Mike B

March 2 -6 Here is my weekly recap. Missed last week because I had a file error and spent the weekend fixing it. Top Three Good Trends I was able to take 2 trades per day regardless of the outcome of the first trade. My goal is to get to three trades a day where I am comfortable regardless of the first two trades. My entry process was great this week. I executed smooth and confident entries on each of my trades. I had limited issues worry about whether the trade would work or not work. My risk management was good as I was able to keep my losers smaller than my winners. I was able to remain calm during the first part of the week when I had some issues with profit taking and holding trades. By the middle of the week I was able to bring myself back to normal trading comfortably. Bottom Three Bad Trends I can definitely tell this week was not one of my best week's at managing the trade. I had some major issues with discipline and patience this week that was troubling. During the trade I was not sticking to my trade plan and was taking profits too early instead of letting them go to my plan target levels. This was the root cause of my anxiety, which lead to mismanagement of the trade, followed by poor discipline. I am interested this week to know if increasing risk correlates to a small draw-down until your mind is comfortable with the new level. Most of these mistakes or errors in my profit taking and psychology I remember from when I first was trading. When I increase risk the next time, I am going to pay particular attention to this area. As the week went on I became more and more comfortable trading. Most of the mistakes were early in the week. Focus for Next Week Taking 3 trades in a day that are good setups. I do not want to trade 3 times, just to trade. Here is the plan. Enter the first trade, set limit orders, start scanning for a second trade. Enter a second trade, set limit orders, once one of the previous trades hit 1R partial, then start scanning for a third trade. Managing the emotion upon entry and executing my plan to remain calm, so that I stick to being disciplined and patient. This week I am not going to trade the first 30 minutes live. I am going to be in sim to begin testing a new pre-market level breakout strategy for my tool box. In order to do this, I will have to take a break at 9:45 and refocus my mind for live trading. I am going to have a new display setup for the open. When I switch displays that will be the time I go live.

March 6 Great way to end the week. I had a awesome setup on $JD in the morning. Met all my criteria for a long, got the entry, but then it just stalled out and stopped me out. Didn't bother me a bit, it was a trade I have to take and let the probabilities win out over time. The second was a short on $CCL. Another great setup and I executed it well. I was a little worried I would not get the fill as it was on SSR, but it filled slightly below where I wanted my entry. No big deal. I got partials at 1R and 2R before getting stopped out at break-even. Good way to go into the weekend.

March 5, 2020 Took $JD to the long side and $AMD to the short side today. Both trades were good setups and I got partials on each one of them. I didn't have the best trade management with $JD to long side as I saw some large Bids come in after I entered, so my partial was a little quick. I was happy with all my entries today, smooth, quick, and with confidence. The only thing I did not like was later right after power hour, I should have taken $JD and $CCL to the short side. I just didn't have the right feeling with them so I didn't. Regardless of what the stock did I should have taken the trade as it met my setup and had level 2 buildup in the direction I wanted to go.

So my normal starting point for putting a stop is at the last 1 minute candle that was above/below the moving average. This normally will coincide with the prior 5 minute candles high/low. I adjust this slightly with each trade based on what the price action has been doing and if there is any significant level near that area. For the $MU trade my stop was at 54.78. On the $CCL trade my stop was just above the moving averages at around 31.75

March 5 $MU and $CCL Well in the morning I was not really into it as I slept really bad and was focused on external things, so I was quite sure if I wanted to trade the open. I eventually decided that it was worth trading but I was too slow on inputting the entry for $AMD. I watched for a little longer as the market continued to rise and then went to drop off my daughter. I came back and noticed the market was near the high of days, so I started looking for some stocks to take to the downside. I got in on $MU and a little later got into $CCL. My goal for the day was accomplished. Manage two positions at the same time. I ended up getting partials on both of them. Later I tried to take $JD to the long side but was again slow on the entry. It had to been the sleep last night.

Unintentional No trade day today. I got back in the afternoon too late to catch the moves to the downside. Too bad, there were some nice setups all over the place. I was very short bias, so I was not looking for any longs near the lows, instead I was looking for short setups and well they just didn't appear, so I ended up sitting on the sidelines all day.

Had some issues this weekend with my journal and excel file. I had to recreate, so my monthly stats and weekly stats I do not have. March 2, The day started out well with $CCL. I took it to the short side after it consolidated under VWAP. I got a partials at 1R and 2R for the day. The afternoon I can not say the same. I I did not trade my plan and I started focusing on the outcome instead of my performance. I let a lot of external things cloud my mind while I was trading and I ended up getting out of $AMD prior to my stop. It eventually went up to my 1R level before coming back to my break even. This was a compound of the previous two trades last Thursday that just missed my out and then went against me. Since I was not focused on trading my plan and instead on the outcome, I ended up with a loss on this trade instead of a 1R partial. Better tomorrow. Ended the day green still, but the second trade was a terrible execution of trading.

February 27, 2020 I got eaten alive this afternoon. My rookie mistake. Not taking into consideration the market sentiment. Had I done that I would have been only looking for moves that were headed downward instead of upward. Both afternoon trades I took to the long side and got stopped out. Had I been patient and took the market sentiment in consideration, both of those trades had setups to the downside where I was exiting. So in other words. I should have been entering at this spot not stopping out. Oh well lesson learned. Painful but accurate. Here my three trades. 1 partial winner 2 losers. -1.5R. It may seem strange though, I met my goal for the day. I got three good setups in. I have not traded 3 stocks in one day in a while. It was not over-trading, but I would say I forced the trades instead of letting them come to me.

Feb 26, Been a little bit as I have been a little busy outside of trading traveling and do some side work so I have not been completely focused in on trading. Yesterday, I did not take any trades. Today was a different story. Got a nice move on $AMD only for it to stop me out and then make the move down. Overall a great setup and I executed the trade well.

Hey Everyone, The power of the BBT community is greater than anyone person, so I am seeking the assistance from everyone in community for ideas of what type of psychology topics, services, or other items you would like to see BBT offer. What do you like, what do not like, what do you want to see. I listed a few to start the conversation but I am really looking for ideas from the community. Do not be afraid to throw out an idea, if we don't know what you want we can't see what the feasibility is. - Psychology Lessons - Having a Trading Psychologist available for members - Live Psychology Lessons or "How to" Webinars Looking forward to all the great ideas and thoughts on the above.

Feb 8 -16 Weekly Report Top Three Good Trends This week I was able to trade with no fear of being wrong. I entered a few trades that I did not think were going to work out but met my criteria. I had more winners than losers. I was able to keep my losers smaller than my winners throughout the week. I did not have any self-sabotage errors this week. Bottom Three Bad Trends I was having some issues focusing in on trading in the moment. A few of the days I had a hard time keeping my focus on the trade without it wondering. I was not able to stick to my routine after I got into a trade in the afternoon. I have to utilize my routine once I enter the first trade and input the appropriate outs, I need to start scanning the 1-minute charts again for another opportunity. Focusing in too much on the tick by tick action in my afternoon trades. Once in and the levels are set, move on to the next trade. Focus for Next Week My focus this week is increasing risk per share. I am going to start out by increasing in small increments until I reach my tolerance level. I am going to focus in on trading a solid morning on Tuesday, a solid day on Wednesday and Thursday. I will not be trading Friday as I am traveling to New York. I want to really work on trading scanning for a second stock to trade in the afternoon after entering my first position.

Feb 13 $AMD I got into AMD but did not feel very comfortable, I was having a lot of issues focusing. I should have been scanning other stocks looking for a trade, but I was kept finding something to occupy my time. Lost of focus. Eventually got stopped out. No big deal, it was my setup that just didn't work. Executed it well. I will not be trading tomorrow as I have to travel to San Diego to get my DD 214. Big day. Enjoy the weekend and see everyone next week.

Feb 12 $BBBY I was not awake today. I think I was mentally exhausted this morning and it all started when I got my fist cup of tea as you will see. I had $BBY, $MU, and $TEVA on watch, but at the open I could not seem to stay awake or keep my focus, so I decided to go get another cup of tea, only to realize that the first cup was caffeine free. Of course. I felt it better to call it a morning and wait till the afternoon, but that was not much better. I was awake by this time but just not in sync with the markets. I did end up trading BBBY to the long side. I got a partial and then stopped at B/E. I also missed a trade on $CVS that would have worked out nicely, but I was too slow on the analysis.

I know right, but it is my rule, once I take a partial I get out at the break-even. Lately it has been stopping me right to the penny, but I can also count numerous times over that year that it blows right past my B/E and keeps running.

Yes, I use Kyle's keys to determine my stop loss.

Feb 11, 2020 - $AMD Did not trade in the morning as I did not have any setups appear for me. I came back in the afternoon and I found $MU and $AMD. $MU failed the setup so I moved onto $AMD. Took it short, got two partials and then it stopped me out to the penny at break even, before going on a hard selloff to my profit target. Overall a very good trade and my management was on point. I going to increase my risk per share after this sample set. Unsure right now what I am going to move it to. I am going to do some analysis to determine the best price.

Feb 10, $MU x 2 Well at the open I had some FOMO with AMD. A great 5 min ORBO appeared and I did not take it because I was not trading open. I was out with spouse celebrating 20 years of marriage, so I was a little tired and not in the right mindset for the open. Luckily, I was able to collect myself for the afternoon session and got a couple good setups on $MU. The first one did not work out, while the second one got me 2Rs. Funny thing is I was completely confident in the first trade and only mildly confident in the second trade. Funny how probabilities play out and you have no control over what happens, you can only control how you manage the trade.

Feb 3 - 7 Weekly Report Trade Analysis Psychology Analysis Top Three Good Trends The first was that I was able to take entries regardless of my bias this week. On a few trades I didn't want to take but I choose to anyways. I was aware of my emotions and twice during the week I kept myself from trading during the open because I could not focus on what I was doing. I am getting much better and being relaxed while in the trade. I have a setup I am 100% confident in and I am able to trade it when the setup appears regardless of my bias Bottom Three Bad Trends As the chart below illustrates, I have had some major issues with taking profit at the right areas. I did not stick to my profit taking plan at all this week and have noticed that when I can input my exits with a stop order I am much better at it than if I have to press the hotkey to exit. I am still having self-sabotaging issues with the montage and hotkeys. This needs to be addressed more in depth Focusing in the morning has been an issue this week and I am unsure why. Focus for Next Week Fixing the montage and hotkey errors. Sticking with my profit taking plan and not worrying about whether I get stopped out after the stock coming within .01 cent of my partials Morning routine, so that I am focused and ready to trade the open.

Feb 7 - $ABBV Had a good trade on $ABBV, but messed it up with a couple of montage errors as I was not focused on the execution. I ended up just setting a range order for the profit target and breakeven. I eventually got stopped at the B/E to the penny before it moved to the profit target. Oh well could have been much worse.

Only because I now refuse to exit before my stop. Too many times this exact thing has happened to me.

Feb 6 $TWTR, $MU Another great day trading. Didn’t take anything at the open. One day I will brave enough to take those Thor pre-market breakouts. I saw it today, but just don’t have the backbone yet. So instead I sat in the background nice and quietly waiting for my opportunity to take a trade on it. I got it but it was a difficult trade to take as I was long bias and setup was to the short side. My performance goal for day was to take each setup I saw regardless of my bias, to see how it worked out. I really didn’t think this trade on $TWTR would work, but it did. Shortly afterwards $MU setup and took that trade too. Big day for me, trade to stocks live at the same time intentionally. It much easier in the afternoon vice the morning.

Looking Forward to another great time in NY

Feb 5, Well this morning was not a good one. Right when I woke up I could still tell I was agitated from the night before and just was not focused on trading. Every time I would start going through my pre-market routine, my mind kept wondering off. I did not even get logged into the chatroom until right before the pre-market show started. I made the decision that I would not trade the open no matter what appeared as my mind was not in a position to handle uncertainty. I watched the markets at the open specifically $TSLA, as I knew I would not trade it. After taking my daughter to school, running, and getting something to eat, I came back for the afternoon session in a much better mindset. I was looking at $SNAP and $MRK for a long but just didn't see what I was looking for in my setup. I just happened to notice $MU starting to head toward a MA cross on the 1 minute, so I took a look and saw my setup. I executed my pre-trade routine flawlessly, enter the trade and managed it well. I did not get to my profit target with my last portion but, I was happy with my execution at the close of the day. First time I have held within the last 10 minutes of the market. I got out at the loss of the moving averages on the 1 minute.

Hey, I created them in excel. A lot of formula work up front but makes it easier to analysis my performance each day, week, month.

Feb 4 $MU I had a great day trading today. I had a good 5 min ORB setup forming on $AMD, and was able to control the emotions to perform the analysis. I was ready to take the trade until it broke the pattern and went to the short side. I was able to quickly than transistion to looking for 15 min orbs and saw both $JD, $TSLA, and $AMD setting up nicely. I could not find a good risk to reward, so I decided to switch to looking for a breakout trade. I started my analysis on $AMD as it formed a double top. I did not quite get through the analysis before the stock broke my level so I moved on. I came back in the afternoon and had a great setup on $MU to the long side. Executed the entry flawlessly, rushed the partial a little bit, and then got stopped out to the penny before it made a run up to my profit target. Overall a very productive day.