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Well said!
Michael Dell (Dell Computer) has a saying that applies to trading:
"Don't perfume the pig"
i.e. don't try to mask or make your [trading] mistakes look better. Dump
the pig while the dumping is good...
I think this is one of "those" lessons that are unfortunately learned by
most of us the hard way...
A believer,
Doug
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Fenstemaker [mailto:dfens@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 8:24 PM
> To: omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Trading like a dufus ...
>
>
> Here is a lesson to remind everyone to
> trade their system.
>
> Today I went long the SPY at $130 at about
> 10 minutes after market open. The next bar
> blew through my stop and continued to do so
> until I was $3000 down in about 15 minutes.
>
> I could have exited around even, but I
> just wasn't mentally prepared to exit so
> quick, especially because I had been on
> a streak, the sure sign of brewing trouble.
> I rationalized why I should do nothing.
>
> Since now I was trading no system, I tried
> to figure out what my exit would be.
>
> My system had three winning trades (all shorts),
> none of which I was in. I wiggled all day long trying to
> figure out if the market would come back like it
> did yesterday. My wife reminded me to arrange my
> Bull & Bear bookends in the "Bull" position.
> How could I have forgotten? The Gods appeased,
> the market recovered. (She's chinese, what can
> I say?).
>
> I was finally able to sweeze out at $130.125
> at about 10 minutes to close, up mere $250
> for my suffering. I lucked out. I could have
> really got wacked.
>
> Take your loss and move on. In 1992 I lost $80,000
> on 4 trades that I could not let go. The same
> thing happened after a streak of 29 in a row,
> where I thought I could not lose. The 29 winners
> made about $30,000 not much to make up for the
> $80,000 lost.
>
> Don't be a dufus, take your losses and move on.
> You'll do better than depending on your bookends
> to save you!
>
> Good trading,
>
> David
>
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