Search results

Getting your G.E.D.?

Placed my $19.50 stop at the market open. Wasn't around when the stock was halted and then reopened for trading. My stop should've activated at $19.50 and it wasn't until $23.20 until I got a fill on a market order via Island. Had 100 shares filled on Instinet @ $22.55. Makes me wonder if my...

Was short 600 shares of ESST this morning and had a nice $900 profit when disaster struck. I was short at $18.55 and figured I'd ride it down the rest of day when trading halted and 15 minutes later it gapped up to around $19.00. In 2 minutes it reached $23.55. My stop (market) was at...

If it makes you feel better, I'm long 1,200 shares spread across ESST, MCRL, PCSA, QQQ and MUSE. Holding overnight is an unwarranted psychological fear that only day traders experience. The gaps both directions from overnight holds negate the risk to almost zero in the long run. Of course...

I'll vote for DYN's specialist. After working with him/her, I decided to stick with NASD 99%. :)

I keep track of average win to average loss and try to maintain a 2:1 ratio. Short term or long term this is a good target. Win/Loss is less important to me for my style.

Stops work 99% of time now. There were problems 5 months ago, but these have been rectified. My main complaint still is the "Ask" triggers Sell Stops and the "Bid" triggers buy stops, so prepare for slippage or estimate the spread on your stops.

Yes, this is a workaround for getting stops to work. Unfortunately, if you place stops in hi traffic areas the typical spread can be greatly exaggerated causing bad fills. Precision is also eliminated as the best you can hope for on some fills is getting within a few cents of your target. If...

For stocks it hasn't changed. It's still the Bid that triggers a Buy stop. :mad:

I was asked by IB if I'd consider using their DDE or ActiveX interface to get stops to execute the way I prefer (i.e. buy triggered by Ask). I'm not a programmer--is this worth even pursuing or would it be hundreds of hours of time for me to interface with Exel? Do you think a third party...

When I first joined it did this and I thought I installed the software wrong...They shut their servers down at night and on weekends. Wish they didn't but they do.

The schizophrenic market got me for $600 as well today. :mad:

I believe he posts under his real name John Borton now rarely? Sounds like he's busy with some programming project.

Here is a letter I wrote today to IB explaining my bad fill this morning, and suggesting using the NBBO as another safety net for stop election: Dear IB Management: I've suggested a change before to your stop algorithm, and it met with a cold reception. My understanding of your position...

A "Spinner" is someone who flips their position when the trade goes against them. Very profitable strategy that few people do.

People can be dramatic sometimes. Their interface and executions are fast, their support is low tech, but I don't call them so it hasn't been a big deal. They are constantly upgrading (literally almost daily) so rarely things get goofed up. With the constant upgrades come things people want...

Check this article out about what the U.K. thinks of the U.S.'s Military build up. We never hear this point of view from US news sources? We have a bad @## military. http://www.observer.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,648112,00.html

Try using 30-minute bars as your exit (H/L). Keeps you in for most shakeouts, minimizes churning, eliminates irrational emotions, allows tracking of multiple positions, and is profitable (for me at least) in the long run. Early morning and end of day try 15-minute bars. Objective is better...

Yes, I use them as a backup broker. The browser interface is slow, but they get you good fills, and are easy to work with. I use IB as my primary broker for the speed of entry, and ability to scale in and out cheaply.

The rewards of a competitive market (tight spreads) benefit day traders, position & swing traders, investors, anyone who actually buys or sells (unless your trying to trade the spread). An inefficient market benefits the MM's & specialists who have special powers to create and exploit the...