This Week @MidwayTrades
This is a series where I record my weekly trade review. I walk through each trade and adjustment of the week and explain why I did it, where it worked, and where I screwed up. You see it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s an opportunity to watch me as I learn from my own live trading. As with my other series, always reach out with questions or comments.
Week Ending April 19, 2024: Riding the Downside
So we had a definite down week and my trade from last week came off as a loser, but I put on 2 other trades that did quite well and was still up for the week. This episode has a lot of good lessons with how to deal with the downside while still trading in a non-directional style. Take a look and tell me what you think!
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Week Ending April 12, 2024: The Return of Volatility
It's a short video this week as I only did one trade since I waited out the CPI. But the trade got challenged due the increase in volatility so there are good lessons here. If you want to watch an options trader review his trades, take a look. And, as always, feel free to reach out to talk options.
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Week Ending April 5, 2024: CPI Prep
This week was a bit of a roller coaster plus we have a CPI print next week, but my trades were well positioned and I took 3 off for good profits. But I did make a few tweaks to my trades based on the fact that we are near all-time highs as well as the big event next week. Take a look and let me know what you think. I like to talk trading.
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Week Ending March 29. 2024: Marching Forward
I wrap on a the week strong which was the end of a very strong March. I talk about why I think I did well in March as well as go over 3 trades I worked this week. Even when the market isn't moving around much, it's possible to make good money. In fact, that's when I have my best trades!
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Week Ending March 22, 2024: Picking a Fight
This is an FOMC week and I used that to put on a ratio fly earlier than I usually would to see if it would get challenged so I could see how I executed my trade plan. Like Seraph from The Matrix, “You never really know someone until you fight them”, I don't like scaling up a trade that's only been successful. So this is an interesting week not just for the usual FOMC fun, but seeing how I handle the ratio fly when it goes against me. Take a look and reach out with any questions or comments.
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Week Ending March 15, 2024: A CPI Nothing Burger
So there was another CPI and although it came in worse than expected, to the market it was much ado about nothing. While I traded around it, I had a very good week and closed some trades for profit. The ratio flies are still working as well as calendars. Take a look and let me know what you think or if you have questions about what I'm doing. That's what makes this stuff fun.
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Week Ending March 8, 2024: Something New For All-time Highs
As we push towards all-time highs, I re-discovered a trade I haven't done in years that I believe can work well here, and it has. So if you're tired of my usual calendars and butterflies, take a look at something a little different. I also did a couple of calendars. All in all, March started out quite well. Take a look and reach out with any questions or comments.
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Week Ending March 1, 2024: Breaking New Highs
This week I wrap up a rough February with some good trades while the market climbed to new highs by the end of the week. My trades were very well positioned and for a week that could be potentially difficult, it went quite well. I also do a wrap up of February and an annual update.
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Week Ending February 23, 2024: Sometimes Cash in Better
This will be likely the shortest video of the series because I only did one trade this week. I just didn't like the risk of the $NVDA earnings hype so I got out before the announcement and let things settle down. As a non-directional trader, sometimes cash is ok. Still some good things to see here so take a look and ask any questions you may have.
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Week Ending February 16, 2024: Learning Pets vs Cattle...again
This was not my finest week. We did have a CPI print and I did hold one trade through it that I shouldn't have and took a bad loss. But this is how I (and hopefully you) learn this stuff. I have other examples of well managed trades as well so it's a good comparison. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending February 9, 2024: Breaking 5000
After a couple of days of trying, the S&P broke over and closed over 5000. On the way up I manage three different trades as we prepare for the CPI next week.
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Week Ending February 2, 2024: Patience Pays Off
Lots of events this week with a ton of big earnings and, of course, the FOMC announcement. I came into the week with 3 trades on and all 3 came off for good profit. I put on a new trade that faced a challenge and I did a review of January. Lots of good stuff here. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending January 26, 2024: All-Time Highs
So the rise in the market continued this week which made me work quite a bit and not close anything this week. But that's ok, I managed what I already had on coming into the week and added on one new trade as we head into the heart of earnings season and the next FOMC meeting.
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Week Ending January 19, 2024: Soaring to New Heights
Despite everything going on in the world, the market decided to close at all time highs this week. That meant I had to work harder on a couple of trades but I did get 2 others off for good profit early in the week before the run-up. Some good stuff here. Take a look and feel free to reach out with any questions or comments.
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Week Ending January 12, 2024: Hedging the CPI
With the CPI this week I decided to try a hedge as my trade went through it. This is something I haven't done in a while so I decided to try it. The trade didn't work out but I learned how I want to handle this situation in the future. I also put on a new trade that is working much better so far. So if you would like to see something a bit different from me, take a look. And, as always, I appreciate any feedback and discussions.
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Week Ending January 5, 2024: A Good Start to the New Year
New Year, new goals and the work starts here. I put on a couple of trades and take one off for a good profit. Not a bad way to start things off. If you want to watch as I trade options and learn along with me, take a look. Now is as good of a time as any to start!
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Week Ending December 29, 2023: Wrapping Up a Good Year
The last week of the year can be a bit unusual due to it being thinly traded so I didn't put on anything new but did manage a trade from last week to a decent profit. I also do a high level view of December and 2023 which overall was a good year with a good annualized return (30%) so I'm not complaining. Onward to next year!
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Week Ending December 22, 2023: A Matter of Timing
The last 2 weeks of the year can be interesting as they tend to be thinly traded a lot of professionals are on vacation. And this week we had an interesting move after a bond auction and my timing on that was...let's just say...unfortunate. But in this are some good lessons about risk management. So take a look and tell me what you think. One of the big reasons I do this is to start some conversations about options trading.
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Week Ending December 15, 2023: CPI, PPI, and FOMC
This was the last big event week of the year with Tues and Weds full of news culminating with the FOMC on Weds afternoon. As I trade non-directionally I traded around these events and made a decent profit. I'll talk about why I made the moves I did and how the Greeks change around events.
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Week Ending December 8, 2023: Theta and Big Events
The goal of this week is to show what happens to the greeks (especially theta) as a big event (or set of events in this case) occur shortly before the contracts expire. On paper, the trade should be quite profitable, but reality is different due to the pending events. This is a really important lesson for newer (and maybe not so newer) traders so I'm glad I was able to show this phenomenon. Mathematical pricing models can't account for real world events so situational awareness is needed to avoid getting squashed. I hope this helps some folks out.
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Week Ending December 1, 2023: Persistence Pays Off
This week was calm and, therefore, good for my style of trading...just what I needed at the end of a very challenging November. I talk about the changes I made this month to get back on the right track and the importance of sticking with it. It's easy to get discouraged after taking some losses but these are a part of the business. I do a quick review of November and look forward to finishing the year strong.
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Week Ending November 24, 2023: Thankful For a Broken Trend
Thanksgiving week can be a bit strange with a day off in the middle of the week, a half day on Friday and, generally, thinner trading due to the holiday. But I managed to break my losing streak and put up a win with one trade and, essentially, breaking even on another. If I trade much this week, I definitely play it with a bit more caution, but I did make some money so it's all good.
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Week Ending November 17, 2023: CPI Gap Up
November continues to be a challenging month and this week we had a new challenge...a really big overnight gap up for the CPI. That blew out a trade I had on that was otherwise in good shape. Good lessons here. I did put on a new trade the next day that did ok this week. Take a look at what can happen when big gaps happen.
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Week Ending November 10, 2023: Greed Kills
A good lesson this week. I tried to squeeze a few more percent out of a trade and the market moved against me and I ended up losing on it. While that isn't great, it's a great lesson and that's why I do this. I'm learning and my hope is to have others learn along with me. I put on another trade as well handled the moves this week quite well. So take a look and let me know what you think
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Week Ending November 3, 2023: Tweaking a Trade Plan
So as we move into November, the market went straight up which is a challenge for my style of trading. And this lead me to change how I do one of my trades which I think will lower losses when it doesn't work. Volatility dropped a lot this week so I'm back to being long Vega and I start doing that this week as well. Good stuff here as I think it's important to see what isn't going well and tweaking strategies accordingly.
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Week Ending October 30, 2023: More Profits on the Downside
We were mostly down this week so that allowed me to lean a bit short delta and make some quick money. Nothing wrong with that. I also review the month of October which was very good and put me back on track for my annual goal. Take a look and feel free to reach out with questions or just to talk about options.
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Week Ending October 20, 2023: Double Dipping on the Downside
So we had a very volatile week with the market going down for most of it, but I was able to properly position a few trades that all came off very quickly for nice profits, including a double dip of my put diagonal. This is a good example on how to lean with the market but still be non-directional. Take a look and let me know what you think!
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Week Ending October 13, 2023: Will They? Won't They?
This was another wild week with all eyes on news that the market was using to guess the next move of the Fed. I had one trade from last week that I had to watch and manage and I did put on a small new one. Both were successful but took a bit more work and attention than my typical trade so there's lots of good lessons here. Take a look and let me know what you think and what you're doing. It's always good to talk options.
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Week Ending October 6, 2023: An Indecisive Market
As the new month/quarter starts the market couldn't really decide which way it wanted to go so it tried going down, then changed its mind and went up such that there wasn't a lot of difference by the end of the week from the start. But I was able to take advantage of the down move early in the week and manage the up move later in the week. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending September 29, 2023: Patience Pays Off
So as we wrap up the week/month/quarter, I had a very busy week of trading closing 3 trades for target profit and, thus, making my goal for the month. This week was all about patience...the market was a bit crazy but by waiting and being patient, my trades did well. Lots of good lessons here so take a look. I also do a monthly/quarterly review of my progress.
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Week Ending September 22, 2023: Flipping the Vol Script
This week was the long awaited FOMC announcement and it definitely shook things up a bit. But I weathered it well and made money. One of the ways I did this was to flip a trade from long to short vega as IV spiked. I don't always do this but I think it's a nice tool to have in your trading toolbelt. So take a look and feel free to ask questions, comment or otherwise reach out.
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Week Ending September 15, 2023: Recovery
So this week started not only my recovery from surgery but also my account from my mishaps the last couple of weeks. We had a CPI that didn't move the markets much but some other things that did. I got a decent profit on one trade and set the other one up for profit next week. Take a look if you want to see a retail options trader navigate this market.
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Week Ending September 8, 2023: Cleaning Up the Aftermath
A short video for a short trading week due to the holiday in the US. I didn't put on anything new this week, mostly because I had surgery on Friday and didn't want to have anything on during that time. But I did clean up the last of my messy trades from August. The key here is showing how to try and minimize a loss which is an important skill as a trader since you can't win them all.
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Week Ending September 1, 2023: I Wrecked August
The first half of August went very well...and I managed to wreck it in the 2nd half. Lots of lessons here. This is a series about learning and sometimes the lessons are hard ones. But it's great content as I review what I did wrong and talk about how to do better. I don't just post the good stuff. Hopefully folks find that valuable
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Week Ending August 25, 2023: Jackson Hole Whipsaws
This was a crazy week with the market moving in large swings in both directions which makes things difficult for a range bound trader like myself. But there's good lessons to be learned in rough weeks, probably more than in good weeks. So take a look and ask questions. Let's talk about trading
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Week Ending August 18, 2023: Real World Trading
So, the week went very well. I had a work trip to the west coast this week but I still traded while travelling and doing meetings. So I talk about what I did differently. I had 3 different strategies this week, all of which worked out. But I do talk about the trade-offs that are sometimes made when you are trading in the real world with a real life. Take a look and reach out if you have questions or just want to talk about how to do this.
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Week Ending August 11, 2023: Long or Short Vega?
I am on the road this week so the quality may be a bit different but I'm still trading and I did a couple of trades around the CPI report this week. And the volatility was right on my line of going short or long vega. I will show you my trades and how I decided which trades to put on. Hopefully you'll find this interesting. Feel free to comment or reach out and we can talk trading.
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Week Ending August 4, 2023: Profiting From a Volatile Week
August started out with a volatile week including the US credit downgrade however, I was well positioned and had 2 successful trades. Consistency is the key to being a good trader and this week went quite well. Lots of good stuff here so take a look and let me know what you think.
Note: I will be travelling next week but do plan on putting out a review video, I'm just not sure which night.
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Week Ending July 28, 2023: A Strong End to a Busy Week
As I wrap up July, which had a lot of events with FOMC as well as some big earnings, I went a bit aggressive and it paid off and I ended up making my goal for July. There are some great lessons here about what I did to make it, and multiple examples showing why having a closing order in is so important. Take a look and fee free to reach out with questions, comments, or just to have a conversation.
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Week Ending July 23, 2023: Earnings Season Begins Again
As we enter the big earnings for the S&P, I had a mixed bag of trades as well as setting up a trade to close next week. This month has been up and down a bit, but that means there's good lessons here as we learn together. Take a look and reach out with questions, comments, or conversations.
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Week Ending July 14, 2023: A CPI Pop
The big news this week was the CPI and the market did jump starting on Weds. My trade from last week didn't work out so I took it off for a loss, but I put on two new trades post-CPI that went into next week with a chance to do well.
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Week Ending July 7, 2023: Make Butterflies Great Again
We had a vol spike on Thursday of this week that made doing butterflies appealing for the first time in a couple of months. I closed a trade from last week, and put on 2 new ones, one of which (you might guess what is was) came off in a day for a nice profit. Overall a decent start to the new month/quarter/2nd half of the year.
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Week Ending June 30, 2023: A Broken Streak
As I wrap up June, my streak of winning months this year ended as I took my first losing month of the year. I had 2 trades that lost but set myself up for a good start to July. Good lessons here as usual with losing trades. But with all of that, I'm still slightly ahead of my goal for the year.
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Week Ending June 23, 2023: The Aftermath
So after a big week with lots of news, this week was pretty quiet in comparison. So I started putting on my regular trades given that it was a short week due to a US holiday. One came off for a good profit and I'm still working the other one. Take a look and feel free to reach out with anything about trading options.
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Week Ending June 16, 2023: Multiple Witches
This week had the potential to be hectic with CPI, FOMC, a quadruple witching, and a 3-day weekend. But I managed two trades, one through the mess, and one later in the week after the big news. The first is a lesson in patience as well as trading around real life while the second was a reminder to always have a closing order. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending June 9, 2023: A Rough Week
So the waters have gotten a bit rough in the S&P, and I took my first weekly loss in several months. I go over that trade and how I could have done better as well as two others. June is starting off in a tough spot, but this is why it's important to take the big wins when the market gives them to you. Lots of good stuff here so take a look at let me know what you think.
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Week Ending June 2, 2023: A Relief Rally
With the debt ceiling drama ending, the market had a pretty strong move up towards the end of this week which definitely challenged a couple of my trades. But I did make money this week and those trades are still up and working. I also do a review of May which was an incredible month for trading. Lots of good things to learn here so follow along and let me know if you have any questions
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Week Ending May 26, 2023: Risk vs Reward
We had a roller coaster ride in $SPX last week which made me do more work that I have had to do in a while. And I took a small loss for the first time since February. But I also booked some profits and was positive for the week. Lots of good lessons and discussions here on navigating crazy swings. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending May 19, 2023: A New Range?
This episode marks the 4 year anniversary of my online trade reviews and to commemorate that...the market breaks the range and trends higher which made me have to adjust a trade I had put on right before the rise. But I also had 2 other trades that did very well. Good traders can trade in many environments and so I hope this episode shows how you can do that.
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Week Ending May 12, 2023: Around the Through the CPI
Last week I traded through and around the FOMC and so I continued that idea with the CPI this week and the result was my best week of the year so far. Lots of good ideas here about trading through events and managing portfolio risk with multiple trades. If you are interested in options trading and want to watch someone do it, take a look and feel free to ask questions or let me know what you're doing.
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Week Ending May 5, 2023: Around and Through the FOMC
There was plenty of things to move the market this week starting with the FOMC, followed by $APPL earnings and a positive jobs report. Take a look and see how I managed through it and stayed profitable by trading around and through the news. Lots of good lessons here. Take a look and let me know what you're doing.
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Week Ending April 28, 2023: The End of Another Great Month. A Challenge Ahead?
So I ended April very well, however we had a big move up towards the end of the week which posed a challenge to one of my trades. So I talk about how I handled that and the theory behind the adjustments. I also do a review of April and give a year to date update on my goals. Lots of good stuff in this one so take a look and tell me what you think!
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Week Ending April 21, 2023: A New Double Diagonal
This was an interesting week with a CPI print being the focal point, but before that happened I had an unusual close for one of my trades so there are things we can learn from that. Overall, I was pretty busy trading but the month is doing well. Take a look and let me know what you're doing or if you have questions about what I'm doing.
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Week Ending April 14, 2023: A Strange Close
This was an interesting week with a CPI print being the focal point, but before that happened I had an unusual close for one of my trades so there are things we can learn from that. Overall, I was pretty busy trading but the month is doing well. Take a look and let me know what you're doing or if you have questions about what I'm doing.
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Week Ending April 7, 2023: Short Week, Short Trade
This was week was short due to the market holiday on Friday, and the market was quite calm which really benefits my style of trading. I tried a new very short term trade which did well, and I managed 2 other larger trades. There is a good discussion about adjusting strategies as well so take a look and let me know what you think!
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Week Ending March 31, 2023: An Amazing Month and Quarter
So I wrap up March and Q1 by squeezing out more more win and blowing out my goal for the month. But the market started to go straight up late in the week which made my butterfly a bit challenging so there's some good lessons here. I also do a quick recap of March and Q1 and talk about what worked and the changes I made in March that helped it do well.
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Week Ending March 24, 2023: March Keeps Rolling Along
I had 3 trades this week, all of which went very well. This has been indicative of March as my trading has done quite well this month. I traded around the FOMC meeting and made some decent money. If you want to watch someone trade in these interesting times, take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending March 17, 2023: A Happy Accident
In a week with a CPI print and bank worries, I ended up making some money this week to continue a very good March. I did, however, make an error with an adjustment but, in this review, I show how I dealt with it and made it work. I also entered a new smaller (hopefully) quick trade to try to squeeze out some profit before the FOMC next week.
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Week Ending March 10, 2023: Going All the Way
With the crazy market moves this week, I was very busy but, overall, I think I did well. I worked 4 different trades and most came off for good money. But one went all the way to expiration day which I almost never do. So I'll explain why I did it for this particular trade and why I think it can work better than some of my others. But if you want to see me work the JPow speeches and the bank messes, enjoy this one.
NB: The opening music is very soft for some reason, but the sound on the rest of it is good. Just FYI.
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Week Ending March 3, 2023: The Market Rallies
So we had a definite change of direction in the market starting on Thursday which made me have to work my trades a bit more than usual. But I did have one come off for a nice profit and I am trying the long double diagonal again. Lots of good lessons here. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending February 24, 2023: Busy With Real Life
So on this short trading week due to the US holiday on Monday I didn’t trade a lot, frankly, because real life got in the way. That being said, I did manage to get a quick trade on and off for a good profit so it was a good way to end my trading month. I also do a review of February as a whole.
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Week Ending February 17, 2023: A New Trade
So with the CPI this week there was a lot of activity and I ended up doing quite a bit of trading including a new trade that did very well for a first attempt. So if you’d like to see something other than butterflies, this is the week for you. Also, I talk about management and adjustment theory so I think there’s lots of good stuff in this one. Check it out and tell me what you think
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Week Ending February 10, 2023: Sometimes I’m Wrong
So with every trade, there’s a chance for me to be wrong and that happened this week. But this shouldn’t be catastrophic as you keep yourself in a position to win. So this week I had to make some adjustments that in hindsight didn’t help, but still gave the trade a good chance to work. An interesting example that I hope helps out other traders
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Week Ending February 3, 2023: A Bit Overcautious
A short video this week as I largely sat out due to the big Fed announcement followed by a bunch of big tech earnings. One did move the market while the other did not so I could have gotten back in this week in retrospect but, as they say, hindsight is 20/20. I do talk about the one trade I did have on this week and why I took it off when I did so there’s still something good here to talk about with respect to risk management. Take a look and let me know what you’re doing!
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Week Ending January 27, 2023: Wrapping Up a Great Month
January was one of the best months I’ve done in quite a while. I credit myself for some of it, but I also credit that market for cooperating with my style of trading. So I finish up the month strong and try to get a jump on next month. I have a good discussion of why I’m treating a new trade differently based on market happenings. There are some good lessons here so take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week Ending January 20, 2023: Playing Defense
So as I’m already over my goal for the month, I still want to try to overachieve but I am also being a bit more defensive than usual to try and protect the profits I’ve made. I think it’s important to adapt my trading style not only to the market conditions but to where I am in my goals. So, this should be interesting to see how I changed what I usually do. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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Week of January 13, 2023: A Quiet CPI Week
Usually when we have JPow speaking and CPI print, things go crazy…but not this week. But I did put on a new trade…a calendar which I haven’t been able to do in a while due to higher volatility. So while it was a short week trading-wise there are still good things to talk about and learn so take a look and tell me what you think.
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Week of January 3, 2023: A Great Start to the New Year
So as the new year started, I had one of the best weeks I’ve had in a good while. But what’s more interesting is the big lesson about closing orders. One of the reasons I had such a good week is I followed by rule and always had a closing order into the broker. So, take a look and see why this works.