Bubba's Journal

[MasterOfCoin]

Woah there !

Take a deep breath and pause for thought.

If you're confused, then revise what you are doing before placing any further trades.



Or you'll just lose money.

 

[Bubba27]

It says I have -6 shares of SPCE (that is my sell short)
How do I buy them back??!?!?

Damn this sucks....

 

[Bubba27]

Also made the same mistake as my Trade #1 and did not write down my exits before buying into the trades...

 

[Bubba27]

How do you dump a sell short and cash out??!?!?!

 

[Bubba27]

In my dashboard I click "Open Orders" and my sell short is not there.... why is that not an open order!?!?!?

Makes no sense to me at all.....

I have clue what an Order With Fill is....

 

[Bubba27]

I'd like to buy back the 6 shares at $29... how do I set that order??!?!

Totally confused...

 

[Bubba27]

Well I have to just log off and see how it goes.

I am sure the price will not be blasting up like a spaceship forever. The price should go down and hopefully by then I can figure out how to exit the 6 shares that I sold short.....

 

[MasterOfCoin]

Open the notification alert in new tab for help.

 

[Bubba27]

Just missing out on profits.... I have no clue.... I figured that placing a sell short would be really simple. Guess not.

 

[Bubba27]

Okay I am back after my space trading meltdown.
---

I crunched the numbers from my two completed trades:

#1
SPCE/NYSE
Bought: 5 shares
Entry @ $40
Stop was initially set @ $29
I ended up selling @ $29.50
Result: about $55 loss (= 22.5% loss)

#2
BTC/USDC
Bought: .02 BTC (=$200USD)
Entry @ $9700
Stop was set @ $9990
I got squeamish and sold @ $9905
Fees paid: $2
Result all said and done: $2 profit (= 1% profit after deducting Coinbase's ridiculously high fee)

TOTALS: Basically I lost $55 and gained $2.
Thus I am currently at -$53
---

Next I made a list of things I pinpointed that need to work on:
* Always plan my exits and stops before placing any orders
* Always check and write down technicals before placing orders
* Always predetermine length of trade before placing orders (long, short, day, swing, etc)
* Learn all of the terminology for placing orders from brokerage account
* Learn what selling short is all about in better detail
* Define what is Order With Fill
* Organize my trading set up and desk
* Keep updated results and know where my account balance stands before placing more orders
* Keep journaling here and keep sharing notes for every trade

 

[Bubba27]

I am still baffled about my short sell order.

There is no place to order to buy back the shorted shares???

Something is confusing.

It says my short sale is completed. I do not understand what happened.... did my short order close out automatically while it was out of the money? This is confusing....

In tutorials online they show a second screen to place a reverse order. My screen only gave one choice to sell, but it has no buy point.

Very confusing......
With selling short orders there should be an opening trade ticket, and then a closing trade ticket.... but my brokerage only gives a opening trade ticket and no choice to close? So confusing......

 

[Bubba27]

Still struggling to understand my short sell order. I understand how shorts work but not how the trade ticket works...... Unsure of the status of my short.

Is the order closed? Why can I not place a stop on my shorts? At what price will it clear? Is the order still open?????

Very confusing..... I may try a different brokerage...... Unclear how the tickets work...... something makes no sense.......

 

[barjon]

Still struggling to understand my short sell order. I understand how shorts work but not how the trade ticket works...... Unsure of the status of my short. Is the order closed?

Why can I not place a stop on my short? At what price will it clear? Is the order still open?????

if you can’t establish the position on your platform/account then ring your broker.

 

[Bubba27]

if you can’t establish the position on your platform/account then ring your broker.

No kidding, right.........

 

[Bubba27]

I wonder if the brokerage put some weird restrictions over my account?? It is my first trades through their service.....

Did they control the way I do shorts so that only They control my shorts!!???

Something is totally off........

 

[Dowser]

Does your broker offer a Demo account? It might be worth trading demo until you find your feet...

 

[Bubba27]

I have never used a demo account. I learned cryptocurrency by trading from exchanges and just buying and selling and setting stops, but never selling short.

The confusion has something to do with how the tickets are arranged in a way that I am missing something, because selling short seems really simple to me, I just do not see the control panel. Like some part of submitting orders is hidden or something is amiss.

But like others are suggesting: I am not trading anything until I get a handle on things.

I am not a demo guy either. I'd rather lose money and learn with real money on the line. The learning curve might sting but I will eventually come out ahead.

 

[Bubba27]

I bought the short at $31.50 and price is now at $35, so my short is out the money.

I think it is not set Good Until Canceled. The short was set to close out at the end of today (not on purpose though). I'm really not sure. I am lost in the control panel.

This may conclude my trade journaling days for a while

 

[Bubba27]

Alright I figured out how to Buy to Cover my sell short order. It was the simpliest thing in the universe. Staring right at me.

Alright so now, I wait and see if SPCE price sinks down. Waiting...

 

[Bubba27]

#4
NYSE:SPCE was @ $31.55
Buy to Cover @ $27
6 shares = $162
No commission
Going long
Originally sold short these 6 shares @ $31.50.


#5
NYSE:SPCE was @ $32.78
Buy limit order @$25
8 shares =$200
No commission fees.
Reinvest dividends
Long shot. I may wind up adjusting this order as time goes by depending upon how the market behaves.