Stock Market Experiment: ENER

I was able to purchase the ENER stock for $4.56 per share instead of $4.60, meaning that I will receive an extra percent gain in the exit strategy. I have set a 2% trailing stop once the stock reaches $5. The trailing stop strategy allows me to take advantage of any gains over $5, yet preserves them in case the stock drops more than a dime. Having the account at TD Ameritrade instead of another online brokerage provides me that advantage.

Setting up the plan has always been the easy part for me. I can objectively look at the trends, find a pattern, and generally predict what will happen based on the pattern that I see. I look at the shape and make my determinations from there, judging whether it will be a stock which suits the overall strategy. The long term strategy will come later, as soon as I've developed a foundation with the short term strategy.

But, it's always been the easy part. The hard part is merely allowing the strategy to run its course. I've found that in all of my 'panic and sell' moments that I would have been a lot better off if I had just waited for the plan to run its course. This happened with SIRI (Sirius Communications). This happened with AAI (Airtran Airlines). It happened with F (Ford Motor Company).

Waiting is always the hardest part. It was the hardest part when I was playing for real the first time. It was the hardest part when I was playing for fun at Wall Street Survivor. It was hard when I did this the second time, and it's hard now. This time, though, I have my previous mistakes to guide me.