Mike B

Michelle, You picked a great date. I am on a vacation in Phoenix 2 -7 Aug. Count me in and possibly one more if my spouse wants to accompany me. Anytime in the evening works for me.

I with you on that this past month has been terrible for me. It is the summer, I not suppose to be this busy.

I feel you on the $AMD Trade today. Got stopped out too before the big move.

July 15, 2019 - $AMD (Stopped Out) $AMD today just wanted to play with me. I got a good entry, held through a couple of pullbacks and then it finally lost VWAP, moving averages, and a support level so I got out a few cents above my planned stop loss. I would have gotten stopped out regardless. Then of course it took off to the 52 week high and never looked back. I was pretty frustrated after the trade. I think it was the accumulation of last week and knowing that I won’t be able to trade the rest of the week. I really just wanted a good trade to work out today. I got half of that. I took a good trade, executed it well, and managed the profit taking appropriately. Only part I did not like was the outcome, I think if it had continue downward instead of popping back up I would have not been as frustrated. Anyways after that trade, I looked at the P/L so I was done for the day trading live. I decided to trade sim. Did not go well in the morning, but after a run and a couple of stabs at a moving average cross over I got one to work for me. Still a lot of work to do on this strategy before I can trade it live though. A good productive day on advancing my psychology and dealing with a losing trade when I truly wanted a winner. Sample Set Results, P E E E P E P P S S 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Yes, I tried Shift+Esc and Esc. I think it had to do with the update CMEG had to their trading platform. I keep "Day" in my montage only now.

As I am working my profit taking methodology, I decided to log all of my trades for 2019 and see where they ended up on a scatter plot. I take my share size based on $ risk per trade, so the R variable is the same throughout. The first 9 trades are the outliers as they were fixed share sizes, but I think it is still valuable to include. The goal now is to keep the losers in close proximity to where they are now, but increase the distance from 0 for my winners. I.e. get the winners to be closer to the 2R line instead of consolidated between 0 and 1R. I think I have come up with a method, but we will see at the completion of the month. Due to work I am only going to be able to trade tomorrow and possibly on Friday if all goes well. I will be back the following week though. Safe trading to everyone.

July 12, 2019 - Sim Moving Average crossover I was looking at $BIP and $AMD. $BIP had somewhat of a setup but the volume was not present during the first five minutes, so I ignored it as I did not like how the price action or the spread was looking. I moved on to looking at $AMD for a 5 and 15 minute but the price action was not setting up for trading. I figured I might have to wait awhile for an entry. I was still looking at $AMD for a 15 but never got the entry setup to appear. I than notice the possibility of a Moving average crossover setup. As this is not in my sample set and I am still fairly new at trading this setup I took it sim. The first trade I got stopped out on and the second one I got a couple of partials before getting out by mistake trying to place a range order. Overall it was a good day as I stuck to my rules, did not chase anything and advance my trading skills. I pretty disappointed in my overall trading this week and the two days of platform issues did not help out. I wish this week went better, but it is ok. The learning process is still going. Sample Set Results, P E E E P E P P 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Not sure if it was a cool head, more of I have no other option but to figure it out.

July 11, 2019 I am emotionally drain after today. The last time I felt this helpless an unable to control something was in a very different kind of environment. I am so glad I was able to breath and start problem solving my way through it. Well I hope you enjoy the read. I tried to take a long on $AMD around 9:41 mark. My plan was a little different today with $AMD as I figured it would sell off at the open pullback to VWAP and if it broke above would test it again and then try to test the 52 week high if it could break through 34. I got a send reject order similar to yesterday. No big deal figured my hotkeys didn’t save, so I went into the setup saw I was correct and changed my entry hotkeys like I did yesterday. At 9:45 candle I entered just below the 34. Extended from where I wanted to enter but I was willing to risk the money just to make sure my hotkeys worked in my live account. When it could not break the 34 level and drop below the 50 SMA I hit my hotkey to sell all and that is when all heck broke loose. My cover button that worked in sim yesterday did not work in the live account. I hit my panic button, rejected I opened my trade section in the montage and hit the sell button, rejected At this point the stock is dropping, I have no idea how to get out of the position and I felt absolutely helpless. Stock was past my stop loss, I could not get out and the only feeling of comfort was that I had the risk controls that would limit my loss on the day, which would have been triggered if I didn’t figure it out. At this point, I just took a breath and went into problem solving mode. I knew I had a problem and the only thing I could do is take it one step at a time. I identified that the issue yesterday was the “DAY+” had to be changed to “DAY”. I than realized that on the montage it had “DAY+” instead of “DAY”, so I changed the montage and hit the sell button. Finally, order filled below stop loss but still manageable. Problem was that I did not change the order template to “DAY” so all of my hotkeys that process through the montage were being rejected. Well at least I learned that lesson today. A tough lesson but still valuable.

July 10, 2019 - Platform Update issue Did not see the message about needing to update the platform. Tried twice to get into $AMD and both were rejected. Updated platform, tested hotkeys, packed it in for the day. Somethings are just out of your control. Looking forward to tomorrow. Sample Set Results, P E E E P E P P 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Added

July 9, 2019 - $AMD (Partial) I was a little skeptical of $AMD this morning as it had lower volume than normal, but at the open it traded very nicely. I took an entry after it rejected VWAP and broke the pre-market high. My first partial was a hotkey mistake, my second partial was were i planned on taking my first out. I wanted to take another partial at 32.15 and than let the reminder run to the profit target of 32.57, but $AMD did a strong pullback and I got out at break-even. I thought about getting back in around 1000, but I had to go to the train and the stock just did not pullback far enough towards VWAP for me to enter. Overall today was good as I worked my process upon entering to help with my profit taking. I look forward to developing this a little more over the next month. Sample Set Results, P E E E P E P P 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Thank you everyone. Yeah everything is better, just a real sore throat today.

July 8, 2019 - No trading today, I ended up in the ER. Looking forward to tomorrow. Sample Set Results, P E E E P E P 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

July 3&5, 2019 - No Trade Challenge Traded sim on Wednesday for the purposes of seeing how my emotions were after pressing the enter hotkey. To my surprise, the same thoughts were occurring when I entered a sim trade. Obviously, the level of emotion was far less, but the same thought process that was occurring immediately after I entered the trade. I noticed it was not the $ risk per trade that is bothering me; rather, upon entry my first thought is about being wrong, so when the natural pullback occurs it re-enforces my thought process of being wrong and increases my anxiety level. I spent some time on Wednesday and Thursday pondering how I am going to tackle this, but still did not come up with a solid plan, so when no stocks met my pre-market criteria on Friday, I choose to take the No Trade Challenge with William H. I saw a couple of good entry points on $KTPI and $AMD, but I just sat back and watched. Interestingly, when I identified these entry points and it crossed the moving average that would have triggered an entry, I had the same thoughts cross my mind. Overall the last three days have been quite productive in the psychology realm. Going to go hit the running route now and ponder how to tackle this demon. Looking forward to Monday and getting back into the swing of things. Sample Set Results, P E E E P E P 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Hey fellow SoCal traders, It has been about 4 months since our last meetup (Irvine) and about a year since we were in the northern area of LA. I have been in discussion with William H., he will be in attendance at our meetup and is searching for a venue in the Pasadena area for Saturday July 27th. This should allow for traders to travel from the surrounding areas. He brought up a great idea of not only doing a meetup, but also adding some specific talks about trading and ideas to share between everyone. So, the theme of the meetup is “Bring a Discussion Topic, Get a Drink”. If you know some good venues in Pasadena, suggestions are always welcomed. Date: Saturday July 27th, 2019 Time: TBD Location: Pasadena, venue TBD Theme: Bring a Discussion Topic, Get a Drink Attendance: Open to everyone including Non BBT Members. Please sign up using the attendance sheet link below. BBT will be providing some type of swag for those in attendance. https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ci7MxUZ6Kr28D14UQcIDu8CY_JQGbsg/view?usp=sharing

Hey fellow traders, It has been about 4 months since our last meetup (Irvine) and about a year since we were in the northern area of LA. I have been in discussion with William H., he will be in attendance at our meetup and is searching for a venue in the Pasadena area for Saturday July 27th. This should allow for traders to travel from the surrounding areas. He brought up a great idea of not only doing a meetup, but also adding some specific talks about trading and ideas to share between everyone. So, the theme of the meetup is “Bring a Discussion Topic, Get a Drink”. If you know some good venues in Pasadena, suggestions are always welcomed. Date: Saturday July 27th, 2019 Time: 5:00pm to as late as we want Location: El Cholo Cafe, 300 E. Colorado Pasadena, CA 91101 Theme: Bring a Discussion Topic, Get a Drink Parking: There are multiple parking garages within a few blocks of the venue and also some side street parking if you get lucky. I recommend trusty google to find a location that fits your needs. Attendance: Open to everyone including Non BBT Members. Please sign up using the attendance sheet link below. BBT will be providing some type of swag for those in attendance. https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ci7MxUZ6Kr28D14UQcIDu8CY_JQGbsg/view?usp=sharing

July 2, 2019 - $AMD x 3 (Partial x 2, Early Out) As anticipated, a choppy market again. I managed to make it through the day, but was not pleased at all with my trading. Today, I really wanted to pay attention to my emotions upon my entry into a trade, as this has been throwing me off the last couple of days. I took three trades on $AMD. The setup on the first trade was good, but once I entered my emotions took over and I couldn’t manage the trade. My second trade was a continuation of the first trade, I was a little more in control on the entry but still not in a spot that I am used to. Additionally, I make the mistake of looking at my P/L after the first trade again. Big mistake and I will be adding a rule tonight to address that. The last trade was based on nothing other than my gut feeling that it was going to break $31 and run up higher. Strangely enough, this trade I was fine after my entry and was able to hold through the pullback and execute my profit taking plan. Overall bad day. Tomorrow I am going back to sim, as I need to find out what is causing me the issue upon my entry. I would have said it is the $ risk per trade, but than I took the third trade and I had no issue with losing it on this trade. I want to see what my emotions are upon my entry with zero at risk to help narrow down what is going on. From there I will devise a plan to correct it over the holiday. Sample Set Results, P E E E P E P 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

I was sloppy today as well. Tough market to trade today.

July 1, 2019 - $JD x 3 (Early Outs x 3) Rough start to the month and this sample set. I did not trade well at all today. I got in on $JD on a 5 minute ORBO. It was a nice entry and good setup, I just was not confident and worried more about being wrong in the trade than letting the trade play out, so I got out quickly. Of course it moves to my profit target within the next three minutes just like my setup and entry said it would. No big deal moved on to the next trade, a 15 minute ORBO, and you guessed it did the exact same thing. Entered on a decent setup and quickly got out. This time I re-entered once I identified what I did and held it to a loss of the moving averages and VWAP. Out of all the trades this was the best managed trade of the day once I was in it, although it was still not the best setup of the day. Today goes to show you, let your trades play their way out and do not enter unless you are willing to take the risk. I am going to take a hard look at my $ risk per share and see if I need to lower it a little bit. I seem fine with the losses, but while I am in the trade, I am not executing well. Disappointing day today with how I managed my trades after the entry. Sample Set Results, P E E E 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Sample Set 5 Criteria Hey Everyone, Skipped posting my fourth sample set criteria, because I basically kept it the same as the third. Only real adjustment was the simulator trades I was looking to take. For this sample set I have adjusted the confirmations a little bit, but I really like the entries I have taken over the last month. This sample set I want to focus on my profit taking, while keeping my entry execution in the same spot. Four areas I want to work on during this sample are: (1) Hold through the initial pullback if the stock does not drop right away (2) Hold off on taking my first partial to at least a moving average on the 5 minute or the low of the day (3) Learn it is ok to be wrong and lose. Confront the emotion of losing and being wrong each time you begin to think about getting out early (4) Keeping FOMO in check, especially with the 5 min Orb strategy My desired outcomes I am looking for at the end of the sample set are: (1) Focusing on the execution of each step in my trading plan. (Indicators, confirmations, risk analysis/management, entry, and profit taking) (2) I want to be comfortable being wrong. (3) Maintaining discipline and not give into FOMO with the 5 min Orb, so I do not get over excited and enter a trade too early All of my indicators, confirmations, and risk analysis that defines my edge is based on information obtained in Andrew’s book and the lifetime Webinars. Edge Defined Trading Plan: 5 & 15 Min ORB – I am still only trading 5 & 15 Min Orbs. I have found over the past 3 months that both strategies produce about the same results. 5 Minute ORB Pullback Met Parameters - 98 of 383 Total trades within parameters that have worked - 74 of 98 (75.51%) 15 Minute ORB Pullback Met Parameters – 107 of 384 Total trades within parameters that have worked - 84 of 107 (78.50%) Stocks for Watchlist: I select up to three stocks to watch based on the following criteria: (No Changes from previous sample set) % Change – Gapped at least 2% but not more than 10% Catalyst – Needs to have fundamental news of sort. Vol – >100,000 Float – High or Medium float (> 50 m) ATR - .50 to 2.00 Trading – Must be trading higher than normal volume Exchange – I prefer Nasdaq over NYSE Edge Criteria 5/15 Min Strategy: I have three parts to my trade plan: risk analysis, indicators, and confirmations Risk Analysis: 1:2 or Greater Indicators: Must meet 3 of 5 Trades within the ATR Small share size with high volume ORBO closes above VWAP/ORBD closes below VWAP No large wicks (wick cannot be larger than body) Close Should be close to the VWAP Confirmations: Must meet 2 of 2 Pullback towards VWAP in a “ꓥ” (long) or “V”(short) Direction Rejection of VWAP with Moving Averages in a favorable position Profit Taking Plan: This has been a work in progress. Whether it is holding on to long before taking profits than getting stopped out, to the other spectrum of taking profits too early and getting stopped out at breakeven, then the move happening in my direction. This sample set I am defining some clear levels before taking my first profits. Plan A – 1/3 out at low of the day, moving average (5,15 charts), or 1R, then all out at profit target Plan B – 1/3 out at low of the day, moving average (5,15 charts), or 1R, 75% at momentum failure, all out at the profit target or first out. Share Size: I am taking share size based on a fixed dollar amount. Thanks to KyleK29 & fjmocke for the hotkey setup. Daily Trading Goal: My daily trading goal is to trade only within my edge, stick to my profit taking plan, control my emotions, and be disciplined. If I meet these then it is a green day regardless of what my P/L says.

Sample Set 3&4 Review I didn’t do a review of sample set 3 because I did not change much for sample set 4. Over the last two sample sets I have been focusing primarily on defining what to look for in an entry. What I have found is that if the stock pulls back towards VWAP and rejects VWAP with the moving averages in a favorable position, a good entry point is the break of the moving averages along with a break of the previous 1-minute candle. This entry usually results in one of three things happening. 1) The stock will quickly pop opposite of VWAP and continue to run higher/lower. 2) The stock will quickly pop opposite of VWAP and bounce allowing an opportunity to take a quick partial before it pulls back and goes against me. 3) The stock will not break down immediately and will chop around VWAP before picking a direction. What this has allowed me to do, is make my losers significantly smaller than my winners as I get out of the trade if the stock does not go in my direction shortly after the entry. Of course, with any new strategy, this has not come without some issues. I have noticed that I have taken a few really early partials which have cut into my profits as I get stopped out at breakeven during a normal pull back, which is followed by the stock going in my direction. This is going to be my primary area of focus in my next sample set. Defining clear rules for taking a first partial. Overall, I am very confident in this entry setup, as I am getting good entries close to VWAP. I have been able to control my FOMO with the 5-minute Orbs, but this sample set I have had a harder time transitioning from looking for a 5-minute Orb entry to the 15-minute Orb setup. Looking forward to the month of July.

June 28, 2019 - $AMD (Partial) I got a quick little partial on $AMD and than it pulled back towards VWAP. My partial was right in line with my adjusted profit taking plan. I should have re-entered after the pullback happened, but I was distracted with a work issue. Oh well, overall I was happy with this month's trading. Sample Set Results, P 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

The template for the trades is in OneNote. I sent it to your email. If anyone else is interested, message me and I will forward it to you as well.

June 27, 2019 - Nothing I came back after yesterday and trade well. Unfortunately, my entry criteria did not appear, so I did not get an opportunity to take a trade. I was looking at $CAG and $AMD. $AMD pull backed towards VWAP and shot off to the moon, while $CAG bounced around the VWAP and did not setup like I wanted. My goal for today was to forget about yesterday and only trade a solid setup. In the end I met my goal, even though I did not get to take a live trade. Sample Set Results, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20