trend trading requires much much bigger balls than countertrend

[Thunderdog]

Quote from chewbacca:

trend trading requires big balls

how big?

so big you qualify as a handicapped person

why?

because 50-99% retracements are very common and not many people can watch a 2000 gain shrink to a 200 gain or before it turns into a 4000 gain

countertrend trading is child's play - it is conventional wisdom - buy low, sell high

I think your premise is false on two counts. First, just because someone trades in the direction of a perceived trend does not mean that he will necessarily allow a trade to go against him any more so than a "countertrend" trader would. That is simply an assumption you made.

And second, who is to say that an initial protective stop need necessarily be larger for a "trend" trade than for a "countertrend" trade? I think that trend identification and timing play a fairly pivotal role.

Bottom line: one approach need not necessarily be looser than the other. Both participants can choose to play a tight game.

 

[jenek-cowboy]

Quote from bootstrap:

no, it requires brains.

i have had this discussion on numerous occasions with my trading partners. out of the 9 of us, 3 are strictly day traders, 4 are swing traders, 1 is an EOD trend follower, and then there is me.

and we are all successful.

and the one common thread is me. i am all of the above. and that is where the brains come in. i normally scalp the markets. but on occasion those turn into a swing trade. and sometimes a trend trade.

look at it like, swimming at the beach. you are doing your thing body surfing the waves. some take you a few feet, some all the way to the beach and everything in between.

and on that rare occasion, you stepped where you shouldn't have and get caught in a rip tide. don't fight it. ride it.

in other words don't hold a position into a 50% retracement, take your profit or a quick small loss, the other side of the trade and keep riding.

it is good thing named diversification by sistem

 

[kiwi_trader]

Good to see someone has a brain Thunderdog.

 

[Bitstream]

how frequently do those running +$2000 turn into scratches or losses. how big how often the losses. the difference in pnl between all or nothing and banking all the times tgt +$2000? also with lower tgt +$1000-1500... all things to consider.

Quote from chewbacca:

trend trading requires big balls

how big?

so big you qualify as a handicapped person

why?

because 50-99% retracements are very common and not many people can watch a 2000 gain shrink to a 200 gain or before it turns into a 4000 gain

countertrend trading is child's play - it is conventional wisdom - buy low, sell high

 

[eusdaiki]

Quote from Bitstream:

how frequently do those running +$2000 turn into scratches or losses..

That depends, if you're trading 200,000 share blocks, $2000 is just one tick. It's all relative.