WW36 2025 Trade Journal: The Calm Before the Storm? 🌪️

TL;DR: From Chaos to... Less Chaos 📊

After weeks of emotional roller coaster rides swinging between +$10k to -$10k weekly P&L, this week delivered something I haven't experienced in months: boredom. With just a -$469 loss, I'm not sure if I should be relieved or concerned that my portfolio has gone from Netflix thriller to watching paint dry. 🎭

📈 The Big Picture: August Reality Check

August 2025 just became the second unprofitable month this year with a brutal -5.24% drop (-$23.6K), while Mr. Market decided to throw a party without me:

• 📊 S&P 500: +1.91% (showing off)

• 💻 Nasdaq: +0.85% (rubbing salt in wounds)

• 😤 My Portfolio: -5.24% (learning humility)

Current Stats That Matter:

• 🎯 YTD Performance: +38.34% (peaked at +46.55% - those were the days)

• 🏆 Still beating S&P by: +27.9% (silver lining activated)

• 💰 Leverage: 0% (sleeping like a baby)

• 💧 Liquidity: 36% (up from 20% - cash is king behavior)

2025 P&L with Aug unprofitable, flat start for Sep

WW 36 Top 10 Profitable Trades

Profitable Trades

Top 10 most profitable trades ranged from $2842 to $135.

WW 36 Top 10 Unprofitable Trades

Unprofitable Trades

Top 10 most unprofitable trades ranged from $3.8k to $150. Two positions exceeded $1k in losses, though the losing tail continued to remain manageable.

🎢 This Week's Drama: The Trilogy of Pain and Profit

1. $Hims & Hers Health Inc.(HIMS)$: The Phoenix Rising 🚀

HIMS Daily Chart

"Sometimes the market rewards the faithful"

The Setup: HIMS decided to flex with a +14.31% weekly gain, possibly riding favorable court rulings and strong earnings guidance. Finally, a position that remembers how to go UP! 📈

Current Battle Plan:

• 📍 Long 200 shares @ $55 avg

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

• 🛡️ 6 short puts ($40-$53 strikes, Sept expiry)

This Week's Strategy:

• ✋ HODL mode activated - max risk exposure reached

• 💎 Diamond hands until premiums evaporate

• 🎰 Let time decay work its magic

2. $VANECK VECTORS GOLD MINERS A SHARES(GDX.UK)$ :I Should Have Been Selling Shovels, Not Selling the Miners

GOLD (USD/OZ) Daily Chart

"When you're wrong about a gold rush, you get buried" 💀

The Painful Truth: Gold miners broke resistance on Aug 4th and haven't looked back - 5 consecutive green weeks. Meanwhile, my genius brain decided to short the gold rush because "mean reversion." 🤡

Current Damage Assessment:

• 🔻 Short 300 shares @ $51.33 avg (currently at $66.34 - ouch)

• 📉 6 short puts @ $60 strikes

• 💸 10 short calls ($57-$64, ALL in-the-money)

Survival Plan:

• 🚨 Priority 1: Reduce exposure on ANY pullback

• ☠️ Nuclear option: Full capitulation if GDX hits $70

• 🔄 Plot twist: Consider flipping bullish (if you can't beat them...)

Expensive Lesson: Missed my stop-loss at $55, then again at $60. Pride costs money. 💰

3. $SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC(SMCI)$: When “AI Hype” Meets Gravity Reality 🤖💥

SMCI Daily Chart

"Not all AI stocks are created equal - some are expensive tuition" 🎓

The Reality Check: Bought into the AI revolution at $66.98, currently watching my "future" trade at $40.41 (-39% and counting). This position has become my most expensive MBA course: "Advanced Studies in Hype vs. Reality." 📚

Current Situation:

• 💎 Long 1,470 shares @ $66.98 (death grip activated)

• 🎯 12 covered calls ($45-$50 strikes, Sept expiry)

• ⚠️ 200-day MA at $40.07 = final boss battle

Exit Strategy:

• 🏃‍♂️ Plan A: Let covered calls get assigned at $45 (-35% loss)

• 🔄 Plan B: Keep selling calls in $40-45 range

• 💀 Plan C: Stop-loss below $40.07 (-45% loss)

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

🍂 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 15.19 (calm before the storm?), here's my survival playbook:

🛡️ Defense Mode Activated:

• ✂️ Position trimming (spring cleaning in fall)

• 🦶 Zero leverage (dignity preservation strategy)

• 💰 36% liquidity (cash is my new best friend)

• 🎯 Target setup: 1.2x leverage, >25% liquidity eventually

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

🎭 The Weekly Confessions

What Went Right: ✅

• 📈 HIMS position finally cooperating

• 💎 Maintained discipline on position sizing

• 🧘‍♂️ Reduced leverage to zero (emotional stability++)

• 📚 Learning from expensive mistakes

What Went Wrong: ❌

• 🩸 GDX short squeeze participation (unwilling)

• 🤖 SMCI AI hype victim status confirmed

• ⏰ Poor timing on several entries

• 😤 Confirmation bias cost me real money

Expensive Lessons: 💸

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 (revolutionary concept)

🏆 The Community Challenge

This Week's Mission: 🎯

• 🎪 Make fewer, higher conviction trades

• 💰 Actually take profits (novel idea)

• 🔪 Stop catching falling knives without safety nets

Your Turn: 💭

What's your most expensive trading lesson?

Drop your war stories below! Best confession might get 50 Tiger Coins 🪙 and eternal bragging rights in our hall of expensive education.

Discussion Starters:

• 🤔 Anyone else getting schooled by momentum trades?

• 🤝 Who's joining the September survival challenge?

• 📊 What's your 2025 target vs reality check?

🔮 Next Week's Cliffhangers

• Will GDX finally show mercy or continue the beatdown? ⛏️

• Can SMCI hold the 200-day MA or become a -50% lesson? 🤖

• Will September live up to its reputation as the dream crusher? 📉

• Most importantly: Will I finally learn to sell shovels instead of shorting gold rushes? 💡

🎬 The Michael Jordan Moment

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

Every -$23.6K month, 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. 🎓

🔔 Stay Tuned

Follow along for next week's episode of "How Not to Trade Like a Pro" - where we document the journey from average retail trader to... slightly above average retail trader (progress!).

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. 📝

Until next week's therapy session, Your Humble Market Student 🎓💸