It s typical cocktail party fare as prevalent as the gin and tonics: talk about the latest hot investments that everyone s buying. But this kind of gabbing is an amateur s game, the pros say. Professional traders never brag about a trade in process, says Curtis Faith, a trader and author of the recently released book, "Trading From Your Gut." And when a trade s over and they made money, professionals usually boast in terms of percentages not dollars gained, Faith notes.

Investors who want to trade actively with a part of their portfolios can learn a lot from the pros especially in today s uncertain market, Faith says. On the heels of the biggest correction since last year s March lows a nearly 7% drop in the Standard & Poor s 500 from Jan. 19 through Jan. 29 the index experienced its biggest two-day jump since October 2009 in the first two days of this week. In choppy markets, it s critical not to get too attached to any particular position, the pros say. Being wrong to a professional isn t a big deal, Faith says. A professional s batting average will depend on the strategy, but in some cases a trader might expect failure four out of five times with big profits 20% of the time that more than make up for those losses. For investors at home, a good rule of thumb is not to lose more than 2% to 3% of a portfolio in any given trade, Faith says. So, for example, if you have a $100,000 account, no trade should ever cost you more than $3,000. Yet retail investors often fail to cut their losses and end up watching a small loss turn into a big one as they hope for a turnaround, says Tom Samuels, manager of the $34 million Palantir Fund.

It s equally important for investors to let their winners run, says Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst at Schaeffer s Investment Research, which offers options trading services to retail investors. Just as many investors equate cutting their losses with admitting failure, they re eager to book wins for the sense of accomplishment it gives them, Sparks says. Yet those who locked in gains last July, say, would have missed much of last year s rally. Sparks suggests investors set a price target for their stock and sell about half of the position when it reaches the target. With the remaining half, he suggests that investors set a trailing stop-loss order that will sell the stock when it drops below 10% of its most recent peak.

The timing of investments is important, but investors at home can also get too hung up on getting it exactly right. You re never going to pick the top and the bottom, says Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners and a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But everyone thinks they can.