1 long fill on a small position, +45
Don's Openings and More for 2006
- Thread starter Don Bright
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1 long win, 1 short win, +200.
Too much patience on one, not enough on the other, otherwise it would have been a much better day.
Too much patience on one, not enough on the other, otherwise it would have been a much better day.
only 2 fills
txn and hpq. lost .20 on hpq and made about the same in txn.
I'm looking for a more mechanical exit strategy both for stop losses and profits.
Starting Thursday, on the stop loss side:
Put stop loss at .10 if trade ever becomes profitable.
My thinking is that if the trade bounces away from it's opening price and then goes back through the opening by more than .10, then there is probably just too much momentum in that direction.
Stop loss on trades that never become profitable:
After the first pull-back from extreme, put stop loss above/below that extreme. If the stock pops through that extreme after a pullback, then again, there is probably too much momentum in that direction.
Exits at a profit: sell half at +.10 and move stop on other half to break even.
I'm using .10 because most of the stocks that I am using are below 70.00.
Any helpful comments or observations would be appreciated.
txn and hpq. lost .20 on hpq and made about the same in txn.
I'm looking for a more mechanical exit strategy both for stop losses and profits.
Starting Thursday, on the stop loss side:
Put stop loss at .10 if trade ever becomes profitable.
My thinking is that if the trade bounces away from it's opening price and then goes back through the opening by more than .10, then there is probably just too much momentum in that direction.
Stop loss on trades that never become profitable:
After the first pull-back from extreme, put stop loss above/below that extreme. If the stock pops through that extreme after a pullback, then again, there is probably too much momentum in that direction.
Exits at a profit: sell half at +.10 and move stop on other half to break even.
I'm using .10 because most of the stocks that I am using are below 70.00.
Any helpful comments or observations would be appreciated.
txn and hpq are in my basket of 0/0 stocks but were not fillable today...
i use stops but i usually wait until things begin to settle down unless there is a large overhanging bid or offer...
it took some time but you can actually get a feel how your stocks will react after the open...
stops are important but you need to use them wisely...they must be movable (trailing) to get maximum potential...
opening stocks are like a rocket...they climb or fall then peak and reverse...
once in a great while they just go straight up or down...after a while you will know what to do...
a stop on a volatile stock is a license to steal for the specialist...bhi comes to mind...it all hinges on knowing your stocks and their specialist...
i use stops but i usually wait until things begin to settle down unless there is a large overhanging bid or offer...
it took some time but you can actually get a feel how your stocks will react after the open...
stops are important but you need to use them wisely...they must be movable (trailing) to get maximum potential...
opening stocks are like a rocket...they climb or fall then peak and reverse...
once in a great while they just go straight up or down...after a while you will know what to do...
a stop on a volatile stock is a license to steal for the specialist...bhi comes to mind...it all hinges on knowing your stocks and their specialist...
No fills today....I overslept
Regarding stops, I almost always keep my bids/offers a few pennies away from the inside. So if I'm short and its going down, I just keep dropping my bid. Sometimes you will price improvement. Once I see bids firming, I might take an offer to cover. I do not use Open Book. My montage is set up with NYSE level 1 and ECN's level 2. Nearly all the stocks I trade have a good bit of volume executed on ECN's and I've found that I do better watching them. Also I will use an ECN to get out. You'd be surprised at how much difference it (ECN) can make when the specialist widens the bid/offer.
Regarding stops, I almost always keep my bids/offers a few pennies away from the inside. So if I'm short and its going down, I just keep dropping my bid. Sometimes you will price improvement. Once I see bids firming, I might take an offer to cover. I do not use Open Book. My montage is set up with NYSE level 1 and ECN's level 2. Nearly all the stocks I trade have a good bit of volume executed on ECN's and I've found that I do better watching them. Also I will use an ECN to get out. You'd be surprised at how much difference it (ECN) can make when the specialist widens the bid/offer.
How do you guys deal with the uncertainty of getting "overfilled"? Suppose my firm extends to me 30:1 for order placement and 10:1 for actual positions. If i place 30:1 worth of orders (15:1 long, 15:1 short) and then end up getting filled on for every stock (either short or long) ie higher than expected fill rate on this particular day, then i would be facing a potentially large daytrading margin call (now would be holding 15:1 worth of positions right after the open). Of course i could play it safe and envelope with 20:1 only so that even if i get filled on every stock i will be within 10:1, my allowed buying power for actual positions. How do you deal with this issue? Do you ever consider the possibility of getting filled on all stocks, and what kind of margin call you would get in that unlikely scenario?
Unless you are working with a small list and have a very tight envelope, it's extremely unlikely you'd ever be filled on all your stocks. However a keystroke error on your part could make it happen (like accidentally key in 1170 instead of 1270 for the spoos).
Most guys trading openings are at professional shops where the bp isn't so rigid. If you do have a hard limit enforced by your firm it's quite likely you'd have at least have enough time to work out of things. It would only take a couple minutes to lighten up your positions.
If they want you to actually deposit funds to cover positions, even when you are flat, then you're screwed. Hope you have a high limit on your visa.
Most guys trading openings are at professional shops where the bp isn't so rigid. If you do have a hard limit enforced by your firm it's quite likely you'd have at least have enough time to work out of things. It would only take a couple minutes to lighten up your positions.
If they want you to actually deposit funds to cover positions, even when you are flat, then you're screwed. Hope you have a high limit on your visa.
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