Best calls you've seen on ET

Discussion in 'Trading' started by Cutten, Jan 19, 2008.

  1. #21     Jan 19, 2008
  2. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=112445&perpage=6&pagenumber=1

    and subsequently by another poster.....



    whitster

    Registered: Feb 2006
    Posts: 1856

    12-21-07 07:24 PM

    trading is not about always being right

    heck, many traders make good money only being right (trade hitting a target before a stop) 30% of the time.

    regardlss, of trader methodology (scalper, position player, whatever), traders make money when they make trades with a positive expectancy. - is the risk well defined, is their compelling risk/reward, etc.

    we had a 10% drop in the vix today. VIX got down to mid 18's!!!

    this should tell you something. options traders are not putting a premium (pun intended ) on risk.

    imo, the most compelling trade today was to go long volatility. you don't have to be RIGHT. but volatility has contracted so much that the risk/reward is phenomenally compelling. last time i saw a similar situation, i got some DIA puts that gave me 20-45 % return in a # of days ( i scale out of winning positions generally). that's a compelling trade, when the risk is (getting a fair amount of time in the puts) relatively small to the downside

    imo (and that's not a what i want to see opinion, but a statistically based opinion), puts were a frigging STEAL today- specifically mar 2008 puts.

    you can sit on them for a few weeks and lose little time premium, with the potential for volatility expansion or even one nasty 200-500 pt selloff making this quite a compelling trade.

    but was it a "sucker's rally?"

    NOBODY knows. it was a big gap, that barely retraced and ran mostly into the close. whether it balances at this new area, retraces, or continues upwards - NOBODY knows and anybody who tells you they do know is lying or deluded
     
    #22     Jan 19, 2008
  3. Avarus/wave called the dow to be down 400 at 9:30 am, maybe at the time the dow was down 50 points. Sure enough the dow was down 400+ that day. This was on es journal don't remember exactly when, f**king amazing.
     
    #23     Jan 19, 2008
  4. realist in the metals forums is money
     
    #24     Jan 19, 2008
  5. bdon

    bdon

    all the folks who said short google at $100 and are still short.
     
    #25     Jan 19, 2008
  6. I nominate TL Trader. He is so spot on! :)
     
    #27     Jan 19, 2008
  7. #28     Jan 19, 2008