Mark D. 435 Posted August 15, 2019 Thursday August 15th, 2019 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade but busy all morning. First trade was an ORBU in CSCO. Almost took this in sim because the 50 MA was resistance on the 15 min chart and because i was afraid it wasn't going to break the HOTD but it did look like it was going to pop so i got in risking a new 2 min low. i planned to take half off at the 50MA on the 15min chart, which i did and then i held the rest to a new 2min low which happened immediately. Going back, I would have either taken all off at the MA or got out the other half at break even i pretty much broke even on this trade. GOOD: didn't FOMO and jump in, got in on a plan and did pretty well executing RFI: didn't have a full exit plan and ended up giving some profit back MOOD: good CONSISTENT: yes, but need to plan more Next trade was in $GE. took a reverse ABCD. My stop loss above VWAP at $8.52. I wanted to get in at $8.41 which would have been an ~2R to the $8.21 daily level. ended up hesitating on the new 2 min low then again on the new 5 min low, finally got in on the break of the low of pre-market at $8.38 giving $0.14 risk. it made new 5 min lows but it was not selling off like i thought it would. as soon as i got in and saw the daily range of 60 cents and saw my reward being $0.30 (2R) or $0.45 (3R) i figured it wasn't possible so i wrestled with the getting out because i didn't accept my risk or because it's just not selling off like it should be. finally decided to get out after a new 2min high, i just bailed at break even. glad i did because i would have got stopped out. it ended up doing a VWAP false break and then selling off hard. should have jumped back in but i don't have that capacity as a trader yet. i get too stuck on my opinions once my minds made up about the direction the stock is going to head. GOOD: got out of a trade that wasn't working RFI: too far of a risk given the range of the stock MOOD: fine, glad i got out. CONSISTENT: yes, ended up being a good choice to get out at break even What i did good today: trade management better than Monday and Tuesday What i did bad today: should have got all out at BE on $CSCO. What can i do better tomorrow: work on not letting my personal bias on a stock direction effect my trade entries. Can't trade tomorrow so this is it for the week. Ended up at almost exactly break even for the week. hope everyone has a green trading day and green Friday! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 18, 2019 Week 33 Recap Started out the week trading well but didn’t get the moves I was looking for. Really turned the week around on Wednesday with the AMD ORBD then on Thursday didn’t trade as well as the other days but did some good trade management on my exits. All in all, an ok week. Look forward to next week. My confidence is slowly rising now that I’m trusting myself more to trade setups and not jump in an unplanned trade. My cardinal rules of position size and stop loss are really effective, I haven’t missed a stop loss since I implemented the rules. · Weekly stats o 2.8 planned R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [Previous Week: 2.9] o 24/24 100% (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 100%] o -$0.01 (Goal: $150) [Previous Week: $41.50] o 2/2 100% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Previous Week: 100%] o 1/6 17% Non-optimal Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 50%] o 0/6 0% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%] o 0/6 0% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%] o 2/6 33% true win percentage (Goal 45%) [Previous Week: 100%] · Highlights o AMD ORBD A+ setup and execution, started an A+ setups folder and added that picture to it. o Kept the losses to break even with my win % being really low this week. o Starting to feel more comfortable taking two trades in a day o CSCO trade management · Ongoing things to work on o Need to start trading reversal setups when I see them. Like the shooting star at HOTD on MU Tuesday. o Keep working on getting out of trades that aren’t working. I can always get back in if I’m wrong. I need to cultivate that mindset. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 19, 2019 Monday August 19th, 2019 Sleep: 7:30. Mood: good, feeling like not wanting to do anything this morning. i'm typically on vacation around this time so my body is in relax mode Only took one live trade today. i took an ABCD in NVDA. great entry, but the r/r was a bit of a stretch. i added the ATR to my daily chart and i saw NVDA was already over it's daily ATR so i was concerned that it would not hit my profit target. I got out at break even with a 2min shooting star with volume and a new 5min low. i'm happy with that exit, I want to work more on minimizing my losses. improvement for this trade was i could have got back in when it was holding the MAs on the 2 min pretty much exactly where i got in the first time. GOOD: entry, exit management RFI: R/R was far for NVDA ATR could have changed it to 2R MOOD: ok, not pleased i got shook out but it's something i'm working on, should have got back in CONSISTENT: yes i followed the plan and exited when i didn't like the price action. tried some SIM reversals, NVDA triple top didn't work and PCG double bottom that did work. What i did good today: managed the trade all the way to the end What i did bad today: didn't get back in the trade when it turned around What can i do better tomorrow: practice getting back in to trades that end up working. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 20, 2019 Tuesday August 20th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good ready to trade but at home and i got another monitor and i feel off today like information overload first trade i tried an ORBD in CGC. got in on a pullback to the moving average, risking the HOTD, hoping it would go lower. never broke the LOTD and stopped me out next 2min candle GOOD: entry on the pullback RFI: should have waited for a bounce/new 2min low for confirmation MOOD: fine CONSISTENT: yes, lost a couple cents on my exit on slippage last trade i took a 5min HOTD wedge in CGC. hoping to get to the 200 MA on the 15min chart. made a shooting star and i thought i should get out but i remembered yesterday when i bailed and it ended up working also i had all the moving averages below. held to my stop. should have got out and reversed. new rule is a shooting star or 2min engulfing on the break of the high of the day, i'm getting out on a pullback. need to start doing that consistently, if i have specific things that i'm looking for on HOTD/LOTD breaks i can start practicing them and see if it improves my trading GOOD: stopped out, entry was ok, chased it a little bit RFI: clear reversal signal with multiple chances to bail for a small profit and i ignored them MOOD: a little frustrated to get stopped out twice but all in all, ok CONSISTENT: stuck to the plan What i did good today: took setups, got out at my stops What i did bad today: Trade management could have been better What can i do better tomorrow: shooting stars on HOTD or hammers on LOTD are now exit trade criteria with possible reversal. i'll try this strategy for a couple weeks and see if it works better. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 22, 2019 Thursday August 22nd, 2019 Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. didn't get a chance to trade yesterday so i was ready to go this morning. took an ORBD in $LB. waited for a pullback and a new 2min low because i was cautious of the first 5min candle, those have reversed on me and stopped me out too many times so i waited for the new 2min low for confirmation. took off half when it couldn't make a new 2min low and the rest at breakeven. could have played it as a double bottom but i wasn't at my computer when it turned around. i was stopped out by the time i got back. GOOD: waited for confirmation RFI: shouldn't have left the computer MOOD: good CONSISTENT: yes What i did good today: took a good setup with confirmation What i did bad today: left my station and left money/potential reversal opportunity on the table What can i do better tomorrow: try to watch as much of the trade as possible 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) Friday August 23rd, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade but feeling fearful this morning. i missed so many good trades the first hour. $HPQ wedge, didn't take it because of the 200 MA on the 2min. $BA 2MIN ENGULFING because that's a new pattern i'm working on and i don't trust it to take it live yet. and another $BA textbook ABCD that i was just too fearful to pull the trigger. finally convinced myself to get in to $BA after a hammer and holding the 9ma on the 2min chart. got out $0.10 early on fear but ended up losing $0.30 on the spread. still happy with the trade. glad i finally convinced myself to jump in the trade. GOOD: took a good trade, entry was good, R/R good RFI: exited on fear, hit my profit target with no trouble MOOD: happy, good trade CONSISTENT: yes but no i should have held to my profit target. What i did good today: took a good trade, didn't FOMO What i did bad today: left so many good trades on the table What can i do better tomorrow: take the dang trade!! Edited August 24, 2019 by Mark D. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 24, 2019 Week 34 Recap Ok to good week for me. Got shook out of a good trade Monday which caused me to take a -2R loss on Tuesday by holding on to my stops when I should have got out. Thursday and Friday were better trading days though I’ve been more cautious and fearful with my entries. The upside being I’m more often right on the direction of the trade, at least initially. · Weekly stats o 2.9 planned R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [Previous Week: 2.8] o 19/20 95% (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 100%] o $9.23 (Goal: $150) [Previous Week: -$0.01] o 3/5 60% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Previous Week: 100%] o 2/5 40% Non-optimal Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 17%] o 0/5 0% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%] o 0/5 0% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%] o 3/5 60% true win percentage (Goal 45%) [Previous Week: 33%] · Highlights o BA trade on Friday that went straight to my profit target o For the most part I’m doing a better job waiting for the pullback and getting in on a new 2min · Ongoing things to work on o Trying to work on a systematic way to get out of a trade before my stop that doesn’t include my emotions. I.e. looking for specific reversal patterns (shooting stars, hammers, 2min engulfing) that I can use to exit my trade. Like my CGC long on Tuesday. Could have got out with a small profit instead of a full R loss. o Need to revise my point system for setup/trade management. It is no longer providing useful information. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob C 826 Posted August 24, 2019 A solid week Mark! Especially, the discipline you showed to be selective with the number of trades you took. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 26, 2019 Monday August 26th, 2019 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. first trade was an ORBD in AMD. i thought that with the bounce off the 2min 200 MA and all the MA supports on the 2min and 5min was good enough to take the trade so i didn't wait for a new 2min low for confirmation. i kept on waiting for that 2min low all the way to when i got stopped out. AMD was just crazy strong right at the open. GOOD: got out at stop RFI: didn't wait for confirmation. could have got out earlier MOOD: good CONSISTENT: yes next trade was a 2min wedge/15min ORBU in AMD. i thought that if it broke the HOTD it had some potential to the HOPM. waited for an entry once i saw all the buying right below the HOTD. set my range profit target for $30.73, missed my exit by a penny!!!! it looked like a hammer was forming on the 5min so i bailed 7 cents early. really glad i did because it dumped and then chopped around the rest of the morning. GOOD: got out with a good profit RFI: maybe next time only got 2cents over the target level MOOD: great, really pleased i got out with a profit CONSISTENT: yes. last trade was a SIM 5MIN ABCD in AMD that is currently living in Chop-town. What i did good today: didn't let my stop out effect my trading. took a good trade right after What i did bad today: didn't wait for the new 2min low confirmation on the ORBD What can i do better tomorrow: thinking about not taking ORBs if i don't get the new 2min in my favor as confirmation 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 27, 2019 Tuesday August 27th, 2019 Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good ready to trade. Bad trading for me today. saw $ROKU breaking all time high and i jumped in half size then got in the rest on break of the day high. traded this as an 5min ORBU giving it space and wanted to add to my position when it went in my favor. once i got in the other half, i moved my stop loss to a new 5 min low and got stopped out. this trade wasn't terrible, i realized that i was FOMO'ing but i got in anyway and didn't wait for a pullback is why i'm unhappy with the trade. otherwise, it was a 5min ORBU and i added when it went my direction so all in all not a terrible trade i just let my emotions get the better of me sometimes and i'm not happy about that. GOOD: changed stop, added more on HOTD break RFI: FOMO and i knew it and i traded anyway MOOD: excited, angry with the stop out CONSISTENT: yes, i respected my range stop I'm guilty of trying the same trade again if i feel like i just barely got stopped out. and what happens most the time is i get stopped out again because i'm trying to force my position when the market is clearly saying this isn't the right move. i choose to ignore that the 2min "pullback" was probably a reversal sign and got back in on the long side. my reasoning at the time was i saw three huge buy orders on the time and sales. This trade is why i said it was a bad trading day. The reasons are it's not a setup that i trade, and having big buy orders without a setup is not a reason i get in to a trade. i was just looking for any reason to get back in long to make back my loss then ignored the new 2min then 5min lows hoping it wouldn't hit my stop. GOOD: got out of the trade RFI: no setup, no stop level that was resistance. engulfed and broke VWAP and i still held, could have limited my losses. MOOD: not pleased with myself right now CONSISTENT: yes, got out on range order, lost a little on slippage. What i did good today: stopped trading. a small consolation is knowing that i'm not being objective right now so the best thing to do is take the L for the day and come back fresh tomorrow What i did bad today: took a trade without a setup. haven't made that mistake in two or three weeks What can i do better tomorrow: trade setups, if you notice FOMO it's better to relax and wait for the feeling to pass than to act on it and ingrain bad trading patterns. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 28, 2019 Wednesday August 28th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. tried a 2min ORBU in $LCI that didn't break $8.50 and i got stopped out almost immediately. i saw some buying right at the HOTD it just couldn't go through. i usually look at the T&S to confirm it's over the high but i thought i'd catch it before it jumped on the break. not a great trade but not a bad one either. GOOD: got out at stop RFI: maybe wait for the break? MOOD: not happy getting stopped out again CONSISTENT: yes kept to my stop then i took a 5min ORBD in $AMD. sold on a new 2min low after a 2min spinning top, set my stop as VWAP. couldn't break LOTD and stopped out. i think this trade was better than the first, just didn't work. GOOD: got out at break even, did have good R/R and new 2min low confirmation RFI: i don't know, maybe i should have seen if it was going to break the LOTD first? MOOD: getting real tired of getting stopped out CONSISTENT: yes, respected stop, followed trading plan think i'm going to stop trading the first 10-15 minutes. i'm going to spend some time today looking at my trades from the month and see where i'm taking most of my losses. i'm pretty sure it's right in the beginning of the day. I keep trying to trade the first couple minutes of price action and i'm just not quick enough to get it right. i do sometimes but more often then not, i don't. What i did good today: got out at my stops. came really close to breaking this cardinal rule today. very pleased i haven't broken this rule since implemented What i did bad today: i'm only supposed to take one trade after getting stopped out twice the day before. that's not a major rule but tomorrow i'll only be taking either one trade or sim. What can i do better tomorrow: don't trade the open. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob C 826 Posted August 28, 2019 I like both trades Mark. I saw the AMD trade and would have taken it if I wasn't in another trade at the time. AMD has this funny "settling" period in its personality now. 5/10/30 minutes, tough to predict when. And volume stays high so it could pop in either direction. I don't know how to trade it recently. Maybe a low volume pullback on the trend trade? But you are more of an expert on that than me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Rob C said: I like both trades Mark. I saw the AMD trade and would have taken it if I wasn't in another trade at the time. AMD has this funny "settling" period in its personality now. 5/10/30 minutes, tough to predict when. And volume stays high so it could pop in either direction. I don't know how to trade it recently. Maybe a low volume pullback on the trend trade? But you are more of an expert on that than me. thanks! tough to say i was thinking of just ignoring the opening range breaks and taking the first pullback as an ABCD. AMD did the exact same thing to me monday, stopped me out on the ORBD and then i got in for the run higher but today i already lost on LCI so that was it for my daily max loss. AMD has been crazy choppy at the open the last like 3 weeks or so. Edited August 28, 2019 by Mark D. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glenn Budde 356 Posted August 28, 2019 I took the Same AMD ORB as you did and got stopped out..... I just started using the free tradervue and I am pretty sure its gonna be well worth the 29 buck later.... it will give you all your stats without having to go over each one yourself..... Have fun and here is to a green week Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IamKarthi 342 Posted August 28, 2019 Nice Trades. I like your $LCI trade, because the setup was perfect, hammer on 2min, it also created a bullish engulfing candle on 1min. Your entry was perfect too at the end of the wick and you stopped out as per plan. Like everything about this trade. On the $AMD trade, I would have easily missed that spinning top, but you were spot on. The spinning top (or an inverted hammer, but it doesn't matter) is actually a sign for reversal, so other traders might have traded it for long with the stop at LOTD. Also, the lower wick on the 2min candles indicates buying pressure. But it's easy on hindsight and I would have taken it for short too at that moment and played it as VWAP pullback Short. Just my 2 cents, for what it''s worth. Stay Green! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
