Newbie getting killed

[flytiger]

Quote from razor99:

you are risking 6.5% to make 4% ? thats part of the reson you are getting hit. as a trader,there is no reson to let a loss get to 6.5% in the first place.my rule is simple,if a stock does'nt do what i think,i sell..no questions asked. don't get me wrong,i'll jump back in at the first sign of strength but jump out on the first sign of weakness. to be a good trader requires discipline and risk management is of the utmost importance. the 6.5% loss stradegy may work in a bull market but we are in a very choppy environment where stops get taken out very quickly so why risk 6.5%! that is swing trading and that can be very dangerous in this environment. work on a scalping method and perhaps have a separate account for swings or options.

Thank you. My sentiments exactly. I was thinking why it is so hard to pull the trigger on a loser. If you're really careful about what you 're positioning, and you aren't just throwing spaghetti against the wall, you've put some thought into the trade, AND IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THE "PERFECT SETUP" IS GOING TO FAIL. But they do

 

[FanOfFridays]

Quote from thriftybob:

I say go back to doing EXACTLY what you did in Jan/Feb, with just 1 minor exception.

Sell when you think you should buy, and buy it back when you normally would have stopped out or gone into panic and dumped.

I think trying to fade yourself is a very bad idea. It doesn't set you up to enter trades with confidence. You won't know where you stand in your trades. As a directional trader, you have to make your best determination about the direction of the market within your time frame then put your money on the line. That's the only way to do it, IMO.

 

[thriftybob]

It wasn't a joke. when i was a "newbie" I was getting killed, and that's how I fixed it.

 

[Hook N. Sinker]

Quote from JimmyJam:

What happens when you run the test against a universe of stocks which have a positive relative strength vs. the S&P500 or (my personal favorite) the Dow?

That's a rhetorical question H N S.

Are you asking what happens when I apply the buy low sell high trading system to a portfolio of say five high relative strength stocks?

Interesting question. I have to modify this program and validate the code. I estimate it takes me about a week to complete the changes.

 

[JimmyJam]

Quote from Hook N. Sinker:

Are you asking what happens when I apply the buy low sell high trading system to a portfolio of say five high relative strength stocks?

Exactly.

But only use S&P500 stocks against the S&P500, (same can be said for the Dow and Nasdaq, if you want run an analysis on those stocks).

Interesting question. I have to modify this program and validate the code. I estimate it takes me about a week to complete the changes.

Cool, if any of my stock trading experience holds, you've got your self a winner there.

JJ