I was up $1250 realized and $100-200 unrealized in the first 15 minutes and then I turned my $100-200 unrealized profit into a $4000 unrealized loss "trying to make it work" from readding when my thesis for the short was no longer valid once it spiked back ABOVE VWAP and BASED AT VWAP. This was another example where I turned a good trade into a huge unrealized loss from missing covering some of my position and then "trying to make it work" from readding in places I wouldn't normally short, then not covering any of my adds into dips and adding as much as I could and "holding and hoping", which is how I lost $4500 on VLTC on Monday last week, I got lucky today, but that's what can easily happen.
Like I've said before, I use wiring out and sometimes telling Suretrader to limit my BP to 4:1 as methods of controlling my size, but I still need to develop some freaking SELF-CONTROL to be able to control my position sizes ON MY OWN, rather than just "add, add, adding" on every trade that I'm down on, and getting lucky 9 out of 10 times but then blowing up that one time when it doesn't "come back".
FOR NEW READERS ONLY: If I am scaling in and out of a position, that is considered one trade until I am completely out of the position and then it becomes a new trade, that's why some trades have a lot of shares, even if I never had that much at once, if I cover half and then re-add my cover, it's still considered one trade until I am completely out. The entry is the average of the entries and the exit is the average of all the exits. The entries/exits are rounded to 2 decimal places, but the exact number is calculated for the PnL, so that's why the dollar amount may look different than what you see. (it may be 7.165 instead of 7.17, etc). Also, you can click on the charts if you want to make them bigger to be able to better see the entries/exits.
ROSG
Big move yesterday on the ridiculous $13 dollar price target, from low 3's to 3.70's and then hit above 4 afterhours, I was somewhat disappointed when it was only 3.80's premarket but then it ramped from 3.80's to 4.30 in 5-10 minutes, I shorted 1k at 4.23 and added 1k at 4.29, to give me 2k 4.26 average, I was looking for a quick washout for a scalp and I didn't want to hold it into the open. I got a quick pull to 4.12 on the "9:28 candle" and I had an order in for 1k at 4.18 and that got filled, then I tried to cover the other 1k at 4.14 and got 700/1000 filled. I could have covered the last 300 for a tiny profit but I was okay with holding that small size into the open and I left my order at 4.14 if it wanted to fill me quickly. It spiked to 4.48 and I shorted 1000 shares at 4.39, it pulled back to 4.24 then were a few "choppy candles" 4.24-4.35 range but I felt a 4.20 wash was coming, and I covered it all at 4.17, looking to reshort pops and VWAP rejects but I was then busy with MNOV and didn't trade it again. VWAP rejects worked perfectly on this stock again today, 4.29 down to 4.05 and then 4.29 again with a slow, "lower highs fade" to 3.80's.
| Type | Entry | Exit | Shares | +/- $Amt | $ PnL | % Pnl |
| Short | 4.30 | 4.17 | 3000 | $0.14 | $411.00 | 3.18% |
MNOV
Big gap up from 3.51 to 4.50-5.50 range premarket on biotech FDA approval news. I was still in ROSG, watching both at the same time, it washed out from 5.45 to 5.09 at the open, then bounced back to 5.43, I got 1000 shares short at 5.39 on the way up and was willing more into the spike, 5.43 turned out to be the top so all I had was 1000 shares. It dipped to 5.15 and I could have covered there and replaced it again at 5.30 but I didn't have an order in, it looked like the 5 wash was coming and I covered into that at 4.94 for 45 cents. It bounced off 4.81 back to 5.10, I scaled in short with 3000 shares 5.05 average into that bounce on the VWAP (5.09) reject, it dipped back to 4.86 and I covered 1k at 4.91 1k at 4.87, it held a HIGHER LOW and I missed covering my last 1000 shares anywhere 4.86-4.95, I could have and should have taken the ask at 4.90-4.95 because it was holding a higher low and perking off that level again. It popped to 5.21 in one candle and I added 1000 poorly at 5.07 on the way up and another 1000 at 5.19, now I had 3000 shares 5.10 avg, it dipped to 5.05 and HELD ABOVE VWAP, and I missed covering any, then another candle to 5.40 and I added TERRIBLY again into that, 2400 shares from 5.24-5.35. Now I had 5400 shares 5.18 avg and it hit 5.44 then dipped to 5.28 and held, then up to 5.68 back to 5.53 and held, then straight up to 5.85 in one candle. I'm down $3000 unrealized, I ended up telling Suretrader to put me back to 6:1 margin and I added around 3500 more 5.70's, I was pretty sure it was going to washout lower (which I was right but then I didn't cover anything into the dip), I had around 8800 shares new average 5.41ish and it pulled to 5.52, only down around $1000 if I could have covered it all there but it popped right back up to 5.70's the next candle ($2000+ difference). Then spiked to 5.90, down $4000 unrealized at the very top, I added the last 500 shares that I could at 5.88 and then did a perfect "HOD rejection" and washed out to 5.66 and started fading from there, this trade could have been managed way better if I had covered most of my position into that 5.50 dip and replaced those shares again higher. Got the big washout from 5.66 to 5.45ish, I got 3000 shares covered 5.46-5.48, I was trying to cover more but I missed some fills, and it popped back to 5.65 in one candle, and I readded 2000 5.63 and another 800 5.64, giving me around 9000 shares again 5.48 average and I covered everything 5.23-5.41 for a decent profit overall just because of the size, to put me at $2500 realized on the day. I wanted to reshort VWAP rejects later in the day, there was a great opportunity at 5.50 (VWAP was 5.41 but it was still a VWAP over/under reject because it failed to hold above it and then faded from there and that was the highest point it ever hit the rest of the day). I missed it, there was a big hidden seller at 5.50 that was getting taken with a lot of volume and I was expecting a quick pop to 5.55-5.60, I had an order waiting for a starter position at 5.58, but it failed at 5.50 and I didn't take it, and then I didn't trade it at all the rest of the day, it ended up being a nice slow and steady fader back to the LOD's at 4.80's.
| Type | Entry | Exit | Shares | +/- $Amt | $ PnL | % Pnl |
| Short | 5.39 | 4.94 | 1000 | $0.45 | $450.00 | 8.35% |
| Short | 5.40 | 5.29 | 13832 | $0.11 | $1,545.98 | 2.07% |
- Lessons:
- Once again, do not try to "make a trade work" by readding shares when you wouldn't normally be shorting after missing covers on some of the position, it's much better to just take the ask for a smaller profit than what it was instead of staying in when your thesis for the trade is no longer valid
- Double bottoms/higher lows in the first 20 minutes on a big range momentum stocks are very powerful, especially when coupled with a VWAP reclaim and then VWAP acting as support which makes another higher low, it will likely squeeze WAY HIGHER from there (as can be seen on MNOV today and VLTC yesterday and countless other examples), DO NOT BE STILL IN A SHORT POSITION, take the 5-15 cent loss before it spikes another 30+ cents against you, can always take the loss and reshort again higher once it gets more extended or gives you a reason to short (lower highs or "HOD rejection")
- Do not add, add, add so much so quickly, and never be in that much size at once, ideally just take the trade off for a tiny profit and then look for re-entries later, but if I wanted to be stubborn with it, I could have held my 1-3k shares and then waited patiently for any more adds spaced much further apart, instead of emotionally add, add, adding all the way up when it was still showing no signs of stopping
VLTC
Quick scalp on the washout from 8.34 to 8.42, I just took the quick $80 bucks because I was still in MNOV and had to focus on it. I thought about scalping the washout long around 8 but thought 7's might be coming and was looking for 7.70's for a quick scalp, and was somewhat scared to buy it after what it did yesterday in the last 15 minutes. Really choppy chart/candles today and it's still holding it's gains somehow, "toying" with shorts everyday when they keep thinking it's gonna crack.
| Type | Entry | Exit | Shares | +/- $Amt | $ PnL | % Pnl |
| Long | 8.34 | 8.42 | 1000 | $0.08 | $80.00 | 1.50% |
MNTA
Intraday parabolic from 16.30's to 17.70's, on positive news, an FDA approval release. It pulled back to 17.20ish and held a solid base there then parabolic'd from 17.70 to 19.30 in one candle and then to 20.30 the next candle, and I started shorting 300 shares at 18.48 and "add, add, added" 200-300 shares at a time from 18.80 to 19.85 to give me 1700 shares 19.13 average and the very top was 20.43, down $2000 unrealized in 5 minutes from one forced "add, add, add" intraday news release play (which I wanted to stay away from this month or at least use much smaller size). I should have either taken the small loss on my small amount of shares or WAITED PATIENTLY until I was sure it was topping out, instead of carelessly adding the whole way up and then having no more "bullets" when it was above 20 and looked like it was topping out. Thankfully, it washed out from 20.23 to 19.17 in one candle, then kept fading from there, I covered everything 19.01-18.70 for a $460 dollar profit after being down $2000 unrealized, and then watched it fade to 17 (missing $2000-3000 extra profit but oh well), just absolutely INSANE range, I did not expect that much of a parabolic and I did not expect that much of a pullback, 17 to 20 then back to 17 in 20 minutes. I went long 300 shares at 17.42 and could have sold 17.75 for a quick scalp but I missed that, I was pretty sure this fade was quite overdone, and I added 300 at 17.21 and 300 at 17.02, to give me 900 shares 17.22 avg, and I sold at 17.49 and 17.64 as it spiked to 18.25 (missing a bunch again but oh well). Then I shorted 300 at 17.91 which was a terrible entry considering it hit 18.25, it pulled back to breakeven and wasn't breaking down and I missed covering when I tried to take the ask at 17.90, then I didn't take the $30-100 dollar loss and tried to make it work, adding a bunch on the way up and not covering into the dip for a small profit, then adding more on the next pop to 1900 shares 18.41 average and eventually covering it all for a tiny profit, but way too much size again (even more than the first one) and a completely forced trade, I made $400 after being down $600 and with the risk of this continuing 19+ and I would have been staring at huge loss again. The main reason the trade/my average was bad was because of that first 300 share entry that I knew was a bad entry and I didn't cover for breakeven when I could have. My covers were great at the time as it reclaimed back above VWAP and uptrended back to 19, then it faded from there and then broke back below VWAP and slowly faded back to 17, I didn't reshort but I figured that VWAP re-break was key for more downside (especially when it bounced back to it and was now resistance), I didn't do anymore trades the last 3 hours, I didn't want to give anything back after my huge day from lucky trading.
| Type | Entry | Exit | Shares | +/- $Amt | $ PnL | % Pnl |
| Short | 19.13 | 18.86 | 1700 | $0.27 | $460.00 | 1.41% |
| Short | 18.41 | 18.19 | 1900 | $0.21 | $401.00 | 1.15% |
| Long | 17.22 | 17.56 | 900 | $0.34 | $306.00 | 1.97% |
- Do not add, add, add so much so quickly, and never be in that much size at once, I need to either take the small loss on small size when it's not working, or WAIT PATIENTLY for any adds, this showed no real signs of stopping on the way up until it "stalled" at 20.30's, I had already added all the way up and couldn't add any there when it finally looked like it was the top
- If you know you have a bad entry and you have breakeven, just take it, do not get too greedy and do not try to make it work by adding more to the position later on (I knew my 300 shares at 17.91 was a bad entry because it had already hit 18.25, it came back to breakeven and I didn't take it and I tried to make it work)
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