Mark D. Day Trading Journal - Live 2019

[Mark D. 435]

11 minutes ago, Rob C said:

I really like you SNAP trade and your entrance right on the new 1min high after creating a line of support. What was your level for your final target? I can't make it out on chart. Was it the $16.50 level?

Hi Rob, 

thanks! $16.63 was my target i didn't have the $16.44 level on my chart when i took the trade, i added it after as it was a day high from about a week back. So i picked $16.63 when i entered  because it was under the next daily level but was 3R. 

[Glenn Budde 356]

I also like the SNAP trade, you had a 15min ORB with confirmation of ABCD on 2min...... I had a couple today that did the same thing, I will continue to trade them for a bit as I think it may just be bad luck. As long as we are getting the correct R/R it should work itself out.

I also like the SNAP trade, you had a 15min ORB with confirmation of ABCD on 2min...... I had a couple today that did the same thing, I will continue to trade them for a bit as I think it may just be bad luck. As long as we are getting the correct R/R it should work itself out.

[Mark D. 435]

1 hour ago, Glenn Budde said:

I also like the SNAP trade, you had a 15min ORB with confirmation of ABCD on 2min...... I had a couple today that did the same thing, I will continue to trade them for a bit as I think it may just be bad luck. As long as we are getting the correct R/R it should work itself out.

thanks Glenn, i'm going to keep trading them too mostly because it's the setup i'm most comfortable with, but i think i'll wait for the R:R from my stop to the day high is close to 2:1 otherwise i'll skip it because they seem to always test the high but more often then not don't go higher. I will keep testing. 

[Mike B 624]

Nice trade on $SNAP. I took the same trade, it looks like you got in right before me. I think my stop was at the same level or pretty close. I got out when it was having trouble pushing past the 16.35 price level with a lot of bids. I think it tested it 3 times before finally popping up and just barely touching the high of the day before reversing on us.

[Mark D. 435]

4 hours ago, Mike B said:

Nice trade on $SNAP. I took the same trade, it looks like you got in right before me. I think my stop was at the same level or pretty close. I got out when it was having trouble pushing past the 16.35 price level with a lot of bids. I think it tested it 3 times before finally popping up and just barely touching the high of the day before reversing on us.

thanks Mike! i was just watching the replay of this trade and i'm really happy with it, not so much the exit but -1R is acceptable. there was so many asks stacked at $16.40 and there was a ton of buying on the T&S. just one of those trades that didn't happen to work out. 

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday September 4th, 2019

Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade but feeling more nervous than usual this morning. 

first trade was a 2min wedge in $MU (3/4). told myself i was chasing and i was right below the daily level of resistance so i had no business being in the trade but i'm currently struggling with FOMO on my trades and i got in anyway. ended up going to $47.50 but rejected that level aggressively and i got out at -0.5R. +3 for setup, stop loss and risk management. no point because i went long on right against that 

GOOD: limited loss

RFI: FOMO entry

MOOD: disappointed in myself because i keep taking extended FOMO trades

CONSISTENT: yes

 

Next trade was no setup in $MU (0/4) decided to go long on a new 2min high because i thought it would hold the 20 MA on the 2min and i thought it would try for the HOTD but it came right back down for a full R loss. 0 points because it's not a setup

GOOD: got out as planned

RFI: no setup and no confirmation 

MOOD: anger

CONSISTENT: yes, got out as planned even though it wasn't a good one. 

 

Then i revenge traded $MU to the short side (0/4) since it lost the MAs on the 2min. got out on a new 5min high had a hotkey mistake and added more on accident. ended up touching my original stop and going lower. not sure it's going to hit my  intended profit target, it's having a really hard time breaking $47. no points because it's not a setup. 

GOOD: got out with a small loss

RFI: don't revenge trade

MOOD: frustrated

CONSISTENT: yes got out on new 5min against

 

What i did good today: limited losses

What i did bad today: Poor or no setups

What can i do better tomorrow: trade setups. don't FOMO enter trades. 

[Magna 31]

Glad to see that you were able to manage the losses to the minimum Mark!

[Mark D. 435]

Thursday September 5th, 2019

Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: better than yesterday. i was feeling crappy about my six losses in a row this week and my struggle with waiting for pullbacks. I had a chance to watch the Bellafiore interview and it was a good reminder that i am still really new to trading and that i have a long way to go. it did a really good job of putting my progress in perspective. Also i need to do a better job understanding the overall market and the catalysts in the stocks i'm trading. 

SPY is up breaking the 284 - 294 range it's been in for the month of August. watch list today was $CIEN, $SIG, $LYFT, $WORK, and $HOME. 

$SIG had an earnings beat and raised guidance with the stock up over 20% pre-market and has a short interest of 26%. my plan was to take it long if the setup was there.

So the first trade  i did in $SIG did an ORBU (3/4). i took it long on a pullback to VWAP after a 2min engulfing and closing above VWAP. it did break the pre-market high but just couldn't go higher and i got out before my stop on the break of VWAP. i'm overall really pleased with this trade, i waited for a pullback to support to get in. had a stop loss that was a level though probably too far and i got out when i saw it wasn't working.

GOOD: i like everything about this trade. 

RFI: could have decreased my risk 

MOOD: good

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

i tried to take $SIG long again on a wedge trade (2/4) on the 5min chart. got in before the break that never happened. had several chances to get out early that i didn't take and when i got out at my stop, it blew through so hard i lost 10 cents on slippage. yikes. grading myself a +1 for a setup that i trade even though it wasn't the best wedge and +1 for my stop loss level was at a new 5min low. +0 for trade management and the HOPM not being 2R from my entry. 

GOOD: got out of the trade

RFI: could have bailed earlier, not a great setup, too early on the entry, have to wait for the breaks then get in

MOOD: not too pleased with this trade

CONSISTENT: yes, i can't help the slippage, i got out at my stop. 

 

$HOME gapped down on mixed earnings and guidance but i felt that it wasn't that terrible of news so i was also long biased. saw that is was making a pretty nice ABCD (3/4) so i got in on a pullback to the moving averages after it starting making new 2min highs on volume. really happy with this trade. i did botch the selling a little bit. i don't mind the first sell because that was over 2R and it wasn't really moving, i don't like the second sell because it was out of fear and not price action, had i just waited a minute longer i could have sold at my price target. this should probably be a (4/4) but i'm going to leave it.

GOOD: setup, entry, R;R

RFI: selling could have been better

MOOD: happy

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

What i did good today: finally got a winner! much better entries today, excluding the second $SIG trade

What i did bad today: second $SIG trade could have been skipped all together

What can i do better tomorrow: keep trading setups and waiting for good entries. 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

Perfect entry on HOME. It's one of those entries that you point to after you see the chart at the end of the day and say, "that is where I wished I entered."  

[Mark D. 435]

7 hours ago, Rob C said:

Perfect entry on HOME. It's one of those entries that you point to after you see the chart at the end of the day and say, "that is where I wished I entered."  

Thank you Rob! 

[Mark D. 435]

Friday September 7th, 2019

Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good ready to trade. have family in town so i really didn't have a lot of time to concentrate on my trades today. i wasn't planning on taking any but i saw some opportunities and i though, why not. 

First trade of the day was an ABCD on $DOCU (3/4). Docu was gapping up on earnings. missed the ORBU but then i saw it was making an ABCD on the 5min. got in on a pullback to the MAs. didn't like the rejection of the MA on the 5min and i got out before a new 5min low at break even. 

GOOD: setup, R/R, trade management

RFI: maybe skip the trade because of the MA resistance. 

MOOD: glad i was quick enough to get out 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Last two trades were in $TNAV. $TNAV gapped up after yesterday's collapse from news GM was partnering with Google. the first trade was a bull flag on a 2min chart. waited for the new 2min high on volume and the pullback to the MAs. cold not break though the daily level of $6.03 so i got out at breakeven or small win. (3/4)

GOOD: good setup, entry. 

RFI: wasn't in love with this trade. 

MOOD: good 

CONSISTENT: yes

 

should have got back on after the new low but i didn't and i pretty much took the same trade again with the same result. liked it better the second time and i'm happy with the entry just wasn't the right time again. 

GOOD: good setup, entry. 

RFI: had i got in lower, it would have been a decent trade. 

MOOD: good 

CONSISTENT: yes

[Magna 31]

I considered taking the same trade on DOCU at around $56.36 when Andrew called it out in the chat, but something about it made me not wanting to take the trade. Now that I think about it, there were so many MAs in the way on the 1 minutes chart. Especially when there were a 200 SMA in the 1 and 50 SMA in the 5 which can be very strong resistance. Andrew probably realized that this was a quick scalp because I saw him scaling out most of his positions quickly at that $56.80 area. If I remember correctly, the thought of holding towards high of the day wasn't even there for him. Perhaps he had a feeling that the stock is weak? I don't know, just wanted to share my observation on how Andrew took the trade lol. 

[Mark D. 435]

19 hours ago, Magnus Alexander said:

I considered taking the same trade on DOCU at around $56.36 when Andrew called it out in the chat, but something about it made me not wanting to take the trade. Now that I think about it, there were so many MAs in the way on the 1 minutes chart. Especially when there were a 200 SMA in the 1 and 50 SMA in the 5 which can be very strong resistance. Andrew probably realized that this was a quick scalp because I saw him scaling out most of his positions quickly at that $56.80 area. If I remember correctly, the thought of holding towards high of the day wasn't even there for him. Perhaps he had a feeling that the stock is weak? I don't know, just wanted to share my observation on how Andrew took the trade lol. 

Andrew is crazy good at reading price action so i'm sure that's a lot of it also he's more of a scalper so $0.35 cents for him is a nice move. i thought about getting out some at the 5min MA but it was too close with my R/R so i just let it ride. Just happy i got out before it really dumped. 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 36 Recap

Took some poor trades Tuesday and Wednesday that killed my week. Only had one trade that went to my intended profit target for the whole week. Thursday and Friday entries were much better, proud of those entries. The main issue, in my opinion is just not waiting for the best setups even on trades with good entries and at worst just FOMO jumping on trades that have already risen a ton on the day (ROKU Tuesday, MU Wednesday). Couple those bad trades with an order mistake costing a whole R and that leads to a -2.5R week. I was focused on profits and not setups or getting in on pullbacks Tue and Wed and my results reflect this.

Last week my focus was on smaller stop losses. While that is still important, I think my focus also needs to be on better setups that actually hit my intended profit targets. I can’t be profitable with only 8% of my trades hitting my 3R profit targets.

Every week I review my trades and every week I can point to one or two trades where I was not at my best and think if only, I didn’t do such and such I would have had a better week. This is an ever-present reminder that it’s never the markets that are wrong or choppy or whatever reason I give for losing money and it is always 100% my efforts that either make or lose my money. Reminds me of a quote from Trading in the Zone (I think) that says your daily P&L is how you viewed yourself as a trader that day.

·         Weekly stats

o   22/48 46% grade on trades out of 4 (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 83%]

o   1/12 8% trades hitting PT without hitting stop first (Goal: 33%) [Previous Week: N/A%]

o   6/12 50% Non-optimal Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 50%]

o   0/12% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%]

o   4/12 33% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 17%]

o   3/12 25% true win percentage (Goal 45%) [Previous Week: 17%]

 

·         Highlights

o   Great entries on Thursday and Friday.

o   Great job limiting losses on most trades towards the end of the week

o   Didn’t think I would like knowing about why the stocks are gapping (because of bias) but I’m seeing that it is valuable because it gives more context to the price action so I’m going to keep doing that.

 

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   Have to find more reliable setups that actually hit my intended profit target.

o   Working on incorporating research into the gappers time in my morning routine

o   Don’t enter on the 2min breaks, enter on the pullback to the MAs on the next candle

o   Great entry + small stop loss = easier price targets = more 3R trades.

 

[Mark D. 435]

Monday September 9th, 2019

Sleep: 6:45. Mood, tired but ready to trade. feeling calm this morning

Overall market is up again, SPY is over last weeks highs, up about half a percent. 

 

 

Gappers list: $MU, $ROKU, $PAYS, $ACAD, $T, $NTNX

 

first trade was an ABCD in $MU (4/4). liked the trade but i keep trying to go long right before 10 o'clock and these trades just turn around on me consistently. i feel like i'm going crazy taking the same long trade over VWAP just for it to come back and stop me out. 

GOOD: everything about the trade technically was good, entry was good, reward was HOTD, got in on a pullback after a bullish 2mins. 

RFI: trying to go long right at 10 o'clock when it's time for them to head lower. 

MOOD: tired of getting stopped out. 

CONSISTENT: yep, saw the trade wasn't working and bailed early

 

next trade was in $T (0/4). so what i wanted to to was get in right where i would have got in if i was paying attention. i did that but then i realized it lost the MAs and i held for almost a full R loss. also realized it's not a setup so no points (0/4)

GOOD: waited for the entry i wanted

RFI: not a setup. could have bailed earlier

MOOD: ok

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

tried the same long trade in $MU after a big run up to the HOTD. i wanted to go short near the high because i thought it was an overreaction but i chickened out. got in on a pullback after a new 2min high on volume that also didn't work. i set a range order because i had to get up from my desk and I got stopped out immediately. 

GOOD: waited for the pullback

RFI: another dumb long trade that didn't work

MOOD: frustrated

CONSISTENT: yes

 

last trade was a frustration short trade in $MU. as soon as i put it on i realized i was just doing it out of revenge and i sized too big so i got out half and then when it wouldn't make a new 5min low i bailed the rest for a breakeven

GOOD: realized i made a mistake and got out 

RFI: shouldn't take revenge trades.

MOOD: angry at myself for taking emotional trades

CONSISTENT: yes got out as planned

 

What i did good today: managed trades to 1R or less. 

What i did bad today: took no setup trades, or bad setup trades 0/4 trades went as planned

What can i do better tomorrow: need better more reliable setups. 

So i really don't want to go back to SIM but i feel like i have to. i'm just taking the same ABCDs that don't work and then just throwing my other trades away out of frustration and it's pretty much the same story every day for the last two weeks or so. I'm doing a great job managing trades, much better than i've ever done but the problem i'm having now is that basically none of my trades make it to the profit target before my stop so my plan is to go to SIM and work on my setups and i need to have two weeks in a row where i have 3R trades that work more than 34% of the time. Until then, it makes no sense trading real money if i don't have an edge to exploit.