Author Archives: optionshero
Glory
Toil, says the proverb, is the sire of fame. —Euripides
As I watch the Olympics I love to see and hear the stories of all the competitors who give it everything they have. Who climbed the wall of poverty, inadequate training facilities, strife, trials and tribulations in general and in spite of everything are here to show the world “I AM HERE”. It will be another four years before we see the next Olympics, where will you be in your life. Are you working towards achieving your goals? It is up to you! Do your homework, and don’t listen to the naysayers about your ability or this or that. Take risks, learn from your mistakes and do better the next time.
Fortune cannot aid those who do nothing–Sophocles
Natalia Partyka, Polish table tennis player. Born without a right hand and forearm. I watched her match today she should Inspire You!
Poker Nuts
In Options Trading sometimes you have to take a chance. You can play small ball for months on end and be very successful and take medium-sized risks when the opportunity presents itself. However, there are times–For me maybe once or twice a year where you have to step out of your comfort zone and swing for a home run. Some people may disagree and that is ok, each of us has our own style of trading. For me there are times, when the Market, the Technicals and a third parameter like price action line up perfectly and you have to swing for the fences. It doesn’t always work out, and just like in baseball where you get two more swings, in trading we have stop losses set up to prevent further heartache and take the chance again in the future. However sometimes, the payoff is spectacular. In Poker you can have that same moment. See below and enjoy.
Steve Jobs Commencement Speech
What a Year for AAPL so far. I will leave it at that.
1/24 AAPL is trading at 420ish
3/16 AAPL is trading close to 600.
I got in on some of this action, but fear kept me out of the majority of it. One big trade would have killed it. Sometimes you have to take your “Risk Rules” and throw them out of the window. There were numerous, no COUNTLESS days were you could have gone in big on options and would have been rewarded handsomely. By looking to looking to the left of the AAPL chart, you would have never known this was possible, and that is why it payed so well. No one knew this was going to happen. So chalk it down as another lesson learned and move on. In honor of this big move enjoy a great speech that should inspire us all to reach for greatness.
“you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future, you have to trust in something-your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path and that will MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE….
Dealing With The Market—-Don’t be an IDIOT
You have probably heard me say it here before or on our website, but price action remains one of the biggest clues to a stocks momentum you can find. Yes you can look at charts, fundamentals, wave patterns, but you should always defer to the price action. If anything the analysis you do prior to watching the price will tell you which way to lean and then you can watch the stock for a while to see when you think your entry or exit should occur. Many times on the boards, CNBC or on StockTwits I read/hear about people complaining about the way a stock is moving (ie. this thing has a PE of 180!! it should tank!). Really why should it tank? because you think it should. Counter trend trading is the hardest type of trading there is and probably the most expensive! My point is why fight a trend? If the Stock is overvalued by your metrics or some value investors metrics so what? If your short and it continues to go against you, fight the feeling in your brain that everything in the world should be perfect/fair and go LONG or the opposite in a down trending stock you feel is undervalued. The bottom line is prices are set by what someone else is willing to pay for it–NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS WORTH so don’t be an idiot.
Martin
Best Dream Ever!——Keep Feeling Fascination
First off -WOW what a day for AAPL. I would be remiss if I did not mention the unbelievable run this stock had this week. I was focused on the RSI and MACD and on and on and never expected to see this happen. I almost wanted to go all in three days ago and ride it for a day, but I couldn’t pull the trigger or tell anyone else too, as the chart seemed so overextended to me. Congrats to all holders of calls and stock!!
So I took a supplement (powder) last night to help me go to sleep, and I had the most amazing dream. I was a little kid, riding my bike back in the 80’s with my friends in Woodburn, Ore. We used to put miles and miles on those BMX bikes, in the dream I vividly remember the sun on my face and the smell of the pine trees in the air—it was awesome.. The craziest thing is, I could hear a song in the background thru the entire dream, and it made me feel good. Man what would I give to go back in time and change things I did–All the insecurities, and different paths I would have chosen.
Maybe it has nothing to do with LIFE or INVESTING or maybe it does? I hadn’t heard this song in years, so no idea why it showed up in my dream, but it was cool.. Tell me if these Lyrics don’t help you out in some way.
“If it seems a little time is needed
Decisions to be made
The good advice of friends unheeded
The best of plans mislaid
Just looking for a new direction
In an old familiar way
The forming of a new connection
To study or to play
And so the conversation turned
Until the sun went down
And many fantasies were learned
On that day
Keep feeling fascination
Passion burning
Love so strong
Keep feeling fascination
Looking learning
Moving on
Well the truth may need some
Re-arranging
Stories to be told
And plain to see the facts are changing
No meaning left to hold
And so the conversation turned
Until the sun went down
And many fantasies were learned
On that day
And so the conversation turned
Until the sun went down
And many fantasies were learned
On that day”
Martin- and WTF happened to MTV, don’t get me started with that!!!
and dude look at the start of the video–its super awesome Google street views before GOOG!!
In Honor of Super Bowl Sunday
There are many examples of sports that translate into everyday life. Two quotes, both from Vince Lombardi can be used to demonstrate this.
1. It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.
2. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.
I mean who doesn’t get inspired by great moments in sports? Some movie examples are Miracle, Remember the Titans, Rudy, Hoosiers, the list can go on and on. In the end it all comes down to who wants it bad enough, who put in the time and effort to succeed and maybe even a little luck. Just remember what Gary Player (golfer) once said “the harder you work, the luckier you get”.
All of this translates over to us, those two quotes not only represent success on the Football Field, but in Life and Business too!! You want to succeed in the Stock Market–research, study, observe and put in the time, whatever your investing approach is.
So watch the clip and get some motivation for everything around you. It can be options, your job, LIFE——–whatever you want it to be……
Don’t even get us started on analogies between the military and investing!
OptionsHero
Middle Class Downward Momentum
Quoting directly from the article
“Long-Term Unemployment has devastated the ranks of the middle class, with many people losing their homes and forced to turn to food banks and government aid after they run through their savings. It takes nearly 41 weeks, on average, for the jobless to find new work. Also, the steep decline in home values has hurt many in the middle class.”
This article caught my attention for several reasons. First it encapsulates the struggle many people are facing trying to get ahead in this great country. Furthermore, I think it goes to the heart of why many people are angry about GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS, GOLDEN PARACHUTES, WALL STREET, etc. You have to be able to put yourself in someones shoes and look at how they would view the current state of affairs. This is the Land of Opportunity, but you need to be able to breathe to take a shot at something better.
I know from personal experience growing up -BELOW MIDDLE CLASS- that you can move forward! As I was told in Ranger School, “Mind over Matter” if you don’t mind it don’t matter. Throw 50 bucks in your savings account every month, read books on investing, take a shitty job and save your money. I remember my dad delivering pizza to earn some extra money, so do whatever it takes to get ahead. The most important thing is to keep your head up, stay positive. A positive attitude no matter how shitty life gets is your number one friend.
Remember our Motto at OptionsHero
-The First Step to Financial Freedom is PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Article
Why Best Buy is Going out of Business…Gradually
I read this article and could not agree more with the conclusion. I was in a Best Buy over the holiday’s and you can tell it is dying a slow death. Customer service horrible, selections are crap, layout of the store sucks and on and on. I remember when i used to visit Best Buy just to see what cool stuff was out…not anymore. Kudos to Larry Downes over at Fortune magazine for the article.
Why Best Buy is Going out of Business…Gradually
OptionsHero
This is the post that started off 2011. I want to repost this as we begin 2012. The ideas and strategies that made us great in 11 will help us again this year. Thanks to all who have supported us and we look forward to kicking ass in 2012
“To him who is afraid, everything rustles”
– Sophocles, Acrisius
What does this quote have to do with trading? Well, everything! When trading, we have to remember we are not void of emotions. It has been said Fear and Greed rule the market, and this is probably exasperated when dealing with options. This is more so the case during Earnings or Event Driven Plays. It is a one time deal that can make or break you! So naturally you have a lot of emotion “fear” in play. We mitigate some of that risk because we like to hedge our bets, just in case the market or play goes against us.
All that being said, our first big trade of this earning season was on FFIV. We have been watching the reactions to other earnings the last several weeks and consequently had a healthy dose of skepticism built-in our trade from the get go. The jist of the trade was to buy calls near the money and puts a little farther out of the money. We also hedged our play (with puts) on a separate stock we believe mirrors FFIV very closely. The Puts on this mirror hedge were cheap and look to pay off handsomely tomorrow. This is the simple kind of trade we like here at OptionsHero. Remember there are many ways to play options we offer A WAY not THE WAY. Subscribers to OptionsHero would have received detailed instructions/reasons on the play mentioned above.
Welcome to OptionsHero.
optionshero 