PropTrader - Daily exploits

Well this market kinda sucks. It is really dead in the afternoons. I have found that every day no matter what I find myself down after the morning session... if I'm lucky I make something back from 11:30-2pm... I have to work so hard to get that back though.

So same as yesterday I found myself down. This time however I couldn't make any back. Was down $380 on a failed break out on some stupid symbol... I can't even remember it... AZTEC or something like that... and a failed break down on NVDA.

The NVDA trade was very frustrating though (See attachment)... I shorted around the $19.12 level it went to $19.05... then popped to $19.22 (I only had 500 shares at this stage) it then came back down and broke the $19.00 level. I had added on the way down and had 1k @ $19.07. A huge refreshing bid at $18.99 held... obviously $18.99 is a long hahaha.... It then pops back up to $19.17. I held onto it and it eventually came back down and broke the $19.99 and went to $19.97 and popped back up to the $19.15 level... Got out of my position $19.13. It then started coming back down... shorted again @ $19.10. I thought it was going to go this time... but no... it broke $19.00 but didn't go any further. Lost about $130 on the trade but this sort of sh1t just pisses me off. TRIPLE BOTTOM?? WTF? Breaks lows by 1c and runs 20c the other way. What rubbish. Anyways I'm sure this will be at $18 in no time as usual. BKCC which I kept trying to short yesteday @ $12 opening up at $10 this morning... predictable.

So after a frustrating day I decided that I would play earnings on HRB. I figured I would make a bad day worse or make it back. I liked the chart for a long and there was talk about the call options being very active. Took 1,000 shares @ $15.20 and got out $15.70 average. The after hours action was weird and when the numbers came out it took ages to go up... This kind of weirded me out and was the reason I got out too early. Oh well +$500 on the trade and I ain't complaining.

Gonna play really tight tomorrow... determined to not lose in the morning session yet again. I literally haven't even been positive $100 in the morning session MON, TUES or WEDS. That's a sign I should reduce size.

Date: 09/03/2011
Net P&L: +$120
Month Balance: +$800
 

Attachments

Dow Jones down 228 points today. I took nothing but shorts. Not a single long all day. You would have thought I would do well. NO... I got creamed. Every time I shorted we seemed to get a big reversal. Without fail. Who is buying this dip? I hope they get smashed.

My day is summed up by shorting financials and getting short squeezed. I waited patiently in the morning. Shorted the market just before we made new lows. In my book thats normally a good entry. But without fail in this market if you hit the lows on anything you get it in the face.

So after making $250 on DPTR short in the morning (good trade) I shorted the new lows. I was short GS around $160.10, short XLF $16.50 and short C $4.57. Market looked bad and I was ready to profit. Well you know the rest of the story... got out worst prices on most of these positions. Down $400 (so $650 on those trades).

Tried the short again when oil spiked. Was in the $$ and got chopped out of my position as the market moved all the way back up. So frustrating. Down $900. If I had kept going long @ $160 on GS I would have cleaned up. Instead I lose $400 on GS, $350 on XLF, $500 on C. What a day.

DON'T SHORT LOWS is my take away message for today! Now I'm listening to Fast Money and that douche bag Joe Terranova was buying when I was selling. Hope he loses his shirt hahahaha.

Oh well, I'm surprisingly not even annoyed about today at the moment. Just gonna take it easy tomorrow and not short lows.

Hope someone else made $$ today because I didn't thats for sure.

Date: 10/03/2011
Net P&L: ($1,100)
Month Balance: ($300)
 
Damn man, I didn't make it to the office today, maybe that was a good thing. Definitely did not expect a gap down like that, I thought the market would sit on its ass til Friday.

Looking at a chart at GS I don't see a trade. GS never broke 160. You went short only 10 cents above, which presents MORE risk than shorting after the break. You short only 10 cents above and you run the risk of the thing not breaking at all. The probability is lower. In a stock like GS, if you want to be in the money before a breakdown, you need to be in further away than 10 cents. More like 35-50 cents. This is unless you have a large offer or a stepping seller of some kind helping you out. Looks like you got caught in the emotion of that new afternoon low.

In this case, if you wanted to be anticipatory, the charts told you that you should enter around 160.25 - 160.35.

Also, GS was narrowing into 160 at around 2 pm while the market had produced a false low. There's no way I would have entered at 160.10.


If GS broke 160 at that point, near the time the market produced that low, I would have been in as well, as you had a clean level and a clear target. Risk = about 160.35, Target = a large portion off near 159.
After it broke it would have probably flushed down to the mid to high 80s as sell stops were triggered and guys like me jumped in. And I would have lost as well. The difference however, is I wouldn't have taken the trade since it never broke 160.

So don't beat yourself up for shorting lows, it could have been a sick trade. In this case, you were in at a bad price or too early / late depending on WHEN you entered, however you want to look at it.

I mean, look at the SPY today. You either had to short lows, buy lows, buy highs, or short highs. We didn't have a trending market. 50/50 either way.

Yesterday, 3/9, I expected a range bound day, I shorted highs, and we made new highs, my positions got emotional and stopped me out. Then of course, everything worked as the new high was a fake out. It happens.

If you are looking to add a rule, I'd say don't overexpose yourself to a sector unless it is clearly in play. If financials held and everything else went, you'd be livid. From what I can tell, and I may be wrong since I wasn't there today, financials were not in play.
 
I hear you man, very choppy times indeed! I could not get a read on the markets this week. Not a single down day last week, start off monday with a decent loss, then wednesday down 170$ luckily i saved it yesterday with 500 shares short through BTU at 62 in the morning. And of course in the afternoon it was all chop, some days are just not good for trading and i need to avoid them like the plague. Good luck today.
 
Quote from ksmetana:

Looking at a chart at GS I don't see a trade.
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So don't beat yourself up for shorting lows, it could have been a sick trade. In this case, you were in at a bad price or too early / late depending on WHEN you entered, however you want to look at it.
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If you are looking to add a rule, I'd say don't overexpose yourself to a sector unless it is clearly in play. If financials held and everything else went, you'd be livid. From what I can tell, and I may be wrong since I wasn't there today, financials were not in play.
More...

Yeah the trade wasn't good. Got no arguments with me there. Like I said I'm not upset at all by it... I take the trade, it doesn't work out, I exit and take a loss. The main loss came in the first break down of the market. I had larger size on it then and took a decent loss. The second time (when oil popped) I didn't take much size and quickly exited when it failed to break down.

Sometimes I take multiple exposures to a sector (reduced size on each position) so that if one stock or index goes but others don't I still make $$. I usually get out quickly of the position that isn't working out.

I am frustrated by the gapping down in this market though... have a look at how good my short on NVDA @ $19 on Wednesday would have been today. Also have a look at how my trade of short on BKCC @ $12 on Tuesday would have been on Wednesday. This is my only frustration. My shorts of LVS @ $42 two days ago.

Financials were in play in the morning but not in the afternoon
 
Quote from JM1987:

I hear you man, very choppy times indeed! I could not get a read on the markets this week. Not a single down day last week, start off monday with a decent loss, then wednesday down 170$ luckily i saved it yesterday with 500 shares short through BTU at 62 in the morning. And of course in the afternoon it was all chop, some days are just not good for trading and i need to avoid them like the plague. Good luck today.
More...

Yeah I have found it really tough the past week. Not fun. Just need to wait it out as you say. Limit the bleeding...
 
More of the same today. Tough trading, I guess you just have to buy and cover your eyes hahaaha.

Not much to really mention today other then I stupidly got the wrong side of a trending stock, ALU. Tried shorting it in the high $5.20s and it squeezed a bit further before pulling all the way back. Stupid mistake and one that I have normally been able to avoid of late. I'm sure yesterday has something to do with it. ($340 on ALU)

Lost a little on the XLF shorting top of the range. Market moved up slowly and i have to get out. ($150)

AMD break out at the end of the day above $8.50 was good but I didn't maximize it. I know it was because I was down $600 at the time. I took $150 on it when it should have made me $800. I knew at the time I was doing the wrong thing by getting out but still did it. I really hate it when this happens... you know your wrong and yet you still do it. This is a mental problem and changes with confidence.

I still think I'm not trading that bad, so I'm optimistic that I can still turn this month around. I will be careful to ensure that this negative number doesn't get out of control and I turn it into a positive again.

Perfect time for the weekend!!

Date: 11/03/2011
Net P&L: ($330)
Month Balance: ($630)
 
yea, yesterday was rough for me, started off with a good short on XL off the open but then the market bottomed and turned upwards. From that point on i lost about 230$ so i decided to pack it in for the day, couldnt get a grip on the market...
 
Well today was rough, can't seem to buy a trade. I was in the red for every symbol I traded. A coin toss would have done way better then me today.

I'm shorting this market and getting burned every time. We break below key levels by 10 ticks on the SPY and then promptly reverse and short squeeze for the rest of the day.

The gapping down is killing me as well, I shorted XLF a bunch of times @ $16.50 and lose every time on Friday. Come in today and can get 25c pretty easily.

This market is rough for day traders, I'm sure inter-day scalpers are making a killing. They won't give a single pull back on Friday and gap down today... move slightly lower and then reverse. Brutal.

Not much to say about my actual trading today. Never felt I even took a trade but lost +$500! I don't think I was green on any of the trades I took so I have to admit my trading today was not good.

Shorted C a couple of times only for it to pop in my face each time ($300). Tried a little short in GE towards the end of the day ($100). Took a long on the pull back of LWSN...it didn't move anywhere after breaking out $2 in the morning... ($100).

Going to really have to take it easy tomorrow... ever the optimist though!


Date: 14/03/2011
Net P&L: ($560)
Month Balance: ($1,200)
 
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