using the chart to determine your stop rather than settling on a certain number of points. Maybe the end of the bar, or one bar back, or two. Or make use of a trendline. Or a violation of the last swing point. In other words, define for yourself what a trend change looks like. If those characteristics show up, get out. If only one or two of them do, stay in and watch. Or reduce your position if trading more than one contract. --Db
http://quotes.barchart.com/techrept.asp?sym=ESZ2 ES=744K http://quotes.barchart.com/techrept.asp?sym=NQZ2 NQ=267K 20 Day Average True Range NQ=38 ES=28 1 method of setting stop loss would be to set it equal to the average range of say the last 10 bars. doher