Pain

The Nasdaq is busting through the floorboards as we head into the weekend and as I type the final round of margin calls are hitting the tape.  There are a few stocks left in the hot boys encampment but the majority are dead.

The only joy I have today is not buying anything. The only other joy I have is taking 3 scalps in the morning on the Nasdaq to earn a few bucks before the severity of the market decline became too much of a distraction to continue.  Trading is a brute force endeavor.  If you are not mentally ripped then prepare to be torn to shreds.  When statistics became way out of whack and this week’s drawdown on my portfolio set in there was a bit too much distraction to continue ‘chipping away’ at the futures.  So I began checking in every half hour on my positions and stopping out when my levels were hit.

YELP died on me again.  And ZU died.  A piece of my never expected ZU to work.  I was tasked with managing this position longer than I originally anticipated.  When my illiquid weekly option could not be sold for fair value, I took delivery of the shares.  It was like being on spring break and getting fresh with a nice lady at the club only to later find out she’s staying at your hotel.  Now you have a vacation girlfriend.

In other news they’re beating Twitter down today.  It managed to sidestep the bulk of this downdraft before deciding today was as good a day as any to ‘catch up’ to the demented herd.  Alas, who am I to call the herd demented?  After all, they are trampling over my limp corpse into the weekend.

Assets are dead, you need all your money allocated to the value of volatility for this extra VXX Halloween.  I am short on advice today folks.  It is my only short position.  I will be scrutinizing the market and my trades and my very methodology this weekend.  Fortunately, through risk control, I live to fight another day.  I hope you can too.

PS – bless you AT&T, you have been my shoulder to lean on as Xfinity fails into the sleepless weekend.