Rob C

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.

Thanks for the note. Yes I had the same idea. And for 8 weeks the bullish hammer worked great on AAPL with surprisingly both gapping up or down in the premarket as long as it had a nice trend. But the last two weeks it has become a low % play (and the previous two weeks marginal). I knew it. I had the back test data telling me it, but I am having serious issues stopping myself from taking the trade when I see that setup. Tomorrow I will have an AAPL free trade day.

I'm glad one of us was green today. Nice MU trade. Perfect exit.

Thursday 5/23/2019 I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning (only 4.5 hours of sleep). My nerves were OK. I took two live trades with AAPL and MU. For the first time since I have been posting, I was so embarrassed by my poor trading today that I considered not posting today. After about a minute I came to my senses and realized it’s more important than ever to post today. I need this consequence showing everyone who reads tis post the stupid mistakes I made today. When I first logged in this morning I was quite happy to FB with some premarket activity, it usually quiet in the PM. After a quick review I setup my platform for FB to be my primary focus and MU or TSLA as my secondary. I left my platform to get ready for the day and when I came back the AAPL sirens were calling. I saw that the daily and PM chart looked good and again I ignored my back test data and made AAPL my primary focus again. And yes FB made a really nice 2min ORB without me again today. Yes, AAPL had a really nice setup with a really bullish hammer. But my back-test data says this no longer has an 1min/2min ORB edge to it for AAPL. So that is mistake number one. Mistake number two was the premarket candles were respecting the $180 as a resistance level and thus should be my breakout/entry point. I even drew a line on my chart to help with the entry. For some reason I decided to enter at the 50MA instead, though I am not sure why. If I followed my plan I would not have taken this losing trade. Mistake number 2. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min 5min As usual with AAPL it reversed the instant I clicked the buy button. So much so that my order was filled well below my planned entry point. The price quickly dropped and I was stopped out. I am hoping this has finally taught me to follow my back test data. The only positive thing for this trade is at the last moment my frontal lobes took some control over my reptilian part of my brain and thought with the back test data being so bad at least take half share size. Which I did. So this was only a -0.5R S/O. So this is when things got really bad. I was looking around for another trade and I see MU was setting up, but not sure what yet. If it bounces off of VWAP it looks like a good short or breaks through and engulfs the first 1min candle it would make a strong bullish hammer. So I was watching MU to see what it would do. Now I wish I remember my thoughts during the entry because then I could analyze my reasoning and then confront the poor behavior. But I don’t remember and I am usually good about recalling my thoughts. So the price broke VWAP only slightly and I went long!!! It wasn’t a hotkey mistake, The little I remember was wanting to go long because I remember calculating my stop loss on a stop level BELOW my entry. So I must have been planning a long. But why? I have a picture, in my playbook, of an almost identical setup AS A SHORT. Why would I go long? Well within a few seconds I realized my mistake which then begins the next phase of my disgust for myself. I totally froze. I kept telling myself this looks like a really good short why am I long? A whole minute went by and then finally I heard over the chat Andrew say he was going short MU. That was finally enough to break out of my stupor and exit the trade. So at least I didn’t take the full –R. I have been much better lately about not taking bad setups. So it surprises me not only did I take a bad setup I took the WRONG setup on MU. I can’t remember the last time I did that. My score card for today: What I did good today: At least I knew to go half share size with the AAPL trade. How did I challenge myself today? I still posted my journal entry even though I am completely embarrassed by my trading today. What I did bad today: Fixated on AAPL. Took a completely the wrong setup on MU. What can I do better tomorrow: Well, since its Friday tomorrow at least AAPL is off limits (a new rule of mine on Fridays).

Wednesday 5/22/2019 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. My nerves a little bit negative, because AAPL looked really good in the premarket so I will probably be trading it again. I took two live trades, both with AAPL. Yes AAPL. The plan, based on back-testing, was not to trade AAPL but it looked really good in the premarket. After the open I actually was waiting for the entry with TSLA, but I took a glance at AAPL when TSLA went through my entry point. So I missed it. So instead I focused on AAPL which was setting up. AAPL had a mini ABCD/Bull-flag. I waited for a clean break of the 185.11 daily level and went long. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min 5min This was a very stressful trade. There were 7 near miss stop outs in the first minute. 5 times it touched my S/O and twice it blew right through my S/O on a spike. I survived the spikes and the touches but it was not easy for me. I usually have a trigger finger for my S/O level. The price finally started to move up and I got 3 partials at stall points. Then out at B/E. 50 cent move on AAPL is OK, but not really worth the stress. I actually had to take a break from the screen it was so draining. When I came back it looks like I missed some good moves on the stocks in play. I saw AAPL again and it looked interesting. The price has been holding above VWAP for several minutes and I like there were three 1 min candles of HH and HL. Also I really liked the R/R. I am so use to low R/R in my trades (barely ~2), that it was nice to see a decent one. The conservative target of HOTD (and 50MA-15min) gives an R/R~2.5 and using 200MA-1min as the target is a R/R~4. I also liked the 15min chart, it was higher highs for the last hour from premarket. So I waited to see the color of the next candle. When it looked like it will stay white I went long at the break of the 15min candle body, with 1min VWAP as my S/O. The price moved up to create another 1min high so I was initially happy with my trade, then it immediately reversed and I got S/O. So again my 1min/2min ORB paid for my learning for other trades. My score card for today: What I did good today: Even with the stressful first trade, in general I had fun trading today and every day this week. This is highly unusual. I think it’s because I am trading new setups/stocks each day. How did I challenge myself today? I took a 15 minute ORB. I can’t remember the last time I did that. What I did bad today: Yes the 1min and 15min chart looked good, but there was no confirmation on the 5min chart for my 15min ORB when I took the trade. What can I do better tomorrow: Keep learning the 15min ORB.

Thanks for the comment. The bright sunlight tells your body the day has started. So your body will stop Melatonin production and begin the Circadian cycle.

I just finished listening to the NIKE podcast that Andrew recommended. They didn’t really mention too many steps on how to improve one’s sleep. I just went through a very successful sleep improvement program, so I thought I would list what worked for me. I will quickly mention where I am coming from. My daughter had serious sleep issues for her first few years. This forced me to get ~3-4 hours of sleep a night (not in a row) for a couple of years. I survived it but it left me sleeping like a cat and would wake up continuously all night long. Compounded was family/work limits my sleep to ~5.5-6 hours a night. I live in California so I wake up at 4:45am to get ready for the day and prepare for the market open. So I really need a good night sleep. In this list I won’t mention the obvious (caffeine, consistent sleep time, alcohol, stress, temperature). I also won’t mention the more holistic (grounding, meditation, message). I am listing in the order of impact it had to improving my sleep. 1) Where orange glasses when looking at a screen at night. Yes, it’s easy to say to reduce screen time at night, but realistically none of us can do that. I tried the blue light reduction app, but it didn’t make much difference. I bought $10 blue block glasses from Amazon and it made a world of difference. Actually I just continuously where them after the sun goes down to reduce all blue light exposure. I tried the more expensive ones (Swannies) but they break easy. 2) Where clear sunglasses when driving to work in the morning. I was brought up that you should where the darkest brown sunglasses whenever your outside. That’s obviously wrong. There is time for sunglasses and a time not to have them. This is a great way to get you Circadian cycle started on time. Again $10 Amazon for UV protective but clear sunglasses. I use them for my morning drive. Actually not only did it help my sleep, but really helps you wake up in the morning. Don’t worry you stop squinting in a few weeks. 3) Read this book: Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson. I have read a lot of books on sleep. This is by far the best. All but three of these tips that I am listing here are in his book. If you want a free Audiobook copy, send me your email. You are allowed to send a free audio book to anyone once from Amazon Audible. 4) Use a sleep tracking watch. By chance I bought a Garmin for running that happens to have a sleep tracker app. It made a huge difference. Most of these steps I took I could not feel the difference, but my watch would detect that it did. So I try a new habit each week and see if my watch detects anything. Once you add a few of these new habits together you then feel the difference. 5) Darken your bedroom. My daughter had poor night vision. So our house was filled with light at night. After reading the impact of nightlights on children’s vision I changed that. The house is dark now with blackout curtains. 6) Don’t take multi vitamins before bed. For decades that was exactly what I was doing. That was my normal regime. Take a vitamin and head to sleep. I was reading a book on genes and it just happen to mention, “and of course don’t take B vitamins near your bedtime since they are a stimulant.” I was totally shocked by this and stopped immediately. That really helped my sleep. 7) Walk don’t run. I love running, but I am also fond of walks and hiking. A recent study determined that walking induces better quality sleep than more vigorous exercise. So I now always walk at lunch and sometimes give up my evening run for a walk if I can convince a family member to come along (it’s usually my son). Hopefully you found this useful.