Tutorials

Getting it wrong can be instructive, so view the clumsy tactical errors in this lesson with an open mind. Stocks were in their steepest selloff in months, and so we naturally made the mistake of thinking they would bounce from promising-looking Hidden Pivot supports as always. Instead, sellers barely seemed to have noticed the pivot, which evinced no discernible bounces. Did this price action doom the rally into day’s end that was to follow? As of Thursday morning the answer to this question was yes, probably, although not with any great certitude.

During these weekly sessions, we're always looking for real trades in real time. That's because, for teaching purposes, walking the walk will always be superior to talking the talk. Check out the trade in NFLX at the end of the recording if you want to see how very easy it can be to set up a profitable trade with little stress or strain. This happened on a day when the broad averages and most stocks were barely moving; it is a trade that any subscriber with just a passing familiarity with the Hidden Pivot Method could have done. The trade was based on a simple rule that we came up with to tame and exploit the most diabolical critter of them all, the E-Mini S&Ps.

Stocks were too quiet during our hour together to offer much in the way of trading opportunities. As always, however. the learning opportunities were there to cherry-pick, including some creative new ways to set up 'counterintuitive' and 'mechanical' entries to reduce initial risk to a small fraction of what it might be otherwise.

Trading opportunities were not exactly abundant during our hour together, but there is some detailed material here concerning a strategy to leverage longer-term trends using option calendar spreads. I detailed these tactics in an article that I wrote for Stocks, Futures & Options magazine long ago, but this recording recapitulates them in succinct form.

With VXX falling toward a target that’s been in play for months, we formulated a call-buying strategy to leverage the anticipated bounce. You’ll be surprised at how unscientific the strategy is, but there are times when a lack of sophistication is the best way to get the job done. We also looked at the E-Mini S&Ps as they stole up on a 2496.75 target that has been ten weeks in coming, and considered some ‘camouflage’ entry strategies in several vehicles.

The broad averages were stagnant during our hour together, the Dow up around 70 points from the opening but unwilling to push above the morning’s modest peaks. Even so, we managed to find some promising plays in such popular vehicles as the E-Mini S&Ps, AAPL and NFLX. The last stock in particular was attractive because at around $178 per share, it’s possible to trade four round lots with an account size of $20,000. Check out the segment concerning bitcoin, which can be traded via an over-the=counter vehicle with the symbol GBTC.

Looking to augment our long-term position in TLT, we spent more time than usual poring over its charts. The result is a detailed road map for the next few weeks that in theory could provide the basis for a bull trade. We also looked closely at gold, examining in exhaustive detail the rationale for bullish projections up to around $1462. The election night peak is the key hurdle, and this lesson explains exactly why.

Once again, we looked at several trading opportunities that failed to ripen during our hour together. There is still much on display to enhance one’s repertoire of set-ups that work easily and consistently. There’s also an anecdote about the risks of holding onto to an asset that has greatly appreciated, even if that asset – a house, in this case -- is capable of producing very substantial rental income.

We looked at some familiar charts during our hour together, including Gold, AMZN and VXX, but found only a potential ‘counterintuitive’ set-up in the E-Mini S&Ps to play with. It happened in real time, but I won’t spoil the suspense surrounding the outcome. If you want to cut to the chase, the action is toward the end of the recording – the last ten minutes or so, not including a five-minute Q&A period that concluded the session.