Friday's are usually the days that I start to slowly check out of the market and plan my weekend getaway's, or events that will help me get away from trading and try to find activities to focus on the finer things in life.

I don't have much trading acumen since I think we have accomplished enough this week. Even if I were the great and powerful Oz and were responsible for pulling all the levers and pushing all the buttons that moved the market, I would have treated this week the exact same way. Especially the finish here. Ending on a good note and proving that "One day does not a trend make."

Finally I hope you all have a safe weekend over the next few days. Make it a point to release from the pressures of the market and money and relax and be with those that are important to you. Also, please observe the meaning of this holiday and do your part to pay tribute for those who have sacrificed so much to give us the freedoms we enjoy. I hope I will see you all back here on Tuesday, and thank you to everyone for all your support with this blog.

Recommendation: Have a great weekend.

Long: X

Short: e-mails

I get the question fairly frequently about how to print something from my trading blog. I also get complaints about my color scheme. Black background on white writing isn't easy on the eyes, but I think it fits with my trading style. It works well with the whole "addict" theme in my opinion.

Anyway, I have a cool diagram that should answer the question of how to print. Take a look...

Recommendation: Don't print anything I write. It can probably be used against me as evidence.

Long: An ass-kicking today

Short: Hope (not in reference to trading)

P.S- I mentioned I got a chance to meet with Karen a.k.a Doji Girl. She sent me a photo that I thought I would post. Thanks Karen!!!

Why is nobody talking about this trade? It was all that was talked about a few weeks ago before support broke, and I don't hear any cheers about it at all recently.

Let's hear it once more for patience.

Here was the post I gave on PSA a few weeks ago. That was 10% in the underlying, and triple digit gains on the options.

Honestly, I hardly know where I am this morning. I'm feeling a little groggy, but trying to cope.

It seems a little weird, but it looks like we picked up where we left off last week. Same stocks that were moving up last week are continuing upward and vice versa.

As I collect my thoughts and a few profits this morning, I am also trying to collect my watchlist. If anyone knows where I am supposed to be this morning, send me an e-mail.

Recommendation: Make some predictions!

Long: AH

Short: Casinos

Recommendation:

Long: SKS...know about it.

Short: PSA

Here is the response I captured from Tim...let's give him a helping hand.

i'm fairly new (4 months trading so far), attempting to establish some trading rules that I can follow, and every time i feel like i've gotten somewhere, and things start churning along and i start adding a little money to the account slowly, a short term reversal happens and wipes out all gains plus adds in some losses, and most of my trades go below my exits and so i exit them and then i'm left holding a loss and i start again. slow and steady gains. big, fast losses. result = gradual erosion of capital, which I don't think is the desired result so I want to change.

emotionally, i question how this can actually be a profitable activity. i can understand in theory the idea that some big home runs will one day help to offset some smaller losses. However, I have never experienced a big home run, so i'm having to have a lot of faith that one day that will happen and offset the losses I am incurring.

in the last few weeks, through my participation on this blog, i decided that one of my problems was exiting trades too early or being too tight with stops. so, i decided to change that, to have more patience. and it worked once, with PCAR. i didn't hold PCAR over earnings, but got a decent gain out the day before. and so i've continued with that mindset.

also, i decided to most always wait to the end of the day to exit trades instead of reacting emotionally midday.

one thing that i've done since after 2/27 is i sort of started over and reduced my position sizing and risk. i am literally trading purely to learn right now. i am most often trading one contract and if that's too big, like on a higher priced stock, i trade the stock instead and fewer shares. i'm not in it right now to make huge amounts of money but to learn to trade. however, the same principles still apply and gains still need to be bigger than losses to make money. the smaller positions have helped me react less emotionally while I still feel the emotion because it is real money and because i want to succeed.

maybe the best way to show you what i'm doing is just to give you some of my recent trades:

COMPLETED TRADES

CG 3/28 to 4/3, Call, +41.58%
FDS 3/29 to 4/11, 50 shares, -3.22%
PSA 4/4 to 4/17 PUT, +9.17%
PKX 4/16 to 4/18 35 shares, -1.72%
KLAC 4/17 to 4/19 Call, -16.06%
PCAR 3/29 to 4/23 Call, +34.72%
CTAS 4/19 to 4/25 Put, -30%
KBH 4/23 to 4/26 PUT, -26.55%
WCG 4/2 to 4/27 20 shares -.92%
CG 4/18 to 4/27 Call - 7.42%
DKS 4/24 to 4/30 50 shares, -2.11%
HWCC 4/20 to 4/30 Call +26.22%
XING 4/24 to 4/30 Call, -22.81%

CURRENT TRADES

PAA 4/10, 40 shares (small gain currently, looking like a possible exit today due to broken trendline)
PCP 4/16 25 shares (just about breakeven. looking like a possible exit today due to broken trendline)
SCHL 4/18 PUT (this is one of my puts that went up yesterday and today. still within my threshold to hold on today. small gain on this so far.)
WBD 4/20 30 shares (about breakeven right now but holding in there. patiently waiting for the bounce)
GLD (longer term position -- doing well. pulling back right now but ok)
ABT 4/25 CALL (dropped heavily after entry but decided to stay with it patiently. still in this.)
CCJ 4/25 CALL (took a small, otm position to experiment with earnings strategies. )
CMG 4/25 CALL (also a small position to hold over earnings today -- Brett, please eat that burrito!)
PLCE 4/27 PUT (another put that is up today. was up yesterday. still within the threshhold though)
BNI 4/27 CALL (see below)
NKE 4/27 CALL (BNI and NKE are two good examples of my struggle. When i entered the trade, i treated the recent low as support, but now they have fallen through that but i guess you could make a case that they are still at support. so my loss has exceeded where i wanted to be with risk, but perhaps i should have allowed for more risk?)
ENR 4/30 CALL (this is the closest thing to a breakout i ever traded, but it is sort of a bounce as well and it made sense to me yesterday so i took a small OTM position on the flag pattern)
HWCC 5/1 CALL (my exit from HWCC yesterday was a bit of an accident (had an order in there that i forgot to delete, so today, when it held support in the morning, i got back in with an OTM position to hold over earnings. this is the only thing i have bought in the morning).


Out of all of the short term trades i'm currently holding, nearly all of them are losing right now. some have a slight gain, but certainly no home runs.

i guess one big concern is that i feel that i'm always behind the market. in other words, things are trending up, i get loaded to the bullish side and then thing turn down a bit, so i want to try and take on some bearish trades, i do and then things turn bullish.

another big concern is just to know -- is this normal? maybe it's something i just need to get used to. but i need people with more experience to tell me that.

i don't know if this can give you an adequate representation of what i am struggling with but maybe so. it's at least been therapeutic to put all of this out there. thanks everyone.

please feel free to ask any questions for clarification.

Recommendation: Ladies and Gentlemen...interact.