Doug, here are some answers to your post.
1) This first contest is purposely meant to test luck and skill in a "buy and hold" contest. Not real life and not at all recommended in real life (i.e. we preach diversification like the next guy), but it posed an interesting dillema in that it forced people to consider whether high momentum stocks, like penny stocks, would do well on a 90 day hold. It forced people to look ahead and make educated guesses about earning reports and what sectors would do best in Q1. We may even find that those leading now finish back in the pack. Lots of things can change. And, yes, the next contest, as mentioned several times, will involve a different approach with some trading allowed and teach us all a different lesson. Remember that, most of all, the contest's main purpose (besides winning a photograph or two from our landscape website ..lol), is FUN.
2) Regarding confusion you or others had between the portfolios of the contestants versus my overall thread portfolio, I thought it was clear that they are two completely different animals and have no connection to one another.
I think that could have been easily spotted. For one thing, my portfolio does not have anywhere near the 62 stock picks that compose the entries from the 31 contestants. Therefore the concern about the different entry points is not a concern at all. Again, the link below indeed contains the STOCKS AND ACTUAL ENTRY POINTS OF THE CONTESTANTS.
Contestant Portfolios With Stocks and Entry Points:
Message 16869866;
Also virtually every day I post the complete summary of the days changes in each portfolio. I am not sure anyone can ask for much more than that in a FREE contest.
3) I have freely admitted that I am not the best T/A guy. I am far better at ferretting out facts and figures and potential picks. I am a better teacher and provider of information than I am a T/A guy, as that is my background as a former trainer and consultant. I also know Market psychology pretty well, I think, and usually have the patience to wait for the right situation. Perhaps some proof of that is the mention (ahead of time and not after the fact) of 2 quality options play in 3 weeks that have had returns of 400%-700+%. I also believe I mentioned SYMC options just before earnings that would have yielded about 500-1000%.
4) I think having a thread like this on daytrading is silly. There is no way to watch and convey the super-nimble, buy-sell points in real time. I don't enjoy it anyway. I much prefer taking a bit more time and finding good entry points - sometimes for the longer term, sometimes for the very short term, but not for scalp trading. Remember if you buy right, you can still feel poretty good even if the stock turns down. You can take a small loss or put it in your intermediate term portfolio.
5) I work hard on this thread and try to provide information for relatively new traders and those of us who need a refresher, so they don't make the same mistakes I and others have. I am not a professional trader but a guy who enjoys meeting people like myself that can bounce ideas off one another and even just shoot the breeze about a variety of topics. I try to preserve capital and make solid trades through a decent amount of research. I try to offer something different than most all other threads which are mostly composed of quick one liners without a lot of expressed thought. We try to explain the logic behind the trades. That way, whether we fail or succeed on a trade, we all learn something.
I believe too many want a get-rich scheme and end up losing just like 95% of casino gamblers do. They may win big once in awhile but they virtually all lose in the end.
6) I work hard and this is far from an ideal thread, but I feel those who post here are doing at least a few things right. We do pretty well on the "Hot Topic" list even though that is not our goal. This is not a business for which I or anyone else is getting paid, so I always find it odd why people take it so seriously, as if it is. The contest and the thread are meant for fun and the sharing of information, so let's not be too serious about it, Doug.
:-) |
