Anyone had near blowup experience?

Compulsive · Sep 17, 2008

Quote from Darshan:

Thanks for all the laughs and good times board. Goodbye cruel world...

nokomisjeff · Sep 17, 2008

Quote from turkeyneck:

I might add that my wife is possibly a mental block for me to pull the trigger on a loss because a loss is never a loss until it shows up on the 1099. She never looks at the brokerage statements but she does have to sign the tax return. So I'm sort of hiding unrealized losses from her and this contributes to my big drawdown right now.

Don't keep your wife out of the loop. Hiding big hits can really make things worse. I made that mistake in 1987, hid a hit, and had to play catch up for a couple of months. It wasn't a comfortable experience.

snowhite · Sep 17, 2008

I lost over 9k in ten minutes trading MS, then I took all my money out of market which were in dwindling retirement accounts.

TraderZones · Sep 17, 2008

Quote from turkeyneck:

I might add that my wife is possibly a mental block for me to pull the trigger on a loss because a loss is never a loss until it shows up on the 1099. She never looks at the brokerage statements but she does have to sign the tax return. So I'm sort of hiding unrealized losses from her and this contributes to my big drawdown right now.

it won't be much of a marriage if there isn't complete trust.

Ask yourself this, how would you feel if she traded and hid this from you?

monty21 · Sep 17, 2008

If you don't mind answering, how big was your loss and how lenient were your stop losses... if any?

I assume you were long financials or anything for that matter today... All I can say is don't attempt to pick bottoms. If you like Livermore, follow his advice about not going against the trend or fighting the line of least resistance.

Look at a 90, 60 and 30 daily charts.. Its extremely bearish and you are fighting a steep slope down. I'm sure there will be dips and ultimately a reversal, but why bet on them. The higher probability trades are short.

In terms of psychology, major losses will surely effect you and may make you "revenge" trade or trigger shy even. Your best bet is to trade small now. Regain your confidence and then go bigger.

You should probably just be honest with your wife too. Trading is high risk and dramatic losses occur frequently... even for the most talented professionals. She should accept that risk. She may encourage you as well. Just trade small initially though.

LuckyGirl · Sep 17, 2008

Quote from turkeyneck:

I might add that my wife is possibly a mental block for me to pull the trigger on a loss because a loss is never a loss until it shows up on the 1099. She never looks at the brokerage statements but she does have to sign the tax return. So I'm sort of hiding unrealized losses from her and this contributes to my big drawdown right now.

My husband never wants to me to sell losing stocks. I have ended up holding losers (banks too) for far too long then blaming him. Truth is, when I finally sold them, I didn't ask him. I had control all along, it's just easier for me to blame someone else.

And the losing money thing -- I'm down about $15k with the money I have been trading, but your thread finally game me the courage to have a look at our investment portfolio, managed by some big guys. Down $700k since June and it's not over yet. I am sick to my stomach.

turkeyneck · Sep 17, 2008

Quote from monty21:

If you don't mind answering, how big was your loss and how lenient were your stop losses... if any?

The loss was in the ballpark of $80k or so. I didn't use stop loss but I would have dumped it a long time ago and started fresh if it were my own account and I didn't have to be accountable to my wife. I was wishful thinking all along and hoped that the market will bounce and let me out with less damage.

neveragain · Sep 17, 2008

how come you guys lose so much money? why nobody use options=insurance...? i think you would be better off gambling in las VEGAS at least is more fun....

PatrickQ · Sep 17, 2008

Quote from turkeyneck:

The loss was in the ballpark of $80k or so. I didn't use stop loss but I would have dumped it a long time ago and started fresh if it were my own account and I didn't have to be accountable to my wife. I was wishful thinking all along and hoped that the market will bounce and let me out with less damage.

sounds like you might be playing the blame game, and if so you may not being truthful to yourself. figure out how to take ownership and complete responsiblity. "if it were my own account, then ..." just trying to make the point THAT you have look inside, as to why you did not take ownership and responsiblity. i do not have a wife, but i can imagine IT could create potential ISSUES/CONFLICT which might express itself unfortunately in our profession as a trader.

just thoughts.... sorry about the loss, and hope all the best. think of it as paying to MU (Market University). When I pay tuition I really try to LEARN from the money I paid, so I dont pay it again. just trying to give honest input. go read, some of Mark Douglas books ... they really helped me tons with taking a loss!

REIT Master · Sep 17, 2008

here's my advice: get the new Metallica cd, go to track 3 "Broken, Beat & Scarred" and crank it up. If that doesn't pump you up, nothing will.

"You Rise You Fall
Your Down Then You Rise Again
What Donât Kill You Will Make You More Strong

Through Black Days
Through Black Nights
through Pitch Black Insights"