Trading size kill

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by innovest_11, Sep 23, 2008.

  1. i'd much rather trade 5000 or 10000 share lots on thick stocks than 1000 share lots on stocks over $100.
     
    #11     Sep 24, 2008
  2. yes, i think your way of doing it is much better, rather than killing my account, i think i'll stick to small size, thanks again

     
    #12     Sep 24, 2008
  3. I too have been trading high priced stocks. As I am stl ltrying top work pout my method I only trade in 300 right now. Made $250 yesterday. lost $270 day before. I am up about $600 on the week.

    Tut,tut, if you don't have a system/method why are you trading 1,000 lots if it gets you so emotional? I'll bet all you could see is those $2,000+ profit days and not the losses?

    So go back and trade 200 lots until you can make consistent profits. It's not rocket science.
     
    #13     Sep 24, 2008
  4. SCALE!!!!

    as you increase size - you can't get a way with getting full fill lots (regarldess of what you trade).
    Even if you trade WB, but you trade 100,000 shares per pop - you NEED TO SCALE.

    Same with 1,000 shares on some 100$+ stocks.

    Scale in, scale out.

    but get confident frist on smaller size.
     
    #14     Sep 24, 2008
  5. ElCubano

    ElCubano

    and it has nothing to do with acutally making money....although that will boost your confidence ( which in turn may get you into trouble )...it is earned after you can cope with a bigger lose. That is easier said than mastered.....peace out..rennick style
     
    #15     Sep 24, 2008
  6. maxni

    maxni

    Anekdoten, can you possibly elaborate? Thanks.

     
    #16     Sep 24, 2008
  7. One thing I have done is take the amount of money I have over the PDT rule and use a percentage of that as my dollar risk amount, scaling my share size so that if my original stop is hit, I only lose that amount of money. As I grow my account I can increase my size fast or slow depending on how much money I am currently making. If I am losing money I keep using less size based on that percentage. This was the only solution I found about how to increase size in some real way. This way you also don't lose more money on some higher priced stock then you do on the same trade on a much lower priced stock.
     
    #17     Sep 24, 2008

  8. this is prob one of the top 3 important things ive learned
     
    #18     Sep 28, 2008
  9. Pauly

    Pauly

    I use hard rules written down in a business plan that cause me to do less as I lose more. Something like this: If I lose $500, I go to paper trading for the rest of the morning or afternoon. If I am down $1,000 I go to paper trading for the next day. If I have two loss days in one week I take away something I enjoy to remind myself of the seriousness of the issue, i.e. watching Mon Night Football. In short - develop a solid plan of rewards and punishments and stick with your plan. Treat this as a business, because it is.
     
    #19     Sep 28, 2008
  10. There are really only two things that a trader can control.

    1. Their share size.

    2. Their attitude.

    Everything else is chaos theory. When things start getting tough, focus on the things you CAN control.
     
    #20     Sep 28, 2008