I decided to close out the week on a good note and not put on any new positions. This week brought in about 25% in profits bringing my account up to the levels I posted yesterday. Many should haves, would haves, could haves, especially today, but that’s the nature of a small account. I must be extremely choosy compared to others and as a result, I will miss out. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can infuse my account with a couple thousand dollars to help diversify. It would be considered a personal loan to my account so I’d be forced to remove that infusion by the end of the year. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that you never play with money you can’t afford to lose.
With that being said, the Shadowtrader on thinkorswim always closes the week out with a quote from some movie. After finally hearing it (I normally take off early on Fridays), I discovered it was a quote from Caddyshack. I think it’s hilarious so of course I’ll post it here. Thanks to the folks at Shadowtrader and thinkorswim for being the best brokers I’ve ever dealt with. (FYI, new thinkorswim release this Saturday!)
No action taken on Visa so far with today’s selloff. The strength of the selloff actually concerns me so as a result I have yet to take any positions on it. Here’s what I have for Visa right now. Be back after lunch!
Over the past few months, I’ve seen my portfolio whittle away to almost nothing. Granted, I started with practically nothing (in the market’s view) but still. After trading for nearly a year, I still have quite a bit to learn. However, some folks at thinkorswim have given me a task in order to refine my trading skills. In short, in order to be a great trader, it pays to be a specialist. That is, if you want to become an options trader, trade only options and nothing else. Futures trader? Same thing.
There’s a twist to the homework assignment. Now that you’re focused on being specialized in a vehicle, take that one step further and specialize in a single underlying and just that single underlying. Learn how it moves, how it trades, what items affect it. Learn it for an entire year. While that seems somewhat excessive, it does appear to be a good exercise in focus and trading refinement. That’s why I’ve decided with the transparency of my trades, Visa will now be my project. That’s right. Visa will now be my bitch.
I will try my hardest to trade Visa exclusively. There will be times I will deviate, if only because some setups out there are so blatantly obvious or the Option Addict is on a tear (when is he never?). So starting tomorrow, here’s the game plan for Visa now that I’ve sold what May calls I had left on it.
There’s the short term game plan for Visa. I’m waiting for a short term pullback near the $83 region. With the recent $15 run-up in 48 hours, I’m expecting some sort of a breather. The other alternative is to buy on a breakout of $87.50, or today’s 52-week high and maintain a tight stop. With May options coming close to expiration, I will most likely be looking at June calls, somewhere in the 90/95 area. I don’t forsee Visa heading below $80 any time soon to be quite honest.
Let’s see how the game plan works tomorrow. Good night!
So today begins Transparency 101. My portfolio is clear, my cash is low, but life appears to be good. Let’s see how far I can turn this paltry sum of money into something respectable. Current goal is to reach $10,000 by the end of the year. I will be adding additional funds throughout the year as needed but the overall goal is to have $10,000 in trading funds by the end of the year. Let’s see what happens.
