SNX - The Washington Island Winner

[billyjoe]

g92069,
Heck ya. I'd be proud of any 16.4% gain anytime.

-------------billy

[skiracer]

it's best in life to listen and remain open minded to everything. at least then you are in a position to pick and choose what may be a better path. but no one can argue with taking a 16.4% gain off the table. it's always better in your pocket than given back to the markets. stops are great if you understand how to use them and the technical aspects of where to properly place them so it's harder for market makers to take you out which even in the best case scenarios happens sometimes. good luck.

[g92069]

Skiracer, I appreciate your input on how to appropriately apply stops to protect and maximaze profits. I have left some money on the table I would have preferred to take with me, based on my lack of know how.

I also am now aware of your 10am theory. With some appropriately placed stops and a bit of hesitation on the trigger finger, I could have finished the day up 18.9% opposed to the 16.4% I sold at.

In any case, I appreciate your efforts to educate the uninformed.

G

[Karel]

Thanks for the explanation, ski. I am currently a bit overextended in my real money portfolio, so I was happy enough to close the deal when people came knocking on my door offering 28.70 for SNX.

Regards,

Karel

[mrmarket]

no one is knocking anyone ernie. it was a great pick. it made me make the play. but my feelings are that everyone should try to broaden their minds and horizons. and if in doing so you fatten your wallet in the process that wouldnt hurt either. the last two were both great picks. i just felt that there is much more to be made if a bit more thought and appreciation were given regarding the technical aspects of the chart and what that will afford you on the entries and exits. but certainly well done regardless. and im now waiting for the next one.

I'd love to do it..but I don't know how. It's no different from asking me to play the saxophone (I can't).

[skiracer]

Hi Ski, didn't SNX drop below your stop level of 27.75? How do you handle these things, and how do you adjust the stop?

Regards,

Karel

SNX opened this morning at 27.86 which was .11 above my stop from yesterday p.m. at 27.75. i'm usually up around 5 a.m. looking at the overnight markets and the currency (forex) markets to get an idea of which way the wind is going to blow that day. this morning before the opening bell i removed the stop because i was going to be physically watching the open so if i wanted to or had to exit i would be able to. most of the time if i place a stop at or near the previous days closing bell i usually remove it in the a.m. before the opening bell if i am going to be at my screens in the office. if i have to leave the office or wont be in front of the screen at the open i will place a stop or leave the one from the day before in place. my feelings after the earnings report came out were that SNX was going to go past ernies target so i had kind of made my mind up to ride it out. that was the reasoning behind my removing the stop. it got kind of dicey there for a bit in the initial half hour after the open when it dropped to 27.26 and i had my finger on the trigger a couple of times but it held up and recovered on a big down day which showed how strong it is. some of the new guys here havent heard me say this before but i must have said it hundreds of times here. i very seldom make a trade before 10 a.m. because a very high percentage of times those gaps up or down usually come back to around the previous days closing price around 10 a.m. and then do whatever it is that they are going to do. today was a prime example of that with SNX. big gap down at the open only to recover by 10 a.m. and stay above the previous days closing price all day.
when i want to use a stop overnight i usually look for a strong line of support like a moving average line or a fibonacci retracement line that happens to be near the price action at that time of the day or at the close. I'm fortunate because my time is basically my own to do with as i please being in business for myself and having a couple of construction offices that i am in most of the day during market hours. so i can physically watch my screens almost all the time which is a big advantage just being there to see how the action is developing.
there are times when i do get stopped out of a trade and then the stock comes back and goes higher than where i got stopped out at and that is all part of playing the game. my feelings are that when you have a trade going like FUQI and SNX, they are so exceptional that you have to maximize the opportunity. a well thought out strategy with stops and trailing stops placed at the right points can and will protect your gains and insure greater profits. as with anything it takes experience and trial and error to gain the insight and feel for using them to your advantage.
sometimes i come across abit authoritative. i just want to see everyone do well and am not trying to shove anything down anyone's throat. so i hope everyone that reads these posts understand that and takes them for what they are worth.

[rickg777]

Skiracer

Swing traders don't have 3 out of 10 winners?? I don't know who your acquaintances are? Here's an accounting of my trades - not bragging - although I know Mr. Market wouldn't disapprove.
3/17 DNDN +397% (not pure luck, watched it for a year)
3/23 FAS -8%
4/8 FTI - +4%
4/7 BAC +45%
4/24 FAS +16%
5/6 BUCY +10%
5/6 FAS +3%
5/8 BAC -5%
5/18 BAC Even
5/28 ARO +5%
6/2 BLUD +4%
6/5 BAC +6%
6/12 RF +5%
6/12 BAC -7%
6/17 FUQI +12%
7/1 SNX +12.2%
None of these were held more than 1 week. Most were held 3 days or less. These trades are not B.S. Not including DNDN (which is a once in a lifetime) my other trades are up ac cumlatively 102.2% in about 3 months. I'm just trying to show you there is another way to making profitable trades, other than milking a stock for all you can, and tying up your $$. I do enjoy your detailed charts though.
Even though I admit I don't have patience once I'm in a trade, sometimes I'm too quick on the sell trigger, but I do pick my trades very carefully. Some of my trades involve buying with more than 20% of my trading capital, so I have to be very careful. If I have a string of losing trades, I just get out of the market for a while to regain my composure.

How did I know you'd remove the stop? Don't get married to it, there's new stocks breaking out every day . For example if you're still holding ARO it would be dead $$ for the last month, $$ that could be put to better use.
Just my .02 cents.

[Karel]

im still holding at 28.38 / +18%. broaden your horizons, fatten your wallets

Hi Ski, didn't SNX drop below your stop level of 27.75? How do you handle these things, and how do you adjust the stop?

Regards,

Karel

[skiracer]

im still holding at 28.38 / +18%. broaden your horizons, fatten your wallets

[Karel]

no one is discounting the pick. it was a good one. what you do with the trade is another thing altogether. maximizing the opportunity is something completely different. being happy with 10 -15% is up to each individual. getting as much as you can out of any good setup is much different. i thought you pushed the envelope a bit farther. good work. it's similar to understanding the technical aspects of it's chart and holding out for a better entry if the chart shows that possibility.

I don't know how to read charts and I don't know how to time the market so I don't get involved in things I know I will do poorly.

Same for me! I must disavow all praise for my handling of this trade, as I was only able to make the trade the next day, when I was pleasantly surprised to find it at a discount to $$$Mr. Market$$$'s price.

In my own portfolio, now suffering from a beakdown in my (historical) records, and in my Marketocracy portfolio, I try, for my own picks, to be a bit more ambitious in keeping them longer, when that seems warranted. But I have so little knowledge of charts, and so little time, that market timing is firmly beyond me.

Regards,

Karel

[skiracer]

I don't know how to read charts and I don't know how to time the market so I don't get involved in things I know I will do poorly.

no one is knocking anyone ernie. it was a great pick. it made me make the play. but my feelings are that everyone should try to broaden their minds and horizons. and if in doing so you fatten your wallet in the process that wouldnt hurt either. the last two were both great picks. i just felt that there is much more to be made if a bit more thought and appreciation were given regarding the technical aspects of the chart and what that will afford you on the entries and exits. but certainly well done regardless. and im now waiting for the next one.

[mrmarket]

no one is discounting the pick. it was a good one. what you do with the trade is another thing altogether. maximizing the opportunity is something completely different. being happy with 10 -15% is up to each individual. getting as much as you can out of any good setup is much different. i thought you pushed the envelope a bit farther. good work. it's similar to understanding the technical aspects of it's chart and holding out for a better entry if the chart shows that possibility.

I don't know how to read charts and I don't know how to time the market so I don't get involved in things I know I will do poorly.

[skiracer]

Thanks, ski. But I think Ernie had something to do with it, too!

Regards,

Karel

no one is discounting the pick. it was a good one. what you do with the trade is another thing altogether. maximizing the opportunity is something completely different. being happy with 10 -15% is up to each individual. getting as much as you can out of any good setup is much different. i thought you pushed the envelope a bit farther. good work. it's similar to understanding the technical aspects of it's chart and holding out for a better entry if the chart shows that possibility.

[Karel]

nice hold and play karel. 18%.

Thanks, ski. But I think Ernie had something to do with it, too!

Regards,

Karel

[skiracer]

In at 24.25! Go, SNX!

Regards,

Karel

nice hold and play karel. 18%.