After some small scalping profits, it dropped like a rock, without SL and unable to short, ran out of funds to average down. No way to recover, exit EOD. Lessons learned? Don't go to a fight with one hand tied behind my back. If I used a regular account and not an IRA, and if I were able to short, I could come out fine.
I may eat like a bird and shit like an elephant but for a newbie day trader, I am not ashamed of the results.
Just trying to help. Regardless, I would suggest defining a solid, unbreakable rule to get yourself to exit, no matter what. I have a couple hard set rules that if I break, I get really pissed at myself for during review (even if the hold-and-hope turned into a winner). For example I have a hard stop rule if seeing 3 pushes against my position. I'm definitely wrong about the read if this happens. Exit any longs around 10:30, then same setup again around 11:20. Defining what works for you is most important. Can you write down your throw in the towel criteria? "Don't go to a fight with one hand tied behind my back." doesnt make any sense to me. Exiting where you would have shorted (if you had two hands) is perhaps a better way to think about it
I think that was the day and time we had a velocity logic event happen in index futures -- everything dropped like a rock and virtually all longs got screwed. But you may or may not have been able to reverse and go short at a particular level had you been trading a regular account. From GPT: 2. Possible Effects on QQQ During an NQ Velocity Event Increased Volatility & Spread Widening: If NQ has a major move, it may cause market makers and liquidity providers in QQQ to pull quotes, leading to wider bid-ask spreads. Liquidity Vacuum: Some QQQ traders (especially algo traders) might step back until NQ resumes normal trading. Potential Price Gaps: Since NQ temporarily pauses trading, when it resumes, it may reopen at a significantly different price. QQQ could react in advance, adjusting in real time while NQ is paused.
Thanks. I appreciate your comments and helpful suggestions. I may just accept it as the cost of following this approach and willing to take a big loss now and then.
Yes, and a SL won't help because I don't think there was anyone on the other side until at the bottom of the drop. The only thing that I should have done was to get out with a small loss on the first entry and I had plenty of time for that. I was blinded by thinking averaging down could reverse things. Normally it should but that day was not normal.
The well defined rule you'll establish for yourself, because of this loss, could prevent you from being in the same situation in the future. If you can write down what that rule is, it may save you from heartbreak in the future. Fool me once, OK. Fool me twice... well you know. Guarantee that type of day will happen again
Since you were trading the Q's, that experience is where @wxytrader would have told you to just HODL and wait for the recovery.