Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
AAPL chart~nice gains,could reverse soon. BABA looks like a roller coaster ride. wish I would have looked at that one earlier.
Okay, thanks Roy~~~
Roy and Smartone, do you prefer buying options that are close to expiration? I get the impression they move much quicker, but I always felt safer buying 7-14 days out on options.
Appreciate your comments.
Mabbers
Stocks appear to be lagging behind crude (after watching it drop $1 in last 40 minutes). Strange~~~
BOT QQQ Feb16 103.5 Put 1.64
Thanks, my friend. I just helped him get that car two months ago. Times like this remind me of why tigers eat their young sometimes.
Nice dbl! Watching TSLA chart~~~
My QQQ story of the day:
So, around 10 AM I am watching the stock dropping waiting for entry. 10:30 I buy Feb16 100 calls at 2.15.....then the phone rings. My son was in an accident...he's fine, just driving while stupid. So I gotta leave and help him get a new tire/rim so I take a guess at a limit price to sell at 2.90. Just got home, and saw it went through at around 12:30. LOL. Don't even care that I left some on the table. Just glad to get out +34% while trading blind.
This is NOT a recommended way to trade. Sometimes, you get lucky.
))
It's approaching a level it's been trying to break for the last 4 days.......we'll see~~~
That is nice trade, smartone
European markets closed mostly green today~~~
Hi smartone. I always like trading the indexes. They always seem to have at least a 1% spike either way, but the highs/lows were much smoother. That is why I liked them. Seems like crude is such a dominate factor right now that the indexes follow it now like a little puppy dog, instead of normal market factors. Makes it tough to trade them right now cuz you never know which "crude oil face" is going to show up each day.....can make for unexpected swings.
One thing about trading indexes. Yes, they can gap and it usually screws up the chart for the first part of the morning. I try to stay clear until after 10:30-11:00AM when things settle down and a direction can be determined. Traders with more experience probably feel comfortable jumping on some of these at that time. I tend to be a bit more cautious for now.
On the flip side of that, your BIDU PUT this morning was a really great entry. Hope you did well on it!
Mabbers
Crude jumps a dollar in last 20 minutes~~~
Out QQQ PUT 1.62
Yep...on a QQQ 103.5 Put@ 1.48
Do you think there will be an afternoon pullback on oil/markets? Oil has been on a wild tear since 10AM with barely a hiccup.....wow.
The truth about indicators. They only show where the stock was, and currently is, and absolutely no proof of where it is heading. They can change in a heartbeat.
Yep, those damned Q's. I was trying to play a bounce off a morning low that it touched again. Indicators on 5 min were all turning up....then bam. Looks like the bottom dropped out. Thank goodness for stop limits.
Stop limits give you a "next time".
The good thing was you were right on NFLX (even without the trade). It is better than I did.
Market decline currently. Stopped out on one trade today ;-/
Ok, smartone. I'll see if I can figure how to post a screen shot for later use. Thanks~~
Thanks, shredin. I just added the EMA's this morning and watching them. I have a 10 minute up all the time, and switch another between 5 and 15 to help.
Uhhhhh......I spoke a couple minutes too soon. QQQ running away from me now as I walked away. Geeeesh.
What I am not seeing:
Here is an (8 day) 10 min annotated chart. Notice the nice up/down trends between the MACD and Full Sto last week? Then notice the MACD the last two days.....creeping down. it is just starting to turn up as a watch this, but no real confirmation to me on which way the market is heading today. Tough for me to read this until it reverts back to nice highs and lows.
Appreciate any comments.
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=QQQ&p=10&yr=0&mn=0&dy=8&id=p68964570952&a=442473626
...and new LOD in crude. :-/
Is anyone else having a problem looking for entry this morning? I can't tell which direction this market is going to go. I keep switching between 5 min, 10 min, and 15 minute charts and get mixed signals, so I am holding off for now. European markets closed down, oil is all over the place...seems like mixed reaction, or uncertainty, in the market today.
Quick oil moves today, up and down~~~
Watching crude jump last 15 minutes
Good morning, Roy. Good to hear. My dad went through that long ago. They gave him 6 months. He made it 15 years....15 wonderful years.
Look forward to hearing more from you later.
Mabbers
Thank you, farooq. I appreciate the indepth answer on this. I am always interested in what works for other traders, as I keep working to refine my skills on options. I've added the EMA now to get the feel for it.
Mabbers
Hi Roy. You made some really good trades Friday, so you have me curious. I went back to the 15 minute chart you sent me a couple days ago, and entered your stocks into it to try to see what you saw when entering and exiting your trades. If you don't mind me asking, do you enter/exit using the 15 minute, or maybe the 2 or 5 minute charts? Which indicators are most crucial for you in determining your trades?
I had a heck of a time with QQQ Friday. MACD turned down and kept heading lower slowly (10 minute chart), but the stock kept trickling up. First time I've seen that, as MACD usually gives me a pretty good indication of the direction of the stock for that time period.
Someone on here mentioned a training section, or flagging posts to help others out. I am wondering if you would consider posting a screen shot at the end of the day of one of your trades, maybe annotate the chart to show what it was you were seeing at that time. I know it would help me, maybe others, to understand better, and see things that I need more clarification on......but only if you are feeling up to it.
Sorry to hear that you are going through chemo. Hope you get feeling better, and beat whatever is giving you troubles.
Enjoy your weekend!
Mabbers
Very nice, shredin! 75% on a quick trade. Love seeing that.
Hi shredin. You are correct. It's only an example to show what can be accomplished with small gains. Everyone has their comfort level for amounts to trade. I don't trade large amounts, but have a target of 20%/day minimum, and a goal of 50%+ gains per week....no matter how much I trade. It keeps me from trying to hold too long for a home run. If I do better than that, great, but I don't want to take losses on an average through the week.
I've done what you did and lost big on some trades before I started using stop limits, and quit holding overnight. I know what a sick feeling that is, and the bad thing is, I knew what I needed to do to avoid those losses at that time. I was just being stupid. I feel so much better now stopping out on a 5% loss or less on a couple of trades, than sitting there watching my account shrink thinking it will "turn around any minute".
I do not consider myself a good trader, and lack the experience these other traders here have. That will come with time. I just try to be disciplined now, and keep things simple.
Have a great day!
Mabbers
Not sure if this helps you or not, but look at it this way. If you start with a $250 balance and just look for 20% gain each day, in 20 days you will have close to $10,000 in your account (minus commissions). Some days you will make more, others less. Set limits, and set targets for each day, too.....and write everything down so you know where you are at by the end of the week. If you don't hit your target, at least try to make a profit....then set a new target.
Make sure to write everything down.
I don't keep track of options I trade, just the account balance at the end of each day....and I write it down along with percentage gain/loss. I know where I am at at the beginning of the week, and at the end. I have targets for 10 weeks out.....then set new ones. It stares me in the face each day so I tread carefully. A good stop loss set is always better than a 10-20% loss any day...and lets you trade the next day with a clear mind. I had to learn this trading on my own. I was clueless, and five months ago, I didn't even know what an option was. I made a TON of mistakes along the way. Once I decided to keep things simple, and write everything down, things started going much better. Having it in writing made me feel more responsible and accountable.
Did I mention to write everything down?
Keep it simple, my friend. Small steps for now.
Good luck to you.
Mabbers
Hi Beer. I like that chart, and I do the same, maybe more basic. I watch spikes and drops in oil and try to correspond them to my day trades.
Seems if you follow oil,the markets will follow that pretty close at this time.
mabbers
Hi Roy. Worked on the chart for a bit last night but didn't get very far. At least I understand what the buttons are now and setting up new charts on them. Pretty cool.
Waiting on MACD confirmation for QQQ puts this morning.....almost there.....
EDIT...Thanks, Roy. I'll be looking into this tonight.
Sitting on a QQQ Jan5 16 98.5 call from 2.51...at 3.45 right now.
Time to prime the sell button )))
And out at 3.90. Gotta love those afternoon bounces.
Hi dotnet....I only use the crossover, otherwise I jump the gun. It can be hard to wait for a confirming crossover when they get close, but it never works out when I try to second guess what it's going to do. (Almost burned myself earlier today just before noon thinking the crossover was right there in front of me)
I've used a lot of other indicators, but for me, the MACD is what I follow most on a 10 minute chart.
Roy has got a ton more experience than myself, and I've watched his trades. He's really good, and uses other indicators. If he has time, pick his brain.
Good luck, my friend.
Mabbers
Ha! I just spent the last 10 minutes trying to figure out what I was missing on your chart. I'll be looking into this so I can get mine set up with this.
Thanks for the heads up.
I'm not sure what the 8 "radio buttons" are......I don't see them on your Stockcharts link, or on mine.
I appreciate the info you passed along on QID, QLD site. I will make sure to check them out.
Thanks, Roy. I like seeing what charts/indicators others are using to learn from them.
Chart example for comparison:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=QQQ&p=10&yr=0&mn=0&dy=7&id=p65565197806&a=441505709
Let me know if there is something that you prefer.
By the way, Roy....nice trade!
Thanks, Roy. Nice holds overnight. I sold at the drop yesterday....didn't want to hold overnight. Wish I would have now. :-/
I use Stockcharts, and ThinkorSwim platform for charting. I follow MACD more than anything for reversals.