Well, now seems like a pretty good time for a look at results to this point given that I have only a coule small positions open right now. I'm looking at a return of about 6.6%/month which is considerably lower than the target. Admittedly this journal has been taking a back seat to other issues such as moving, but this months low gains were the result of poor money management and a couple trade mistakes. 1) My MRVL position; I'd reached 50% of max profit within the first couple weeks. I kept telling myself to take the gains and move on but I just didn't pull the trigger. Those gains eventually turned to losses when the chip sector collapsed. 2) There was no reason to sell gamma when I opened the SPX bull put. The only reason to open the position was if I intended to hold through expiry. Given that I was anticipating increased volatility this week, a +gamma position would've been the better choice. 3) I lowered the stop on BAC when it had obviously broken through the strong resistance. I knew going into it that short covering would send it through the roof if the resistance didn't hold. My intentions for this month are slightly greater diversity and capturing quick gains on ATM spreads and long calls/puts.
AAPL seems to continue its downtrend: <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1075950>
Today's Action BTO 3 AAPL JUN 70 c @ 1.20 Year to Date P/L Account Value: $12,914.50 YTD Gross P/L: 3,315.00 YTD Commiss: 400.50 YTD Net P/L: 2,914.50 YTD % P/L: 29.1% This trade was based on the strength it showed against the falling market as well as the support that I see just below 65.