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Bill,
You're not ignorant at all. That's a very good question, and exactly my point. When the momentum pauses for a stock in play, and if you haven't already exited, then you might have a real big problem.
Sometimes I close out a position prematurely, see the stock rise a lot more, profit I have left on the table. So, next time, I try to wait just a little bit longer to exit. Other times, I get out right at the top, using level-2, TOS, and watching position manager (and getting lucky). This is rare, though. More often, by the time I see the stock pause, it's too late to exit with any dignity (and profit).
If it's a very actively traded stock, no big problem. I find ISLD orders easier than SOES and no limit on number of shares. But if it's a lower priced, highly volatile, somewhat illiquid stock, when the selling starts there are no buyers to be found. Trying to get out then becomes very tough and frustrating. Just recognizing you are in such a problem takes some valuable time, trying to explore different ways of exiting.
There is a key on CyberTrader called "Exit All," the <Shift+L> key. I have tried it only once, it didn't seem to work for me at all, at least not in that instance. I, therefore, have little confidence in it.
Then there's the "Smart Market" sell key. I have had poor results using that. I don't think I fully understand how the key is programmed, and I believe that it is being re-programmed now in the current revision (new software patch was to be available late yesterday). When I have used the Smart keys, I most often get error messages and nothing more, no executions. I'm still in the stock, wondering how to get out, watching the price (and profits) go down like the Titanic. It can be painful. You "had" a big profit, but now it's quickly slipping away.
Otherwise, it seems you cannot just issue a general "sell" command. You need to decide whether to use SOES (and face the very real possibility that your position exceeds the number of shares for that stock's SOES tier level - 200, 500, etc), or to use ISLD (worthless when price is dropping - you can't sell on the bid, and no one is buying at the ask), or SelectNet (generally worthless altogether imho - rarely works for me). You need to know who's on the inside market, ECN's or MM's or what. It can be a mess. When this happens and if the stock was really flying (and, therefore, is now really tanking fast), you can easily lose a point or more in a minute or two. Playing a new IPO this way can kill you.
The web-based systems seem to allow a general market sell order, but I have seen it take up to 20 minutes (or longer) to get confirmation of fills that way. Not good. And, using those browser-based trading platforms, if you decide to cancel or change your open order, forget about it, you confuse them, lock the system up, and might end up getting more shares, shorting unintentionally, creating yourself an even bigger problem, etc.
CyberTrader-type trading is the way to go, but one must fully understand how to use the system and be very selective about the type of stocks to trade and be very careful about timing the exit. Not a game to be taken lightly. It can be done, but one must apparently suffer a few tragedies to know what plays to avoid in the future.
Unfortunately, CyberTrader doesn't tell you the SOES tier-level of a particular stock. So, if you buy 1,000 shares on ISLD or SelectNet, then try to sell quick via SOES and find the SOES limit for that stock is 200 or 500 shares, it's too late and you might have a problem.
I hope this answers your question. If my thinking is a bit off here, I would welcome anyone's comments that might help further.
Bill |
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