re: 2015 TDMTFSS (SECOND Standings Update, 3/20/2015)

Keep in mind that the maximum potential loss for any short position is.....infinity.

Stay on top of the short or it can get away from you quickly. Stop losses are your friend when it comes to shorts.

One quick question, when I "buy to cover" do I actually purchase the shares and own 10,000 shares or does the position just close?

and damn that shite just went above $6 !! shite this is so fun.

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the position just close

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Your position in that security goes to zero.

Thanks OnTheBrink for killing my productivity. I'll probably be fired for playing this game instead of working! I keep telling myself to set some positions and walk away, but it is pretty exciting watching the ticker when you have "money" on the line. I remember now why I gave up (for the most part) trading individual stocks in my personal portfolio. Too much drama!

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One quick question, when I "buy to cover" do I actually purchase the shares and own 10,000 shares or does the position just close?

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Let me give you a more detailed answer to your question. (Like you and NBR, I was busy trading earlier when I gave you my short answer.)

If you have a short position IRL on Schwab, when you click on the trading window it gives you a choice, "Buy to Cover" or "Buy."

If you select Buy to Cover all you're doing is purchasing the number of shares you currently have a short position in and if your order fills your position in that security goes to zero.

If you select "Buy" then if your order fills you will have both a short and a long position in that security.

An example of why you might have a short and long position is you already are long in a security. It goes up in price quickly which gives you a nice gain on your long position in it but you think it's going to drop back down just as quickly.

You don't really want to sell your long position because your cost basis is low and thus you'll have major tax consequences with some big taxable gains if you sell.

So you can short that security in the same quantity as your long position and if you're correct and the price declines, you can buy to cover the short thus protecting some of the gains you made in the initial long position and you will only have taxable gains in the short position transaction meaning your cost basis is much higher so lower tax consequences.

I've done that quite a few times with my JPM, KO and XOM long positions.

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how long can you hold a short position?

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IRL, you can hold it until, literally, you run out of cash or marginable securities in your brokerage account. Then you have to close the short or do what I describe below.

That would happen if you short something, hold it, and the price continues to go up making your losses in the short position larger and larger. When it reaches the margin limit (and I've never hit mine so I can't tell you what it is) you would be told to deposit additional securities or cash into the account or cover the short by buying the security, thus closing the open short position.

I don't know what our game rules are for short positions. Frankly the more I play with the game, the more it becomes apparent it only vaguely resembles real world trading.

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Russian, if this keeps up all year long, just send me a bill for your financial advise.

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From the looks of it, you've got a LOT of money to pay me with....

I don't see a link to the games on the iPad app.

Made about 1500 today. Not bad. If I knew how I'd short BAC tomorrow.

But that's just me.

WWE is down too :(

well the after hours trading stung my arse a little on the ARNA yesterday. Tried to sell at the end of the day and didn't click on it until right after the closing bell.