would this work?

Discussion in 'Trading' started by Gordon Gekko, Mar 4, 2002.

  1. would something like this work? enter a position near the close of the day. enter a stop loss order to max your loss at 2%. exit on close the next day if not stopped out.

    this may be a foolish strategy, but here is why i mention it. i just tried entering a position and immediately entering an order to exit at 2% profit. i would exit on close the next day if my order wasn't hit. the problem was, i would get some winners, but when i got losses, they were sometimes bigger than the 2% gain.

    with my idea, all your loses would be limited to 2%, but your gains could be anything.
     
  2. ddefina

    ddefina

    You're on the right track. Trading is only a game of probabilities so if get them in your favor you have an edge. Probably need to take volatility into account so you aren't prematurely whipsawed on some stocks. I bet in the long run, if done right, you could make money doing that. Find stocks that open at extremes (H or L) and then move in one direction away from the open most of the time.
     
  3. "Batting Avg" = % of trades that are winners

    AND

    Risk/Reward Ratio = Avg loss vs Avg Gain.

    The avg gain should be larger than the avg loss (does not have to be in theory). The batting avg can be below 50% and you can still make money if the avg gain is bigger than avg loss.

    You are on the right track.
     
  4. Gordo,

    What about those that gap hugely against you the next day? How do you handle them?
     
  5. ddefina

    ddefina

    Kick your dog?