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Thursday April 25th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. First trade of the day was in MU. i got in right near the VWAP and a daily level risking a break below and under $44.00. sold half a little bit under my profit target then another 25% at my profit target and the final at $44.50. i'm really happy with this trade, I didn't chase and nailed the entry. i could have done better selling but as long as i'm taking good trades with good entries i'm happy. GOOD: nailed the entry, good R/R. RFI: should have sold 75% at the high of the day instead of earlier. MOOD: happy. CONSISTENT: yes. I haven't had a decent green day in a while so i decided to call it quits after this trade and finish green. What i did good today: didn't chase my entry got in right at resistance What i did bad today: selling could have been better. What can i do better tomorrow?: keep trading but only take good setups.

Brandon, thank you so so much for checking up on me. I want to let you know that I still am trading, I am just not posting my trades on a daily basis anymore. I should have made a post about it, but I wanted to remove as many of the pressures of trading as possible and publicly posting my trades was one of them. I made some significant changes to my psychology and trading mindset. I am not where I want to be yet as a trader, but I am making significant progress. I have cut down on a good chunk of my problems including overtrading, FOMO, and my patience issues. I've started to really focus on trading well instead of thinking in dollars for each trade. I'm slowly becoming the trader that I want to be. My confidence has gone up and my trust in my trading plan and myself is at an all time high. I am taking actual setups in my trades and I am having green days. I'm feeling good about trading and my good habits that I am creating are getting stronger each day. As you can see in the calendar below, I am having more green days than red days. The biggest issue for me right now is accepting a losing day. My daily goal is $80-$100 with a max loss of $60, and as you can see I don't stop at $60. I have das risk control set to stop me out fully at $150 including commissions and I have been trading up until that point when I am losing. I set the $150 amount because it is way past my max loss and its there to stop me out when I couldn't stop myself out. That has been 4 out my 5 losing days this month. Like most of my other bad habits including doubling down and overtrading, I have had to use Das risk controls to help me beat the problem. I have just recently lowered my max loss on das to $85. On my losing days I knew that I should have quit at $50-$60 but I have ignored the feeling inside of me that knew it was time to quit. Everyone of my $150 loss days, I knew I should have quit at $60, and I just didn't. I for whatever reason don't want to end red and I needed to get my money back ASAP. From Robert's Rants, he talks about the money being gone, and there is no rush getting it back, I am trying to adopt that mindset. I checked some of my old trading days and my last 20 days where I hit -$60 or more and continued trading, I ended up green on only 3 of them, and over the 20 days my losses for trades after hitting negative $60 were over $700. My average win % on those days was probably around 25%. With the auto stop out at $85, I will eventually learn to stop out when I know I'm not in sync with the market or I will have to always use DAS to stop me out as long as a trade. Brandon, if you still have the feelings of trading in the first 5 minutes, you could always email das and tell them to lock your account until 9:35. When you know you can't trade at that time, you will lose the urge to trade at that time. It has worked for me! Das Risk controls has fixed my overtrading, my doubling down, and my breaking stop loss habits.

April 24, 2019 - No Trading Day today I was only available to trade the first 20 minutes and did not have anything that met my edge. I almost got into $EBAY around the sixth minute, but the price action was to jumpy for me. Sample Set Results P G S P E S P P P S G 12 13 14 S P 17 18 19 20

Wednesday 4/24/2019 I had a well-being score of 4.5/10 this morning so I had to trade with half share size. Nerves were actually OK, but I had a bad day trading, broke some rules. Took two live trades both on AAPL. AAPL was OK in the premarket, started really strong and I went long just as the first 1min candle was finishing because it broke through 5 levels in 1 minute. According to my recent chart review, AAPL is starting to setup as 1min ORBs, so I was open to that setup again for AAPL. Price actually reached my 1st partial (the high of the premarket) but I got a bad fill. The stock reversed but I have a rule (with AAPL only) that don’t S/O at the B/E if there is a major TL just below it. For some reason I forgot this rule and S/O at B/E. If I followed my rule I would have gotten 60c out of APPL on that trade. This really hurt. The second trade with AAPL was it was setting up for a “step” setup. So I waited for the break of the premarket high and went long. Did not notice I broke the B-Band veto rule. The price was well above the Boulinger band when I took the trade, thus it was too extended. I did not break this rule on purpose, I honestly just didn’t notice or remember to look. As you may expect the price immediately reversed and I was stopped out. What I did good today: My methodology for determining well-being seems to work well. I apparently needed to be trading with half sizes today. How did I challenge myself today? Traded an 1min ORB. What I did bad today: Broke two rules today and one of them a major veto rule. Luckily it only cost me -0.4R today. An inexpensive lesson. What can I do better tomorrow: Adding rule review back to my daily preflight checklist. I removed it since I was doing quite well recently following my rules and it seemed silly reading these rules that I have well memorized. But you never know when you may have an off day and you need a reminder to your rules.

I was looking for the daily score card that Brett Steenbarger suggests but couldn't find anything to incorporate in my journal so I came up with my own custom journal. I borrowed a lot of what Robert has in his journal template and made an excel file that is formula driven when the trade log is exported and pasted into it. I copy the day tab that is currently labeled "04.25" and pull in my trade log from Das in there, then update the Summary sheet tab using the existing Hlookup formulas. Here's a copy of the file if anyone is interested. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WcUmRE2lMy3jyf8UICQXdRXU1m7LUFgk

Thursday 4/25/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Nerves were actually OK. I was hoping for a really clean day of trading, since I had a rule breaking day yesterday. Though I didn’t break any rules I was quite careless with my second trade. Took two live trades both on AAPL. MU was the stock I was eyeing to trade. But it didn’t setup for the 2min ORB while AAPL did. It was a really nice “Vish” setup. Very bearish with good R/R and a good first target for taking a partial. I did have to wait a bit for the price to break the last tech level (which was the $207). Price bounced a couple of times off that level before finally breaking through. Once it did I went short. Price instantly reversed and I was quickly stopped out. But, I don’t see anything wrong with the trade, it just didn’t work out. 5min chart when I took the trade at 9:32am After that trade I went back looking at MU for an entry for the 5min ORB. It had a nice ABCD pattern. Sadly, I didn’t stay watching it as AAPL started setting up again. AAPL had 3 bullish 1min candles and engulfed the premarket’s 5min candle. So I waited to see if it would break a very strong combined TL of the HOTD, 200MA and a daily level all within pennies of each other. I thought the price made a break through all 3 levels and I went long. It instantly reversed and I was quickly stopped out. After I was S/O is when I noticed it actually didn’t break all 3 TLs, just two. I jumped the gun, very sloppy. 1min chart when I took the trade: A view of both trades: What I did good today: My first trade was fine, good setup and patiently waited for the break. How did I challenge myself today? Stopped at my 2 trade limit. I had some FOMO on MU since that was the trade I was planning to take. What I did bad today: Very sloppy to jump the gun on a trade before the break. What can I do better tomorrow: I use to have a trouble with entering a trade before the clear break. I recently got better, but today shows it is a constant struggle I must control.

April 25, 2019 - $CMCSA (Stopped - kinda of) I stopped out today on $CMCSA, but it was not because of a technical level; rather, it was because of mechanical issues with my internet connection. I entered the trade a little early as it turns out, I thought it was going to take off quicker, instead it consolidated. During the consolidation, my ping speed start fluctuating from 200 - 800ms causing my DAS to have lag with the price action. My clock was skipping 3 secs at a time. This is the negative of having to trade off of a WIFI hotspot. This is the first time it has happened while I been in the middle of a trade. I tried to hold through it, but as it got more and more eradicate, I decided to cut my losses before it got to out of hand and closed my position. When I did my journal, all I could say is I should have held on for another two minutes. Not a good thing as it just made me more frustrated, so I had to remind myself it could have very easily gone against me and I would not have been able to get out. Sample Set Results P G S P E S P P P S G 12 13 14 S P S 18 19 20

Damn, Damn DAMN!!!! I traded well on my entries but didn't follow through on my exits. Some of my trades just didn't work out and that's hella disappointing. Been practicing all week for the 25K trading challenge. I've been positive realized 4 days in a row, but I can't capitalize on my opportunities. So, I'm negative on my P/L. It's minuscule with a 25K account, but today I was just super bothered. It didn't cause me to overtrade or go Hulk, but more so.. dang, I messed up and missed this trade twice. Could've taken profits better on $MO. Messed up $MSFT big time twice. Took a decent loss on $XLNX and hit it again for a more favorable entry. Added more after profit taking on a pullback, got out at break even afterwards. Super disappointed on my $MSFT trades. That was the money maker trade. Had two opportunities on it. Just felt like it was gonna go against me. The last trade on $MSFT didn't work out. Had a great entry for the pop above VWAP. Just stopped out before the move happened. $MO 4/25/2019 $XLNX 4/25/2019 $MSFT 4/25/2019

Hey, Greg: Read your journal from the beginning till now. I hope you are still trading and just decided to take a break from the journal. You and I seem to have similar issues on our trading entries and mentality. I do have a few words of advice that are helping me get over the issues we share. I initially struggled A LOT with trading in the first 5 minutes. Sometimes I would win, sometimes I would lose. But over time I realized that this was contributing to the get fast money FOMO mentality. I liked the idea of trading only 2-5 minutes and being one and done. I had to go through a detox phase to ween myself off that habit and mentality. To help, I would force myself to sit and watch the market move and go without me. It was painful.. and I relapsed once a few weeks ago for the first time in several months. Haven't done so again because that day I lost. (Luckily, not bad because I realized what I did). My point here is, you have to take similar steps in your own way to stop that habit. You gotta recognize that urge that you have and be okay with it being there, but not acting on it. It's gonna be hard, but when you recognize "the trigger" activating, you will catch yourself. Acknowledging your triggers and letting the pain burn as you watch the market move without you will help. I don't have the urge to trade the first 5 as often as I used to. 930 is 935 to me now. But that's just one part of it. What also helped me is attempting to battle FOMO in my daily life. You gotta practice the same things while you're not trading. <-- That is critical. For me, I let things happen as they do. It settles my mind and I move at my own speed. I don't rush, I don't fuss and I try not to dwell on downfalls in life. It's not a life coaching per say, lol but there are more things that hit our psychology and minds in a day than just trading. So, we definitely should pay more attention to external noise that alters our mental. Whenever you are trading and you feel that urge to double down on a trade, acknowledge THAT FEELING and let it simmer. Don't suppress the pain and push it away by doubling down because the trade isn't working. You gotta catch yourself when these triggers are activated. And this is not to say I am perfect because I am not. However, my trigger(s) are far less volatile and I think that is enough to say that it's a damn good push towards becoming a better trader. I'm not at the point of not trading anything in a day, but the trades I do take I have a reason on why I took them. In most cases, anyway, lol. As for some of your trades (in my non live/professional opinion), your bias shows towards the short side. Which is fine and you know that you are. It got more neutral as I went through your journal. Something I would recommend doing is studying the moving averages more and how they form in different situations. I found myself going short on up trends trying to catch the top of a reversal to a moving average and getting squeezed within a few moments later. I realized I wasn't aware enough of what the moving averages looked like when forming a reversal/long trade etc. So, when I went short, I wasn't seeing the more probable long trend continuing or forming. When I see a possible short trade forming now, I think about how this trade would look if it were a long or if it will pullback towards the next average. That helps me see the moving averages in a different perspective. I also think about what is more probable to happen. If I short here, based on the moving averages and the price action, is it more likely to go up or more likely to go down. It has helped me see long trades a lot more and know when to get out on either side. You can check out my trades to get an idea on how I trade. I had a big blow up and went back into the cave for awhile too.

Wednesday April 24th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, trading in a doctors waiting office not really comfortable with trading here. First trade of the day was a long in T. It closed above VWAP so i tried to take it long right on the break higher but i got left holding the bag and stopped out. i'm not sure why i went long on right there, that's not my trading style specifically for the reason that i typically get stopped out. also i'm working on taking my full 100 shares but it was too much for the regular 1min moves in this stock. GOOD: not going to knock the trade idea, i think it made sense. RFI: too soon on the entry and too large a position size for the normal movements. MOOD: mad at myself for not positioning correctly CONSISTENT: yes. Took the same trade again. which i should not have with the same results. same issues. GOOD: got out at stop RFI: don't take the same trade again unless it goes in the direction of the original trade. MOOD: eh, not that bad CONSISTENT: yes. Last trade of the day was a long in SNAP. it sat at the PPDL level for almost 20 minutes so i got in long on a new 5min high. after i got in I realized i should have waited for a pullback so i could use the LOTD for my resistance level. this trade didn't work either and i got stopped out on the trade and max loss for the day. GOOD: better risk level than on T but still not good. RFI: got in the trade too soon. MOOD: ok. CONSISTENT: yes respected my stop. What i did good today: respected my stops and tried to get myself to take full position size. What i did bad today: chasing entries and not being patient for good setups. What can i do better tomorrow: need to correct the other way and get full share size but at a point where there is shown resistance.

Today was one of those days, lol. I didn't go Hulk, but I took some meaningful trades. Felt like I misread a trade once. Most of my trades didn't break out like I thought they would and stopped out for break even several times. Also, got impatient and cut a trade off before it broke out. Would've brought me back near break-even P/L. Positive realized, though. $BSX 4/24/2019 Felt like I may have misread $BSX the second time I went short. I thought the fade was coming since it closed under VWAP again while under the 9MA 5-minute and 9MA 1-minute. Looking back now, didn't make a new low, made a new high and it closed above the 20MA 5-minute as it did the previous 5-minute candle. Was more probable for a long. $T 4/24/2019 $OXY 4/24/2019 $EBAY 4/24/2019

April 23, 2019 - $KO (Partial x 2) It was good to have a trade go in my direction after my entry. 0 for 4 can take a toll on you. I saw $KO sell off at the open and I figured it was people taking profits, but because of the good earnings report I was looking for a bounce back. I saw the hammer doji on the 15 minute chart and along with the moving averages below the price action on the 1 min. I was looking for a little more of a pullback towards VWAP, but when the stock broke above the 2 previous 1 minute high candles, I decided to enter. I executed the entry and first two covers well. The third cover I was wanting to let it run to my profit target, so I was willing to hold it longer. Because the moving averages were well below the price action I was willing to hold it past the second 5 minute candle that failed to make a new high. Sample Set Results P G S P E S P P P S G 12 13 14 S P 17 18 19 20

Tuesday 4/23/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Nerves were a little on the bad side, but that was due to the stressful day I had planned and not due to the trading. Took two live trades on AAPL and AMD. I really liked AAPL in the premarket, several 5min candles with higher highs. There was a “Vish” setup and a really good target at 204.93. I waited for the price to break the 201.55 level, then I went long. 5min chart when I took the trade: I was able to take one partial, but then price immediately reversed. I tried to S/O at B/E but the price blew right through it. I had so much slippage I gave all my profits back. I was then waiting for the 5min ORB on AAPL which was setting up. But then I saw AMD had a good “step” setup. I have been shying away from AMD for many weeks since it was no longer in play for my setups. Then last week when reviewing the charts it looked in play again. So I waited for the break of the 2min candle body, but the price had a pull back. So much it went from a “step” setup to a “simple” setup. “Simple” setups I should enter when it breaks or bounces off of VWAP. Which would have worked. But all I saw at the time is a daily level above it that the price has to break first. When it broke the TL it bounced off the HOTD and again retraced. Then bounced again off the HOTD for the 3rd time. When it finally broke the HOTD I went long. Since I don’t fully trust AMD yet I reduced my share size by a 1/3. The price made it to my first partial, then I almost got stopped out. Then I took a second partial early because I was losing faith in the trade. Then went all out on a new 1min low, which is good since the price dropped from there. 1min chart when I took the trade: What I did good today: I liked that I adapted the 2min ORB, for AMD entrance and exit on the fly. How did I challenge myself today? Traded AMD again. It had been awhile. What I did bad today: I had chart configuration issues again!! Somehow the platform reset the configuration, though last night when I reopened the platform it was fine. What can I do better tomorrow: Chart configuration still needs work.

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Hi All, my name is Carlos M. I am 32 and live in Northern Jersey, few minutes from the NYC. After 12 years of working as a Senior Operations Manager, I was laid off this past December. My company purchased GE Appliances and moved to their headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. I thought I would be more upset about the layoff but I had 12 amazing years, and I was ready to move on and try something new. The company gave us almost a year and a half notice, that was more than enough time to prepare. (Plus a nice $$$ for years of service and sticking around until the end :) ) As my work started to transition to the new company, I found myself having a lot of free time during the day. I always had an interest in trading stocks and this was the perfect time to start practicing and getting ready. I did another online course and trading that did not work out (that’s a story for another time), and then I found Andrew’s Book and Chatroom community. Signed up for the Platinum package, I did the simulator for about 4 months and when live this month (January 2018). Looking forward to possibly meeting up in the near future with others traders and continuing being part of this amazing trading community. Carlos M.

Hey everyone, I'm Carlos G. I've been a member for a few weeks now and I love it! I served in the Marine Corps, worked on helicopters afterwards, and now I'm a senior pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. I've been a NASA Pathways Intern at the Johnson Space Center for the last few years, and I don't plan on giving up my career anytime soon. However, I really enjoy day trading and hope to supplement my income knocking out a few trades in the morning before work. I'm currently saving up $25k to get past the PDT rule, so I'll be in the sim until then! Good thing, too. I probably would have lost all of my money by now. lol, I'm getting better though! I hope to go live by the end of the year. ; )