Rob C

Looks like we took the same trade. But you partialled out way better. Nice hold through the first pull back. That is where I bailed out.

Yep, I took the same AMD trade. I think one or two of the moderators did as well (with the same result). I guess the AMD siren call was too strong for everyone today.

Friday 6/14/2019 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. My nerves were OK. Since it is a Friday I am trading half shares. I took two live trades with FB and AMD. FB looked strong in the premarket and had really good opening volume. It made a small hammer with 1min candle and I went long when it broke premarket high. I took my 1st partial when it reached $181, but my fill was so bad it filled almost at B/E (22 cent slide!). I took another partial when it clearly broke $181. Then another partial at $181.41 daily level. Just before my next partial it reversed and I exited when it broke the $181 price. I have to admit that AMD was more of a FOMO trade. I wanted to take a 2min ORB but I was still trading FB. The 4th 1min candle tested its own bottom wick 3 times. When it bounced the 3rd time I went long. My stop out level was tight, the bottom of the 4th 1min candle. About one minute later it broke that level and I exited. My score card for today: What I did good today: My P/L is flat for the day, that’s my best Friday since CMEG had those tech issues and I couldn’t trade. How did I challenge myself today? Traded with half share size. For some reason that was difficult today. What I did bad today: Traded on FOMO. What can I do better tomorrow: I shouldn’t have been even looking at my other stocks while trading FB. Thus, I wouldn’t even had the FOMO.

Thursday 6/13/2019 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. My nerves were actually good. I planned to take the day off and spend it with my family today so that put me into a good mood. I took two live trades both with FB. FB opened with adequate volume. I was waiting for the price to crack the 200MA-5min. My stop was VWAP and target was high of premarket which is a R/R~2. I went long at the break of the 200MA with small share size. The price had moved 38 cent move from open which was ideal. Not extended but large enough to give direction.The price did stay above the MA for a few seconds but then reversed. I actually exited the trade at $175.70 but got filled at $175.50. Ouch! Which doubled my loss. The 5min chart when I took the trade: The 2nd min candle engulfed the first, which is a high % short for FB this close to the open. So I flipped my position and shorted at the LOTD. My stop was at 175.50 (start of the engulfing) with PDC as the target. I was able to get two partials but just missed reaching my 3rd. I exited when it broke above the 200MA-5min. The charts for both trades: My score card for today: What I did good today: Took good setups that usually work for FB. Flipped a position. That is not easy for me to do quickly. How did I challenge myself today? Exited a losing trade early. Though with the bad fill it looks like I exited at the planned stop point. What I did bad today: Not happy always using my two trades at the open. I always hope of using only one and saving the other for a different setup and/or time frame. What can I do better tomorrow: I want more variety in my trading setups. If I can’t than I need to start using the SIM again.

Wednesday 6/12/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were actually OK due to some new rules I implemented. Sorry another wordy journal entry. I took three (yes three) live trades with FB and MU. I did some soul searching yesterday and realized I need to adjust my rules a bit. I have been seeing three issues since I started with the daily max trade rules. 1) Trade not going well, I should get out. But I only have two trades allowed so I am going to hold it until my planned stop. This has been killing my win$/Loss$ ratio. Before my max daily trade rule I was pretty good at getting out of losing trades early. Everyone says to get out of a trade that doesn’t feel right you can always get back in. But I can’t due to my max daily trade rule. 2) I get a bad fill, I know the fill just destroyed my R/R but I still stay in the trade because I hate losing a chance to trade. 3) I correctly took small shares due to the trades particular risk. Then the trade goes in my favor and I try to squeeze out more than I should from the trade because I just used up an allowable trade. This happen yesterday. So new rule. I can increase my max daily trades by one if I exit a trade early due to concerns that it is no longer a good trade. I have some specific parameters, that I won’t bore you with, that takes the gray area away. My first trade was with FB. This was a strange one. I was watching it in premarket and I was so long bias. So I decided if it goes red to green I will go long. It did but I went light on the shares. There was a daily level just above it, but I thought if it pops above it there is no levels until $179.65. It was a bit exciting waiting for the one minute for the market to open but nerves OK, because from staring at FB charts for the last month this was a good R/R. It popped at open as I hoped and I got 3 partials in before it reversed. From experience with FB this drop was not going to stop and I exited well above B/E. I was thinking about flipping, but I felt like what Andrew says, I already made my money with FB and I moved on. When looking for other trades I liked MU, but I missed the entry. I like the 1min ORB when it bounces off the VWAP, but I was still in the FB trade at the time. Then it made a shooting star (reverse hammer) and R/R was good. But honestly my back test data says this has <50% of working on MU. So not sure if it was FOMO, but I took the trade anyway. Of course it instantly reversed on me. My S/O was VWAP, but since I have the new rule I got out when it broke the daily level at 33.86 and made a 1min hammer. Of course holding to my original S/O would have worked better. But this is a new rule. There will be some push and pull for a couple weeks before it works well. I am totally out of practice on early S/Os. Then MU bounced off of VWAP again and started forming a 3min ORB setup. According to back test data on MU this is has a nice edge to it. I shorted at the body break of the first two 1min candles. Price actually reached my first partial but I got a bad fill. Then I exited at B/E. My score card for today: What I did good today: Used my knowledge of how FB could open and took advantage of it by taking a position in the premarket. How did I challenge myself today? Opened a position in the premarket. Took three trades. Trading something else besides FB/AMD. What I did bad today: Ignored my back test data on MU. I should have known that was a low probability setup. Didn’t use my new 3 trade rule very well today. What can I do better tomorrow: Be more careful on the early S/Os, there is a learning curve I need to go through again. Follow your back test data!!

Tuesday 6/11/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves again were not good, probably still recovering from a busy weekend. Very disappointed with my trading today. I apologize in advance for my wordy journal entry. I took two live trades with FB. My first trade was very poor trade management. I acted like I didn’t know how to trade FB. FB open strong and was always above the VWAP. It gave a slight pull back at $179 but it was always above the Boulinger band so I didn’t want to enter the trade. I finally went long as a standard 1min ORB at the break of the first candle. The R/R was not good using VWAP as my S/O since there was a daily level not far above it. I was considering the $180 level as the target which did have a R/R~2. But since that daily level was concerning I went half shares. The price reached my first partial level. Now everything up to this point is still OK. This is an OK trade, not great but I am fine with it. But this is when things went bad. Since I usually take partials too early I was holding back trying to teach myself to be patient. That is fine, but I am not sure if I didn’t notice or just wasn’t thinking, but the price has move $1.50 in just over 1 minute. That is a lot for FB and it is extended. I really need to take a partial. I didn’t. The only way I can explain this, is to hold myself from taking a partial I needed to do something else so I added more shares on the 2min ORB break. I did this just below a level and I should have known even if FB moves up more it will not be soon. It will need a consolidation period first so there was no hurry to add shares at that moment. Again the real reason is by adding I won’t take a partial. Then this is the real killer to the trade. I seldom add shares to my trades, so I guess the trade management is not thought out well. VWAP is now no longer a correct S/O since it is too far. B/E or bottom of the previous candle would have been the correct S/O. Again I didn’t think and let it go all the way to VWAP. And to add insult to my trading I added shares at the bounce of VWAP, which wouldn’t have been too bad, except FB doesn’t bounce off of VWAP in these situations. I should have known it will power through as it usually does. I did exit at the originally planned S/O level. Which should have never stayed as my S/O level. After FB broke through VWAP I waited for the break of the daily level. R/R was not good, but this I remembered about FB and it usually has some momentum when it breaks VWAP at this time of the day. So I shorted. The price did make it to my first partial but then quickly reversed. Since my B/E was just below a daily level that the price seem to show some respect for I moved my S/O there. I was then quickly stopped out for a slight loss. My score card for today: What I did good today: Stuck to my two trade max How did I challenge myself today? Flipped a position. What I did bad today: Did not use my knowledge of FB. Added shares before I had a plan. What can I do better tomorrow: Adding shares prohibited until rules and procedures are implemented.

Live trading summary for week ending 6/07/19. Weekly summary a little late due to very busy weekend. Missed one day of trading due to poor sleep. Made 7 trades this week with a solid score card average of 87.7%. Win% was 57% which is adequate. What I am most happy about is my win$/loss$ ratio is greater than 2. Which made this a very green week. Back test data (for 1min/2min ORBs) from last week shows FB still making very solid 1min/2min for 5 weeks now. AMD showed better data this week so we will still call it in play. Roku and TSLA seem to be in play now, but even with Centerpoint broker ROKU shorts are not readily available. TSLA has a very different personality I haven’t figured out yet so still in observation mode. My thoughts on Centerpoint Securities so far. I have to admit I was a little disappointed the first day when I didn’t see an “S” on the Montage for ROKU. Now there was shorts for SQ, so it is better than CMEG, so I will have to see in the next few weeks how good their shorts are. They do have a “hard to find” short process, but I use to use that with E-trade. Though very effective finding shorts, it is not useful at the open. The other concern is I was just expecting commission costs and no fees on my trades, since that is how the offer was described. Then my first trade I saw the fees cost equal to my commissions! Was quite surprised. The fees were things like SEC fees, which sure sound like regulatory fees that was supposedly wrapped up into the commission costs. I emailed them for clarification. I have not received an answer yet. Here is my plan for this week: Concentrate on process and score card, not on W% and P/L Do not trade AAPL until better data is seen. Make FB your primary focus. Vol min is 100K in the first 20sec. AMD is in play again for the 2min ORB. ROKU is in play for the 2min ORB, but I still don't have shorts so keep as a third choice. MU is not in play for 2min ORB, but it has been looking good for the 3min ORB. So keep MU in mind if you are looking for a trade in that time frame Remember to trade the 5min ORB as a 5min ORB. Trade review shows I am trading 5min ORBs with 2min ORB methodology by reflex. That won't work.

Monday 6/10/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning (5 hours a sleep but deep). My nerves were not great since I had an extremely busy weekend. Thus, I did not get a chance to perform chart review. So the only stock I could trust was FB for the 1min/2min ORB. I took two live trades with FB. When I saw FB price drop, my plan was wait for the hammer to be created because I was still long bias. It did retrace and start to create a hammer but then it bounced twice off of VWAP. So I was thinking I may be wrong and went short on the second bounced as it broke the daily level at 174.30. It went against me so fast, that by the time DAS drew the red triangle it already went against me and was at my stop out. I immediately covered. The trade was less than 1 second in duration. I should have waited for the break of the 200MA as well, but it flew by it without any remorse the first time that I was thinking it wasn’t respecting it at the moment. Plus, I really like the triple level (VWAP and the daily level on the 1min and 50MA on the 5min). Now the hammer I originally plan to trade off of was created. I waited for the break of the HTD and 50MA and went long. I tried to take my first partial at the $175 but got a horrible fill almost back at B/E. Then partialled at the premarket high and at $175.50. The next two partials I took when the price lost its momentum. Then exited the few remaining shares at the first 1min low. Here is the chart. Please ignore the dark line at $175.80, I am still having trouble with DAS recorder and it left a line. My score card for today: What I did good today: Win$/Loss$ is greater than 2. How did I challenge myself today? Exited a losing trade under 1 second. Did not keep my bias after the open. What I did bad today: Though the first trade wasn’t terrible, I should have known it was a “C” trade and waited for a better opportunity. What can I do better tomorrow: Catch up on the chart review I missed this weekend. I feel a little blind without it. And of course work on the patience.

Friday 6/07/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning (5 hours a sleep). My nerves were OK. Since it was Friday I traded half share sizes today. I just opened an account with Centerpoint. I thought Friday would be a good day to try it live since I am trading half shares anyway. I was surprised my layout on DAS I had saved (CMEG) would look the same on Centerpoint, since it is the platform that matters. It didn’t and took about an hour to convert over and look right. I also could not get the screen recorder to work correctly so sadly my trades were not recorded. I also wasn’t happy I didn’t see any improvement in shorts over CMEG. But will look further into that. I took two live trades with FB then AMD. Knowing I am trading half sizes helped the nerves a bit since I usually double stop out on Fidays, so I thought all I would lose is -1R. FB open weak and the 2min candle was going to engulf the premarket 5min candle. I like there was a daily level right below VWAP. I was focusing both on AMD and FB at the open so I was a little late with the entry and got a bad fill. So my R/R was not adequate anymore. But I did like that it may have a chance to green to red so I covered about 1/3 of my shares to reduce the risk. Price almost made it to my first target than retraced and I exited at my planned S/O. My next trade was with AMD. AMD open weak and went green to red. It retraced and tested the PDC where it took a strong bounce. Volume was still heavy. I was waiting for a breakout and for some reason I thought the break of the previous two candles BODY was a good enough break. Not sure why I didn’t wait for the break of premarket low or the LOTD or wait until the 5min candle is finished. It didn’t and the price instantly reversed after I entered and burst through my S/O level (PDC) so fast I had a large slide on my exit price. There was another issue with AMD. Since most of the stocks I trade are higher price (not sure why I guess they make better 1min/2min ORB candidates recently) that I have set my buttons on DAS for higher priced stocks. When I take a trade I use a button with the risk per share cost and have it calculate the shares. My choices for a stock at AMD’s price is limited. So with the S/O level I choose I did not have a button for half shares at that cost. I could have rounded up or down. No idea why I rounded to higher shares. So I only took 30% less shares than normal. Thus with the slide on exit I took a full -1R on that loss. My score card for today: What I did good today: Well it wasn’t a complete disaster like Fridays usually are. How did I challenge myself today? Traded with a new broker What I did bad today: Poor entries again. Not the first time this week. Not happy that my loss for the day is -1.4R. I really want to stick to -1R on Fridays. What can I do better tomorrow: I need to keep the exact entry point in mind at all times and constantly review the decision making process if to enter at the spot.

Thursday 6/06/2019 I had a well-being score of 3/10 (4 hours of sleep and a nasty headache) this morning. So not trading today. FOMO OK, I decided not to even watch or SIM. The only time I got near my computer was to grab the SD memory, which I immediately fumbled with it and dropped it on the floor. Then it took me a minute, crawling on the floor, to find it because my eyes wouldn't focus. That's when I thought, "wow, I am so glad I am not trading the open right now".

Friday is my killer day for the 6 months I have been trading live. Is it due to a difference in market personality? Or my sleep deprivation is at its worse? And its been this way for so long its like what you said its self fulfilling. I finally threw in the towel two weeks ago and I trade half shares on Fridays. At least it won't keep ruining my weekends anymore. Luckily tomorrow is not Wednesday or Friday

Wednesday 6/05/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 (I had a bit of a headache) this morning. My nerves were OK. I took two live trades both with FB. FB actually had some volume in the premarket. It showed weakness right at the open and had very good first minute volume, so I was waiting for the pull back. While I was watching the price action I noticed, after breaking the 167 level the first time. It could never break (lower) it again, though it tried several times. The price did reach the VWAP where it instantly bounced hard all the way back to the 50MA. Since it tried so many times unsuccessfuly to break $167, I waited for the break of that level. It broke it and for some unknwon reason I hesitated for just under a second before I took the trade. Too bad, even though I took the trade at $166.96 I had a 14 cent slide (on the fill) due to my hesitation. But, the R/R was still fine so I stayed in the trade. S/O was the 50MA-1min and my target was the 166.23 daily level. This is the 1min chart when I took the trade: I took my first partial at the premarket low and my second at the planned 166.23 target. Price retraced soon after and I exited at B/E. FB reversal was strong and created a nice hammer on the 2min chart. Though volume was decreasing, I have seen good moves with this much volume in the past few weeks with FB. The R/R was low ~1.4, but I really like the 2min hammer and that it had a chance to go red to green. But due to the low R/R I went small share size and went long when it broke VWAP. I took my first 3 partials as planned (PDC, 200MA and $168). I tried to take another partial at the 168.26 level but got a bad fill. At that point I was low on shares so I exited when it cleanly broke that level. My score card for today: What I did good today: Had no bias when the market opened. How did I challenge myself today? Flipped a trade. That’s not easy for me to do. What I did bad today: Caught in the headlights on my entry for the first trade. ¾ of a second delay is a lot at the open. What can I do better tomorrow: Yea, there were some things I did not execute very well. But, it was fun trading today. So I am going to give myself a break and try not be negative today.

Tuesday 6/04/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were OK. I took two live trades with AMD then FB. Oddly, I took AMD in the premarket. I was just setting up for the trading day and thought I saw an ABCD on AMD but had no thoughts to trade it. Then I saw a 1200 size ask 6 cents above current price. AMD already found support twice at the 28.36 level, so I thought if it bounces a third time and the big ask is still there I will go long. AMD already had >1M vol in the premarket. So it made the 3rd bounce and there were now other large asks in addition to the 1200 one. So I went long. I had a tight stop below the 28.36 support with a target of the HOTD. 2min later I was S/O. I guess it is likely the L2 signals don’t work as well in the premarket. FB actually had volume in the premarket and was heavily in play yesterday and was my primary focus at the open. The price dropped at the open then made beautiful hammer. Though the R/R was only ~1.6 the setup and volume looked too good. So I went long when it broke VWAP with the premarket level as my stop (163.52) and the target of PDC. What it looked like when I entered the trade (1min chart). If you look at the total trade on the chart below, you would think I had better discipline taking partials today. Actually no. The price was blowing through my planned partial levels so fast I didn’t have a chance to take them. I did take my first partial, as plan, at the previous close. Then it ran through the 200MA and the premarket level so fast I didn’t take a partial. My next two partials were at the $165 and $165.50. The price dropped fast after my third partial and I exited the trade when it broke the 200MA. I had to remind myself I already took two trades. I almost flipped and went short on FB, I stopped myself just in time. For some reason the premarket trade didn’t instinctively feel like a trade. I almost broke my two trade/day rule. My score card for today: What I did good today: 50% win rate today but P/L very positive. Very good risk management on AMD. How did I challenge myself today? Took a premarket trade. Learned a bit from it. What I did bad today: In hindsight AMD was more of a pendant than an ABCD. So should have waited for the break of the pendant and not the bounce off of support. What can I do better tomorrow: Watch for the pendants.

That's good to hear. Hopefully we will see your new trades when your ready.

Monday 6/03/2019 I had a well-being score of 7.5/10. My nerves were OK. I changed my setup so I am only taking $25 risk/trade (down from $42). Also, I am trading off just my laptop this morning. I missed not having a SPY chart to look at. I took one live trade FB. I was actually looking at FB with my one Montage since back test data says it's the only reliable stock for my 1min/2min ORB setup (that I have shares to short). Plus I like it was the only stock on my list that was counter trending. It had a nice drop at the open. Waited for the pull back and went short with VWAP as my stop and the 172.71 daily level as my target. 2min later I took a small partial at the LOTD. Next partial at the $173 level which I probably should not have taken since my 172.71 target was so close. Next partial at my target. Then took another when the price stop moving. The few shares I had left I covered when it broke the 173 level. My score card for today: FB = 92% Most of the points off due to too many partials. What I did good today: Waited for the pull back. How did I challenge myself today? Traded on just a laptop. What I did bad today: Yep, if there is a level I must take a partial...... I need to weight the levels. What can I do better tomorrow: Should determine the strength of the level in premarket before I take a partial there.

I have been through that tough patch and after 5 months I quit trying to learn how to trade. After about two weeks I started back slowly and changed a lot of things, but spiraled down again and after a $1k hulk day I was on the verge of quitting again. I got lucky that the hulk day occurred on January 31 and my CMEG account just got setup. So Feb 1st, the beginning of the month, felt like a new beginning. I knew I needed to change everything. Adjustments here and there wouldn't cut it. I needed to change everything now. Below is the list of things I changed which has helped me. But in particular the risk controls need to be in place. And let me tell you it's embarrassing to ask for them from your broker and embarrassing to admit that you need them. Different traders on the chat use them differently. Some stay below the PDT rule of 3 trades a week. Some have max shares traded a day. I have realized gain and total (Unrealized+realized) set at a certain limit through CMEG and it will lock me out until the following day if I exceed it. The one good thing about setting those risk controls, as once I set them and knew they were there, I have not broken them. I don't have the love of adventure/danger that you have, I do have something just as harmful to a trader. Though I consider myself a very honest person, I found out quickly I am a chronic lair to myself. And wow the market will destroy someone with this behavior. I am sure I could have lived the rest of my life without dealing with it, but as a trader it's something I have to fight every second. Journalling online really helped me. The first month it was funny to see my personal journal completely transform into an honest journal entry when I retyped into the BBT website and know that other people will be reading it. My first 3 months of live trading I had 6 hulk days and 16 max/loss days. Since I made these changes 4 months ago I have had zero hulk days and zero max/loss days. 1) Switched brokers to CMEG so I could reduce my account size so blowing it up is not as much of an impact. 2) Added risk controls from CMEG/DAS. Realized max so it would prevent me from going hulk and unrealized in case I lose internet in the middle of a trade. 3) Made a simple goal for 3 months. Don’t go hulk. I could trade terribly but as long as I never went hulk I reached my goal. 4) Started with 1 trade per day max. I tried the 3/day rule during my first three unsuccessful months, but I kept breaking it. 1 trade a day is very much an on/off switch with very little gray area. It was REALLY painful and FOMO was high, but after a week it got easier. The satisfaction of having enough discipline to stop at 1 trade was enough to be proud of myself. After about one month I switched to two trades a day allowed if the first trade was a winner. If the first trade was a loser, I am done for the day. I use to trade terribly after a loser. 5) Remove the unrealized gain window. This was tough, but surprisingly after a week I got use to it. Setting the risk controls (at the broker level) is the key. The changes to your trading will be swift. I hope you find something useful in my list. I hope you don't mind me asking but I am curious where you live with mountain forests and bears.

Live trading summary of the month of May. So May was the first month where my main focus was on the trading process. Versus the previous three months the primary focus was on psychology. I am still on a 2 trades/day maximum, though if the first trade is especially painful I may call it quits for the day. Same goes if the first trade was a nice winner I will stop for the day. I stayed with the same $42 risk per trade through April and May. I am disappointed with my results this month. My main goal was to improve on my average score card from last month. But I both May and April’s average score are essentially identical. Though not a priority I am not happy it is my first red month since January. It is also my first month <60% win rate since January with a 44% win rate for May. Though I am only in the red by -2.7R for the whole month, which isn’t that bad. I did have an issue adapting to the change in market. My back-test data showed AAPL was no longer in play for the 2min ORB. But for over a week, AAPL looked so good in the premarket, there I was throwing money away trading it. It took over a week for me to learn my lesson and finally stop. I also just applied for account at Centerpoint, the issues CMEG had for a couple of days was the last straw. I think I can trust myself with a larger account now so I need to move on. In May I read (actually listened to) Millionaire Traders. Though it was worth reading I got more out of Market Wizards. I am now listening to the Daily Trading Coach again, reading The Playbook on Kindle and reading Market Mind Games on hard back. Stats for February/March/April/May: Goals for June: 1) Don’t go hulk 2) Learn to control your emotions after a loss 3) The trade score card average for the month should exceed the previous month. 4) Reduce risk per trade from $42 back to $25 until trade score card improve 5) Keep improving health

Live trading summary for week ending 5/31/19. A short week of trading, only two days. The markets were closed on Memorial day, a second day lost with CMEG issues and one day lost due to no sleep. Both days were red. Of the 4 trades total this week, three were OK but one was quite poor, one of the bottom trades I took this month. In general I feel like I fell into a rut and those 6 forced days I couldn’t trade made me feel out of practice. Back test data (for 1min/2min ORBs) from last week shows FB still making solid 1min/2min for 4 weeks now. AMD showed only marginal data last week and I will decide day by day if to watch it. AAPL showed OK data but will take at least two good weeks in a row before I will consider watching it. Data still shows I should still not be watching it. MU, had a poor week and will not be on my primary watch list. So I only have one stock really in play and I need a second one. ROKU is actually in play for 2min ORBs but since CMEG does not have shares to short I have not placed it on my watch-list. Since I really need a second 2min ORB stock I will consider watching it next week and hope for a ORBU. Here is my plan for next week: Concentrate on process and score card, not on W% and P/L Do not trade AAPL until better data is seen. Make FB your prinary focus. But, vol min is changed to 100K in the first 20sec, no longer need 300K in first minute. AMD is now marginal for the 2min ORB, decide each day if you want it as the secondary 2min ORB focus. ROKU is in play for the 2min ORB, so consider it as the secondary focus if AMD has a poor premarket. MU is not in play for 2min ORB. Remember to trade the 5min ORB as a 5min ORB. Trade review shows I am trading 5min ORBs with 2min ORB methodlogy by reflex. That won't work. Have a good weekend.

Thanks for your post. At least we can say we predicted the correct direction on AMD. Same thing happen with me on FB, stopped out before its big drop. I have a self imposed 2 trade/day limit so I couldn't get back in. I was curious about something that I wanted to ask someone who knows options. Once in awhile I see an explosion from a dollar or half dollar level on AMD. A stock at AMDs price you wouldn't think would have such a reaction to these levels especially the 1/2 dollar level. So I was wondering if it happen to be a very large number of puts/calls happen to be at that price. One week I decided to look at AMD's options tables, as premarket prep, to see if I can get any insight. I didn't see any, so I stopped. Do you think it useful to look before the open or this would have no use? Thanks.

Friday 5/31/2019 I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning (only 4.5 hours a sleep). My nerves were OK. Since it was Friday I traded half share sizes today. I took two live trades with AMD then FB. I was actually looking at FB at the open. Lots of volume and a nice hammer. I was waiting to pull the trigger long when it broke the 50MA. It didn’t so I moved my attention to AMD. AMD bounced hard off the 200MA-1min and made a nice candle. There were 4 levels all bunched together around 27.6 so I waited for a clean break of all the levels and went long. The price did reach my first target for a partial, but never reached my second partial even though the volume stayed strong. Then I exited at B/E. My next trade was with FB. I was looking for a 5min ORB and I saw FB 1min candles bouncing between VWAP and the 50MA-1min. The candles were hammers, but when FB has a fight with VWAP and the 50MA, lately the 50MA has been winning. So I really didn’t know which way it would break. It did finally break down through VWAP, but I waited for the price to break the $180 level, since there was a false VWAP break 2min earlier and FB respected the $180 level in premarket. I shorted at the break of $180. I was so focused on FB I didn’t look at any other chart for the last 2 minutes. As soon as I entered the trade I noticed all my other stocks on my watch list have now gone bullish. Uh oh. Not enough of a signal for me to get out of the trade, but I definitely had my finger on cover-all. I exited at planned S/O. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min 5min My score card for today: What I did good today: Took two OK trades. How did I challenge myself today? Waited for level breaks, did not enter too early. What I did bad today: Trading the 5min ORB like a 2min ORB out of reflex. But the setups and entries are different. What can I do better tomorrow: Lots of data crunching this weekend. This month did not go very well. I need to determine my training plan for next month.

Thursday 5/30/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were not good due to 6 days of not trading, my last day trading was one of the worst I had live and the huge FOMO I had with the nice moves I missed the past few days. I felt that it was inevitable that I will have a double stop out today. Since that was a powerful self-fulfilling prophecy, I traded half share sizes today. I took two live trades with FB. First trade I traded OK, the second trade I traded poorly. FB bounced off the 50MA and made a nice hammer as it broke VWAP. It had the minimum volume needed of 125K in 20 seconds. 300K in the first minute is the minimum to call it in play. I went long at the breakoff VWAP. It quickly made it to my first target ($183.50) and then quickly reversed. I tried to exit at B/E but there was some slippage and the trade was a slight loss. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min The second FB trade was a disaster. FB was dropping fast and heading to an unusually strong tech level of 200MA+Daily Level+PDC. So I was going to go long the moment it touched it expecting a bounce. First mistake, I didn’t check the volume. After the first 20 seconds of the market open the volume dried up and FB was not in play, so no trades should have been considered. I did place the order when it touched the 3X tech level. It sure bounced. So much I lost 25 cents on the entry. The R/R is now bad, but it never crossed my mind to get out of the trade, though that is a rule and my second big mistake on the trade. I actually had a good 5 seconds that I could have exited with a small profit, but I held. When the price retraced to the tech level again I stopped out. It had a large slippage again so I had a 50 cent stop out, well larger than the planned one. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min Both trades: My score card for today: What I did good today: My first trade was fine and at least I knew to go half share size today. How did I challenge myself today? Traded after a forced 6 days off. What I did bad today: Didn’t check for volume or quickly get out of a bad entry trade. I am hoping these errors are due to not trading for awhile. What can I do better tomorrow: Relearn my rules. Apparently, I forgot them.

Wednesday 5/29/2019 I had a well-being score of unknown value this morning. My Garmin watch essentially said I never slept. My daughter had really bad nightmares last night and I stayed up with her until she fell back a sleep (but that was 5am - already passed my wake up time). So I thought it wise never to get near my computer this morning. Wow its now six days without taking a trade. The good news is my daughter doesn't seem too drained and looked normal by the time I dropped her off at school. Maybe she was getting a few cat naps in during the night. I hope everyone's trading has gone well this week. Too bad I couldn't join in on a few trades.

Tuesday 5/28/2019 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. My nerves were not good due to my poor trading on my last trading day (Thursday) and worried there would be platform issues with CMEG like there was Friday. And yes again I was unable to take any trades today due to issues with CMEG. I am uncomfortable making manual orders close to the open and my DAS setup does not allow a quick change to the routing on the Montage. I tried to take a 1min ORBU on FB and order was rejected. The entry point disappeared quickly so no chance for manual entry. Then I tried a 2min ORBU on AMD and as expected my order was rejected. It’s sad because both had nice runs. I haven’t got a trade to have a good run for two weeks. Plus I am slightly negative for the month and that would have brought to the positive and I had a really bad last day of trading I needed a good day to get my confidence back. It took me about 2 hours to get over my frustration, but then I thought this is what I need to get off my rear-end and change brokers (actually I use a stand-up desk so that’s just a metaphor). I haven’t had a hulk or max loss day in 4 months I think I can trust myself now with a larger account. I was waiting for CMEG to announce their counter offer to the Alliance offer. But in reality I was being lazy. It’s time to go with a better broker. With E-trade I was almost 50/50 with long and short trades. Now I am 90% long. Yes the market has been moving upwards, but still part of it is due to the lack of shorts available on CMEG. Plus, of course the commission costs are less than desirable for me since I am still trading small. What I did good today: Recognized good setups, though unable to trade them. How did I challenge myself today: Now applying for a Centerpoint account. What I did bad today: Got frustrated not being able to trade. What can I do better tomorrow/weekend: It’s been 5 days without trading. It feels like when I can’t go for a workout in a week. I need to figure out at least how to use SIM tomorrow.

Live trading summary for week ending 5/24/19. It was a very unusual week of trading. From a stat standpoint it was not good. Score card of 78% and a win% of 38% and my largest weekly loss this month. From a psychological standpoint, I was all over the place this week. The first three days were actually fun, even though all three days my P/L was flat. I was really enjoying the process of learning. This is possibly the first time. As was curious to see what the market would bring and eager to figure out how to handle it. Then it came crashing down on Thursday where I traded REALLY poorly. Then there were issues with CMEG on Friday so I didn’t trade. This week I also found how unadaptable I was. I was always worried that I would not be able to adapt to the continuous change in the market. But I thought the issue would be that I would not know what new direction I should take. So my back test data from last weekend clearly showed AAPL was no longer in play for my 1min/2min ORB setups. But FB definitely was in play. So very simply, for the first few minutes after the open don’t trade AAPL and instead make FB your primary focus. Then I would wake up in the morning and see this wonderful premarket action on AAPL and couldn’t help myself and would make it my primary focus. So all week I got chopped up on these seemingly excellent setups on AAPL, while FB were having these really nice ORBs. So I knew what to change, but was unable to make the change. Back test data from last week shows FB still making great 1min/2min for 3 weeks now. Too bad I only traded FB once last week. AAPL data still shows I should still not be watching it. AMD worth watching. And MU, though still not great, is improving the 1min/2min ORBs. Here is my plan for next week:

Friday 5/24/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were not good due to my poor trading yesterday. I was unable to take any trades today due to issues with CMEG. I first tried to take a 2min ORB with FB and saw the order rejected. A minute later I saw AMD setting up and tried an order and also rejected. Then I received a note saying CMEG had an issue on Wednesday. Essentially, I stopped trading. I tried switching to SIM but that caused a force shutdown of my platform. I tried to send a report to CMEG and that crashed my computer and needed a restart. I was done for the day. Looking at the charts now, compared where I tried to send an order, my entries were so-so today. FB setup was not fully developed and I entered too early. I still would have made it to my first partial, but it would have been a substandard score card. AMD was a nice setup and an OK entry, though it would have only made it to my second partial before reversing. What I did good today: Didn’t trade. What I did bad today: Entered too early on FB setup was not complete. What can I do better tomorrow/weekend: Lots to do this 3 day weekend. Write weekly recap, catchup on other BBT journals, watch everyone’s video recaps, run weekly back testing, reread my own journal entries, continue reading The Playbook (Bella from SMB’s book), general weekly chart review and create my trading plan for next week. I hope everyone else had (or will have) a good trading day.