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School Fees

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GL
Contributor
I'm sure everyone here has some war stories to tell about "school fees" - you know, where you did something really stupid and lost your shirt, but learnt from the experience and are still around. Mine involved buying a geared instrument I didn't understand (way out of the money, close to expiry warrant) on a company I knew nothing about (Goldfields) based on a tip in a newsletter. Net result: lost 50% of my portfolio in 3 days. This was in 2002, and I'm still around so I'd like to think I learnt from that brain fart. What are your stories?
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12 REPLIES 12
KVW
Super Contributor
Well I've been trading for the last two years, June last year I got into so cash from properties that I sold and I thought now I can really trade, before this my portfolio value was only with about 20K. Guess what I invested chunks prior to September and now, I'm sitting with a 75% loss in a year even after the little bull.
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BAP
Regular Contributor
Thought IMP was low at 170 last Sept/Oct - got into a few SSF's, didn't believe in stop losses and eventually aboard ship just before the turning point at around R80. I'm also still around (but MTX should take care of that soon!)
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GarethJ
Regular Contributor
Been trading since last Dec. DON'T go on holiday with open Put Warrants positions with high Time Decay in a Financials Bull Market! Don't buy MTX. Ever. Every time you watch those around you making big money off MTX and eventually it lures you in like a streetwise hustler and leaves you naked, poor and shamefaced.
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KVW
Super Contributor
MTX hit me from 24 down to the 8 mark earlier the year. I know the feeling.
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Not applicable
I started trading last year Oct/Nov.Initially it was going great,I was 30% up on my portfolio by December.Then I started trading SSF's, I went short on ACL @ 80, the christmas/january rally shot it up to around 95 and since I went on holiday with an open position,when I came back in jan I was -50% from what i started in Oct..Thank God I made sum good money on OML in the first few months of the year so I covered up..Total from last year I am up 5%.I shouldve rather put it in a fixed deposit,but I learnt alot..
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jack12
Super Contributor
LOL and I thought I was the only one that was bitten by warrents. September lost 70% of my portfolio on PPC. Changed to SFFs go on the KIO express, rode a few SOL waves, Got eaten by PIK, bought a ticket on the AGL flight and then a bit of SBK for (free) lunches. Yip the horror was waking up with a few million 1c warrents and watching the slide to the home base deadline with a fistfull of useless paper.
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Not applicable
Some really cool posts. I made a oeps the other day. Wanted to short ssf absa from 129 and sell ant 120. Well it worked out fine the price did drop to 120 but the thing is i went long. lol what a mess. i got out at 126.5. not to bad for a days bloopers.
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Not applicable
I took a bath in gold earlier in the year. TA was perfect for a long and I pilled into it. Then for two weeks it went against me and I just could not figure it out (Yes stops were ignored and I rand averaged to pile in further). Then I happened to look more closely at the orriginal chart I was analysing.....well lets say it was not for the gold min company I was in...so now I triple check the chart and the data before making a choice. I even phone OST to make sure I am looking at the right spread from time to time.... OUCH!!!
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richardw
Super Contributor
I hit the opposite radio button and ended up doubling my position instead of clearing it, with an already large position. There was a lot of swearing.
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barry_1
Super Contributor
This i can relate to,on more than one occasion done the same thing,coupled with shouting as well,Naomi says its childish to behave like that!
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Lassy
New Contributor
Started trading about 3 yrs ago and went up from 100k to 400k in the 1st yr trading warrants. Went on holiday and left my acc. open. Needless to say came back to a loss of about 200%. Trying to recoup my losses QUICKLY I went into wave puts (I believed the market was going to crash any minute) - well I've been waved goodbye to the last cent. Lesson: Don't get greedy!!!! I'm back to basics again.
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Not applicable
I had one "0" too many added to an already large number of CFDs to purchase. Market fell as soon as I opened the long and the drop combined with the spread killed a sizable % of my trading funds.
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