My Dumbest Trade

[biaggio]

" Its never easy and remember history is always written by the winners never the losers ."

 

Great quote! Yet it is interesting that there is more to learn from the "losers" or mistakes that are made(hopefully by others), in my opinion.

 

Great thread.

[SharperDingaan]

 

Couple of tidbits we've learned over the last few years.

Like the duck on the pond though ... you're not good at hedging, you just have the sense to recognize when the water is running out  ;D

 

Set a modest maximum loss per position & hedge as soon as you cross it. Worst case is that you get whipsawed, give up some unrealized gain, & pay more commission/tax than you’d like. But you will not lose more than X, & you will have no downside volatility.

 

Look 2 Quarters out; do a probability tree & determine expected future value. If the return is not adequate, hedge the position against a better prospect.

 

SD

[Dorsia1]

Without question my worst purchase was Cryptologic. I purchased it at $19.39/sh and sold it at $10.50. I feel fortunate that I was able to get out of it at that price as it now trades at $1.27.

The lesson learned here for me is to not procrastinate when you find that management is weak. I wasted valuable time not dumping my shares once I realized how dishonest managemment was. In September of 2006 they had zero debt and $129m in cash. Cash now stands at a little over $12m. Great products, terrible management. Human debris, really.

[QLEAP]

 

I try not to repeat the same mistakes but I sure am imaginative in making up new ones

 

Good one !

 

Anytime I am tempted to take speculative positions, I return to this forum and it brings me back to my senses :)