Mark D. Day Trading Journal - Live 2019

[Mark D. 435]

Week 14 Recap

I was pretty down on myself Friday and though i traded much worse than last week, it wasn't too terrible. i started trying to take V reversals again which is a big no-no for me so i'll be making sure to look out for that next week. Also, only 40% of my trades were in the direction of the trend so it's no surprise i was red this week. all in all, not my best and not nearly as good as last week but it's all about slow, steady, small progress. 

·         Weekly stats

o   2.3 R/R (Goal: above 2.0) [Previous Week: 2.2]

o   35/40 88% (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 87%]

o   -$55.67 (Goal: $250) [Previous Week: $42.36]

o   4/10 40% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Previous Week: 92%]!!!!!!

o   3/10 30% Early Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 15%]

o   0/10 0% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week:0%]

o    2/10 20% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%]

·         Highlights

o   Didn’t let any losers run past my intended stop.

o   Good trade in MU holding on a pullback.

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   Started Taking V reversals again. Need to stop doing the immediately. Be patient for an entry or let it pass.

o   Way too many trades in the wrong direction. Need to trade with the 5min trend.

o   Get out on ORBs quick if they’re not working. You can always get back in.

o   Took two awful risk/reward trades in MU on Thursday, shows I’m looking at my R/R before the trade.

o   Get out before a full R if the idea of the trade changes.

[Mark D. 435]

Monday April 8th, 2019

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

First trade was a MA trend trade in BA. it did an engulfing crack and i waited for a good entry but i ended up chasing it after a selloff on the 1min chart. should have waited about 30 more seconds. not a terrible entry though. unfortunately, it turned out to not be a trending stock so i got stopped out when it spiked above VWAP. not a full R loss but pretty close, glad i got out. 

GOOD: waited for a pullback to go short.

RFI: chased the entry a little bit

MOOD: not happy with getting stopped out so many times in a row

CONSISTENT: yes i respected my stop level. 

 

Last trade of the day was worse. i was hoping MU was going to break over $43 so i took 100 shares. this was a bonehead move, it stalled at the 200 MA on the 15min chart and then couldn't close above the 200 MA on the 5min chart and didn't make a new 5min high so i have no idea why i got in on the long side. another trade where i'm not thinking critically about the price action and just taking a position hoping it goes my way. Per my rules, only one trade allowed a day until i get a 2R winner. if i get stopped out on my trade tomorrow, i'll go back to SIM until i get a 2R winner. no sense in losing money if i can't get in tune with the markets. 

GOOD: got out at stop loss

RFI: no setup, PA didn't call for a long. 

MOOD: ok, I got what i deserved on that one. 

CONSISTENT: yes, bad plan to begin with but i'm still respecting my stops. 

 

What i did good today: Respected my stop loss level and got out of my trades. 

What i did bad today: The trade in MU was really bad. 

What can i do better tomorrow: Have to start picking better trades. I need to wait for signals then find a good entry. 

Other comments for tomorrow: Per my rules only one trade allowed until a trade that hits my profit target. 

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday April 4th, 2019

Sleep: 8 hours. Mood: so-so but ready to trade. 

First trade of the day was an ORBD in MU. i waited for a pullback and got in short at around the VWAP. this was too soon as it had a little more to go higher. i held it past my stop which is the worse thing to do. pretty ashamed that i held it past my stop and what's even worse is it came back down to my profit target. i felt that with the PPDL and the MA and the premarket levels it was going to come back down at least to my entry so i wasn't too worried about it but that's not the point. sold half too early and the rest at or past my profit target. 

GOOD: didn't chase the entry.

RFI: too soon on the entry though and held past stop. 

MOOD: ok

CONSISTENT: no, held past stop. 

 

Next trade was in CERN. i don't normally keep the chat in an open window because I've learned that i am biased to Andrews trades or the callouts in the chat but i kept it open today and i saw andrew went long in CERN right under the VWAP so i took the trade too risking a new 10min low. i'm really disappointed in this trade. first off i should have been short biased because it was below the VWAP and trending lower on the 5min chart. then worst of all, i held again past my stop and this time i paid for it with an autostop at 1.8R. turning my green day red. lessoned re-learned, i can't be trusted to watch the chat room and trade at the same time. 

GOOD: waited for a pullback after a green 1min candle to get in

RFI: everything else, not taking the trend, not respecting stops, no setup

MOOD: disappointed in myself

CONSISTENT: no. 

 

What did i do good today: Waited for a pullback in MU before going short

What i did bad today: taking trades with no setups, holding past my stops. taking trades from the chatroom

What can i do better tomorrow: It's crucial not to hold past your intended stops. i'll work on making sure i don't do this the rest of the week. can't watch the chatroom and trade, it is too biasing to me. 

Other comments for tomorrow: It's unlikely i'll be able to trade tomorrow anyway which might not be a bad thing, i'm getting beat up in the markets right now. I haven't had a trade go to my profit target without first hitting my stop in a week and a half. sometimes i feel like i'm finally getting the hang of this and some days, like today, i feel like I haven't learned anything. Need to regroup and come back and focus on taking good trades. 

 

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday April 10th, 2019 

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

I missed the first 45 minutes of the trading day so I was just watching for signs of a reversal. i noticed that DAL made a hammer of the PDC and some other previous lows. i waited for a new 1min high and then i waited for a pullback. i got in 20 shares thinking it was going to touch the PDC line again so i could add more but it never did. I risked the break of the PDC and the PPDL to the VWAP. it hit my profit target but my range order didn't get filled. i hesitated hoping it would try to break it again but then the volume started dying and it was strating to get choppy. it made two new 5min lows in a row and i got out at b/e (with commissions). I got out at the low and it turned around and went right past my profit target. 

GOOD: great entry and R:R, good waiting for a setup

RFI: overthinking and not taking profit at VWAP and talking yourself out of a trade when it wasn't at your stop. 

MOOD: ok

CONSISTENT: no, i deviated from my plan by not taking profits. 

 

What i did good today: Waited for a good entry on a double bottom. 

What i did bad today: didn't take profit at the profit target. got spooked out at a low. 

What can i do better tomorrow: take some profits close to your target, it doesn't have to exactly hit it. 

Other comments for tomorrow: Keep working on getting good entries in the right direction. profit taking is second to that. 

[Mark D. 435]

Thursday April 11th, 2019

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

Only took one trade today, an engulfing crack on WTW. i waited for a pullback to the VWAP to get in risking the 19.01 level to the LOTD. I was so volatile in that minute and i got a bad fill. The risk was too far away to begin with but i was trying to risk 20 cents and ended up risking 30 cents messed up my R/R pretty bad. Selling was good and according to my plan. if i'm nitpicking, i should have wait to sell my first half until it broke lower. 

GOOD: good plan

RFI: sold too early

MOOD: more comfortable in the trade than earlier in the week. 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

What i did good today: took only good trades. 

What i did bad today: selling too early

What can i do better tomorrow: sell less earlier 

[Mark D. 435]

Friday April 12th, 2019

No trades today. 

[Mark D. 435]

Week 15 Recap

Started off the week not by taking some bonehead trades. Wednesday was ok and Thursday was good. Hopefully i'll be able to trade Monday but it's not looking good as of today. 

·         Weekly stats

o   1.7 R/R (Goal: above 2.0) [Previous Week: 2.3]

o   23/40 58% (Goal: above 80%) [Previous Week: 88%]

o   -$23.10 (Goal: $250) [Previous Week: -$55.67]

o   7/10 70% trades with the trend (Goal: 100%) [Previous Week: 40%]

o   1/10 10% Early Entries (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 30%]

o   1/10 10% Letting Losers Run (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 0%]

o    2/10 20% No Setup (Goal: 0%) [Previous Week: 20%]

·         Highlights

o   Made some good trades this week. MU on Tuesday and WTW on Thursday

o   Entries were better this week and most trades were with the trend

·         Ongoing things to work on

o   Let losers run on me and got auto-stopped. First time maybe 3 weeks.

o   Don’t watch the chatroom while trading.

o   Continuing the practice of thinking like a trader and in probabilities

o   Still selling too early on winners

 

[Mark D. 435]

Tuesday April 16th, 2019

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

First trade of the day was a sort of double top off VWAP in ROKU. i got in short below the 200 MA on the 1min chart setting my stop loss to the PDH. I was hoping it would keep going lower on the break of the LOTD but it came back up i hesitated on getting out and it ended up costing me a little more than my $10 risk. 

GOOD: i think the premise of the trade with the support was good, good R/R. 

RFI: looking at it after the fact i chased my entry. 

MOOD: fine

CONSISTENT: yes but barely, should have got out right when it hit my stop. 

 

Next trade was in ROKU again. I felt comfortable going long again over the $58 dollar mark. added more on a new 5min high over VWAP. sold half just shy of my initial profit target. then half again on another break in an ABCD pattern. held the rest for just under $59 then moved that down to $58.90 after it stalled out. i should have got out earlier but i held on for the breakeven. 

GOOD: added more when the trade was going in my favor. scaled out above 2R. 

RFI: held too much too long, need to do the first 75% above 2R and then half the remaining at the next level then only save 12.5% for the last bit or just get all out. i'm getting killed in commissions. 

MOOD: glad to have a winner, wish i would have made more.

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Not a bad first day back from a couple day break. I need to change something about my trading because if i have one loser (at stop loss) and one winner (at profit target), then i should be +1R on the day. instead i was 0.2R positive and negative with commissions. i need to at the very least ALWAYS get out of losers at -1R and be patient enough with my winners until they're at 2R then get out almost all at or above that level. i'm not going to be net profitable until i can do those things. 

What i did good today: Kept a level head and made a good trade in ROKU after getting stopped out. 

What i did bad today: Not being flexible enough in my profit expectations. should have exited my final shares well before getting stopped out at B/E. also still hesitating to cut my losers. 

What can i do better tomorrow: Cut losers at determined stop loss. no exceptions. keep working on scaling out on winners. 

[Brandon K 64]

Interesting first trade on $ROKU Mark. While you went short, I was going long and riding the squeeze along with everyone else that covered. Then, when you were going long the second time, I was selling shares and should've been holding like you. Great discipline on your entries and stop out points. 

[Mark D. 435]

18 hours ago, Brandon K said:

Interesting first trade on $ROKU Mark. While you went short, I was going long and riding the squeeze along with everyone else that covered. Then, when you were going long the second time, I was selling shares and should've been holding like you. Great discipline on your entries and stop out points. 

thanks Brandon! good call going long under the VWAP and catching the squeeze. i thought after it broke the 200 MA on the 1min it would be good to go lower but it wasn't meant to be. 

[Mark D. 435]

Wednesday April 17th, 2019

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

First trade of the day was in QCOM. i was very long biased on QCOM because i've tried shorting strong stocks in the past and i've been burned bad so i try and keep with the daily trend. the problem is this bias is bad too. QCOM ran up great in the first five minutes. i thought about shorting but it seemeed like a bad idea to risk it so i waited for a long oppurtunity. it sold off to $79.50 then came back up to VWAP. i was hoping to catch it going higher, risking the previous 5min low to one of the levels i had marked on the daily chart. it did and algo jump at 9:54 that i did not like and once it made a new 5min low i bailed for a small loss. glad i did it hit my stop. 

GOOD: waited for the 5min trend to not make a new 5min low. 

RFI: pretty happy with this trade. the only thing is i was banking on a V reversal that doesn't happen very often.

MOOD: good, glad i handled that as well as i did. 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

After that good trade, i turned around and took some greedy trades with bad stop losses in QCOM. i was hoping for a pop over VWAP but i put my stop loss way too close and got stopped out. that was ok, i respected my stop. 

GOOD: respected stop. 

RFI: greed, no setup, stop too close. 

MOOD: ok

CONSISTENT: yes, i respected my stop.

 

Then i took the same trade again as i was convinced it was going to pop. it did but it didn't quite get to my profit target so i held. then i got no follow through and held past my stop. Glad i hit max stop loss because i am very frustrated about my trading choices today. 

GOOD: got out before the auto stop

RFI: no setup, greed, held past stop loss. 

MOOD: frustrated. 

CONSISTENT: no. 

 

What i did good today: took a good trade in QCOM to start the day

What i did bad today: let my long bias and greed get out of control. hit max loss.

What can i do better tomorrow: no bias on the trade, just look for good setups. Respect your stops. 

Other comments for tomorrow: two losses only tomorrow per my rules. i'm going to have to go back to using range orders with my profit/stop loss because I'm making a habit of letting my losers run again.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Mark D.

[Rob C 826]

1 hour ago, Mark D. said:

First trade of the day was in QCOM. i was very long biased on QCOM because i've tried shorting strong stocks in the past and i've been burned bad so i try and keep with the daily trend. the problem is this bias is bad too. QCOM ran up great in the first five minutes. i thought about shorting but it seemeed like a bad idea to risk it so i waited for a long oppurtunity. it sold off to $79.50 then came back up to VWAP. i was hoping to catch it going higher, risking the previous 5min low to one of the levels i had marked on the daily chart. it did and algo jump at 9:54 that i did not like and once it made a new 5min low i bailed for a small loss. glad i did it hit my stop. 

GOOD: waited for the 5min trend to not make a new 5min low. 

RFI: pretty happy with this trade. the only thing is i was banking on a V reversal that doesn't happen very often.

MOOD: good, glad i handled that as well as i did. 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

Hi Mark, that was a really good first trade. I actually have a post-it note on my station saying, "if it spikes IN your direction, get out, it will reverse." Which sadly I can't remember ever following. Though I sure remember a few trades I was upset at myself for not following that rule. It's a tough rule to obey.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Rob C

[Brandon K 64]

1 hour ago, Mark D. said:

Wednesday April 17th, 2019

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

First trade of the day was in QCOM. i was very long biased on QCOM because i've tried shorting strong stocks in the past and i've been burned bad so i try and keep with the daily trend. the problem is this bias is bad too. QCOM ran up great in the first five minutes. i thought about shorting but it seemeed like a bad idea to risk it so i waited for a long oppurtunity. it sold off to $79.50 then came back up to VWAP. i was hoping to catch it going higher, risking the previous 5min low to one of the levels i had marked on the daily chart. it did and algo jump at 9:54 that i did not like and once it made a new 5min low i bailed for a small loss. glad i did it hit my stop. 

GOOD: waited for the 5min trend to not make a new 5min low. 

RFI: pretty happy with this trade. the only thing is i was banking on a V reversal that doesn't happen very often.

MOOD: good, glad i handled that as well as i did. 

CONSISTENT: yes. 

 

You managed your losses well. I was SUPER long biased on QCOM and actually got a great move out of it after the first 5 minutes on a pullback. Then, I kept trying to catch a move to the upside again and got burned twice. A bias will definitely have you overthinking and second guessing yourself. Also, you'd throw strategies out to then overtrade.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Brandon K

[Mark D. 435]

1 hour ago, Rob C said:

Hi Mark, that was a really good first trade. I actually have a post-it note on my station saying, "if it spikes IN your direction, get out, it will reverse." Which sadly I can't remember ever following. Though I sure remember a few trades I was upset at myself for not following that rule. It's a tough rule to obey.

Thanks Rob! that spike threw me for a loop. i know what you mean about following rules in a trade, much easier said than done! 

[Mark D. 435]

59 minutes ago, Brandon K said:

You managed your losses well. I was SUPER long biased on QCOM and actually got a great move out of it after the first 5 minutes on a pullback. Then, I kept trying to catch a move to the upside again and got burned twice. A bias will definitely have you overthinking and second guessing yourself. Also, you'd throw strategies out to then overtrade.

thank you, glad one of your long trades worked!