Cyprus...

[LTSmash]

Usually came out ok, once in a while got burned if I was unable to check 'em during the day.

That's the problem with the retail side of investing (or burning your money as I like to think of it). People hear stories of how others made a killing on stocks (mostly old stories from the late 90s where a monkey could pick a stock from a hat and still be profitable) and want throw some money at it thinking they will have the same success. Problem is, many of these people don't have knowledge of the market and they just let it sit without constant daily monitoring of positions. Then they blow up and have to liquidate their kids 529.

Holding a position is stressful as hell when you're away from the computer with access to an account. If you can't treat your "investments" as a full time job then you shouldn't be doing it on your own... pay a professional to manage your funds because the everyman wont win in most cases.

[Cyco]

I don't do much stock trading, mainly ForEx, and commodities.

I have no care, nor preference for short, or long positions. I think it is far more of a mental issue for the trader than any real problem with going short (however with ForEx any trade is a long/short pair every time).

I also have no stress about holding positions for days, weeks, or even months when near or far from a computer. All my trades are opened with an attached stop, and it is never more than 1% of account equity away from the entry. I place the stop where I want it, then calculate how big a position I can take.

I only average 5ish% per month, but I also have no stress and trade less then 30mins/day. I have had monthly returns in excess of 80% though.

[LTSmash]

mainly ForEx, and commodities.

....

I also have no stress about holding positions for days, weeks, or even months when near or far from a computer.

I get that the 1% stop/loss (I'll assume you use a trailing stop) will cut out huge losses but daily momentum on commodities (crude in my case) is between 1-2% of the underlying 95% of the time. You'd practically hit that stop/loss order in every 20 minutes if you walked away from your computer; depending on the leverage you took. Unless you have some long term outlook on the FX pair or commodity in question I wouldn't hold it over night or even a week at that. For me, the only time I hold over night is if I got pinched in a bad entry and it dropped like a stone and have enough information to indicate that it will bounce the following morning... has only happened twice this year for me... which is good for my sanity.

I don't know how you do it but I couldn't hold that much leverage for an extended period of time. Then again, I'm buying large bundles of contracts relative to AUM. So, the risk/reward is huge, but I cannot afford to not be stressed. On my toes nonstop...

[Cyco]

Interesting chart showing the price floors that OPEC will likely try and maintain.