To The Moon

Welcome to another episode of "How Not to Trade Like a Pro" - where we document the messy reality of retail trading with brutal honesty and just enough humor to keep us sane.

TL;DR: The Phoenix Rises from Three Weeks of Ashes 🔥➡️🚀

After three consecutive weeks of taking losses like a champ (or a chump?), we're back to profitability through the ancient art of... actually cutting losses when they hurt. Revolutionary, I know.

📈 The Numbers That Actually Matter

• 🚀 Weekly P&L: +$6.7k (feels like winning the lottery after recent weeks)

• 🎯 YTD Performance: +43% (peaked at +46.55% - we'll get there again)

• 🏆 Beating S&P 500 by: +30% (the strategies work when I follow them)

• 💰 Current Leverage: 0% (sleeping soundly for the first time in weeks)

• 💧 Cash Position: 30% (up from 20% in August - September survival mode)

🎓 EXCLUSIVE: Learn Options Trading That Actually Works

Before we dive into this week's trading drama, I'm excited to invite you to join me for an exclusive 3-part collaboration with Tiger Brokers. If you've ever wondered how options can supercharge your portfolio (or blow it up spectacularly), these sessions are for you:

🗓️ Session 1: Friday, Sept 19th - "Options Trading Mindsets & Rookie Mistakes"

Because everyone needs to hear how I lost money before they do it themselves

Click to watch：the live broadcast

🗓️ Session 2: Face-to-Face Q&A Session

Your burning options questions answered by someone who's made all the mistakes

Click to register：Options Bootcamp Offline Meetup!

🗓️ Session 3: Live Strategy Deep-Dive

Real trades, real setups, real market conditions

🎯 REGISTER HERE - Options Demystified Sessions

Trust me, learning from someone else's expensive mistakes is way cheaper than making your own.

Session 1 Covers Options Trading Mindsets, Basis, and Rookie Mistakes to Avoid

Session 2 is Face to Face Discussion to Address Any Options FAQs

Click to register： Options Bootcamp Offline Meetup!

Session 3 Cover Practical Strategies, Contracts Setups and Market Watch with Realistic Trades

2025 YTD P&L

WW37 Top 10 Profitable Trades

Profitable Trades

Top 10 most profitable trades ranged from $4.7k to $360. 4 trades exceeded $1k gains in a week

WW37 Unprofitable Trades

Unprofitable Trades

Top 10 most unprofitable trades ranged from $4.0k to $92. Two positions exceeded $1k in losses, though the losing tail continued to remain manageable.

🎭 This Week's Trading Theater: A Tale of Three Positions

Featuring the same cast of characters from WW36 - because apparently I'm in a committed relationship with chaos

🚀 ACT I: $Hims & Hers Health Inc.(HIMS)$ - "The Comeback Kid"

HIMS Daily Chart

The Setup: Remember when I said HIMS was dead money? Yeah, about that...

HIMS decided to absolutely flex with back-to-back +14% weekly gains. First +14.31% in WW36, then another +14.65% in WW37, closing at $55.50. Sometimes the market rewards patience (or punishes my pessimism).

Plot Twist: As I write this, HIMS has pulled back to around $50. Classic market humor - give you hope, then immediately test your conviction.

Current Battle Plan:

• 📍 Long 200 shares @ $55 avg

• 🎯 2 covered calls @ $55 strikes (Sept 19 expiry)

• 🛡️ 4 short puts ($40-$53 strikes, Sept expiry)

Strategy: Diamond hands activated. Max position size reached. Let time decay work its magic while I resist the urge to "optimize" a winning position.

Lesson: Sometimes the best strategy is doing absolutely nothing. Revolutionary concept for overthinkers like me.

2. ⚰️ ACT II: $VanEck Gold Miners ETF(GDX)$ - "How to Short a Gold Rush (Spoiler: Don't)"

GDX Daily Chart

GOLD (USD/OZ) Daily Chart

The Painful Reality: While gold hit new all-time highs and miners partied like it's 1849, my genius brain decided to short the entire gold rush. Because "mean reversion," right? RIGHT?

The Carnage: GDX has posted 6 consecutive green weeks while I sat there shorting it like some kind of financial masochist. Current damage:

• 🔻 Short 500 shares @ $56.40 avg (now at $69.02 - ouch)

• 📉 9 short puts @ $60 strikes

• 💸 8 short calls (ALL in-the-money because of course they are)

The Nuclear Moment: Watched GDX hit $70.48 on Sept 15th (my capitulation level) but it pulled back the next day. Even the market is trolling me now.

Survival Plan:

• Priority 1: Reduce exposure on ANY pullback

• Priority 2: Consider flipping bullish (if you can't beat them, join them?)

• Priority 3: Write a book titled "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Gold at $70"

Expensive Lesson: I missed stop-losses at $55, then again at $60. Pride is expensive. Stop-losses are cheap. Do the math.

3. 🤖 ACT III: $SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC(SMCI)$ - "AI Hype Meets Gravity (Spoiler: Gravity Wins)

SMCI Daily Chart

The Tuition Bill: Bought into the AI revolution at $66.98. Current price hovers around $45. This position has become my expensive MBA in "Advanced Studies in Hype vs. Reality."

Current Situation:

• 💎 Long 1,470 shares @ $66.98 (death grip status: ACTIVATED)

• 🎯 15 covered calls @ $45 strikes (Sept/Oct expiry)

• ⚠️ 200-day MA at $40.62 = final boss battle

Exit Strategy Menu:

• Plan A: Let covered calls get assigned at $45 (-35% loss but clean exit)

• Plan B: Keep selling calls in $40-45 range (death by a thousand cuts)

• Plan C: Stop-loss below $40.62 (-40% loss, maximum pain threshold)

Key Insight: There's a difference between AI leaders (NVDA, MSFT) and AI "me-too" plays. Choose your fighters wisely, folks.

🍂 September Strategy: "Surviving the Portfolio Graveyard Month"

"September: Where dreams go to die since 1792" 📅

Historical fact: September is statistically the worst month for stocks. With VIX chilling at 16.59 (calm before the storm?), here's my survival playbook:

🛡️ Defense Mode Activated:

• ✂️ Position trimming (spring cleaning in fall)

• 🦶 Zero leverage (dignity preservation strategy)

• 💰 30+% liquidity (cash is my new best friend)

• 🎯 Long Term Leverage Limit: 1.2x leverage, >25% liquidity

The Mission: Survive September to thrive in Q4. No heroes needed. 🦸‍♂️

🎓 Weekly Report Card

✅ What Went Right:

• SMCI and HIMS finally remembered which direction is up

• $SoFi Technologies Inc.(SOFI)$ continues its consistent weekly gains streak

• Maintained position sizing discipline (mostly)

• Achieved zero leverage (emotional stability +100%)

• Actually learned from expensive mistakes (revolutionary!)

❌ What Went Wrong:

• GDX and VXX short hedges proved costly

• Still shorting gold rushes like it's a hobby

• Timing exits about as well as a broken clock

💸 Expensive Lessons Learned:

1. Set stop-losses when thesis breaks (not when portfolio breaks)

2. Position sizing saves portfolios (and marriages)

3. Hype stocks require smaller positions (and bigger stops)

4. Sometimes the best trade is no trade (mind = blown)

🚀 YOUR TURN: Join the Community Challenge

This Week's Mission for Fellow Traders:

• 🎪 Make fewer, higher conviction trades ahead of Fed rate cuts

• 💰 Actually take profits (never wrong taking profits)

• 🔪 Stop catching falling knives without safety nets

💭 Community Discussion:

Question for You: What's your most expensive trading lesson?

Drop your war stories in the comments! Best confession gets 50 Tiger Coins 🪙 and eternal bragging rights in our hall of expensive education.

Let's Discuss:

• 🤔 Join my Options Trading Sessions - Learn from my mistakes before making your own

• 🤝 Are you buying more stocks at all-time highs?

• 📊 What's your 2025 return target? How are you adjusting strategies?

🔮 Next Week's Cliffhangers

Will our hero (that's me, apparently):

• Finally cut losses on GDX at $70, or will the miners show mercy?

• Watch SMCI hold above $40 for covered calls to work their magic?

• Survive September's reputation as the dream crusher?

• Learn to sell shovels instead of shorting gold rushes?

Find out next week on "How Not to Trade Like a Pro"!

🎬 My Michael Jordan Moment

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career... And that is why I succeed."

Every losing trade, every blown stop-loss, every hype stock that reality-checked me - they're all tuition payments in the University of Market Humility. The degree is expensive, but the education is priceless.

🔔 Don't Miss Out!

📚 REGISTER FOR OPTIONS SESSIONS

Click here to secure your spot - These sessions fill up fast!

📱 Follow My Trading Journey

• Follow me for real-time trade updates and market insights

• Comment below with your trading questions and war stories

• Share this post if you know someone who needs to learn from my expensive mistakes

🎯 What's Next?

Next week: Another episode of "How Not to Trade Like a Pro" - where we document the journey from average retail trader to... slightly above average retail trader who occasionally gives trading advice.

Remember: We trade to fund our dreams, not our nightmares. Sometimes the market reminds us which one we're actually doing.

Positions mentioned are for educational entertainment purposes. Please do your own research before following some random trader's public diary of financial decisions. Past performance does not guarantee future results, but it does guarantee future stories.

Until next week's therapy session,

Your Humble Market Student 🎓💸

P.S. - If you're not following my trades yet, what are you waiting for? Hit that follow button and join the chaos. At minimum, you'll feel better about your own trading decisions. 😉