Mark D. Day Trading Journal - Live 2019

[Mark D. 435]

Thursday March 7th, 2019 

Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. I was thinking about how in the market wizards books, a lot of them recommend cutting back in position when you're in a losing streak so i've decided that day's after i hit max loss, i'll only take two trades and if both of those are losers, i'll stop for the day and only take one trade a day until i get a winner. I'm hoping this will help with my impulsiveness to enter trades when i could be waiting for a much better setup. also it will help limit my draw downs by decreasing what i'm losing

First trade of the day was an ORBU in HZNP. once i was in i didn't like the low volume and how it was trading so i bailed at the $29 level. it never hit my original stop and did end up hitting my price target

GOOD: good setup, it was holding the VWAP and moving higher

RFI: chased the entry and didn't stick to my plan

MOOD: ok i think getting out on p/a that doesn't feel right is good. 

CONSISTENT: yes and no. 

Last trade of the day was in PS. i liked the double bottom on the LOTD and the engulfing above the VWAP. i got in long, i should have got in right at the new 5min high but my entry wasn't too far off. it came to a penny before my stop and then thankfully hit my target. 

GOOD: good setup, stayed with the trade

RFI: chased entry

MOOD: glad to get  good winner

CONSISTENT: yes

 

What i did good today: took trades that were good setups

What i did bad today: got out of a trade before my stop.

What can i do better tomorrow: stick to your trades, get better entries

[Mark D. 435]

Friday march 8th, 2019 

Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. 

First trade of the day was an ORBU in AMD. i liked the buying pressure on the first ten minutes so i waited for a pullback to the MAs on the 1min chart and got a good entry. stop at $21.30 goal was a $21.71 a couple cents below my target. i was confident that i would get to my profit target so i watched it get two cents from my target and i froze and held and then i got disgusted that i gave back a 2:1 R over a couple cents and got out at the b/e. this ended up never hitting my stop and hitting my profit target. serves me right for getting out of a trade on disgust. 

GOOD: good setup, good entry. 

RFI: not taking any profits so close to my exit

MOOD: disgust

CONSISTENT: no. i did not follow my trading plan and was too rigid in my profit taking

 

Then i just took some crappy emotional trades and hit max loss. Looked like AMD was going to sell off, i waited for a new 5min low to get in but i got stuck holding the bag and got stopped out immediately. this was my worst trade of the day. Then i tried two more shorts in AMD but it was a long, i should have known better but i let my emotions get the best of me and i held my short bias for three losers.

GOOD: at least the third short i waited for a good entry with the HOTD as the stop: at least i respected my stops all day today. 

RFI: dumb trades, also dumb entries. Really blew it today

MOOD: disappointed i kept trying to force the short trade but I accept those losses. 

CONSISTENT: yes i respected my stops. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P&L was max loss but i felt more in control today than last week. i'm still hitting max loss way too often. 3 times in a week is too many. there's really no way to worry about my max losses, all i can do is take the best trades i can and not worry about the money. Traveling a lot next week so i won't be trading Monday, Tuesday or Thursday. it will give me some time to reflect on my trading and how to move forward.

What i did good today: First trade in AMD was a good trade and would have been a winner

What i did bad today: chasing trades and not looking at the overall trend.

What can i do better tomorrow: don't let one trade ruin your day. 

other comments for tomorrow: Keep working on making good trades. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 10 Recap

Not my best week of trading by a long shot. My biggest trouble this week was getting in too early and guessing the trend before the confirmation. By doing this i was wrong 83% of the time this week and it showed in my 3 days of hitting max loss. Goals for next week are two fold; the first is to wait for a confirmation and trend change on the 5min chart and the second is to be strict in my stop loss. i'm bummed i can't trade until Wednesday. 

 Weekly stats

o 2.7 R/R (Goal: above 2.0) [Record: 2.7]

o 30/48 63% (Goal: above 80%) [Record: 93%]

o -$106.37 (Goal: $250) [Record: $49.03]

o 50% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Record: 50%]

o 2/12 17% Early Entries (Goal: 0%) [Record: 17%]

o 2/12 17% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Record: 17%]

o 4/12 33% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Record: 33%]

 Highlights

o Average of 2.7 R/R for the week.  

o Nice trade in HZNP on Thursday

 Ongoing things to work on

o Getting in to trades too early. Not waiting for confirmation and not taking setups.

o Win percentage was 17% this week. Worst I’ve seen it.  

o Picking the wrong direction half the time and then I’m only winning 33% of those that are in the trend

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday March 13th, 2019

Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good, happy to be back to trading. 

First trade of the day was in ACB. it was an ORBU but i waited for a full break of the wick before entering. sold 75% at 2R and got out the rest at b/e. looks like Carlos also took that trade but got a better entry, i'm guessing he saw that 1min candle at 9:34 and then got in when it bought up over the MAs and made a new 1min high. I was only right on half my trades last week so i'm comfortable making as sure as i can the trade is going to work before getting in so long as i can still get a 2:1 R/R. 

GOOD: good entry, good R/R

RFI: probably should have just got out completely but there's no way to know before hand

MOOD: good. 

CONSISTENT: yes, followed the trade as planned. 

 

 

Next trade was again in ACB. it engulfed and then sold below VWAP and then made a new 5min low so i was comfortable with this going lower. Once i was in the trade i realized i wasn't really at a good enough R/R and it engulfed above the VWAP and made a new 5min high against so i got out. i thought it was going to pop back to my stop loss so i got out with a .6R. this trade ended up working and not hitting my stop but at the time it was looking like it was likely going to stop me out. i realized after this trade that this is sympathy trading with CRON. 

GOOD: i'm comfortable with this small loss even though i was right on the trade.

RFI: don't deviate from the plan. accept your stop loss or don't take the trade. 

MOOD: fine. 

CONSISTENT: not my best trade, 1.2 R/R and didn't follow the plan. also no setup. going with not consistent on this one. 

 

 

A couple of minutes after i got out of the last short in ACB. it sold off on serious volume. i waited for a pullback and got in risking a new 5min high to the open price. I could have waited for a better entry at the VWAP but it would have only been better by 5 cents or so which is significant but i'm not going to get on myself about getting perfect entries. it was wavering for a bit with no one in clear control. i set a range order and left it so i wouldn't overthink it and it came down to my profit target. i got all out because it was not very bearish so i thought if it did hit my profit target i should get all out. 

GOOD: good entry, good R/R

RFI: could have had a better entry and a little bit better target (LOTD instead)

MOOD: happy the trade worked

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

What i did good today: kept my emotions in check and made sure i was in the trades with the trend. 

What i did bad today: my second trade could have been better. even though i made sure it was trending down, it's typically a bad idea to get right in at a new 5min break. in my opinion at least, it seems like i can almost always get a better entry if i'm patient. 

What can i do better tomorrow: patience on entries. 

Other comments for tomorrow: keep working on making sure you're trading with the trend. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Friday March 15th, 2019

Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. 

First trade of the day was in GDS. it was looking like a good ORBU but i'm often early on my entries so i waited for a pullback but the pullback was a complete change in direction. The spread got large right after i got in and it was getting super choppy. it went past my stop loss for a split second and i got out when it came back up closer to my entry. 

GOOD: got out with less than 1R

RFI: it's good to wait for an entry but I have to be aware of the difference between a pullback and a change in direction. 

MOOD: good. 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Next two trades were in MU. it made a great ORBU and i just watched it run up. i've noticed in the past couple weeks, a stock will make new 5min highs until about 10 and on the first break on a new 5min low it can really fall. I got in for a small position risking the HOTD thinking i would add more on a pullback. i don't know why i got too nervous to add more because looking back it was the correct place to enter. it sold off but not enough for a 2:1 R so i just held. then it made a double bottom and i figured it was going to try and make a new HOTD so i got out of this position for a small loss and got in on the long side risking the double bottom to the break of the HOTD. it hit the PPDH four times and i should have bailed early on this trade but i held on for a full R loss. 

GOOD: recognized and waited for a short entry with confirmation. 

RFI: entry still too early on both trades. killing my R/R.

MOOD: ok, don't like to lose but it's part of the game. glad i kept my losses under max loss. 

CONSISTENT: yes i got out on price action i had at the time. 

 

All in all not a bad today of trading. true I didn't have any winners today but i'm proud that i kept my losses small. as part of the edgewonk classes, they include this TED talk about how small incremental changes add up to huge life goals. it's really inspiring to watch and I feel like it really applies to day trading on how crucial it is to nail your trade entries. a 10 cent better entry makes a huge difference in a trade. if i had waited for a better entry on my MU short I would have had a green day today. small changes add up! 

What i did good today: took small losses, kept my emotions in check .

What i did bad today: still too early on my entries. 

What can i do better tomorrow: practice taking your entries within 15 cents from a significant support/resistance or pass on the trade. 

link: 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 11 Recap

·        Weekly stats

o   1.8 R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [Record: 2.7]

o   26/28 93% (Goal: above 80%) [Record: 93%]

o   -$3.50 (Goal: $250) [Record: $49.03]

o   5/7 71% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Record: 71%]

o   3/7 43% Early Entries (Goal: 0%) [Record: 17%]

o   0/7 0% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Record: 0%]

o  1/7  14% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Record: 14%]

·        Highlights

o   Didn’t let any losers run this week!!!

o   Only traded two days but they were both good days of trading

o   Losers are having less and less of an emotional reaction on me.

·        Ongoing things to work on

o   Still too early on my entries. Need to focus on getting with 15 cents of my defined resistance/support level.

[Mark D. 435]

Monday March 18th, 2019

Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, a little tired. 

Only took one trade today, an ORBD in WP. i risked the body of the first five minute candle (about a $1). i wanted to get to the LOPM but i started scaling out around 2R. accidently added 50% more but i kept  a level head and scaled out. i bailed on my last 2 shares when it looked like it was going to pop above the VWAP and hit my breakeven. i typically do a range order to b/e to my target but I was confident it was going to pop. I was wrong it bounced off the VWAP and went back to the LOTD. 

GOOD: setup and R/R

RFI: adding shares on accident. 

MOOD: good

CONSISTENT: yes

 

What i did good today: only took a trade but it was a good one. 

What i did bad today: hotkey error

What can i do better tomorrow: be mindful of which hotkeys you're hitting

Other comments for tomorrow: keep up the good trading. 

 

[Mike B 623]

Great video suggestions. Marginal adjustments to achieve great results.

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday March 19th, 2019

Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. 

Took two ORBUs in MU neither of which worked. the first one i got in a little late it broke the HOTD and i thought it was going to move higher so i chased it a little bit and then got out on a new 1min low but not at my stop. 

GOOD: didn't take a full R

RFI: should have waited for my stop and i should have used the PDH as a profit target and saw the R/R of the trade at my entry was not a good trade. 

MOOD: fine, i didn't think the trade through so i got out what i put in

CONSISTENT: no. 

Took the same trade again, this was a bit of a revenge trade and the same issue as i chose to ignore the PDH as a resistance profit target. this time i did get stopped out. 

GOOD: got out at my stop loss.

RFI: didn't look at closest resistance for my R/R calc. revenge trade, i have a bad habit of losing twice on an ORB. 

MOOD: ok

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Last trade of the day was a double top in NVDA. it held the $175 level for about five minutes then sold off to the VWAP. i waited for a new 1min low to get in risking $175.03 to the VWAP. I'm not taking trades on breaks to new 1min lows anymore. i'm so tired of it not actually breaking and i get filled at the worst price of the candle. i did not like the pullback above the MAs on the 1min chart at 10:06 but i've been fooled by 1min candles before so i held on to my stop. it never made a new 5min low after i got in and i got stopped out. i got autostopped at more than my risk because it's an expensive stock and as soon as it broke that level it was much higher than where i wanted to get out. i could have saved 3-4 bucks by getting out earlier but i was hoping for a pullback to my stop loss so i could get out but the autostop got me. lesson learned, i need to put in range orders to prepare for a break like that. in truth though i had a feeling i was going to loss on this trade. in general when i'm in the red for 10 minutes after i get in it doesn't end well also if a stock consolidates for that long, there's a good chance it will keep moving the way it was before. 

GOOD: saw a setup and waited for a good entry. 

RFI: i should have bailed earlier on this trade it just wasn't time for it to sell off yet. 

MOOD: only mildly frustrated about hitting max loss. 

CONSISTENT: no, sold past planned stop. 

 

What I did good today: quit trading at max loss. also much better on my emotions about hitting max loss

What i did bad today: let my emotions get the better of me on that second MU trade.

What can i do better tomorrow: My new strategy is to get filled as close to my resistance/stop loss as possible and then if it breaks that at worst i'm taking a full R loss almost immediately but likely i'll take less than a full R. i'm tired of trying to get an entry right at the break to a new high/low. all that ends up happening is i get a bad entry. 

Other comments for tomorrow: Per my rules, i'm only allowed two losses tomorrow before stopping. it's funny how i feel pretty good with my trading for a couple days then just turn around and hit max loss when i'm starting to feel comfortable. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday March 20th, 2019

Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. 

First trade of the day was an ORBU in NOMD. got in on a new 1min high after it punched through the VWAP. entry at $19.74, risking $19.64. it broke through the daily level but then the volume fell so i sold half and then the rest at b/e. glad i did because i would have got stopped out. 

GOOD: was quick to get out on the ORB. i feel like my hesitation costs me money in the first 15 minutes. 

RFI: could have not taken this trade at all or waited for a better entry.

MOOD: ok, glad to be positive instead of at a loss to start

CONSISTENT: yes i got out on the price action

 

Last trade of the day was a double bottom in MU. watched this thing sell off forever. finally found a bottom around the 200 MA on the 15min chart. i waited for a new 5min high then a pullback to my resistance level of $39.73 and got in at $39.83. sold a little too soon, i could have let the 5min candle close and sold the rest when it looked like it was stalling out. really happy with this trade. 

GOOD: waited for a setup and then waited for a good entry. 

RFI: sold too early, could have got a better entry. 

MOOD: happy. 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

What i did good today: waited for a good entry on MU

What i did bad today: Probably should have skipped the ORBU. 

What can i do better tomorrow: Keep trading with a level head and a good plan. 

[Mark D. 435]

Thursday March 21st, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good ready to trade. 

First trade of the day was an ORBU in MU. i waited for a pullback but i put my stop too far down and only got 27 shares. i sold half when i thought it was wavering and the last part at my profit target. Not my best trade but not that bad, i like taking quick profits on ORBs because they have a tendency to be volatile and i'd rather be a little green than a full stop. 

GOOD: waited for a pullback. 

RFI: too far with the stop loss

MOOD: ok

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Waited for the pullback to end on MU and waited for a new 5min high but then i waited for another pullback to an entry that never happened and it took off without me and i'm too tired and i feel like i'm just going to take some dumb revenge trade so i'm calling it quits for the day. still mad i missed this entry it has made 7 new 5min highs in a row since i missed the entry. 

 

What i did good today: took a good ORBU in MU

What i did bad today: missed a good entry back long in MU

What can i do better tomorrow: remember to watch volume for confirmation. 

Other comments for tomorrow: Keep level headed trading. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Friday March 22nd, 2019 

Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. 

Only took one trade today, a double bottom in AMD. i missed the downtrend in AMD and MU and i was looking for a reversal around 10 o'clock. i liked AMD because it looked like it might pop on that PPDH level. i waited for a new 5min high and got in a little early and i went full size. it came down to my $10 stop but i gave it a little more room because that's a normal pullback and not a new low. It ended up hitting my target and i sold half then half again when it struggled to make a new 5min high. got out all at my b/e. i think i have enough trades now to see if i should be getting all out on my final partials at new 5min lows. i'm going to look over the trades over the weekend. 

GOOD: waited for a new 5min high to enter the trade. sold at planned price

RFI: need to sell more at my target. 75% at target then 12.5% at the next level then hold the rest. 

MOOD: good, should have got all out when it stalled over the VWAP. 

CONSISTENT: yes, i followed my plan. 

 

What i did good today: took one good trade. 

What i did bad today: I could have bailed on my final partial and then reversed the trade to the downside. 

What can i do better tomorrow: sell more at profit targets, hold lessto b/e.

 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 12 Recap

Happy with my progress this week. i'm going back to live trading again so i'm excited to start working on becoming profitable in real trading. I've been struggling with getting in to trades too early the last couple weeks but this week i'm really starting to nail the entries. Goals for next week are to not worry about P&L and just take good trades with great entries. 

·         Weekly stats

o   2.0 R/R (Goal: above 2.0) [Previous Week: 1.8]

o   48/52 92% (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 93%]

o   $32.16 (Goal: $250) [Previous Week: -$3.50]

o   12/13 92% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Previous Week: 71%]

o   1/12 8% Early Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 43%]

o   1/12 8% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%]

o   0/12 0% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 14%]

·         Highlights

o   Green week this week with 4/5 days green. Going to try going back to real trading.

o   The rule of trying to enter within 15cents of my stop loss has been a big help this week.

o   I’m going to keep taking quick partials on ORBs, that seems to be working well.    

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   Selling needs to be better, even though I’ve improved my accuracy, I’m not taking enough out at my profit targets. Increasing selling to 75% at initial target then 12.5% at next level then the rest on a range order to let run.

o   Still making hotkey errors!

o   Revenge trades on stop outs first thing in the morning still needs work.

o   Got Auto stopped out on a trade this week, need to work on never doing that.

 

[Mark D. 435]

Monday March 25th, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. 

first trade of the day was in AMD. i was waiting for a pullback after the first five minutes for an ORBU but i never got an entry, then it sold off with the SPY and i thought it should take a short position. i wanted to get in at the PDC but when it pulled back it bounced off the previous day low so i got in risking the PDC and was trying to get to the low of the pre-market. i sold some at 1R a little bit because of nerves but also because it wasn't really selling off. i set a range order for the second half at my entry to $26.75 but it wasn't breaking the premarket low and the SPY looked like it was turning around so i just got all out. glad i did i would have broke even on the second half. 

GOOD: patient with my entry and waited for confirmation it was going lower

RFI: selling wasn't great. 

MOOD: ok, glad to have a winner first day back to live trading. 

CONSISTENT: stuck to my stops but my nerves got me on my selling. 

 

I'm happy with my first day back to live trading. I was busy before the market opened and only had a half hour between meetings so i'm glad to have the emotional control not to take a ton of trades. I'm seeing now that i should have traded in sim as close as possible to live trading all of last year. It's a way easier transition to live if the only thing i changed from last week to this week was the prefix on my account. it really helped with my emotions. 

What i did good today: emotional control on entering and not chasing.

What i did bad today: selling on nerves. 

What can i do better tomorrow: try and stick to 75% at profit target and 12.5% at next target. 

Edited March 25, 2019 by Mark D.

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday March 26th, 2019

Sleep: 7.5 hours, mood: good ready to trade. 

first trade of the day was an ORBU in BBBY. I waited a couple minutes after 9:35 to see which way it was going to go and i liked the price action on the 1min chart, when it broke up to a new 1min high i got in, risking a new 2min low to the HOTD. i sold 75% at the HOTD and the rest at b/e. 

GOOD: waited for the entry and sold according to my plan

RFI: could have got out at a new 5min low on the remaining shares.

MOOD: good

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

What i did good today: disciplined trading. no impulse trading

What i did bad today: there were a couple other trades i could have take but stood on the sidelines. 

What can i do better tomorrow: still working on the selling.