Smart move. I did the same and it allows one to focus on their trading which is what counts. Journaling is not what will get you back on track.
Good luck to you.
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PropTrader - Daily exploits
- Thread starter PropTraderMTL
- Start date
Smart move. I did the same and it allows one to focus on their trading which is what counts. Journaling is not what will get you back on track.
Good luck to you.
Weekly summary
Monday +$265
Tuesday +$92
Wednesday ($80)
Thursday ($52)
Friday +$370
--------
+$595
So I took it easy and got back to basics. My rule at the beginning of the week was that I would take a week break if I was negative for this week. I guess mentally it helped and I was positive for the week and now for the month. Still got the hole from last month but that will take care of itself when my trading turns around.
I'm happy with my week. There were a number of times when I had large size(relative to my position size in the past month) and I was just unlucky we didn't have any follow through. For example I built myself into a 10k short in EWJ after the Japanese news. I was up about $500 and we looked like we were about to really break down. I gave it every chance to do it but eventually got out for a $100-$200 loss. This was something I was happy with as I accepted the risk of giving back the $500 and stuck to my out.
That was yesterday of course. At that point I was down about $450. I made a great short on the XLF @ $.66 and held it to $.60. I had 7.5k and made my day back. Finished down $50 for the day.
Summary of today (since it was my biggest day of the week)
Main trades
OCZ +$275
HERO +$188
XLF ($60)
------
+$370
Traded OCZ like a boss. Played really small size on the long side into the pull back in the morning... picking up 300 shares .92 and another 300 shares @ .82 and getting them out @ $10.00 and then doing the same thing from the .80s to the 90s. I played this way... buying the dip and selling into the little bounces. I did this down to the .65s-.80s area. Where I took a stand and built a 1k position average .74 average. I then held this into the pop and got out 500@$9.90 and 500@$10.00. by playing into the position this way I basically got a 1k move from $9.70-9.98. It felt like a great trade and when I can see I'm doing well in these type of trades it will be easy to size up on them to more like a 3k or 5k position. Something which I will have no problem doing.
Took a nice short on HERO which had SEC problems. It gaped down. I wanted to buy the open @ $5.50 area but resisted. It popped to $6.00. I then visited later in the morning and took a short @ 5.89 and adding on the way down as the moving averages caught up with the gap and pushed it down. Covered half my 3k position @ $5.76 and then it popped in everyone's face up to $5.94. I still had half of my position and added @ $5.87 on the way up. I was down in the trade at this point but held on and managed to take a flat on this part of the trade @ $5.84 area. If I held on it would have been a great trade at it traded slowly down to the $5.60s area. I didn't like the short squeeze and was happy to be out for a flat on the second half and a $188 profit on the first half.
Took it easy for the rest of the day. Didn't believe the market puke in the afternoon and just watched to my dismay as we made a great move down on everything. I was so tired of shorting this market and having it just pop in my face. I guess everyone was feeling this way which is why we just kept trickling down with not many bounces.
Chilling here on my balcony enjoying the spring sun which although it's only 15'c it feels like a summer afternoon. Gonna relax and enjoy the weekend... I advise everyone to do the same!!!
à la prochaine!!!
Date: 04/04 - 08/04/2011
Net P&L: +$595
Month Balance: +$172
Monday +$265
Tuesday +$92
Wednesday ($80)
Thursday ($52)
Friday +$370
--------
+$595
So I took it easy and got back to basics. My rule at the beginning of the week was that I would take a week break if I was negative for this week. I guess mentally it helped and I was positive for the week and now for the month. Still got the hole from last month but that will take care of itself when my trading turns around.
I'm happy with my week. There were a number of times when I had large size(relative to my position size in the past month) and I was just unlucky we didn't have any follow through. For example I built myself into a 10k short in EWJ after the Japanese news. I was up about $500 and we looked like we were about to really break down. I gave it every chance to do it but eventually got out for a $100-$200 loss. This was something I was happy with as I accepted the risk of giving back the $500 and stuck to my out.
That was yesterday of course. At that point I was down about $450. I made a great short on the XLF @ $.66 and held it to $.60. I had 7.5k and made my day back. Finished down $50 for the day.
Summary of today (since it was my biggest day of the week)
Main trades
OCZ +$275
HERO +$188
XLF ($60)
------
+$370
Traded OCZ like a boss. Played really small size on the long side into the pull back in the morning... picking up 300 shares .92 and another 300 shares @ .82 and getting them out @ $10.00 and then doing the same thing from the .80s to the 90s. I played this way... buying the dip and selling into the little bounces. I did this down to the .65s-.80s area. Where I took a stand and built a 1k position average .74 average. I then held this into the pop and got out 500@$9.90 and 500@$10.00. by playing into the position this way I basically got a 1k move from $9.70-9.98. It felt like a great trade and when I can see I'm doing well in these type of trades it will be easy to size up on them to more like a 3k or 5k position. Something which I will have no problem doing.
Took a nice short on HERO which had SEC problems. It gaped down. I wanted to buy the open @ $5.50 area but resisted. It popped to $6.00. I then visited later in the morning and took a short @ 5.89 and adding on the way down as the moving averages caught up with the gap and pushed it down. Covered half my 3k position @ $5.76 and then it popped in everyone's face up to $5.94. I still had half of my position and added @ $5.87 on the way up. I was down in the trade at this point but held on and managed to take a flat on this part of the trade @ $5.84 area. If I held on it would have been a great trade at it traded slowly down to the $5.60s area. I didn't like the short squeeze and was happy to be out for a flat on the second half and a $188 profit on the first half.
Took it easy for the rest of the day. Didn't believe the market puke in the afternoon and just watched to my dismay as we made a great move down on everything. I was so tired of shorting this market and having it just pop in my face. I guess everyone was feeling this way which is why we just kept trickling down with not many bounces.
Chilling here on my balcony enjoying the spring sun which although it's only 15'c it feels like a summer afternoon. Gonna relax and enjoy the weekend... I advise everyone to do the same!!!
à la prochaine!!!
Date: 04/04 - 08/04/2011
Net P&L: +$595
Month Balance: +$172
As I decided I'm updating at the end of the week
Just wanted to express my relief that I didn't take GOOG long into earnings. I couldn't justify the risk of losing $20 with 100 shares. If I could have taken a smaller size I may have taken it. As it turns out I would have lost almost $30.
Trader intuition didn't save me from this one... good risk management did!!! This can not be underestimated by beginner traders!
Regarding the market in general... it seems like we may be topping out here. My paper trade short on the SPY is back in the $$. Financials are so weak at the moment. BAC earnings tomorrow may be crucial. It would be nice to get a good sell off on the market and for the VIXX to increase.
Other then that the mornings are the only time there are any real good moves at the moment. The afternoon is complete chop. As always these things can change but I'm avoiding trading much in the afternoons and trading nothing past 3:30pm unless I'm exiting a position I already held.
Just wanted to express my relief that I didn't take GOOG long into earnings. I couldn't justify the risk of losing $20 with 100 shares. If I could have taken a smaller size I may have taken it. As it turns out I would have lost almost $30.
Trader intuition didn't save me from this one... good risk management did!!! This can not be underestimated by beginner traders!
Regarding the market in general... it seems like we may be topping out here. My paper trade short on the SPY is back in the $$. Financials are so weak at the moment. BAC earnings tomorrow may be crucial. It would be nice to get a good sell off on the market and for the VIXX to increase.
Other then that the mornings are the only time there are any real good moves at the moment. The afternoon is complete chop. As always these things can change but I'm avoiding trading much in the afternoons and trading nothing past 3:30pm unless I'm exiting a position I already held.
Weekly summary
Mon +$164 (LVLT +$330, AA -$78, AMD -$45, ALU -$40)
Tue ($37) (ALU +$150, INVE -$190)
Wed +$163 (XLF +$230)
Thu +$512 (XLF +$350, LVLT +$170)
Fri +$150 (XLF +$290, BAC -$190, GOOG +$60)
--------
+$952
Consistent week and I'm overall pretty happy again. I really didn't take much risk and biggest position all week was probably 10k in LVLT. I watched the risk that I took on each individual trade and took a bit larger size then last week. But only on the trades I really liked.
On Monday I was slightly negative all day as I didn't short LVLT in the morning which would have been a great trade. Tried a couple on longs in the low $1.60s but it just chopped around. I noticed buying start to pick up and so I took a position 5k and held it for a 8c move late in the afternoon. I caught about 80% of the possible move.
Tuesday I made a bit on an ALU short in the morning and avoided the HUGE pop ... 20c in like 2mins. Phew... remind me not to trade that again. Saw INVE up on some google news. It was up like 80% for the day and I tried a bunch of shorts all of which were unsuccessful. Should have just stayed away but boredom got the better of me.
Wednesday I took a nice long on XLF in front of support @ $16.20. My entry was $16.26 after it had tried a couple of times to go down. Made a green candle up and held the $16.24-25 level. There was no reason to get out and when volume stepped in I knew I had the right trade. Held it and got out $16.32 which turned out to be a great exit.
Traded XLF again on Thursday due to the JPM news. Played it well. Going short in the morning and then covering and reversing. Average position was again 5k, same as it was on Wednesday. Took 10k long in LVLT in the afternoon when the $1.70 level broke. Got out +2c on it. Probably most noticeable was the trade I didn't take on GOOG which I mentioned in my last post.
Today I lost on a BAC long. It had a huge green candle on the open. I got long on a 50% re-tracement and gave it room. The shorts overpowered it though and I took my loss of $200. I caught a good long in XLF @ $16.11 and got out $16.14 & $16.15 with 2.5k on each level. Took a GOOG long around $532.40 as a fish and didn't hold long enough but was interesting to play it.
Happy with the week and regaining the confidence battering I took last month. Slowly moving up my size will increase my days but at the moment I'm focusing on the weekly time-frame. Last month I was negative on almost every stock I played. It won't be hard to improve on that record this month.
Citi earnings on Monday and AAPL on Wednesday should set the tone for the week. Should be interesting anyway what ever they do! Seems like expectations are quite high for every company and any misses are likely to get punished.
Date: Week Ending 16/04/2011
Net P&L: +$952
Month Balance: +$1,333* [/B][/QUOTE]
*Includes +$208 adjustment from over charge in ECNs last month
Mon +$164 (LVLT +$330, AA -$78, AMD -$45, ALU -$40)
Tue ($37) (ALU +$150, INVE -$190)
Wed +$163 (XLF +$230)
Thu +$512 (XLF +$350, LVLT +$170)
Fri +$150 (XLF +$290, BAC -$190, GOOG +$60)
--------
+$952
Consistent week and I'm overall pretty happy again. I really didn't take much risk and biggest position all week was probably 10k in LVLT. I watched the risk that I took on each individual trade and took a bit larger size then last week. But only on the trades I really liked.
On Monday I was slightly negative all day as I didn't short LVLT in the morning which would have been a great trade. Tried a couple on longs in the low $1.60s but it just chopped around. I noticed buying start to pick up and so I took a position 5k and held it for a 8c move late in the afternoon. I caught about 80% of the possible move.
Tuesday I made a bit on an ALU short in the morning and avoided the HUGE pop ... 20c in like 2mins. Phew... remind me not to trade that again. Saw INVE up on some google news. It was up like 80% for the day and I tried a bunch of shorts all of which were unsuccessful. Should have just stayed away but boredom got the better of me.
Wednesday I took a nice long on XLF in front of support @ $16.20. My entry was $16.26 after it had tried a couple of times to go down. Made a green candle up and held the $16.24-25 level. There was no reason to get out and when volume stepped in I knew I had the right trade. Held it and got out $16.32 which turned out to be a great exit.
Traded XLF again on Thursday due to the JPM news. Played it well. Going short in the morning and then covering and reversing. Average position was again 5k, same as it was on Wednesday. Took 10k long in LVLT in the afternoon when the $1.70 level broke. Got out +2c on it. Probably most noticeable was the trade I didn't take on GOOG which I mentioned in my last post.
Today I lost on a BAC long. It had a huge green candle on the open. I got long on a 50% re-tracement and gave it room. The shorts overpowered it though and I took my loss of $200. I caught a good long in XLF @ $16.11 and got out $16.14 & $16.15 with 2.5k on each level. Took a GOOG long around $532.40 as a fish and didn't hold long enough but was interesting to play it.
Happy with the week and regaining the confidence battering I took last month. Slowly moving up my size will increase my days but at the moment I'm focusing on the weekly time-frame. Last month I was negative on almost every stock I played. It won't be hard to improve on that record this month.
Citi earnings on Monday and AAPL on Wednesday should set the tone for the week. Should be interesting anyway what ever they do! Seems like expectations are quite high for every company and any misses are likely to get punished.
Date: Week Ending 16/04/2011
Net P&L: +$952
Month Balance: +$1,333* [/B][/QUOTE]
*Includes +$208 adjustment from over charge in ECNs last month
Weekly summary
Mon +$48
Tue ($412)
Wed +$520
Thu +$130
--------
+$286
Pretty slow week. I took a couple of interesting trades but never really got the bang out of them.
Monday - I was short Citi prior to earnings and going to add if they missed. I instead had to get out and was down $400 pretty quickly. After the news about S&P US debt rating and the large moves Citi was making I decided to avoid it for the rest of the day. Make that... Week hahaha... I think I will be happy when this stock is gone... I have made $$ on it overall but I like to see that the HFT/stupid annoying algo programs are going to lose their main source of income.
When the debt news came out I bought GLD (gold ETF). Went through a little pain but made $200 or so on it with only 200 shares. AMD and XLF put me back positive for the day. So I was happy that I recovered from down $400 right off the bat.
Tuesday - gains and losses balanced out and I was down about $30 or so at the close. Took 500 shares of INTC short into earnings... got out quickly but lost about $370 on it.
Wednesday - I took a long in SIRI... 20k for 2c. Wanted the break out but they managed to hold it down pretty well all day.
Couple of unfortunate misses. Got long TIVO on the large initial pull back @ $8.30. It kinda chopped around and I didn't know if it was going to do anything more. I got out and then watched as it went $4 higher to $12.50ish. The low in the stock was $8.19... 11c below my entry... idiot for not holding.
I also saw another one early. Can't remember the ticker but it went from like $10 down to $6.30. I tried shorting $9.38 and missed out by 3c from getting filled. It then tanked 50c and when it came back up to $9.15ish I missed my short again. It then went down to $6.30 low. Those 2 trades would have been well over $1,000 even if I only took a small part of the move. Just a bit unlucky in one and impatient in the other. These things happen.
Thursday - took a loss on JBLU when the HFT kicked it up 10c in a minute or so. I got out somewhere near the top and watched as it went all the way back down and an additional 5c. Not trading that stock again haahha. Took a nice little long on AEZS and made 5c on 5k. Missed the SIRI long. I wanted to hold my 20k long from $1.85 and just watch as it climbs above $2. however we can't take overnights. Couldn't bring myself to buy today. I was prepared mentally to watch it climb without me in it but it still hurt not to be in. I should have bought $1.89s and $1.90s but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Mental problem I know but I try not to avoid chasing in the current market.
So I capped of the week early today. Slow week due to the Jewish holiday and Easter I'm sure. I'm told that the Jewish holiday ends on Tuesday so I may make it a extra long weekend.
Hope the market is treating you well
Date: Week Ending 21/04/2011
Net P&L: +$286
Month Balance: +$1,617
Mon +$48
Tue ($412)
Wed +$520
Thu +$130
--------
+$286
Pretty slow week. I took a couple of interesting trades but never really got the bang out of them.
Monday - I was short Citi prior to earnings and going to add if they missed. I instead had to get out and was down $400 pretty quickly. After the news about S&P US debt rating and the large moves Citi was making I decided to avoid it for the rest of the day. Make that... Week hahaha... I think I will be happy when this stock is gone... I have made $$ on it overall but I like to see that the HFT/stupid annoying algo programs are going to lose their main source of income.
When the debt news came out I bought GLD (gold ETF). Went through a little pain but made $200 or so on it with only 200 shares. AMD and XLF put me back positive for the day. So I was happy that I recovered from down $400 right off the bat.
Tuesday - gains and losses balanced out and I was down about $30 or so at the close. Took 500 shares of INTC short into earnings... got out quickly but lost about $370 on it.
Wednesday - I took a long in SIRI... 20k for 2c. Wanted the break out but they managed to hold it down pretty well all day.
Couple of unfortunate misses. Got long TIVO on the large initial pull back @ $8.30. It kinda chopped around and I didn't know if it was going to do anything more. I got out and then watched as it went $4 higher to $12.50ish. The low in the stock was $8.19... 11c below my entry... idiot for not holding.
I also saw another one early. Can't remember the ticker but it went from like $10 down to $6.30. I tried shorting $9.38 and missed out by 3c from getting filled. It then tanked 50c and when it came back up to $9.15ish I missed my short again. It then went down to $6.30 low. Those 2 trades would have been well over $1,000 even if I only took a small part of the move. Just a bit unlucky in one and impatient in the other. These things happen.
Thursday - took a loss on JBLU when the HFT kicked it up 10c in a minute or so. I got out somewhere near the top and watched as it went all the way back down and an additional 5c. Not trading that stock again haahha. Took a nice little long on AEZS and made 5c on 5k. Missed the SIRI long. I wanted to hold my 20k long from $1.85 and just watch as it climbs above $2. however we can't take overnights. Couldn't bring myself to buy today. I was prepared mentally to watch it climb without me in it but it still hurt not to be in. I should have bought $1.89s and $1.90s but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Mental problem I know but I try not to avoid chasing in the current market.
So I capped of the week early today. Slow week due to the Jewish holiday and Easter I'm sure. I'm told that the Jewish holiday ends on Tuesday so I may make it a extra long weekend.
Hope the market is treating you well
Date: Week Ending 21/04/2011
Net P&L: +$286
Month Balance: +$1,617
Quote from PropTraderMTL:
Couple of unfortunate misses. Got long TIVO on the large initial pull back @ $8.30. It kinda chopped around and I didn't know if it was going to do anything more. I got out and then watched as it went $4 higher to $12.50ish. The low in the stock was $8.19... 11c below my entry... idiot for not holding.
I also saw another one early. Can't remember the ticker but it went from like $10 down to $6.30. I tried shorting $9.38 and missed out by 3c from getting filled. It then tanked 50c and when it came back up to $9.15ish I missed my short again. It then went down to $6.30 low. Those 2 trades would have been well over $1,000 even if I only took a small part of the move. Just a bit unlucky in one and impatient in the other. These things happen.
Wow. I did almost the EXACT same thing in TIVO yesterday. I was so pissed off about that. We have to learn something from these trades.
That other stock you're talking about is OCZ I think. Fraud report on seekingalpha.com yesterday. I faded that and sold the 6.31s for a small loser. Those two trades alone would've had a huge impact on my week had I traded them just a little bit better and been just a little bit more patient.
Keep your head up PropMTL. Build your confidence back up and take it to the market next week. Have a good weekend.
Weekly summary
Mon ($212)
Tue ($531)
Wed flat
Thu ($150)
Fri +$800 (not sure of the final number)
--------
($100)ish
So on the face of it the week was a bit of a nothingness again. However I have increased my size and confidence which is more important then the weekly result. By the end of the week I was short 300 shares of AAPL and I was back to taking 10k positions on XLF... although mostly losing positions hahahaha
I don't really want to spend much time reviewing the week as the most important thing was I increased confidence and size... but here is a brief summary.
Monday - Nothing of note, I bought going into the $23.00 level on INTC with about 5k and it tanked at the end of the day down to the low 90s. That accounted for the $200 loss.
Tuesday - The main loss came from XLF when I shorted 10k @ $16.15 and had to cover around $16.20. Disappointed I never took a long all day, I just watched it go all the way to the $16.30s from a low of $16.09ish. Tried shorting EK a number of times @ $3.20 with 5k or so. Kept popping when I would short and end up getting out on the high. Shorted AMZN into earnings but got out before the news for $150 gain or so.
Wednesday - Lost on a SIRI short in the morning $200. Caught a nice little short on TLAB +$150. Shorted EBAY into earnings... made something small like $80.
Thursday - Shorted XLF (AGAIN!!!) in the low $16.30s and had to cover $16.35 for a loss of about $500. Rough stuff. Caught an awesome short on EK. I had been shorting it at $3.20 on Tuesday and of course it gaps down below $3. I saw it when it was @ $2.95ish. It had just bounced back from testing the $2.90 area. I knew how this stock likes to squeeze a little too much on the bounces (much like BAC) so I took little bits all the way up. Shorted 1.5k @ 2.97 another 1k @ 2.99 and another 1k @ $3.01 and I swear I was ready to add all the way to $3.10... I felt so strongly about the short. I decided that rather then take one large position I was going to capture the bigger move. 3.5k short @ $2.99 and the low of the day was $2.91. Patiently held it for a while and covered it all at $2.87 after giving it time to break further. Very happy with that trade as I got about 97% of the move.
Friday - Missed the XLF short in the morning and tried shorting it on the retrace. No luck again. I was short 10k $16.36 which in a normal market would have been able to cover $16.28 level pretty easily IMO however this trickle higher market I was still short as it was hitting $16.39s. Was down $300 on it but still felt it was a short. Ended up making $80 on it but was a really waste of time... the whole day I had to wait.
I was tracking the re-balancing stocks and AAPL in particular. I shorted 300 shares around $152 and had to get out $153. I then shorted 100 shares @ $153.70 and got out $152.50. Down about $200 on the stock at that point. I built another short position of 300 @ $153 late in the afternoon. Lower highs made me think it was going to be difficult for them to pop it on a re-balancing. I had to get out 100 shares flat. It popped to $153.60 for on last squeeze but I held onto my 200 shares.
The re-balancing number came out @ 3:50pm and AAPL tanked right about about $1.50. I held my short and covered on the sell imbalance. It printed $148.20ish so I made about $1k on the trade.
Like I said before I don't like not making $$$ at the moment but I'm happy I'm back to taking decent risk again. I will keep upping my size and I'm positive some bigger winners are on the way. Hope this market doesn't just die like is normally does in the summer otherwise it could be slim pickings. I'm always optimistic though. The market is barreling higher but a correction will be around the corner soon and I will have a chance to make a little $
Note: One important thing that I have to improve is not shorting a melt up. I keep getting short when the market stops moving expecting a re-trace. However it really lulls me into a short and just trickles up without giving a clear "get the fck out" point. This lead me to keeping some shorts longer then I should have and shorting things multiple times. The default on the market is a trickle up. I'm going to have to work hard not to get short if the market isn't doing anything as it cost me about $1k on XLF this week.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the weekend
Date: Week Ending 29/04/2011
Net P&L: ($100)
Month Balance: +$1,500
Mon ($212)
Tue ($531)
Wed flat
Thu ($150)
Fri +$800 (not sure of the final number)
--------
($100)ish
So on the face of it the week was a bit of a nothingness again. However I have increased my size and confidence which is more important then the weekly result. By the end of the week I was short 300 shares of AAPL and I was back to taking 10k positions on XLF... although mostly losing positions hahahaha
I don't really want to spend much time reviewing the week as the most important thing was I increased confidence and size... but here is a brief summary.
Monday - Nothing of note, I bought going into the $23.00 level on INTC with about 5k and it tanked at the end of the day down to the low 90s. That accounted for the $200 loss.
Tuesday - The main loss came from XLF when I shorted 10k @ $16.15 and had to cover around $16.20. Disappointed I never took a long all day, I just watched it go all the way to the $16.30s from a low of $16.09ish. Tried shorting EK a number of times @ $3.20 with 5k or so. Kept popping when I would short and end up getting out on the high. Shorted AMZN into earnings but got out before the news for $150 gain or so.
Wednesday - Lost on a SIRI short in the morning $200. Caught a nice little short on TLAB +$150. Shorted EBAY into earnings... made something small like $80.
Thursday - Shorted XLF (AGAIN!!!) in the low $16.30s and had to cover $16.35 for a loss of about $500. Rough stuff. Caught an awesome short on EK. I had been shorting it at $3.20 on Tuesday and of course it gaps down below $3. I saw it when it was @ $2.95ish. It had just bounced back from testing the $2.90 area. I knew how this stock likes to squeeze a little too much on the bounces (much like BAC) so I took little bits all the way up. Shorted 1.5k @ 2.97 another 1k @ 2.99 and another 1k @ $3.01 and I swear I was ready to add all the way to $3.10... I felt so strongly about the short. I decided that rather then take one large position I was going to capture the bigger move. 3.5k short @ $2.99 and the low of the day was $2.91. Patiently held it for a while and covered it all at $2.87 after giving it time to break further. Very happy with that trade as I got about 97% of the move.
Friday - Missed the XLF short in the morning and tried shorting it on the retrace. No luck again. I was short 10k $16.36 which in a normal market would have been able to cover $16.28 level pretty easily IMO however this trickle higher market I was still short as it was hitting $16.39s. Was down $300 on it but still felt it was a short. Ended up making $80 on it but was a really waste of time... the whole day I had to wait.
I was tracking the re-balancing stocks and AAPL in particular. I shorted 300 shares around $152 and had to get out $153. I then shorted 100 shares @ $153.70 and got out $152.50. Down about $200 on the stock at that point. I built another short position of 300 @ $153 late in the afternoon. Lower highs made me think it was going to be difficult for them to pop it on a re-balancing. I had to get out 100 shares flat. It popped to $153.60 for on last squeeze but I held onto my 200 shares.
The re-balancing number came out @ 3:50pm and AAPL tanked right about about $1.50. I held my short and covered on the sell imbalance. It printed $148.20ish so I made about $1k on the trade.
Like I said before I don't like not making $$$ at the moment but I'm happy I'm back to taking decent risk again. I will keep upping my size and I'm positive some bigger winners are on the way. Hope this market doesn't just die like is normally does in the summer otherwise it could be slim pickings. I'm always optimistic though. The market is barreling higher but a correction will be around the corner soon and I will have a chance to make a little $
Note: One important thing that I have to improve is not shorting a melt up. I keep getting short when the market stops moving expecting a re-trace. However it really lulls me into a short and just trickles up without giving a clear "get the fck out" point. This lead me to keeping some shorts longer then I should have and shorting things multiple times. The default on the market is a trickle up. I'm going to have to work hard not to get short if the market isn't doing anything as it cost me about $1k on XLF this week.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the weekend
Date: Week Ending 29/04/2011
Net P&L: ($100)
Month Balance: +$1,500
Quote from ElecEquity:
Wow. I did almost the EXACT same thing in TIVO yesterday. I was so pissed off about that. We have to learn something from these trades.
That other stock you're talking about is OCZ I think. Fraud report on seekingalpha.com yesterday. I faded that and sold the 6.31s for a small loser. Those two trades alone would've had a huge impact on my week had I traded them just a little bit better and been just a little bit more patient.
Keep your head up PropMTL. Build your confidence back up and take it to the market next week. Have a good weekend.
I felt so bad about that TIVO trade hahahaha... moves like that don't come around often.
Yeah OCZ was the trade. Didn't take a trade on it as I kept missing my entries. In the end it didn't matter because any position would have made me $2-3 easily
Thanks for the support, I took my size back up this week and the confidence is back... watch out biaaaaaaaatchs!
What happened to this journal?