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December 3, 2008


Ultra-emotional, Double Stress, 2x Moody

You’ll recall my bragging about the buy signal in the Ultrashort Financials (SKF) at $169 after it closed above $260 just three days later. SKF traded above $300 the next day and then reversed, collapsing to around $110 over the next week. The entire time my model said “sit.”

The kind of volatility we’re seeing in the Ultra-ETFs makes for great day trading, but for a system that works off weekly prices, it wreaks havoc.

13 Responses to “Ultra-emotional, Double Stress, 2x Moody”

  1. Hudson said:

    Oh, give it 24 more hours….

  2. Born2Code said:

    does not make great for day trading either… most days they are gaping and then chopping around with long tails and volatile actions taking out stops left and right… i think i had two days in the last 2-3 weeks were a good solid trend got established during the day and all other days have been nightmares to trade.

  3. C. Maoxian said:

    @Hudson: Yes, indeed, it may go to Ultra-idiot levels before the system says exit. :)

    @Born2: Looking at the intraday SKF chart, looks like there are quite a few trend days, but you’re in the fray and I’m not, so you know better.

  4. dante said:

    Hi Mao, I am looking at your trading for dummy series. I have gone over several of them, but am too inexperienced to deduce the pattern on the charts.

    Do you have a post summarizing the main concepts and rules to day-trade by?

    I know the importance of predefining losses and cutting losses quickly (with a physical stop loss), and risking only a small percentage per trade.

    I am especially in how you decide where to enter and exit trades using the intra-day 15-minute charts.

  5. C. Maoxian said:

    @dante: NO, there’s no single post summarizing things but if you read through all 95 lessons you should begin to get the picture. You want to enter long above down bars and inside bars after an impusive move up, and short below up and inside bars after an impulsive move down… that’s the basic idea.

  6. dante said:

    Do you mean enter when there is somemthing similar to an intra-day retracement?

  7. Hudson said:

    Wrong 24 hours.. SDS and SKF closed Exactly on the rising trendline. The next session shall show if this bear can rise or not.

  8. C. Maoxian said:

    @dante : Yes.

  9. dante said:

    5) When would you stop trading for the day?
    5) Right after you enter the position or lunchtime, whichever comes first.

    Does this mean you usually enter only one trade in the morning on any day?

  10. C. Maoxian said:

    @dante: No, not necessarily. I was just trying to encourage people not to overtrade by including those two lines in every lesson.

  11. dante said:

    From one of your dummy series:
    “The answer is that good trading is 10% methodology and 90% psychology. People defeat themselves.”

    By psychology, do you mean breaking your own rules, such as removing stops, and not taking profits?

  12. C. Maoxian said:

    @dante: Yes. Can you email me questions instead of asking in the comments, please?

  13. dante said:

    Thanks for your reply.

    Ok, will do if I have more questions. Sorry for clogging up the comments here, but those archived posts did not have a section at the bottom for me to post comments.

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