COIN part 2

I didn't post that I re-shorted COIN on Friday, after I had already made $900, because I wanted to see what the end result of my trade would be, first. I ended up holding over the weekend (very risky!) and I learned some good lessons from this trade...

I told myself that I wasn't going to trade the rest of the day, but this trade "appeared" to be a good opportunity to my novice eyes. Based on what I was seeing I wanted to take $200 and get out... well, that opportunity came, but I didn't take it... huh?! For some reason I didn't take the $180 that was literally given to me... in under 5 minutes... for some unknown reason... oh, right I got greedy!

NOTE: When you set a mental entry/exit... and you've done your DD, trust your instinct. At the EOD it's all you've got... so if you don't trust it, learn to.

I've made just under $2,000 in two weeks (before commissions)... so as far as I was concerned I was doing well...

SIDE NOTE: One thing I have point out and give credit too... Tim Sykes' trading track record since he started back in Nov '07. If you look back at his trades there are several trades where Tim took $200ish... you know what? Don't be to proud to take $200 profit. It all adds up in the end and it's better than losing $100... do the math.

So I passed on my mental stop of a $200 profit and basically watched COIN bounce, which is naturally what stocks do after a major breakdown (lesson learned)... and watched my account go red $1,000... again! Now I've broken two of my rules... 1. I didn't cut my losses at 3% (for the second time on the same stock) and 2. I didn't cover my short for a quick $200 profit.

My explanation is this... I was willing to bet it all (which I did) that COIN would come back down... so I didn't sell at my redline. COIN came crashing down today early in the AM, and then went sideways for the rest of the day...

I was being stubborn because I really wanted it to drop another $.10, so when it finally broke the $6 support level... I came to my senses. I told myself to take a small loss, learn from this experience and live to trade another day. I covered my short @ $5.97 for a 5% net loss or $289 (including commissions).

My account at this point is still up 23.71% and I have to admit, I do not regret handling this particular trade the way I did... for a couple of reasons -

1. It was a solid learning experience... although very risky. The next time I make money on a big short, if I re-short it, I'll be aware that the potential bounce is greater than not... aka I won't re-short it.
2. Not letting my emotions take control of me when I saw my account literally disappear. While holding this POS over the weekend I already had a loss of $500... and I knew it would spike right out of the gate this morning... I was prepared to take a $1,300 loss if I had too. Patience, discipline, patience, discipline.
3. My son helped me have this great realization over the weekend... he's almost two years old, and any parent, aunt/uncle, etc. knows that 2-year olds ask lots of questions, err "question" - "What's that?" HA! That sums me up, in a nutshell, as a day-trader!! Everything I see on a chart, every technical tool I used, all the acronyms, etc. I ask - "What's that?!"

HA! I'm such a noob!

Well, patience young grasshopper... you have time on your side, life experience in your corner, and I'm not trading with scared money (thanks for that lesson Muddy!). Like I've said, if I lose it, I'll just fund my account again... not a big deal... unless of course I keep doing it over and over again... nah, I won't let that happen.