Mark D. Day Trading Journal - Live 2019

[Mark D. 435]

Friday February 22nd, 2019

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

took two 2min ORBDs, the first was in KHC. it broke the premarket low and i went short right the end of the 2min body but it never made a new low and turned around and stopped me out. it was really dumb not to wait for a pullback on this. i know hindsight meand nothing in trading but had i followed my rules and taken Simon's advice and waited for a pullback, i could have had a really nice day today. 

GOOD: was trending on the 5min and 15min

RFI: jumped in too soon, should have waited for a pullback. 

MOOD: fine, disappointed in starting with a loss but 

CONSISTENT: yes

 

Then i turned around and did some dumb trading. switched to DBX and got in for 100 shares becuase it looked like it was going to break the LOTD. I didn't think about this trade at all and once i was in i realized it's DBX and that it can really move against you and i shouldnt have taken that big a position. i was down $20 in a second, decided to hold on to VWAP but that my auto stop was going to stop me out before then. I held on anyway and took a full day's loss in one trade. 

GOOD: auto stop

RFI: everything, i don't think i could have done more wrong on this one

MOOD: disappointed in myself

CONSISTENT: NO!

 

Over a full days max loss in 9 minutes. might be a record for me. i still haven't fully integrated taking the market seriously on every trade and i end up getting burned. back at it Monday morning. 

What i did good today: Respect my rules and quit trading at max loss

What i did bad today: took an impulse trade in DBX without any thought

What can i do better tomorrow: Position size according to your stop. plan all trades!!

Other comments for next week: Remember next week what happens when you don't fully think through trades, you lose money. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 8 Recap

Second week back in the simulator. Even though it was red for the week, i'm feeling more confident in my setups and the days where i'm losing it's directly related to me either 1. not taking my setups. 2. me impulsively entering a bad r/r or 3. me refusing to take a -1R loss and eventually taking a -2R or -3R. I was expecting not to still have these problems over a year in to my day trading journey but the learning curve is steep for a reason and these emotional issues don't go away easy so i'm just going to keep working on taking my setups and working on mastering my emotions. definitely still not ready to go back live after this week's performance. 

·         Weekly stats

o    2.5 R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [record: 2.7]

o   53%  (Goal: above 80%) [record: 93%]

o   -$57.45 (Goal: $250) [record: $49.03]

·         Highlights

o   Really great trading on Thursday but otherwise not a good week of trading

o   Reduced my DAS auto risk unrealized loss per trade from -$36 to -$24 (-3R to -2R)

o   Added back in my daily lock out of max loss per day of -$36

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   Hotkey errors still present

o   Taking ORBS and not putting the stop above VWAP. If you can’t get a good R/R with your stop above VWAP don’t take the ORB

o   New 6 week goal is to keep my edgewonk tiltmeter green for 75% of my trades and eventually get to 95 - 100%

o   Stop taking no setup trades!

 

[Mark D. 435]

Monday February 25th, 2019

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

First trade was an ORBU on AMD. got a great entry risking the high of the pre market to the break of HOTD and above. i sold half at the high of the day then another half at close to the $24.50 mark then held the last 25% for break even. had i got out at a new 5min low, I would have made a little bit more on the trade. 

GOOD: entry was good, R/R was good

RFI: shouldn't have held my first sell untill the break of HOTD not at it. 

MOOD: happy 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Next trade was an engulfing in AMD.  I was hoping for a breakout to the HOTD again but it ended up double topping and dropped significantly. glad i got out. 

GOOD: got out when it didn't make the move i expected

RFI: engulfing is not one of the setups i'm working on right now so i shouldn't have taken that trade. that was a little bit of a revenge trade on just getting stopped out of my AMD shares the trade before

MOOD: glad i got out of the way when i did

CONSISTENT: yes

 

Last trade of the day was a MA trend in MU. once i realized AMD might just chop around all day i noticed MU was trending nicely. i got in on a pullback, i could have got a better entry but I didn't want to miss it. i set a range order and walked away. it hit my exact target but i didn't get filled. i almost bailed after  that but every time i bail on a trade just because i don't like it and it hasn't hit my stop, it usually ends up at my profit target. so i moved my range up to $42.95 and left it again and that one got filled. 

GOOD: didn't overreact when i didn't get filled at my profit target. stuck with it and made a good trade.

RFI: need to watch the market even if i have range orders in

MOOD: happy that the trade ended up working

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

What i did good today: Discipline on the trades that i took. 

What i did bad today: Took a trade that was not one of my setups.

What can i do better tomorrow: on your ORBS in your favor, give a minute or two to break the HOTD. 

Other comments for tomorrow: First time hitting my daily goal in over a month. keep up the good trading tomorrow. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday February 26th, 2018

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: ready to trade. 

first trade of the day was an ORBD on HD. I got a good entry and put my stop above the VWAP. i talked myself out of it and got out right at resistance. 

GOOD: entry

RFI: got cold feet and got out at resistance.

MOOD: feeling dumb i bailed at a resistance level. 

CONSISTENT: no

 

Once HD held the VWAP, i got in short again on a pullback. it finally broke below the $183 level but then got bought above and then it squeezed big time and i got out. 

GOOD: Got out at my stop loss level

RFI: Little bit of a revenge trade and i could have got out earlier

MOOD: ok, happy i didn't get killed on the squeeze

CONSISTENT: yes

 

Last trade of the day was in M. i broke all my rules on that sell off. got in short on that huge down move and didn't mark a stop loss. then i should have covered at least some at the PDC and PPDH but it happened so fast i missed it. then i held on for a way bigger loss than i needed to take. One of the most frustrating things is KNOWING that i need to wait for a pullback and get a good entry and then doing the exact opposite in the heat of the moment. ah frustrating. 

GOOD: that i still have auto risk controls for when i do dumb stuff like this trade

RFI: no setup, impulse entry with no planned risk. not taking profit at levels. 

MOOD: frustrated i got caught up in this dumb no setup trade. 

CONSISTENT: no

 

What i did good today: good discipline on the first two trades. 

What i did bad today: got caught up in the huge selloff in M

What can i do better tomorrow: only trade your setups. don't get caught up in the mania

Other comments for tomorrow: Frustrated to hit max loss the day after i hit my target. i'm feeling better about my trading (Macy's notwithstanding) but i still can't seem to get ahead i feel like one and a half steps forward and one step back like i'm treading water. 

New rule: Try to never rely on the auto risk controls. always get out on your own.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Mark D.

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday February 27th, 2019

Sleep: 7.5 hours, mood: ready to trade. 

First trade of the day was an 2mim ORBD in WTW. i chased it a little bit. it came back up at toeh VWAP and i added more and then it squeezed and the autostop stopped me out at 1.8R. i shouldn't have chased the trade and i shouldn't have added more when i was in a loser. starting off the day on a bad foot. 

GOOD: set a risk level

RFI: added more when i was in a losing trade. chased the entry

MOOD: disappointed in myself

CONSISTENT: nope. 

 

Took the same trade again in WTW but on the 5min ORBD and it did break the low but didn't go anywhere and i got squeezed yesterday so i bailed at breakeven. glad i did cause it did what i thought it was going to do and pushed much higher. 

GOOD: got out when the trade wasn't working

RFI: this was a revenge trade. 

MOOD: glad i got out 

CONSISTENT: no on the entry, yes on the exit. 

 

Since it looked like it wasn't going to sell off, i got in on the long side but at a terrible price. right idea, bad execution. it squeezed up a good bit but not high enough on my R/R to take any profit so i held on. when it sold off again below the VWAP i bailed at b/e but I talked myself out of the trade which was dumb and a bad habit i'm trying to break. I recognized a good trade but FOMO'd the entry then talked myself out of what would have been a nice trade. 

GOOD: correctly identified what my trade needed to be

RFI: terrible execution

MOOD: angry i let this nice trade  slip away

CONSISTENT: no

 

Last trade of the day was supposed to be an MA trend in MYL but i didn't wait for a pullback or a new low and it just ran immediately against me all the way to my auto stop. not at all happy with this trade. just dumb trading. 

GOOD: the stock was trending in the direction of my trade.

RFI: did not wait for resistance or any new low to get in. 

MOOD: frustrated. 

CONSISTENT: no. 

Rough day again. I love trading for many reasons, one of them being the difficulty level but dang if it isn't infuriating thinking about what not to do all day and then turning around and literally doing the same dumb mistakes day in and day out over and over again. another max loss day. i'm trying to think of ways to avoid so many max loss days. for the rest of the week and all next week i'm not trading in the first 15 minutes. I appreciate the nice moves you can get from ORBs but they're just not my style and i get too caught up in the emotions of them and more often than not i'm just digging myself out of a hole after my first one or two trades are losers. 

What i did good today: gout out of the second ORBD in WTW when i saw it wasn't working

What i did bad today: emotional trading on no setups for the last two. losing more than one R on two trades. 

What can i do better tomorrow: mechanical stops and not trading in the first 15 minutes

Other comments for tomorrow: don't let two bad trading days in a row throw you off. relax, come back tomorrow and focus on trading planned setups. 

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by Mark D.

[Mark D. 435]

Thursday February 28th, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. determined to take setups today and not repeat the previous two days. 

First trade of the day was an ORBU in BOX. it made a beautiful 2min ORBU and i liked the price action so i got in right at the body of the candle. This was a FOMO move. i don't want to be trading in the first 15minutes but i really liked the price action. the issue was my R/R. i set my stop at the $19.58 level and the 2:1 R/R would have been around $20.60 and it just couldn't pull through the HOTD. i should have got out sooner but i changed my stop to break even and got when it finally gave up the $20 level. if i would have waited for a pullback and a new 1min high, i could have been taking profit at the HOTD and not holding out hope for a nice run. 

GOOD: got out at breakeven, planned my exit

RFI: FOMO entry with a bad R/R

MOOD: fine, not happy about not planning a good R/R but handled the trade well once i was in

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Next trade was a short in JD. it did a false breakout then started making new 5min lows trending below the MAs. i tried to get in right at a new 5min low but it fell so fast i got a bad fill and it killed my R/R so even though i hit my profit target and got out, i only made 1.3R profit. 

GOOD: got out at profit target

RFI: need plan the R/R better

MOOD: happy that the stock did what i expected

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Next i tried and engulfing reversal in JD. i shouldn't have taken this trade because it's not one of my planned setups but i liked the 15min candle and it was really extended from the VWAP so i thought it might turn around and buy back up. i got in on a new 1min high but unfortunately it couldn't make a new 5min high and then huge selling pressure pushed it to my stop. the SPY sold off and took me out of this trade and my trade in BOX. even though it's not one of my setups, it was a good R/R with a set stop so i'm happy with this trade. 

GOOD: planned trade, R/R

RFI: not a setup i trade. 

MOOD: good, but not happy about losing money

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Then i let the trading get away from me a little bit. i got in short on another pullback because it looked really week. i was hoping to get to the PDC under $26. but once i was in the trade i'm seeing that 1. it's not a setup that i trade, it's not a setup at all. 2. it's bouncing off the 200 MA on the 15min chart and then 3. it's down so much since the open it's due for a pullback and the final thing, 4. it made a double bottom. so i flipped my position and took risked the LOTD the $27.37 level. i put in a range order and had to leave my computer. i came back to find i was right on my reasoning and got filled right at my profit target. 

GOOD: got out of my bad trade and got in to a good trade. 

RFI: shouldn't have taken the first trade. 

MOOD: concerned about my flipping positions but glad that i could see why i was likely wrong and fixed it 

CONSISTENT: not on the first one but yes on the second trade. 

 

What i did good today: Did not hold any of my losers past my stop. 

What i did bad today: the engulfing and no setup trades in JD were unnecessary and turned a good trading day in to an ok one. 

What can i do better tomorrow: Only take setups

Other comments for tomorrow: Trade your setups and respect your stops are the two most critical pieces to a good day of trading. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Mark D.

[Mark D. 435]

Friday March 1st, 2019

Sleep: 8 hours. mood: good, ready to trade. Quiet morning

First trade of the day was an ORBU in MU. saw a good R/R  with VWAP to a little past the HOTD so i got in. added more on a new 1min high so i had 70 shares at an average of $42.13 i was risking the VWAP at $42  so i had to get to $42.39 for a 2:1 R/R. but i started taking partials before that and only had 25% left when it hit my initial profit target. i set a range for b/e and the PPDH and got filled at b/e after it made it's first 5min low of the day and then fell apart. my reasoning for the partials was i'm not taking profit when i get the chance so it sounded good at the time but then when i see my actual P&L compared to what it could have been with my original plan i see why i wait. i made like $4 after the $5 in commissions. had i just put in a range to sell at 3:1 or 2.5:1 i would have came out way better. also i'm taking notes on whether i should be getting all out at new 5min against, in this case it would have made sense. 

GOOD: patience on the trade and adding more when it went my way

RFI: getting cold feet and making no money on a good trade. 

MOOD: always happy to not be in the red but disappointed in that trade. 

CONSISTENT: no, sold too early. 

 

Last trade of the day was in NTNX. it sold off all morning and made it's way over the VWAP. i figured this was probably a VWAP false breakout so i got in short on a new 5min low below the VWAP with a stop at $35.20 i'm glad i waited for a new 5min low below the VWAP but that was a 50cent stop loss so i had to make a whole dollar to get a 2:1R which i didn't like. good idea but i could have got a much better entry. i wasn't sure the trade was going to work so instead of worrying about it i set a range order and sat back and watched. i did deviate from my original plan of selling everything at 33.76 and did half at $34 and half at $33.76. once it hit the LOTD it fell off big time but i was already out of the trade. 

GOOD: recognized a good trade even though it's not one of my go to setups

RFI: have to get better at getting in to these trades. the better the entry, the easier the trade will be. 

MOOD: glad to finish the week green but i could have made more money

CONSISTENT: yes i think it was reasonable to partial at the whole dollar even though it wasn't my initial profit target. 

 

What i did good today: Calm rational trading. 

What i did bad today: butchering my winners with too small partials. 

What can i do better tomorrow: set your range orders and just watch to ease your anxiousness 

Other comments for next week: good job the last two days. still red for the week but feeling much better about my trading. I know i'm slowly getting better, it just takes a lot of time. i'd rather have days where i'm taking rational small winners than days where i'm going crazy and hitting my profit target but probably hitting max loss. 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 9 recap

·         Weekly stats

o   2.2 R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [record: 2.7]

o   75%  (Goal: above 80%) [record: 93%]

o   -$40.16 (Goal: $250) [record: $49.03]

·         Highlights

o   Hit my profit target for the first time since January

o   Better job this week planning trades

o   Range orders have been really helping my impulsive exits

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   Letting losers go against me too much

o   Moving my stops up and getting knocked out of trades that hit my profit target.

o   Too many max loss days this week. Trying to keep it to one or less a week.

o   Only take recognized setups AND get better R/R

o   Don’t add to losers

 

 

[Rob C 824]

Mark, I apologies if you already explained this or I should know already, but how are some of your stats calculated?

How is the average risk to reward ratio calculated? How are the points calculated?

Thanks,

Rob

[Mark D. 435]

On 3/2/2019 at 4:14 PM, Rob C said:

Mark, I apologies if you already explained this or I should know already, but how are some of your stats calculated?

How is the average risk to reward ratio calculated? How are the points calculated?

Thanks,

Rob

Hi Rob, 

 

No worries. the average risk to reward is the average of the planned R to R on all trades for the week. 

points are calculated by me and they're subjective but it's supposed to be based on these rules (sometimes i screw up how many points i give a trade):

Trade Point System

·         Defined stop +1

·         Defined profit target +1

·         R/R above 2.0 +1

·         Out of trade at stop or goal +1

·         all exits over $0.30 from entry bonus +1

·         sell past stop or violation of consistent winning rules erases all previous points

Edited March 5, 2019 by Mark D.

[Mark D. 435]

Monday March 4th, 2019

No trades today. i wasn't feeling well and slept well past the open. 

[Rob C 824]

9 minutes ago, Mark D. said:

Hi Rob, 

 

No worries. the average risk to reward is the average of the planned R to R on all trades for the week. 

points are calculated by me and they're subjective but it's supposed to be based on these rules (sometimes i screw up how many points i give a trade):

Trade Point System

·         Defined stop +1

·         Defined profit target +1

·         R/R above 2.0 +1

·         Out of trade at stop or goal +1

·         all exits over $0.30 from entry bonus +1

·         sell past stop or violation of consistent winning rules erases all previous points

Thanks Mark, I like the point system. Is it only for trade execution? Do you have a point system for the quality of the setup as well?

[Mark D. 435]

11 hours ago, Rob C said:

Thanks Mark, I like the point system. Is it only for trade execution? Do you have a point system for the quality of the setup as well?

i have a checklist for things i like to see before and during trades but i don't keep a score with it. 

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday March 5th, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: feeling unmotivated today. 

First trade of the day was an ORBD in CTRP. I wanted to get in around $49.70 but it fell so fast i chased the entry and got a horrible fill. it really didn't break the LOTD and i should have bailed but didn't and got stopped out for a full R. 

GOOD: got out at my stop. 

RFI: chased the entry

MOOD: indifferent

CONSISTENT: got out at stop

 

Next trade was not a setup in TGT. I was waiting for a new 5min low around VWAP for a reversal back to the LOTD but i thought it would be better if i got in on a new 2min low instead. I got the lowest price and the trade never went in my direction and i froze getting out and lost almost 2R. 

GOOD: got out on my own, no auto stop

RFI: no setup and let it run past my stop

MOOD: dumb trades get dumb results

CONSISTENT: no. 

 

Last trade of the day was another no setup in TGT. i waited for a pullback to around $76 risking the VWAP at $75.75. i was hoping for the break of the HOTD and then going to the HOPM but it triple topped and couldn't break the HOTD. instead of getting out on the price action i held for my stop and got stopped out. 

GOOD: set a range order for my stop

RFI: no setup, could have bailed on the PA and actually taken it short on a setup that you trade. 

MOOD: out of it today. not in the mood to trade or do anything. 

CONSISTENT: yes i got out at my planned stop but i could have saved money on this trade. 

 

What i did good today: Quit trading at max loss

What i did bad today: no setups and let my trades run past my stops

What can i do better tomorrow: Review my setups tonight and tomorrow before the open. 

Other comments for tomorrow: goal for the remainder of the week is to not miss any stop losses. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday March 6th, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, ready to take good setups today

first trade of the day was a double bottom in ZAYO. Look like it was holding the $25.88 level but it sold through it. i was about 20 minutes too early on this trade. had i waited for the shooting star and new 5min high it would have been a good trade from the LOTD to the WVAP. i FOMO'd the entry, i clicked on this chart and saw it was making a new 1min high on volume and got in. 

GOOD: got out at my stop loss

RFI: Impulse entry and too early. 

MOOD: fine

CONSISTENT: yes on the exit. not on the entry

 

Next trade i again chased the trade in NIO. i saw that it was breaking the HOTD so i got in but it was crazy choppy and it scared me out of the trade. then i saw it was probably going to break the HOTD i got back in with a better stop. someone came to my desk and i had to close my DAS and i ended up getting autostopped on the second on. i'm not counting this against me though i should practice range orders when people are coming over so i can make sure i don't get auto stopped for too much. 

GOOD: got out on the first one because of the crazy price action.

RFI: got back in again?? not sure why i guess i thought if it broke the HOTD it would really run but i was incorrect. 

MOOD: so tired of hitting max loss. 

CONSISTENT: i kept to the stops that i could have. 

 

I'm not sure what i need to do to get better. i feel like i'm getting worse. i'm just going to keep working on finding better setups and not jump the gun on my entry. 

What i did good today: kept to my stop losses

What i did bad today: early impulse entries. taking setups today but not good setups. win ratio this week is 0%. i've been wrong on every single trade this week. actually that's pretty impressive statistically i could have just guessed at random and done better. 

What can i do better tomorrow: only take trades you're confident in and get a good entry!

Other comments for tomorrow: as frustrating as losing is, it happens and it will pass, just need to focus on the next trade and not about the loses this week. i want to go back to live trading but there's really no point if i'm just losing money in SIM everyday.