QQQQ Swing Short Triggered; StockTickr Interview
I want to talk about today’s trade based on the setup I posted last night, but first I’ve gotta get something off my chest:
The most textbook failure into a textbook swing short setup that I’ve ever caught:
A gap-down opening, a weak retrace to near the previous close, then a failure of the retrace, then a failure of the opening range and the previous day’s low (which were within pennies of each other). Finally, the BIG failure of the 11/22 Hanging Man I wrote about last night, a 10-minute retrace back up to the failure point of 44.26, then it’s OFF TO THE RACES! Here’s the chart for the entire day:
Now I’ve just gotta find Michelle B. and bum a few Red Apples off of her. [It’s a little celebration joke about “I don’t smoke, but if I did…” — ed.]
In Other News…
Dave at StockTickr.com has been kind enough to post an interview with me on his site. I’ve followed his interviews with other traders, and to be included in the same series as that group is very flattering. Thanks Dave![Insert Wayne and Garth here chanting “He’s not worthy! He’s not worthy!”]
Be sure to check out Dave’s entire site while you’re there. You can scroll thru various folks’ StockTickr portfolios and see how they’re doing. Here’s the one for the stocks profiled on WallStrip, for example. Also, there’s the Pro service (I haven’t tried it yet) which has a built-in trading journal and even automatically generates charts for all your trades. Sounds interesting.
Yaser Anwar said,
November 27, 2006 @ 9:56 pm
Nice charts!
Lloyd said,
November 27, 2006 @ 11:02 pm
Good call…let’s see some follow through…actually really nice call, I was totally unprepared for downside action even after reading your blog on Sunday…but I managed to refrain from trading…good job and nice interview…
Will said,
November 27, 2006 @ 11:24 pm
Yaser- thanks, and thanks for the mention on your site. Looks like you’ve got some serious inside experience and quite an analytical mind… remember the rest of us when we’re trying to crash a party on your yacht one day!
Lloyd- Thanks! I was at work today, or else I’m confident I could have found a way to LOSE money even with the great setup! Instead I had to put in stop limit orders and let the market do its thing. I think not having the option of micro-managing the trade put me into a better position… I had two separate orders at different support/resistance levels and they both got filled and are currently solidly in the money. Guess that’s why Dave Landry tells swing traders to “get a job” and their performance will improve.
em said,
November 28, 2006 @ 3:07 am
nice job Will. I was watching QQQQ fall and remembered your post. Gotta love it when things really ‘fall’ into place. Did you end up entering on the low of the hanging man you mentioned?
Michelle B said,
November 28, 2006 @ 5:30 am
Hi Will!
What’s the QQQQ? Is that something we can trade? (teehee)
Great job! Thanks for the details. Nice example of using both anticipation and confirmation for the move, and an even better example of ‘remote’ trading. Nice niche building.
My greengrocer only had green apples, so they are on their way chez vous via a carrier pigeon. If desired, I suppose you could dye them red. (teehee)
Dave said,
November 28, 2006 @ 5:49 am
Nice trade and thanks for the interview. You do a great job with this site!
President Fox said,
November 28, 2006 @ 7:38 am
Hi there,
Read your stocktickr interview. Ever consider IB instead of Ameritrade? Would save a lot in commissions (a 200 share purchase costs $1, 400 shares=$2, etc). If commissions do not total $30 for the month, you have to pay $10 for market data but even in such a case, your total savings should be substantial. IB is also renowned for price improvement, lightning executions etc.
Can also be used in conjunction with Quotetracker - a perfect combination, IMHO.
Used to have an Ameritrade APEX a/c myself, switched about 9 months ago but kept $200 or so in the account. My a/c is still designated to be an APEX a/c and so I still have access to Advanced Analyzer, level 2 etc. Similar set-up might suit you.
Regards
Will said,
November 28, 2006 @ 7:59 am
em - Yes, I had one order just under the break and a second order to double-down a little farther out (an old Phantom of the Pits “press your position when you’re right” trick — opposite of averaging down). The fact that the stock “fell into place” so nicely was of course pure fortune; it could just as well have headed to the moon. But hey, I’ll take these well-behaved moves when they come, once every million years or so
Michelle - I still catch myself punching in “111111″ (QQQ) for phone quotes and getting error messages sometimes. And it still bugs me every time I think about “QQQQ is now the symbol for QQQ which is the symbol for a tracking stock”! Thanks for the note.
President Fox - haven’t tried any direct-access, per-share or deep-discount brokers, but if IB offers similar execution and free tools, plus would save me a few THOUSAND a year in commissions, my loyalty could switch in a heartbeat. I’ve been hesitant because of the (lack of) price improvement with many brokers which more than offsets the difference in commission. But then again, I’m talking 1999, and maybe everyone plays a little better now. Thanks!
President Fox said,
November 28, 2006 @ 1:22 pm
Will
As many people choose IB for its price improvement as for its commissions. IB pioneered the use of smart routing technology which searches for the best price available.
I never had any problems with Ameritrade but direct access brokers like IB would be regarded as a much better option for quick executions/price improvement.
Also great for different order types, including One-Cancels-Other, which is very handy if you need to leave your screen.
You should check out http://www.elitetrader.com/br/?action=view&R_FirmID=43 for various appraisals of IB.
Could also ask for feedback from other bloggers - most seem to use IB (a sizable Cybertrader contingent also).
Would be very surprised if any recommend Ameritrade over IB.
Good trading,
PF
Jamie said,
November 28, 2006 @ 9:00 pm
Hey Will,
Congrats on the Stock Tickr interview. And great call on the hanging man!
Will said,
November 28, 2006 @ 11:38 pm
Thanks Jamie!
Pres Fox - will definitely look more into direct-access trading; I’ve been reviewing my trade history for the year, and the commissions are way up into the thousands of dollars; a savings of even a buck or two a trade would really add up
Also, I’d like to thank a young lady named Susan who emailed me about the same subject a couple of weeks ago. Susan, if you’re there please feel free to add your input to the thread!