Rob C

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.

Tuesday 5/21/2019 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. My nerves a little bit negative, already feeling the AAPL FOMO since the plan was not to trade AAPL at the open until more favorable data is collected. But seeing Andrew’s T-shirt got me in a better mood and eager to trade. I took two live trades, one with FB and one with MU. The plan, based on back-testing, was not to trade AAPL and have FB as my primary focus. FB quickly got the minimum trading volume for its setups (>300k in under 1 minute is the minimum for FB). FB had a OK setup bouncing off the 184.25 support level. I didn’t want to go long at the VWAP since the PM high and the $185 level was just above it. So I was waiting for the break of those levels, but thinking it would be above the Boulinger bands and extended at that point. So I was a bit on the fence on this setup. Then a large ask appeared on L2 and went long. Actually the stock moved so fast I had a 15c slippage and not a great fill. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min 5min FB moved higher quickly and I got 3 partials in the next minute, each time when the price stalled a bit. Then volume really dried up and I exited on weakness. My next trade was with MU. I was waiting for the 5min candle to finish, but then I saw a really strong bounce from the 9MA and punched through VWAP. I did see that AMD was continuing its slide so I made it a tight stop but I still went long. Price reversed and I got out as fast as I could, but it was dropping fast so had a bit of slippage. I probably shouldn’t have taken the trade since MU may follow AMD. Even though setup no longer looked like a flag I took the trade since it bounced so strongly. I was wrong. At least the 1min ORB on FB paid for my learning on MU. My score card for today: What I did good today: I like I was able to utilize L2 for the entry on FB. How did I challenge myself today? Traded a new stock at the open. Controlled the FOMO on AAPL. What I did bad today: MU was too weak to go long, more than half of the bull flag pole was already lost. AMD was falling and I ignored that signal. Plus I should only trade the bull flag/ABCD. What can I do better tomorrow: Keep learning the 5min ORB.

Yes, after my last trade I still stay and watch the charts and the chatroom until a little after 10am. But sometimes the FOMO gets high and I have to turn off my platform early. When I first started taking 1 trade/day max, I had to turn off the platform immediately after the trade. My back-test data is saying AAPL may be falling out of favor for the 2min ORB. So I am just shying away from trading AAPL at the open. 5min ORB and later is still fine.

Funny I am reading "The Playbook" right now as well. But I like how Brett S. says it, when someone doesn't trust their trades enough they partial out to quickly. You add the lack of trust with nerves and that pretty much explains me.

Yep, I see it now. Great trade, worth the wait to see it.

Yes, I am always able to see your charts previously. I am not sure why I can't now. I just get an error "Traderview forbidden".

Great trade, good to see you live trading again. REALLY strong discipline holding through the pull back. Not sure if I could have done that. Also, really good discipline holding until 2R before the first partial. I know I couldn't have done that.

Great prep work and thorough journal entry. But I wasn't able to access the links you had. So I couldn't see your trade on a chart.

Monday 5/20/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves would have been good, but when I saw I may trade AAPL today my mood went sour. Before I start complaining too much, let me say I had a good trading session. I took 2 live trades with AAPL. The plan, based on back-testing, was not to trade AAPL and have FB as my primary focus. But at 1M shares and almost -3% in premarket I couldn’t ignore AAPL. And yes you see the punchline coming. I got stopped out on AAPL and FB was a nice 1min ORBU. AAPL created a really nice hammer with very high volume. I was concerned since the R/R~1.5 with 200MA-1min as the target, but it had two strong daily levels above it with R/R>2 so I went long when it broke VWAP. It did move a few pennies before reversing and stopping me out at my planned stop 183.50 (daily level and 50MA) What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min 5min My stop out: I started looking for other trades and saw FB’s nice 1min ORBU, but I would be chasing it so I didn’t take it. Oddly AAPL was setting up again, though I really didn’t want to get burned again on AAPL. But it was making a nice mini ABCD on good volume and had a really good R/R (182.98 as a S/O and 180.78 as the target). I shorted when it broke the LOTD. My partialling (my spell check says that’s not a word) was horrible. I do notice I partial worse after a S/O, but this was really bad. My aim for my first partial was 181.50, that was my third partial!! My first was at 182 and I got a bad fill essentially covering at B/E. When I only had enough shares left for one last cover I told myself I must wait for my actual planned target or original B/E. Luckily I didn’t have to wait too long and took my last cover on my 180.78 target. Anyway I got my $1+ move from AAPL, so it still all good. My score card for today: Same score on both trades but for difference reasons. My first trade the setup was just OK, but was executed well. The second trade had a great setup but not executed well. What I did good today: I had a win% of 50% but still profitable for the day! How did I challenge myself today? I took a short after 2min from the open, which is unusual for me. What I did bad today: Between the substandard R/R and the plan not to trade AAPL I shouldn’t have taken that first trade. What can I do better tomorrow: AAPL is too much in my comfort zone, I need to break out more, at least for the 2min ORB.

I feel a little uneasy giving advice since I am struggling so much on my own. Plus, I am sure Mark can explain things better than me. But what I thought I would do is list the changes I made that helped me and maybe you can find something useful in the list. My first 3 months of live trading I had 6 hulk days and 16 max/loss days. Since I made these changes 3.6 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. So that worked for me. Hopefully that helped.

Live trading summary for week ending 5/17/19. It actually was a good week of trading. I had the highest score card average since I have been tracking it (7 weeks) of 89% (last week was 74% and last month average was 81%). Not happy that I was red this week. I had a win% of 50% which means I should be positive for the week. But, I shouldn’t be too disappointed. My two trades this week that really ran I took half shares (one trade was 20 sec from the open and the other was on a Friday which I am starting to take half share size). But, all four of my stop outs, this week, were for a full -R, so I was -0.6R for the week. It is a busy weekend so I don’t have much time to back test, so I just looked at the main players. AAPL should be pulled from the top two focus spots for the 2min ORB. AAPL had an amazing run. It gave us 8 great weeks of ORBs. Generally gave us 2 or 3 a week and a false setup was unusual. Then 3 weeks ago it gave us a marginal week. But two weeks ago it gave us an OK week (but not great). Then last week it gave us as many false setups. So until better data appears, AAPL will be downgraded off of the Montage to a minor chart on a small side screen. AMD looks still in play. Though the number of setups has reduced from a month ago, AMD is at most only giving a false setup once a week. FB had a really good week last week and showed two weeks in a row of good setups. FB has a very different personality that it tends to ORB from the 1min candle not the 2min, so there will be some learning curve trading it. Plus, you must trade FB really close to the open which I don’t really like, but I need to adapt to that. MU is showing marginal data so I will keep it on one of the side charts. Here is my plan for next week:

Friday 5/17/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were very good, eager to trade. Normally I dread Friday trading, the day I give all my profits back. But after last Friday, which was an average Friday for me so it was bad. I decided until further notice, I will take half shares on Friday. It really kills my weekend trading so poorly on Friday, I was hoping the half shares would remove some of the sting. Then last night I thought I should take advantage of that? If I am forced to trade half share size it’s a good day to step out of my comfort zone. So the plan for today was half share size and no AAPL or AMD trades allowed today. Actually, I didn’t put them watch-list or give them a chart. Instead my two Montages I had NVDA and BABA. From my back testing NVDA isn’t in play that often. But when it is, it trades at the open well. My back testing says the opposite for BABA for my setups, at the open, BABA is completely unforgiving at the open if you take a B+ setup. Though A+ setups do work great on BABA at the open. But if it is just a “good” setup, the win% is low. So I have an instinct not to watch BABA at the open. Then I thought actually that’s perfect, I shouldn’t be taken the B+ setups anyway. So BABA was on my second Montage. This actually got my mood in good spirits. I was looking forward to the opening bell. I took one live trade today on NVDA. Just as I normally do, I contemplate some scenarios in my head (if then stuff). Though I did not know if that works on NVDA and BABA. I don’t know them that well. So NVDA sold off and bounced off of the $157 mark. When it reached VWAP it had a really nice hammer and good volume. I went long when it broke VWAP. Though it broke it by 10c it immediately reversed on me. I should have waited for the break of the $159 level as well ( a few pennies higher), but my R/R was 1.9 so I was probably pushing the entry a bit. The price retraced and tested my S/O level (158.12). It bounced and moved back to VWAP helping prove that I picked the correct S/O level. The price rose and reached my first target (159.39) but I got a horrible fill almost at B/E. My second and third partials were fine, then another bad fill on my fourth partial. At that point I really wanted to wait and see if NVDA ran more since it was a red to green, but at half shares I had very few shares left. So I got out at the top of the candle. Even though I was trading half share size, getting $2.50 from NVDA is a one and done day. Plus, I REALLY wanted a positive Friday for a change. So I was not going to trade any more. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min 5min My score card for today: Nice setup and well chosen S/O level, but entered the trade too early. Too many partials as well. What I did good today: Created a good plan for today. How did I challenge myself today? I stepped out of my comfort zone and didn’t trade AAPL or AMD. What I did bad today: Still early on the entries. What can I do better tomorrow: Don’t press the entry. If you like the trade but R/R is a little below 2, still take the correct entry. A bad entry is worse than a slightly low R/R.

Mark, great trades on UBER and CSCO the last two days. I even took a picture of UBER for my playbook. A perfect ABCD on the 2min and a perfect bullflag on the 5min. Great entry too. Funny how some the best trades don't actually make us money. I just had my best trade (based on my score card system) this week. How much did I make? Minus one R on a stop out.

Thursday 5/16/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were OK. I took two live trades with AAPL. Double stop out day. Recently, I have had a win-rate of <50%. So statistically I will have at least one day a week that I will stop out on both of my allowable trades. Today was that day. Premarket looked great for AAPL again. So again I planned a few scenarios in my head, depending on what AAPL would do after the open. The only concern is that if AAPL dropped and bounced off of the 189.30 level (which is what happen) the price has to move $1.80 to clear all the levels before I would take an entry. That is a long way, so I was doubtful at the premarket this scenario would play out. So AAPL sold off and bounced off of the 189.30 daily level. Price was rising, but it had to break through 6 strong tech levels before the R/R became ~2. The final level was the 200MA-5min. When it broke that level, with a great looking hammer, I went long. Price instantly reversed. It is true that the price only broke the last level by about 2 cents, so I might have entered before I confirmed a clean break. Then the price went and tested my S/O level 5 times. Usually when the S/O holds up that many times the stock heads finally in the right direction. Not this time, where the 6th time it tested my S/O it broke threw by a couple of cents. I stopped out and the stock instantly reversed and climbed 50 cents. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min 5min I took my eye off of AAPL for a few seconds to look at my other charts and saw the SPY was REALLY strong. I turned back to look at AAPL again and saw it had the same setup again. I went long when it broke VWAP. I know I didn’t wait for the 200MA break, but I was long biased when I saw SPY just getting a lot stronger. I held on to the trade for a few minutes, while I was watching SPY heading higher and higher. Finally, it reached my stop out again where I ended the trade and the day. My score card for today: Not the best trades with my early entries, but not terrible either. What I did good today: Never thought to break my 2 trade rule, even though the thought of revenge trading was high. How did I challenge myself today? Held through 5 price retraces to the brink of my S/O. What I did bad today: Entered early on both trades, though it was not to dramatic. What can I do better tomorrow: Need to watch my AAPL trade videos to see how the stock treats the 200MA-5min. Need to determine how much room I need to give on a break. And of course be patient and wait for the clean break.

Wednesday 5/15/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were OK before the opening bell. Not so good during the trade. I took one live trade with AAPL. Premarket looked great for AAPL. I planned a few scenarios in my head, depending on what AAPL (and AMD) would do after the open. The price dropped at the open and bounce off of the $186 level and went all the way up to the 50MA, where it did a “curtsey”. Which is what I call when the price touches and retraces from a level, thus confirming the traders are respecting that tech level at the moment. So I knew that would be my entry point, if the price broke it. By the 2nd one minute candle that level also coincided with VWAP. The issue was there was no good stop out level. The 9MA and 20MA merged at the $185.50 level. I was hoping the 3 combined made a strong enough level to call my S/O. So I went long at the break if the 50MA/VWAP and my heart was pounding. The trade was not in the first minute, but I think the weak S/O level caused the stress. What AAPL looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min Chart I took a quick first partial since there was a level not far from my entry at $187. Then the price retraced. So I have a rule with AAPL only, that I do not S/O at B/E after the first partial if there is a strong tech level just beyond it. So my S/O was moved up to the 50MA not B/E. The price dropped to 1c of my S/O. My heart was pounding to a point I was started to get concerned physically. Essentially, what was happening, as Brett Steenbarger states, I went from stress to duress. I did survive the pull back. The price did move back up, but when it didn’t make another new 1min high I took another partial, which calmed me down, but not enough to take partials correctly. The next level was at $187.50 but I took two partials on the way. Then I had so few shares left I exited the trade on the first new 1min low. I heard later, on Andrews recap, that Norm called this trade out in the chat. I was g;ad to hear that. Hopefully he makes a recap. It makes me have hope I am taking intelligent trades. But I am sure he got a better entry, he always does. 65 cents on AAPL is not big enough to call it one and done, but I had to head out early today, so I didn’t have time for a second trade. My score card for today: Most of the points were removed for the overzealous partial taking. What I did good today: Created multiple scenarios/plans from premarket and followed through with the appropriate plan. How did I challenge myself today? Held through a retrace to 1c of stop out and beyond my B/E. What I did bad today: Way too many partials. What can I do better tomorrow: The abundant partials are caused by my extreme nerves during the trade. I need to resolve the nerves to resolve the overzealous partial taking.

Actually, I record the resting pulse number the moment I wake up. So the previous 4 hours I have been sleeping, so it will be low. This is the scoring tier for 4 hours resting pulse: >58 -1 54-58 -0.5 49-53 0 <49 +0.5 I have data from my Garmin for almost 2 years before I started day trading so I know my stats well. 54 is just beyond one sigma from average so it is -0.5 in my calculation.

Agreed. Your posts are always appreciated Mike. Your journal entries are what I hope mine will look like one day.

Sure. It's mostly measured. This is an example of my well being calculation from a previous morning (during winter). My Garmin (watch) informs me of the first 6 categories on the table. Fatigue level is self determined. I did have a headache that morning but that is unusual. I won't see a good score >7 until late Spring. My well-being score will be higher in the summer with the warmer weather and more opportunity to workout. 

Tuesday 5/14/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. My nerves were OK. Took two live trades both with AAPL. It looked from the premarket that I probably would not trade right at the open again, which helped my nerves. I usually have some plan for AAPL before the bell, but today I had no idea what would happen so I just waited and to see. Soon after open AAPL looked weak with a bearish 1min candle. When it broke the $186 mark I shorted. My S/O was at the 186.13 daily level and my target at the 185.7 level. The R/R is right at 2 but this is a very tight S/O so there will be some slippage so the R/R <2. But, I really liked the potential of a green to red play, so I was fine with the reward to risk ratio. It did reach a first partial but quickly reversed. I do have a rule not to S/O at B/E after the 1st partial if just beyond the entry was a strong level. But in this trade there wasn’t. So I S/O at B/E for a small profit. The whole trade was 5 seconds long. What AAPL looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min Chart The second trade with AAPL occurred when a really bullish hammer was created with the 2min candle. It was a really nice setup. Bullish hammer, engulfing the first 1min candle and broke through 3 levels at once (VWAP, 200MA-5min, 186.52 PM level). The setup had a good R/R = 3, with 200MA-1min as the target and the 186.50 as the stop loss level. It even had a strong 1st target which was the HOTD and the 50MA. I couldn’t ask for a better setup. But of course that doesn’t mean it’s a winner. The price did reach my 1st target where I took a partial but then floundered for a while then dropped. Since the level was so strong below the B/E, I waited for the price to break the level to S/O instead of B/E (the AAPL rule I use). So the trade did become a small loser. So my profits were flat for the day. But that’s OK, that means I got to trade for free today. What AAPL looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min Chart My score card for today: What I did good today: Best score on any trade since I have been tracking them (~6 weeks). Funny that it was a losing trade. In general I traded well today. How did I challenge myself today? Took a trade (1st trade) that was not any specific setup I use. Also the trade was only 5 seconds long, but I still managed the trade well. What I did bad today: I forget to go through my preflight checklist until a few minutes before the open. During the checklist I found an issue with may layout. It was nothing major, but shows you that it needs to be done every day and as early as possible. What can I do better tomorrow: Perform preflight checklist early.

Thanks for the video. Is his e-book worth a read?