Author Topic: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000  (Read 32931 times)

Rimu05

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 291
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #50 on: October 28, 2018, 04:42:13 PM »
This is interesting to read, however due to the nature of my job. I have never bothered to get into trading because I'd have to go through compliance to do it and some things are completely forbidden for us to do.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #51 on: November 02, 2018, 09:57:58 AM »
Start of November and broke $6000!

So what, about 5 months to go from $2500 to $6000?  Not horrible.

$6400 is the goal at the end of year 2 to keep on track for 60% gain each year to reach $250,000 in 10 years from the initial $2500.

So only $400 from that.


UnexpectedExpenseExpector

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 60
  • Age: 39
  • Location: United States
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #52 on: November 12, 2018, 10:48:20 AM »
You keep rocking it @Roland of Gilead !  You may have to adjust your goal if you keep up at the present rate.

I got busy in October and wasn't able to get a post in but did pretty decent on the trading considering the market.

8/14/2018:  $5,940.64
8/27/2018:  $6,300.64  ($160 of new deposits, $200 of gains)
9/7/2018:   $13,990.99 ($7551.15 of new deposits, $139.20 of gains)
9/14/2018:  $15,559.24 ($1568.25 of gains)
9/19/2018:  $16,148.37 ($80 of new deposits, $509.13 of gains)
9/29/2018: $16,554.48 ($160 of new deposits, $196.11 of gains)
10/5/2018: $17,454.57 ($380 of new deposits, $520.09 of gains)
11/9/2018: $18,556.14 ($455 of new deposits, $646.57 of gains)




hops

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 393
  • Location: United States
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #53 on: November 19, 2018, 11:36:22 AM »
A belated congratulations on the Endocyte buyout! Biotech stocks are my favorite to watch but I lack the intestinal fortitude for anything but the occasional very minor transaction (and I can only dabble in areas unrelated to my SO's work in medicine).

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #54 on: December 08, 2018, 08:50:29 AM »
Broke the $6400 mark.

Why is that number significant?  Well, it represents the amount you would need to have at the end of year two to be on your way to turning $2500 into $250,000 in 10 years.   Being that it has only been 5 months since I started this project, I am well ahead of schedule.

End of year three is a 60% gain on $6400, or $10,240

Sitting on all cash right now.   Might be some bargains out there soon.   I still like Arrowhead ARWR for some significant gains (or a way to lose a lot of money).   I might buy it again in the $12 area, it was like $13.10 Friday.

Gilead looks tempting at $68 but not sure it would be a big mover for this tiny account.   I could only buy around 90 shares.   It does pay a $0.54 dividend soon though which would be $50 more in the account (stock always seems to recover from the payout).


Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #55 on: December 20, 2018, 09:37:58 PM »
For all my millions of followers, I am pleased to let you know the Robinhood race is still on!

I have weathered this market downturn nicely and now am at $6537

I was at $6613 yesterday but bought 95 shares of Celgene today for what turned out to be not quite the bargain price of $65.75

Not too worried, just will have to hold it a few days until cooler heads prevail and it returns to the high 60s.


gmdv

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 123
  • Hermit Wannabe
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #56 on: January 06, 2019, 11:30:31 AM »
Alright, I'm in,  except mine is race from $100 to $1,000, LOL.  I'll be buying stocks under $5 with high buy rating, on days where the market drops, and will stick stop loss on all shares. Conservative gambling :)

blackletterlaw

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 23
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #57 on: January 06, 2019, 12:17:13 PM »
Interested in following this as well. I’ve got very little in Robinhood and am risk-averse to this kind of thing.

How did you learn how to trade? Any recommended books?

As your money grows...do the size of our bets grow in charge? Like I would imagine only ever betting with something like 10-20% of my wealth as it grow...holding other money in coservative picks or keeping it as cash in by Robinhood account...

Anyway...congrats on having the skill and knowledge to do this successfully.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #58 on: January 07, 2019, 06:08:02 PM »
I totally mess up on the last trade of 2018.  I sold the 95 shares of Celgene for about $64, a ~$200 loss.   I did this for tax reasons.

Stupid.

Celgene got bought out just 2 days later for $87.

Raeon

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 90
  • Location: Arizona
  • Comparison is the thief of joy
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #59 on: January 26, 2019, 05:27:00 PM »
I totally mess up on the last trade of 2018.  I sold the 95 shares of Celgene for about $64, a ~$200 loss.   I did this for tax reasons.

Stupid.

Celgene got bought out just 2 days later for $87.

One thing I've learned dabbling in active trading on RH... I almost always kick myself after a trade because I "sold too soon" or "held too long".  I've started to become much less sensitive to this though with experience.  I've learned to step back and look at it with the perspective of "I made the best decision with the data I had available, there was no way of knowing."  On the other hand, when I do look back over the trade and realize I missed something obvious, that lesson stings and sticks with me pretty good!

I wouldn't say I'm on your level at all, but I think I'm getting there.  I took some nasty losses from September-October due to thinking "surely now we've hit the bottom".  I took a step back for awhile and have started again a bit more cautiously. I've learned that when short term trading you need to use short term trends.  It sounds obvious enough but it went against my long accepted thought process of "the market will always go up given enough time" philosophy.  That's a great way to lose money when playing with time limited options, yikes! 

In any event, it's all "casino" money to me.  It represents 1% of my stash so I don't feel too terrible experimenting and it provides me with hours of entertainment each week.  I've been having a great time, learning a lot, and even have started to make money off it again.  I may post pics later of my drop and recovery.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #60 on: January 27, 2019, 09:21:55 AM »
Update:

Well, funny story here.   I was going to update this to post that I haven't done much with Robinhood while we have been out of cell reception range doing snowmobile rides deep in the mountains but it looks like one time I was on top of a mountain I was actually able to get a trade out!  I didn't think it had gone through, so imagine my surprise today to find it had and my Robinhood account is up $400!   This does make it look a bit too easy to make money...I mean if you can trade while carving the side of a mountain in 3 feet of fresh powder...

Below is where I think I placed the trade...while my wife in front of me is considering the slope of the mountain in front of her :-)

Rosy

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2742
  • Location: Florida
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #61 on: January 29, 2019, 01:53:26 PM »
That is too funny, wouldn't that be the life just ski, and trade on top of the mountain:)
Those are some awesome results, just wow.
I'm totally impressed with your 10 year analogy and the $6400 necessary by year three to reach $250K - mind blown.




 

TheStrenuousLife

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 278
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Canada
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #62 on: March 12, 2019, 12:37:52 PM »
Posting to follow.  Just got on the equivalent Canadian service, which is still in Beta, at Wealthsimple: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/product/trade/

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #63 on: April 06, 2019, 08:21:23 AM »
I have not done much recently with the Robinhood account, except tax time was sort of fun.   They changed clearing houses mid year and while one of the clearing houses was in the drop down list in tax cut, the other was not.  Fortunately I only had a few trades in the second clearing house and was able to enter them by hand.

Currently all cash at about $6850.   Digging around for a something to buy...I feel as if I have missed the boat on a few of my favorite stocks...Merck is $82 now, Arrowhead is $20, Celgene is near buyout endgame price at $94+.   

I am interested in Gilead a little bit, everything else seems very expensive.   

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #64 on: April 10, 2019, 11:32:00 AM »
Ok I bought some Gilead Jan leaps yesterday on the spike down to $66 and then sold this morning on the pop and upgrade.

A quick $400 gain, bringing me to $7252 and change.

$10,000 would be a triple in less than a year, and it is looking doable.


Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #65 on: May 06, 2019, 07:21:19 PM »
Milestone today!  Some timely trading of Gilead post earnings has netted me another $300 or so bringing me to 202% gain since I started the account last June.

So that is a triple on my initial $2500 in less than a year.   Not too shabby.  Today I spent 35 seconds trading, while walking back from our sailboat to the car, so that is a hourly rate of $300 * 3600/35 = $30,857 an hour.


Raeon

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 90
  • Location: Arizona
  • Comparison is the thief of joy
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #66 on: May 17, 2019, 09:37:27 PM »
Gilead's balls on trades are far bigger than my own haha. I guess when you truly have the money to burn you can trade fearlessly. Options are fun but they scare the crap out of me. I got burned a few times early on and am afraid to play with them as much now. 

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #67 on: May 18, 2019, 09:19:11 AM »
Gilead's balls on trades are far bigger than my own haha. I guess when you truly have the money to burn you can trade fearlessly. Options are fun but they scare the crap out of me. I got burned a few times early on and am afraid to play with them as much now.

Well it was only $2500 I started with.   As the money grows I have to keep telling myself it was only $2500 and the goal is to rapidly grow it 100x to $250,000.

Almost at $8,000 now.


Apple_Tango

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 420
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #68 on: May 19, 2019, 01:19:01 PM »
I just want to follow along :) I'm a buy and hold VTSAX person, but I did risk $200 in bitcoin a year ago and I sold a most of the profits right before the bubble burst last fall. I kept $200 in the account the day I sold, so now I'm just playing with the house's money and it is fun to see it go up again after several months. I'm not planning on buying any more crypto, but it made me interested in this RH thing with free trades. I might try another $200 to $1000 challenge with Robinhood.

alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #69 on: May 26, 2019, 03:15:27 PM »
Following, may get in on this game at some point soon-ish.

My main question is, what resources are you using to stay on track with these companies? Google Alerts? Some trading/insider website? Are you just monitoring certain stocks to get ideas for how they trade and then working to buy low and quickly trade high again?

Knapptyme

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 258
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Ecuador
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #70 on: May 26, 2019, 03:33:43 PM »
I dabble with RH. $400 incrementally invested over the past year and withdrawals totaling around $440. The account is still worth about $100. Playing with house money is fun! I've also tried Webull for the free stocks, but I don't care for their interface as much. It's a lot of information someone might use, but I sure don't. It's mostly gambling, amiright?

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #71 on: May 27, 2019, 07:34:01 AM »
Following, may get in on this game at some point soon-ish.

My main question is, what resources are you using to stay on track with these companies? Google Alerts? Some trading/insider website? Are you just monitoring certain stocks to get ideas for how they trade and then working to buy low and quickly trade high again?

Almost exactly that strategy.   First, I pick an unloved sector, biotech.  Then I look for stocks with solid earnings, a good amount of cash on hand and good future prospects.   Next I wait for the hate to pile on biotech, driving these stocks well below their normal lows.   I buy and then sell on the bounce back.   I have done this with mostly Merck, Gilead, and Celgene.

There is volatility.   Sometimes I have to hold the stock for weeks to get back to even and make a profit.   Sometimes I miss out, like selling Celgene for a small profit right before it is bought out.

Currently over $8,000 in the account, coming up on 1 year since I started.   About a 220% gain.


alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #72 on: May 28, 2019, 01:05:02 PM »
Following, may get in on this game at some point soon-ish.

My main question is, what resources are you using to stay on track with these companies? Google Alerts? Some trading/insider website? Are you just monitoring certain stocks to get ideas for how they trade and then working to buy low and quickly trade high again?

Almost exactly that strategy.   First, I pick an unloved sector, biotech.  Then I look for stocks with solid earnings, a good amount of cash on hand and good future prospects.   Next I wait for the hate to pile on biotech, driving these stocks well below their normal lows.   I buy and then sell on the bounce back.   I have done this with mostly Merck, Gilead, and Celgene.

There is volatility.   Sometimes I have to hold the stock for weeks to get back to even and make a profit.   Sometimes I miss out, like selling Celgene for a small profit right before it is bought out.

Currently over $8,000 in the account, coming up on 1 year since I started.   About a 220% gain.

Okay, one last question. When you buy & sell is it simply market buy/sell or are you doing limit, stop limit, and stop loss for your orders to better automate?

Specifically, I'm thinking I suspect a stock will drop to a certain point so I put in a stop loss to buy it. Then I know I want to sell when it hits a certain high so I put in a stop limit or limit order. That automates it a bit more. Is this how you're doing it or is it more you watch it throughout the day and buy/sell based on what you see at a specific time? Or is it some combination?

You've really piked my interest here. I don't have $2,500 to start with, but I can do some research and start at about $50ish/mo to build up some and see what I can do. Would love to be part of this race!

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #73 on: June 08, 2019, 10:55:53 AM »
Okay, one last question. When you buy & sell is it simply market buy/sell or are you doing limit, stop limit, and stop loss for your orders to better automate?

Specifically, I'm thinking I suspect a stock will drop to a certain point so I put in a stop loss to buy it. Then I know I want to sell when it hits a certain high so I put in a stop limit or limit order. That automates it a bit more. Is this how you're doing it or is it more you watch it throughout the day and buy/sell based on what you see at a specific time? Or is it some combination?

You've really piked my interest here. I don't have $2,500 to start with, but I can do some research and start at about $50ish/mo to build up some and see what I can do. Would love to be part of this race!

Yes I mostly use limit orders for buying and selling.  It does not cost anything and usually can get you a fill with the low volumes we are talking about at a slightly better price than market.   It is also a good way to set up buys and sells to auto trigger while you are out doing stuff like hiking or sailing.   I have even done things like buy half the amount of a stock that I desire in the morning, set up a buy to purchase the remaining half at a lower price and also set up a sell order to sell the original half at a higher price.  I have come back from a hike to find my buy and sell executed and I have my purchase plus a few hundred bucks extra in cash in the account.   So pleasant to be able to make money like this doing practically nothing at all.

On that note, I reached $8631 on Friday.  I made about $500 the past week during the market volatility.


Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #74 on: June 25, 2019, 06:55:20 PM »
Today is the one year anniversary!  I started this challenge June 25, 2018 by depositing $2500 in Robinhood with the goal of making at least a 60% return each year which would cause my total return to be more than $250,000 in just ten years.   (easy right?)

Well, today I crossed $9,000!   The total one year return is 260%.   Not a bad start to my challenge.


alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #75 on: June 29, 2019, 07:42:56 AM »
Congratulations!!! That's awesome!!!!!

Well, this thread more than any other got me interested in this whole thing so I started investing more aggressively with various stocks. I'm still narrowing down which stocks I think I could invest in more regularly, but over the past month I've been actively buying/selling I've gained about 5%/week which feels pretty good for a newbie! Hoping to hit $500 - $700 by EOY.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #76 on: August 02, 2019, 07:21:10 PM »
Well, it is August 2, 2019, a bit over a month since I updated the thread and crossed the $9,000 mark on my initial $2500 investment.

It was a terrible month for almost all of it.   I bought 20 Jan 2020 $45 calls of BMY (Bristol Myers Squibb) with about $6100 of my account and 1200 shares of CLSN (Celsion) with $2100.

And then BMY went haywire along with most other drug stocks.  Celsion went less haywire but it is thinly traded.   At one point the account was down to $6800 but very strong earnings on BMY brought it back up the next day to ~$8600.  The goal was for the strong earnings to turn my $6100 into about $8000 and bring my RobinHood account up to $11,000 but that did not happen.

Today BMY showed some strength and I was able to exit the trade with an actual meager profit (sold the calls for around $6300).  I also sold off the Celsion for $1.81 and now it is trading for $1.74.  It is thinly traded though so putting in a order for 1000 shares could mean it spikes to $1.78.   I like the idea of it but I just don't know if it is going to take off.  The CEO and CFO have been buying shares at market prices which is a good signal.  I might get back in it next week in the $1.70 area for perhaps 600 shares.   It could go up big time if they scored a partnership.   I have seen these companies go from $2 to $20 in less than a year (and have seen them go to $0 too).

Anyway, all cash now at $9291 (except for the few free stocks).   With the trade wars and the attack on big pharma, all cash is feeling pretty comfy.   But it is hard to turn $2500 into $250,000 by staying all cash.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #77 on: August 05, 2019, 07:42:26 PM »
Whew!  Dodged a bullet today with that drop.   Since I had almost gotten burned on BMY I was sitting in all cash and I just watched the market sink like a stone while my Robinhood account stayed at $9300.

I am going to take some nibbles tomorrow though.   I am looking at Gilead in the $62 area and maybe dabble in Nektar in the $27 area.

alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #78 on: August 30, 2019, 10:08:15 AM »
Been learning A LOT over the past few months. I started at 500 in July and I'm basically at $0 change right now. But in that time I've learned a lot of lessons and started to figure out the difference between "Investing" and "Trading". I spent too much time early on buying stocks that message boards were recommending and I'm bag holding a few things waiting for them to pick back up. In two months, I've been almost $200 dollars up and as much as $50 down and I think I finally have a handle on the kind of trades I want to do and where it's okay to make sacrifices and sell at a loss.

I also just started options trading, which is an interesting gamble that I'm trying out with a few stock I think will pop up. I'm buying more slowly than I was before and selling faster. I find this is going a lot better for me than the alternative which was buy and hold and lose money.

And that's the biggest takeaway from this so far. There are two mindsets: Investing and Trading. Investing is what I do with my long-term investments, putting money into EFTs and the like and letting it build up for years and years until the nest egg is what I need (aka the Mustacian way!). But Trading is what I should be doing in Robinhood: Investing in a handful of stocks looking for short-term gains and selling quickly when there is profit to be made.

Had I been following the trader's mindset with some admittedly volatile stocks, I would be doing really well right now. Instead I'm back at $0 and looking to use my new mindset to work my way up.

Here's to my race, starting now, from $500 to $50,000!

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #79 on: September 09, 2019, 02:36:17 PM »
Whee!  Hit $10,000 for the first time today!   Ended the day all cash at $10,020 plus the ~$70 in free stocks.

Not quite 15 months and over 300% gain, $2500 to $10,020

Next stop, $25,000.


gmdv

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 123
  • Hermit Wannabe
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #80 on: September 09, 2019, 09:54:30 PM »
Alright, I'm in,  except mine is race from $100 to $1,000, LOL.  I'll be buying stocks under $5 with high buy rating, on days where the market drops, and will stick stop loss on all shares. Conservative gambling :)
I had a lot of difficulty switching my mindset from investing to trading and spent too much time looking instead of acting. Missed a lot of opportunities, but overall not bad.

Deposit:

Jan - $100.00

YTD Gain:

Jan - CIG - $6.56
Mar - ARC - $1.70
Jun - NBR - $5.00
Jul - NBR - $10.00
Jul - dividend - $0.28

Total: $23.54

Pending gain as of today on shares currently hold: $17.95

No loss since I didn't sell when stocks dipped below purchase price.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #81 on: September 10, 2019, 09:46:29 AM »
I woke up late this morning (7:20 am) and missed part of a great opportunity in Merck, but managed to still snag part of a dip and made $400 in a 1 hour trade.

Now at all cash and $10,491!


alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #82 on: September 28, 2019, 10:01:27 AM »
I've been getting hammered in September. Part of it is playing penny stocks and holding way too long. Also, I've only just sold my first stock at a loss because I've had a hard time convincing myself that it's okay to sell at a loss instead of loosing even more or - even worse - missing some amazing opportunities. There have been several times where if I just had 100 dollars I could have made significant quick gains and I've been missing out.

My goal in October is to get my investments from negative back to neutral, sell off a bunch of my stocks to free up cash, and re-start with my new trading mindset. Hopefully I'll come back in a month either positive or at least neutral!

alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #83 on: September 28, 2019, 10:07:58 AM »
Can you tell where I started trading (and holding) pennies? LOL

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #84 on: October 07, 2019, 08:01:13 PM »
Sorry to hear about your bad luck in September  :-(

I had a little downturn at points but I just dug in and held onto the names I trusted were undervalued (Merck mostly).

I just hit $12,130 today, all cash.  It is really amazing to think that I have nearly $10,000 in profit on $2500 initial investment in a little more than a year.  Suddenly hitting $25,000 doesn't seem that far fetched, and $250,000 might not be the lol joke it first looked like.


golfreak12

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 365
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #85 on: October 08, 2019, 09:43:02 PM »
I just wanted to say you are insane. Insanely good.
WOW.

alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #86 on: October 13, 2019, 07:45:46 AM »
My biggest issue has been holding too long. On multiple occasions, I had chance to sell at a profit in high-risk stocks. Instead, I held and lost out because of it.

I'm learning to just "take my profits" and then wait for the next good opportunity. I'm getting a little better at it, but a lot of my money is tied up in loosing products. I'm holding out in a lot of them for a few more weeks until earnings season when I expect a few of them to pop up again; maybe not to profitability but at least to have a bit more money in my pocket for my next trade.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #87 on: October 13, 2019, 08:53:34 AM »
Yes, I do think part of my success is that I really don't get super greedy.  An example very recently is my trading in Merck and Gilead.   I bought Merck at $82 and change, sold in the mid $83 and then watched it climb to $85.  In Gilead I bought at $63, watched it fall to $62, then recover to $63.50 where I took profit then saw it climb to $64.   Sure I missed the top but I made money.  Both stocks have fallen back from highs many   many times and there is a good chance I will be able to buy Merck again at $82 or Gilead at $62 in the next few weeks.

I am currently sitting in all cash at $12,555, a tad over 400% gain since I started this challenge.


Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #88 on: November 14, 2019, 05:35:56 PM »
Well it has been about a month since I updated.   I did a bit more trading in Gilead, plus a little bit of other bios and have now broken $14,000.

Since I am getting near the ACA cliff, where making $100 more could cost me $8,000 more in tax, I have slowed trading.   I do not think I will try to get much past $15,000 this year.


Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #89 on: November 21, 2019, 09:05:38 AM »
Ah well, I blew through $15,000.  I just had to buy into BMY on the dip yesterday and I sold today on the pop (March 2020 $57.50 calls).

I did recalculate taxes and it looks like I actually have about $4000 more room before going over the ACA cliff (where $1 more would lose me $8,000 on tax return).

It is within reason now to hit $16384 this year, which is the amount needed at the 4 year mark to be on track for my 10 year goal of 10,000% gain.


nkt0

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 259
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #90 on: November 21, 2019, 09:54:54 AM »
This is fascinating. How much time do you spend on this per day?

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #91 on: November 21, 2019, 10:05:32 AM »
This is fascinating. How much time do you spend on this per day?

Not much.  The trade in BMY yesterday that netted me so much was made while I was on a tour bus visiting NASA.

So maybe 5 min every few days?

nkt0

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 259
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #92 on: November 21, 2019, 11:37:31 AM »
This is fascinating. How much time do you spend on this per day?
So maybe 5 min every few days?

Surely you spend some time researching these companies/stocks/trades?

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #93 on: November 21, 2019, 11:57:30 AM »

Surely you spend some time researching these companies/stocks/trades?

Not really.   I guess I just stick with a very few companies who I have experience with in the past and trade their volatility.

I really take the random part of a random walk down wall street to heart.

Raeon

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 90
  • Location: Arizona
  • Comparison is the thief of joy
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #94 on: November 27, 2019, 06:06:28 PM »
It's strange but my best trades have also been the ones I've noticed while randomly scrolling through my watch lists on break at work.  Every once in awhile one jumps out screaming "easy money" and I can't help but take advantage.  The days I stare at market performance and research for hours I end up doing something stupid and regretting it.  It's apparently very easy to talk myself into a bad decision that seems logical but Mr. Market just doesn't agree with.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #95 on: December 11, 2019, 03:00:57 PM »
Broke through $17,000 and so have now hit the 4 year goal at just 1.5 years into this race.   Very much on track to turn $2500 into a quarter million, which is exciting.


alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #96 on: December 13, 2019, 06:25:53 AM »
I was hoping to have better news by now, but unfortunately not. I finally got out of my worst trades, but then took a few gambles that didn't pay off. I actually am starting to (slowly) turn around. I've been hording cash looking for quick trades and have seen a few wins. As I unload the many small positiosn I've got I'm transitioning to looking at 4-10 stocks i want to pay attention to that I have more familiarity with. I'm also going to join a group for $10/mo. that gives me insight into big pre-market opportunities. I've got a little money set aside after the first of the year for that and I'll give it a few months and see if the returns are greater than the spend (a few friends are in it and doing fairly well).

All in all, this has been learning money well spent, I think. I learned what greed looks like, when to stop-loss, and when to take my profits. My biggest issue now is that most of my funds are stuck in a few stocks that I'm not quite ready to sell. Once I'm free of those (ideally by the EOY) I'll be able to focus on the handful of stocks whose volitility I understand and start working my hands at a day trade or two a week to hopefully build myself back up to 0.

All in all, I'm looking forward to 2020! And, ya know, I saved a few bucks on taxes so it's not all bad ;)

alcon835

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #97 on: January 02, 2020, 03:16:23 PM »
Over the last two weeks I've been off of work. After taking a few days to "detox" from the daily grind, I decided to get back into trading. A few good plays (and a few more lucky ones) and just like that I'm profitable again! My total deposits were $538 and now I'm sitting at $577 (from $300 two weeks ago!).

What have I learned so far?
  • When I have time to focus on it, I can make solid day trades. Unfortunately, my day job doesn't offer me the freedom I need to watch the market for a big opportunity. I've failed up until now because I haven't been able to make the trades I need too in the volatile world of Penny Stocks. There will be a few I monitor, but for the most part I plan to stay away from big trades that will require me to continuously watch the market.
  • Over the past six months, I've gotten familiar with several stocks that have a fairly predictable swing pattern. Watching Roland has opened my eyes to this strategy and I plan to pick 3-5 stocks to swing throughout the year. This should give me the freedom to make plays more slowly.
  • I'm finally understanding Options. The profitable plays are with larger stocks (SPY, Apple, AMD, etc.) But with those stocks there is a TON of money to be made. If I go slowly, pay attention to a few larger stocks, and keep cash on hand for big opportunities I think there will be some opportunities here in 2020

So that's it! I'm starting 2020 in the green with a solid strategy in hand ready to go. I'm sure there is a lot I will learn and many more failures in my future, but I hope the lessons I learned today will increase my opportunities for success and decrease my overall loss during failure, haha.

Roland of Gilead

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2454
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #98 on: January 10, 2020, 09:49:53 AM »
Jan got off to a rather slow start while I waited for Jan 14, 2020 and a FDA meeting for Nektar.

But luck would have it, other news came out today on Nektar which boosted my holding by some $4,000!

So now I am at $21,000 and change!   A great way to start 2020!


Tacopwr

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 60
Re: RobinHood race from $2,500 to $250,000
« Reply #99 on: January 10, 2020, 11:48:01 AM »
I can't believe there is a thread like this on MMM. I thought I was on Wallstreetbets for a second!

I too have taken on a similar challenge. However I just want to continue trading small amounts for a while. I lost $600 in 2018 gambling on dumb options, but this year I have been much more conservative, just buying and holding VTI and AAPL. I'm using Robinhood Gold as well so I use about 30% margin. Has paid for a year of itself so far. lol

I've recently started getting back into options trading, but only monthly calls on SPY, setting limit sell orders for 15-20% profit. Buy the dip, set the limit, rinse repeat.

I'm limiting myself to only a couple hundred dollars a time as well. I'm not gonna blow up my account on gambling. lol



 
« Last Edit: January 10, 2020, 11:53:23 AM by Tacopwr »