I thought I would write on a costly mistake I made yesterday. I was ruled by greed. I have been doing very well with this method over the past two weeks. I started with 8k and am up to 11k. Yesterday could have been a great day with the stock JADE. I got in early and the stock shot up, then it went down quickly, and hit my 2% stop. I was mad about that. Why had I set up such an aggressive stop? This stock was going up today, right? It was early and I thought it would shoot up some more. Shame on me. I bought back my shares, and lost most of my profit yesterday. It was a costly mistake, though I suppose a cheap one since I still did end up ahead. Lesson to me about keeping to my stops and being happy with a healthy gain from a stock (especially one that has been in a long downward spiral and may very well be delisted!) Jamey
Well, if it makes you feel any better, it just hit DU. Also, it from the looks of its charts, it is at the bottom of its trading chanell and has been in an upward trend.... Jamey
When I have exited a position I usually delete the stock from the list I am monitoring so that I don't get second thoughts. I just turn my mind away from it and think about something else. It seems to me that second thoughts come about partly from greed and partly from impatience. When I am trying to be patient I find that getting away from the PC for half an hour or so helps (obviously not without stops in and not when a major announcement is due). I usually do the washing up or have a leisurely bath. Sometimes I get a pleasant surprise when I get back, more often the situation is essentially unchanged. But it's easier - for me - than sitting on my hands in front of the screen. Suss
Thanks. I need to learn this as a discipline. I stopped out of BKI today, but at a lower price than I should have. I get worried sometimes about "missing" a big gain. But I should be more worried about losing my shirt. I do have a question, however. With the Hershey method, I know that Spyder has said to buy at 11:15 when there are certain conditions met. However, I have had some success at buying earlier when this look like they are coming into line, and when it is a stock which I have analyzed the trendlines and think I see a gain coming. That bit me in the * today. Is this practice of anticipating a stock "bad" practice with this method? As I said, until today, I have done pretty well doing this... or I could just be getting lucky. Thanks! Jamey
I am a beginner like yourself, so I can't claim greater knowledge. I sometimes move in early even if the lower band of dry-up volume has not been hit, provided that the 30-minute MACD histogram and stochastics hit the levels needed. All I need is the confidence that the lower band of dry-up volume will be hit and I like to see that the earlier the better, as this increases the chance that first rising volume will be hit by end of day. However, I do not buy if volume is strong but the MACD histogram and stochastic signals are not there, nor do I buy after the 11:30 cut-off. (Sometimes I do stupid things and do go against the rules but normally I suffer as a result.) Based on previous comments I have read from Spyder he basically says something along the lines of "look, you can get in early if you like but you run the risk of more false break-outs, so I prefer not to". Suss
Final Universe Additions ANW BAA DSX EMKR HMIN HWG INO LAZ MEA SNDA SSRX XING Final Universe Deletions AFSI AVCI AZZ GROW JSDA LEND OPXT PRXI ROCM SMSI SYNL ULTR Final Universe ANW ARGN ASIA BAA BKI BTJ CALM CHDX CMED DRYS DSX EMKR EMS ESEA EXM FMCN FTK GLNG GMCR GMKT GRA GRRF GSAT GSOL HMIN HWG ICOC INO JADE JASO JRJC KMGB LAZ LPHI MALL MEA MLNX MTH MTOX NFI PTT SFLY SIGM SNCR SNDA SNHY SSRX STAR TASR TBSI TGIC TRCR TSL VDSI VSR XING Friday Dry Up CALM ICOC KMGB LPHI NFI VSR - Spydertrader
One day.... you'll add shorting to your arsenal, using the base of this method, and you'll make money when the mkt goes up and and when it goes down...patience my friend (did you notice how wise I sound those days I'm making money? )
Hehe... I papertrade the short side and do OK (NFI today at 4.67) but you have to be pretty agile. On a day like today it's pretty much all one can do but in a more normal market having to divert mental resources to the short side from the long side is not justified by the money I think I can make by shorting. For that reason I am considering a semi-automated system based around Spydertrader's methodology. Nothing fancy, just cascading orders, but will take time. Suss
What criteria did you use to get INO in the final Universe? I just can't get it to meet +EPS and Vol. Thanks, this is a GREAT journal!!!