A software consultant who day trades stocks gained 805% in 2023

[deaddog]

4, maybe 5.

Traders have edges, gamblers don't. That is the difference.

What do you do if you take 5 losses in a row?

 

[tomkat22]

I suppose, Taking 1% risk per trade gives me a position size of around 14% of my account. If that's piker size then that's me.

So if you put on a $3500 position you stop out when you're down $35? That sounds more like a scalper than a swing trader.

 

[ironchef]

Here's the problem with that solution. What do you do if you stand down and the next trade would have been a masive winner? When do you get back in the game?

You can't possibly know what the outcome of the next trade will be. FWIW my solution to a losing streak is to reduce my risk and scale into winning trades.

Capital preservation is my #1 priority.
If you don't bet you can't win
If you lose all your capital you can't bet.

From this I know you are real.

 

[deaddog]

So if you put on a $3500 position you stop out when you're down $35? That sounds more like a scalper than a swing trader.

No I'm risking 1% of my account per trade.
Risk = difference between the entry and the stop price.
Position size = 1% of Account size / risk
So if the entry is $10 and stop is $9 Risk = $1 per share
If Account size is 100k then 1% is $1000
Position size is 1000 shares @ $10 or 10k

 

[tomkat22]

No I'm risking 1% of my account per trade.
Risk = difference between the entry and the stop price.
Position size = 1% of Account size / risk
So if the entry is $10 and stop is $9 Risk = $1 per share
If Account size is 100k then 1% is $1000
Position size is 1000 shares @ $10 or 10k

Yea I mistakenly thought you were referring to stoploss per trade,not account size. However I do give my trades a little more room to breathe than 1%. Either way 17 losses in a row would be absolutely devastating and demoralizing,at least for me anyway.

 

[SunTrader]

What do you do if you take 5 losses in a row?

I take a break naturally.

 

[Jzwu2017]

At least for me my edge, if I believe it, won’t let me lose 5 trades in a row unless it’s caused by some other obvious reasons, such as emotional issues. Otherwise, I need to seriously consider if it’s a real edge. YMMV.