money management

What is the best way to make sure I do not let my loss ride?

Do I place a $0.25 market stop immediately after my order execution in Arca?
 
If I wasn't able to watch a trade second by second (normally during bathroom breaks), I would set a stop limit order with some wiggle room between the activation price and the limit price. The wiggle room would depend on the stock I was trading. For example, if trading SUNW .05 wiggle room would be sufficient, wheras EBAY would require .10. Normally I get filled closer to the activation price than to the limit price.
I use IB and their BEST order route.
 
there is no one universal answer. You have to look at which time frame you trade and what profit target you have.

I have found that 2 to 3 times the average (hi-lo) of the most recent bars (in your timeframe) to be a good value that won't get you stopped out based on minor wiggles. Take partial profits at one times risk.
 
Back
Top