+4% Peace

 I was out during the open (Friday), so I got a late start in the market. I don't have a good method for finding picks at 10:00 vs before the open, so I used my "volume movers" screen to look for stocks on the move.

What I really did nicely today was sticking with next week's expiration. That gave me time to wait it out.

I tried to go long ORCL based on base breakout, but the tide (cravity!) was too strong for everything today. ORCL traded up to the exact intraday trendline, missed my pl target by 3 cents, and then I stopped for a loss. 

OSTK was sooo juicy, but the option action was very difficult. Wide spreads, and the bid on the put didn't really move well, even though the ask went to my price several times. I ended up yanking all partials, trying to use downticks so I wouldn't hit the bid. Frustrating action there, even if it was a winner. 

So, I have to be content that I got my piece today. Peace. Shabbat shalom.

Market bounce day. NVDA nms lesson

 Market dropped out past 3 days. Today gap up and looked to be a bounce day. 

My usual setups aren't setting up bc the drop. I need to work on an oversold bounce play, something like: Strong stock, oversold but holding good levels, then gapping up above intraday levels. 

I'm not sure NVDA exactly fit the bill on intraday levels. I think I was lured in by Meir. And then I got in over my head. First of all, the option was $12 range. And the spread was $1 or even $2. I know that is a recipe for disaster, bc I don't want to lose extra on the spread for a stop/market order. 

LESSON. Consider that pre-empting for entries is not a good idea on this setup. Preempting might work for a breakout, but an oversold bounce should prove itself first.  

I also got a tiny gainer on UBER which I played well on super small pos (at least I did that one right). And a full size loser on FB puts.

Nice payout, but psychologically very taxing

 This was my hardest/best trade of the day. I got in at 9:50. Didn't take off on new highs, when it pulled back, I added at 10:30 and then I had to wait. Not just wait while green, but wait while it went above and below water. For 90 minutes! But then I got paid so nicely. I shaved off calls as it moved up, which felt meek after waiting all that time, but I did not want to miss capturing gains I waited for. 

Psychologically: This didn't feel like a good trade. It was VERY taxing to wait it out.