dumb mistakes
- Thread starter qdz
- Start date
Except for illegal shorts!!!!!
I think pretty much everyone makes almost every trading mistake mentioned (the piss in the juice excepted). Buy for sell, wrong symbols, wrong prices, are all very common. Given enough opportunities, you will make mistakes. Part of trading.
One day I bought 1000 shares of some stock (forgot which) that I somehow managed to not type in the last letter (got 3 out of 4). The total volume was 2000 shares. Turned out a guy in my office did exactly the same thing on exactly the same stock, at virtually the same time with exactly the same number of shares.
What's the chances of that? (I think it may have been DEL for DELL).
Anything can and will happen eventually.
peace,
Rs7
How about paying too much for an option on open. If I had waited instead of letting my greed instinct overpower my fear instinct, I would have made a few bucks. Instead, even though the contract closed up for the day, I sold at a loss because I did not want to hold a loser over the weekend, especially in this market! I think I am just about over my next most stupid mistake, chasing a stock or option contract on the way up only to watch it tank once I get a fill. If I cannot get my price, I just move on to the next opportunity.
The most frustuating thing for me is BEING right about where the stock is heading, but getting caught up w/all the intraday noise and buying/shorting at the wrong prices and gettting scared enought to flatten myslef out....
I havent done this yet, but I am going to start trading positions like a VWAP. just buy 100 shares every few hours and try to get the overall price of the day and wait for your plan to evolve...
Much easier aid than done, I am sure...
I havent done this yet, but I am going to start trading positions like a VWAP. just buy 100 shares every few hours and try to get the overall price of the day and wait for your plan to evolve...
Much easier aid than done, I am sure...
I believe anyone who has traded seriously and never made a "dumb" mistake is a liar.
That is why "to err is human" has survived so long.
My experience has shown me that probably (never kept records) 90% of my mistakes occurred when I was rushing to catch a price. But, experience has taught me to relax and enjoy my trading time. If I miss the exact price (not often) I simply decide if it is worth the greater risk and smaller profit target, if so I go anyway.
When I was still trading on my own, I did my best to set things up so as to minimize mistakes. I use the Best trading platform (not most popular) because it offers ease of order entry and control, while not being as complex a setup as J Trader for example. I keep three separate "quick trade" windows: market, stop, and limit in positions that help me avoid sending an incorrect order. And the buy and sell buttons are clearly green and red.
I also use alerts and a timer to keep me on track, as I learned that "watching" the screen too much caused me to over trade.
After doing as much as I could to reduce my mistakes, I find it is best to put more attention on what I do right and accept that the rest of it is part of the package. Just as losing trades are part of making money daytrading!
That is why "to err is human" has survived so long.
My experience has shown me that probably (never kept records) 90% of my mistakes occurred when I was rushing to catch a price. But, experience has taught me to relax and enjoy my trading time. If I miss the exact price (not often) I simply decide if it is worth the greater risk and smaller profit target, if so I go anyway.
When I was still trading on my own, I did my best to set things up so as to minimize mistakes. I use the Best trading platform (not most popular) because it offers ease of order entry and control, while not being as complex a setup as J Trader for example. I keep three separate "quick trade" windows: market, stop, and limit in positions that help me avoid sending an incorrect order. And the buy and sell buttons are clearly green and red.
I also use alerts and a timer to keep me on track, as I learned that "watching" the screen too much caused me to over trade.
After doing as much as I could to reduce my mistakes, I find it is best to put more attention on what I do right and accept that the rest of it is part of the package. Just as losing trades are part of making money daytrading!
I trade as an option market maker on the floor of the cboe..and have made about every mistake in the book..some memorable ones..placed a limit order to sell 10,000 shares ..instead of 1000. Got hit on that one and stock ran about a dollar in my face. Another one which was funny and not nearly as costly was when I placed a buy order for a stock not realizing I had an existing sell order enveloped around the price and ended up buying from myself.
