jmac: You are about two trades behind me. I sold my Intel previously while maintaining IBM put protection. And, as I told Jules G, Tom Fowler, and Mike B yesterday - I bought Intel back on Thursday off its low for the day. I'm still maintaining IBM put protection - with one difference. I rolled my leaps into the April puts. Remember, as a trader, my situation is different from the investor. The purpose of the leap puts for the investor is to protect his core holdings for a extended time. As such, in the event of any real crash - the investor will be protected while not having to worry about his holdings during the time between now and Jan 98, the leap expiration date. In my case, where I trade options for the most part, I use puts to protect my in and out trading of the calls time and time and time again in the same security. I will do this until I'm finished trading in that particular stock and go to something else. If the opportunity presents itself, I will take profits in the puts too. But, oftentimes I only use them until I'm finished with my repeated call trading therein and I don't really care if they expire worthless. But, these protective puts allow me to be protected and not worry about any 1987 crash also. Additionally, if the stock that I have protective puts in goes up through one of my resistance areas, I will sell them out and reestablish those puts higher up.
Incidentally, the Intel Leap 130 and 140 puts were being heavily bought again today.
The fact that you asked me if I was selling my Intel indicates to me that you don't understand what a trader does. I'll tell you one thing - any trader worth anything is not going to stand still and let a stock go down 14 points while his options go worthless. The trader - particularly this trader - will be out immediately at the first hint of trouble. In Intel's case, that was when it went to lower low (under previous day's low of 162 3/8) a few days back. Even if one didn't pay any attention to that, they should have known when Intel broke 161 1/4, the bottom of a support area that I had put on here many times - it was time to take short term profits.
Now, Thursday - I bought back in. Why? Well, I can best explain that by saying that if you had paid attention to my other support area at 149 to 152 that I have put on here time and time again - and that the 20 day moving average for Intel was located at 151 - then you would know why I bought Intel when it fell into that support area and moved slightly below the 151 MA line to around 150 3/4. Did I get it right at the bottom? No, but it was close enough. And, the result of that buy was magnified today.
All should realize that circumstances may occur in this world that could change anything that I put on this BB the night before. What I put on this BB is just opinion - with some technical facts that anybody can get at many of the different places on the internet.
What Arch Crawford, Wollunchuck, or anybody else predicts is just that - it's a prediction. Just because I or anybody else on the BBs offer an opinion or some analyst offers one, that does not mean that we are going to be right all the time
As for me, I change quickly. As a trader, I have to be prepared to do that. I am not wed to my opinions or anybody else's opinions. I just do what is necessary to win the game - whichever direction it is being played. Good trading. Jack |
