The Twelve: Beating a Dead Horse

Summary

Yesterday's negativity has officially poured over into today. Just another horrible day overall and it's all because I did not take my profits when I should have. I did not do my homework and got burned as well. My approach was too narrow and I did not see the big picture. I need to go back to the drawing board and try to figure it out. I have been burning cash too fast and at this rate, I'll be out of the game by next week. 

On the other hand, I did notice negative news today on JOEZ, so I got out in the morning as soon as I could. It would have been devastating if I held on. 

Ticker: OPK 

What a damn mess. I started out fine, but I rushed to add in once it hit the new lows. New lows is when I should be selling, not adding in. The bounce was unexpected so I didn't prepare my stop fast enough. I really need to know if the stocks bounces like this so I can prepare better. I should have sold out during the lows instead of adding in. My mentality was that it could go down even lower. This needs to stop. I need to take my profits. I also need to stop rushing my adds when it's already too low.

Note: I could have made money on my first two shorting attempts if I realized that the lows are an indicator of support. I cannot expect it to just go lower because I think so. It goes back to the idea that it doesn't have to go lower. The second time the support held should have been obvious. 

Note: Setting stops is a must, but I have realized that it sometimes cannot be filled.So I either need to sell earlier and keep profits or sell while I am still in profits. I do not want a situation where it just doesn't fill and I in the negative. 

Note: I need to remember that profit is profit and it's better than a loss. I need to realize the big picture and remember to watch volume. I did not notice the crazy volume until after. I need to not add when it's already near its lows. 

Ticker: JOEZ

I would have been completely screwed if I did not read the news. Fortunately I did. JOEZ canceled their earnings report conference call today and it caused a total panic. I knew it was bad, so I sold right out in the morning. Knowing the news saved my ass.

It would have been decent today if they didn't cancel their earnings.

Note: I wanted to get out some time morning, but after the news, I wanted to get out as soon as possible. News is sometimes important and can influence a stock greatly. Pay attention to it and it might save your ass too.

Note: This is an example of not having a plan and knowing when to sell. I should have sold partially during great strength so I lock in profits. I can't get greedy.

I also knew something so early and could have shorted this for 20%. I was stupid that I did not take advantage of the news. 

Ticker: GTXI

Not as clear cut as JOEZ, but it has potential. I bought in a little to test it out. It has some good potential .

Note: My mind has been exhausted from trading today. I lost big these past two days and could use a break. Like I said before, I might need to go back to the drawing board and think things through.

Side Note: I have noticed that I have stopped making plans for each of my trades. This is bad and I think I will start doing that from now on. 

Please let me know if you have any comments or opinions. I would like to know if you have spotted any mistakes in my logic.

The Eleventh: Stupid Mistake

 Summary

I did horribly today because I made a horrible mistake. I set my stop to a buy instead of a sell and it just bought me in at the worst time possible. After the mistake, my trading was complete off and I just ignored rules. At the end, this costed me over $100 for commission plus losses.

Ticker: MRGE

Originally, I saw this chart and it broke below the channel. Since the channel acted as a sort of resistance yesterday, I took a partial position @ $4.43. I thought it was would act as a resistance, but looking back now, I should have waited for it to test further.

Note: The good thing about this trade was that I  remembered to add a stop soon after my short. I was stopped out and that was the end of that. A stock that doesn't work out, but done with good execution is a-OK in my book. 

Note: Let the resistance be tested more before buying in. Be more patient and you will not even have to waste money on commissions. 

Ticker: ARRY 

This was complete fuck up that screwed my whole day. I purchased @ $8.00 for a bounce and I hoped for it to break $8.10 for a short squeeze. I added in @ $8.06 near the top and the whole thing just fell apart which didn't even leave me time to setup a stop. I thought this would just channel so I just left a stop @ $7.95. I focused on OPK for a bit and to my horror, I found out that I bought more instead of selling. I sold out, but wanted it to bounce and kept messing up.

 Note: If I haven't made the mistake of buying instead of selling, I would have been okay. I need to be careful and double check when I set my stops. 

Note: First, I set the stop too late and I did not realize that the ascending triangle seemed too steep. I did not look at volume and see that the shorts were absorbing all the longs at $8.06. The break was sudden and I should have made my stop tighter especially since this stock has a tendency to drop quickly. It also seemed to reach its resistance. I need to set my stop so I break even instead of losing out. This is a bad habit that I need to break.

Note: I need to remember that if I sell, I could always buy back. I need to sell quickly to prevent losses. I need to remember that bounces do not always work and that it is better to be in cash than to have it not bounce like in this situation. 

Note: I need to realize that I need to switch sides if one of my positions do not work. If I have a long bias and it does not work, I need to switch to a short bias quickly. This goes the same the other way.

Ticker: OPK

VinnyB introduced me to this stock and alerted me when it was forming the descending triangle. I took a position quickly and gout out before the short bounce to fix my ARRY problem. Do you notice the head and shoulders pattern? I did not see anything because I was way to distracted.

Note: I need to focus on my winners instead of my losers. Because of ARRY, I forgot about this stock and that was a mistake.

Sidenote: I added more into JOEZ.

Please let me know if you have any comments or opinions. I would like to know if you have spotted any mistakes in my logic.