dismal week

the week started out on a happy note.  no more boring desk job.  no more hiding my trading screens.  i figured out how to trade futures.  coffee shops.  sunny weather.  girls.

the reality.  told my dad i'm trading and as usual he chewed me out.  he calls it gambling and no way to "live life".  i felt very bummed out.  i made a real bonehead futures trade on thursday, which shook my faith in futures being easy to trade.  i didn't make any coin on my regular options trades either.  overall i'm down 500 for the week and my last options play today on POT could be a looming disaster.  time decay alone is going to eat me.  sigh.

i will say this STRONGLY....the way this market trades has changed significantly from last year.  last year was a bonanza, mini fortunes were made.  all you had to do was go short.  these days the chop is damn near unpredictable.  long dead zones when no trades can be made.  you need real patience to trade.

The Upshoot.  i can't just be a daytrader.  the money just isn't there.  plus there is much more risk.  and it's not fun.  i don't want to stare at the ticker all day.  once in a while for kicks, but not all day, every day.  i need a job.  i need some regular people banality in my life. 

here are the stinky lousy rotten trades....i don't even feel like getting drunk.

Underlying	Quantity	Action	Price	Description	Time	Date	Commission
POT	10	BOT	11.00	JUN09 120.0 PUT Option PYPRD	09:34:27	20090522	7.00
POT	10	SLD	11.50	JUN09 120.0 PUT Option PYPRD	09:45:28	20090522	7.00
YM	1	BOT	8257.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:51:48	20090522	2.13
YM	1	BOT	8257.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:51:48	20090522	2.13
YM	1	BOT	8257.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:51:49	20090522	2.13
YM	3	SLD	8260.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:53:19	20090522	6.39
YM	2	SLD	8260.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:00:43	20090522	4.26
YM	2	BOT	8270.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:01:40	20090522	4.26
YM	3	SLD	8278.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:09:41	20090522	6.39
YM	1	BOT	8278.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:12:40	20090522	2.13
YM	2	BOT	8278.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:12:40	20090522	4.26
POT	1	BOT	10.30	JUN09 120.0 PUT Option PYPRD	10:20:29	20090522	1.00
POT	1	BOT	10.30	JUN09 120.0 PUT Option PYPRD	10:20:29	20090522	0.40
POT	7	BOT	10.30	JUN09 120.0 PUT Option PYPRD	10:20:31	20090522	4.90
POT	1	BOT	10.30	JUN09 120.0 PUT Option PYPRD	10:20:32	20090522	0.70

treacherous YM gives headache

so i'm up early to get rid of my GS and i'm worried, because futures are down considerably and so i think get rid of it as fast as possible.  it opens about 1.5 below my position and i'm sweating bullets and it zooms up and i sell for a measly .2 loss.  sigh of relief turns to horror as it continues skyrocketing, touching 139, +3 from my position.  i couldn't believe it, the entire market was tanking and it was zooming.  it stayed up there for a while too, pissing me off for most of the morning.

the rest of the market was solidly red...i scalped the YM a bunch of times and felt mighty good about myself.  then i went to bed, but i didn't feel like sleeping, so i decided to go get coffee at Greenberry's.  they finally got wireless.  i get there and the market is flat.  no movement at all.  which is fine with me.  i drink coffee and enjoy the sun.  look at the chicks.  go get a delicious burger at Ray's Burger joint, which i totally scarfed.  the rest of the patrons must have thought what a pig, but then again they don't trade the YM.

the day ended very badly however.  i shorted YM at what i thought was a good level, because i thought the market would continue to tank downward.  big mistake.  the market zoomed up and zoomed even more at close.  i bought at the low and sold literally at the high.  such bad trading is almost unprecedented for me.

was it because i was bored and didn't pay attention?  was it, i still don't understand how to trade YM?  or was it the kind of smushage i have gotten conditioned to over the past year, simply don't happen any more?  new patterns are emerging for sure.

anyway, i got a big loss, vaporized all my profits and got a nice headache as well.  sigh!

Underlying	Quantity	Action	Price	Description	Time	Date	Exch.	Commission
GS	10	SLD	10.30	JUN09 130.0 CALL Option GS FF	09:33:31	20090521	NASDAQOM	4.50
YM	3	BOT	8286.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:37:10	20090521	ECBOT	6.39
YM	1	SLD	8284.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:41:55	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8284.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:41:56	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8284.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:41:56	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8298.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:48:01	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8298.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:48:02	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8298.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:48:02	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	3	BOT	8288.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	09:59:46	20090521	ECBOT	6.39
YM	3	SLD	8294.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:01:12	20090521	ECBOT	6.39
YM	3	BOT	8284.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:02:13	20090521	ECBOT	6.39
YM	2	SLD	8290.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:03:28	20090521	ECBOT	4.26
YM	1	SLD	8290.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:03:28	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	BOT	8285.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:13:49	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	2	BOT	8285.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	10:14:02	20090521	ECBOT	4.26
YM	3	SLD	8290.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	13:00:55	20090521	ECBOT	6.39
YM	1	BOT	8277.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	13:05:07	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	BOT	8277.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	13:05:07	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	BOT	8278.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	13:05:07	20090521	ECBOT	2.13
YM	3	SLD	8230.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	15:02:17	20090521	ECBOT	6.39
YM	3	BOT	8290.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	16:00:22	20090521	ECBOT	6.39

ym my favorite future to trade

i got laid off from my job....friday was the last day....so the last 3 days i have been trading full time.....funnnnnnnnn (a little scary also).

YM, dow futures is my favorite so far....i like the volatility, but haven't yet quite got the hang of  how to trade it....too impatient, need to wait sometimes.  here are the trades

for May 18th:

Underlying	Action	Quantity	Description	Price	Time	Date	Exch.	Commission
YM	SLD	1	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8425.0	13:59:25	20090518	ECBOT
YM	SLD	2	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8425.0	13:59:26	20090518	ECBOT
YM	BOT	1	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8484.0	16:01:30	20090518	ECBOT

for may 19th:

Underlying	Action	Quantity	Description	Price	Time	Date	Exch.	Commission
YM	BOT	2	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8450.0	09:54:00	20090519	ECBOT	4.26
YM	SLD	3	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8506.0	10:35:43	20090519	ECBOT	6.39
YM	BOT	1	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8490.0	11:00:28	20090519	ECBOT	2.13
YM	BOT	1	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8490.0	11:00:34	20090519	ECBOT	2.13
YM	BOT	1	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8490.0	11:00:36	20090519	ECBOT	2.13
IBM	BOT	10	JUN09 110.0 PUT Option IBMRB	5.40	14:19:47	20090519	PSE	7.00
IBM	BOT	10	JUN09 110.0 PUT Option IBMRB	5.40	14:19:47	20090519	PSE	7.00

for may 20th:

Underlying	Quantity	Action	Price	Description	Time	Date	Exch.	Commission
IBM	10	SLD	5.60	JUN09 110.0 PUT Option IBMRB	10:07:25	20090520	PSE	7.00
IBM	7	SLD	5.70	JUN09 110.0 PUT Option IBMRB	10:14:05	20090520	PSE	4.90
IBM	3	SLD	5.70	JUN09 110.0 PUT Option IBMRB	10:14:05	20090520	PSE	2.10
YM	1	SLD	8493.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:07:18	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8493.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:07:18	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8493.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:07:18	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
YM	2	BOT	8470.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:13:42	20090520	ECBOT	4.26
YM	1	BOT	8470.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:13:43	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8476.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:34:23	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8476.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:34:23	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
YM	1	SLD	8476.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:34:23	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
YM	3	BOT	8481.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	14:40:04	20090520	ECBOT	6.39
YM	3	BOT	8455.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	15:10:37	20090520	ECBOT	6.39
YM	3	SLD	8445.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	15:19:53	20090520	ECBOT	6.39
YM	3	BOT	8420.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	15:30:20	20090520	ECBOT	6.39
YM	2	SLD	8400.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	15:52:02	20090520	ECBOT	4.26
YM	1	SLD	8400.0	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	15:52:02	20090520	ECBOT	2.13
GS	5	BOT	10.50	JUN09 130.0 CALL Option GS FF	15:53:21	20090520	ISE	3.50
GS	2	BOT	10.50	JUN09 130.0 CALL Option GS FF	15:53:21	20090520	ISE	1.40
GS	3	BOT	10.50	JUN09 130.0 CALL Option GS FF	15:53:30	20090520	ISE	2.10

trades dow emini today

Underlying	Action	Quantity	Description	Price	Time	Date	Exch.	Commission
STLD	SLD	30	MAY09 10.0 CALL Option RQLEB	1.45	09:34:24	20090514	CBOE	21.00
YM	SLD	3	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8301.0	11:25:03	20090514	ECBOT	6.39
YM	BOT	3	JUN09 Futures YM JUN 09	8300.0	15:55:17	20090514	ECBOT	6.39

WOW...i love the futures...no daytrading restrictions on the number of trades i can make in a day....finally. very liquid. yesterday i traded the S&P 500 emini future and today the DOW 30 emini future. i have been reading up and researching on this stuff all day today. 2 drawbacks. contract price is 2.4 per contract per side approximately...which is well above .7 per stock option contract. despite the blabber you might read on the net, commission per trade in futures is much higher than stocks / stock options. 2nd - i am buying everything on margin. what rates am i paying?? and what does that amount to in dollar terms. i will look over reports this weekend and report :)

but, so far i'm rocking it. i made $15 on my YM trade, although i was down as much as 600 at one point. freaky volatility. double edged sword, but so far it's not as crazy as i thought it would be.

finally i trade ES.....WOW

Underlying	Action	Quantity	Description	Price	Time	Date	Exch.	Commission
NUE	SLD	32	MAY09 45.0 PUT Option NUEQI	4.00	13:59:16	20090513	PSE	22.40
ES	SLD	1	JUN09 Futures ESM9	883.75	19:10:47	20090513	GLOBEX	2.40
ES	BOT	1	JUN09 Futures ESM9	883.00	19:12:43	20090513	GLOBEX	2.40
ES	SLD	3	JUN09 Futures ESM9	883.50	19:45:54	20090513	GLOBEX	7.20
ES	BOT	3	JUN09 Futures ESM9	883.00	19:51:43	20090513	GLOBEX	7.20
STLD	BOT	30	MAY09 10.0 CALL Option RQLEB	1.40	19:55:49	20090513	CBOE	21.00

trades

don't really feel like blogging, but here are some trades.......

bought some POT

sssshhhhh....don't tell the cops, see, i had a line .... wait a minute i bought puts on GS...damn i thought i had this killer line, i bought POT last week....and it did me no good. that's it i'm done with POT for ever now....never again am i touching that filthy....stock. hahaha. sigh. chuckle.

yup i bought some GS. bad buy again. should have waited a little bit more and right after i bought it i regreted it. way out of the money so that time decay is gonna eat me alive. what was i thinking. greed of course. also GS showed no weakness afterwards, even though the market did. tough draw.

it's all that filthy, swineish PDT law...worried about the number of trades i can execute...i would have sold otherwise...will sell first thing tomorrow.

of course, i am going out tonight. have been cooped up in my apt. for the last couple of days, ok well 2 days :) hopefully i will not go insane on the beer. plus, i slept at 5am yesterday. not partying. just couldn't sleep. saw a gem of a movie.

Un maledetto imbroglio (1959) by Pietro Germi. Now he's a master of his craft.