Originally posted by bluesky
mgkreps and Don,
Do you have a "watch list" prior to the open? If you do, what action do you see after the open before it would trigger the decision to place the buy order?
Once the order is filled, do you put in a "stop (market or limit)" right away or do you use a mental stop.
I don't use Direct Access so to place a stop market, sometimes the slippage (0.40) scares me off so I end up use mental stop. This costs me even more sometimes because of fast moving market.
To day trade or swing trade, is Direct Access a MUST have?
Thanks.
This strategy really does require immediate executions. Once in the trade, you simply watch the "tape" to see an exit point in most cases (stock, premium/discount on S&P, all the usual stuff). When you get multiple fills (making it more difficult to watch all of them), then you put in a "winning exit" vs. a "stop loss" in case the stock does the "slingshot" move (opens down, pops up immediately, then drops right back....pretty common)
Mental stops are always better than ordered stops.