Sell Sell Sell!
A little late putting up the wrap-up today.
And kind of a big week last week — mainly due to continued confirmation to the downside.
Let’s just say I’m glad I’m out of this market.
I learned long ago that it’s madness to fight the direction of the general trend of the market.
Yes you can pick off some nice trades here and there — but for the most part breakout plays are going to be dead in the water before they ever get started.
Facebook ($FB) IPO or not.
And it’s a good thing I was out as the Sunday Night Watchlist trades were off -8.85%.
Wow!
Despite a few positions taking off earlier in the week, by Thursday — EVERYTHING had slid back — just in time to get really ugly on Friday.
Here are the stats: [Read More…]
Dan Zanger — world record holder for highest percent gains in a single year — did it.
3 times.
Nicholas Darvas came close to doing it.
A bunch of traders in The Market’s Wizards books did it.
I’ve done it — once.
I’m talking about blowing up your trading account. Which means, effectively, taking it to zero.
Is it such a bad thing — really? [Read More…]
Basejumps everywhere!
Is it Sunday already? Sheeeesh.
Time flies on the weekends.
Like I mentioned yesterday, when the market’s below the 50 day MA — I’m out.
So these picks are just to record if there’s anything really worth trading during that time.
A real life year long experiment if you will.
Here’s what I’m seeing: [Read More…]
Vacation time again!
I used to hate weeks where I was sitting out.
Because I used trading as entertainment.
And I wanted to stay excited!
I didn’t care if the market was tanking. If it was flat. If there were no setups.
I wanted in!
I’m pretty sure that’s the worst way to trade. Because sometimes the conditions just aren’t favorable.
Seriously.
Now, when the market isn’t right for me — I see it as a vacation.
A chance to read, or backtest, or work on this blog.
That way, when the market comes back, or picks a direction, I’m ready to go! [Read More…]
In the market you’re going to be wrong — a lot.
And if you can’t set (and take) stop-losses you are going to get CRUSHED.
C.R.U.S.H.E.D.
I used to be the guy who never took stops. [Read More…]
Tagged as:
Taking stop-losses,
trading basics
I’ve been hunting for a huge run from a big breakout for a few months now.
I’m talking about 40-50% moves after already big breakouts. Like this move here.
But I keep getting stopped out. Because jumping on board highly volatile stocks is like trying to catch the bullet train — when it’s moving.
You know that scene in Mission Impossible — when Cruise is on top of the train?
Yeah.
Today, with $FACE we have the first possible move.
[Read More…]
We’re back below the 50 MA on the daily S&P 500 chart which means I’m out of the market on the longside.
Again.
But I’m still recording my positions (if there are any setups) to see how trades perform in different market environments.
I’m also doing this to create a year long record of what does and doesn’t work for me.In the process I hope to show how other retail traders can examine what does and doesn’t work for them and how to put together a trading plan over time.
With that said, here are the charts I’m looking at this week…
[Read More…]
Rough Trading Seas!
Famous trader Ed Sekota said:
To avoid whipsaws, stop trading!
Very funny — and true.
A whipsaw is any type of price action that gets you into a trade, then out again with a small loss. Then in again. Then out again.
In trend following, whipsaws happen when price is consolidating, or at tops or bottoms.
That’s what I’ve been dealing with the last couple of weeks.
We’re out, we’re in, we’re out…
These are the times that can really test your resolve.
The right thing to do is trade through it. That’s all you can do. The wrong thing to do is to get impatient, to trade bigger than normal, or run away.
That said, here’s what the market did this week:
[Read More…]
Ka-Boooom!
When breakouts go bad — things can get hairy fast!
A bad breakout occurs whenever price breaks out of a rande and then immediately turns around and closes back under the breakout zone.
When that happens you want to watch out. It could be a serious bull trap. And the last thing you want is to be caught in the exit doors when the herd is charging.
While $BODY wasn’t a watchlist trade, it was in the portfolio of all time highs I’m watching.
Not good.
Here’s the chart: [Read More…]
I love seeing stocks take off. In fact, I live for it. When a breakout rockets off the launching pad there is simply no better feeling.
And while this weeks watchlist isn’t doing so great, $EGT is looking awesome.
Here’s the chart:
Here's the setup. Have to remember this one!
And here’s the run…
Yeahhhhhhh budy!
Now that’s what I’m talking about.
The circle represents the week we highlighted it. We can tell right away it’s working out with the influx of volume on the breakout and lighter volume on the pullback.
Now we have even more volume coming in.
These types of charts are definitely worth studying and taking note of. It’s all about what’s possible with low priced stocks. And trades like these really do make the many small losses worthwhile.
Here’s to many more of them.
