T-DOZA, Wall Street Bets and the Stock of a Lifetime!!!
Joseph Watkins
It started with a post from a colleague I follow on Instagram, The Mighty “T-Doza”. “Stand Strong With GME” was laced on his post with rocket to the moon emojis spread throughout. I didn’t know what this post was about, but I trusted his judgement. I’ve covered him briefly at NY Comic Con for years and to meet T-Doza, is like meeting Goku; Kind, Caring, Strong and ready to help, he always gave positive energy when he spoke or interacted with people and he always wished you the very best.
And even in this pandemic, his positive energy flowed through social media as he continued to interact with his fans and friends. It’s his energy, he’s really just an overall great person. I haven’t had a chance to see him lately in person, but his presence is drawing love and “NRG” on the net.
As he respectfully displayed his gains, he also continued to be a blessing to others as he encouraged us to become to be part of this investment craze that has taken place the last few days. I decided to see what this advice was about and as I gave praise to this man for his financial advice, the article below describes my wild ride as I followed the words of T-Doza, and those words made me feel “Gucci” for a few days in the world of Wall Street Bets.
In essence, he want’s all of us to be “Gucci Like Lucci” (His words, not mine).
THE BEGINNING…
As the GameStop stock went from $4.00 a share in April of 2020 to basically $92.02 a share on Jan 25th, 2021 and beyond. The mighty T-Doza roared and encouraged investors, basically anyone who was on Instagram to invest in the company, with rocket emojis blasting throughout his message. In his effort to reach the hearts and minds of the masses with his “winning investment strategy”, he also reached mine as I went in at that price share. I bought 3 of them and full of excitement, I decided to wait and see what the fuss was about.
The next day, I turned to CNBC and they were talking about GameStop, and how it was hovering around $147 a share. I’m confused, how did it get that high? It’s GameStop. I go in there all the time. I’ve shot videos in there and they are always moving merch from sale to clearance almost daily.
And yet here it is in front of me ‘an increase by $55’. Rises like this are unprecedented in the investment world. “Black Swan” events are what these phenomena are called.
As I did my research on GameStop, I discovered the following….
Michael Burry and other notable key members are investing in the company. Michael Burry, from lore, is known as the legendary investor during the MBS crisis from the movie, The Big Short and is legendarily portrayed by Christian Bale from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Series.
Then I found something else….The Secret Lair summed up in 3 words……
Wall Street Bets (WSB)…..The Financial “Fight Club” of Millennials….
Within this realm of “Autists” , “Apes” and “Retards” is a wild and raw “new breed of investor”. What started as a club for people to come together expressing their gains and losses became an independent universe of “nomadic” traders. Not nomadic in the sense that they were without a home, but nomadic in the sense that each of these people were strangers in which financial curiosity brought them here to present ideas, thoughts and suggestions about the market. These ideas ran parallel with being called a “Diamond Handed God” or a “Paper Handed Bitch”.
Keith Gill aka DeepF*ckingValue
As the advice ran freely, there lived, among the group a “boss” of sorts. His name on Reddit goes by the pseudonym, “Deep F----ing Value”. Who is he?, well up until recently he was an apparition, a wealthy ghost that posted his gains on Reddit from time to time. I glimpsed at the alpha male’s financial return, and I was amazed…. $22 Million+ and climbing. From the chat rooms and the stories, he was able to come in at the ground floor and rode the wave to glory living up to his namesake.
As I continued swimming through the melting pot of code words and pseudonyms laced together with diamonds, ape hands, and rockets, the common goal or theme I should say of this platform is to get rich, build wealth and upset the “f---ing establishment” in the process.
As I clicked, joined, and commented, within seconds I started to see and understand the financial matrix that was holding this ecosystem together. This wasn’t just a chat group of party people slinging money and ideas. This Room -> Ecosystem -> Environment-> World -> Universe felt like the internet version of the Wolf of Wall Street’s Trading Floor, where they all get together, dance and realize, that YOLO isn’t a catch phrase, its a way of life. Even after Leonardo DeCapio says, “I’m not fucking leaving”!!!
If You Were a Member of Wall Street Bets, You Were Both, The Owner And The Trader…
If you were down, we were down together, if you were up, we were up together. Other’s accomplishments were our wins and we loved every minute of it. As we showcased our gains we also treated our losses better than the wins. Our losses were called “loss porn” showcasing our defeats so much that we too, felt the sting of it. And here it was, wall street’s finest mingling with the common man for all things stocks, bonds, options and “retarded-ness” and I was loving every minute of it.
The democracy of it all, laced with Hand Emojis and Diamonds leading the way.
I didn’t know who the members actually were or where they came from and honestly, I didn’t care. This chat room was pandora’s box, filled with words from both heaven and hell and loaded with phrases that could make you feel superior or inferior (if only for a minute). And as I clicked and commented, I was lead from one chat room of 3.5 million people (at the time) to another, being careful as I discussed money and in no means discussing stocks that could get me banned.
The Next Couple Of Days…….
Within days I’m gravitating the site with ease as I’m watching CNBC on one screen, navigating RobinHood on another and working a “9-5” as well. As the pandemic continues, my workday has now included a financial strategy for getting rich….all the while mentioning “Stonks” and “Meme Stocks” to my friends.
As I peruse the site, checking for tidbits, I start to see a common thread among the group…. “AMC to the moon”, “Hold….Buy, Diamond Hands” , “No F- Paper handed B*&^hes…..”, “AMC is the way to go… “. As I’m scrolling, more and more mention of “AMC” keeps reappearing….followed by the word “purchase, buy and hold” with rocket emojis.
Are they sure about this?
I’ve read AMC’s financial reports…..”doomed, canceled, obsolete". These are the words that come to mind when I see a company that is leasing movie theaters for $100 a pop to the general population during a pandemic.
As the chat room continued to discuss AMC, I started to think about the stock. The actual physical establishment has been abandoned for almost a year due to COVID, and the company just recently staved off bankruptcy by receiving a lifeline from investment firms to stay afloat.
I started to think, ‘What if this is the play’?, ‘What if I’m wrong’?
In my head, I know the company’s doomed, but in their eyes, there was something here; A Golden Opportunity .
Among the 3.5 million people (at the time) in the chat room, could they all be wrong?
Filled with more questions then answers, I investigated the stock. AMC, at the time was at $3.15 a share. Just to see what the fuss was about I purchased 20 shares to start.
The Few Days Later…
As days pass, I forget about the stock. I carry on my usual path of investing and something inside me says, ‘check AMC’. I see the stock moved to $4.35 a share. Normally this is insignificant, however this is AMC. What exactly did it do to gain traction? AMC’s main job is to present movies and sell expensive popcorn, yet the attendance has dwindled to minimal numbers and the stock is climbing.
I go to WSB….and they say ‘It’s in play”, I see rocket ships all over the screen and I’m immediately caught up in the hype. I want in on this deal and to ensure that my friends eat, I immediately text “AMC” to them so they can look into it. Some take the advice, others don’t. I immediately buy 58 more shares at $4.35.
I also play an options call for AMC (at $4.50) with an expiration date of 1/21/2022 for fear that I may loose the whole amount on this trade. I’m still having paper handed moments. I become empowered after this purchase. I don’t know why, but I feel that I have nothing to worry about with these sales. The odds are in my favor and I feel as though I just joined a member of not only Wall Street Bets, but I’ve also become a member of Ocean’s Thirteen, where I and my fellow “Autists” are about to beat the house.
I wait with anticipation….I know that I’m in the winner’s circle on this trade and I can’t lose.
(I then discover that a colleague of mine bought 600 shares as well. Lucky Him. He listened.)
On Jan 26th, AMC’s price ends at $4.96 a share…..but the Next Day…..The Epicness happens…
Jan 27th, 2021 - PayDay
I wake up early to discover that during the Pre-Market, AMC reaches an all-time high of $20 a share. I’m excited!!! I just beat the house in both options and stocks….
AMC’s Rising Gains on Jan 27th 2021 (From Bloomberg)
I start breathing heavy, I’m confused now. I know I beat the house, but it doesn’t connect that I just won. Scared, nervous, and alive, I start to anticipate my winnings, but then the unthinkable happens….the stock starts to drop…..rapidly, in pre-market.
As $20 turns to $19, $18, $17 and so on, I panic…How can I get my winnings? Additionally, I also recall that I did an option call as well, where I could lose “Bigly”.
9:30 AM opens the market. I immediately go in game mode to get my earnings. For the stocks, I don’t even wait for the morning dip to raise again, I immediately cash out. AMC, after all, hasn’t had any positive revenue for quite some time and I wasn’t going to leave it to chance. I look right and I immediately see the gains…up $1,179….NOICE. I click, exit the trade and then focus on my option call.
Looking on Robinhood, the challenge is even greater. I see that there’s a stall on the option play. They didn’t expect a gain like that to happen so it takes them minutes for the algorithms to price the option for AMC. Within minutes, my option contract skyrockets. Nothing to the moon, but it’s better than any option trade that I’ve ever made.
Fluctuating between $300 to $1250, with a setting average pattern of $900, I don’t cash out. I remember what I was taught from the group, “Diamond Hands”. I wait for the perfect time.
Frozen in time, eyes focused on the screen, I try to close out at the highest mark. Because my knowledge of options are limited, I don’t know how to do an auto close out. I wait with tears and fear in my eyes for the right time.
And then the moment happens. I take control of my trade. When the option drops, I decide to do a close out at $12.50 (aka $1,250) for the win. I played the waiting game and emerged victorious.
I beat the house and recouped my earnings.
As I go about my morning routine, I get a “bing” and one of the best notes that I’ve ever received happens….
I did it. I managed to beat the house and net a hefty gain for my family. Not enough for a new life but enough to cover some bills around the house and buy some groceries in this pandemic.
From the NYTimes
While I consider myself a winner in this story, others were able to reach the moon and cash out on even greater gains with other stocks, such as the mighty “T-Doza”. His investment savvy allowed him to assist others, such as donating his gains to various charities and helping out up and coming startups. Additionally, A 10 year old child also came up as well with GameStop.
During this pandemic, I was not only able to witness financial history in the making, I was also able to be part of it. As other retail investors ran up on “Wall Street” and won, many decided to stay in their investments such as $GME and $AMC to truly live up to the mantra of Diamond Hands. And while I was late to the party, I was still able to grab a “to go” bag and leave with my wallet bigger than before….
Close Out
Although AMC provided some phenomenal gains for retail investors, many were left holding the bag as the “FEDs-S.E.C” rushed in to halt the rapid increase of the stock. As many in WSBs kept saying to “Hold and Buy More”, I decided to do another round and buy 22 shares at $14.68, hoping to see the moon with this insignificant purchase. The next day, I would regret that decision…
On 1/28/21, my 22-share investment went from $14.68 to $7.00 a share. Half of my investment gone. The house started winning again…. I cashed out….
Little did I know that the house was continuously halting the stock to prevent it from going to the moon. With their continuous stops, the house bought down the rocket, ruining the momentum and bringing fear to those who were dedicated making them abandon ship before it was too late. The stock within a series of days started to become Persona Non Grata to all of us.
From Nasdaq Halt Trader
And while some members of WSBs were still saying to “Hold” after the halt, some removed themselves from the stock altogether, along with many others cashing in on their gains before they had to explain to family and friends how and why they lost their investment of the millennium.
What started as a reference from T-Doza, led me to doing “DD - Due Diligence”, to riding the wave of AMC, to being part of a conglomerate that beat the house; even if it was for a few days. An adventure that I’m proud to say that I was part of. Even now, I periodically go on WSBs to still grab tidbits, drop a comment on the latest stock tips and laugh at the thoughts and “memestock” recommendations of other “Autists”.
This chat group has become something greater than I could ever imagine.
A Movement?
Absolutely.
As the chat group evolved into its own digital country with over 8.7 million members; even as I write this, there’s talk of Wall Street Bets becoming a movie which is off to a slow start on kickstarter.
Wall Street Bets was able to create a fully democratized hedge fund where its members created an open ecosystem to discuss what stocks to invest in, destroy or just laugh at. Unheard of in the world of investing, Wall Street Bets have created something that doesn’t look like its going away anytime soon for the retail investor.
The success of the group was so great, Sri Lankan-American venture capitalist, Chamath Palihapitiya even spoke on CNBC in regard to this phenomenon….
What he said spoke volume to all members:
‘The elimination of Income Inequality’ and ‘A pushback against the establishment’?
Yes I like the sound of that.
Special thanks to ‘T-Doza’ for his advice and Wall Street Bets for the creation of this piece. Thank you for making us feel Special and Worthy of the WALL STREET DREAM!!!
DIAMOND HANDS FOREVER!!!
