Don's Openings, Part 6 2003

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Quote from axehawk:



Don, what's your beef with NASDAQ again? I know you've said in the past that the bids and offers of the MM's can just disappear in a flash, but we've all seen similar volatility in NYSE stocks (while the specialist holds your order). The price improvement arguement doesn't fly anymore since the inception of decimalization.

Just wondering.
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Oh, nothing new...and no big deal...and actually, I'm looking forward to trading naz stocks via listed methods (on the Amex) very soon...start doing some opening orders....

I was just pointing out to Mr. Tony that if he is still having trouble with the simple openings (simple blackjack) and NYSE, that he may have even more trouble when you trade Naz (roulette, with no opening orders)...that'a all....

Back to you...

Don
 
Quote from Don Bright:



Oh, nothing new...and no big deal...and actually, I'm looking forward to trading naz stocks via listed methods (on the Amex) very soon...start doing some opening orders....

I was just pointing out to Mr. Tony that if he is still having trouble with the simple openings (simple blackjack) and NYSE, that he may have even more trouble when you trade Naz (roulette, with no opening orders)...that'a all....

Back to you...

Don
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don,

do you really believe that trading nasdaq stocks is similar to roulette ??

surfer:)
 
Quote from marketsurfer:




don,

do you really believe that trading nasdaq stocks is similar to roulette ??

surfer:)
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No, with roulette you only have a 5% negative edge....(LOL)....

:p

Don
 
Quote from Don Bright:



Tony...."stop it!"....what the hell do bullets have to do with the openings? We never ever use bullets on the opening, and yet we all make money week after week...I really hate to see you 'losing it" again....but wish you the best....

If someone can't win at blackjack or poker, they certainly can't win at roulette (nasdaq)...anyway...I hope the "party poker' is working well LOL....

Lighten up your thinking a bit...I really think it will help...."ya gotta step back once in a while"..."get back to basics again"...

My offer is still open....come on down, keep your firm....I'll put you right next to my brand new bootcampers for a couple of days...

Don
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Thank you Don for the kind offer, but I have a day job that prevents me from going anywhere or doing much except for the first hour.

I ain't "losing it", it is doubtful I ever "had it"... :p

Bullets, of course, have nothing to do with opening orders. My beef with opening orders is that I have had too many unpleasant surprises, and not enough pleasant ones. I will continue to look at opening orders, and if I see a way to do them with some upside, then I'll get back to them.

Trying to trade the short side of NYSE stocks without bullets (or something) is a losing proposition. The really good trades will never give you an uptick until all the goodie is gone. And if you are stuck doing only the long side, you are fighting with one hand tied behind your back.

But we can all do our due diligence and find the good trades, but we won't be scalping, especially to the short side. And we won't be getting any really good fills on the NYSE short side for any kind of trade.

I am taking this opportunity to "step back" and take a good look at what I am trying to accomplish here. I have even taken a look at the Forex market.....


:eek:


I may even revert back to just trading the QQQ again.

If they really do abandon the uptick rule, then that will be a fine change for the better. I am a bear at heart, and an awful lot of my trades involved bullets. Often times, the cost of bullets was the difference between being net green and not. (shows that I still don't quite have "it")

Take care and good trading...

:cool:
 
Quote from Dustin:



Price improvement is alive and well...I tried trading some nasdaq stuff last month for the first time in 2 years and it felt like a jumbled mess of quotes. Fills are fast but the trading just feels "dirty" ;-)
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My opinion is that the reason the Naz looks so different is that the fills ARE instantaneous. No specialist to slow things down. The NYSE looks slow because the specialist is gumming up the works with all this holding, supposedly matching up, orders, and of course giving "price improvement". The NYSE would look very much like the Naz if the fills were timely, and the book was true.

I simply don't understand Don's (and others') love affair for the specialist. I cannot see ANY WAY AT ALL that the specialist adds value to the trading process. How on earth can some third party that takes your order and holds it, aid your trading??? You see an offer at a price you will pay, you send your order in..... and wait and hope you get your fill. And MAYBE even some "price improvement".

Think about it, the only way you can get price improvement is that there was another order that gets price unimprovement. And if no such order comes along you may not get filled at all. After all, there were other orders vieing for the same shares. Why they weren't already crossed and printed is... well, that is the wonderful mystery of the NYSE.

Having a middleman handle your trade, who is also out to make money in the same market..... a nutty concept.

But is does make for an "orderly" that is to say, slower, market.
 
Quote from TonySanDiego:



My opinion is that the reason the Naz looks so different is that the fills ARE instantaneous. No specialist to slow things down. The NYSE looks slow because the specialist is gumming up the works with all this holding, supposedly matching up, orders, and of course giving "price improvement". The NYSE would look very much like the Naz if the fills were timely, and the book was true.

I simply don't understand Don's (and others') love affair for the specialist. I cannot see ANY WAY AT ALL that the specialist adds value to the trading process. How on earth can some third party that takes your order and holds it, aid your trading??? You see an offer at a price you will pay, you send your order in..... and wait and hope you get your fill. And MAYBE even some "price improvement".

Think about it, the only way you can get price improvement is that there was another order that gets price unimprovement. And if no such order comes along you may not get filled at all. After all, there were other orders vieing for the same shares. Why they weren't already crossed and printed is... well, that is the wonderful mystery of the NYSE.

Having a middleman handle your trade, who is also out to make money in the same market..... a nutty concept.

But is does make for an "orderly" that is to say, slower, market.
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Profitable trading is all that matters...and being able to be on the side of the person/post/specialist (whatever) who makes all the money is an edge....

To think that trading has anything to do with the stocks or companies involved is simply not realistic. The "timing" issue only applies if you are not treated on a FIFO basis.

And both sides of order can get price improvement when you have a single place market. No one can when you have a scattered cyber market. There is a place for both, and we will see the two continue to converge...like the nasdaq stocks trading with the listed methods...and the NX on the NYSE.

It's not a "us vs. them" or "liberal vs. conservative" thing...it's just a money making thing....nothing more nothing less.

Heck the futures guys think we're all nuts....

Don :cool:
 
4 of 6 profits today...Plus 28 cents only....We'll kick it up a bit more, share wise come Monday....

I would expect Friday to be a pretty fair opening only day...not too many traders, but still some money flow from the institutions that may cause some disparities.

Don
 
Quote from Don Bright:


and being able to be on the side of the person/post/specialist (whatever) who makes all the money is an edge....
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my problem with the spec. is that HE DOESNT WANT YOU ON HIS SIDE. he wants you trick you so he can take the contra side and make $$.

Esp. these days, the spec. firms arent making as much, so the spec. is under more pressure to work an edge extra (retail flow) rather than just concentrate on teh large blocks..

In the most simple terms, the fact that the spec. has a trading P&L is proof that he is trying to make $$ off of flow rather than just providing an orderly market..

Having said that, you can obviously still make $$ by studying the spec. but how do you know when a shake out is really a shake out. It could always be a fake out of a shake out! Then .40 later you realise teh move is real!!! :eek:
 
Quote from mdl060374:


my problem with the spec. is that HE DOESNT WANT YOU ON HIS SIDE. he wants you trick you so he can take the contra side and make $$.

Esp. these days, the spec. firms arent making as much, so the spec. is under more pressure to work an edge extra (retail flow) rather than just concentrate on teh large blocks..

In the most simple terms, the fact that the spec. has a trading P&L is proof that he is trying to make $$ off of flow rather than just providing an orderly market..

Having said that, you can obviously still make $$ by studying the spec. but how do you know when a shake out is really a shake out. It could always be a fake out of a shake out! Then .40 later you realise teh move is real!!! :eek:
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The only problem with your logic is that the Specialist simply cannot stop you from being on his side....if you take the "accomodation" side, then you have to be on his side...he can't join in with the imbalance on the opening...no matter what.

We only expect to win 7 of 10 times, no big deal, and certainly a "no-brainer"....

Don
 
Glad this month is over for me.

Net gain versus loss 3:1
11 winning days, 4 losers but one of those losing days was a big one that really hurt my net gain. Last month my gain versus loss was 9:1. Still a gain is a gain.

This week wasn't too good. 2 losing days. I figure not much liquidity and will lighten up next time holidays come in. I thought that there would be some bigger moves because of the lack of liquidity and I was right, it just didn't go my way though. Would have been worse if I didn't get out when I did. I decided to let the bootcampers get hit with the bigger losses today. LOL

Happy Thanksgiving folks.
 
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