nit2wynit

If you're changing Stop and Limit based upon account size then you're arguing with your own strategy. It's important to know what strategy you're applying to a trade before money even comes in to it. If a Day Trade Gap and Go has the potential to make 10% ore more but you allow a larger Stop because of a smaller account then you're changing the statistical narrative of the trade. A Gap and Go will go up then often Retrace, then go again half way at the end of the day. If you move your Stop lower, then it's very likely it's going to come right back down for a loss.

Yes, the demo will show you the technical side of winning and losing, but not the Achilles heel of psychological loss; it's a downward trend to use a pun. Stay away from the demo. Bet low and often but make sure you're sure of where it's going when you're getting in and when you're getting out. It's important to remember that Losing is essential to psychological learning. We must risk and lose and accept before we can trade with confidence. Day Trading is a smaller time frame. In and out in minutes on small moves. The problem with SB and Day Trading is the small moves can often be the Spread so getting in and out is almost impossible. However, the benefit is of course, it's Tax Free. What this means is we must get out sooner than you would than if you were actually Buying and Selling shares. It's the Spread that is creating the issue with Day Trading and Spread Betting, especially when we're talking about Scalping. It means we need to take extra care on choosing our trades. They need to be able to run longer and wider to cover the spread OR we simply need to realise we must accept a lesser profit and adjust our PL ratio. If a trade moves 10pts or 10% or whatever, but the spread is 7pt, then we're not going to make much on it unless we're in very early and exit as late as possible, thus being longer in the trade allows for more chance of it reversing.

Nothing is wasted Casey, but you're assuming steps have not been taken. How about answering my threads that I post and help this one by answering the OP's.

Thanks for stopping by Casey.....again.

I don't even get email replies now. I think it's personal.

No, you can't take less than your risk. You need to make sure your PL ratio is 1:1 and 50% win rate just to stay in the game. Lets say you place 10 trades. 6 of them are winners, but you initially risk 2:1 not 1:2. and 4 of your 10 trades fail. 60% success rate is pretty good, if your PL is also good. 6 wins in a row and you're doing great. Let's say you risked £20 on each trade, but only took £10 on 6 of them. Great, you're up £60, but you actually risked £120. Now assume you're having a bad day and that 6 wins becomes a 6 streak Loss. Now you're down £120 but only had the opportunity to make £60 or less coz you wanted to take the profit. Those are bad numbers! I've only been trading about 18 months. I used to report great Wins on the Demo. I'd do exactly what you're doing. I'd win 80% of my trades, but only because I was taking too little profit too soon. I'd let the last 2 losers run and run too far and wipe myself out. Then I started limiting my loss and aim for 1:2. I'd practice with a 2k account size and it was great. I thought I'd nailed it, till i went Live and the money was real. I lost my nerve and my account. However, I've gone the other way now like you. I can often make a minimum of 1:2, and almost as often 1:4, but I always hold out for more till it comes back to Break Even. Typically I can place 10 trades, win 7 of them, but not take profit even at 1:1, only for them to come back down to Break Even or a loss. Then in frustration I'd let the last 2 or 3 run to a loss. It's statistically probable that I'll lose based upon my own failed psychology. My main problem is I think every trade is going up and up and up and I've now realised....they don't. The psychology is real, but so is the discipline required. Analyse 20 trades. See how many you got right at the very smallest risk amount or price per point. See how far they went and how far they pulled back. If you get the direction right at least 50% of the time, then you need to play 1:1 PL just to stay in the game. If your trades had potential to move greater than 1:1 then even better. Personally I find that most Day Trades will only go 1:2 or 1:3 at best. The ones that go 1:3 1:4 or more become less and less frequent. However, it's important to Not move your Stop to BE too soon. I've lost as many trades as I've won doing this. If we can't handle the Fear of Loss, then it needs to be mastered most of all. Most importantly I believe a trade should work right away. Especially in Day Trading. Day Trading requires tighter stops and a shorter game. Hoping for a 20% move on a stock that only moves 5% per day on average is a bit of a long shot. Good fortune to you.

More info to add. I was Short on Sig. Plc. I couldn't close the position and had to call IG. I was told i could close the position if I wanted to, but i left it open. The Open Offer was still there but i said I didn't want to keep it. I was told if i left it, it would expire and nothign would happen. I eventually Closed my Short in profit on the 23rd June! I haven't traded Sig since then. The Open offer was sitting in my Positions as 0! Nothing. Now today I have in my History the Closed Offer position. PL showing as 0. but I have a Short Position open at 30p, and it's currently at 35p.

Hi, never enouncounted this, but someone is sure to tell me it's all my fault. I was trading SIG Plc a while back. Something appeared on my positions re an offer of 30p. It wasn't doing anything. I actually spoke to IG about it to say the offer was there if I wanted to take it. I said I didn't. Now I have an automatic bid on it. It's running without my knowledge. WTF! and it's negative.

...to add to that remark though, it's almost impossible to follow the Gap and Go strategy with a small account. Even so, most of the small cap stocks are unavailable with Spread Betting. That's it really. Not rocket science. The limitations with IG and Spread Betting don't allow for larger success ratios using this strategy. Using Trade Ideas to pick out moving stocks proves little reward as almost 80% of them arean't tradable.

I'm just **** and inconsistent!

Casey has no Idea what he's talking about. Gap and Go strategies are nothing different from any other trade. Just smaller Timeframe. Don't waste your breath trying to convince him. He doesn't even use the retail platform. If he trades at all it's Forex and Indicies on Mt4. Dschenk didn't stick to the Gap and Go principles. He often let his losers Run too far, but he consistently made profits. However, his strategy wasn't something that I thought could work in the long run. He would often risk 4-1, but his success was around 80%. What this often meant was he would make 8 good trades and take £20 on each but then let the last 2 run against him to remove all the profits he made. He seems to be doing OK now. Maybe he'll pop back in to clear up Caseys remarks.

Hi, you need to consider the Spread also. If your Stop is within the Spread it might not be possible. For instance, if the Spread is 6pt (the difference between Buy and Sell price) then the order or Stop will Fill either side of your desired Stop depending on Long or Short position. I think. Edit: Are you Spread Betting or Buying Shares?

Hi, thanks. I've a Short position which I placed on Friday @ 35.80 with a Stop Loss in place at 37p I've just managed to get thru to IG for the 1st time in 3 months, but I've been trying for 2 hours. I've been told my position is Safe and my Stop Loss is in place and it will activate should the position reverse.

This still happens now. I've been complaining about it for over 12 months. I don't even get replies now! FCA need a call?

You are not alone here. Did you get this sorted?

@CharlotteIG can you help me please?

Been on the phone all morning. Keep getting cut off.

I've a Short Position with Sig Plc. The status has changed to 'Phone IG to Trade'. I can't get thru. Anyone tell me what has happened and what I can do about it? Keep calling? Thanks.

I've quite abit of evidence proving it now. Still not contact from IG.

I have suffered since joining IG in April 2019.

I blew my small account today because of this. I simply didn't know what was happening on screen.

I don't even know if it's worth putting this in here. Trading Hertz. I had a Stop at £4 going short. Regardless of spread etc. the Stop line Moved down. It's not a trailing stop. Chart data not updating in realitime. Volume missing. I have it recorded. I give up.

I can't answer, but waiting for some myself. I've been trading this last week. doubled my small account going Long, then Left a Short position open over the weekend. It's just spiked and wiped my account out almost completely. Now I can't short it. Typical.

It has recently been pointed out that this forum is not actually a Technical Forum but a Community forum only. There is help available in here but they appear to be overun with questions, especialy Technical in nature. I'm afraid you are another frustrated customer at the end of a very very long queue.

Hi, I believe even on the Demo you can suffer Slippage. This is where the position closes as close to the requested point when you click Close. If the market is volatile, going up and down in the background, then Slippage is the difference between you pressing Close and the actual Order being executed. I think.