Mark D. 435 Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) I went live January 2nd and i'm going to try and update every day i trade. The eventual goal is 1000 share trades. From Robert H's advice, i'm starting with 100 shares per trade (100 max, depending on the auto share calc hotkey) and working up from there. i move up a level every when i hit my min profit goal 5 days in a row. stop is the max amount i'm willing to lose in a day. Current level: 100 shares. Every trade is graded on a point system (out of 4) as follows: consistent winning rules is a little subjective on my part. one example would be getting out of a trade because i'm uncomfortable but not because of the price action. Current Risk Settings (DAS risk settings): Max Loss (Per day): $36.00 this includes commissions. Position Unreal Loss $10.00 not including commissions. I use Kyle's hotkeys to auto calc share size based on predesignated risk levels. any feedback is appreciated! Edited January 26, 2019 by Mark D. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 5, 2019 Wednesday January 2nd, 2019 Sleep: 6.5 hours. Mood: tired, stressed from work already. First trade of the day was an ORBU in MU. I got down on the trade and got out at break even. Turned out to be a great trade. GOOD: I got the share size on the entry I deserved. Room For Improvement: entry was terrible. Plus I let my emotions trade instead of just letting the trade go. MOOD: ok CONSISTENT: no, I let my feelings dictate the trade. Next trade was a reversal in MU. I don’t know why I took this trade. The trend was clearly in the up direction. Got stopped out with a stop at no resistance. GOOD: the autostop stopped me out. RFI: this was a very bad trade. All aspects were bad. Dumb trade. MOOD: not happy with this trade at all. I got what I deserved on this one. CONSISTENT: yes I got out at my planned stop. Last trade of the day was a bull flag long in SQ. this was a good trade, I got in at the pullback, good risk to reward. I just barely got stopped out. GOOD: nice planned trade that would have worked great. RFI: my stop was too tight. Should have been the bottom of the bull flag. MOOD: pissed off I got stopped out right at the bottom before a nice move higher. CONSISTENT: yes but not happy with my stop placement on this one. What I did good today: Stopped on three losers. Almost hit max stop loss for the day but controlled my emotions enough to not hulk out. What I did bad today: Too emotional today. I feel out of my element being back at work and having a really hard time concentrating today. Worst trade of the day and why?: The second trade in MU. I don’t understand why I took that trade? I knew going in that that was the wrong choice but I did it anyway. I am off my game today. What can I do better tomorrow: Trade with the trend. Have a plan and get a good entry. Don’t chase. Other comments for tomorrow: Not the way I wanted to start the year but it is what it is. I will concentrate more tomorrow. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 5, 2019 Thursday January 3rd, 2018 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, I want to do better than I did yesterday. I want to make good trading decisions. First two trades were ORBD in BMY. I went too impulsive and got stopped out of the first one immediately. The second one almost stopped me but I held on and sold half at $45 and the other half at a new 5min high. I should not have sold the second half, I should have held for b/e or my profit goal. GOOD: auto stop got me out of my trade. RFI: too impulsive on the entries. MOOD: not happy getting stopped out and then not making my profit target. CONSISTENT: yes on the first, no on the second. Next two trades I tried to short MU. The first one was a impulse because I saw the SPY sell off with heavy volume. I immediately got stopped out. The second one went much better and I made back what I lost on the first one but I’m just treading water. Sold the first half of the winner at the LOTD and the second half too soon. GOOD: got stopped out. RFI: impulse entry again!! And selling too soon. MOOD: frustrated. CONSISTENT: yes and no. Then I took a frustration trade in MU. I held through to the LOTD but it bounced right off and I got out at the b/e. last trade was a long in MU that was my best trade of the day but I still cut it short. GOOD: saw the trade wasn’t working and didn’t give up money on the short. Saw it was a reversal and got in for some profit. RFI: no planning on the trades, I need to work on taking realistic R/R of two or more. Too tight a stop on the first trade. Should have sold at the LOTD on the second trade. MOOD: pissed. CONSISTENT: no emotions were running the show but I made the best of the bad situation. What I did good today: Didn’t totally blow up and turned a red day green. What I did bad today: Poorly planned trades with stops that were two tight were the reason I lost on most of the trades today. Worst trade of the day and why: The first MU short because I traded purely on emotions and impulsively, two trading sins. What can I do better tomorrow: I need to take better care of seeing realistic profit objectives. I’m killing my R/R by jumping in on impulses. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 5, 2019 Friday January 4th, 2019 Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good, happy to be home to concentrate. First trade was an ORBU in BMY. Sold the first half at the HOTD and then the second half at $46.50. I should have held this one longer, I could have finished my day in one trade. GOOD: waited a minute or two before picking a direction. RFI: sold too early. MOOD: happy to start off Friday with a nice win. CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was a long in BMY. I thought it would stay above the VWAP. Turns out it didn’t and I got stopped out. GOOD: got stopped out. RFI: let the 5min candles complete before getting in. MOOD: a little bit bummed that I lost some of my winnings. CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was an engulfing long trade over the VWAP in MU. I was really confident in this one but it just didn’t work. MU was trading exactly with the SPY and it sold off after I got in the trade and killed this one. I think maybe I should have got out when it made a new 5min low. i should have bailed at $31.99 on the the close of the second five minutes. GOOD: nice setup. RFI: should have got out at a new 5min low. You can always get back in. I need to get in this habit now even though it’s expensive commission wise. MOOD: really pissed I got stopped out here. CONSISTENT: yes, but I should have bailed early. Then I just blew up for the day. Took three unplanned trades in BMY all 100 shares and all losers. Erasing all my gains and turning in to a max loss day. GOOD: lucky to have stop losses. RFI: need to take time off and blow off steam before taking trades like this. I need to log my losses right after they happen to get some perspective and not do anything crazy right after like I’m prone to do. MOOD: extremely frustrated and angry. Very disappointed in myself. Not at all happy with this emotional trading. CONSISTENT: not at all. What I did good today: First trade was great. What I did bad today: Those emotional trades in BMY were awful. Worst trade of the day: The last three in BMY. What can I do better tomorrow?: Not trade when you’re losing. Log the first loss after it happens. Take a 5 minute walk after two losses in a row. Other comments for tomorrow: You trade better than this. This was embarrassing. Those last blow up trades in BMY were uncalled for, and unnecessary. The market is the same as my emotions, i can't control what it does but i can control how i react to it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 7, 2019 Monday January 7th, 2019 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, determined to be more consistent this week. First trade of the day was an ORBU on ROKU. I waited for an entry when I saw it was holding the WVAP on the 5min chart. Sold 75% at the HOTD and the rest on a run up over $38. Good R/R and good selling. GOOD: R/R and selling was according to plan RFI: should have given it a minute or two more on the first sell. MOOD: good, happy to start the day and week with a good trade. CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was an engulfing short in AMD. I was considering taking this to the long side with the trend but I saw the engulfing and I was hoping for a new 15min low to propel the price down to the VWAP. The 15min level held and then it started making new 5min highs and came up past my stop and I got out early. GOOD: active management of the trade. RFI: should have waited for a good long entry instead of the short. MOOD: glad to get out with a small loss. CONSISTENT: yes. Last trade of the day was an ABCD in ROKU. Risked the new 5min low to the HOTD. Sold 75% at the HOTD and the sold the rest at $39.99. GOOD: nice planned trade. RFI: I chased the entry a little bit MOOD: good. CONSISTENT: yes. What I did good today: All trades were well thought out and executed. What I did bad today: Should have traded with the trend on AMD. Comments for tomorrow: Keep up the consistent trading for tomorrow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 8, 2019 (edited) Tuesday January 8th, 2019 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: ok, a little bit tired. First trade was an ORBU in SQ. it fell below VWAP and I still went long and got stopped out. GOOD: got stopped out with the auto risk controls RFI: probably should not have taken the trade because there was not buying support at the VWAP MOOD: ok CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was a MA trend trade in MU. MU sold off in the first fifteen minutes, when it bounced back to the PDC and MA on 5MIN and 1MIN chart I got in short and sold half at a level and I kept the second half for the PDL but I got cold feet and got out a little bit early. GOOD: great trade, good R/R good execution. RFI: I could have got in short again on the pullback a couple minutes later. MOOD: really pleased with this trade. CONSISTENT: yes. What I did good today: Didn’t let my first trade screw with my psychology and came back with a second great trade. What I did bad today: There were better ORBs to take instead of SQ. Worst trade of the day and why?: ORBU in SQ because I went long after it broke through the VWAP and was looking choppy. What can I do better tomorrow: Don’t force the ORBs and keep a look out for better opportunities before jumping in. Other comments for tomorrow: Keep up the consistent trading. Edited January 8, 2019 by Mark D. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 9, 2019 Wednesday January 9th, 2018 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, nervous about keeping my win streak going this week. First trade of the day was an ORBU in AMD. I was watching MU for an ORB but I missed my entry so I went with this one instead. I chased this entry a little bit as well. Stop was below VWAP at the 5MIN MA and the goal was to get to the $21.40 level on the daily chart. I got cold feet and sold 75% before my target and held the remaining piece before B/E GOOD: good R/R RFI: entry was not great, sold the majority too early. MOOD: good, wish I had more shares for this trade. CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was a short in MU. MU sold off down past the VWAP. i waited for an entry at $35.56 risking the VWAP but it never came up that high and i got in on a new 5min low. same risk at VWAP so my share size was small. this trade threw me for a loop. huge volume on a spinning top and I ended up selling on a new 5min high. GOOD: got out on a new 5min high and saved me from a full stop loss. RFI: could have got out at b/e MOOD: ok CONSISTENT: yes turned right around and went long in MU with a bad risk level. i came up a little bit but then right back down on a SPY selloff and stopped me out. glad i got auto stopped because i was being very stubborn about not letting this one go. GOOD: auto-risk got me out of this trade. RFI: needed to see that it was selling off big and should have got out at break of VWAP at least. MOOD: frustrated. CONSISTENT: yes because of the auto-stop next trade was a short in AMD. like MU it sold off and so i waited for a pullback to the MA on the 1min chart. it didn't quite get there and i got in on a new 1min low. again i didn't change my risk level so i didn't have that many shares and it kept me from selling at the PPDH which was the smart move. got out on a bounce from PPDH and then a new 5min high. GOOD: didn't impulse jump in and waited for a good entry. RFI: needed to change my risk level before getting in MOOD: mentally exhausted. CONSISTENT: yes. i was done trading but then i saw the double bottom in AMD with the PPDH and the PDC and thought it was too good to pass up. i got in long but i rushed it a little bit. it started having trouble getting through the MA on the 5min chart and i had to use the bathroom so i thought i put in a stop at my entry but i accidently got out of the trade. a little frustrated that it then went to my profit target. oh well. GOOD: saw a really good setup and took it. RFI: learn how to make correct stops MOOD: tired CONSISTENT: yes? i meant to be. What i did good today: kept my head in the game and didn't make too many bonehead mistakes. What i did bad today: didn't change my risk levels and got too small amount of shares for most of my trades. Worst trade of the day and why?: the long trade in MU because it was poorly planned with no real stop level to risk What can i do better tomorrow: need to remember to take a step back and log the losing trades so i don't just jump in to a crappy trade. Other comments for tomorrow: i was nervous at the open because i traded well Monday and Tuesday and i started focusing on making money and not on good, consistent execution of trades. need to remember to always focus on taking good trades and don't worry about the money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 10, 2019 Thursday January 10th, 2018 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: tired and busy with meetings. Tried to take three reversals in AMD, none of them worked and hit max loss for the day. GOOD: auto-risk stopped me from trading. RFI: trying to force a long trade when the stock is a short. Also don’t trade when you’re distracted. MOOD: not pleased with myself. CONSISTENT: no because I kept forcing a bad trade. What I did good today: Quit trading at max loss. What I did bad today: Traded during meetings and not paying attention 100%. Tried to force a long trade in a short and didn’t log my first loss after it happened and didn’t take a 5min cool down after my second loss. Worst trade of the day and why: All of them for the above reasons. What can I do better tomorrow?: Take a step back after a losing trade a reevaluate. Use your rules. Other comments for tomorrow: I knew not to trade today but I did it anyway and took bonehead trades and got what I deserved. Need to accept that it’s better not to trade while distracted than to lose money and be frustrated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 12, 2019 Friday January 11th, 2019. No trades today, i was not watching the markets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) Monday January 14th, 2019 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood good, ready to trade. First trade was an ORBD in MU. Stopped out at the VWAP. GOOD: good entry, good risk target. RFI: could of got out when it failed to make a new 1min low MOOD: ok CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was a VWAP reversal in WDC. WDC sold off in the first 15 minutes then came back up to VWAP. I got in short, a little bit too early and got stopped out. GOOD: good idea RFI: it was trending higher so I should not have got in counter trend. chased my entry. MOOD: alright, not happy about two full losses. CONSISTENT: yes. Last trade of the day was in AMD. It was running up for the first half hour. I waited for a sell off and got in on a new 5min high. That same candle turned in to a doji and I should have got out at b/e, there were several chances to get out but I held on for a full loss. GOOD: good initial plan, got in with the trend. RFI: could have got out at break even. MOOD: sad that I hit max loss again for the second day in a row. CONSISTENT: yes but I could have saved myself some money here. What I did good today: logged my losses after they happened to take a step back and not make emotional trades. What I did bad today: not managing trades once I’m in them to limit losses. Worst trade of the day and why: last trade in AMD because it was really choppy and not trending and I had multiple chances to get out at b/e but I stubbornly held for a full loss. What can I do better tomorrow: actively manage your trades and get out when they don’t do what you plan them to do. Other comments for tomorrow: it’s been a rough last couple of days. 2/10 in my last ten trades. Well below my winning percentage. Keep your head up and focus for Wednesday. Edited January 14, 2019 by Mark D. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) Tuesday January 15th, 2019 no trades today. Edited January 16, 2019 by Mark D. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 16, 2019 Wednesday January 16th, 2019 Sleep: about 7 hours. Mood: rushed this morning getting to work late and not having my typical 20 minutes to get ready for the trading day. first trade was an ORBU in FDC. i did not see that it was below the VWAP until after i got in the trade. I should have got out sooner than i did but got out before my auto stop. GOOD: got out before the autostop RFI: bad trade, this was not thought through at all. MOOD: dissapointed in myself for not paying better attention before hoping in. CONSISTENT: yes, i bailed on the trade when i saw it was going bad. next two trades were in BAC. the first one i went long when i saw that the stock broke VWAP on the 5min and then got bought back up. i got in long risking a new LOTD to the HOPM. i got cold feet and got out before it hit my stop. it turned out to be the right move eventually but it was really choppy for too long. I have no idea why i got in short risking a new 5min high to some level way below the LOTD. got out of this one at b/e when i noticed it wasn't going to break the low. GOOD: got out when the trade wasn't working RFI: too choppy to be trading. MOOD: disappointed and frustrated. CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was an engulfing long in PCG. i felt like this trade was the right move, it bought up above the VWAP, then made a new 5min high so i felt good about the trade. then the volume just died and i bailed. GOOD: got out when the volume died. RFI: R/R not good. MOOD: disappointed and frustrated i can't catch a winner but happy with my trade management CONSISTENT: yes. Last trade of the day was a long off the VWAP. Like the last trade in PCG, I felt like I did the right thing. the stock was trending higher on increasing volume consistently making new 5min highs. i waited for a pullback to VWAP and got in long, good R/R. then it made a new high but pulled back violently from the PPDL. I should have bailed right then but i held on for a full stop loss. this turned out to be a VWAP false break out. i'm not trading well since i started trading live. i would have taken the other side of that trade in SIM. i'm not giving the VWAP trades enough time before getting in. GOOD: good plan, good R/R. RFI: bad execution. should have got out long before my stop loss. MOOD: beat down. CONSISTENT: yes. What I did good today: for the most part, managed my losses. What I did bad today: just being on the wrong side of every trade. Worst trade of the day and why?: ORBU in FDC. Absolutely the wrong thing to do, it was a very dumb trade. I did spend enough time thinking that through before getting in to the trade. What can I do better tomorrow: need to work on my strategies, I’m trading terribly. Other comments for tomorrow: back to sim to work on my strategies. No point in keep losing money everyday being on the wrong side of every trade. I’m always trading SIM on Thursdays since last week’s disaster but also I need to readjust and refocus on getting my win percentage above 45% and my winners need to be much better than they are now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 17, 2019 Thursday January 17th, 2019 **sim trading** Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to get back to basics and start making consistent winning trades. First trade of the day was on ORBU in PCG. the 5min trend was down but it had a good buy up over VWAP in the first five minutes so i got in long, it made a new 5min high but lost momentum and started making new 1min lows so i got out of the way. GOOD: got out of the way. RFI: overall trend was down so i should have been looking for short opportunities. MOOD: fine CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was a short in MS. it looked like it was going to engulf below the VWAP so i got in short, but i was too early. it pulled back to the MA on the 1min chart and was holding there so i added more. sold some at the PPDL and the rest at another level below that. GOOD: nice add on the rush in RFI: got in too impulsive, got out too soon. MOOD: happy for a winner CONSISTENT: yes. Next two trades were in SIG. the first was a reversal MA trend to another low. sometimes these stocks will sell off at the the open then pull back to a MA on the 1min then go on to make new lows. i waited for the pullback and then got in on a new 1min low. it did drop but it was not going through the LOTD so i bailed for a b/e small loss. then i noticed it bounced off the LOTD about 6 or 7 times so i risked that for a bounce back to the VWAP. called it correctly but sold half about a minute too soon. got out the rest at a good price. GOOD: good ideas, pretty good execution RFI: sold my winner too early. MOOD: good, happy to be making the right calls. CONSISTENT: yes. Next trade was the same type of LOTD reversal but in PCG. after i got in, the 5min chart made an indecision doji and i thought that if we didn't make a new 5min high there was a good chance this would go lower. it came up but not close enough for a new 5min high so i bailed at b/e GOOD: got out when the trade wasn't working. RFI: ? MOOD: ok CONSISTENT: yes Last two trades of the day were long trades in TSM. i wanted to take this short at the PDC if the 5min closed below it at 10:30. unfortunately i was not watching and i made that move without me. But i saw that it dead stopped at the VWAP so i thought it would make a good long. i got in risking the VWAP and new 5min low for it to come back to the PDC. the first stab at it didn't work and i got out at my stop loss. i could have bailed on this one earlier. once it came back above the VWAP and made a new 1min high i got in again for a nice move back to PDC. GOOD: got back in when i saw the trade was still viable. RFI: got in too soon on the first one and didn't get out soon enough MOOD: happy CONSISTENT: yes What I did good today: kept my head in the game and had a great day executing. I’m noticing the substantial emotional difference between live and sim trading. What I did bad today: I’m getting crushed on my ORBs this week. Worst trade of the day and why?: ORBU in PCG was dumb move What can I do better tomorrow: So me hitting my profit target with no stress has me really concerned that it’s solely my fear of losing real money that’s holding me back. I have no idea how to fix it. I think the only way to fix it is to just keep focusing on making good trades and just slowly get used to the feeling of losing money. Other comments for tomorrow: Back to live trading tomorrow. Just practice making good trades and work on emotional control when you’re getting stopped out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 18, 2019 Friday January 18th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to focus on taking good trades. Took a long trade in SLB risking the MA on the 1min chart for a level to a found daily level. got chickened out a little bit and sold half early. Held the rest for the profit target GOOD: good entry, I waited for a pullback to get a good R/R RFI: i should have held my first sell for my profit target. wish i had more shares, i set my risk level too far from my entry MOOD: happy to have a winning trade CONSISTENT: not on the first sell, yes on the second. Next trade was a bull flag in CRON. it sold off below the VWAP but then came back up and started making new 5min highs. i got in on a pullback risking the a new 5min low from the flag to the HOTD. sold half at the HOTD and then scaled out the rest to $15.00 GOOD: good trade management RFI: initial R/R not good MOOD: good, really happy with this one CONSISTENT: yes. What i did good today: practiced patience and a cool head in making trades. What i did bad today: selling my winners too early What can i do better tomorrow: make your first sell at you profit target. Other comments for tomorrow: keep focusing on trading and don't rush. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) Tuesday January 22nd, 2019 **NOTICED THE NEXT DAY MY TRADE WAS IN SIM******* Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, excited to trade. ready to work on making consistent trades. took an ORBD in EBAY. risked the MA on the 5min chart for the daily level at $34.63. sold my first half too early then held on to my second half and got out a little bit lower but not great. should have held on and sold 75% at my target and held the rest until b/e. My journal is telling me my first sell is typically too early and that was the case again on this trade. GOOD: entry was good, waited to see if it was going to break the LOTD before hoping on. it didn't give me any trouble coming close to my stop loss RFI: position size again is an issue and getting out too early is still something to work on. MOOD: ok, disappointed in my sizing and selling but making money is always better than losing. CONSISTENT: no because i sold at weird spots. have meetings at 10:30 so that was my only trade. Mad that i didn't get in short in HAL at the VWAP, that would have been a really nice trade. What i did good today: took only trades i was confident in. What i did bad today: position size and selling What can i do better tomorrow?: selling at my profit targets and get better risk levels to get more shares. Other comments for tomorrow: Keep your head in the game tomorrow and don't FOMO trades because you missed them today. Edited January 23, 2019 by Mark D. noticed the following day that this was a sim trade Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
