So all of this is just for maximizing fake gains in a competition. So I would find some ETFs that match indexes, ($DIA, $SPY, $QQQ) and buy calls whenever the market dips and sell whenever the market flattens. If you do this intra-day you'll get a lot of false positives that will make you want to sell or buy at the wrong time unless you use some really complicated indicators.
This is the easiest way to make substantial gains, because youll see 30% gains in one day if the market moves up 1.5%. If you time it correctly or do more trades you'll see more, etc.
Now, when I say really really risky bets I'm talking playing with volatile stocks. $LABU is a bio bull ETF. There are variants of sector ETFS like that, like there are 3x bull ETFs which take aggressive, leveraged positions in a bullish etf to see larger gains from upward movements and larger losses from downward movements. They're called 3X because any assets the ETF have are usually leveraged to be at something like 3X the principal value but that doesn't mean you'll see 3x gains, just slightly more than a 1x ETF like $LABU.
Shorting twitter is one example of playing with really volatile stocks because twitter is very volatile. Biotech stocks are historically very volatile as well, because one bad result in an FDA trial will send the stock down 25% in a day. One positive article about a cancer drug might send it up 50% in a day. When a stock moves from $2 to $3, as is often the case with biotechs, you can make a fuckload of money playing it. But they also, more frequently, go down to $1.
Those are all tech stocks that young, unsophisticated investors love to buy which is also why all of those companies have very high P/E ratios. I mean, I'm 23, but I've been studying finance and trading for long enough to note that when the majority of people who own a stock are around the age of 20 that doesn't mean that it's a particularly strong stock. TSLA doesn't make money. That's worth noting, and the only reason that nerd Elon has billions is because TSLA stock is worth like $90 for every $1 it actually makes. That being said, like all bubbles, there is a lot of money to be made in the meantime, so it's not a BAD pick it's just very risky and there are less risky plays with higher upside potential.
VXX, UVXY, and LABU are "hot" because wallstreetbets have been making a lot of posts about them but I wouldn't invest in VXX and UVXY unless you really understand what you're buying there. They are 1) an imperfect fund trying to match 2) a volatility index which isn't like an industrial average like the DJIA in that it isn't directly related to specific performance of any specific stocks in the market. Also, WSB users lose a LOT of money.
As for my own plays:
So if you look at a 1-month chart for DJIA you'll see a channel that it tried to break out of today but will likely not stay above since we didn't see very explosive growth when it passed the resistance layer. This is a signal for bulls to not buy much, and for bears to sell a lot. Note: signals are not guarantees! This is just the information that you and I and 90% of traders get to see, so if it's a bearish signal it's just one more reason to not buy.
Because of this, I figured that I would buy $DIA puts earlier today when it reached right above the resistance layer and stalled, and I was right and saw it fall. So I sold when it went back down to the opening price and made some quick, easy money. I really like technical analysis to complement a fundamental analysis and a scan of relevant news items. Technical analysis is how I daytrade, and I would suggest learning about it going forward-- you might not want to use it for yourself but there are a lot of people like myself who use TA who also actually participate in the market.
If you want big gains, like I said, go big or go home-- buy 100 calls of $DIA when it dips, buy 100 puts when it's stalled at a high point. I mean, it's not guaranteed and you'll likely lose a shitton of money but the only real way to win these competitions is to be really aggressive and really lucky. Individual stocks are cool and everything but you only see significant movement when a news items comes out about them or during their earnings calls or something like that, otherwise they trade with the indexes, only the indexes are less likely to take a hit when a middle-level manager for GE blows a whistle on an executive.
Right now I would recommend buying some $DIA puts for your fake competition but not holding them too long, and be prepared to lose a bit of money with a stop loss.
I would also recommend at all times purchasing a put that is slightly out of the money (and conversely, calls that are slightly out of the money). The reason is because you'll see a weaker change in price on contracts that are already in the money than those that are slightly out because a contract that is out of the money can't be exercised for any money. Further, the difference in the effect of the greeks on OOTM versus ITM contracts are very small, so you're paying extra for the same change in price when you buy ITM contracts. Also when a contract is very far out of the money, their price won't increase until the underlying stock price is closer to its strike price. So if you think DJIA will go down to 16,500 don't buy a 15,000 put.
I would look at individual stocks only if you feel they are going to be specifically and uniquely affected by a bit of information or market force. For example, if you think AAPL's newest product is going to make a lot of money, buy AAPL. If you see that TWTR is about to have an earnings call and you're confident about them, still buy AAPL because TWTR is a goddamn shitshow.
HMU if you have questions or anything. Please don't use your real money to act on my advice, I trade options and make good money but also have the potential, everyday, to lose a fuck ton more.