Rob C

Monday 04/13/2020 I had a well-being score of 7.5/10 this morning. I took 1 live trade with DAL. My watchlist: MU, MGM, DAL, TSLA, CCL, and BA. Well I took a 5 day vacation. I didn’t feel myself lately. My discipline was really waning. I usually don’t take enough time off from trading, but at least my family’s vacation will force me to stop trading a couple times a year. Due to the pendemic the vacation was cancelled of course. So I went awhile without a break. Plus, the additional stress that of course will be added at this time, I needed a break. I was actually prepared to trade last Wednesday, but I didn’t feel myself. I didn’t even have a plan at the open. I always have a plan. I knew something was up and shortly after the open I turn off my platform and walked away for 5 days. DAL had an interesting PM. The last five 1min candles before the open all touched the 24.95 price without breaking it. SPY was also dropping as we went into the open. The plan was to go short if the price broke the 24.95 and 200MA-1min. DAL opened with strong volume. And quickly dropped below the two levels. I shorted with PDC as my target and the 24.95 as my stop. The price dropped and I took two quick partials. Then I set my autostop at B/E and was quickly stopped out. Another minute later it looked like DAL was setting up even more for a short and SPY was really dropping. So I shorted again. I know I take terrible partials, but today was ridiculous. I will chalk this up for being my first day back. But I caught a 10R move, so I usually get about half in profit. Today I got 1.4R profit from a 10R move. What did I do good today? Good use levels and watching SPY What I am grateful from today? Taking a short. I have been taking so many longs lately I am getting a bias.

Tuesday 04/07/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 1 live trade with CCL. My watchlist: AMD, MGM, DAL, AAPL, CCL, and BA. In PM CCL was bouncing between levels 12.23 and 12.41 for 25 minutes after 20 cent pop. I went long when the price bounced from 12.23. There was also a reasonable size ask above the 12.41 level. I have a 10c minimum stop rule for PM and first 30 minutes after the open. I don’t even have a hot key with a stop smaller than 10c. So my stop was larger than what the chart said I would need, but this gives me some buffer if I have to ride this into the open. My final target was $13. I was hoping to get at least one partial before the open. Though price slowly rised it never reached my price to take a partial. The price did increase enough that the 50MA-1min was above my stop to help it for support. The price open with good volume and I took a partial at the high of PM. Just as I did Andrew announced he entered the CCL trade making me feel I took my first partial too early. Then it took me 3 partials to take profit at 12.60. The spread was fine, but the price was just so spikey. My big partials were my first and 5th. Then all out when it broke HOPM. What did I do good today? Good use levels and taking smaller partial size. What I am grateful from today? Stressful trade but held on.

Monday 04/06/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 1 live trade with CCL. My watchlist: AMD, MGM, DAL, ZM, CCL, and BA. I usually don’t look for PM trades until 15 minutes before the open. But CCL was trading in a tight range with a sharp 8.85 reistance level and a more convoluted support level about 8.78. There was a reasonable size ask at 8.88 which would help the price break the 8.85 level. I took a long and then made a hot key mistake with setting my stop and took a loss. But I immediately re-entered. I was a bit stressed about taking a trade so early so I decided to set my stop and walk away for a few minutes. When I returned CCL had popped and started to head back down. I sold half my shares immediately. At that point I am done for the day. I spent the next few minutes trying to squeeze out a little more profit. I took a couple of SIM trades at the open, but nothing to speak of. What did I do good today? Good use of L2. I knew myself well enough that I should walk away from the screen, since I was jumpy and when I saw there was a well defined stop. What I am grateful from today? CCL pop was very lucky I am quite aware of that.

Friday 04/03/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 2 live trades with APA and AMD. My watchlist: AMD, APA, DAL, TWTR, CCL, and BA. I liked APA in the PM and was respected a 5.40 price level. When a large ask appeared above that price I went long with half share size. My stop was VWAP. The price slowly moved up nearing the open and the plan was to add to my position when it broke above 5.46 daily level. But it popped to quickly to add at the open. I was able to take two partials before S/O at B/E. AMD opened with so-so volume and an indecision candle. The second min candle was a nice hammer. So with SPY moving higher I went long at the break of PDC. $45 target with 200MA-1min as my stop. The price was wild and unpredictable and I took two partials to reduce risk. The price finally popped a little and I got one good partial in before S/O at B/E. What did I do good today? Stopped trading when it seemed the market was too wild this morning. What I am grateful from today? Luckily to be green today. It was very wild price action, I could have easily been red today.

First, it is great that you have been on the SIM for so long. It is a wise thing to do. I wish I stayed in SIM longer. When opening a live account it depends on the country you are from and if they have a PDT rule (Pattern Day Trading). Some countries have a $25000 minimum due to the rule. If you don't have the 25K capital then CMEG would be the broker that the BBT site recommends. I used them for a few months and they were adequate. If your country doesn't have the PDT rule or your capital is above the 25K needed then IB is the way to go. Great fills and great short list. I currently use Centerpoint which I can't recommend and will be switching to IB when the markets calm down a bit. There was some talk of Andrew working with Alliance for a BBT discount but I no longer see it recommended on the BBT site so I assume it fell through or members were not impressed.

Thursday 04/02/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 2 live trades with BA and LK. My watchlist: AMD, LK, DAL, WBA, CCL, and BA. Both my trades were entered in PM. BA looked good both on the 1min and 5min chart. The 5min had an engulfing and the 1min a small wedge. But I usually don’t do well taking a reversal. But SPY was strong at that moment and a reasonable size ask appeared in L2. So I went long. My target was PDC with my stop at the recent low (127.40). Trade went well. Too bad I took 1/3 share size. I reduce my shares in PM and when taking a reversal. The price popped soon after the open and went beyond my target. I finally exited when it lost the 50MA-1min LK was being investigated and dropped huge in PM. It seemed to be holding the 9/20MAs and slowly rising but I was nervous to take the trade. My finger sat on the buy button for about 20 seconds and then I heard Brian said he went long which confirmed I wasn’t crazy for thinking about it and went long as well. The volume was so high I didn’t call it a PM trade and went full shares. My stop was the bottom of the previous candle. I took lots of partials and finally got out because I didn’t want to go through another halt again. I can already call this the trade of the month. What did I do good today? Good use of SPY What I am grateful from today? LK

Wednesday 04/01/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 2 live trades with CCL and AMD. My watchlist: AMD, MGM, DAL, UBER, CCL, and BA. I actually didn’t like anything in the PM. I usually like something and have a plan on which stocks and where to enter, but not today. That created some anxiety. So I was watching AMD as default. At the open AMD dropped hard and made a sharp reversal. When the price reversed enough that I thought it wouldn’t double back I went long. My target was the HOPM (44.80) with a stop at the bottom of the wick. I took a quick 1st partial, then a second when SPY started heading lower. Then a few seconds later I got cold feet due to SPY and exited. Yes, the was still far away from my B/E which it never tested on the way to it’s big run. So I need to get better about that. I just hate when my stop gets slid right through and makes a winning trade into a losing one. CCL dropped the first minute and bounced on the LOPM. The price reversed back to VWAP and I shorted on the pullback. I was a bit nervous on theis trade but Andrew then called it a few seconds later which made me feel that the trade idea was OK. My target was the 11.70 level with a stop at the 200MA-1min. I did take an extra partial when I was losing faith but looking at it now there was of course no reason to. The price reached my target and I exited on a 1min candle engulfing. What did I do good today? Not feeling FOMO (too much) about the AMD early exit. Just something I need to work on. What I am grateful from today? Shorted a stock. I have definitely gotten to long bias. I need to work on that.

Tuesday 03/31/2020 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I took 3 live trades with ABT and AMD. My watchlist: AMD, ABT, DAL, JNJ, CCL, and BA. Not happy with my discipline today. Definitely more luck than skill that made me green today. ABT had an interesting setup in PM. So I was watching to see if an L2 signal would appear. No signal occurred. Though volume was OK for PM, it wasn’t enough without a L2 signal. So I took an undiscipline trade mostly due to SPY being strong at the time. But the market was good to me and taught me a lesson by quickly stopping me out with a big slide on stop making a -1.5R loss. SPY was strong near the open. I took a very small entrance on AMD right before the open to see if there would be a pop. The price bounced around then dropped. Then I waited to see if it would drop to LOPM where I would buy more shares with a tight stop just below the LOPM. So I bought more shares and the price moved higher and created a hammer. SPY was moving higher and I added more shares. Now I had fill share size. And now I waited. Then over the next 5 minutes I took 3 partials all to reduce risk as I would lose more faith in the trade. When The price finally started moving I had only 25% of my shares left. I took more partials and exited but then decided to enter again into my position since I felt it would break the 200MA-1min. It did, I took 1 partial but then fell back below the 200MA where I exited at B/E. I made money but messy trading. What did I do good today? Stopped trading while still green. What I am grateful from today? Stopped trading while still green.

Hi Zen, welcome. What do you mean by "2 confirmations after breakout"? You mean two 1min candles above/below the breakout?

Monday 03/30/2020 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I took 2 live trades with ABT and CCL. My watchlist: AMD, ABT, DAL, JNJ, CCL, and BA. ABT had an interesting PM. It had a catalyst and a level at 83.25 it touched (or nearly touched) 3 times near the open. Then at 9:26 the volume really increased with a bullish candle and then a hammer. The L2 looked weighted to the ask side. Then 2 min before the open T/S lit up green and I went long with small share size. The price popped and retraced. What the chart/L2 looked like when I took the trade: The price popped, but not high enough to take a partial. Then the price dropped to my stop (82.50) and bounced and made a hammer where I added. My target was the daily level at 84.73. The open had lots of volume but little movement at first. Then the priced moved higher and I got two partials. Then the price sat for almost 2 minutes while SPY was moving higher. Finally the price moved a little higher where I partailed again since I was losing faith. Then I tried to exit at the break of the 83.25 level, but wow what a slide that was. Right after the ABT trade I noticed CCL had a weak 1st minute then was bouncing between VWAP and the LOPM. If I could get a really good entry near VWAP I would short. I didn’t have to wait to long and actually got filled immediately. I had to only wait a minute for the drop to start. I took way to many partials. I got caught in the halt. Then I accidentally made a hot key mistake near the end when I was exiting, and added a few shares. What did I do good today? Good use of T/S. What I am grateful from today? It’s great starting the month (my trading months always start on a Monday) on a positive day.

Oh, I didn't know Hailchaser was a profession, I thought it was just a cool name.

Friday 03/27/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 2 live trades with AMD My watchlist: AMD, TSLA, DAL, UBER, CCL, and BA. My main goal for today is simply to stay within my max loss. I succeeded but my discipline was definitely weaker today, being the last day of the month. AMD opened weak and pulled back and bounced from the 50MA-1min. On the 2nd minute candle we got another bounce from the 50MA-1min. I can’t get my video recording to work but I thought I saw a bearish L2 and SPY dropping. So I shorted when it rebroke the LOPM. The price reversed almost immediately and I was stopped out. I should have waited for a break higher above the 50MA-1min for verification (break of resistance and break of the wedge). But I didn’t and just flipped my position. The trade worked out but not good discipline. My target was the HOPM (47.10) with the LOPM (46.15) as my stop. The price did reach my target. What did I do good today? Didn’t lose all my profits for the month which I am known to do on the last day of the month (I end the months on Fridays). What I am grateful from today? I finished the month up >+20R. Second month in a row >+20R and fourth month in row positive.

Thursday 03/26/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 1 live trade with MU My watchlist: AMD, MU, DAL, F, CCL, and BA. My main goal for today and tomorrow is simply to stay within my max loss. Tomorrow is the end of the month (I always end my month on a Friday). I am above my 20R goal for the month and if I max loss today and tomorrow I will still be above 20R. There has been so many months, in the last 2 years, that I give all my profits for the month on the last two days. MU was already ~+5% in PM on good earnings. SPY has been powering higher during the PM and MU was respecting the $45 level in PM. MU opened weak Bounced off of a 44.40 level and had two large asks just above $45. I went long as it passed VWAP. HOPM (45.50) was my target with the bottom of the candle as my stop (with slippage). My first partial was just to reduce risk. Sadly I took a small second partial, since I thought it will break higher now since it broke the $45 level. Price then dropped below VWAP where I was S/O I then took a SIM trade on F and got chopped up really bad. What did I do good today? Took a partial to reduce risk when MU was acting wild. What I am grateful from today? Didn’t blow up my account. I am thinking of even just trading SIM tomorrow since I already reached my goal for the month.

Great entrance on your 1st CCL trade. Perfect spot.

Mike, always impressed by your discipline not to take a trade. Hopefully I will have that strength one day.

Wednesday 03/25/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 4 live trades with BA and AMD. My watchlist: AMD, JBLU, DAL, MGM, CCL, and DAL. I was watching BA in the PM. There was an area $152-$153 that the price was respecting but not a specific price. I was watching to see if it woud break with a L2 signal. It did make a break but without a L2 signal. Then created a strong 1min candle and then a L2 signal appeared and I went long. But now my stop is quite far ($152.91) and I took half shares since it is PM. So not to many shares taken on this trade. I did get a $2 move, but exited a few seconds before PM since I had no directional bias. Then I took 3 trades on AMD which opened weak and bounce from PDC. I shorted on the pull back with 2/3 share size in case I can get a better entry with a VWAP bull back. I was watching too intensely to add to my position as the price was approaching VWAP that I did not look at L2. There was a clear long bias on L2 telling me to exit. I didn’t see it and actually added to my position (I saw it later on my trade recording). I was stopped out about 1 min later. When the price broke all the MAs I went long and quickly took a partial then was immediately S/O at B/E for a small loss. The price just filled my S/O and went higher again and now there was a L2 signal so I went long again. My stop was 20MA with 47.91 daily level as my target. I did get a 50c move which was fine. Stopped out on the new 1min low. I probably should have waited for the break of the 9MA. What did I do good today? I kept an eye on SPY through all my trades. What I am grateful from today? 50% win rate today, but well into the green

Awesome journaling!!

Tuesday 03/24/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 2 live trade with MGM and AMD. My watchlist: AMD, UBER, TSLA, MGM, CCL, and AAL. I was watching MGM as the opening approached. Then it broke a 11.50 level it had been respecting with an L2 signal so I went long. What MGM looked like when I went long (note the large asks): There was actually no level to use as a target and was not respecting dollar levels in PM. My stop was 11.15. The price popped up very fast and I quickly tried to take a partial (without checking the spread) and was filled at B/E. But the partial did reduce my risk. So when I was S/O shortly after it was only a -0.6R loss. Looking at the trade during review I see MGM made a hangman formation (5min chart) right as I took the trade. Those are very telling when volume is low. Hopefully, if I saw that, I would not have taken the trade. I was then watching AMD at the open. AMD opened strong at broke the HOPM with OK volume and a long bias L2. I went long and got a poor fill. But I saw the price moving up so fast I went half shares knowing the fill may not go well. What AMD looked like when I went long (note the large L2 asks): My target was the 44.75 daily level with a stop using the 44.12 PM level. The price fell back and I entered with the rest of my shares at the 44.12 level. Somehow I wasn’t stopped out but close enough I was quick to take partial profits. The price did reach my target and beyond and I exited when the price broke down below the 9MA-1min. What did I do good today? Used L2 well. Good risk management with stops and halving my share size. What I am grateful from today? The market gave me one good trade. Though I was not able to capitalize it, I am grateful for it.

Monday 03/23/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 1 live trade with AMD. My watchlist: AMD, UBER, TSLA, MGM, CCL, and ZM. I was watching AMD at the open as default, since nothing else on my watchlist had a PM that was interesting. AMD opened weak with SPY. AMD made a reverse hammer. I shorted when the price broke the 200MA-5min with a L2 signal (but not a big signal). What AMD looked like when I went long: My target was PDC (39.60) with a stop 40.60 (when my 1min candle would go green and the break 40.50 where PM was respected). I took two partials and did have my auto stop at B/E. But I hate when the price flies through my stop and removes all my profit. So I bailed a little early (my cover was exactly on my 1st partial so you can’t see it on the chart). But of course if I held to my stop I would have reached my target and beyond. What did I do good today? Stopped at one trade. That took some resolve since I was only at +1R. But my goal is to find one good trade. Essentially, a trade that reaches my target. AMD did reach my target (and beyond), it was my fault I didn’t take advantage of it. So I took a trade that reached my target, so I am done for the day. What I am grateful from today? I took a short trade. I have noticed I have been taking a lot of long trades lately, I am worried I am getting a bias. It doesn’t help that I have less stocks that have shorts (shorts I can take quickly) with Centerpoint.

Friday 03/20/2020 I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. I took 1.5 live trades with UBER, and CCL (sort of). My watchlist: AMD, UBER, TSLA, MSFT, CCL, and AAPL. I made a hotkey mistake at the open with CCL making an accidental trade. I was about to quickly get out but L2 looked good so I held for a bit for break even. I won’t mention it any more. As for UBER, there was a level created at 22.60 the last 7 minutes of PM, plus another level at 22.75 from PM. There was no 1st min volume, but solid volume the next two minutes. I also like the 200MA-1min just above, I always feel that level as a magnet at the open. I went long at the break of the 22.75, got a terrible fill, but my stop was a little lose since I assumed the bad fill. My target was 23.60 (a recent PM high) and stop was the 22.60 PM level. The price moved up quickly then leveled out and created a support level at 23.42. So I decided when it broke down through that level to sell half the reamining shares. Then all out at the break of VWAP. What did I do good today? Recovered from that hot key mistake on CCL. What I am grateful from today? I am always grateful for a green Friday.

Thursday 03/19/2020 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I took 4 live trades with UBER, AMD and MRNA. My watchlist: AMD, UBER, TSLA, MSFT, CCL, and MRNA. Yep I am probably the only trader today who went long on UBER today and lost money. But no worries I still had a good day. There was a 15.92 level in PM that looked like a good break level. When the price broke that level, with an OK L2 signal, I went long in PM. I got a terrible fill. But R/R was still OK. My target was $16.50 with another PM level (15.81) as my stop. I waited for the open where we got an OK pop on OK volume. I was waiting the whole first minute to move higher. When it didn’t I took a partial. Then the price dropped quickly and I was S/O at B/E. I got a terrible fill on the stop as well so I actually took a small loss. By the time UBER was setting up again I was in another trade. MRNA was already green in the PM, but opened weak on good volume. Then was creating a strong 3rd 1min candle and a hammer on the 5min chart. There were two big asks on L2 so I went long when it seemed to be holding VWAP. What it looked like when I took the trade (note L2): My stop was VWAP, but I took half shares since the price was jumpy and I knew I would not get a good fill. My target was the HOPM (33.24). The price really started moving 3 minutes later. I took partials until I ran out of shares. AMD dropped big at the open but was recovering with SPY. When it broke VWAP and 38.50 (a level it was respecting) I went long. The price popped up and I took a partial then was stopped out at B/E. The price dropped a little more and bounced from the 9MA-1min, where I went long again. Then AMD had a nice run. I took too many partials until I ran out of shares. What did I do good today? Got back in a trade after it was setting up again. Not feeling FOMO from the early S/O from UBER. What I am grateful from today? I had a good day even with a loss on UBER.

Wednesday 03/18/2020 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I took 1 live trade with AMD. My watchlist: AMD, BA, TSLA, AAPL, CCL, and ROKU. I like AMD in the PM again. The price was really respecting the 39.90 level. The price dropped and bounced off the 20MA-1min. There was a sizeable ask on L2 at the 39.90 level so I went long with the same target as yesterday (41.09) with a stop using the 50MA-1min. A little scary heading into the open and I was almost stopped out. I took a partial at the 39.90 level and then the price dropped and touched my stop at B/E. ONLY VERY recently I have been lucky enough not to be stopped out at this point and wasn’t today either. I remember writing in my journal over and over, every week, the big run of the week I would take a partial and the price would drop back down just enough to stop me out at B/E and then go for a 10R run or something. Lately it hasn’t happen as much and sometimes I am along for the run. The price almost reached my target, then exited when the price made two new lows and lost the 9MA. What did I do good today? I had to keep a sharp eye on the bid to make sure I got a good fill. What I am grateful from today? Not getting stopped out at B/E.

Tuesday 03/17/2020 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I took 2 live trades with AMD and NCLH. My watchlist: AMD, NCLH, TSLA, MRNA, CCL, and AAL. I like AMD in the PM. The price was really respecting the 200MA-1min and the 50MA-5min. If it broke this level, after the open, with volume I would go long. AMD quickly made a hammer at the open with OK volume (not large volume). Though the volume wasn’t great, I liked the hammer and SPY was on the rise, so I went long when the price broke the levels I spoke of. The target was the 41.09 daily level, with a reasonably large stop at $40. The price immediately popped and I took a partial. Then it hovered for awhile and I took another partial, since I was losing faith. Then the price hovered even longer and I took another partial, since I was really losing faith. Then the price dropped and my auto B/E stop kicked in and sold my remaning shares. I liked the 2min ORB setup on NCLH. First it was creating a mini ABCD with the last PM candle and was creating a small wedge. I didn’t wait for the break of the wedge, because I felt confident with its weakness. My target was PDC, but definitely would partial at the LOPM (11.09). My stop was tight at the high of the previous candle. As soon as I took the trade SPY went bullish and took NCLH with it and I was quickly stopped out. I was watching for about 30 seconds to see if it would setup again, but then my swing trades needed managing so I missed the run down. But that is OK, it is good to know I planned a working trade. What did I do good today? I like both my trades and thought they were executed OK. What I am grateful from today? Flat for the day for day-trading, but did really well on the swing trades that I went long before the close yesterday.

Monday 03/16/2020 I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I took 1 live trade with CCL. My watchlist: AMD, AAPL, BAC, MRNA, CCL, and AAL. I wasn’t planning on taking a trade since we all knew there would be a halt and I like to trade at the open. After the halt CCL looked strong. It was breaking the VWAP and the curent 5min candle was about to engulf the previous one. When the price broke $15 I went long with 200MA-5min as the target and VWAP as my stop. I am not use to small 15c stops like this so I was my nervous self and took too many partials. Then the stock got halted while I had 25% shares left. Luckily the price was higher after the halt and I took another partial. Then 2min later I took another partial when it reached my target. Then I held on for 10 more minutes and exited when the price broke below the 20MA-1min. What did I do good today? I took a trade in a time frame I usually don’t. What I am grateful from today? Today was a bit of a milestone. I opened my Centerpoint account (from CMEG) 8 months ago. Today, for the first time my equity is larger than it was when I opened the account. So all the commissions, DAS and data fees, and losses are all paid for.

Friday 03/13/2020 I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. I took 2 live trades with BAC and AAL. My watchlist: AMD, AAPL, BAC, TSLA, CCL, and AAL. I can’t remember when my watchlist has been the same two days in a row. A bit disappointed with my discipline again. BAC opened well but not enough volume. Then a L2 signal hit and I went long with a tight stop (if my main signal is L2, I usually have a really tight stop) at the HOPM. My target was 22.85. The big ask was bought soon after and the price was moving and I took 2 partials then set my stop at B/E. Then I noticed how few shares I had. That is when I realized I inadvertantly chose the 22.27 level as my stop and took only ¼ the number of shares. So instead of just letting it go to a learning experience, I added to my position. Not a terrible spot but not a good one either. Then added again. So when I finally stopped out I took a full -1R loss. Yep made a winner into a loser. I actually took a 5min ORB. It has been awhile. AAL opened weak with good volume. At 5min I waited for the break of the 200MA-1min and the 50MA-5min and went short. PDC was my target with 14.70 as my stop (which was just above 200MA and previous candle). My second partial was a hotkey mistake that I recovered without an impact. When the price rose back above HOPM I exited. What did I do good today? I took a 5min ORB, it had been awhile. What I am grateful from today? I was lucky again today, I was undisciplined.