Recent content by themadride

The short answer is "both". In the particular instance I think you are talking about I didn't use any stops because I chose to buy another traunch at a lower level and dollar cost average my way into the position. So, depending on how you look at it, it could certainly be said that I was...

I just thought I would share my 2 cents about the bad experience I had with Firstrade.com I started my account by wiring in some funds from my bank. Firstrade told me that the funds would post immediately upon arrival. My bank wire was sent in a batch at 11:00am on a Thursday. My funds...

9th TRADE 9th TRADE: GENERAL MOTORS (GM) Going short on GM. The government decided not to bank roll their Chrysler merger. (Hurray Capitalism...Booo Socialism) However, it was the wrong call. For some reason the stock went up a tiny bit. Nov $5.00 Put GM - I bought in at $96. - Sold at...

8th TRADE 8th TRADE: MCDONALDS (MCD) Started hearing news about the new Blackberry being a huge hit. Verizon had a couple of days before it reported earnings. It also had a nice dividend, plans to buy Alltel, and some upward momentum. It actually might have been a bit risky because it had...

6th & 7th TRADE 6th & 7thTRADE: WMT Still trying to play on the recession resistant stocks. Everything energy and financial just seems like a guessing game. Nov $60.00 Call WMT KL - I bought in at $122 - Sold at $1148 After brokerage costs I had a net gain of $14.80 NEXT MORNING AFTER PULL...

5th TRADE 5th TRADE: MCDONALDS (MCD) I still felt like MCD was a good bet, so after a pull back I decided to trade it again with a call option of a higher strike price. Nov $60.00 Call MCD KL - I bought in at $135 - Sold at $185. After brokerage costs I had a net gain of $38.80 Note: This...

4th TRADE 4th TRADE: PFIZER (PFE) My worst trade so far. Purely retarded. I had just bought in too high for MCD and I felt like the day was still going good, but that I had made a mistake with MCD. So, I decided to buy PFE. I think they had reported a decent quarter or something....but...

Conversaton I'm definitely not offended. The problem is that with only 400 in my account at the start it is kind of difficult to even find a trade that allows me to risk a small percent of my account value. In my particular scenario, I felt like I had no choice but to risk a lot at the start...

3rd Trade 3rd TRADE: MCDONALDS (MCD) No tip this time. Just thinking about recession resistant stocks. I was betting that MCD would come out with a good quarter and that everyone would be looking for a stock just like it to weather the storm. I made some BIG mistakes in this one. Nov...

Conversation I hope you kind folks don't get offended if I ignore or rebuff some of your suggestions. Part of the reason why I decided to make this journal is because I wasn't pleased with the advice I heard and read when I decided to start. I either don't understand or disagree with the...

2nd TRADE 2nd TRADE: HEINZ (HNZ) Another Cramer tip. Heinz had a newly high dividend yield after the big market drop. Everything was “cheap”, but everything also seemed risky. I figured many people would see the logic of the dividend play…so I picked one and ran with it. Nov $45...

1st TRADE 1st TRADE: FAMILY DOLLAR (FDO) I started my brokerage account with $400.00 For my first trade I took a Jim Cramer tip that I thought was both a good short and long term investment, picked a day that seemed like it might be bullish, and stuck my toes in the water. Nov $25 Call...

I hope some of you find this trading journal useful. I just started trading two weeks ago for the first time and I’ve already made some great money, great big mistakes, and learned a lot. I plan to lay it all out here. I’m going to describe the greatest calls and dumbest of mistakes as...

Hello there, I'm new to the board and new to trading. I've been trading options so far. It's been a tough market to get started in, but I'm not risking much money yet and hopefully I can learn a lot by the time the market stabilizes. I'm a young guy in South Carolina. I hope I can learn...