Mark D. Day Trading Journal - Live 2019

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday July 2nd, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: Ready to trade but a little nervous from not trading for over a week. 

first trade was an ORBD in MU. I risked the body of the 5min candle to the break of the LOTD. my DAS stopped me out faster than i could get out with my hotkeys. I must be a lot slower than i think i am. 

GOOD: ok setup, risk was set to the right place

RFI: could have waited to see if we were going to make a new 5min low

MOOD: ok, a little stunned

CONSISTENT: i hit the hotkey to get out as planned so i'm saying yes on this. 

 

last trade was no setup in GBX. i liked the previous 5min hammer and the break of a new 2min and 5min low. I thought it was going to break the LOTD and head lower but it's just really choppy and i got stopped out. i didn't get an appropriate amount of shares and i got stopped out quickly. the spread was bad at times and i saw that so i adjusted my share size but it just wasn't good enough. 

GOOD: adjusted share size for the spread

RFI: should have taken less shares, stop out point was not technical

MOOD: ok

CONSISTENT: yes, i got out at my stop as planned.

 

I switched to sim because i'm just feeling out of it today and the market is choppy. took one more trade in GBX and got stopped out and called it for the day. i'm trading SIM tomorrow and friday to get back in the groove and because i'm assuming we're going to get a choppy week with it being a holiday 

What i did good today: switched to sim when i wasn't doing well instead of getting angry and trying to make back money. good emotional control

What i did bad today: just really rusty and slow on my MU exit. I feel out of sync today. i should have just traded sim but i wanted to try and come back live instead of playing it safe

What can i do better tomorrow: trade sim the rest of the week to get back in the flow. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday July 3rd, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: debating on whether to trade at all today. i'm expecting chop. 

Market was choppy, didn't see anything i liked in the first half hour so i closed my DAS so i wouldn't be tempted to take a dumb trade.

going to work around the house and get ready for the holiday. i hope everyone has a great holiday! 

Edited July 3, 2019 by Mark D.

[Mark D. 435]

Week 27 Recap

Slow week to write a recap on. Only took two trades and both weren’t very good.

·         Weekly stats

o   3.1 planned R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [Previous Week: 2.7]

o   7/8 88% (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 97%]

o   -$24.81 (Goal: $150) [Previous Week: -$17.08]

o   0/2 0% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Previous Week: 56%]

o   ½ 50% Non-optimal Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 22%]

o   0/2 0% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%]

o   ½ 0% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 11%]

o   0/2 0% true win percentage (Goal 45%) [Previous Week: 33%]

 

·         Highlights

o   Didn’t FOMO and take bad trades on Wednesday or Friday.

 

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   It’s crucial that I work on getting my win percentage to at least 45%. that would really help with my weekly P&L.

o   Need to wait for 2min then 5min breaks for confirmation the trade is working. The MU trade never broke to a new 2min low and the GBX trade was too late after the 2min break and the 5min break.

o   Pay more attention to volume.

[Mark D. 435]

 Monday July 8th, 2019

Sleep: 6.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. 

Only took one trade today, an ORBD on $AMD. i liked the rejection on the 2min candle and then it couldn't break VWAP so i got in short right at the 5min body, with VWAP as my stop loss. 3R was the PPDH so i was thinking about bailing at 2R but it got to 2R so fast i held on. it hit my profit target but it didn't fill and i didn't want to pinch pennies so i bailed a little bit early. it would have filled six minutes later but i'm happy with the trade. 

GOOD: took the trade. i was really hesitant in my trading last week so i'm happy i jumped on this trade. 

RFI: changed my plan for 3R and lost some profits.

MOOD: great

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

What i did good today: Took a good trade

What i did bad today: Changed my trade and cut profits a little short

What can i do better tomorrow: Stick to the trade. 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Mark D.

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday July 9th, 2019

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

first trade of the day was an ABCD in MU. took it at the break of a new 2min high risking a new 5min low to 2R because my stop loss was too far to make 3R realistic. i should have got out on the shooting start after a new HOTD but i wasn't paying full attention as i was on the phone and not concentrating. Then i got hopeful that it would come back instead of being realistic about the price action and got stopped out for a full 1R loss. 

GOOD: entry was right on time.

RFI: should have got out way before stop loss. 

MOOD: fine, should have been fully concentrating on the market

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Last trade was an MA trend trade on AMD. it was trending higher after about 20 mins of chop so i waited for a pullback to the 9MA on the 2min and then a new 2min high and it just took off. I'm mad that i got out as early as i did, i cut my 3R target by 4 cents when there was absolutely no reason in the price action. I remember thinking that i didn't want to let this trade go against me because i already had a loss today so i got out short. hit my price target maybe a minute later then didn't make a new 5min low all the way to $33! almost 7R in my favor. it's weird that that 5min flag candle on huge volume scared me. it should have been a sign to try for 4R but instead all i could think of was it reversing. 

GOOD: nailed the entry, great setup

RFI: cut the trade way too short. 

MOOD: good. 

CONSISTENT: yes but i really should have stuck all the way to my profit target. 

 

What i did good today: took good setups and great entries

What i did bad today: hoped for MU to turn around and cut AMD too early

What can i do better tomorrow: cut the losers and keep the winners. 

[Mark D. 435]

Thursday July 11th, 2019

Sleep: 6.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to get back to trading. couldn't trade yesterday because i was traveling for work. 

I had meetings and was busy with work through my usual premarket routine and into about the first 20 minutes of trading. Everything looked really choppy to me and I didn't take any trades until i saw AMD finally break the LOTD. i got in on a 2min wedge risking the high of the wedge and also a new 5min high. i hit my hotkey for my shares and the risk was less than my usual 10 cents so i ended up getting 111 shares instead of my usual 100 shares and that threw me off. i got nervous about it and i started thinking about how it was extended and how it didn't break to a new 5min low and i got out right on a new 2min high. it came up to my stop but never broke it and then went right down to my profit target. i am salty about it, had to quit trading for the day because i'm now thinking about revenge trading. 

GOOD: good setup, good R/R

RFI: nerves killed my trade management

MOOD: salty. 

CONSISTENT: no, bailed on fear and not my intended stop. 

 

What i did good today: didn't FOMO or chase, took a good trade. quit when i knew my emotions were going to influence my trading. 

What i did bad today: let me nerves get me out of a great trade.

What can i do better tomorrow: range orders sooner so that i'm not tempted to bail before my stop loss. 

 

[Rob C 826]

Great setup. I didn't even notice the wedge until you drew it. And really good restraint not to revenge trade. I probably would have lost it.

[Mark D. 435]

Friday July 12th, 2019

Sleep: 6.5 hours. Mood: good ready to trade. 

didn't see any ORB trades i liked and i was starting to think i wasn't going to take any trades today but then i saw MU break out on high volume at 9:45. i FOMO'd hard and got in right at the highest price possible before it came back down and stopped me out in about a minute. 

GOOD: right direction on the trade

RFI: FOMO bad entry

MOOD: disgusted with myself for jumping in like that

CONSISTENT: no, held past my stop. 

 

After i was stopped out i saw that the setup is still good, i just need a better entry. so i got in again on a new 2min high. I almost got stopped out a second time because it came within 1 cent of my stop but then really took off in my favor. i got greedy and set my profit target to 4R to make up for the first loss and it never got there. it did get to 3R so if i would have stuck with my plan i would have had an ok day. finally gave up after an hour and got out at 0.4R or so. about 20 minutes after i got out it hit my modified profit target of 3R without me in the trade. 

GOOD: right direction, proper stop loss, entry on new 2min high

RFI: greed trying to get 4R. 

MOOD: mad at myself for screwing up another good trading day. 

CONSISTENT: no, got down on the trade and got out. 

 

What i did good today: waited for good signal and trends instead of trading chop

What i did bad today: butchered the trend with bad entries and exits

What can i do better tomorrow: range orders and stick to them. all this week was good trades with good entries (minus MU first one today) and then just butchering them trying to finesse my way out of the trade. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 28 Recap

Pretty good week for me. I was right on the direction of all my trades, just need to work on sticking to my plan.

·         Weekly stats

o   3.0 planned R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [Previous Week: 3.1]

o   20/24 83% (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 88%]

o   $21.00 (Goal: $150) [Previous Week: -$24.81]

o   6/6 100% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Previous Week: 0%]

o   1/6 17% Non-optimal Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 50%]

o   1/6 17% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%]

o   1/6 17% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 50%]

o   3/6 50% true win percentage (Goal 45%) [Previous Week: 0%]

 

·         Highlights

o   100% trades were in the direction of the trend

o   First live green week since March

 

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   Stick to my range orders/plan at the beginning of the trade

o   Get more sleep next week: minimum 7 hours per night

o   Realistic profit targets on bigger stop losses (2R instead of 3R)

 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Monday July 15th, 2019 

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

Too busy with work this morning. didn't get a chance to go through my watchlist and mark levels before the market opened. i didn't see anything i loved but i ended up taking a trade in $C. I was not thrilled about the hammer on the 5min at 9:35 but i did like the rejection of the previous- previous day low and the indecision on the next candle. so i got in short risking a new 5min high and hoping it would break the day low. it moved in my favor about 40 cents but then it found support  at 70.50 and i got out before my stop at a new 5min high. it looked to me like the volume was coming in on the buy side and no momentum to the short side. It was a good decision to get out, i would have been stopped out anyway. 

hindsight, i could have used the 9:35 hammer as a signal to get a long entry and then got in on the long side where i got out of my short position on a new 5min high.

GOOD: waited for a new 5min low to get in, positioned appropriately 

RFI: should have played this as a long. 

MOOD: fine

CONSISTENT: yes.

 

What i did good today: saw i was in a losing trade and limited my losses. 

What i did bad today: saw that 9:35 hammer and still went short hoping it would still break the LOTD. what i should have done was waited for a new 5min high to get in on the long side because of that candle and played this as a double bottom. 

What can i do better tomorrow: don't hope for trades to work. use all the information available and make the best decision. 

Other comments for tomorrow: can't trade tomorrow and Wednesday is iffy/i'll be rushed if i do have time to trade. frustrated i haven't had a full week of trading in a long time. 

 

[Mike B 624]

5 hours ago, Mark D. said:

frustrated i haven't had a full week of trading in a long time.

I with you on that this past month has been terrible for me. It is the summer, I not suppose to be this busy.

[Mark D. 435]

Thursday June 18th, 2019 

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: Excited to be back at the trading desk. busy with meetings. 

first trade was an 2min ABCD in NFLX that i meant to get in right at the break of the high but it jumped so fast and i was too slow on the entry and i got a bad fill. good thing i was using my hotkeys so it positioned me appropriately for my stop but once it broke the high it sold off the rest of the morning. got stopped out next 2min candle. 

GOOD: position size, getting out at my stop

RFI: should have traded as an 5min orb going long at the break of the body. still would have got stopped out but at least i wouldn't have got such a bad fill

MOOD: frustrated. 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

last trade of the day was another 2min ABCD, this one was in $MU. meant to go long on a new 2min high but it never broke and i positioned too big for the entry and then i was too stubborn to get out because i really wanted a win and i ended up getting auto-stopped out for 1.5R. i think my per trade auto-stop of 12 is no longer working. i'm going to re-submit my auto stops but really it's unacceptable for me to still be missing stops like this. very disappointed in trading today. 

GOOD: right idea, just too early. had i got in at the actual new 2min high it would have been a good trade.

RFI: really have to stop missing my stops. if i can't do that one thing, i shouldn't be trading. 

MOOD: frustrated. 

CONSISTENT: no. 

 

What i did good today: right idea on MU, just got too trigger happy. 

What i did bad today: let my emotions control my trading and took too much of a loss in MU. when i should have taken a step back and either quit for the day 

What can i do better tomorrow: stick to your stops or quit trading. I've been good about sticking to my stops but it's been creeping back in lately. i need to think of a good consequence for missing my stops to motivate me not to miss them anymore. 

Other comments for tomorrow: I've noticed that i have a cycle in my trading psychology which goes: 1.) bad trades -> 2.) red P&L -> 3.) focus on getting good entries and stopping out appropriately -> 4.) good trades -> 5.)green P&L -> 6.) focus on being green for the week instead of good trades -> 7.) chasing entries/ stubborn losses -> 1.) bad trades... repeat cycle. i'm currently at step 6 going on 7. 

has anyone else noticed this? any advice for keeping in the 3 through 5 steps? i know on paper what i need to do is don't worry about P&L and just worry about my trades but i still fall in to this cycle. any advice would be appreciated. i think Robert H made a video about this in one of his rants. I need to go review those again. 

 

[Rob C 826]

3 hours ago, Mark D. said:

 

Other comments for tomorrow: I've noticed that i have a cycle in my trading psychology which goes: 1.) bad trades -> 2.) red P&L -> 3.) focus on getting good entries and stopping out appropriately -> 4.) good trades -> 5.)green P&L -> 6.) focus on being green for the week instead of good trades -> 7.) chasing entries/ stubborn losses -> 1.) bad trades... repeat cycle. i'm currently at step 6 going on 7. 

has anyone else noticed this? any advice for keeping in the 3 through 5 steps? i know on paper what i need to do is don't worry about P&L and just worry about my trades but i still fall in to this cycle. any advice would be appreciated. i think Robert H made a video about this in one of his rants. I need to go review those again. 

 

Hi Mark,

Yea the self sabotage is a killer. I go through it every time I have a good week or month. Not only do I give all my profits back, my discipline habits regress and I have to build them back up.  Then to regress again. 

I don't have any answers though I am started to search in a new direction and read Van K. Tharp's last book (which I got free on his website). I am now reading a second book of his and like his stuff. I ordered his course "Peak Performance 101". I am assuming it will probably take me a year to go through all the worksheets if I do it right. I was thinking about posting my completed worksheets on BBT to pressure me to do the course right. I do recommend you checking out his site, if you haven't already. https://www.vantharp.com/

As for the stops, when I had an auto stop I had trouble not using it. I am so glad I made the plunge and turned off that hot key. I keep to my stops better now (manually). I keep working the mental muscle. And yes it still takes effort for me to stop out every-time.

Rob

 

[Mark D. 435]

15 minutes ago, Rob C said:

I don't have any answers though I am started to search in a new direction and read Van K. Tharp's last book (which I got free on his website). I am now reading a second book of his and like his stuff. I ordered his course "Peak Performance 101". I am assuming it will probably take me a year to go through all the worksheets if I do it right. I was thinking about posting my completed worksheets on BBT to pressure me to do the course right. I do recommend you checking out his site, if you haven't already. https://www.vantharp.com/

As for the stops, when I had an auto stop I had trouble not using it. I am so glad I made the plunge and turned off that hot key. I keep to my stops better now (manually). I keep working the mental muscle. And yes it still takes effort for me to stop out every-time.

thanks Rob i'll check it out. i was thinking maybe it's better to remove the per trade stop loss so i have to work on doing it manually. a lot of the time i hesitate to exit because i know the auto-stop is coming. I'll remove it starting tomorrow and see what happens. 

[Mark D. 435]

Friday June 19th, 2019

Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. happy to be home with no distractions. 

First trade of the day was an ORBD in AMRN. didn't break the LOTD and stopped me out in 10 seconds. should have waited for the break lower before getting in but i liked the spinning top on the first 5min candle it just didn't work out.

GOOD: good setup, entry spot was good, just a little too early

RFI: too early on the entry, could have waited for a break of the LOTD and still had a good R/R

MOOD: ok, i thought the trade made sense, it just happened to not work. 

CONSISTENT: yes, got out as planned. 

 

 

I was done for the day and then i saw MU making a double bottom. i thought about getting in at the PDC but i was too afraid since i was 0 in 4 on trades this week so i didn't jump in. what i noticed though was the hammer holding the low of pre-market on considerable volume and thought i have to take this long. i got anxious it was going to run away on me so my entry wasn't great. i though about adding but didn't. original target was 45.34 for 3R but then when it bounced off that high from a couple days ago, i adjusted down to right below it and got filled. i did not need to move my exit. 

GOOD: held this trade for a while even though i was starting to have doubts. didn't bail on that big pullback at 11:40/ 

RFI: so many opportunities for better entries. did not need to move my profit target. 

MOOD: happy to get a win this week. 

CONSISTENT: yes, i'm fine with the adjusted R/R. even though i didn't end up needing to move it, better to get 2.5R than -1R

 

 

What i did good today: Getting in the MU trade after taking losses all week. 

What i did bad today: entries were too early. all week i've been too early on my entries. 

What can i do better tomorrow: Have to wait for the confirmation the move is happening. i'm throwing away money trying to guess the move too early.