Summing the length of time you held losing trades for and summing the length of time you held the same number of winning trades for should show you held winners for more time than you held losers. I haven't started trading yet but this seems like something that ought to hold true for the dumb/smart/strong/weak alike. Can anyone verify, or know anyone else who can verify?
Please don't trade...send a check for $100 to the Red Cross or Salvation Army....that is money you won't lose and you will feel good ,too
Probably depends more on strategy- but after 4-5 years you will know if you are holding a loser long before your stop gets hit holding onto winners is also very hard when you begin trading- easier said than done cause you don't want to give back on a winner when you get one.
You want to average, no take the summation. Average bars in winners versus average bars in losers is what you want to calculate. Their ratio value depends on many things, there is no general rule other than to say that it is true that in trend-following avg. bars in winners is always or at least should be always greater than avg. bars iin losers. But that could be not the case in swing or intraday trading.
thanks praying it wont take 4-5 years for me to learn thanks you must mean the count of the bars that were part of winning trades. I was thinking my statement would follow from the beginners rules I keep reading of - 'cut your losers quick' and - 'let your winners ride'.
I used to take 1/2 off at target and let rest ride with a breakeven stop and the last exit was always the most profitable and the longest-sometimes lasting as long as 3 hours. The losses( stops or discretionary exits) are over with inan avg of half hour. Winners take almost 45 mins- hour to hit target- all based on the primary strategy. In momentum strategy it's different- sometimes 15 minutes sometimes it loses steam and 1-2 hours for it to catch second wind
Yeesh, gotta love the attitudes here As far as I'm concerned a winning trade would be where you were able to make even a small profit AND cover the costs of the trade at the same time. Losing would be getting totally fucked over by commissions and losing everything in just one or two trades. Of course as a complete novice I have different priorities but meh, wise people save small amounts instead of rack up debt.
not every trade can be a homerun, sometimes hitting singles can make you a days/weeks pay. trading is very humbling and survival means sometimes putting what you think is going to happen aside and focusing on whats in front of you and live to fight another day
The more edited attachment may add some considerations to using a posted strategy to let winners ride and cut losers short. this takes a little time to download it has three illustrations.