RunawayTrader

Rank amateur. Beginner. Newbie. Tyro. Whatever the term, I walked into Dendreon like I was making my first ever online trade. It’s a wonder I made any money at all, but wound up making lots of it, in spite of myself.

For new readers of this rag, you should know that I’ve been trading online since the dot-com days, about 12 years. And during that tenure, I have made every order-entry mistake known to traders. And then some.

I have bought shares when I wanted to sell. I have sold when I actually wanted to buy. I’ve bought 1 share when I wanted to buy 100. I’ve bought 1009 shares when I wanted 100. I’ve accidentally bought shares of stocks whose symbols were disarmingly similar to the stock I really wanted. I’ve mistakenly sold stocks short when . . . well, you get the picture. I’ve done it all.

I thought I had all that behind me, but I guess I’m wrong.

Earlier this week, I sold off most of my shares of DNDN. Then when its price began to fade, I went long again. Still later, I decided (here’s a guy who really can’t make up his mind) to sell off. But, instead of liquidating my position, I doubled it. Strictly a novice move.

I didn’t notice my stupid error until late Wednesday (after writing that blog about another way to make money with DNDN). Anyway, I decided to leave the bet on the table. About the worst that could happen is that it would wipe out a month or two of trading earnings—but that’s not the stuff to slash your wrists about, right?

Well, you know what happened. I was off playing boating games at Minneapolis’ Lake Minnetonka when I checked my iPhone’s trading platform (istockmanager) and discovered the BIG NEWS. Provenge approved. Stock soared. Trading halted.

Rather than race back home and follow the news on my desktop, I took in a leisurely lunch, knowing that trading wouldn’t reopen for a couple of hours.

It was probably the most profitable day in my trading history—and it was all by accident. No, I didn’t become a millionaire (although many did) but I did good. I sold off near the peak, and then repurchased a smaller amount after the market closed. I am expecting a decided gap up tomorrow, what with all the hoopla the major networks heaped upon this story. And then I’ll follow the plan I outlined in a blog yesterday.

Meantime, I am determined to get the H out of here within a couple of weeks. Rome beckons. But so does every other point on the globe.

Happy trading. Hope you made money big-time today.

Charlie, the RT.