Dumbest thing you ever did in trading

TDA used to populate the order window with mid on spreads and combos, but marketable limits on singles. IOW, if you're selling a single in index the limit order is the prevailing NBBO limit bid. In 2020 I was traveling internationally and jet-lagged and was up on a 300-lot NDX fly. I'd bought the body to close and was working the money wing and forgot to check the limit price in the order window. Since TDA populated limit orders in the front end as marketable limits... I was working 300 STC at the bid. Market was thin and it filled $4 under mid on a $12 theo. So a $120K fat finger.

TDA had implemented % from mid cancels on orders in SN, but not index. I complained obv to no avail but they implemented the warning pop-up in index a month later.

Normally I'd have worked it smaller over an hour but I was rushed. I learned from that one.
 
2002 in BBY vol. I was a PM at a fund. Phoned in the order to the AMEX broker who said he could work it and the fill came back stupid. Just ridiculous edge loss. I had a buddy at that same post and he told me the guy was laying off his inventory so I shorted my risk-limit in SN and drove vols down 300 beeps that day.

Turned out that my buddy didn't know anything and the AMEX broker was distracted and price moved away. He was inept, not working me. Made back the fill loss and then some.
 
2006 and I was in bbg-chat with a PM at a L/S fund who was long some stupid micro-cap garbage. He was buying NHs and we were arguing about the liquidity and I was sure it could be gamed. We bet, and I posted a 600K (share) short about 5% above market. Stock dropped 4-5% in a minute and the guy panicked. I felt terrible but the thing dropped further on his cover, and someone swooped in with size-bids. I got out 20-30 seconds before my limit would have been filled. Play stupid games...
 
I was on the Amex then. Can you Private Message me the broker you used? I ran institutional option orders as a phone clerk, then floor broker from 1982 until late 1984. Started as a MM in 1985. I did not do much with equites. I’m curious if I know the broker.

poopy said:
2002 in BBY vol. I was a PM at a fund. Phoned in the order to the AMEX broker who said he could work it and the fill came back stupid. Just ridiculous edge loss. I had a buddy at that same post and he told me the guy was laying off his inventory so I shorted my risk-limit in SN and drove vols down 300 beeps that day.

Turned out that my buddy didn't know anything and the AMEX broker was distracted and price moved away. He was inept, not working me. Made back the fill loss and then some.
More...
 
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exited a position 1 day prior planned exit with a small loss, next day market would hit the full profit target ... said nevermind shit happens ... but forgot to cancel the original profit-target (limit) order that got filled on the first notice day ... lost another 2K. Thanks God it was cash settled feeders
 
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The old ... intended to cover short 2000 shares of AOL (back in the high-flying days), instead doubled it.

Made some back on the next one.

Fiddled around a year or so more, then moved to futs and never looked back.
 
tomas262 said:
exited a position 1 day prior planned exit with a small loss, next day market would hit the full profit target ... said nevermind shit happens ... but forgot to cancel the original profit-target (limit) order that got filled on the first notice day ... lost another 2K. Thanks God it was cash settled feeders
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This is why if I make a trade I walk away and let it play out. Stop losses most of the time stop profits imo. Does your broker not have oco orders?

Also, I wonder if you're managing risk with position size if you calculate how many profits you leave on the table by getting stopped out early versus how much it saves you losing by getting stopped out early which one adds up to more?

I would think the stop losses do a lot more harm than good when you're managing risk with position size.


Why does this discussion keep getting brought back to stop losses? It's like you've all been brainwashed that you MUST provide liquidity for the market lol.
 
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