Friday, September 19, 2008

The RO Report, "Fuck The Shorts" Edition

Well, it's been a memorable week. Actually, not. I can't remember yesterday. My head is abuzz, filled with nothing and everything at once. I'm just looking forward to walking out of this little office and entering the world again, if only for two days.

Who knows what Monday will bring?

Anyway, the open today was like no market I have ever witnessed in my nearly 10 years daytrading stocks. I'm not sure how many trades will be "busted," but there were so many prints at extreme prices, that I can't imagine they'll stand. But perhaps they will.

We've entered a bizarro market, where no one has any idea what anything is worth. The numbers on your screen mean less than they ever have before, and the rules can change at any moment. In other words, it's loads of fun, until everyone gets smoked and it's not anymore.

For now, we'll enjoy the volatility and pad our reserves for the next drought, which inevitably, will come.

So it was another amazing day for the RO. These guys take massive risk, but they're smart, and are currently enjoying the benefits of taking that risk. Out of 22 traders, 20 were gross positive, or 90%. 6 traders finished up over $100,000 and 9 traders finished up over $50,000. 14 of the 22 traders today finished over $10,000 gross. I was #10 of 22, or, nicely positive.

Also, I'd like to point out "Trader 3." If you look at these numbers and think everyone makes this money right out of the gate, you'd be mistaken. I believe (though I could be wrong) that "Trader 3" is a first time trader, so for you newbies, it could be interesting to watch his progress.

Here are today's "bosses."

1. Trader Z, $181,953 on 686k shares traded.
2. Trader D, $169,703 on 722k shares traded.
3. Trader P, $153,218 on 345k shares traded.
4. Trader B, $144,863 on 925k shares traded.
5. Trader A, $121,071 on 563k shares traded.


And the "manservants."

1. Trader N, -$3897 on 29,600 shares traded.
2. Trader 1, -$108 on 15,200 shares traded.
3. Trader 3, $120 on 3,800 shares traded.
4. Trader I, $1,387 on 13,000 shares traded.
5. Trader R, $2,649 on 76k shares traded.

Have a restful weekend.

14 comments:

HPT said...

Congrats DT
I should get my series 7, those numbers are SIC

Complacent Panda said...

I was trying to find a post on how the RO worked.

Any links?

Bluedog said...

DT,
You really seem to have hit your stride since switching from the VO to the RO. I think working with other traders of that caliber is opening up another world for you. Congrats!

BD

Dinosaur Trader said...

HPT,

My office mates would be thrilled to have "the guy from that crazy blowup vid" in the office.

CP,

All of the traders in the RO are in the same office. I'm just reporting their daily P&Ls.

BD,

Indeed, they're helping me take my game up a notch. No doubt. Thanks.

-DT

joshtrader1 said...

did you catch any of the prints? I only caught a few small ones in ms and gnw

joshtrader1 said...

im also curious were you and your office mates made most of your money today
besides for the crazy open i really didnt make much
ended up like 3800 net

i got to tell you, im envious of your office
i have a # of good traders in my office but it sure would be great to be around more. im sure you know how much of a difference it can make. I have great calls and am always in the right place but ever since hybrid i have had trouble stepping up my size. I guess sometimes you just have to just let go and do it.

Any ways, have a great weekend

HPT said...

Cool. I'll look into the series 7.

TV107 said...

EXPLAIN TO ME WHEN SEVERAL MONTHS AGO I SAID WHY ARE U SATISFIED WITH A FEW HUNDRED A DAY AND TO STEP UP URS SHARES TRADED WHEN EVERYONE IN UR OFFICE IS TRADING THOUSANDS

U LAUGHED ME OFF AND SAID IM HAPPY

NOW UR MAKING 10 GRAND A DAY?

Dinosaur Trader said...

josh,

Bunch of prints. Gotta hit those while they're hot. Probably not much longer, if at all, anymore.

TV,

I've been at this game for a decade. The first 8 years, I made money consistently. Post hybrid, not so easy. I've had a few big days, but haven't had consistency. Since July, I've had more consistency. A few months ago, had I sized up, it would have been murder, since I didn't have the confidence that consistency brings. I could have smoked myself on big size, and not been able to come back.

Also, the market this week, was radically different. Part of this game, a huge part, is knowing yourself. And so much of it is pure psychology. I know myself. My confidence is returning. You can't just throw shares at the market and hope to make money. Everything has to come together. I'm not even sure if it's coming together for me yet. All I know is that I had a good week. When the market slows again, if I'm making consistent money, I'll be happy.

-DT

Dinosaur Trader said...

HPT,

Email me.

-DT

SBTrades said...

Something that really struck me about those numbers, was the number of shares traded. I never check how many shares I trade, only the dollar amounts or percentages (allocation).

925k of shares is HUGE. They must be going in and out of the same stocks hundreds of times a day. Or trading on huge leverage.

I just checked my number of shares traded on Friday and it was only 13k, as I bought and held letting time accumulate the dollars rather than the volume. I also mostly traded stocks above $20-30 My gains were over the $20k level. Unfortunately I was still in a large cash position.

So it appears that trading volume works out better, in and out hundred of times a day on huge leverage.

What type of stocks are these guys trading ? over $10 ? NASDAQ 100 components ? OTC BB ? This could explain the 500k+ numbers.

Comments DT ?

Why is HPT so keen to get the series 7? Do you need it to trade in the RO where you are ?

Dinosaur Trader said...

Shortbus,

Yes, depending on the stock, some of these guys hold 10 or 20k share positions. Maybe I will start to add the # of trades made too... that could clarify things. I'll see if I can get the number.

And they trade all types of stocks. One thing I've noticed since I've been on the internets is that there are a lot of traders who specialize in one or two types of trades. Excepting one or two traders, most of the traders in the RO are generalists... they'll trade whatever looks good when it looks good.

Finally, yes, to trade in the RO a Series 7 is required. For Nasdaq stocks, an additional license, the Series 55 is required.

Thanks for reading,

-DT

TL said...

DT,

Just to clear things up. When you say they are generalists, do you mean they take the same 1 or 2 setups on 100 stocks rather than taking 100 trades (and different setups) on 1 stock? Thanks.

TL

TL said...

Also, what is the typical holding time? Managing 100+ open positions across a couple of hours is hard to imagine... Or they just keep opening and closing positions every 5 minutes?

TL