Stop Loss Orders

[Shali]

I will try to refrain from using foul language, but I feel that I have been screwed again by a stop loss order.

The scenario: I am in a stock this morning (that shall remain nameless )  at .03. The stock is trading consistently at .05. Like a dummy, I set a stop loss at .0395 (never fails to bite me in the a$$). I'm watching the prints on level two. Suddenly, out of the blue, 3500 at .03, and then I get taken out at .032. There goes my beautiful 67% profit, just like that. And then back up to .05 

Now, call me a conspiracy theorist, but this does seem a little fishy. I know the market makers can see the stop loss orders. The only reason I placed the order was because I believed (erroneously) that Zecco does not use MM's (I know, stupid me). This isn't the first time I felt that my shares were "stolen" by MM's, but it's definitely the worse case scenario.

I know very little about the market...  Does anyone with more experience have an opinion on this?

[Dzielak51]

use mental stop loss

[Dr PennyStock]

You are probably right, MM's are crooks, you have only one solution, don't use stops or like Dzielak said, use mental stop loss.

[Shali]

I will rarely be using stops anymore. I've heard professional day traders say that mental stops are "hogwash," and I was conditioned to use them in the class that I took. They give you the sense of being protected should the trade turn against you. However, in my experience, it just allows your shares to be taken while the price dips briefly. You lose control of your trade. And if you use a broker who uses a market maker (and most of us do), your stop loss order is a license for these crooks to take your shares.