Conditional order

Hi I have just lost a fair bit of coin this morning it appears.

I have ETRADE and 805 shares in a particular stock.
I placed a conditional sell order for what I thought was this stock if it reached 4.79c (or below) the stock opened at $4.20 and the order has executed.

What is the best thing to avoid this sort of instance in the future?

Would it be to take out your stops and just weather the storm??

I STUPIDLY thought that my stop would have been hi on the way down...

That is the problem with stop loss orders- if the market gaps from one session to the next, you'll cop whatever price they open at below your stop.

Only way around that is not to place stops- but then you'll need to be watching things pretty closely in a market like this one.

I have learnt the hard way that there is an option to set a:

NOT LESS THAN LIMIT:

"If your order is triggered and the market price moves beyond your limit price then the order will not be placed. This is also the maximum / minimum you are prepared to receive for the stock."

If my understanding is right this wouldn't have triggered my sell order if I was to place this figure just below my stop limit...

I would never have sold at that rate and in fact the stock that I was on actually gathered all it's lost ground at one point today...

This whole move sent me into a frenzy and led to MORE stupid purchases and decisions...
Learnt some VERY solid lessons today!

You can also use a time based stop also, for example not to activate until last 15 minutes of the day. This can help protect you from "poll driver" moves like what you experienced.

it is a good idea to ring the provider and have the phone staff clarify any matter u r not crystal clear on, in the early stage of your trading.

remember that is what they are there for, they are usually very helpful and knowledegable. If u get one that isnt, ring back!