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Sept. Starting Total: $18,177.33
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Sept 24  SIL SHORT 1000 shares @ 3.82 exit @ 3.60 = 220.00 +5.8%
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Sept 25 QCOR LONG 800 shares @ 7.06 exit @ 6.95 = (88.00)  -1.6%
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Commission Costs for Sept:           (35.80) Running total
Profit/Loss for Sept after Comms:   $96.20
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Sept trades thoughts and overview:

Sept 24 - Trade 1: SIL
Got the alert on SIL early in the morning and figured it was time to initiate my first short. Saw the action on SIL shorty after Tim's perfect short entry and it looked like a breakdown! I didn't want to miss that down side momentum. Problem is I hit my entry low at 3.82 and then... BOOM big time turn around... SHIT. Oh well breathe and chart. Saw that resistance was near 4.11. Damn did it hit it... I was hanging on tight and realized to just chill out and made a note to work on nerves and to quit being such a pussy. I also realized I went in so fast I had no stop gain or loss pre-set. I need to work on looking at each of these tickers Tim puts on his alerts and the ones I'm into really chart and set up entry and exits... sometimes though like this with SIL you just know it's going down and you get that gut feeling. So I held on. The action on this stock was hairy and with me having under 25K I don't have the freedom to trade this one over and over. I liked 3.60... there's the cover... there's the profits. I like this... I really really like this

Sept 25 - Trade 2: QCOR
Bah! Shit morning... missed a great short on MFN after doing my research on it last night, missed a SIL short this morning because I wasn't quick enough and to timid to pull the trigger, and decided to go in on bad timing with QCOR long after tims notification in the chat room. Poor timing all the way around... not quick enough and to shy to pull the trigger... and trying to focus on to many plays at once seriously screwed me. Mark this up for one crap day. Loss 88.00... education costs money and so does sloppiness.

Last edited by alsandair (2008-10-06 11:58:08)

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Oct. Starting Total: $18,273.53        [Portfolio Since Inception: +0.5%]
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Oct 6th  FEED LONG 600 shares @ 5.49 exit @  5.76 =  162.00  +4.7%
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Oct 8th  ISRG LONG 40 shares @ 192.00 exit @ 192.00 =  0.00   0.0%
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Oct 9th MHGC LONG 800 shares @ 6.38 exit @ 5.77 = (-488.00)  -9.6%
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Oct 16th OCCXD SHORT 700 shares @ 4.99 exit @ 4.70 = 203.00+5.9%
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Oct 21st GRRF SHORT 3000 shares @ 1.55 exit @ 1.768 = (654) -12.4%
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Oct 28th HSNI SHORT 800 shares @ 5.96 exit @ 7.09 = (907.62) -16%
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Oct 28th HSNI SHORT 800 shares @ 7.25 exit @ 6.97 = 224.00 + 4%
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Commission Costs for Oct:                 (125.30) Running total
Profit/Loss for Oct after Comms:   (-$1585.92)
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Oct 6th - Trade 3: FEED

Still holding Tim's hand here. The trade he initiated with feed he noted as tricky because of a falling knife. Tims going long here and it makes me nervous LOL. But, he's been playing the game a long time and I'm going to go with him on this one. Glad to see it too, as my trader finger was getting a bit itchy. Put down a small position and will reload if it dips lower. Also will keep a close eye on this chart. Looks decent and I do think this will rally with the market... here's to making money :)

Update: Amazing... So I may have sold a bit early and been a big pussy, but I'm a pussy with money. I'm going to watch this and see where it tops for the fun. Also, I have two more trades this week, so here's to making more money ;)

Additional Note: This is why I like this blog... I just mentioned how I feel I pussied out on this by not holding a bit longer. The stock reached 6.00 recently and I went to look back on past trades.

An excerpt from my SIL short on the 24th: "Damn did it hit it... I was hanging on tight and realized to just chill out and made a note to work on nerves and to quit being such a pussy."

Note to self... quit being such a pussy. Go for big profits...

Oct 8th - Trade 4: ISRG

Tim alert comes out on ISRG, not his usual play. Looks good to me... I chart it and see that the resistance lies on 192.00. He gets in at 188 and change. I see it dip down to 186 right on support market looks like its turning around. My instincts tell me to buy... it's risky but no risk no reward... I wait... I decide I will see it breach the resistance of 192.00. It hits 192 and i think to myself theres $240 upside I just missed... but its ok at the time... I wait for the break of the resistance line... It breaks... shoots to 193 I wait till it comes back down.. catch it at 192... Breaks to new high above 194.00. Im sure its on to 200.00 and then... it fades... doesn't look good. Tim confirms my fear. He sells at 193 ish. SHIT! Wasted a trade, only lost the commission... all in all intelligent trading. Going to the chart I played it right. Following my instinct... I failed. There's my money Schwab... go buy a pizza you fucks.

Oct 9th - Trade 5: MHGC

Bought and held expecting some type of rally today around 9:50. I figured we would get some type of rally... I was wrong. I held on because I was trying to learn from past experience. Now I'm down more than I started with. Wonderful... That was the last trade for the week. Tried doing one on my own. I'm very disappointed in myself. Most likely the rally will happen tomorrow and I won't be able to participate.

Oct 17th - Trade 6: OCCXD

Following Tim on this one. Was an easy borrow for me at Schwab. Was nice to see as lately the last few shorts APWR, BWEN haven't gone through. Nice entry @ 4.99 rode it down to 4.20 region. Riding high. Then a reversal in market boosted stock. Tim covered at 4.50. I didn't want to hold on overnight but had trouble with covering at 4.50 and 4.60. Time went by and broker was not putting the cover through. I had to go for the 4.70 ask. I panicked when I shouldn't have. Looking forward to future trades. Trying to get back to even...

Oct 21st - Trade 7: GRRF

Went off a suggestion to short this stock off of someone in chat. Got caught in a squeeze... ouch. One thing I was having a hell of a time covering. This was my first experience of a short squeeze, it doesn't feel good... now I know how dangerous it is. It was interesting though that while there were a few million shares of this being traded it was so hard to dump and cover. One thing I noticed afterwards... respect the chart. This was not one of the classic short patterns that Tim goes after. Another hard bought lesson and one hell of a big loss.

Oct 28th - Trade 8 & 9: HSNI

Shorted this stock twice. Resulted in another huge loss. Got caught in my second short squeeze. At one point I was up $200 waiting on this thing to break. It started going up. Tim covered at 6.20. I posted a cover as well for a small loss at 6.22. Damn broker never filled it. Sat there forever well below an ask of 6.22. Then boom the thing rockets off to venus. Cover at 7.09... OUCH. Second Alert comes out I try to recoup some losses on this pig. Short at 7.25 and cover at 6.97. I could have road it lower but after that experience I'll take it. I'm really having a bad month down 9% for the month so far. I'm going to be keeping my eye out for a trade from TIM this week. One left... let's hope I can erase some of these huge losses.

Last edited by alsandair (2008-11-06 12:13:54)

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Dec. Starting Total: $17,314.51          [Portfolio Since Inception: -4.7%]
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Dec 5th  CHRS SHORT 1500 shares @ 1.65 exit @  1.59 =  90.00 3.7%
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Dec 5/8 FSLR SHORT 15 shares @ 119.30 exit @ 134.85 = (233.25) -11.6%
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Commission Costs for Nov:                 (35.80) Running total
Profit/Loss for Nov after Comms:        ($179.05)
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*What I've learned so far about trading:

1. Know the trade - Know what your stalking and look at it's history. Define your stops. Know the trade.

2. Stay disciplined - Knowing the trade is great, but the next step is to follow the rules you have set for your trade. This is the number one flaw I found in my trading. I wasn't trading, I was flopping around like a fish. Think of it as a sport and win.

3. Know the pattern; watch for weakness; play on psychology - After trading for some time you start to feel these charts, especially when you've been stalking them. The large hump and flatline... is a great entry on a red day when the stock is in the red or showing signs of toppiness and low or trailing volume.

4. Have Patience; Let the trade come to you - Yes this is a very difficult aspect for most. By trading like a maniac you are nothing more than addicted. Play it smart and have patience to wait for good plays. Don't gamble, play with the odds in your favor.


Dec 5th - Trade 19: CHRS

Been following the market the past week. Missed the big drop on Monday cause the kiddies had a no school day. Since Monday kinda been moping around waiting for opportunities. Let the trades come to you. Market's in limbo and no one's pumping stocks. Pretty lousy conditions to short in, speaking in general terms. Found a nice intra day spike from CHRS, missed the top end, but I nabbed it around 1.65. I went in lightly on Tim's suggestions because who knows what could happen in this market. Went in this for a bunt and thats what I got. Got to find something tasty I can really sink my teeth into next week. Good news is on my last 10 trades 8 were successful (knock on wood). Base hits is slow business... but working. Soon, I will try and hit a double every once and awhile. Let's see if we can get me back to even. I've now learned tons since starting and am ready to continue to think like a winner and make smart trades.

Dec 5th - 8th Trade 20: FSLR

Stupid. Went to short FSLR. Long term yes I think it's going down. I ignored the head winds of a market bouncing and had a plan to add more if this went higher. Mistake. I shorted something related to oil after the whole comlpex was at a multiyear low. My thought was that oil would go lower than 40.00. I also thought with the economy in the shitter and the demand for gas down that this trade was a win. I was cocky with all my god trades and said fuck it. However, I did not time this trade at all. I did not think of dip buyers at the level I shorted FSLR at and I did not take heed to the market reacting great o a terrible news day. Mistake... I held it over the weekend with an impending auto bailout which most likely will take the entire market up short term. I thought overall that I could hold onto this trade and add to it. Mistake. All around sloppy and I let it run longer than I should have. I did not cut my losses quickly because I thought big deal its only 15 shares... stupid! One piece of good news is i didn't panic and found a nice exit point for Monday. Yes this could possibly go down however I don't have the patience to wait. Reminder to self... quick trades and base hits. Chalk  this up as a loss, but a win for reminding myself of my own lessons and keeping me sharp. Now let's make some money!

Last edited by alsandair (2008-12-08 14:57:18)