You've been around a long time from what I've read on ET, and years ago you were posting huge daily profits on a regular basis. Based on your account size, was this a massive loss? If I'm a noob trading a $25K minimum day trading account and was positioned accordingly for my account size and had a stop loss (or a stop-and-reverse order) at a level that invalidated my long trade, how bad would the damage have been? I don't deny that trading is not easy, but it's only fair to place this in perspective. Lescor had a large fat-finger draw down last year, but in the scheme of his overall consistent profitability, it was basically a flesh wound.
sterling has a lot of bells and whistles but in my experience it is incapable of handling a surge in volume and volatility. in 2008 it was always crap when it counted. then again, when things get insane you don't even need a level 2, but just a chart, since the swipes are so insane.
Hey MK, Just wondering how a guy who usually makes a living in slow moving thicker stocks winds up with 66,000 ($8,500,000 worth of) SPY? cheers, Red
Yes, instead of a don't do this, what are noobs supposed to take away from your experience besides "don't do this"? Break it down a little, and you can get opinions/advice.
REDINK, to answer your question. It was a confluence of bad judgement and boredom as the middle of the day hit. I went long SPY to try to get a .10 cent scalp from it and all hell broke loose. The purpose of me posting it today was only to show the newer traders that trading was not as easy as they may initially think. I believe alot of what is being fed to newer traders these days by the typical chop shop is B.S. Trading is a hard and arduous journey that can be rewarding in the long run, when you put in long hours combined with a little luck. To the poster that asked in terms of the loss. While this loss, relative to my overall profitability was small in comparison, losing 50k shouldn't sit well with anyone.