More charts

[des44]

You guys have created a monster in me.....Here are a couple more charts that I am playing.

BXP = Missed out on adding to my position today..grr. My initial entry happened on Nov. 12 (pink dot) when it broke resistance. This was not an ideal entry due to it being over extended, but it worked out.

MAC = I entered this stock today (Dec. 1) when it broke its trend line. To really make me happy I would like to see this stock break the $60.50 area for hopes of some decent profits.

d-

 

[Roberto]

You guys have created a monster in me ...

I'm happy to see that. At least they'll stop accusing you of being a Newbie who came here to plug one specific thing (though I imagine no apology or retraction will be forthcoming!).

 

[des44]

I'm happy to see that. At least they'll stop accusing you of being a Newbie who came here to plug one specific thing (though I imagine no apology or retraction will be forthcoming!).

LOL.....Roberto, you're the coolest!

d-

 

[roguetrader]

Nice posts des, I haven't got round to mastering swing trades yet, (still trying to master intraday), but I do have some interest in that direction soon, so it's good to see what someone else is trading

 

[Trader333]

des44,

I am curious where you placed a stop on BXP, (mental or real), was it just below $58 ? and if not where was it because you made a $2 profit which then went into a loss of $1 before resuming in the original direction.


Paul

 

[roguetrader]

Hmmnn interesting point Paul, probably why I don't swing trade, had I traded that I would have stopped out on a break of the low of the breakout bar, though in fairness I would likely have locked in half up around the 62 mark, though easy to say in hindsight. Certainly I know if I am honest I would have stopped out of whatever I was holding on the 18th.

 

[des44]

Man, I love this forum! Fantastic question, Paul. My stop is currently set at $57.80, but looking to move it up to either $59.49 or at my break-even point at $60.10.

A moment of truth...One of my biggest mistakes starting out in trading was setting my stops too tight. All too often, I would enter a position on a tasty upward trending stock only to get stopped out of it the next day. The kick in the butt was seeing the stock that you just lost 50 cents on take off soon after to continue in its trend.

Tight stops just killed me. I keep a detailed record of each of my trades in an Excel file for close analysis. After a review of 50 of my trades or so, I was sickened to see how many of those stocks that I got stopped out on (losing money) that were NOW higher in price than what I originally bot in at....grr...

Thousands of dollars were left on the table simply because I didn't give my stocks room to run. Earlier I use to stress over loose stops-- seeing all the money at risk. Nowadays I find liberty in lose stops.

d- *life is grand*

 

[Trader333]

Yes I can see why your stop is at $57.80 as it is just below the break of support. I also agree that for position trading you do need larger stops to take into consideration intra-day swings so I am in agreement with your approach.


Paul

 

[roguetrader]

Man, I love this forum! Fantastic question, Paul. My stop is currently set at $57.80, but looking to move it up to either $59.49 or at my break-even point at $60.10.

A moment of truth...One of my biggest mistakes starting out in trading was setting my stops too tight. All too often, I would enter a position on a tasty upward trending stock only to get stopped out of it the next day. The kick in the butt was seeing the stock that you just lost 50 cents on take off soon after to continue in its trend.

Tight stops just killed me. I keep a detailed record of each of my trades in an Excel file for close analysis. After a review of 50 of my trades or so, I was sickened to see how many of those stocks that I got stopped out on (losing money) that were NOW higher in price than what I originally bot in at....grr...

Thousands of dollars were left on the table simply because I didn't give my stocks room to run. Earlier I use to stress over loose stops-- seeing all the money at risk. Nowadays I find liberty in lose stops.

d- *life is grand*

des you have just about summed up my experiences with the few times I have dabbled in swing trades. Uncanny.

 

[des44]

Paul: Believe it or not, but I am a swing trader (1-10 day turnaround). However I hope that each trade turns into a "position" trade (11-365+ days). What I have found in my personal trading is that I am leaving (significant) money on the table by not allowing my stocks to do their normal pullbacks (swing lows). There are great rewards for those that learn to stomach pullbacks contingent on a trending stock.

Rogue: LOL. I think we all have experience this at some point or another. To sum up the problem is fear IMO. We fear losing so in reaction we use a smothering tight stop. It's seems inevitable that we get stopped out just one day before the stocks takes off to the moon. Hopefully you're encouraged enough to begin swing trading again. I love it.

d-

 

[JumpOff]

I paper trade intra-day, forex and indexes, but the same hold true. I'm embarrassed to say that some of my biggest trades came because I thought the trade had stalled and I had to go run an errand. I set my stop a few ticks farther away than I would have if I were watching at the screen and left - crossing it off as 'probably not going anywhere - maybe a small loss.' Imagine my chagrine when I came back to my biggest gainer ever.....

Now I'm going back over my journals to see just how much all this micromanagement is really costing me!
JO

 

[des44]

JO- I would be interested to hear what the verdict is after the review of your journal.

d-

 

[des44]

BXP update

Update:

BXP = Still seeing increasing profits from where I entered this stock (pink dot = $60.10) and have moved my stop to $60.80. The price broke above the resistance level (red line) and closed close to its daily high. hard telling where this one will go.

Still kicking myself for not adding to my position on Dec. 1st when it broke its "trendline" at $60.25--notice blue lines making the wedge.

 

[Roberto]

Very interesting comments from you, Des:

One of my biggest mistakes starting out in trading was setting my stops too tight.

We fear losing so in reaction we use a smothering tight stop.

I know the feeling, but is missing the runaway to the moon caused by my stops being too tight or by my entry being in the wrong place?