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by ISL 2297 days ago
That education, for a child or an adult, is primarily what one gains from a <$1k trading account. That, alone, is worth more than $1k.

Also, one need not trade a small account intraday. I make small trades, but they are always with a multi-year perspective. Give me limit orders and small commissions, and I am happy.

(N.B. I use a different broker/don't have a first-hand perspective on Robinhood.)
1 comments
crystaldev 2297 days ago
Unrelated but usually you should place a market order usually, not limit. Limit orders take longer to fill, your idea of limits is probably wrong and will lose money compared to a fair market match, it's not worth taking the risk that your order won't be filled, etc.
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ISL 2297 days ago
If an order isn't filled at a price at which I find reasonable, that is okay with me. A market order will fill at any price. I learned that lesson the day that a market order of mine filled at a price I deemed unreasonable.

The key to avoiding faffing around with limit orders not filling when you want immediate execution is to place a reasonable limit that accounts for the day's volatility. At other times, I'll place a limit order and let it stand for weeks. When it fills, the counterparty and I are both happy.

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crystaldev 2297 days ago
Different strokes I guess. Getting into/out of the position is my top priority and I see more downside in failing to fill the order than in failing to shave a penny or two.
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ISL 2297 days ago
Totally agreed on different strokes. If speed matters most, there's nothing like a market order.

I'm rarely using limit orders to shave pennies if I want quick execution. I use them to prevent the unexpected. Under normal market conditions, if the limit is set 10% beyond the expected clearing price, it provides me with free protection against a completely unexpected surprise. Something will have to have gone very wrong with my investment strategies if I'm desperate to buy/sell at any price.

In the long-game case, if I purchase a stock at $0.95 that I think can sell for $0.99, I'll immediately place the limit-order for sale as soon as I've made the purchase. No need to hide my hand -- I'll be happy if you want to buy it at that price (and I might get faster execution by being earlier in the order queue).

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