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To: Andrew Vance who wrote (15166)	8/6/1998 5:25:00 PM
From: SE	Respond to of 17305

AV, If I may offer a couple of rules that I have not followed in the past to my detriment. 1. Before establishing a position have a sell theory in place. This should cover both sides of the spectrum. It should cover what happens if the security goes down after purchase and what happens should the security go up! There is no magic bullet here for sell side. Set it at a percentage, a fixed dollar amount or base it off of a technical read of the chart. Whatever it is set it in stone and live by it. 2. Assuming the security moves up in price and your sell theory is to ride the trend for as long as possible with a moving stop, that is fine. However, once the position is profitable by a certain number of points, or percentage, DO NOT let the position turn into a loss. There are only two ways out at that point in my mind....break-even or at a small profit. This is easier said than done and the number of points might be based upon the volatility of the stock. For example if the stock has an average range of a couple of points, you don't want to get "stopped out" just as it hits the outside of its normal price range. You hear about these simple basics all the time...however, they are not so simple. They require the ability to pick correct pricing for getting out and they require discipline. Which is more important...discipline. If you are replacing hope with common sense....exit the position. There is no room for HOPE in a stock position whether it is INTC or MSFT or DELL or BNGO or SYCR or SPCL or BYDS. Trust me, I have been there. -Scott