trim and trail

Steve, thanks for all you do to help us be successful. You're in my thoughts and prayers this week 

This is great a lot of us following short term symmetry in real time. I'm learning a lot. I think we need another small push up for a decisive break and then pullbacks can be bought. Would love to hear from Matt on this

Matt, has the QE BTS ever taken a 4th entry?

you will own nothing and be happy 

piclez, SPY systems do go short. But since they are Reversion to Mean systems they would go short when there is a large, quick move up in a bigger downtrend. 

I am in a small options trading group that follows the TW methodology.  Many of the trades are selling Strangles and Iron Condors the day before Earnings to benefit from the volatility crush. Truth be told this has been the worst Earnings Season in memory, with many stocks moving well over 2x their expected earnings move causing traders to be deep in the money with short options. Case in point, DOCU, down over 35%.  If you sold a Dec 3 190 put yesterday to pick up .65 credit, you would now be dealing with that same put which is worth 45.65. That's a $4k loss overnight. Fortunately, I sat that one out. Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't do. ;-)

I've started taking Melatonin and it has really helped me sleep better - just 1mg nightly 

Thanks for the video and posting these examples, I am finding them very helpful on how to better manage trade ideas. 

retirefire - "It's a big club and we ain't in it."

 On a TA note of MARA. If you look at the weekly chart, the low for the week is right at the 9/20 intersection, then nice move up. Funny how those charts seems to be in the right place at the right time for news events  ;-)

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK), the world's top asset manager, which controls an astonishing $9 trillion, invested in two publicly traded cryptocurrency mining companies

What Happened: BlackRock's Form 13F SEC filings reveal that it has acquired stakes in cryptocurrency mining firms Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT).  More precisely, the asset management behemoth acquired 6.71% of Marathon Digital Holdings, equivalent to about $207 million, and 6.61% of Riot Blockchain, equivalent to about $175 million.    

Reminder: Anyone in COMP - Earnings AMC today 

jtsurfah, thanks for the idea. I sold a call near the close before the EOD drop. 

Honestly, if you have the time to read a TA book, I wouldn't. I would make sure I review, listen, and study the BPT Newsletter nightly and on the weekend. Analyze past trade set ups, see how they did. Really learn what Matt and Steve are sharing.  In my opinion, they are the best in the business. If you want to read, I would suggest Mark Douglas: The Disciplined Trader and Trading in the Zone. The psychological/mental aspect of trading is much more difficult to master than the technical side. That is where most traders fail. Even following Mat and Steve, I have not been that successful trading directionally. My fault, not theirs. Recently, I have moved toward probability-based trading (credit trading with options) and have been much more successful than trying to trade directionally. But that is me, you have to find what works best for you.  It is truly a journey. It has taken me 10 yrs of struggle to find this out. Now I take what I have learned from Matt and Steve to enhance my credit trading and it is working out well. Also have been taking the SPY system trades which have been amazing. Hope that helps.   

Happy Birthday Matt - have a great day and may all your trades be profitable!

Gold Futures

z0ned - much appreciated. Thank you for sharing. I'll give it a try.

Earnings Release after mkt close today

steverobin: That would be Tradestation

Matt and Steve, 

Thanks for the work you guys do and your efforts to constantly improve the service. Personally, I like the idea of less ideas with more detail, such as adding the 60 min chart and more details explaining possible entry choices, stops and targets. Not sure what your universe of stocks for trade ideas is, but maybe you can reduce that a bit with some filters such as minimum volume requirements (avoid thinly traded stocks), minimum price ($1.00+), minimum APTR (Average Percent True Range - if you want a certain level of volatility in the picks so they move), maybe only show the highest probability patterns/set-ups, etc. It does get a bit overwhelming with so many choices, and when you start tracking the trades that take a little longer to trigger the list can get quite long quickly.