Neutral Milk Hotel, "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea"

I had a rough day today mentally. So, despite not having made a dime in the last 3 months, I went out and bought a wetsuit. I haven't surfed in 15 years. Why not?

Virtual Office, $2747. Dow, +111.74, 13633.08.

Misstrade, $4000 on 4400 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, -$40 on 12,600 shares traded.
Me, -$1213 on 41,400 shares traded.

Worst Trade Ever

This one broke my spirit. I didn't know it at the time, but I was already down over $600 on the day. Here's what happened.

14:05:44 Short 800 @ 47.32 (-800)

14:12:49 Buy 300 @ 47.86 (-500)

14:16:46 Buy 200 @ 47.87 (-300)

14:19:19 Buy 300 @ 47.89 (flat)

At the time, DE had dropped a point in 10 minutes and so I was playing the pair. The first mistake I made was entering a market order. I entered the order when the stock was trading near 47.55. I was filled at 47.32. It's a force of habit that makes me enter market orders still but I need to learn not to do that anymore. The hybrid market eats me alive when I do.

So, I was filled a penny off the low of the move on my short and then got immediately squeezed for over a half point and lost $450 on the trade. This one felt awful and I basically closed out my remaining positions and walked away knowing that my account was firmly in the red again.

After waking this morning in the green with 2 trading days left in the month, my plan was to take it easy. But basically, the trade I highlighted in CNH happened to me over and over in him. I lost $885 in that one stock today. It was one of those days where nothing went right for me.

To make matters worse, I had a couple of trades that really would have worked for me had I hung in there, mainly ITU and CPT.

Anyway, I feel gross. I just can't trade this market on the long side right now. Especially with the gap down off the open, it just added to my bearishness. So I was way too skittish on my long trades, getting out at the slightest hint of a downturn and too stubborn on my shorts. Disaster.

And now I go into tomorrow staring at my third negative month in a row.

Anyway, here's the stats:

P&L, -$1213

Best, ITU, $72

Worst, CNH, -$885

shares traded, 41,400

stocks traded, 13, 4 positive, 9 negative

total trades, 157

Whales

Okay, I love whales too. They're hard not to like. But I'm beginning to hate those whales in California.

Actually, it's not the whales I hate, it's the media that is tracking their every move that I hate. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing about the "heroic efforts" that are leading them back to freedom. Do people really care so much about whales? Then how about the media takes more time to report on stuff like this.

It's like Anna Nichole Smith all over again but this time with whales. And they're on every network. Please... just keep telling us about the war so we realize what a mistake it was and never let it happen again.

Or educate people about who represents them... something, anything, but enough about the whales already.

TMBG, "The Statue Got Me High"

I Just Missed It

POT was my worst stock of the day. Here are my trades in it:

11:03:42 Short 200 @ 204.75 (-200)
11:09:56 Short 100 @ 204.74 (-300)
11:13:35 Buy 100 @ 205.25 (-200)
11:23:46 Buy 200 @ 205.61 (flat)
13:21:18 Short 200 @ 202.55 (-200)
14:01:01 Buy 100 @ 202.82 (-100)
14:44:16 Buy 100 @ 202.24 (flat)

The reason why I am posting my trades in POT and not my best stock of the day, AMR, is because the POT trade really marked the turning point of the day.

I had a good, easy morning, low stress trades and no significant losers. I looked at POT and saw that it was still up over 4 points on the day and that the market was acting weak and TNH had already reversed. So, I sold short and placed my stops about 75 cents away. In any normal stock I keep them much closer, but since POT is so expensive, 75 cents is really not much of a move.

As you can see, I sold a little too early. He hit my stops and filled me only about 20 cents from the top. Once he made that move, he reversed quickly and decisively and never really gave me an opportunity for a solid reentry. So, I missed the 4 point move. Instead of making over $1000 on the trade, I lost $250. More importantly, I lost my morning momentum. I really barely traded after my loss in POT because I didn't want to churn the rest of my profits away.

That's really where I am right now. If I have a good morning I'm just trying to hold the profits. I'm not going to be too aggressive because there have been too many times recently where I'm over-trading and churning profits away.

I am now up a few hundred dollars on the month with only 2 days to go. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Other trades of note were good shorts in SPG and CPT after the morning run and long AMR because of the weakness in oil prices.

Here's the stats:

P&L, $680
Best, AMR, $652
Worst, POT, -$226

shares traded, 23,200
stocks traded, 7, 4 positive, 3 negative
total trades, 99

Virtual Office, $5218. Dow, +14.22. 13521.50.

Misstrade, $4880 on 14,000 shares traded.
Me, $680 on 23,200 shares traded.
Dehtrader, -$342 on 7600 shares traded.

Well, with the unofficial start of the summer, the VO has taken in down a gear.

OBAT will be on hiatus for the next month. He's taking a vacation. Must be nice to live the life of a playboy. ET also took a day off.

Misstrade had a couple of nice trades today and landed himself some nice gains on a day that's "supposed to be slow." Always have to be on the ready for easy money. Nice trading, MT. I myself had some decent, non-stressful gains. Would like to end the month with 2 more just like today.

My daily post will be a little late tonight. It was my wife's birthday over the weekend and today she's going out with her friends. So during the early evening I will be a Dad and not a blogger.

Wake Up!!!

It's always difficult waking up after a long weekend.



Instead of assuming it's going to be slow because it generally is after a 3-day weekend, I'm gonna keep an open mind and see what the market has to offer.

Al Gore Please Run For President

He addresses two of my biggest concerns: the environment and the propaganda machine we call "the media".

Virtual Office, Memorial Day Edition, $784

Misstrade, $1144 on 3400 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, $196 on 15,400 shares traded.
One Bad-Ass Trader, -$3 on 2400 shares traded.
Denarii, -$152 on 400 shares traded.
Me, -$401 on 14,000 shares traded.
Dehtrader, -$509 on 10,000 shares traded.

Well, it wasn't as slow as I thought it would be, but it was a Friday before Memorial Day nonetheless. So, even if it isn't that slow, you think it's gonna be slow so you take the foot off the gas pedal a bit.

Anyway, everyone enjoy the long weekend. If you're going out to the Hamptons, be respectful and drive safely.

Stop Putting Shit On Us

A long weekend calls for a couple of long videos. This one is pretty funny.

The Democrats Suck Too

Depressing going into the weekend like this but it can't be denied. Our country is without leadership.

Hopefully, sometime within the next 18 months a leader will emerge (perfect time a third party candidate to step up) otherwise it's gonna be hard to find someone to vote for.



I think Olbermann should tone it down a bit, but I agree with all of his points.

The Band, "The Weight"

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone!

Back To Green For The Long Weekend

Well, it's been a bumpy ride but here I am with one day left in the month and I managed to bring my account into the green for the first time since the end of February.

I'm up $200 for the month after I clear my losses for March and April.

I'm pretty damn happy about it.

I had a few good winners today, mainly in AG, AMG and CROX. Here are my trades in AG.



9:45:31 Short 2000 @ 41.13 (-2000)
9:49:47 Buy 500 @ 41.18 (-1500)
9:49:52 Buy 500 @ 41.19 (-1000)
9:50:02 Buy 500 @ 41.29 (-500)
9:51:03 Buy 200 @ 41.26 (-300)
9:58:30 Short 300 @ 41.25 (-600)
10:00:24 Buy 300 @ 41.25 (-300)
10:00:26 Buy 300 @ 41.25 (flat)
10:36:45 Short 1500 @ 41.38 (-1500)
10:42:07 Short 500 @ 41.40 (-2000)
10:59:30 Buy 500 @ 40.96 (-1500)
11:09:16 Short 200 @ 41.21 (-1700)
11:16:34 Short 300 @ 41.02 (-2000)
11:22:49 Buy 500 @ 40.97 (-1500)
11:30:25 Buy 500 @ 40.60 (-1000)
11:30:56 Buy 200 @ 40.68 (-800)
11:42:43 Short 400 @ 40.71 (-1200)
12:28:39 Buy 200 @ 40.45 (-1000)
12:35:06 Buy 200 @ 40.35 (-800)
12:46:39 Buy 300 @ 40.35 (-500)
12:48:32 Buy 200 @ 40.59 (-300)
12:50:23 Short 100 @ 40.46 (-400)
13:16:46 Buy 300 @ 40.52 (-100)
13:24:38 Short 100 @ 40.51 (-200)
14:13:25 Short 200 @ 40.51 (-400)
14:44:34 Buy 300 @ 40.51 (-100)
15:15:23 Buy 100 @ 40.53 (flat)

These trades net me $1425, my first good winner in some time.

I also net over $500 in AMG and CROX (both on the short side) and had no substantial losers.

Anyway, looking forward to taking a half day tomorrow. However, I held CROX and AMG short overnight... hopefully I won't get burned on those positions. Either way, I'm setting a max loss limit for myself of $200 tomorrow so that I can go into June with a clean slate.

Here's the stats:

P&L, $3766
Best, AG $1425
Worst, UBB -$87

shares traded, 30,000
stocks traded, 16, 9 positive, 7 negative
total trades, 155

Virtual Office, $7633. Dow, -84.52, 13441.13.

Misstrade, $4324 on 9200 shares traded.
Me, $3732 on 30,000 shares traded.
Dehtrader, $433 on 14,300 shares traded.
One Bad-Ass Trader, $217 on 3200 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, -$1073 on 90,400 shares traded.

For a week that is typically slow, there was a lot of volatility in the market today and that is reflected in the VO numbers.

Misstrade pulled off his normal perfectly executed trades while I had a couple of my own for a change. OBAT had a very efficient day. ET made a lot of money for his firm today... I haven't checked yet, but I bet his gross was close to flat. Trading volume like that should get you a commission cut soon, ET.

Anyway, don't forget to check Misstrade's new video chart analysis.

Looking forward to a nice easy half day tomorrow.

Which Country Should We Invade Next?

I say the UK... their "reporters" are smartasses!

Misstrade Video Analysis

Hey, I urge you all to go check out Misstrade's new feature. He talks his way through graphs and trades offering his opinion on entries and exits.

Very easy to understand and very informative for both Dinosaur traders and newbies.

Boards Of Canada, "Dayvan Cowboy"

Amazing footage of a guy Joe Kittinger jumping out of a weather balloon from 19.5 miles up in the atmosphere.



Anyway, we have friends coming over for dinner tonight. So my normal daily post will be pushed back until later this evening.

Virtual Office, $3054. Dow -14.30, 13525.65.

Misstrade, $3137 on 6800 shares traded.
EvolutionTrader, $91 on 57,200 shares traded.
Me, -$49 on 56,800 shares traded.
One Bad-Ass Trader, -$122 on 25,800 shares traded.
Dehtrader, -$125 on 18,500 shares traded.

Are those crickets chirping?

Obviously, a slow day in the VO. People gearing up for the big weekend.

While Mr. Greenspan did his best to add some volatility to the market, it was still a pretty sleepy day.

Looking forward to next week when we have some data again.

Kind Of Like The Market

Trading in the morning was good, but since then it's been a game of giveback.