@flagro what's an exit strategy look like? Well if it follows the short squeeze that VW experienced in the 2008, the target price is 34k a share.

Can't find a good writeup on the aftermath of the 2008 VW but that was also different because it was primarily governments and other investing firms involved.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/the-gamestop-bubble-is-going-to-hurt-a-lot-of-ordinary-investors/ is a writeup of what will likely happen (and presumably what happened in '08 as well). This is amazing for the people who got in early and get out at the peak. Not so much for folk who get in later or who wait too long. And if that sounds like it favors "wall street" then... you get a gold star.

The perceived value of the stock increases because there are expectations of ever greater gains. But it is based in nothing. The hedge funds being forced to pay for the shorted stocks don't have infinite money and the moment it starts to become clear that Joe Schmoe isn't going to make insane amounts of bank on the stock he bought at 300 a share, it will crash. And a LOT of people will be left holding the bag. Likely the people who got caught up in The Greatest Act of Collective Bargaining ever (if it sounds like I am laughing at that interpretation of events then it is because I am. But it is a sad and depressed laugh) and keep getting told to HODL!!!!! on their way to da moon. Again, if that sounds familiar it is because it is the exact same shit going on with pump and dumps in bitcoin.

The end result of this is going to be a lot of tears from the less educated folk who didn't understand what they were getting involved in. And "Wall Street" and a few REALLY manipulative folk on WSB et al are going to be buying another four teslas a pop.

@gundato: They're kicking the can down the road trying to get people to sell out. Remember, there are big firms holding as well. Furthermore, just about every call issued ended ITM when they expired today.

Don't believe the hype. Hold the line. DIAMOND HANDS

Read a bunch of articles on this, and I think I finally understand how you actually make (or lose) money shorting a stock. Turns out moving money that doesn’t exist back and forth can get confusing yo.

Also @gundato, great reference and something I might totally steal in the future.

What i've been asking myself is... Is it possible for folk to short the stock at this moment while the price is high and make a lot of money as the value returns to a normal level in the future? Or is there no way anyone would loan their stock out while the GME stock is so volatile?

@onemanarmyy most retail traders do not have access to short stock. Hedgefunds did short stock like this, which is why the float is still above 100%. They have also shorted stock for ladder attacks where they try to make the price go down artificially.

So... I don't want to say I told you so but... ah, who am I kidding?

How them diamond hands doing?

In all seriousness, I hope everyone got out in time and made some cash. And it sounds like deepfucking value might be under investigation and there is a lot of evidence that could lead to the r/WSB mods ALSO getting investigated if they meet whatever criteria there are.

So... welcome to the Pump and Dump of the 2020s. This is the first of many and please be careful going forward.

@gundato: "Stop, he's already dead!"

In all seriousness, an oft-repeated sentiment on WallStreetBets is "you're not really on WallStreetBets until you have some horrible loss based on the thread's predictions", so...

Yeah, not much of a shocker here.

@gundato yeah I can post again.

Obviously I got pretty hyped up at the potential for this to keep going. But the truth of the matter is it's house rules and the house always wins.

I got in on the trade late, FOMO'd a bunch of money (ok not too much). That same night, trading was restricted by multiple brokers and essentially the momentum on the retail side was kneecapped. Not something you would have predicted exactly would happen, but due to the volatility something like this was always possible.

There were a lot of mistakes I made in this trade. Namely I sold other securities in the medical marijuana sector to YOLO in GME. This was a mistake because the MJ play I still believed in. I had already made money on them, so why would I sell them to speculate? Big mistake, should've just taken some cash and gone to the bank. By the time it got deposited I would have seen it was over.

That said, I sat and held on to my GME. Watched it go from 7k all the way to 1.8. That's called escalating commitment.

The next week I kept trading, making little bits here and there without much capital (like $500). That Friday I noticed APHA and TLRY having a runup, so at end of day I bought some options. That Monday/Tuesday they both got squeezed and I made a couple grand.

Then I checked the volume, saw the squeeze was squoze, and bought puts (a bearish option that lets you profit when a stock declines). I held the puts till Thursday, making another 1.5k.

And that was most of my money back. After that I was still down about 1k, but I lucked out. I've still been playing, and been doing okay, mostly learning to be cautious and limit my exposure. Still swing trading single leg options.

And yesterday GME got squoze again. Made $200. Not the 10's of thousands, but better than losing 6k.

I also want to say that I think it's fine to get excited about these things... but it's a reality check when things don't go your way. If you are right, you're a genius and if you're wrong, you're a big fool.

This isn't the way I would choose for things to be, but it's one way you might just change your situation or someone else's situation. I'm tired of being on the computer 6 hours every morning plus the time I spend working on schoolwork and going to Zoom lectures or working online with my classmates. It's a psychological labor, and it takes a lot of attention to find profitable trades.

So yes I was the fool this time. I hope no one followed me into the madness. If they did, I'm sorry. Until I make it big, the best thing I can do is say let's discuss strategies and potential plays.

I'm on reddit: https://new.reddit.com/user/fantastic_awesome.

Oh yeah and go bears!

@fantasticasm89: Yeah... what you are describing is gambling. You are gussying it up in the same way that "fantasy sports aren't gambling because it is sports" and "slot machines aren't gambling because they have fancy flashing lights". In fact, everything in that post (aside from the weird attempt to build a brand?) reeks of "I am going to win because I have a system. It isn't gambling because my system means I'll make a killing at the track" and so forth

Like, honestly dude, it sounds like you may want to take a break from things and maybe talk to someone. You managed to fit a LOT of red flags into a single post.

And if it sounds like I am shitting on you: Maybe a bit. But also understand that there is nothing to be ashamed of. The human brain is very much geared up toward addiction and making bad decisions. The only thing to be ashamed of is not getting help if you need it and... you seem like you might need it.

@gundato: it's not far off from playing blackjack imo. less than poker.

no shame in being a professional card player.

@fantasticasm89:Correct. No shame in gambling until you start losing thousands of dollars while talking about using your System to make it big and change your life. That is when you get into the realm of addiction and danger.

Do what you want but please at least read through https://addictionresource.com/addiction/gambling/

@gundato: I don’t have much to add except seconding Gundato’s post. I’ve had a few family members get into gambling holes over the years, whether it be poker, sports betting, or day trading. Some to the point of life ruinous losses. I’m seeing the red flags here as well (although tbf with the excitement over GME, I’ve seen a lot of red flags lately, so this isn’t unique). Just be careful out there duders.

thanks for the concern @navster15 and @gundato, it's good to hear from voices of genuine concern.

While I am not overly concerned at this time, I appreciate the different perspectives.