I would suggest two things if I may - perhaps consider tighter stops, and definitely continue to utilize stops of some form. Regarding the second suggestion, it is easy for you to look back on your trade now and see that you would have only lost "x" amount of dollars, but the trade could potentially have continued the opposite direction, losing an even larger amount if not for your stop.
Neke, Sorry to hear your loss, but I think you actually on something. The past week is just a bump on the road, I think you are on the right track. freewilly
Neke, This is something I am posting at my Journal a bit later today.... "Did your wining trades ever begin life as > 3, 4 or 5% losses??" Stops should be based on historical data on the behavior of prior trades, which depends on the type of system you are using. Also on a risk/reward basis the only reason for a 10% account stop on a trade is if you were expecting at least twice that much in profit..
Glad you are honest. This will fix itself with time though. They like to run stops on small cap companies if they know your size.
The 10% rule is an over-all maximum that is implemented by my positions monitor when I do not put in a stop loss.Fading stocks like PGNX and putting a 2% stop loss is like saying: Collect my 2% freely. It is almost guaranteed to be filled. So a wider stop was called for; I do not like how it got filled and came down big. Looks like even a 17% stop loss could have been taken out for something that came out eventually to break-even.
Neke, As I said depends on the type of system.. Fading trades like PGNX definitely need more leeway therefore smaller positions or entry closer to resistance though in a frenzy resistance typically blown by.
Weekly Update for week 16 ended 05/02/2008 A good week, up 11.5K (12%). Glad to have some recovery after last week's set-back. Discretionary trades yielded all the profits. The automated strategies cost about 3K, as the strategies are still trying to establish themselves, coupled with a program bug that cost about 1.5K. I still believe in the potentials of the automated route. I am beginning small, with the intention of scaling up as the strategies prove themselves. The only regret this week is not reaping the full benefit when right. Example was the FSLR PUT on Thursday where I got out with a 4K gain where I could have made an extra 10K had I stayed till the end of day. I guess after the battery last week, I was just too glad to see any green. Looking forward to better times. Code: Balance B/F: 94,957 Net gain for the week 11,503 ------------------------------------------------ Balance C/F: 106,460 Number of Trades 33 Number of Profitable Trades 18 Since Inception of Thread 01/13/2008 - 05/02/2008 Balance B/F: 102,615 Net gain (Less Margin Interest) 3,845 ------------------------------------------------ Balance C/F: 106,460 (Up 3.7%) Number of Trades 351 Number of Profitable Trades 195 Expected Balance at this time to be on track for Year-End Target : 225,431 Status: Behind Target (Based on adjusted balance before withdrawals) Top/Bottom Discretionary Trades for the week TICKER ENTRY DATE/TIME EXIT DATE/TIME QTY PURCHASE AMT SOLD AMT GAIN/LOSS TYPE JAVA 2008-05-01-17-45-42 2008-05-02-11-34-56 5000 64600 69250 4630 SHORT HJQQV 2008-05-01-09-49-08 2008-05-01-10-28-15 1000 17500 21720 4185 FSLR PUT ----------------------------------------------------------- ENR 2008-04-29-09-41-30 2008-04-29-12-22-24 481 36881 35248 -1654 SHORT FSLR 2008-04-30-11-48-57 2008-04-30-12-20-29 300 88200 86403 -1817 LONG