Rob C

Monday 5/13/2019 I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning. My nerves were not good. Took two live trades with AAPL and AMD. I could tell from premarket that I would be trading at the open again, so nerves were not good. I tried meditating longer this morning and it helped some. The plan I had for AAPL is if it drops and bounces off the 186.31 level then I will go long when it breaks a dollar or half dollar level. When it did bounce the price action was crazy. It was flipping back and forth through the $187 level, it felt like with each tick. I finally went long when the price calmed down and the candle looked like a OK hammer and the volume was amazing. My level that it broke was the 185.50 or the PM low. Since it was only 20 seconds after open and I knew by the price action I would get a big slide on my S/O fill so I took half shares. What AAPL looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min Chart I took the first partial at VWAP, the second at a PM level and the third at the 50MA. The moment it dropped below the VWAP I exited. Yes, I did get more than $1 from AAPL today but since it was half shares I felt like trading more. Which is good since I took an interesting trade with AMD. Soon after I saw AMD setting up for a 5min ORB. I liked that it looked like an ABCD, the 5min candle was bullish and the current candle engulfed the premarket candle. I went long on the 3rd bounce off of VWAP. I got a bad fill, but that is common on AMD so I already set my share size accordingly. The issue with the bad fill is my R/R is now 1.6. But, that is OK, I learned a quite a bit on the trade and I need a lot more practice on the 5min ORB. After I entered the price tried to break the 50MA multiple times and started to retrace. I do have a guideline that if the price hits resistance on 3 separate 1min candles I should exit the trade that it might reverse. But since both the VWAP and 50MA both had 3 rejections I thought I would stay in the trade. Then the 50MA had a 4th rejection. I should have exited the trade right there at B/E. Instead I let the price go to my planned S/O where I did just that. I hind sight waiting for the 5min candle break on the new candle would have prevented me from taking the trade and taking the loss. Some things to think about. My score card for today: AAPL AMD 93% 85% The AAPL trade was a good setup and well managed. The AMD trade was a good setup but I did drop the ball a bit on the management. I delayed on the entry by a couple of tenths of seconds causing a bad fill. And I should have exited when I had four rejections to break the 50MA. What I did good today: I really like that I had a 50% win rate but was green for the day. Looking back, I had fun trading today. How did I challenge myself today? Took a 5min ORB What I did bad today: Poor trade management on AMD, though I am glad I took the trade. What can I do better tomorrow: Need to perform back testing on the 5min ORB (I currently only back test my strategies on the 2min ORB). I need to learn more about it.

Live trading summary for week ending 5/10/19. Took some poor trades this week, so my score card for the week was low at 74%. But, there were some good trades as well. Even though my win% is only 50% for this month so far (my month started April 29 so this is the second week of the month) I am green so far for the month. Also my nerves are improving. I took 8 trades this week and 3 were quite bad causing my weekly score card to be a low. Two trades I took with a poor setup, which I haven’t really done in weeks. My main issue this week was focusing on one chart too much. I made three trades this week with looking at only one time frame. Since I am no longer on the 3 month no Hulk challenge, I decided I can trust myself more and I adjusted my DAS layout last weekend. It took until Wednesday before I finally had it working well. So now I do have two active Montages on my layout now, so I can watch and enter a trade without switching the stock to my main display. The second change I was going to make if I survived those 3 months was change brokers. Originally CMEG was a good idea. I can have risk controls and a small account in case I blow it up. Since my hulk tendencies are more under control now I was planning to switch to a lower cost structure like Center Point or IB. But I am wondering, since I do have an issue with taking to many partials. Would it make it worse knowing each partial costs less? Should I stay with CMEG until I fix that issue? I know I am only supposedly just focusing on the process now, but it really hurts that most of my profits go to commission and fees. Back testing my setups this weekend had showed that AAPL is still very much in play at the open. AMD is still also in play but not as good as the previous week. MU did not have a good week at the open, though the previous week was amazing. So AAPL and AMD will be my top two focuses at the open. FB is still setting better each week as a play <2min of open. I still have it as my #4 stock, but that could change to #3 by weeks end. Here is my plan for next week:

Friday 5/10/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were fine, which is odd since I am usually a wreck on Fridays, which is the day I give all my hard earned profits back to the market. Took two live trades with AAPL and AMD. I could already tell from the premarket that I will be trading either AAPL or AMD in the first minute of the open. AAPL opened and took a nice bounce off of premarket lows. I was thinking to take a “Vish” setup as it broke the 50MA. But since it was Friday I really wanted to follow my rules and setups. The 50MA is not considered a major TL <2min of the open, thus it is not a correct “Vish” setup. So I let that entrance go by. As it passed the 50MA the body of the candle became large enough that it was no longer a “Vish” setup and can only be a “simple” setup. To be a “simple” setup the price MUST break VWAP. So I waited. When it broke VWAP I went long. I took a little smaller share size due to how early the entry and that it was Friday. I partialled at the daily level at 198.28 and a second partial when the price stalled. The price then reversed and I exited the trade at B/E. It was a small winner. What AAPL looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min Chart Soon after I saw AMD setting up for a “step” setup. Though my back testing has prohibited taking this setup on AAPL, the data says it is still a valid setup for AMD. I was waiting for the break of the 27.20 level and the finish of the 2min candle. My target was a bit close at the 27.39 level and S/O at VWAP. This only gives a R/R=1.6 so I was going to take a reduced share size due to the R/R and again since it is Friday. But as I was waiting the volume came in and when the price broke the 27.2 I switched and went full share size. Though this is the correct share size for VWAP as my S/O, that is a bad idea. So the price retraced a little and since its Friday, where I always give my profits back, I immediately loss my nerve and exited. If I stayed with my original planned share size it would have been more likely I would have stuck to my planned S/O and had a really nice run with AMD this morning. My score card for today: AAPL AMD Total 92% 72% The setup on AMD was fine but the management of the trade was terrible. Oddly, this was still considered a much better than average Friday. I am at break even for the day and I didn’t give all my weekly profits back to the market. What I did good today: Took good setups How did I challenge myself today? Waited patiently for the setups to finalize. What I did bad today: Terrible trade management on AMD. What can I do better tomorrow/next week: Will make small share size a rule on Fridays until further notice.

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.

I did the 1 trade/day, unless it's a winner, for over a month (in March). It really helped me. It was impossible for me to let go the loss. I am a bit better now if I have a loss , but traded it well. But, like last Friday, had a loss and knew I traded poorly. I couldn't control my emotions so i was done for the day. I think it was Sunday afternoon before I regained control

Thursday 5/09/2019 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were a bit bad, but that was due to the double stop out yesterday. Took two live trades with CVX and AAPL. I was going to take a quick trade in the premarket to test my new layout. It worked fine in SIM, but I would feel better live. I was going to take very small shares to test. CVX was not moving much but had liquidity and a tight Bid-Ask range. I was about to take the quick trade but I noticed it was actually setting up. So I thought I will wait a few minutes and if the price goes down to touch 5min VWAP again (which is aligned with the 9MA) then I will go long on the bounce. It did and I went long with a very tight stop. As usual, the market likes to destroy whatever plan you have. Right after I got my fill the spread exploded to almost double my risk! So that got the heart pounding. The good news was the price was still bouncing. I really like when I take trades with a large gap between the 5min and the 1min VWAP. It seems the one VWAP pulls the price from the other, when you enter in between them. So I went long when it bounced from the 5min VWAP and the price road up to the 1min VWAP. It’s funny, in the premarket, how you immediately stop watching the price action and I was only watching the bids on L1. Shortly after it broke through VWAP the spread went back to normal and I got out. Even with the low shares that was a surprisingly profitable win. That premarket trade calm my nerves and I was fine at the opening bell. Then AAPL broke down through $200, which means it is very likely I will be trading in the first minute of the open again!! Which got the heart pounding once again. I decreased my share size accordingly since I was trading <1min from open. I don’t usually take the reversal back to VWAP trade, but AAPL got really extended. Now something funny happen. I was so upset at myself for taking two bad trades yesterday due to never looking at the 5min chart, that I guess I unconsciously over compensated by taking this trade ONLY looking at the 5min chart!! So after it reversed I saw no levels to choose as an entry or S/O. But if I was looking at the 1min chart I had a daily level at 199.36, which I didn’t see. So I chose the $199.50 as my entry since I had nothing else on that chart. The price shot through that level so I got a bad fill. I essentially lost 30c on my entry by looking at the wrong chart. So another day I traded ~30sec from the open. Now this is where it got interesting. I had almost no levels on my 5min chart to take partials. I just took partials where ever the price stalled. After I took my fourth partial (there I had a level at 200.83) on the 5min chart, I realize I am looking at the wrong chart. But the trade was almost over then. When it broke down and dropped below the $200 level I exited the trade. The reason this was interesting is after the trade I noticed I took partials exactly where I was supposed to even though I didn’t see the levels. So these levels did mean something and it is why the price just stalled there. So I took my 1st partial at 1min VWAP, my second at low of premarket, and my third partial at HOTD even though I did not see any of these levels on my 5min chart. Though I really messed up on the entry, I still got my $1 move from AAPL and that is all I ever ask for. My score card on the AAPL trade is a bit low due to the poor entry by looking at the wrong chart. I lost 6% on the entry. Too bad this could have been a record high score. This is what it looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min Chart What I did good today: Traded a reversal. How did I challenge myself today? Traded in the premarket. What I did bad today: Very late entry due to looking at the wrong chart, then managed the whole trade when still looking at the wrong chart. What can I do better tomorrow: Two days in a row I made the mistake by not looking at both time frames. I just got lucky today that it did not make much of a difference.

Wednesday 5/08/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Very groggy. My watch said I woke up, by alarm, from deep sleep. This is unusual for me. My nerves were OK. Took two live trades with AAPL. I haven’t traded this bad since February. Very disappointed with myself. AMD was my primary focus, but today was the first day I got my new DAS layout working. So there is no primary stock anymore. I can actively focus on two separate stocks without flipping my Montage. I am hoping this was not the cause. If I still trade bad the rest of the week I will switch back my layout. AMD was almost setting up but not quite. Then AAPL was setting up, or so I thought, with a mini ABCD. So for the setup I wait if there is a bounce at the same level and enter the trade after the bounce when the price is moving in my direction. So I made my first mistake, instead of using the bounce as an entry point, I was concerned about the $230 level just above it and waited for it to break the $203 to go long. I still have a R/R ~2 using the $203.5 as my target. But since I was watching AMD I didn’t watch the price action on AAPL. So I couldn’t confirm the $203 was actually a respected level. I found out after watching the video that it was not respected and should have followed the usual plan and go long at the bounce. Any way I waited for the break of $203 and went long. There was a big price acceleration on the break and I got a bad fill. This caused my R/R to become R/R~1. The rule, which I never follow, is to get out of the trade. But what I usually do now, if the price is going in my direction, is take some off that the original S/O level is back to -1R. That is what I did and got stopped out. This is what it looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart AAPL then bounced off the high of PM ($202.7). Now I know that the $203 is not a level, so I went long again at the break of the 202.87 level with S/O at the 202.7. Again my fill was really bad and only got a slightly better entry than last time. Again I have a R/R~1. Did I learn my lesson and get out? Of course not. I did the same thing again and sold some, so my original S/O is back to -1R. And again I got S/O. The feeling to revenge trade and FOMO, since AMD and AAPL were both setting up even better a couple minutes later, was really high. But I stayed at my 2 trade limit. After my trading session, when I was watching the video tape I realized how bad my mistake was. I never looked at the 5min chart since premarket. There was no setup. The 200MA vetoed both trades. Then I remembered why I chose AMD as my primary focus. During the premarket I noticed that AAPL had to many levels above the current price to be able to trade it long today, versus AMD had more opportunity. I totally forgot this, even though only 10min had past, and I took AAPL long….twice!! Score card for today: Trade 1: 30% Trade2: 32% Very disappointed with myself. I was hoping to stay above 80% for all trades this month. What I did good today: Stopped myself at the 2 trade limit. Took my S/Os as planned. How did I challenge myself today? Traded with a new layout. What I did bad today: I felt like I regressed 3 months with my trading today. What can I do better tomorrow: Yeeks!! Look at your 5min chart!! I have been trading SIM/Live for a year now, that is ridiculous. Also, got to just bail on my trades with bad entries. If I did that today I would have ended the day +0.7R. Which is really good for a sloppy trading day.

Great trade Mark, you really let that run.

Tuesday 5/07/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. Nerves were fine when until about 5 minutes before the open. Then when I saw in the premarket that AAPL may pop in the first minute I got stressed. I hate trading the first minute. Took one live trade with AAPL. AAPL gapped down and the last 25 minutes before open it bounced off the $205.73 level 3 times. So I was expecting a pop up and thought, if it happens, it will happen right after the open. So this got my heart pounding. To calm myself down, I told myself I would only enter the trade in the first minute if one scenario occurs. If AAPL drops back down touched the 205.73 level again and then moves up passed the $206 with strong volume, then I will go long. ONLY if it does that, which is unlikely since so many things can occur at the open. After I said that to myself I calmed down. So at the open AAPL drops down and touches 205.73 and moves up passed the $206. So of course that really got my heart in my pounding again. So I went long at 9:30:35am, wow so early. My stop was the 205.73 level with my target of the 200MA/$207 level. This is what it looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart I know it looks like I took a lot of partials, but every partial was where I planned it, so I am quite happy about that. Now you could say my partial plan was bad and you are probably be correct, but following my plan of where to take partials is tough for me. Now AAPL did make it easy by moving really fast. There was seldom a stall point where I got nervous. Sometimes I mark several premarket levels. Usually just the high and the low, but sometimes if there are other local extrema I will mark them as well. So AAPL today had four premarket levels marked. So my first partial was at one of these extra premarket levels, then my second partial was at the 50MA. Third partial was at my target (200MA), then another “extra” PM level was my fourth partial. Then I took a heavier partial at the premarket high of 207.39, leaving me with only a few shares left. Once the price dropped below the 200MA I exited the trade. When I watched my video of the trade I saw that there was a level 2 signal right before I took the trade, but I never look at L2 during the first minute after the open so I missed it. I am giving myself a high score card of 94% for the trade. Since I just got ~$1.40 move from AAPL I was done for the day. I have been really lucky with AAPL this week so far. What I did good today: I took my partials where I planned to take them. How did I challenge myself today? Took a trade under one minute from the open, though that really stresses me. What I did bad today: My plan for where I take partials may be too abundant. What can I do better tomorrow: Work on when to take partials. I still need to let the winner run more. Also, I need to fix my new DAS layout.

Monday 5/06/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. Nerves were not good, but I had extra time before the open to meditate so nerves were good by the opening bell. The reason for the extra time is I woke up early (4:30am my time) to test my new DAS layout (major change) in SIM and then live (1 share) in premarket. But, when I started up my account the DAS layout did not open correctly. So back to normal setup. Disappointed. Took one live trade with AAPL. AAPL gapped down with the rest of the techs. It moved so well I never even looked at another stock. AAPL had a nice 1min hammer on good volume. It was setting up for a “Vish” setup 1min ORB. It still had a lot of tech levels in front of it. But I decided to go long when it breaks the 1min VWAP. But just above it was a daily level and the $25 mark, not making the best setup. So I reduced my share size accordingly (not by too much). I waited for a clean break of VWAP since I have been burned lately with the stock instantly reversing on me as if I didn’t wait for a clean break. So I gave up about 10c on the entry. This is what it looked like when I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min Chart But now the first partial at $25 level is really close. But I have learned my lesson and took my first partial there. The second partial I took just because I didn’t feel like I took a first partial since the stock moved so little, but not happy that I took it. The third partial was correct at the 50/200MA. The fourth partial was completely wrong and not sure why I did it. The 1min chart was still making HH and HLs and should have waited to see if it broke the 200MA. It was a bad partial. Then AAPL broke through the 200MA and yes a partial should be taken, but since I took too many partials already I did not have enough shares left. So I sold all my shares there. At 9:37 I felt like going back in on an ABCD, but ~$1 trade on AAPL is usually an one and done day. Plus after two bad weeks and a really bad Friday I just wanted to lock in a good day. Yes I missed the big run on AAPL but that is OK. I still had a good day. My score card on the trade was only an 87%. Everything was good except the score on taking partials where I gave myself a low score. What I did good today: I like that I held myself for that extra half a second to make a clean break of the tech level on the entry. I have been lately entering the trade as it breaks the level not through the level. How did I challenge myself today? Started with bad nerves but was able to reduce them and feel fine by the open. What I did bad today: Too many partials. What can I do better tomorrow: I need to trust the trade more and wait for the levels to take partials. After all these months I still feel like every win is just luck and I need to partial fast before the trade goes against me.

Live trading summary for week ending 5/03/19. Made some mistakes this week, especially an awful trade on Friday. But my score card for the week is good at 87%. Which is surprising since I have negative P/L and win rate was at 38%. The good news was my nerves were OK this week. I switched to the score card this week instead of the good/neutral/bad trade evaluation since my trades are not as much of a disaster as they use to be so it’s easier to fine tune with the score card. I am trying to ignore my poor win rate this week and hope it’s just statistical. It was definitely better than the 25% win rate the previous week, which had a score card of 74% (very sloppy trading). It is unknown if this down turn is due to my trading worsening or it is time to adjust my setups or just statistical. The 5 previous weeks before this down turn my win rate was 72% which is beyond what my skill level can sustain, so this could be just the odds starting to even back out. I am going to concentrate on the score card. If the score is still high this week and my win rate poor I will look to adjust my setups. Since I am no longer on the 3 month no Hulk challenge, I decided I can trust myself more and I adjusted my DAS layout this weekend. Previously I would have only one Montage because I could not trust myself to take one trade at a time. I think I am past that and the one Montage is killing me. Sometimes by the time I move the stock over to the Montage it is too late for the entry. So I do have two active Montages on my layout now, so I can watch and enter a trade without switching. Here is my plan for next week: Concentrate on process and score card, not on W% and P/L DAS platform layout is new be alert if there is an issue and edit layout if needed. Remove "step" setup on AAPL its giving false setups. "Vish" is still setting up well AMD is still setting up OK for the 2min ORB, But not as good as the previous two weeks. It is starting to respect the 20MA now at the open. The S/O levels were farther away last week than usual, will need to decrease share size to respect the level. Unknown from last week which is more promising (AAPL/AMD) choose primary and secondary by premarket MU is starting to setup again at the open especially for the "Vish" setup. But this setup commonly occurs at the 3min mark not the 2min mark for MU. If premarket looks OK, MU is fine to make top 2 focus Though FB had some great moves at the open last week it is also giving false setups, so not recommended to trade at the open

Friday 5/03/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Nerves were OK. Disappointed with my trade management today and this week in general. Took one live trade with AAPL. AAPL looked in play in the premarket again. AAPL was setting up for a “step” setup 2min ORB. Though the volume on the second 1min candle was not as high that I like to see for this setup it was not light either. I waited for the break of the 2min candle. I really liked that the 3rd candle bounced hard off the $211 making a hammer. The 1min chart looked bullish. When the break occurred I went long. Target was the $212 level and stop out was the $211 level for a R/R = 2. And use HOTD as my first target. What the 1min chart looked like when I took the trade: I'll admit checklist look weaker than most of the trades I take: Sadly, the stock immediately reversed the instant I took the trade. Though the $211 was my S/O for some reason I changed my mind and used VWAP as my S/O, which causes 5 issues: 1) That S/O was not my plan. 2) I now have the wrong share size for my risk 3) The price bounced off of the $211 level three times proving it a strong TL and thus the breech of it is the correct S/O. 4) I have found VWAP not a good S/O most of the time for AAPL. For AAPL it tends to bounce before VWAP, if it will bounce. 5) If it breaks VWAP there tends to be an acceleration causing a big slide in your fill price. So I used VWAP as my S/O and paid the price with a -1.5R stop out. What I did good today: I immediately stopped trading after that bad trade. It never crossed my mind to take another trade. I had a bad trade, I am not in emotional control so my trading day is over. How did I challenge myself today? Traded without my Etrade platform today, which I use for news and scanners. I think it is slowing down my DAS at the open so I did not use it. What I did bad today: Didn’t follow my exit plan. Sadly, not the first time this week I did that. What can I do better next week: Since my exits had been good for months I hadn’t placed much importance on them. But like all the facets of trading they need upkeep as well.

Great recap. What is your trade limit per week? Is this to stay under the PDT rule?

It takes an a lot of discipline to stop after one trade especially if it is loss. It took me almost 4 months of pain to teach myself how to do that. That was not an easy task you just accomplished.

Thursday 5/02/2019 I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning. Nerves were OK. Took one live trade with AAPL. AAPL looked in play in the premarket, though with a little gap. AMD was also active so I was trying to keep my eye on both after the opening bell. Then AAPL was setting up. Though I was taking the setup as a “Vish” the top wick was large showing no real direction. Plus, the target was only 50c away and the only really S/O point was also 50c giving it a R/R=1. So instead I took a really tight stop. I went long when it broke $210 and used VWAP as my stop. This would trigger a share size of 300, but since this was not the best S/O level I cut my shares in half. I had a good feeling if it could break the $210.25 level it may run since that level has been good resistance for the last 20min. I wasn’t too worried that the 50MA was standing in the way. AAPL doesn’t seem to respect that level so close to the open. I took my first partial at HOTD and my second when the price stalled 210.40. Then my third partial at the 200MA. My next level was at 210.93, but that seemed too far away so I did take a partial halfway to the next level. Then it reached the 210.93 (a level I marked in the premarket), but I didn’t realize how few shares I had left so I took another partial. Then I realized how few shares I had so I exited on the first sign of weakness. When I took the trade: 1min chart 5min chart What I did good today: I had a trade that finally ran this week. I just need one trade like this a week and it makes my week. How did I challenge myself today? Took a trade without a perfect candle setup, because my instinct said to take it. Twice this week I have done this and they both worked out. I don’t know if this was luck or I am starting to get better instincts. I need to collect more data. What I did bad today: Took the trade without a rock solid S/O level. Also lost track of the number shares I have left when I was taking partials. What can I do better tomorrow: Need to setup a plan how to take a trade with secondary S/Os. I think it may be OK, but I should think it through first and have a plan ready instead of figuring it out during the trade.

Wednesday 5/01/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Actually my biometrics said my well-being was better than that, but I was so groggy this morning I reduced it to a 5/10. Nerves were a bit high due to my double S/O yesterday. Took two live trades first with AAPL then AMD. AAPL was very much in play in the premarket with a large gap up, but the 8 minutes before open it gapped down a dollar. The first minute had huge volume and the second minute it was setting up for a “step” setup. Though the second minute volume was low compared to the first it was still over 400k which is very strong. Both the 1min and 5min chart looked very bearish. I waited for the price to break the 209.55 daily level I marked (which was still well with in the Boulinger bands) and went short. The price made it to my first partial, but after another minute I started losing faith in the trade and took another partial. Now I normally exit the trade well before the B/E since the price moves so fast near the open that I have to sell about ¼ to ½ a second before the price reaches my B/E so that I don’t exit beyond my B/E. But since I was saw multiple trades last week reverse right at my stop out I sadly sold right as it reached my B/E. Thus there was a 20c loss during the transaction delay and thus I gave all my profits back. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min chart 5min chart My second trade was with AMD which was also in play from the premarket. It had a really good “Vish” setup with volume not dropping from the open. I waited for the break of the 200MA and $29 and went long. Got a good fill. I took a first partial where I wanted, but when the price reached my second partial (at the premarket high) I got a really bad fill and thus took the second partial at almost the same price as the first. The price retreated quickly afterwards. But I had not learned my lesson yet and instead of taking my exit at B/E I let it slide by a few tenths of a second also giving back all my profits. You can’t do that if you want to trade the open. I usually estimate where the price will be by the time the transaction is completed and sell ahead enough that I get the fill at the B/E price. This was sloppy today trying to do that at the open. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min chart 5min chart What I did good today: Took two trades on good setups. I learned from the trades and I did get to trade for free today. How did I challenge myself today? Took an extra partial when I started to feel trade was going sour instead of waiting for B/E What I did bad today: Sloppy exits. Waited an extra few tenths of seconds that ate all my profit. What can I do better tomorrow: Go back to my usual method of keeping exits tight. Yes it hurts when stocks reverse on you the moment you stop out, but one must stay disciplined.

Tuesday 4/30/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. Nerves were OK. Woke up early again and had plenty of time to prepare. Took two live trades first with AAPL then MU. AAPL was in play from premarket so I was focused on it at the open. AAPL had a nice “Vish” setup, I just was waiting for the price to break the $203 level. It took a few tries before it finally broke. But I completely missed the entry by 20c. I had to look at my video to see what happen. It looks like my finger was on the trigger then AFTER it broke the level I realized that it is almost 9:32am and my share size was still on the 1min ORB size. So I quickly switch to full size and took the trade. Though I did this fast (~0.5 sec) I lost 20c on the entry destroying my R/R. So my rule is just to get out of the trade, but the price moved in my direction almost immediately. So the next thought was should I get out completely at my first target and insure a small win. So I asked myself would I take the trade now, if this was a new trade? The answer was yes, if it broke the 200MA. So I took a partial, enough that my stop would be all the way back to VWAP. Price never broke the 200MA, then fell back to VWAP. When it broke VWAP I S/O. So it only cost -0.5R. If I remember that lesson about changing the share size after the break it will be an inexpensive lesson. What it looked like when I took the trade: 1min chart 5min chart My next trade was on MU. I am glad I got to practice on a 5min ORB. MU had a strong 5min candle, but still small compared to ATR. The 1min chart looked very bullish. I didn’t take the trade at the break of the 5min candle because there was a strong TL just above it. So I waited for the break of the TL. I guess the break wasn’t clean enough because the price floundered for 2 minutes. Now usually when I see three 1min candles get deflected from the same resistant level I am very bias to get out of the trade. But I hesitated because I thought the last push through really did break. So I wasn’t able to recover back to reality quick enough to take an early stop. The price very quickly dropped to my S/O point and I exited at full -1R. What I did good today: I did take two good setups and I learned a lot on these trades. How did I challenge myself today? I let my Trade Ideas account expire and I used my Etrade account instead today (which has TI included for free though a little less bells and whistles). It was OK, I need to fine tune it a little. What I did bad today: Poor trade management. One bad entry and one not so great exit. What can I do better tomorrow: Must change share size between 1min ORB and 2min ORB much more smoother.

Hi RTrader, thanks for the note. Yes I meditate every morning before the market open. I agree it does help.

A well thought out plan. Much better than mine when I went live.

Monday 4/26/2019 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. Nerves were OK. As planned woke up at 4:45am to start the day earlier. Since I woke up earlier I had time to prepare and wrote a full plan for the morning trading as follows: Took two live trades first with AAPL then TGT. Right at the open I was only looking at AAPL for the 1min ORB (per plan). It really setup nicely as a “Vish” setup when it broke through VWAP/200MA/50MA, but at only 22 seconds after the open. I was too uncomfortable to take it that early, though in hind sight that was the perfect entry. Instead I waited until it broke the 204.50 level for more confirmation then went long. The price did make it to my first partial (high of premarket), but then reversed back. Following the rule not to S/O at B/E after 1st partial if there is a strong TL (AAPL only rule), I waited and survived the pull back. I then took two more partials at the 1min highs then finally S/O at B/E. A small winner, but it would have been a solid winner if I entered the trade when the setup occurred. But I shouldn’t be too angry at myself, I am just not prepared to enter a trade that early yet. So it was just a good learning trade that it may be OK to take really early trades if the setup is there. When I took the trade: 1min Chart 5min chart The next trade was with TGT. It was setting up for a nice 5min ORB with an ABCD pattern already forming on the 1min chart. I shorted when the price looked like it was breaking out with a stop the $78 which the last three 1min candles respected. I took a first partial at the $77.50 level and another at previous close. Took a third partial back at the $78.5 level as I was losing faith in the trade. Then out at B/E. What I did good today: Created a morning trading plan. I think it helped my nerves. Also, I shorted a stock. Shorting has been infrequent lately. How did I challenge myself today? I like I didn’t trade a 2min ORB today. I need to learn other setups. What I did bad today: Didn’t enter the AAPL trade when I knew that was the right time to enter. What can I do better tomorrow: Take the trade if the setup is there. If I am uncomfortable how early it is, just take a smaller share size.

Thanks Mike. Its my first plan that is not just about survival. My emotional stability (though still a daily struggle) is adequate enough that I can make some emphasis on trading techniques. Naively when I joined BBT a year ago I thought it was all about the trading technique. I had no idea it would take a year to learn to keep my emotions under control enough that I can finally divert some energy into the actual trading.

Live trading summary for the month of April. I have not gone hulk in three months!! I have not hit my daily max loss in 3 months!! I did not make a hot key mistake in the month of April and only two hotkey mistakes in the last 3 months. I also never looked at my unrealized P/L for both months of March and April. So this month ends my 3 month challenge to teach myself not to go hulk. The previous 3 months I had 6 hulk days and 16 max/loss days. It is still a struggle, but I can say that my emotions are in more control now. In April I increased to a two trade/day max rule. I will keep this rule. I haven’t collected enough data to determine if it has been successful. As of now I will not increase my max trades per day yet. Even though my equity was positive and did not go hulk in April I am keeping my risk per trade the same at $42 since I just increased it last week. In April I read (actually listened to) Market Wizards and I highly recommend it. Stats for February/March/April: My plan for February through April was to complete one goal: not to go hulk. Hopefully I improved my trading skills as well, but that was not my primary goal. After three months not hitting daily max loss, my next psychological goal is to be able to take an emotionally controlled trade after a loss. I am still not there yet. Since my hulk goal has been satisfied I will place more emphasis on improving my trading skills. But I want to keep the goals simple, like I did the last 3 months. So my goals for the next 3 months: 1) Don’t go hulk 2) Learn to control your emotions after a loss 3) Implement a score card with the goal that the average trade score for the month should exceed the previous month. Positive equity is not a goal. But If I do have positive equity for the month, did not have a hulk day and my trade score for the month was higher than the previous month, that allows me to increase my risk per trade. Score card (I tried to keep it simple): I can subjectively give myself a score between Good and Great. But if it is not at least Good, I receive a 0% for that category. If it was not good I should not have taken the trade. The setup score is based on the checklist. If it satisfies the checklist I receive at least 40% for that category. I will see how it goes and modify when I learn more. Back testing this score card on April gave me a monthly average score of 81%. So my goal is to improve on that. Also for May I really want to improve my health. That lingering flu I had has really taken me down a few notches. I didn’t work out for 3 weeks. I did run 3 times this week, so I am hoping by the end of May I will be working out consistently.

Live trading summary for week ending 4/26/19. A really sloppy week of trading. The one good thing is both my health and my nerves are still improving. Stuck to my new 2 trades/day max. Stopped myself from revenge trading. And actually all my trades, this week had a good setup and a good plan. I did have a couple good trades, but all I really remember is the two trades I exited a penny or two too early missing a big run. Or the trade I jumped the gun by a couple of pennies and caused an unnecessary S/O. And I even broke a veto rule this week, not noticing the Boulinger-bands. I also had chart configuration issues (still do) that I need to figure out and fix. Tiny nuisances are making huge differences now. Twice this week I went wayward 3 cents from the planned S/O and instead of two big trades I got S/O twice. Those 3 cents made the difference from this week becoming my most profitable week trading to my worse in 2 months. Weekly results: A lot to do this weekend. I will be switching to score card my trades next week so I need to finalize the method. I need to fix my configuration issues. I need to create a plan to help prevent my carelessness. As usual I try resolve issues with a two prong approach, internally and externally. Internally I need to determine why my psyche is making me prone to be sloppy and how I can improve it. Also, externally what can I change (say to my platform) to help prevent my sloppiness. First, I will start to draw a horizontal levels on all the dollar and half dollar levels to help me hold to my S/O and entries. Second, I need to be waking up even earlier (4:45am Yikes!) to give myself more time to run my checklist carefully and may promote more care on my trades. I notice the days I finish my prep just before the open I tend to be more careless. I also need to finish all the prep work over the weekend. I usually finish what I can and I go into Monday filling unprepared. Have a good weekend.

Friday 4/26/2019 I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning. Nerves were OK. Another sloppy day of trading to end a sloppy week of trading. Took one live trade with AAPL. MU and AMD were the stocks setting up in premarket. AAPL not so much, so my two large charts had MU and AMD. MU did not get the volume I expected so I started looking around and saw AAPL with large volume and a large move. AAPL had a big drop and was moving back toward VWAP where I went long at the break of VWAP (and the $204 level). Back-testing has shown AAPL is recently having good 1min ORB setups, so I was OK taking trade early. The problem was I took the wrong share size by about 1/3 too many shares for my planned S/O at $203.50. I am usually very good about share size. What I remember is I calculated the shares for the break of VWAP, then just before I took the trade I changed my mind to wait for the break of $204 level, but I did not recalculate the share size. Thus I went long with the wrong size trade. The first thought was to exit immediately, but I thought 1/3 too many shares is not that bad, let me ride it out. In hind sight I should have just sold 1/3 of my shares but I didn’t think of it at the time. The problem is that this made me nervous, so instead of waiting for the break of my planned S/O level I sold right at my stop level instead. As soon as I did the price reversed and had a really good run. If I followed my plan, that would have been a great trade. The urge to revenge trade was instant and I wanted to get go long when it broke VWAP again. Though I do allow two trades/day now, I can only take a second trade if I am in emotional control. I wasn’t. But I was going to take the trade anyway. What brought me to my senses is I remembered today is the last day of my 3 month challenge to teach myself not to go hulk. It would have been a really bad (though ironically fitting for my personality) day to go hulk. So instead of taking another trade, I quickly shutdown the platform and walked away. Live to trade another day. What I did good today: Didn’t go hulk. How did I challenge myself today? Did not take a second trade. What I did bad today: Very sloppy again. Taking the correct share size is something I am usually quite accurate with. What can I do better next week: Just saying I need to be more careful isn’t going to do much. I need to make a plan this weekend how to improve and I will implement on Monday.

Thursday 4/25/2019 I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Nerves were actually OK. I was hoping for a really clean day of trading, since I had a rule breaking day yesterday. Though I didn’t break any rules I was quite careless with my second trade. Took two live trades both on AAPL. MU was the stock I was eyeing to trade. But it didn’t setup for the 2min ORB while AAPL did. It was a really nice “Vish” setup. Very bearish with good R/R and a good first target for taking a partial. I did have to wait a bit for the price to break the last tech level (which was the $207). Price bounced a couple of times off that level before finally breaking through. Once it did I went short. Price instantly reversed and I was quickly stopped out. But, I don’t see anything wrong with the trade, it just didn’t work out. 5min chart when I took the trade at 9:32am After that trade I went back looking at MU for an entry for the 5min ORB. It had a nice ABCD pattern. Sadly, I didn’t stay watching it as AAPL started setting up again. AAPL had 3 bullish 1min candles and engulfed the premarket’s 5min candle. So I waited to see if it would break a very strong combined TL of the HOTD, 200MA and a daily level all within pennies of each other. I thought the price made a break through all 3 levels and I went long. It instantly reversed and I was quickly stopped out. After I was S/O is when I noticed it actually didn’t break all 3 TLs, just two. I jumped the gun, very sloppy. 1min chart when I took the trade: A view of both trades: What I did good today: My first trade was fine, good setup and patiently waited for the break. How did I challenge myself today? Stopped at my 2 trade limit. I had some FOMO on MU since that was the trade I was planning to take. What I did bad today: Very sloppy to jump the gun on a trade before the break. What can I do better tomorrow: I use to have a trouble with entering a trade before the clear break. I recently got better, but today shows it is a constant struggle I must control.