Some of you are aware of the "finer points' of the opening strategy,and some may not be. I want to caution you all about a "tactic" taken by a few during these days of lower volatility. Don't get caught up in holding positions for reversals, if the trade goes against you take a loss....analyze the stock using the criteria taught you, and then get back in if you like. For example, if you buy AOL, it goes down, you sell it for a 20 cent loss....but you realize that AOL is way under 20, and the market is turning up...you see some "clean up" around 19.50 or so, then get back in, don't be concerned that you just sold it. This is tough for new traders to do....get back on the ride.....do it with a clearer mind...you are not "riding a loser" now, you have a new "entry point" ...and a new, fresh look at the situation. BTW, I want to again thank everyone for the PM and Emails, and also to say keep the trading questions coming via both, if you want a more personal answer....I have answered many questions lately (and have even forwarded some of the better ones on to the magazine for review). To Edge: See you next week!!
OK I've read through all the posts on the opening play, and find it very interesting - so I set up my spreadsheet to do all the calculations, and decided to start today: EK loser MMM winner IBM winner KO scratch JNJ winner GM loser JPM winner MRK winner C scratch 9 plays - sound like I'm getting to many hits? using .5% envelope, and adjusting for stock betas. Made .60 gross, .42 net
Good job! You may want to use a .7 - 1.0 range for your envelope for a while (3 or 4 fills is good). I made money on 4 out of 5, but lost too much in GE (a little stubborn).
Thanks Don and the edge for all you've written here (among others as well) I should re-state - I used a .5% envelope on either side (I guess thats what you would call a 1% envelope - am I saying that correctly? I stayed away from GE just because of the publicity in the media this past weekend. So - even with that envelope, I still got 9 stocks - am I doing something wrong to get so many? I may have made money, but don't want to go forward if my calculations are off base (I may have just been really lucky today) Thanks in advance for al your help! mbg p.s. - Don - sorry I didn't take your course over the one I did take - what a waste of money that was. (not spamming for Don either - I don't even know him!)
.5 = .50 cents under & .50 cents over. 1.0 = a dollar under and a dollar over ($100 dollar stock). Just to clarify....
Thx Don - I guess my envelope was too narrow - I did indeed get lucky today I'll use between .8 and 1% on EITHER side thanks for clarification
Don, do you possibly use a larger envelope on days when the s&p's are opening with a larger than normal movement. For instance, today?