Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : DAYTRADING Fundamentals -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maarten Z who wrote (864)	6/16/1999 9:23:00 PM
From: Eric P	Respond to of 18137

Maarten: Welcome to the thread. Very good post. I think many traders do not have a disciplined approach towards cutting their losses ==> So they consistently lose money. Other traders consistently cut their losses, but maintain their stops too tightly. This causes them to be stopped out when their stocks during slight movements, or 'noise', in their stocks. ==> As a result, they also consistenly lose money. The successful trader must be focused on maintaining strict discipline in cutting their loses, but must not set their stops too closely to the entry price. ==> Therefore, they have not doomed themselves to failure, and have a chance to succeed. Proper stop placement is very difficult to learn for this reason. Set too close and you lose a potentially profitable trade. Set too loosely and it will cost you a greater amount on every losing trade. Your decision to place a wider stop on a high priced and volatile stock such as AMZN gives you a better chance to stay in the trade long enough to be profitable, without being shaken out by a quick 3/4 point reversal. Thanks, -Eric

To: Maarten Z who wrote (864)	6/16/1999 11:11:00 PM
From: -	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18137

Maarten, Nice post on trading AMZN. It is one of my favorites too, I was in and out at least three times today. 1 1/2 pts is still pretty tight, for that beast. I'm usually 3 pts way on the stop initially, looking for 2-4+ points in a quick move selling into strength on the offer; my stops tighten as the trade develops. Hit rate on that one is pretty high, I hold out for the better setups. I scalp it too, occasionally because it trades so well. The thing about AMZN is, you have to make sure it's a trending day, one way or the other. When it does, it's one of the easiest inets to trade. I find it to be downright "gentle" compared to YHOO or EBAY. -Steve

To: Maarten Z who wrote (864)	6/17/1999 2:48:00 AM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18137

Hi Maarten Z; On AMZN today watching Level 2, did you see FBCO get what I supposed was a big buy order? I clued in, when in a minor decline, he just stood there and absorbed shares. Sometimes I think this sort of trading is like the child's game of "keep away". In this, you get your hands on something that someone else wants, (or owns, even) and see how long you can prevent them from getting possession of it. They chase after you, but sometimes appear to give up and pretend to be no longer interested in it. Then, since you really don't want the thing, you have to get rid of it (i.e. give it to them cheap) or instead wait for them to show interest in it again. Children can be so cruel... FBCO took so many shares so quickly that when he chased the stock up a little, I knew he had to fill a big order, and was likely to chase the price up a lot more. When the guy chasing the stock lets the price get well above his bid, it is sometimes a useful thing to do to preference him on Selectnet with an offer closer to the ask than the. If he takes your shares, you know he's still buying, and is likely to eventually push the bid, up past the current level. Sometimes he will take your shares even though he isn't showing anywhere near the inside bid. In this case, pick up more shares near the bid, and play "keep away". -- Carl