I'm getting whipsawed, and I need advice/opinion

[Cabin111]

I have done one major put in my lifetime. Yeah, I will buy back covered calls with puts...But nothing like this one. 1999...Summer, the dot coms were going crazy!! Walked into Morgan Stanley and did a put on QQQ. I KNEW this could not go on forever. But, hence it did...For a few more months. My option expired worthless. I had the right/correct concept...But my timing was off. It really soured me to puts. I have never been good with timing. So I buy and hold quality stocks...Many I do covered calls. Many I don't. Here is what happened in 2000-2002 for those not old enough to understand what the markets can do...From Wiki.

The dot-com bubble (also known as the dot-com boom,[1] the tech bubble,[2] and the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble caused by excessive speculation in Internet-related companies in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.[2] Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Composite stock market index rose 400% only to fall 78% from its peak by October 2002, giving up all its gains during the bubble.

 

[NewTraderAdventure]

you would subscribe to my $1000 a week advisory

never too late

running $999 collapse special this week only

 

[Overnight]

I've had one of the best 3 weeks of my 31 yrs only because of one reason. MICRO'S . When i detected the massive swings i went to the micro's . I'm still doing an equivalent of 5-10 emin's with the micro's but with my scaling techniques its been incredible . Example. I buy 5 emini's at 2510. They yank it to 2480. I'm down $7500. With the scaling technique i might be down $3k . IT allows me to stay in the trade much longer and not get stopped. It allows me to be very wrong on my initial entry and still make money.I'm using the volatility to my advantage to get much better avg prices. Weeks ago i recommended all go to these as the volatility is so extreme .Each person must understand their personal risk tolerance and develope a plan their comfortable with. Few will admit it but i assure you a ton of traders have been wiped out this past 3 weeks . One big bad trade and its came over .

Has this technique been working for you with all the increased performance bond minimums?

 

[ironchef]

you would subscribe to my $1000 a week advisory

Send me your website. Your competition offers $9.99 a month to subscribe and I can make $2.8M in my spare time starting with $1,000.

 

[NewTraderAdventure]

Has this technique been working for you with all the increased performance bond minimums?

no one ever loses here on ET

even when they average down on a 500 ES point move , the next 5 point bounce gets then into profit !!!!

 

[NewTraderAdventure]

Send me your website. Your competition offers $9.99 a month to subscribe and I can make $2.8M in my spare time starting with $1,000.

I only promise 1MM a year and not in your spare time . At least 2 hours a day is needed

 

[ironchef]

no one ever loses here on ET

even when they average down on a 500 ES point move , the next 5 point bounce gets then into profit !!!!

All except one. I lost my shirt this year.

 

[volpri]

Yes fills awesome . Understand i'm laddering on the dome . There hitting my prices in line with the emin. I'm not writing this note to brag as i'm no better than many traders on here but i wrote this so others follow. It allows you to be wrong on your entry and still make money using scaling techniques one's comfortable with . It takes the fear out of making the trade . For instance were tanking huge i have zero fear to buy and scale when i see a level i like. It takes the doubt out of your mind. Lets say you buy 1 emin . We moves 20 pts in seconds . Your down $1 k. You buy i micro your down $100. You might panic with the $1k lose. With the micro you buy 3 more. We rally back 10 pts and boom your Up $100 on the micr's but still down $500 on the mini . The above example can be used for trading 100 micro's.

I have been trying to illustrate what you are talking about in my journal but it seems like folks don’t believe it or don’t want to believe. “Never add to losers” or “only losers average down” have been drilled and cemented into our heads by the guru’s so that we can’t seem to shake the myth. If you can read price action good enough to get the general direction of moves correct and use correct stop placement you don’t have to be so precise in many entries. And the micro’s allow a small trader the ability to average down. But you gotta know when and how.

 

[schizo]

It's been a humbling week for me. I'm getting whipsawed, and I'd really appreciate your opinion on how I can improve, and what I need to work on.

I feel like my analyses are correct, but my timing is wrong? What weakness do you see in me and my trading that I should address? <3 Keith

A few examples from this week:

- I went short on UAL, DAL, and AAL. The next day, they had a good day, and swung up. I got out, took the loss... and then T announced the travel ban. They plunged at market open... and I lost out on a big hit.

- I went long on MSFT, thinking that Uncle Sam would provide a stimulus and form a floor--especially for a heavily-weighted DJIA company like this. It drifted down... I got out, and took the loss. Next day, stimulus package announcement, and it bounces.

- My instincts were screaming to short DIS at 140, thinking that they would be forced to close parks, but I refrained, thinking that T would step in and bail them out... you can see what happened.

I think what frustrates me the most is that this is the kind of market that I love to trade.. I should be killing it with shorts, like the Plungers of old.

Do you know how to read a chart? It can help tremendously, especially in timing your entry and exit.

 

[schizo]

I have been trying to illustrate what you are talking about in my journal but it seems like folks don’t believe it or don’t want to believe. “Never add to losers” or “only losers average down” have been drilled and cemented into our heads by the guru’s so that we can’t seem to shake the myth. If you can read price action good enough to get the general direction of moves correct and use correct stop placement you don’t have to be so precise in many entries. And the micro’s allow a small trader the ability to average down. But you gotta know when and how.

Still a bad habit anyway you slice it. Just cut your losses early and re-enter later if the direction goes in the earlier direction.