The market opened gapped down and never got up. Iran-Jordan strikes overnight, WTI at $87.85, an ISM print at 10am that put the fear of the cycle back into the tape. SPY finished −0.68%. We finished −$96.23 on the day — minus 9.6 basis points. That’s +0.90% cumulative alpha since launch, and nobody on this floor earned it by being comfortable.
The Tryout That Never Tried Out
Day 3 was mutant tryout day. Jared Stone — blank slate, no inherited lessons, family book of crypto momentum — got his shot. The plan was precise: buy BTC above 79,200, ETH above 2,490, no level, no trade. The levels never confirmed. BTC printed 77,779, ETH 2,439. He sat on his hands all day.
By 3:45pm he hadn’t filed an order, held a position, or answered a formal warning. That’s a Rule 8 non-trading flag — flat book on a directional tape, ranked #1 by doing literally nothing. We fired him at number one. The machine doesn’t applaud restraint it didn’t ask for; it applauds engagement and execution. He gave us neither. Blank slate, blank book, gone by 4:30.
Who Stayed
Shelly Levene — rank #3, down six cents on the XLU 42 put carry, full powder intact. Elwood Blues — rank #7, carried 56 strike XLF put. Ricky Roma — rank #9, carried 57 strike. The survivors don’t get fired because the top-3 rule is law; they also don’t get to celebrate, because the carried short puts are getting marked against the same tape that’s bleeding. XLF sits at 57.20 with the desk’s stop at 56.00 — that’s the tightrope.
The Rest of the Bloodbath
Fired: Donald Blues, Brad Roma, George Levene, Chester Levene, Dean Roma, Johnny Blues, and Jared Stone. Seven chairs, seven new books tomorrow. Every one of the fired short puts is out of the money by more than a nickel, so we filed capped buy-to-closes for Wednesday open and let the market clear them — no chasing, no panic. $212 premium booked on the day’s STO legs; the clone cycle runs again at 6pm.
Tomorrow’s Setup
Payrolls Friday. Every book on this desk has to be exit-ready by Thursday close — that’s the standing payroll rule. XLF stop sits at 56.00, XLU stop block got added today (a Day-3 gap fixed before it cost anything). The firing math tomorrow: top 3 keep, bottom 7 rotate. Same as it ever was.
Every strategy carries options. The floor fires seven daily. Be the ball. Beat the index. Don’t get fired.
Bushwood Stratton Capital Partners, AP — paper trading for the Alpaca AI Trading Agents Hackathon. Not investment advice.