One of my first trades in the S&P was back in Nov 1994. It was right at the close and I was placing buy orders and getting stopped out while on the phone. This was before online trading back in the day when the S&P was $500/full point. I had a BMI K-Band satellite and an account with Lind-Waldock. Anyway, I finally got an order in and the guy said it was "fast" market and he didn't know if I got filled or was stopped out. I always put in a MOC and a stop with an OCO. About 20 minutes after the close get a call that I was filled and sold MOC and made just over $3000. I kept waiting for a call saying it was all a mistake the trade was busted. LOL
I was at Lind back then as well, those were the days of not knowing for hours, rain and ice on dish of lost or no data, only good thing was $500 a point S&P500. Best trade was 137 :1 reward to risk when Crude Oil made all time highs, finally found the highs, yippee. But let's talk about the 23 trades it took to find the highs, I was hedging which took away much of the losses, couple times got first target which paid 12.5 to 1 which helped pay for more losses that hedge didn't cover. My way of trading use to be hard on the spirit cause I loss anywhere from 77 to 92% of my trades in course of a year trading long term commodities, amazing what you can get use. LOL, Losses, get use to losing $800 a contract many times a year times contracts I trade, it like playing Video poker in Vegas, always waiting for eventually Royal Flush, and I don't loss not nearly as much as those who play video poker. Just feels like that. Stocks easier to trade cause they not leveraged I suppose, you just get use to it all, Just numbers. It is far easier when you don't have to rely on making it.
Some of you guys really take this stuff seriously. Play it real close to the vest. I suppose if I were a professional trader I'd be doing the same thing. I am not a professional trader, not even close, but I have dabbled here and there since the 90's. First off, the vast majority of my money is traditionally invested. Just a Joe LunchBucket with a 401K that I do manage and shift positions as I see fit, bit it's all relatively low risk. It's been good. I also have invested in real estate and small business partnerships, although I'm completely out of the business angle at this point. Made some, lost some. End of the day I made a dime or two. Then I like to gamble. Sometimes at a craps table, sometimes in the stock market. So you wanna know the big lick in trading do ya'? Late 1999, oh that was the friggin' wild west. In August of that year I took $7,000.00 and opened up an account just to take high risk trades. I gambled, plain and simple. If you're going to gamble, you play in the OTCBB. From August of 99 to March of 2000 that 7K became just over 200K. Yes, I was da' man. The biggest win and also the biggest loss was on a shit company, ECNC. Total friggin scam it turns out, but who cares, the money spends. In Dec./Jan I was buying shares at about an average of 10 cents. Like everything else at that time the moves were large and I took profits over the next couple months. Some at a buck. Some at 3, 5. Nice money. I believe it was the first week of March and this thing went to the moon. I sold shares at 10, more at 15 and still more at 20. This was all in a two day period. I'd have to look back, but it was easily 40, 50K. For some stupid ass reason I kept 4500 shares and thought I'll dump'em tomorrow. Well, tomorrow came and the stock got halted for two weeks. The 4500 I could have easily sold at 20 I ended up selling two weeks later for less that 50 cents. Is that a loss? Hey, I left easy money on the table, so it's a loss. Is this the end of the gambling story? No. I still had better than 100K in that account and kept trading. If you were around in early 2000 you know what happened. crash, kaaboom, fat lady singing. Long story short, by Sept. of 2000 what had been a 7-200K rise ended up at 40K. Seven into forty in 13 months. Hell of a return most of us would be thrilled to have, but I bitched anyway. It was a hell of a ride that I have been unable to duplicate, not even close, but I still do have some of that let'em roll money out there from time to time. Can't win of you don't play. I shoulda' wrote a book and just used that one little snipet of time to show how "easy" it is to make money in the market. Even I have some morals.
LOL.... If I could give ya two "likes"... I would. Parallel universe. lmao. here's a meme for ya btw... in case you forgot.
Yeah it was you i was really entertained to see you call that one out. To me i didn't see the pattern till it emerged. But it doesn't do much good then you know.