It is completely clear an obvious that I have no choice whatsoever but to make my first post to the chick-o-matic.
I'm a five-and-dime trader, but I did a good one on October 28.
I woke up at 6:30AM PST and started watching INTC at quote.com. The price was pulsating wildly between 69/70/71. The volume was astonishing. I had nothing but cash because all of my long holdings had been stopped out by the prior violent decline. CNN was extremely DIRE in their patter (the sky was falling--BAWK).
I insanely decided to go long INTC because the market looked like it was basing. I felt that even if it went to hell, I'd have INTC (that made me feel OK).
Internet access to E*Trade was completely hosed because there must have been a billion people frantically placing orders. So I dialed their incredibly user-hostile touch-tone entry system (which no one uses), and volia! I was able to place a market order for 500 shares of INTC.
Remember, I didn't even have real-time quotes. But within seconds after I placed the order, the news at CNN began to turn around. They began to seem progressively less dour, cautiously optimistic, optimistic, exuberant literally within a span of about three minutes as INDU, SPX, OEX all began to go straight up.
I had no way of knowing what price it would execute at, and I didn't even learn until 13:30 PST what I'd bought. But, by some act of GOD I managed to get 72! I immediately sold out at 81 (I could have actually made more - it closed at 85+).
This single insane move made up for the losses I encountered during the decline. |
