If you feel your skill set falls into the beginner level of trading the Hershey Method (as discussed throughout Journal One) then set your initial stop at 5% below entry. As the position moves further along into profit, tighten up the stops over time. Eventually, a trader wants to arrive at a place where stops trigger only in a catastrophic event. In other words, the trader enters and exits based on the input parameters available, and not as a result of a 'triggered' stop. Correct. As you continue along with your reading, you'll eventually arrive at the 'Stop Offset' discussion. This presents a far superior method for calculating stop points. Newer Versions of the Hershey Chartscripts (Version 4.0 and newer versions still under development) automatically calculate the stop levels for you. Market orders provide an immediate entry into the marketplace, but may do so at a cost (slippage), and often, not at the best price (especially when spreads are wide). A limit order allows for an order fill at a certain price level, but also at a cost. If the market moves away from your price, you may not ever receive a fill. Jack recommends always using market orders to make sure the trader receives a fill. I have often used limit orders to 'limit' the slippage only to watch the market move away without me. From my own experience, it seems silly afterward to miss out on a two dollar price move, because I concerned myself over 3 cents. As always, your mileage may vary. - Spydertrader
I'm beginning to sense that Jack's "Too Long" post is a crucial document. I remember looking at it early on and basically dismissing it because it was like trying to read the Bible from the original Greek documents without knowing Greek. Ack. I've re-located it and printed it out again but it's scary stuff. But I'll really try this time.
I recommend reading that document using the context of a 'concept' to understand, rather than, as a laundry list of items to check. The latter requires less 'translation' work than the former. - Spydertrader
Thanks for the pointer to your post qx... I missed that one. It clears things up nicely, and appreciate your attention to detail that you have applied in developing your software... Cheers.
Take the whole thing out for a test drive. Rev the engine. Kick the tires. Do the old, "Let's see what this baby can do" deal. It shouldn't take too long to figure out the many whistles and bells. - Spydertrader
Hi qx04790, I like the HersheyTrader. Looks great and I love the simplicity of use! Great work and thank you. gooch87
Hey qx! Do you think it will be possible in the future to feed your tool with real time data? I really like the display of all the dry up stocks with their price change and current volumn together with the pro rata volume and the figures for DU and FRV. It is a great idea to continously calculate pro rata volume and to mark a stock visually if it surpassed it's pro rata volume. So it would be great to have this information with real time data, to support trading. Otherwise, great work and thanks a lot for sharing. Kind regards RXT