Carl Spackler

This Week's Recap: Goldman's Sucker Punch

For the past three weeks I have been buying S&P puts, and when yesterday happened, it took away about 70% of my profits. This time, I did smell a rat, and I followed a rule I now view as sacred - never decide to buy or sell during trading hours. I just turned off my monitor. Too many times I have seen these guys pull these tricks, but I learned that if you ignore them long enough, they cannot hurt you.

By the way, for long players, the same is true - don't dump your positions just because the market screen show -250. Make your decisions during off hours when your emotions are calm. The stock market is just like hustling in golf - you win when you raise the stakes enough for your opponent that he becomes nervous. A great golf gambler gets you out of your comfort zone and then he has the edge. This is exactly what the GS guys do.