I Love M&M's with Downtrending Heads

There were many great morning spikes to take advantage of today, provided you a: waited for the spike to top off and b: were patient enough to ride out the downtrend and/or 'M' shape (also known as a 'Double Top'). M&M's are not only one of the best inventions when it comes to candy (btw- have you tried the incredible new Premiums line?), but a nice technical indicator on a stock chart. One of my trades today, though currently going against me while holding, relieved my stress by revealing the 'M' pattern on more than one occassion. The tell tale chart below is of LULU, a stock I was initially notified about on Stack Your Cream's site (not sure the meaning of that site's title, but it definitely gets a laugh when you say it randomly/sternly to someone:) When viewing this chart, it's important to remember that the timeframe was intraday (and pretty much only good for scalping- which is great if you're not subject to the PDT Rule). You'll see in this post about PALM, though, that the pattern works on multiple timeframes. Anyway, here's the chart:

For info on 'Ms', check this site out. Peace,

Evan

Trade That Trendline!

     I came to a landmark conclusion about this blog today: There's nothing set in stone that says I can't stray from my Sykes/Swing strategy if I spot another opportunity to profit from this market's recent volatility. If you've read my past couple of posts, you know I've been trading FAS and FAZ, two ETFs (Exchange traded funds) that mirror the ups and downs (respectively) of the financial sector. I profited from FAS, as shown in this post, and held FAZ short overnight (3/5). Below is the chart of my two recent FAZ trades- yes, TWO. The first short was not real disciplined, and planned to be a longer term hold if necessary. Even though I was only short 35 shares at $95, I was more than ready to cover when it closed just shy of $100. Since this isn't my primary strategy, I wasn't comfortable holding FAZ overnight. As the volatility in these two ETFs have shown over the past year, it's kind of like holding the tail of a dragon. When the market opened, I waited patiently (never easy) for an opportunity to cover. Once it broke $94, I sent my limit order of $94 to TOS to cover. Since this thing was tanking at the time, my order was actually filled at 92.85 (fine with me). My next trade was far more honorable. I've studied technicals over the past few years (books, DVDs), and trend lines are sometimes screamingly obvious to spot. Not sure if Muddy over at Darkside Trading was using trend lines the last couple of days when he traded FAZ profitably in 53 of 54 trades (ridiculous), but I sure did:

     Notice how FAZ stays within the trend lines I've drawn until it goes a bit too parabolic, giving me the opportunity to short above 110 (psychological round number). Also, as you can see at the bottom of the chart, the volume at that point had dried up (lunch time). I could have covered the first time it settled back down toward the lower trend line, but since one of my precious day trades was at stake (thank you PDT Rule), I rode it out a tad longer. Really wanted to short over $110 again later in the day, but wasn't thrilled about holding it over the weekend (which I happen to be taking off to visit my brother in Ft. Lauderdale). Looking at the after hours price (under $100), it probably would have been a good trade- but thanks to Charlie G.'s reminder, I need to be more disciplined.

Enjoy the weekend,

Evan

Dodged a Bullet

Unbelievable. When you go through bouts of fear/greed/anxiety/throw-in-the-towel emotions, followed by Troy-inspired "Is there no one left!" ecstacy- you're probaly a: trading with scared money, or b: trading without a plan and/or without technical/price action confirmations. Such was the case of my last two trading days. I don't even need to link to my post about fleeing the temptation to trade FAS, because it's RIGHT UNDER THIS ONE (written the night before my brief stint as a kamikazi). Below is the chart of my folly:

Yes, after commissions I made $20.25 from FAS. Ask me if it was worth it. I'm not even going to add the trade to my 'Missions Completed' list (not worthy). I want to thank everyone who tried to warn me- great comments. Hope your day went well, and without any deer-in-the-headlight moments we traders are all too familiar with:)

Evan

Double Dipping ANDS

*Trade Update Posted In Comments*

I have successfully implemented my strategy on ANDS. You may have read this post last week, and know that this is my second short of ANDS. It really is a beautiful thing to not only stick to a strategy, but profit from it when you follow your rules! ANDS met all the criteria I look for. Yesterday was it's first down day, so I shorted 150 shares at 7.34 near market open. This trade (and all others) are verifiable here, on my Covestor fact sheet. I'm still short ANDS for three reasons: 1. It continued to downtrend all day (Never really gave me a need to cover), 2. I'm not trading with 'scared money', and 3. I'm still subject to the PDT Rule, and didn't want to use up a daytrade (already used one on ANDS within this trading week). Below is the detailed chart of ANDS, showing my entries and exits so far (I will be home for market open tomorrow, and will look to cover if it doesn't continue it's slow death):


ZN has officially gone Supernova! This stock is highly illiquid, a low floater, and hard to borrow (I know, I couldn't find shares today with Think or Swim). This looks so much like NTIC (formerly NTI) from last year it's not funny. If it keeps going, think MXC and PDO (also small Oil companies).

We Shall See,

Evan

Merry Christmas!

I'm wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

   My goal for this blog is simple: Journal my adventure in funding a trading account, in which I will eventually be able to bypass the PDT Rule, while successfully funding short-term youth mission trips. Though funding an account is definitely not a new concept or endeavor that countless have tried, I've yet to see a blog detailing how one's profits have benefitted others by way of ministry.

   Apart from trading, I've been involved in another kind of investing- real estate. At the time of this post, I'm sure I don't have to remind anyone about the less-than-stellar returns in real estate over the past few years. Having used funds from my trading account to buy various properties, I no longer have any left to fuel my two passions: Missions and the Market. I will have much more detailed posts in the near future on everything from my likes and dislikes regarding online trading sites (have personally used TD Ameritrade and Think or Swim) and lessons on trading (ie. shorting, penny stocks, options, etc.), to choosing the next country I plan to take youth for a cross-cultural experience. 

   

   Since an extreme few know me in the trading world, this post (though my blog's first) will undoubtedly be unread and probably not referred to in the future. Welcome to humble beginnings. I had planned to start posting Jan. 1st, but alas- my excitement over following my life in trades and travel got the better of me (could have said 'impatience'). I'm also using this post to learn the basics of Blogger and Google's Adsense. Though I'm currently in the design phase of this site, I welcome any questions you may have about me in general, my trading and/or mission experience.