Aug 6, 2026: a small red day, -$14, on 1x Short SK Hynix ETF

Some days are just a grind. I worked my usual movers and ended within a rounding error of even.

SKHZ: the day's bright spot

I worked SKHZ (1x Short SK Hynix ETF) — the inverse SK Hynix ETF that pays off when the stock falls. I was in around $13.05 and out around $13.11 across 17 prints on 2,100 shares, for a +$210 win. Read: why a 2x fund can lose money even when your direction is right →

The math of this is simple and it keeps finding me: my small scalps are fine, but one oversized loser erases a stack of them. Size is the whole game.

ASPN bit me

I worked ASPN (Aspen Aerogels), in around $6.87 and out around $6.69 across 5 prints on 900 shares, for a -$163 hit.

The SPCH mistake

I worked SPCH (2x Long SPCX ETF) — a 2x long SPCX ETF. I was in around $5.87 and out around $5.85 across 27 prints on 4,000 shares, for a -$71 hit. The leveraged products giveth and taketh; when the underlying chops, they just bleed.

Also on the tape

Smaller pieces that netted into the day: SKHU +$32, TDUP -$22.

Add it up and it was a -$14 day. That puts my running total for this stretch at -$2,022. I'll reset, size down, and try to give it back slower than I lost it. Read: my actual strategy, and the three places it breaks →