Bollywood & Random Option Plays That Shouldn’t Have Worked…But DID!?

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I have been working on a film called “My Name is Khan.” If you follow Bollywood at all Shahrukh is one of the main actors. Very sweet guy!

Somewhere between all the lovely madness I got $VIX happy and got myself a Jul 38 Put on ADP (Automatic Data Processing) I saw the $VIX jumped just above 30 and I clicked my heals with glee. Trading AGAINST my plan and AGAINST the trend (which is a big no no in my book)

A lesson I learned in poker is that if you are playing and you realize the odds are against you and you have a certain rush kind of feeling like you just chugged a Red Bull or dabbled in other types of uppers that shall remain nameless, you need to get out before it’s too late. Always play with the odds in your favor!

So I was at $10 a contract but the $VIX was looking lazy and I decided to put a fill in to get out at $2.15, the next day somehow some way I got my fill at $2.55. ($50 per contract) Turns out you can make money and still learn a lesson. It was like pulling a straight on the flop really, (I just did this two weeks ago too! You should have seen his face!) BLISS! But not a mistake I will be making again.

I’ll Keep The Kettle Warm…

Seeing the $VIX drop 5.04% on a bearish candle reminded me not to put my apron away so quick. So much for being a lion…PRRRRR.

In the meantime I’ll sift through my watch list and keep the spreads going. If only credit spreads were as sexy as they sound…But hey, don’t get me wrong. I trade it like I see it…Wouldn’t want to get bored and start seeing what I want to see. Gains are gains. And they are perfectly sexy to me:)

$VIX, Daddy…C’Mon…

I have been a good little house cat. I have washed dishes, served tea and patiently nibbled at the market with my credit spreads.

But I’m Not A Cat. I’m A Lion. And I Miss you, Volatility

Just Saw A Hammer Hanging On the $VIX, Oh what will tomorrow’s candle bring?

Let it be a bullish one oh please oh please. I’ll eat all of my vegetables.

Trade It Like You Mean It!
Chantelle

Camping Was Great, Oh Yeah, I Didn’t Go:(

Camping? Bed Ridden Illness? Same Difference?

Turns out they are two completely different experiences. Unfortunately I experienced the latter.

Ok, so this is from another sinus infection. But I still blew my nose with toilet paper.

GRRR…

Chris Saw No Bears. $FAZ Continues To Betray Him

I did however make it down to Los Angeles to hang out with him and it was REALLY nice to see him. He’s all the way out in Ohio…and I’m n San Francisco. He is my favorite person. can you tell by how much I talk about him?

Enough Of That! Let’s Talk Options, Or Lack There Of…I Pulled A Stupid:(

I wrote about my Boo Boo on Options Vista, and I don’t think I can copy it for you here because Google doesn’t like that and since they have recently been promoted to God, I’ll just go ahead and plug Options Vista.

Chantelle’s Big Boo Boo!

I have a show tonight. So wish me luck:)

Trade It Like You Mean It!

Chantelle

‘08 FLASHBACK! $URBN Untangle Your Own Necklaces!

Just woke up and was thinking about a beautiful play in the fall of last year back when I indulged in the guilty pleasure of volatility.

WARNING: When trading against companies you used to work for and harbor resentments towards, you have to REALLY watch your psychology. Make sure you are not seeing what you want to see...I DID NOT RECOMMEND A Bearish Play on URBN at the time I wrote this…wow I’ve never written in future tense before. Neat:)

*This is set to auto post while I’m camping in Yosemite, so if $URBN is up like $80 and $FAZ is at $20 I look forward to sounding like a douche:)

Legged Out of JNJ…Yosemite Here I COME!

Legged Out of JNJ, Ready To Go Camping!

JNJ touched $54.45, Thursday’s low. I didn’t want to see this sink lower than 54.50 which I perceived to be .50 below support on Wednesday. So I bought back the 50 put for .20. I shall let you know my actual gains on the trade once I am fully out of it. Don’t want to jump the gun;)

As of now the 55 Put Option is trading cheaply, (How is .00 for cheap?)

Guess my portfolio is vacation ready…

But I have a little surprise post in store for you while I’m gone. I’ll share with you one of my favorite plays from ‘08 during my first year trading…

Trade It Like You Mean It!

Chantelle

If I Play Nice With Bears Will $FAZ Mysteriously Activate?

While speaking with my brother about the details of our camping trip to Yosemite, I realized that after watching $FAZ fall 18.31% today, he now has an entirely NEW Camp Itinerary.

I could see right through his long pauses and uncomfortable silences when discussing what we should bring to on the trip…

I’m On To You Chris! And Your Secret Plan To Sacrifice Us All To The Bears of Yosemite so $FAZ can go up!

In my Brother’s Mind This Is How it Will Unravel

“Oh Majestic Bears of The Yosemite Wood. I Shall Sacrifice The Following 3 People. For Each Person I Give Unto You, I Only Ask That $FAZ Go Up $1. Your Humble Servant-Chris.”

*Bearta-n. Greek Number of human sacrifices needed to Yosemite Bear for a $1 move in the underlying.

First Sacrifice $FAZ Goes Up $1

Second Sacrifice $FAZ Goes Up $2

Third Sacrifice$FAZ Goes Up $3

OK, so I understand with recent market manipulations and interesting rallies that technical analysis appears to be a thing of the past. But for the sake of reality and the natural order of things, humor me as I go through what I perceive to be the best case scenario with $FAZ.

So, we understand that holding this position for the long haul is a mistake because of time decay and the way that 2x and 3x ETF’s are priced. Assuming you didn’t get into this like 3 weeks ago…OUCH….Let’s say…

$FAZ Double Bottoms At A Support of $4.50, or maybe doesn’t sink lower than where it closed to today at $4.82.

That could be nice. And then maybe it could shoot past resistance at around $6.30 on a nice candle with 3x volume to quasi confirm the reversal. Maybe Maybe. For the sake of those Long $FAZ …hopefully.

Either way, I’ll be watching my back during this camping trip;)

Trade It Like You Mean It!

Some Pretty SWEET News!

Options Vista asked me to be a contributing writer for their site, and I accepted.
I’m really excited:) So have a peek, definitely a lot of amazing writers on that site!

Dear Psychology, I Hate You

It’s Monday, and I’ve been in my JNJ 50/55 Bull Put Spread for a week. I can’t tell what upsets me more…the fact that my mind keeps flipping through every insecurity I have about the trade like a slot machine, never quite able to land on anything…or the fact that I am making up interesting reasons to exit this position so early is so blatantly a metaphor for my relationships in the past, it makes me want to melt into the earth.

Note to self…It’s a credit spread. It’s not like you have naked puts on on a 3x ETF or anything.

There are two states my psychology switches back and forth from.

One is the “Adrenaline Junkie”

Adrenaline Junkie

And the other is the “Yeah, But Hmmm No. No But Hmmm Yeah.”

I can tell I’m not in the mindset to trade and I need to walk away from my portfolio when I say things like “Let’s just do it.” and then feel my heart race as I fumble through the order. Or if I play devil’s advocate over every friggin’ detail of the trade and never quite get clear on one single aspect.

The Adrenaline Junkie is not out today. Which is good. He definitely has lost me some money in the past. I’m glad he’s dormant. But the “Hmmm, ummm yeah no, UGH!” Is all up in my face today.

“Well Chantelle, smart money was out on Friday towards the end of the day, Same thing today too, hmm, yeah, well but no you’re in this for the time decay. Possibly a way to leg out at this point? We could aslo… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Until I can pull my senses together I’m going to walk away from my portfolio. I’ll mess around with the guitar a bit and work on my music site. Then take a fresh perspective on things.

All this for a Credit Spread. Really, Chantelle?

On a lighter note Star Trek was AMAZING. I have never seen any of them.
My father told us at an early age he didn’t want us watching Sci-Fi Space movies where there are no black people in the future.

I later found out he just didn’t like those movies. What a smart man though. I mean, no one in the family was bold enough to stand against that argument.

Anway, I felt like both the people who didn’t see the movies before or the TV Series, and the people who were DIE HARD TREKKIES!!!! Walked away satsified. That’s hard to accomplish.

Took a while to get to the war, and the special effects which I wanted to see. The pre-story was a bit much. The rebel without  a cause going after a girl and fighting and smart but has a criminal record…KILL ME PLEASE.

But when it got to it! It got to it! Man, it was such a good movie:) Turns out I’m a fan of Spock too! Take THAT DAD! Oh, and there were black people in the movie as well. So YAY!

Trade It Like You Mean it;)

Cheers,

Chantelle

Get $FAZzed! It’s Like POP-Locking…Only More Expensive

Have you heard of Getting $FAZzed? It’s kind of like getting high, only it’s more like getting low…returns.(let’s pretend low returns=massive losses for the sake of this article)

AS we know my brother was deep into $FAZ. It went up slightly yesterday so he had a sliver of hope. When it went down again today he bought more shares? Nope, that’s not a question mark, that’s a period. he bought more shares.

So I figured, maybe there is something I’m missing here…maybe this whole $FAZ thing has more to offer than HUGE losses and shattered dreams.

How To Get FAZzed!

Step:1 Find A CONFIRMED Down Trending ETF. It Can’t Just Be Down-Trending Though. It’s Gotta Be Headed Nowhere Fast… So 2x is OKAY, But 3x is Money!

Step:2 Get A Bunch Of Shares!

Step 3: Check Your Losses

Step:4 Get A Call From Your Girlfriend Saying She’s Leaving You For Someone Else

Step:4 Take A Shot, And Buy MORE $FAZ!

I Actually have to step in here amidst all this Tom-Foolery and admit that I honestly don’t see any REAL strength in the banks. And that is definitely evident in my IRA. But…

JESUS, what ever happened to good ol’ stock picking? Trading For A Living! Finding an up-trending stock, a nice break through resistance on volume, maybe a price pattern confirmation like a double bottom, a nice juicy buy signal candle.

Call me crazy, but I don’t 2x or 3x much of anything. Those ETF’S work a lot differently as well, which I don’t think most people notice. I won’t explain how they work because I have absolutely NO IDEA. Which is probably one of the many reasons I’m not $FAZzing much these days.

I can see maybe someone with A LOT of money to work with doing this for more of a long term play…maybe? But I find it interesting that some people will read these books like “Fooled By Randomness” and get inspired to use the same trading strategies with $2,500, $3,000 accounts. It just seems like it’s so easy to bleed out so fast that way.

I invite you to let me know what you think. I am honestly new to options. I’ve only been trading for a year, so I’m sure there is whole bunch I don’t know. So feel free to school me. (You might not want to be mean about it, I’m Puerto-Rican) But I’d love to hear a good defense on a short term play on $FAZ.

Anyway, I do like the fact that my brother is not fearful. When it came down to it, he bought more shares when $FAZ went down. He has the guts to trade what he sees and no matter what $FAZ does that will help him in the long run. For the sake of my brother’s portfolio I hope it makes a huge come back.

Cheers,

Chantelle