stop loss. why????

[BeginnerJoe]

I thought the US election is giving us a bull market. Why are you short ?

 

[jeffre4]

not looking for validation but thought it might provoke opinion because it goes against the grain but like i said brokers love stop losses they rub their hands

 

[Liquid validity]

not looking for validation but thought it might provoke opinion because it goes against the grain but like i said brokers love stop losses they rub their hands

Dont trade, or place stops in an obvious palce with indecisive direction then.

 

[jeffre4]

short because there are valid targets lower down. news/elections are short term my posistions are long term maybe this is the time i get caught with my pants down time will tell

 

[wackypete2]

short because there are valid targets lower down. news/elections are short term my posistions are long term maybe this is the time i get caught with my pants down time will tell

OK, then serious question here for your own sake.
If this is the time you get caught with your pants down then how much of your previous 3 year's profits will be lost by this trade? This is something you need to evaluate. Would it all have been worth it? Does your "system" still work if you lost 1/2 your 3 years worth of profits or more?

Peter

 

[jeffre4]

if the ftse went up to say 7000 before 5260 then yes but like i said they are valid targets with worst case scenario's built in.there are higher targets which would not be a problem if it hits them first. when you trade you must have a winning formula with valid targets that you believe in otherwise you would not be trading.

 

[jeffre4]

i have been in this position many times and it always gives the opportunity to add positions which as always made for very good profits the target as to be valid

 

[BeginnerJoe]

maybe this is the time i get caught with my pants down time will tell

Yes, allowing unlimited loss will take you down eventually. If not this time, then it will come sooner or later, and all previous efforts will be wasted.

if the ftse went up to say 7000 before 5260 then yes but like i said they are valid targets

Why are they valid targets and how do you compel the market to give you those targets ? You make it sound as if the market is your bitch and you can make it do things. Given your small bets, I don't see how because the market has no respect for small bets.

i have been in this position many times and it always gives the opportunity to add positions which as always made for very good profits the target as to be valid

In other words, you always averaged down. This strategy will always end with a fail after you have gone all in.

 

[jeffre4]

didnt want this thread to become about my trading methods but interested to know if any of you have recorded the times you were stopped out and how much you lost against how much you may have won had you let it run to your target position? you may be surprised

 

[wackypete2]

didnt want this thread to become about my trading methods but interested to know if any of you have recorded the times you were stopped out and how much you lost against how much you may have won had you let it run to your target position? you may be surprised

Even better, how often has anyone's trade been stopped out and price continues to go against them such that their account would be in shambles if not for the stoploss? You only need to find 1 instance.

Peter

 

[BeginnerJoe]

I don't record mine and mine get stopped out all the time. The market is supposed to do that because that's how it makes profit. But there are times when I don't get stopped out and that's how I make some back.

 

[Liquid validity]

didnt want this thread to become about my trading methods but interested to know if any of you have recorded the times you were stopped out and how much you lost against how much you may have won had you let it run to your target position? you may be surprised

Yeah I have backtested it over 8 years+ of data and forward tested.
I said earlier that stops are rarely the optimal exit strategy.
That does not mean they have zero value.

Go take out all your fuses in your fuse box and replace them all with
screws or tin foil and see what happens...
At the very least stops are a failsafe.
Otherwise your account / margin call becomes the stop loss.

Don't confuse a stoploss with exit strategy.
Yes they can be used that way.
Primarily, they are for account protection.

 

[jeffre4]

I don't record mine and mine get stopped out all the time. The market is supposed to do that because that's how it makes profit. But there are times when I don't get stopped out and that how I make some back.

perhaps i should have titled this thread along the lines ofmy last comments it may have given more food for thought and got to the heart of the matter ie are stops good or bad long term you sound like it could be more marginal then you realise

 

[BeginnerJoe]

Otherwise your account / margin call becomes the stop loss.

Or sleepless nights become the stop loss, enough to drive a person to post on the internet.

 

[BeginnerJoe]

perhaps i should have titled this thread along the lines ofmy last comments it may have given more food for thought and got to the heart of the matter ie are stops good or bad long term you sound like it could be more marginal then you realise

Can't comprehend what you are saying. Stops are good for any term. Although a large proportion of that will be lost to the market when it has nothing better to do than bottom fish for some morsels.

 

[jeffre4]

my targets are valid i doubt that anybody whose methods work share all their knowledge. there as to be losers otherwise there would be no spread betting firms. the ones who are not confident try to get mugs to pay them for their advise.

 

[jeffre4]

Or sleepless nights become the stop loss, enough to drive a person to post on the internet.

just thought it would make for an interesting thread had no sleepless nights since i started using my own advice and not a so called expert i had plenty of sleepless night then you seem very quick to crticise you must all be very good traders

 

[jeffre4]

as from tomorrow or tonight i will start putting stops on you have all conviced me

 

[jeffre4]

in a couple of months you might be saying i was right/lucky or an idiot time will tell hopefully just before Christmas would be nice

 

[BeginnerJoe]

you must all be very good traders

Not me. I just know I am not an extremely bad trader. I have all the basics sorted out and stops are one of them. Allowing yourself to go into unlimited loss is a waste of life.