Mark D. 435 Posted February 8, 2019 Friday February 8th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: ready to trade first trade of the day was a long in COTY. I think that my fear of losing money is holding my trading back so i'm working on getting in and out of trades with less resistance. with that in mind, i got in long on COTY with no setup. i thought i would just get out for a couple cents loss if it didn't go my way. it did not and i got out immediately. now that i'm typing this i have no idea why i went long in the first place. i pretty much just got chopped up in COTY in the first 15minutes. taking small losses and gains but really getting nowhere. GOOD: accepted the risk RFI: no setup and gave it no room. MOOD: ok CONSISTENT: no setup Then COTY looked like it was going to do an ORBD so i got in short and took a bigger loss than i wanted GOOD: was a setup RFI: took too many shares from my risk level MOOD: ok ACCEPTED RISK: yes Went long in COTY, hoping for a pop above $9 i used the 1min MA as resistance and got in. it bounced off that 9 for about 5 minutes and i got out at b/e. GOOD: got out when i saw it wasn't going to break even dollar RFI: not really a setup MOOD: ok, glad i got out. ACCEPT RISK: yes Last trade in COTY was an engulfing 5min and i knew it had resistance at the $9. it broke down to VWAP and i got out once i saw it wasn't going to sell off GOOD: nice setup, good reason to get in the trade. RFI: i could have gave it another minute and saw that the trade probably wasn't going to work MOOD: ok ACCEPT THE RISK: yes. Tried to take an ABCD in MAT that failed immediately. glad i got out when i did but that was a dumb resistance point to trade off off and it was trending down on the 5min chart. GOOD: got out with a small loss. glad i got out because it tanked after that RFI: kept making new 5min lows and didn't show any sign of buying MOOD: good ACCEPT THE RISK: yes. that was all my trades for a max loss day in the first half hour. i did not want to be done trading so i got rid of my max loss risk control and kept on trading. thought i could get in on a downtrend in MU. got stopped out twice and then i made a buck/be on one trade. then after that trade went my way i tried to get back in on a pullback and then averaged (down) and got stopped out for a $36 dollar loss. my risk controls are there for a reason and i really blew it by bypassing them. so that's it for my live trading. i'm going back to SIM for a while until i can figure out how to consistently make money. What i did good today: decided i'm not ready for real trading and decided to go back to sim What i did bad today: virtually no setups. i need to marry my risk acceptance with patience for good setups. i will work on that in my trade What can i do better tomorrow: practice setups and only taking setups Other comments for tomorrow: it was foolish to blow up like that. but i think it was bound to happen. lost all of the $250 i gave myself to lose. paid my first round of tuition. going back to sim until i'm making consistent money. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 9, 2019 Week Six Recap Weekly stats o 2.5 R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [record: 2.7] o 87% (Goal: above 80%) [record: 93%] o -$125.41 (Goal: $250) [record: $20.80] Highlights o Good ABCD trade in MU on Wednesday o Going back to sim until I’m trading consistently again. Ongoing things to work on o Only taking ORBS, ABCD, MA Trends and Double Bottom/Tops o Getting good entries on solid setups 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 11, 2019 Monday February 11th, 2019 (SIM) Sleep: 6.5 hours. Mood: feeling good despite the lack of sleep. ready and excited to trade. I've been thinking a lot about my trading after Friday and it finally sunk in that i need to write out my specific setups in order to get in to a trade and only take those setups so i spent the weekend writing out my first pass of my qualifiers for the trades that i want to practice. the first trade i took today was an ORBU in EA. it met all of my citeria so i jumped in. my selling was not to plan, i got out only half too early and then held the last half to b/e. had i stuck to my plan this would have been a better trade. GOOD: setup met all qualifications. RFI: botched the selling. MOOD: good CONSISTENT?: yes. only took one other trade. i took a 1min MA trend trade in MA. it came up over the MA on the 1min chart but couldn't hold and fell below. i saw a good R/R per my setup so i took it. i wanted to get filled right at the new 1min low but it went down so fast i got a bad fill. sold 75% at my profit target and the rest at the next level. i stuck to my plan which i'm happy with but my first profit target really didn't make any sense. i should have shot for the daily level and then sold if it wasn't going to break that recent low. GOOD: saw a setup and took it, followed the plan. RFI: first profit target was too close. MOOD: happy the trade worked out. CONSISTENT: yes. What i did good today: traded well today. stuck to my plan and only took trades in my plan What i did bad today: did not do a good job of exiting my trades. What can i do better tomorrow: stick to the exit plan. pay better attention to potential profit targets. Other comments for tomorrow: keep practicing the trading plan. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 12, 2019 Tuesday February 12th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. mood: good, ready to trade. I only saw one ORB that met 3/4 of my criteria but i wasn't looking at the screen and missed my entry. i ended up not taking any trades in the first 30 minutes. first trade was a 1min MA trend trade in CRON. I liked the VWAP rejection on the 1min chart at 9:44 and 9:45. i wanted to get in earlier but that isn't one of my setups so i waited for it to hit the MA and took it long risking below the PDC and PPDL i was trying to break the $20 for my first sell. it ended up making a new 5min low so i bailed for pretty much break even. GOOD: waited for my setup RFI: risk was too much MOOD: good CONSISTENT: yes. i took the same trade again when the MAs got really close at 10:24. i got in at just the right moment for a new 5min high. i sold the first at the pop of the HOTD but it was a little less than what i wanted. held the last 25% for break of the PDH. I nailed the entry on that one but i'm still selling my first piece too early. it was still a good trade but it could have been great. GOOD: entry was right on time RFI: sold too early MOOD: happy CONSISTENT: yes What i did good today: stuck to my plan and only took setups What i did bad today: missed that ORB in EA and my selling still needs work What can i do better tomorrow: try to hold your winners longer Other comments for tomorrow: keep trading like this. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 13, 2019 Wednesday February 13th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. first trade was an ORBD in TEVA. was thinking it was going to be an ORBU but then it lost the VWAP. took it short with a 10 cent risk at $17.10 for the daily level at $16.64. it broke the even dollar but only for a second. i got out after it bought right back up over $17 for a small loss / break even. i did not like the price action GOOD: got out before my stop when i saw the trade wasn't working RFI: i should have waited a little longer to make sure it was going to break lower. also, i could have taken this on the upside after getting out of the short. MOOD: ok. CONSISTENT: yes. Last trade of the day was a double top in ATVI. i liked the rejection of the daily level on the five minute chart at 9:50 and 9:55. took it short on a new 1min low risking the HOTD to the VWAP. i knew that 20MA on the 1min chart was going to be resistance so i was patient after my entry but i could have waited for the pullback to $45 to get in and i would have got way more shares. sold my first piece too early and the second piece right as expected. GOOD: good setup. RFI: entry could have been better. selling first piece could have been better MOOD: good CONSISTENT: yes. What i did good today: took only planned trades. What i did bad today: selling still needs work. use limit orders when you're in a winning trade. What can i do better tomorrow: maximize your winners. Other comments for tomorrow: Keep up the consistent trading. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 14, 2019 Thursday February 14th, 2019 No Trades today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 15, 2019 (edited) Friday February 15th, 2019 Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. Only took one trade today. i was considering taking NVDA on an ORBD but it looked choppy before it broke out to the downside. The trade i did take was a double bottom on CGC. I liked the rejection of the previous and previous previous day highs. I waited for a bounce off the PDH and then got in on a new 1min high at $47.10. the initial goal was $47.90 which was 2R from my risk of $46.75. I sold a couple cents early but i don't count this against me because i don't try to nail it right on the goal and risk missing it all together. blew it on the selling though, my trading plan is 75% at the target and then 25% at the next level. i sold 50% at my target and then held my last bit through a new 5min low. and then finally bailed on a new 15min low which was below my original profit target. happy with the entry not happy with the selling. GOOD: setup, R/R, entry all great. RFI: did not sell according to my trading plan. MOOD: ok CONSISTENT: yes. What i did good today: took only trades in my trading plan. good entry What i did bad today: did not sell according to my trading plan What can i do better tomorrow: stick to the plan on selling Other comments for tomorrow: it's insane how much easier sim is compared to real trading. my sim equity curve is literally the exact opposite of my real trading curve. Edited February 15, 2019 by Mark D. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 16, 2019 Week Seven Recap · Weekly stats o 2.0 R/R (Goal: above 3.0) [record: 2.7] o 85% (Goal: above 80%) [record: 93%] o $49.03 (Goal: $250) [record: $49.03] · Highlights o Green all week. o Win percentage way above average. · Ongoing things to work on o Cutting your winners short, not getting at least 2R out of your winners o Taking enough trades a day to hit daily goal. o Get out of trades on a new 5min low against your position. o Sim until I hit my profit goal five times before a red day. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 19, 2019 Tuesday February 19th, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: feeling like i haven't traded in a long time. first trade of the day was an ORBU in WMT. i FOMO'd the entry hard and got stopped out. i actually let it run past my stop and i was lucky to get out at it when it came back up. GOOD: got out at my stop. RFI: let my emotions get the better of me on my entry and then let it run past my stop. MOOD: disappointed in myself for rushing the trade. CONSISTENT: no did not respect my stop. Last trade of the day was in CGC. no setup, just hoping for a bounce off all the moving averages. i did not at all and i refused to sell at my stop so i took a way bigger loss than expected and hit max loss for the day. GOOD: finally got out on my own RFI: no setup and not respecting stop. bad trading MOOD: bad trading man just in a haze this morning. just feeling like garbage. CONSISTENT: not at all. I took a bunch of other trades but i don't count them towards my day since i already hit max loss and would have been locked out of my real account. i felt like i hadn't ever traded in my life before the market opened and my trades reflected that. it was not a good day. What I did good today: got out at my planned stop in WMT when given the chance What i did bad today: FOMO entries and not respecting stops. Worst trade of the day and why: CGC for refusing to take a loss and taking a much bigger one. What can i do better tomorrow: always respect your stop loss. If I don't respect my stop losses, i'll never be a successful trader. Other comments for tomorrow: just keep working on respecting stops and only taking setups. it's days like these that make me wonder if i'll ever succeed at trading. i don't know. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarapeta1 1 Posted February 19, 2019 Keep it up Mark. Days like this are necessary for your growth as a trader. You are right about the stops. You always have to obey them. You have to make it a habit by repeating obeying stops over and over so in the future it will be automatic. I decided to trade only ORBs and this is my third month of trading ORBs exclusively. One trader gave me some good advice two weeks ago and I had way better results past two weeks. I see you are making the same mistakes. Let me know if you want me to help you . Simon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 20, 2019 22 hours ago, sarapeta1 said: Keep it up Mark. Days like this are necessary for your growth as a trader. You are right about the stops. You always have to obey them. You have to make it a habit by repeating obeying stops over and over so in the future it will be automatic. I decided to trade only ORBs and this is my third month of trading ORBs exclusively. One trader gave me some good advice two weeks ago and I had way better results past two weeks. I see you are making the same mistakes. Let me know if you want me to help you . Simon Hi Simon, thank you for the encouragement, you're right it's a lot of mistakes and slow progress that just gets frustrating some days. i'm not quitting any time soon! I would love some help with my ORBs. I feel like i'm always taking the wrong ones and missing the great ones. any help would be appreciated. thanks again, Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 20, 2019 Wednesday February 20th, 2019 Sleep: 7 hours. Mood: busy didn't get in to the market until 9:45 but i didn't rush in, i marked levels and read my rules. first trade was a MA trend trade in LUV. the trade was going really well until it got close to the LOTD. then it made a doji on the 5min chart and then a hammer at 10:15 and it looked like it was going to round and go the other way so i got out on a new 5min high or at least i thought i did, i hit the wrong hot key and doubled my position then panicked and got out higher, turned a pretty decent trade in to a breakeven. GOOD: setup, good R/R RFI: not taking partials, hot key error MOOD: mad at myself for screwing up a prefectly good trade. CONSISTENT: no. After that screw up of a prefectly good day i just kept chasing the stock emotionally both directions until i hit max loss. they're not even worth journaling because they're not setups, i was just going with whichever side looked good in the moment. Just really bad trading. i've decided to add back in my DAS autostop for the day on my SIM. i took it out so i could practice trades without auto stops which sounds good in theory but what i end up doing is not taking the sim seriously enough and i'm reinforcing bad habits by just taking any trade on a whim. Could have been a good day but ended up max loss. get my head back in the game for tomorrow. What i did good today: Didn't rush in to trading when i was late. My first trade was a good setup. What i did bad today: Let a hotkey mistake screw up my whole day of trading and i took a ton of emotional trades to try and make back what i "lost" What can i do better tomorrow: Always be dilligent of your hotkeys. don't let one mistake ruin the rest of your trading day. Other comments for tomorrow: focus on executing good setups. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 21, 2019 Thursday February 21st, 2019 Sleep: 7.5 hours. Mood: good, ready to trade. first trade was a 2min ORBD on VIPS. got a good entry but I sold on fear half at a marked level. My initial plan was to get to the even $6.00. it stalled around $6.05 then i went to get out, accidently added more (another hotkey error) and then got out of everything. it did end up hitting my profit target. GOOD: setup was good RFI: fear selling and hotkey error MOOD: good CONSISTENT: no not really. Next trade was a double bottom reversal in VIPS. i was waiting for an entry at 9:58 but then it sold off all the way back to the $6 level so i looked away at CAR and when i checked back it jumped on me. I did chase the entry but the R/R was still favorable so i hopped in and added more to make 100 shares even, i was confident in the trade. i set a stop range for $5.99 - 6.38 and walked away because i've been cutting my winners short. it ended up hitting my profit target. GOOD: setup RFI: chased the entry MOOD: good CONSISTENT: yes Last trade of the day was a double top (kind of) in CGC. it bounced off the VWAP twice and i was having a good trading day and was one decent win away from hitting my daily goal so i got in short risking the VWAP to the LOTD. i was overconfident with this trade and as soon as i got in, i noticed it wasn't trending on the 5min or the 15min and actually looked like a flag on the 5min so i bailed at a 0.5R loss. GOOD: got out when i saw the trade wasn't trending on the 5min or the 15min chart RFI: should have not taken this trade. MOOD: glad i was able to recognize my mistake and bail. CONSISTENT: yes What i did good today: took good trades, was in control or my emotions and traded with a level head What i did bad today: hotkey errors again! and overconfidence and forcing the CGC trade What can i do better tomorrow: don't take trades to get to your profit target. Other comments for tomorrow: trade like today. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarapeta1 1 Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) On 2/20/2019 at 11:29 AM, Mark D. said: Hi Simon, thank you for the encouragement, you're right it's a lot of mistakes and slow progress that just gets frustrating some days. i'm not quitting any time soon! I would love some help with my ORBs. I feel like i'm always taking the wrong ones and missing the great ones. any help would be appreciated. thanks again, Mark Mark, Below are my additional rules to trading the ORBs. 1. Do not trade against the trend/gap 2. Do not trade doji ORBs 3. No trades after huge 5min candles 4. Best trades are after price pulls back before breaking the OR 5. No trades in front of big levels (daily, MAs, VVAP etc) 6. No trades on slow movers 7. No trades in the directions of big wicks 8. No trades on choppy stocks 9. Be very selective. Remember it is okay not to take any trades. I used to take trades whenever there was any break of the ORB and had some big winners but also a lot of losers. So I was close to break even. Now with these rules everything has improved. I take way less trades and most of them are winners. I miss a lot of big moves but I am okay with that because I know that a lot of those "big moves setups" would end up being fake outs and at the end I would end up break even. What also changed is that I used to trade anything market threw at me and now I feel like I am in control of what I want to trade and that is very empowering. Hope that helps. Please continue posting it is a great source of knowledge. Thanks Simon Edited February 21, 2019 by sarapeta1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark D. 435 Posted February 22, 2019 16 hours ago, sarapeta1 said: Mark, Below are my additional rules to trading the ORBs. 1. Do not trade against the trend/gap 2. Do not trade doji ORBs 3. No trades after huge 5min candles 4. Best trades are after price pulls back before breaking the OR 5. No trades in front of big levels (daily, MAs, VVAP etc) 6. No trades on slow movers 7. No trades in the directions of big wicks 8. No trades on choppy stocks 9. Be very selective. Remember it is okay not to take any trades. I used to take trades whenever there was any break of the ORB and had some big winners but also a lot of losers. So I was close to break even. Now with these rules everything has improved. I take way less trades and most of them are winners. I miss a lot of big moves but I am okay with that because I know that a lot of those "big moves setups" would end up being fake outs and at the end I would end up break even. What also changed is that I used to trade anything market threw at me and now I feel like I am in control of what I want to trade and that is very empowering. Hope that helps. Please continue posting it is a great source of knowledge. Thanks Simon thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
