Paul-
Yes, I am doing this for a living. So far things are going pretty well in that, over all of my accounts, I am very positive. My trading account is down a bit because I have not learned to tightly limit losses. Actually, I stopped trading for a couple of weeks while I examined the problem and worked out this solution-- the "Ten Cents A dance" strategy. Very happy with it to date. (Trading account is rising nicely now.) I will keep track of my trading using this new strategy for loss limitation and keep you posted.
The one last thing which I must address-- according to one of my mentors-- is "Tsunami Insurance." According to him, some traders do very well until the Tsunami hits. Then they lose all their gains. What to do?
Until recently, I have been trying to deploy an equal number of long and short positions so that, theoretically, the market could drop 1000 points and my bankroll would be unscathed. (I would make on the shorts what I lost on the longs.) Lately, however, I have been concentrating on the shorts for a variety of reasons.
First, does anyone really expect to see the market jump 500 points anytime soon? I think not, although a drop of the same proportion is on everyone's mind. Secondly, the Sept./ Oct. time frame makes history-minded types like me wary. Thirdly, there are too many problems with this economy. Reasonable men do not see peace and prosperity behind curtain #2. (Ask all those insiders who are dumping stocks like so much garbage.) Lastly, rising gold and commodities prices are telling us that inflation is already here and that is bad for equities. Ignore this at your own peril.
schloss
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