How can others see where your stop losses are?

[u0362565]

Hi all, 

Is this true and if so can some institutions?  Go around basically trying to work against at least retail traders?  I'm thinking of things like high frequency trading?  Would this happen on a demo account as well?  Just trying to judge if this is something to take into account in the differences between demo/real.  I think i have paranoia sometimes when i see the market reverse literally as i enter or it reverses hits my stop and then turns back at that point! I've basically stopped looking until positions close themselves because i feel like others are watching and purposefully moving the market against me ha ha.  Of course even if this is true its not a move against me personally as an individual trader but often it feels like it.

[jlz]

It is not as simple as flagging your stops so others can see it. Our stops are essentially orders that have not been executed yet, they will be available in the market as a pending order at a particular level. They will not be there as "stops" per se. Level 2 market depth can show the number of orders that are currently available, more or less like the picture below.

Everyone that have access to this kind of data (normally at a fee) can see where those "stops orders" are.
What financial institutions have is "buying power", if your stops are part of a cloud of retail traders orders at  a particular level, an institution can execute a much bigger order that will push the price into a direction that will reach those orders. 
You feel that the market is against you because your behaviour is predictable, probably because of the technical analysis that you are using.  

[u0362565]

Thanks for the info, certainly any order i have out there is in a sea of other orders so using an actual stop loss vs a mental stop seems irrelevant.

[jlz]

44 minutes ago, u0362565 said:

Thanks for the info, certainly any order i have out there is in a sea of other orders so using an actual stop loss vs a mental stop seems irrelevant.

We all think at some point that we are important enough, so the "market" is against us. 

The reality is that if we use the same indicator chances are that we will land in the same range of prices so we will be part of the same cloud of orders.  

[THT]

I call it a wash and rinse - it happens often at swing lows and swing highs, as they are the obvious place for stops to be placed at, the "science" of the markets means that these places are often hit because of what the market HAS to do to move.