Rick’s Picks

SIK25 – May Silver (Last:30.300)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

Talk about overdone! I could have used a small a-b- segment to make trading the pending bounce less risky, but because the move higher is likely to exhaust the levels of the larger pattern, including its 35.205 target, I've featured the bigger picture. The futures could still work their way lower before turning around, but a voodoo number at 28.260 is the only spot that looks interesting for purposes of bottom-fishing. Otherwise, a 'trigger' rally to the green line should be regarded as a reliable signal of a reversal, even if it is too belated to get us in near the bottom. _______ UPDATE (Apr 7, 9:28 a.m. EDT):  Based on an actual low at 27.545, the trade triggered at x=29.068 and produced a quick, relatively painless profit so far of $30,440 (!) on four contracts at p=30.590. Any contracts still held should use a 33,635 target.  You can augment the position with a 'mechanical' bid at 29.068, stop 27.540. _______ UPDATE (Apr 9, 9:45 a.m. EDT): The May contract has stalled at the 30.590 midpoint Hidden Pivot associated with the 33.635 target furnished above. With gold soaring, the stall is unlikely to last.  A pullback to x, especially if it comes from the sweet spot between p and p2, would generate a strong 'mechanical' buy.

GDXJ – Junior Gold Miner ETF (Last:51.02)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

With a longstanding rally target at 57.17 and a sell signal not far below, we had no trouble getting out of the way of last week's massacre. The vicious shakedown was engineered by the usual sleazeballs, but we'll have the luxury of rebuilding our inventory at prices that suit us, and without time constraints or pressure.  The 49.42 'd' target of the pattern shown will be a good place to start, although it's conceivable the correction could bring GDXJ down to as low as 44.87 (a=55.58 on 10/22) before it turns around. That pattern implies that a run-up now to 55.17 would trigger a 'mechanical' short, so we should be on our guard against signs of premature exuberance. _______ UPDATE (Apr  8, 1:32 p.m.):  Accumulating stock at the 49.42 correction target flagged above was a winning play, since GDXJ bottomed 9  cents below that number the next day before trampolining to 53.83.

BTCUSD – Bitcoin (Last:84,150)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

With no comment or explanation, I proffered the pattern shown over at Golden Meadow just to demonstrate that, for all its histrionics, Bitcoin is our little bitch, as easy to nail as half-inch balsa. The pattern is a uniquely gnarly rABC, and I won't go into how I chose point 'a'. Be that as it may, it has already triggered three quick, $6,000 winners and should continue to do wo reliably as long as the 'c' low holds.  The three trades include a conventional buy at the green line, a short at the red line, and a mechanical buy at the green line. It is currently on a fourth signal, a buy at the green line, but the rally will need to reach p=88,609 again before the trade can be declared a winner. Interest in Bitcoin at Rick's Picks appears to be almost nil, but I am here if you need me.

ESM25 – June E-Mini S&P (Last:5640.75)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

Last week's hard selling brought the futures down to the green line, signaling a moderately appealing 'mechanical' buy. The elongated b-c leg sapped some of the bullish energy from this pattern, and so we'll paper-trade this one to see how much moxie bulls have left. A gratuitous poke beneath c=5559.75 can be used to set up a 'counterintuitive' entry trigger of 46.50 points.  That's too wide to be practical, so I'll suggest executing the trade with a 'camo' pattern taken from the 15-minute chart or less. I am giving the bull the benefit of the doubt because sellers missed an opportunity on Friday to generate a headline decline. _______ UPDATE (Mar 30, 10:52 p.m.); At the moment, the smallest trigger interval  I can come up with for the 'CI' trade is 15.00 points, so this is still a paper-trade unless your 'camo' chops are up to snuff.   ________ UPDATE (Mar 31, 3:08 p.m.): The trade produced a profit of as much as $4100 per contract after adjusting for an initial attempt that got stopped out.

MSFT – Microsoft (Last:378.80)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

Microsoft sat poised on a high ledge when the dust settled on Friday. Although the visually unavoidable plunge the chart displays so well could wait for a few weeks or longer, it's highly unlikely the stock's institutional sponsors will be able to hoist it to the $420 midpoint of the supply zone, never mind to new record highs.  The alternative is a wealth-destroying slide into the low $300s that should bring a bounty of opportunity for the nimble, since it will be reflexively punctuated by rallies designed to keep hope alive until a bottom is reached.

$GCJ25 – April Gold (Last:3085.60)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

Gold's steep rally has left doubters on the sidelines since January, a high price to pay for hesitating. The rally looks bound most immediately for 3198.70, a presumptive weigh station en route to the 3533.90 target of a larger pattern noted here earlier. That number is associated with a 'midpoint Hidden Pivot' at 3037 that should slow bulls down for a while, perhaps 2-3 weeks.  If not, and the April futures forge intrepidly higher, it would shorten the odds of a run-up to 3553.90.  An additional 'hidden' resistance you should prepare for lies at 3285.80. It can be shorted with a 'camo' trigger fashioned from the 15-minute chart.

SIK25 – May Silver (Last:34.814)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

Covering the remaining distance to the 37.305 target looks like it'll be a piece of cake. The pattern has yet to give a false signal, and any trade attempted with  x, p or p2  as a reference point would have been profitable. The last juicy buying opportunity occurred on the pullback to the green line (x=31.380), about as 'textbook as mechanical trades get. Your trading bias should be bullish until 37.305 is hit, but be prepared for a stall there and a pullback, probably tradable.

GDXJ – Junior Gold Miner ETF (Last:56.85)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

Because this symbol is overdue for a correction, I've arbitrarily drawn a chart that could signal the start of one if GDXJ falls to 55.17. That would trigger a theoretical 'sell' signal with downside potential to at least 51.74.  An additional 'hidden' support at 55.63 could provide a tradable bounce. The supports should not give way easily, and that is why we can safely assume Mr Market means business if they do.

TLT – Lehman Bond ETF (Last:89.23)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

This symbol was setting up for a textbook 'mechanical' buy at 90.61 when last week began, but the green line where we typically do the trade got crushed, negating the opportunity. A new one subsequently materialized with a rally target at 91.49, along with the possibility of a fresh 'mechanical' trigger if TLT drops back to 89.35 (stop 88.62). The crosscurrents have left me mildly bearish, and I would grow moreso if TLT closes for two consecutive days beneath 87.81.  That would portend more slippage to as low as 82.83 (daily, A=94.85 on 12-6).  _______ UPDATE (Apr 3, 10:42 p.m.): Buyers popped through p today with enough force today to make more upside to D=94.56 an odds-on bet. _______ UPDATE (Apr 7): It is terminally discouraging that TLT collapsed without quite having reached my 94.56 target, but also without having taken on the 12/6/24's 'external' peak at 94.85. I don't know that TLT can recover from this failure. If TLT were my kid, I'd leave him at the firehouse.

BTCUSD – Bitcoin (Last:82,357)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

Last week's fleeting thrust to a marginal new peak slightly altered the immediate picture. Expect Bitcoin to fall to at least 81,524, a midpoint Hidden Pivot support that can be used to bottom-fish with a small-pattern (i.e., 'camouflage') trigger. I doubt bears have the gumption to push this vehicle down to the 74,243 target, but the odds would shorten following a two-day close beneath p=81,523. Alternatively, if buyers get revved up and push this vehicle sharply the other way, they are apt to encounter tradable 'voodoo' resistance at 89,802. _______ UPDATE (Mar 29, 2:03 p.m.): I had scheduled the above to autopublish tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, neglecting to consider that the little sonofabitch never sleeps. My 81,523 downside target did in fact catch the low of an $1100 bounce within one-tenth of a percentage point. I mention this belatedly because I didn’t want Bitcoin’s 24/7 histrionics to cheat me out of a damned good call.