What would an experience trader do on a situation like this?

[Qwerty]

Quote from bearnbull:

I got in on RIG at $67.99 long on Tuesday Close at 67.72, open at 68.00 on Wednesday--(Still holding)--started going down because of crude oil going down. I got out at 65.63, needless to say, I lost a chunk. Then he started going back up to the 68's. Should I have gotten out sooner?? Held longer and wait for the bounce?? Knowing the turn out--any of the 2 would be a correct answer. What would have an experience trader done given the same scenario??-- Without knowing the end result??

Thanks

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On the day before you bought, the bears had just pushed the bulls down from a major resistance zone at $74, the bears were too strong & the bulls were countering against a push downward. You bought just below the mid way point of a trading range. A trading range that is now over 2 months old. What is a trading range? It's an intense battle for control of market direction.

When a trader buys or sells near the middle of a trading range, he is walking into a firestorm & unless he has deep pockets, a trader will almost assuredly feel market heat, the market will force him to make decisions quicker because the struggle between bulls & bears is most intense near the middle. It's like being out at sea, the waves toss & turn you like a rubber duck & all you feel is pain.

 

[bearnbull]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. It's been a while now since I first posted this questions and followed some advice from the exprience traders with some success. I made and lost from RIG since I first posted--overall I'm ahead of the game by far.

Today--Friday the 13th was not too good of a day. I shorted LEN after some bad news from a company on the same sector. I was correct on my analysis BUT my entry point was just after the bell at 46.92-- a few down ticks then a lot of up ticks and my exit was 47.38, (1% from my entry point). Needless to say it hit my stop, only to find out that it was almost the high of the day.
Was my entry point too soon?? or my exit too soon??

 

[Qwerty]

Quote from bearnbull:

Today--Friday the 13th was not too good of a day. I shorted LEN after some bad news from a company on the same sector. I was correct on my analysis BUT my entry point was just after the bell at 46.92-- a few down ticks then a lot of up ticks and my exit was 47.38, (1% from my entry point). Needless to say it hit my stop, only to find out that it was almost the high of the day.
Was my entry point too soon?? or my exit too soon??

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In the future bearnbull, focus your attention on price. This my advice, make print outs of market activity in different time frames & study them, feel & touch the market. I want to express my humble opinion. The reason that many traders have a difficult time understanding markets is because they cannot understand the underlying reason or root reason why markets move. If greater attention was on placed on understanding price, more traders would be having success. I'am sure you've heard it before, "there is no better indicator than price". This is what many traders are attempting to decipher but cannot & why the real pulse of the market remains elusive to them. If we don't know why, the markets will tie us up in knots & will seem like a mystery that can never be solved, when they really are not. What do most traders use to address this problem? They use technical indicators, indicators do not stimulate critical thinking skills, what you get instead is this: if the market does X, buy & if the market does X, take profits, & X if the market does......and so on, you see how that can be a handicap? you rely on something to give you the answer, because you don't know the answer yourself. Imagine this for a moment, 4 indicators tell you it's now OK to buy? & one 1 indicator says you should not, is this really grasping or having real insight on why markets move? Its' inevitable, you know price & you're leaps & bounds ahead. Very similar to school, you're the valedictorian, you're the student that is envied by all, while some students(traders) blaze through the rigors of academics(trading) without flinching, other students(struggling traders) languish & hobble through school, just getting by with so, so grades(break even results).

When we buy or sell, we have to know what's on the table, we have to think like this...if we buy here, I should take profits there because the bears could potentially respond from 11,790 & drive the market back down to support...... Is it in our best interest to continue holding this long position if..... ? & so on. Price points out potential bariers & opportunities with greater precision, unlike indicators, price can also with a high degree of certainty tell you what is likely to occur in the near future & from where. Think about this for a moment, what is causing the markts to move up & down? It's because there are two enemies at war, it's the bulls & bears. The aim of bears is to drive markets lower & the aim of bulls is the opposite, it's not in the interest of sellers for markets to head higher because they lose money, they make money if markets move downward and vice versa. The markets have a language & many traders do not understand that language, if markets look like lines of spaghetti to you & need further nelp, contact me for a possible solution. Attached is a chart with commentary, tell me what you think.