CHATROOM

7 Lessons, Charts, Pictures And Why It Sucks Waking Up In Smog With A Fire Crackling Outside Your Window

February 7, 2008 at 5:06 pm
by timothysykes

Watch these 7 free video lessons on how I became a millionaire

TIM $14,933, No Trades, No Positions

I’ll get to the fire part in a second, but the boring day in smallcap land takes precedent.

1. Lots of little movers, (CTIB), (VLNC), (NYNY), (FRPT), (SNUS), (ETFC), (ACUS), (TGAL), none of them very perfect, not worth TIM’s money/time…(SCEY) tanked nicely, it’s a great chart, I just wish it were higher priced so I could short it! (Thinkorswim is great, but they don’t allow shorting under $3)

2. (TTWO) spiked $1.50 on a takeover rumor and fell all the way back down and more within 30 minutes—a perfect example of why I hate playing these kinds of stocks, not very predictable for more than a few minutes and you just never know when other people/trader heard/believe the rumor.

ttwo

3. Let the (IDMI) chart below be a lesson to anyone shorting exponential gainers up on TOTAL fluff—TIM Lesson: You can be early in your short—you’ll experience a bit of pain—but never be early covering your entire position, once the hype dies down, only the POS company itself remains and it ain’t pretty!

idmi3

4. Let the (TLEO) chart below be a lesson to anyone buying and holding falling knife stocks for a bounce into earnings: DON’T!

tleo

5. Nothing like waking up coughing in a smoggy room at 5:30am with a three-alarm fire crackling outside your window to help put things into perspective. Out of the 1,000 or so people evacuated from my building, why was I the only one to grab my laptop?!?!? Crazy scary stuff, especially when the building’s fire alarms are “under repair”. These are some pictures of the fire that really screwed up my day:

buildingfire1

buildingfire2

buildingfire3

6. Trust Dealbreaker to take liberties with any and all IM conversations…it’s all good clean fun…until it’s not.

7. Is the dollar bottoming? Uhhh, no lessons here, not my kind of pattern, too many complex variables, but hopefully!

usd

Posted in Pictures, TIM Lessons

  • http://investingadventures.com Jorge

    Fires are never fun. I used to live on a third story building near our campus with my fiancee and roommate. We hadn’t lived there more than 3 months before the lady across our breezeway accidentally lit her place on fire. Seems she fell asleep and a candle she had fell or blew over and lit her balcony which then spread. Oddly enough, I probably would have done the same thing you did. Instead I had to worry about my fiancee and my new puppy. Didn’t even bother grabbing my glasses. But when the roof of where you’re at starts burning up, I guess that’s the last thing you worry about. Hopefully no one was hurt in that blaze.

  • Stan

    i was thinking today, if i were to leave my apt in a fire what i would do… take my cell phone and laptop and get out!

  • timsykes

    yah nobody hurt badly, luckly

  • Neil

    msrv.v

    supernova?

  • Neil

    sorry its msr.v

  • timsykes

    nope, not up enough, too low price, a commodity play, not american traded, low volume, just about everyting possible wrong with it…we just saw a supernova in idmi, usually takes a few days/weeks before we see another

  • Technicalstockcharts.net

    Tim any thoughts on ACUS? It has exploded the last two days.

  • timsykes

    acus is too cheap for me, shoulda woulda coulda bought it along with everyone else, but its not my kind of play, i’ll short at $3 though!

  • WallST_Wizard

    Hi kinda newbie question here… but is it illegal to short stocks with prices that are less than $3.00 per share, or does your broker “thinkorswim” simply not allow it for some reason?

  • Mike

    Hey Tim,
    E*Trade (ETFC) looks like it’s bottoming out. Might be worth taking a look at although this looks like something a value investor would buy and hold with the turnaround plan as the key determinant and thus reliance on management and other unpredictable factors. Not sure if this can pop up in the short term but if so you might be interested. P.S. The CEO bought 474,707 shares worth $1.9 million after the blackout period.

  • Whiskey Mac

    Would DPTR be too big to be included in your watch. It has contract news and its spiking at the open. But it is 1.4bill cap and 60M float

  • Alvari40

    Shorting POWI here $26.33 1/2 position.

  • Bob J

    Tim,
    Just wondering if you play on sure thing sometimes? Yesterday everybody knew MBI was going to offer secondary at a discounted price. That means usually the share price opens lower the following morning. Why didn’t you short MBI with let say 50% of your portfolio. You could have made at least $1 per share coving MBI even at the opening today. Just curious.

  • Ilan

    guys it is time to GCE.TO it is flying again

    Ilan

  • Ilan

    Hey Tim @ what age did you started to trade my son have got 10000for his bar

    any advice

    Thank you
    my email is

    ilan19650@gmail.com

  • timsykes

    Apologies tot hose emailed me–I’m about a week behind–popularity’s a bitch! Lots of Q&A on here so here we go:

    If your broker will allow it, you can short down to 1 cent stocks. Thinkorswim’s limit is $3 and thats ifne by me (lower than that and the risk reward gets out of whack)

    ETFC, I could care less about insider buying, thats BS, he knows idiots care about it so he does it, more important, the chart is POSSIBLY bottoming, but too unreliable/boring for TIM.

    If I had a kid, I would just show him DPTR’s chart to put him to sleep—BOOOOOOOORING

    POWI, waaaaay too unpredictable chart for me

    MBI, waaaaay too unpredictable for me–I don’t play Wall Street movers and shakers that go up and down based on deals. Who’s everybody? Who cares–I trust nobody!

    Ilan, I started in my teens, got serious at 18.

  • Ilan

    Tim
    Thank you
    I will order the book Today

    Ilan

  • Whiskey Mac

    Tim,
    It is interesting about the price of $3 or more. You’ve mentioned you didn’t like low cost stockes before. But I didn’t catch what you consider low until now.

    How about Size and Float? I have seen you mentioned floats for specific micorcap companies before. But to generalize this-

    1) What range Capitalization do you like (or not like)
    2) What impact does the float have. How much should the float be in relation to Cap.

    Mac

  • timsykes

    Apparently I can short under $3, Thinkorswim just let me short 1,000 ARTE at $2.84! I asked my trusty chat guy “I thought you don’t allow shorting under $3?” and his reply was “you’re good to short”

    LOLOLOL Is there no end fo Thinkorswim’s greatness? Ended p covering quickly at $2.80 because I don’t like the price action (full details later), but I love my broker more than ever.

    Float and marketcap come into play depending on what the volume/interest is. I usually don’t l ike shorting stocks under $50mil marketcap–crap like GOAM and CTIB can really spike. Float who cares, the low floaters are the best spikers, just tougher to find shares to short

  • blueshorseshoe

    ARTE seems rather dangerous to short this soon up only 22% and a thinster. AGN news gonna be all over this weekend and people going to be looking for the next new thing. I thought you had a day one rule of no shorting?

  • timsykes

    Yah, it was def. a crap play, but I saw my friendly wall of sellers–that usually join in much later–and thats why I shorted. Screwed up both my entry and exit but still came out okay. Poor trade, but good management once I was in

  • eric

    Tim I was just curious…how are you doing now compared to when you had your first 12K a few years back? For example, are you ahead or behind that pace when you compare your first feat to now? Also, have you considered doing a podcast considering that tons of people have ipods and that it would be cool to listen to you through podcasts?Thanks!

  • Eric T

    Have you guys checked out EMKR??? It’s been moving a lot the past few weeks. Some good long and short plays.

  • be-the-ball

    eric,

    read the book, you will see exactly where he was each step of the way. seriously, it’s a good book. I have 2 copies, bought one and one came with DVD.

    tim, i want a comm. if eric buys a book/dvd from you :-)

  • timsykes

    be the ball, we’re launching an affiliate program in the next few weeks so commissions will be 25%, $75/DVD package–that should inspire ya!

  • be-the-ball

    need a website though, no time for that…too busy tradin’

  • timsykes

    Compared to 1999, that year i went from 12k to 123k, so i’m waaaay behind, but there havent been nearly as many opportunities and it’s not a straight line. also now it’s taken me a little while to get used to day trading restrictions and position sizing.

    EMKR buy only on a breakout of $16

    affiliates don’t need websites, u just get your own unique code and can post it anywhere, message boards, emails, whatever

  • casio

    fire stories are always fun. i’d been living in my building maybe a month when my cell phone wakes me up. it’s my roommate telling me the building is on fire. unfortunately, i hadn’t anytime recently thought “what would i save in a fire?” still half asleep, i jump up, turn off my monitor speaker (powered speaker attached to my computer) and fan and run out of the building. i think i might have grabbed my cellphone and wallet. i get outside to find my roommate standing with a cat carrier holding our cat, ajax. then it dawns on me; my roommate *assumed* i wasn’t home, grabbed the cat, got her in the carrier, made his way outside, then, just for shits, calls me to tell me the building is on fire. and to top it off, somehow we were the only ones locked out of our apartment.

  • be-the-ball

    cool, tim, i will print it on flyers and hand them out in front of the supermarket! :-) Seriously, look forward to it, happy to push your book and DVD. When are you going to have your library back on the site?

  • timsykes

    i’ll print the flyer for u! librarym, press, forums all should be done this weekend

  • S Adams

    I’m keeping an eye on CHNR. I’m thinking it is getting ready for another multipoint run.

  • timsykes

    I’d love for CHNR to keep running, but its got a lot of resistance for the next few dollars, wait for one of those days where volume surges and shorts are caught

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  • Boston

    XTEC is showing as an unknown symbol, double checked 2 places.

  • gman83

    IT should be XTEX Boston

  • http://www.bobsgear.com bobsgeardotcom

    etrade couldn’t find shares of xtxi….

    It doesnt know what xtec is: No results were found for XTEC

  • lsutiger

    no xtex @ tos

  • http://www.bobsgear.com bobsgeardotcom

    etrade couldnt find shares of xtex either.

  • be-the-ball

    XTEX guys.

    Tim, your alerts need to have the correct symbols bud….

  • cswiger

    short 500 xtxi @ 4.93

  • http://www.test.timothysykes.com timothysykes

    typos happen, especially when i try to get the info out ASAP…sorry…also wouldnt be surprised to see a little bounce in these before the market close, down a ton already

  • Reaper

    XTEX, not XTEC

  • AdamN

    Still short HSNI from my initial alert here:

    http://timalerts.com/2009/01/06/morning-watchlist-15-stocks-2/

    Been a doozy ever since, below $5 today! $1k in profit so far since entry.

  • http://www.test.timothysykes.com timothysykes

    stop loss at breakeven? u gotta be kidding me, if i used one, itd be above $5.25 on XTEX

  • Boston

    500 XTXI @ 4.97

  • astanlofter

    Kudos, Adam! I’m really really really impressed. I wish I could do this…

    Tim, who are you talking to about “stop loss at breakeven”?

  • YoungGunz

    think that was meant for the chatroom

  • Reaper

    $91 in realized profits after trimming my positions. Still short both o/n.

  • nojobmaui

    short 2000 XTXI @ 5.02 coved and flipped to long @ 4.90 $240/ sold @ 4.96 and flipped to short $120/ still in

  • JohnCA

    Jumped in right when i got the alert by text, but got nervous when it started to jump up and got out at 4.86 for a $40 profit.

  • Spit

    Im holding overnight 200 @ 4.94 :)

  • vestor707

    PARD 2500 @ 3.69 made 700 off the trade.

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