huntermac

03-11-2020 Have today and tomorrow off of work. Was able to get some trading in this morning. I've been trying recently to dabble in other trading strategies other than my typical 0950-1030 hours VWAP bounce trades. Most recently, I've been trying to trade ABCD patterns in the early market hours before the VWAP trades. Not trades I typically take, just trying to expand on strategies to trade. Not too much luck on these trades this morning though. Definitely some over trading today, but only due to the fact I'm trying to experiment with more ABCD trades. I'll probably start dabbling with this in replay mode as well. $PDD - I attempted an ABCD trade off the 1 minute chart on PDD. I saw it bounced off the 9EMA, took the trade long and got stopped out. Things to consider in the future: PDD was gapping down. The 5 minute candle was very extended. Those two combined should've kept me a little more short biased on this trade. $AAL- Around 1015, I saw a VWAP bounce off of AAL. I always like to see a gradual movement back towards VWAP and then take my position right at VWAP. Got stopped out on my first trade, took a second attempt at it and succeeded. $DXC- Around 0950 hours I tried to take a VWAP bounce trade off of $DXC. I saw resistance held the 20EMA. I set my stop slightly above VWAP. I saw it failed to hold above VWAP on heavier volume on the candle after I got into the trade, but I eventually got stopped out. $TDOC- I took this as a reverse ABCD trade. Saw it holding the 9EMA on the 1 minute. I anticipated a break of the 146 level. Took it short around 147.50 set my stop loss right around the 9EMA on the 1m. $INO- Took this trade as a VWAP bounce. Took that first partial because it was struggling and I didn't see any volume on the L2 to indicate it was going to push the $7.40 level. Hit my stop loss and I moved on. I think sometimes I set my stop loss so tight I do not give it room to breath. If I had set it slightly below that 50MA I would've made my 2R on this trade. Something to jot down and remain conscience of in the future.

3-3-2020 - Done trading for the day. Started off with a great trade with BYND. Got shook out of what I thought was a good trade on AMD when the SPY decided to absolutely rip me out of my position at 1000. With that market-wide rip it kind of threw off my typical VWAP bounce trades at around that 1000 hours. I felt I wouldn't feel comfortable getting into any further positions, so I ended my day where I was. $BYND trades 1, 2, & 3 - First trade was on a reverse ABCD pattern on the 1 minute, also looked good on the 2 minute. It was holding VWAP as a resistance real well. Started taking partials at around 2R. Stop loss right above VWAP. At around 0955, I saw what I thought was a false break on VWAP, and it kept hitting that 99.90 technical level, took the trade short and got stopped out. I saw it cracked the VWAP and 9/20 EMA levels, so I took it short again. Stop loss at the 99.90 level again with a target just above low of the day. At about this time the SPY ripped up and I got stopped out again. $AMD - I knew AMD had been gapping up and started slightly long biased. I saw it crack through ALL of those moving averages and VWAP at once and then hold it, so I went long. Stop loss below all of the moving averages and VWAP. I messed up my hotkeys, I meant to take a 50% partial at that 49.15 level, which was right around 2R, but accidentally bought more into the position and then it reversed and I got stopped out.. Really need to be conscience of these hotkeys, I know its bound to happen, but I would've been slightly green on this trade had I not messed that up. $TLRY- TLRY was ripping up at the open. I should've taken the daily more into consideration on this trade, as it's honestly been getting beat down to death. It was also gapping down in the pre-market. I took this trade as a VWAP bounce. Stop loss set right below that 50MA, target was right below high of the day. Ended up getting stopped out on this. Pros: I stuck to my stop losses. I got out of all trading when I felt thrown off from the big movement on SPY, which took away from how I originally planned on trading at that time. Cons: I need to stay more cognizant of how pre-market and daily levels look when trading a false VWAP break or bounce. I think those factors can contribute more greatly on whether the bounce/break is indeed false or not. TLRY was definitely not an A setup and I knew that going into the trade. I need to stay on top of hot keys, as shown in the AMD trade, that can be a matter of keeping the trade green or even break-even. I'm frustrated with that blunder as-is, but couldn't imagine my frustration if it was outside of the simulator making such a careless mistake.

3-2-2020 Alright, got a few trades in today which all worked out pretty well for me. Trades 1 & 2 $CCL- Got stopped out on my first trade. Saw a potential reverse ABCD and what appeared to be a test near VWAP. I took the trade short and got stopped out above the VWAP. Evidentally, it was not done testing the VWAP. Shortly after that, I got back into the trade near the same spot I entered the first time. Set my stop just above VWAP and got about 2R out of it. Trade 3 $NVAX- Saw it was very bearish at the open. Saw a gradual climb to VWAP. It broke through and was rejected and then consolidated right at VWAP. Waited for a break of the 9/50EMA on the 1 minute and took it short then rode it down. Trade 4 $ZM- I was waiting for a bounce off VWAP, but saw it got rejected at the 50MA on the 1 minute. I figured it was probably not going to make it completely all the way to VWAP so I took it short. Stop loss at VWAP, didn't completely hit my target, took my first partial at around 1.5R and then I saw that bullish candle break those moving averages so I got completely out. EDIT: Forgot to put my 1st trade with $AMD on here.. $AMD- Saw a three-bar play on the 1 minute chart. Saw the first bearish candle. Second created an equal bottom and only retracted roughly 50% of the preceding candle. Took it short on the third candle at the break.

2-27-2020 Alright, I'll be honest.. Been slacking on the journal entries lately. Not going to try to make that a habit. The last week has essentially just been filled with me experimenting more on early morning strategies. I'm finding that I find some level of consistency in trading VWAP false breaks or VWAP bounces during the time-frame of 0950-1030. I find that generally I do not have much luck with ORBs or any sort of momentum trade. I'm continuing to develop my rules. It's been around 5-6 weeks since I began in simulation, so I'm going to narrow down to specific strategies and narrowing those rules to trade off them. So I'm going to stick with VWAP false breaks and VWAP bounces at the 0950-1030 hours. I'll also consider ABCD/reverse ABCD patterns in the early morning, only if the pattern is very clear with a tight stop loss. Trades 1 & 2 MRNA- I saw a nice extension from the moving averages. Waited on the pull back and saw a great reverse ABCD pattern on the 1 & 2 minute charts. I meant to get in a little higher than where I did, but there was some minor slippage. It then consolidated for a little and I almost got stopped out a couple times but thankfully I did not. Took partials until it failed to make a new 1 minute low. Trade 2. Was already short biased on MRNA based off the strong bearish open. It climbed back up on lower relative volume, saw a good reject just below VWAP, took the trade short, set the stop loss just above VWAP. I failed to partial well on this one. The second partial would've been the ideal place to start, not the first or third areas. Trade 3 SPCE - Around 1000 I saw it began to climb towards VWAP. I like to watch a stock climb slowly up towards VWAP on lower relative volume without any huge bull candles. This shows weakness in the movement and higher probability for a bounce off VWAP, which it did in this case. I got out of the trade at 2R, but man did that keep dropping! Good day for me overall, bad day for the markets though in general. Good opportunities for long-term purchases I suppose, but I'll stick to the day trading for now

Yes, the blue line is my VWAP. I've seen discussions on here about the fluctuations that charts show of the VWAP. For example, when you toggle between the 1m and 5m chart, you'll find the VWAP slightly differs. For the most accurate VWAP level, I look at the number on the Montage and make sure it's pretty close to what my chart is showing me. Interesting though, not sure why that happens. It also appears both of our charts are 1 minute charts..

2-14-2020 Had to work today, was able to get a good early morning trade in on $ROKU. Trades 1 & 2 $ROKU - I saw ROKU traded down at the open. Saw a very strong engulfing candle. I saw the proceeding candle blow through VWAP with absolute ease. On the third candle, I saw it bounce off the VWAP pretty hard once, it came back to the VWAP again, I took the trade long. It immediately went against me and I got stopped out. Continued to watch the trade for a possibly reverse and bounce off the VWAP. I found a hard bounce off the 20EMA on the 1 minute. I find the 20EMA is a very powerful resistance level on the 1 minute. I typically find that if it's being respected, then it's a great level to use. When I saw the hard reject at that level, I took the trade short. My stop loss was set at VWAP. I saw it continued to use the 9EMA as support. I rode it down to my target at 145.60 and took my first partial and then remaining ones shortly after. Overall, not a bad morning. I did well by sticking to my stop losses and taking my profits at my target. I do not typically trade in the first 5 minutes and therefore broke that rule. I usually use the first 5 minutes to help me ascertain the stocks general sentiment.

Rob, sorry to hear about that swing trade with BE. I can't imagine being able to maintain proper focus and stick to the rules after losing over 20% on a trade. Hope you come back stronger than ever, man. We all handle stress different, but I'd personally stay off the SIM tomorrow. Good luck brother

2-13-2020 Overall, good morning. I took 2 trades in the early morning. First trade $BE I was looking at BE on the open. It shot above VWAP and extended pretty far. Monitored and waited for a bounce off the VWAP. Saw an ABCD pattern on the 5. When it broke the support I anticipated at that point it would test VWAP. Waited for it to break on the 1m and got into the trade long. Original stop loss was $9.00 with an original target of around 9.60 for a 2R. I readjusted my stop loss to 9.12 and then break-even as it continued up. Took my first partial at 9.35 (after my first adjustment of my stop loss). I meant to sell off another partial at 9.46, but ended up messing up the hot key and buying into another position lol. Then sold out of my entire position at around 9.55. Second trade $KHC I saw this trade was just ripping downwards. I was originally waiting on a pullback to VWAP, but realized it was probably going to just keep ripping for a while. I knew it would pull back to some extent and reject a level, so I waited. I saw it pull back to the 20EMA on the 1 minute and go above. When it got rejected I took the trade short. Original stop loss was at 27.80, readjusted it later to just above break-even. Took my first partial at around 27.45. When it pushed through the 9EMA on that higher 1 minute candle, I got out of the entire position.

Thanks, Rob! I tried a few of these VWAP bounce trades last week and really enjoy trading them. I will probably stick with them and continue to capitalize on them and understand these trades better. These trades are easier for me to visualize and make more split second decisions on, particularly on the 1/2 minute charts. I think that's definitely important for me as a newer trader. To have a solid strategy where I can easily visualize the stop loss and targets.

Alright. So I was too tired to make my post last night for yesterday's early morning trade, so I'll also include that in this post. 2-11-2020 & 2-12-2020 Trade 1 $S- Little disappointed with this stock overall. Didn't really pull out of a narrow range throughout the early morning. I managed to profit off a couple small trades. First trade was a bounce off of VWAP on the 1 minute. Saw it failed to break VWAP. Had low relative volume. Saw it tried a few times, so I got into the trade long. Target was 8.37 for 2R, I also believed it would probably take off (I was long biased), so I only took a partial. Saw it failed to make a new 1 minute high and then heavy resistance at the 9EMA. Decided to completely get out of my position. Trade 2 & 3 $S - First trade I was trying to buy the break of the 8.37 level. Saw it bounced there. Saw higher lows and higher highs on the 1 minute with increasing volume. I decided to take the trade long and set the stop at 8.30. Ended up getting stopped out. On trade 3, I was looking for a false break on VWAP. Saw a gradual ease towards VWAP. I saw it push through and close above VWAP on that bear candle. Waited for the following confirmation candle and then took the trade long. Took a partial at around 8.34 and then closed the position at 8.30 because I had to leave the computer. 2-12-2020 Trading Day. Definitely wanted to stay away from S today, as I didn't like the price action I had yesterday. Took it off my watch list completely. Trade 1 $BBBY Alright, so first trade was BBBY. Saw a nice break and extension away from VWAP on the 1m and 2m. Waited to see if there was a test/false break on VWAP. Saw it broke through and pushed back up. It then tried again, went slightly below VWAP and then large orders came in on the L2 and it shot back up, I got into the position long. I followed the higher highs and higher lows until I saw volume being to fade out. Took a partial around 11.30 for about a 2R. When I saw it closed as an engulfing candle and then the following candle gapped below it, I got out of the position entirely. Trade 2 $CYBR - A beautiful gap down in the premarket, I was short biased on this already. I thought people would be covering their short positions and it would break or test VWAP. First trade I shorted it at the break of VWAP but it continued up shortly and I got stopped out. Next candle was engulfing and failed to make a new 5 minute high, I re-entered the position and shorted it. Stop loss set right above the 5 minute highs of the VWAP break. Took a partial and then got out of the position entirely. I was short of a 2R on this. There was some heavy support at around $119, which I assumed was just because it was a whole dollar amount, it never appeared to break that level the rest of the trading day.

2-10-2020 Unfortunately, I had to work today. I was only able to take one trade in the early morning on $LB. LB I saw a huge extended 1m candle on the market open. I immediately began waiting for it to pull back. I was hoping it would do a false break of VWAP for a really good stop loss setup however, it pulled up just below VWAP on the 1 minute. I took the trade short. Original goal was a 2R. I saw it losing steam just above my target level. Took a partial. Saw some indecision candles on the 1 minute & 2-minute charts, supplemented with a new 1 minute high. Figured it was going to probably turn back towards the VWAP again. I decided to get out of my entire position at this point. The 23.80 on the 1 minute chart in the photo is where my target was. The technical level just above VWAP at 24.52 was my stop loss. Overall, not a bad trade. I've found recently that I enjoy VWAP reversal trades for a few reasons. 1) They're pretty reliable trades. 2) The stop loss is set at a clear area. 3) It seems you can achieve a pretty good risk/reward out of these trades. I have to work again tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to find the time to trade the early morning again.

2-4-2020 Trades 1 & 2 AMD- First AMD trade was a 5m ORB. Took it long, got stopped out. Then I observed a nice ABCD on the 1minute, with good support on the VWAP, I got back into the trade rather quickly when I saw this and went long again. Target was the 2nd technical level. It shot below VWAP and I got stopped out. Only pros of the trade was I had a good Risk/reward, and stuck with my stop loss. Kinda got a little frustrated, so I took a minute to get my mind back right and stopped trading AMD for the rest of the day. I felt that the 2nd trade I did was not during sound mind, perhaps revenge trading since my ORB got stopped out and I was already a little irritated with that trade.. 3rd trade BYND - I saw a good ABCD pattern on the 5m. Saw it couldn't break VWAP twice. Bought into the position. Got stopped out just below VWAP where my stop loss was. It ended up being a false break on VWAP and took off and missed out on that opportunity. I don't see anything wrong with the strategy or trade set up, just got caught in the false break on VWAP, which was unfortunate. 4th trade NIO - Final trade was NIO. I saw after a huge breakout that it went down towards the VWAP steadily. Broke VWAP on lower relative volume. Waited for the confirmation candle, it closed above VWAP, then I took the trade on the following candle. Set my stop below the 20EMA. Took a majority of my partials at above 2R and then stopped out at break even.

I tend to stay away from ORBs that have a body larger than their ATR. I love to scan for small bodies (I don't pay too much attention to the wicks, some people do) and take the trade on those. I also like to find ones that are closer to VWAP for a good stop loss area, and a good technical target level. And again, I wouldn't rely solely on the 2nd candle breaking the body of the 1st. Sometimes, there's a struggle and it comes back a little and drops before it takes off. I like to see large orders on the level 2 and then I like to see A LOT of volume being met on the ask in the tape. That's generally when I can confirm it's a true break on the ORB and fixing to take off. I find I get better at this the more I'm in simulation. Here's what I enjoy doing to test trading ORBs. I change my DAS simulator to quote mode, find stocks in play from previous dates, and trade ORBs for an hour. There's no access to level 2 yet, however, there's access to reading the tape. You can spend time watching the tape and seeing what it looks like when a true break is occurring. I used to just trade the break of the body, but it's not enough (in my opinion) when trading ORBs. I believe reading the tape and level 2 reading are essential, because to me it's more of a momentum trade.

I agree with SpoTT. I certainly wouldn't count on that alone for a strategy. There are too many fundamental factors when stocks are gapping up or down to just count on that alone. Perhaps there are patterns in similar groups of fundamental news that effect price action, but that's something you'd have to do your own back-testing on. For example: "Fundamental Factors XYZ happened to stock A while the stock was gapping up/down and continued its trajectory of up/down." Then back-test that numerous times and see what the probability is that the trade will be positive. If you can find a predictable pattern/high probability strategy, then I'm all for it. But you'd have to dig deeper into it. A couple things I do not like about it personally: It'll probably be more focused on fundamental versus technical trading, and you'd probably have to hold the stock(s) longer than most day traders typically like. Good luck!

I just started trading and am currently still in simulator, so take what I say with a grain of salt. The general consensus is to take the trade when the 2nd candle breaks the body of the first. Others choose to trade the break of the wick of the first candle. The issue with trading the wick, is you're more than likely going to be further from your stop loss and losing on more profits. I generally do not trade the 1m ORBs. They're extremely volatile and will fluctuate very fast, making it extremely difficult to trade and get in/out where you want.. I stick with 5m ORBs and 15m ORBs. They have big moves and they're easier to get in/out of in your desired entry/target areas. I also find that more often than not, the 2nd candle may very slightly break the 1st candle's body, retract, and then proceed up. So I have also took time to focus on level 2 and tape reading to solidify when the big break is that I'm looking for.