Rob C's Trading Journal - starting Feb 1 2019

[Rob C 824]

Wednesday 5/01/2019

I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Actually my biometrics said my well-being was better than that, but I was so groggy this morning I reduced it to a 5/10. Nerves were a bit high due to my double S/O yesterday.

Took two live trades first with AAPL then AMD.

AAPL was very much in play in the premarket with a large gap up, but the 8 minutes before open it gapped down a dollar. The first minute had huge volume and the second minute it was setting up for a “step” setup. Though the second minute volume was low compared to the first it was still over 400k which is very strong. Both the 1min and 5min chart looked very bearish. I waited for the price to break the 209.55 daily level I marked (which was still well with in the Boulinger bands) and went short. The price made it to my first partial, but after another minute I started losing faith in the trade and took another partial. Now I normally exit the trade well before the B/E since the price moves so fast near the open that I have to sell about ¼ to ½ a second before the price reaches my B/E so that I don’t exit beyond my B/E. But since I was saw multiple trades last week reverse right at my stop out I sadly sold right as it reached my B/E. Thus there was a 20c loss during the transaction delay and thus I gave all my profits back.

What it looked like when I took the trade:

1min chart                                                                                     5min chart

  

 

My second trade was with AMD which was also in play from the premarket. It had a really good “Vish” setup with volume not dropping from the open. I waited for the break of the 200MA and $29 and went long. Got a good fill. I took a first partial where I wanted, but when the price reached my second partial (at the premarket high) I got a really bad fill and thus took the second partial at almost the same price as the first. The price retreated quickly afterwards. But I had not learned my lesson yet and instead of taking my exit at B/E I let it slide by a few tenths of a second also giving back all my profits. You can’t do that if you want to trade the open. I usually estimate where the price will be by the time the transaction is completed and sell ahead enough that I get the fill at the B/E price. This was sloppy today trying to do that at the open.

What it looked like when I took the trade:

1min chart                                   5min chart

   

 

 

What I did good today:  Took two trades on good setups. I learned from the trades and I did get to trade for free today.

How did I challenge myself today?  Took an extra partial when I started to feel trade was going sour instead of waiting for B/E

What I did bad today:  Sloppy exits. Waited an extra few tenths of seconds that ate all my profit.

What can I do better tomorrow: Go back to my usual method of keeping exits tight. Yes it hurts when stocks reverse on you the moment you stop out, but one must stay disciplined.

 

 

 

 

[Rob C 824]

Thursday 5/02/2019

I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning. Nerves were OK.

Took one live trade with AAPL.

AAPL looked in play in the premarket, though with a little gap. AMD was also active so I was trying to keep my eye on both after the opening bell. Then AAPL was setting up. Though I was taking the setup as a “Vish” the top wick was large showing no real direction. Plus, the target was only 50c away and the only really S/O point was also 50c giving it a R/R=1. So instead I took a really tight stop. I went long when it broke $210 and used VWAP as my stop. This would trigger a share size of 300, but since this was not the best S/O level I cut my shares in half. I had a good feeling if it could break the $210.25 level it may run since that level has been good resistance for the last 20min. I wasn’t too worried that the 50MA was standing in the way. AAPL doesn’t seem to respect that level so close to the open. I took my first partial at HOTD and my second when the price stalled 210.40. Then my third partial at the 200MA. My next level was at 210.93, but that seemed too far away so I did take a partial halfway to the next level. Then it reached the 210.93 (a level I marked in the premarket), but I didn’t realize how few shares I had left so I took another partial. Then I realized how few shares I had so I exited on the first sign of weakness.

When I took the trade:

1min chart                             5min chart

              

 

 

 

 

What I did good today:  I had a trade that finally ran this week. I just need one trade like this a week and it makes my week.

How did I challenge myself today?  Took a trade without a perfect candle setup, because my instinct said to take it. Twice this week I have done this and they both worked out. I don’t know if this was luck or I am starting to get better instincts. I need to collect more data.

What I did bad today:  Took the trade without a rock solid S/O level. Also lost track of the number shares I have left when I was taking partials.

What can I do better tomorrow: Need to setup a plan how to take a trade with secondary S/Os. I think it may be OK, but I should think it through first and have a plan ready instead of figuring it out during the trade.

 

 

 

 

[Rob C 824]

Friday 5/03/2019

I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Nerves were OK. Disappointed with my trade management today and this week in general.

Took one live trade with AAPL.

AAPL looked in play in the premarket again. AAPL was setting up for a “step” setup 2min ORB. Though the volume on the second 1min candle was not as high that I like to see for this setup it was not light either. I waited for the break of the 2min candle. I really liked that the 3^rd candle bounced hard off the $211 making a hammer. The 1min chart looked bullish. When the break occurred I went long. Target was the $212 level and stop out was the $211 level for a R/R = 2. And use HOTD as my first target.

What the 1min chart looked like when I took the trade:

I'll admit checklist look weaker than most of the trades I take:

Sadly, the stock immediately reversed the instant I took the trade. Though the $211 was my S/O for some reason I changed my mind and used VWAP as my S/O, which causes 5 issues:

1)    That S/O was not my plan.

2)    I now have the wrong share size for my risk

3)    The price bounced off of the $211 level three times proving it a strong TL and thus the breech of it is the correct S/O.

4)    I have found VWAP not a good S/O most of the time for AAPL. For AAPL it tends to bounce before VWAP, if it will bounce.

5)    If it breaks VWAP there tends to be an acceleration causing a big slide in your fill price.

So I used VWAP as my S/O and paid the price with a -1.5R stop out.

 

What I did good today:  I immediately stopped trading after that bad trade. It never crossed my mind to take another trade. I had a bad trade, I am not in emotional control so my trading day is over.

How did I challenge myself today?  Traded without my Etrade platform today, which I use for news and scanners. I think it is slowing down my DAS at the open so I did not use it.

What I did bad today:  Didn’t follow my exit plan. Sadly, not the first time this week I did that.

What can I do better next week: Since my exits had been good for months I hadn’t placed much importance on them. But like all the facets of trading they need upkeep as well.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 824]

Live trading summary for week ending 5/03/19.

Made some mistakes this week, especially an awful trade on Friday. But my score card for the week is good at 87%. Which is surprising since I have negative P/L and win rate was at 38%. The good news was my nerves were OK this week.

I switched to the score card this week instead of the good/neutral/bad trade evaluation since my trades are not as much of a disaster as they use to be so it’s easier to fine tune with the score card. I am trying to ignore my poor win rate this week and hope it’s just statistical. It was definitely better than the 25% win rate the previous week, which had a score card of 74% (very sloppy trading). It is unknown if this down turn is due to my trading worsening or it is time to adjust my setups or just statistical. The 5 previous weeks before this down turn my win rate was 72% which is beyond what my skill level can sustain, so this could be just the odds starting to even back out. I am going to concentrate on the score card. If the score is still high this week and my win rate poor I will look to adjust my setups.

Since I am no longer on the 3 month no Hulk challenge, I decided I can trust myself more and I adjusted my DAS layout this weekend. Previously I would have only one Montage because I could not trust myself to take one trade at a time. I think I am past that and the one Montage is killing me. Sometimes by the time I move the stock over to the Montage it is too late for the entry. So I do have two active Montages on my layout now, so I can watch and enter a trade without switching.

Here is my plan for next week:

Concentrate on process and score card, not on W% and P/L

DAS platform layout is new be alert if there is an issue and edit layout if needed.

Remove "step" setup on AAPL its giving false setups. "Vish" is still setting up well

AMD is still setting up OK for the 2min ORB, But not as good as the previous two weeks.  It is starting to respect the 20MA now at the open. The S/O levels were farther away last week than usual, will need to decrease share size to respect the level.

Unknown from last week which is more promising (AAPL/AMD) choose primary and secondary by premarket

MU is starting to setup again at the open especially for the "Vish" setup. But this setup commonly occurs at the 3min mark not the 2min mark for MU. If premarket looks OK, MU is fine to make top 2 focus

Though FB had some great moves at the open last week it is also giving false setups, so not recommended to trade at the open

Edited May 10, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 824]

Monday 5/06/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. Nerves were not good, but I had extra time before the open to meditate so nerves were good by the opening bell. The reason for the extra time is I woke up early (4:30am my time) to test my new DAS layout (major change) in SIM and then live (1 share) in premarket. But, when I started up my account the DAS layout did not open correctly. So back to normal setup. Disappointed.

Took one live trade with AAPL.

AAPL gapped down with the rest of the techs. It moved so well I never even looked at another stock. AAPL had a nice 1min hammer on good volume. It was setting up for a “Vish” setup 1min ORB. It still had a lot of tech levels in front of it. But I decided to go long when it breaks the 1min VWAP. But just above it was a daily level and the $25 mark, not making the best setup. So I reduced my share size accordingly (not by too much). I waited for a clean break of VWAP since I have been burned lately with the stock instantly reversing on me as if I didn’t wait for a clean break. So I gave up about 10c on the entry.

This is what it looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart                            5min Chart

   

   

But now the first partial at $25 level is really close. But I have learned my lesson and took my first partial there. The second partial I took just because I didn’t feel like I took a first partial since the stock moved so little, but not happy that I took it. The third partial was correct at the 50/200MA. The fourth partial was completely wrong and not sure why I did it. The 1min chart was still making HH and HLs and should have waited to see if it broke the 200MA. It was a bad partial. Then AAPL broke through the 200MA and yes a partial should be taken, but since I took too many partials already I did not have enough shares left. So I sold all my shares there. At 9:37 I felt like going back in on an ABCD, but ~$1 trade on AAPL is usually an one and done day. Plus after two bad weeks and a really bad Friday I just wanted to lock in a good day. Yes I missed the big run on AAPL but that is OK. I still had a good day.

My score card on the trade was only an 87%. Everything was good except the score on taking partials where I gave myself a low score.

What I did good today:  I like that I held myself for that extra half a second to make a clean break of the tech level on the entry. I have been lately entering the trade as it breaks the level not through the level.

How did I challenge myself today?  Started with bad nerves but was able to reduce them and feel fine by the open.

What I did bad today:  Too many partials.

What can I do better tomorrow: I need to trust the trade more and wait for the levels to take partials. After all these months I still feel like every win is just luck and I need to partial fast before the trade goes against me.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 824]

Tuesday 5/07/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. Nerves were fine when until about 5 minutes before the open. Then when I saw in the premarket that AAPL may pop in the first minute I got stressed. I hate trading the first minute.

Took one live trade with AAPL.

AAPL gapped down and the last 25 minutes before open it bounced off the $205.73 level 3 times. So I was expecting a pop up and thought, if it happens, it will happen right after the open. So this got my heart pounding. To calm myself down, I told myself I would only enter the trade in the first minute if one scenario occurs. If AAPL drops back down touched the 205.73 level again and then moves up passed the $206 with strong volume, then I will go long. ONLY if it does that, which is unlikely since so many things can occur at the open. After I said that to myself I calmed down. So at the open AAPL drops down and touches 205.73 and moves up passed the $206. So of course that really got my heart in my pounding again. So I went long at 9:30:35am, wow so early. My stop was the 205.73 level with my target of the 200MA/$207 level.

This is what it looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart   

                       

 

I know it looks like I took a lot of partials, but every partial was where I planned it, so I am quite happy about that. Now you could say my partial plan was bad and you are probably be correct, but following my plan of where to take partials is tough for me. Now AAPL did make it easy by moving really fast. There was seldom a stall point where I got nervous. Sometimes I mark several premarket levels. Usually just the high and the low, but sometimes if there are other local extrema I will mark them as well. So AAPL today had four premarket levels marked. So my first partial was at one of these extra premarket levels, then my second partial was at the 50MA. Third partial was at my target (200MA), then another “extra” PM level was my fourth partial. Then I took a heavier partial at the premarket high of 207.39, leaving me with only a few shares left. Once the price dropped below the 200MA I exited the trade.

When I watched my video of the trade I saw that there was a level 2 signal right before I took the trade, but I never look at L2 during the first minute after the open so I missed it.

I am giving myself a high score card of 94% for the trade.

Since I just got ~$1.40 move from AAPL I was done for the day. I have been really lucky with AAPL this week so far.

 

What I did good today:  I took my partials where I planned to take them.

How did I challenge myself today?  Took a trade under one minute from the open, though that really stresses me.

What I did bad today:  My plan for where I take partials may be too abundant.

What can I do better tomorrow: Work on when to take partials. I still need to let the winner run more. Also, I need to fix my new DAS layout.

 

 

 

 

[Rob C 824]

Wednesday 5/08/2019

I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Very groggy. My watch said I woke up, by alarm, from deep sleep. This is unusual for me. My nerves were OK.

Took two live trades with AAPL. I haven’t traded this bad since February. Very disappointed with myself.

AMD was my primary focus, but today was the first day I got my new DAS layout working. So there is no primary stock anymore. I can actively focus on two separate stocks without flipping my Montage. I am hoping this was not the cause. If I still trade bad the rest of the week I will switch back my layout.

AMD was almost setting up but not quite. Then AAPL was setting up, or so I thought, with a mini ABCD. So for the setup I wait if there is a bounce at the same level and enter the trade after the bounce when the price is moving in my direction. So I made my first mistake, instead of using the bounce as an entry point, I was concerned about the $230 level just above it and waited for it to break the $203 to go long. I still have a R/R ~2 using the $203.5 as my target. But since I was watching AMD I didn’t watch the price action on AAPL. So I couldn’t confirm the $203 was actually a respected level. I found out after watching the video that it was not respected and should have followed the usual plan and go long at the bounce. Any way I waited for the break of $203 and went long. There was a big price acceleration on the break and I got a bad fill. This caused my R/R to become R/R~1. The rule, which I never follow, is to get out of the trade. But what I usually do now, if the price is going in my direction, is take some off that the original S/O level is back to -1R. That is what I did and got stopped out.

 This is what it looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart

 

AAPL then bounced off the high of PM ($202.7). Now I know that the $203 is not a level, so I went long again at the break of the 202.87 level with S/O at the 202.7. Again my fill was really bad and only got a slightly better entry than last time. Again I have a R/R~1. Did I learn my lesson and get out? Of course not. I did the same thing again and sold some, so my original S/O is back to -1R. And again I got S/O.

The feeling to revenge trade and FOMO, since AMD and AAPL were both setting up even better a couple minutes later, was really high. But I stayed at my 2 trade limit.

After my trading session, when I was watching the video tape I realized how bad my mistake was. I never looked at the 5min chart since premarket. There was no setup. The 200MA vetoed both trades. Then I remembered why I chose AMD as my primary focus. During the premarket I noticed that AAPL had to many levels above the current price to be able to trade it long today, versus AMD had more opportunity. I totally forgot this, even though only 10min had past, and I took AAPL long….twice!!

Score card for today: Trade 1: 30%    Trade2: 32%    Very disappointed with myself. I was hoping to stay above 80% for all trades this month.

 

What I did good today:  Stopped myself at the 2 trade limit. Took my S/Os as planned.

How did I challenge myself today?  Traded with a new layout.

What I did bad today:  I felt like I regressed 3 months with my trading today.

What can I do better tomorrow: Yeeks!! Look at your 5min chart!! I have been trading SIM/Live for a year now, that is ridiculous. Also, got to just bail on my trades with bad entries. If I did that today I would have ended the day +0.7R. Which is really good for a sloppy trading day.

 

 

 

 

[Rob C 824]

Thursday 5/09/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were a bit bad, but that was due to the double stop out yesterday.

Took two live trades with CVX and AAPL.

I was going to take a quick trade in the premarket to test my new layout. It worked fine in SIM, but I would feel better live. I was going to take very small shares to test. CVX was not moving much but had liquidity and a tight Bid-Ask range. I was about to take the quick trade but I noticed it was actually setting up. So I thought I will wait a few minutes and if the price goes down to touch 5min VWAP again (which is aligned with the 9MA) then I will go long on the bounce. It did and I went long with a very tight stop. As usual, the market likes to destroy whatever plan you have. Right after I got my fill the spread exploded to almost double my risk! So that got the heart pounding. The good news was the price was still bouncing. I really like when I take trades with a large gap between the 5min and the 1min VWAP. It seems the one VWAP pulls the price from the other, when you enter in between them. So I went long when it bounced from the 5min VWAP and the price road up to the 1min VWAP. It’s funny, in the premarket, how you immediately stop watching the price action and I was only watching the bids on L1. Shortly after it broke through VWAP the spread went back to normal and I got out. Even with the low shares that was a surprisingly profitable win.

 

 

That premarket trade calm my nerves and I was fine at the opening bell. Then AAPL broke down through $200, which means it is very likely I will be trading in the first minute of the open again!! Which got the heart pounding once again. I decreased my share size accordingly since I was trading <1min from open.

I don’t usually take the reversal back to VWAP trade, but AAPL got really extended. Now something funny happen. I was so upset at myself for taking two bad trades yesterday due to never looking at the 5min chart, that I guess I unconsciously over compensated by taking this trade ONLY looking at the 5min chart!! So after it reversed I saw no levels to choose as an entry or S/O. But if I was looking at the 1min chart I had a daily level at 199.36, which I didn’t see. So I chose the $199.50 as my entry since I had nothing else on that chart. The price shot through that level so I got a bad fill. I essentially lost 30c on my entry by looking at the wrong chart. So another day I traded ~30sec from the open.

Now this is where it got interesting. I had almost no levels on my 5min chart to take partials. I just took partials where ever the price stalled. After I took my fourth partial (there I had a level at 200.83) on the 5min chart, I realize I am looking at the wrong chart. But the trade was almost over then. When it broke down and dropped below the $200 level I exited the trade. The reason this was interesting is after the trade I noticed I took partials exactly where I was supposed to even though I didn’t see the levels. So these levels did mean something and it is why the price just stalled there. So I took my 1^st partial at 1min VWAP, my second at low of premarket, and my third partial at HOTD even though I did not see any of these levels on my 5min chart.

Though I really messed up on the entry, I still got my $1 move from AAPL and that is all I ever ask for.

My score card on the AAPL trade is a bit low due to the poor entry by looking at the wrong chart. I lost 6% on the entry. Too bad this could have been a record high score.

 This is what it looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart                            5min Chart

              

What I did good today:  Traded a reversal.

How did I challenge myself today?  Traded in the premarket.

What I did bad today:  Very late entry due to looking at the wrong chart, then managed the whole trade when still looking at the wrong chart.

What can I do better tomorrow: Two days in a row I made the mistake by not looking at both time frames. I just got lucky today that it did not make much of a difference.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Rob C

[IamKarthi 342]

Nice. how do you score your wellbeing? 

[Rob C 824]

This is an example of my well being calculation from a previous morning (during winter). 

My Garmin (watch) informs me of the first 6 categories on the table. Fatigue level is self determined. I did have a headache that morning but that is unusual. I won't see a good score >7 until late Spring. My well-being score will be higher in the summer with the warmer weather and more opportunity to workout.

[Rob C 824]

Friday 5/10/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were fine, which is odd since I am usually a wreck on Fridays, which is the day I give all my hard earned profits back to the market.

Took two live trades with AAPL and AMD.

I could already tell from the premarket that I will be trading either AAPL or AMD in the first minute of the open. AAPL opened and took a nice bounce off of premarket lows. I was thinking to take a “Vish” setup as it broke the 50MA. But since it was Friday I really wanted to follow my rules and setups. The 50MA is not considered a major TL <2min of the open, thus it is not a correct “Vish” setup. So I let that entrance go by. As it passed the 50MA the body of the candle became large enough that it was no longer a “Vish” setup and can only be a “simple” setup. To be a “simple” setup the price MUST break VWAP. So I waited. When it broke VWAP I went long. I took a little smaller share size due to how early the entry and that it was Friday. I partialled at the daily level at 198.28 and a second partial when the price stalled. The price then reversed and I exited the trade at B/E. It was a small winner.

What AAPL looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart                            5min Chart

                    

               

 

Soon after I saw AMD setting up for a “step” setup. Though my back testing has prohibited taking this setup on AAPL, the data says it is still a valid setup for AMD. I was waiting for the break of the 27.20 level and the finish of the 2min candle. My target was a bit close at the 27.39 level and S/O at VWAP. This only gives a R/R=1.6 so I was going to take a reduced share size due to the R/R and again since it is Friday. But as I was waiting the volume came in and when the price broke the 27.2 I switched and went full share size. Though this is the correct share size for VWAP as my S/O, that is a bad idea. So the price retraced a little and since its Friday, where I always give my profits back, I immediately loss my nerve and exited. If I stayed with my original planned share size it would have been more likely I would have stuck to my planned S/O and had a really nice run with AMD this morning.

 

My score card for today:

	AAPL	AMD
Total	92%	72%

The setup on AMD was fine but the management of the trade was terrible.

Oddly, this was still considered a much better than average Friday. I am at break even for the day and I didn’t give all my weekly profits back to the market.

 

What I did good today:  Took good setups

How did I challenge myself today?  Waited patiently for the setups to finalize.

What I did bad today:  Terrible trade management on AMD.

What can I do better tomorrow/next week: Will make small share size a rule on Fridays until further notice.

 

 

 

 

[Rob C 824]

 

Live trading summary for week ending 5/10/19.

Took some poor trades this week, so my score card for the week was low at 74%. But, there were some good trades as well. Even though my win% is only 50% for this month so far (my month started April 29 so this is the second week of the month) I am green so far for the month. Also my nerves are improving.

I took 8 trades this week and 3 were quite bad causing my weekly score card to be a low. Two trades I took with a poor setup, which I haven’t really done in weeks. My main issue this week was focusing on one chart too much. I made three trades this week with looking at only one time frame.

Since I am no longer on the 3 month no Hulk challenge, I decided I can trust myself more and I adjusted my DAS layout last weekend. It took until Wednesday before I finally had it working well. So now I do have two active Montages on my layout now, so I can watch and enter a trade without switching the stock to my main display.

The second change I was going to make if I survived those 3 months was change brokers. Originally CMEG was a good idea. I can have risk controls and a small account in case I blow it up. Since my hulk tendencies are more under control now I was planning to switch to a lower cost structure like Center Point or IB. But I am wondering, since I do have an issue with taking to many partials. Would it make it worse knowing each partial costs less? Should I stay with CMEG until I fix that issue? I know I am only supposedly just focusing on the process now, but it really hurts that most of my profits go to commission and fees.

Back testing my setups this weekend had showed that AAPL is still very much in play at the open. AMD is still also in play but not as good as the previous week. MU did not have a good week at the open, though the previous week was amazing. So AAPL and AMD will be my top two focuses at the open. FB is still setting better each week as a play <2min of open.  I still have it as my #4 stock, but that could change to #3 by weeks end.

Here is my plan for next week:

 

 

 

[Rob C 824]

Monday 5/13/2019

I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning. My nerves were not good.

Took two live trades with AAPL and AMD.

I could tell from premarket that I would be trading at the open again, so nerves were not good. I tried meditating longer this morning and it helped some. The plan I had for AAPL is if it drops and bounces off the 186.31 level then I will go long when it breaks a dollar or half dollar level. When it did bounce the price action was crazy. It was flipping back and forth through the $187 level, it felt like with each tick. I finally went long when the price calmed down and the candle looked like a OK hammer and the volume was amazing. My level that it broke was the 185.50 or the PM low. Since it was only 20 seconds after open and I knew by the price action I would get a big slide on my S/O fill so I took half shares.

What AAPL looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart                                              5min Chart

                                   

I took the first partial at VWAP, the second at a PM level and the third at the 50MA. The moment it dropped below the VWAP I exited. Yes, I did get more than $1 from AAPL today but since it was half shares I felt like trading more. Which is good since I took an interesting trade with AMD.

 

 

Soon after I saw AMD setting up for a 5min ORB. I liked that it looked like an ABCD, the 5min candle was bullish and the current candle engulfed the premarket candle. I went long on the 3^rd bounce off of VWAP. I got a bad fill, but that is common on AMD so I already set my share size accordingly. The issue with the bad fill is my R/R is now 1.6. But, that is OK, I learned a quite a bit on the trade and I need a lot more practice on the 5min ORB. After I entered the price tried to break the 50MA multiple times and started to retrace. I do have a guideline that if the price hits resistance on 3 separate 1min candles I should exit the trade that it might reverse. But since both the VWAP and 50MA both had 3 rejections I thought I would stay in the trade. Then the 50MA had a 4^th rejection. I should have exited the trade right there at B/E. Instead I let the price go to my planned S/O where I did just that. I hind sight waiting for the 5min candle break on the new candle would have prevented me from taking the trade and taking the loss. Some things to think about.

 

 

 

My score card for today:

AAPL	AMD
93%	85%

The AAPL trade was a good setup and well managed. The AMD trade was a good setup but I did drop the ball a bit on the management. I delayed on the entry by a couple of tenths of seconds causing a bad fill. And I should have exited when I had four rejections to break the 50MA.

 

What I did good today:  I really like that I had a 50% win rate but was green for the day. Looking back, I had fun trading today.

How did I challenge myself today?  Took a 5min ORB

What I did bad today:  Poor trade management on AMD, though I am glad I took the trade.

What can I do better tomorrow: Need to perform back testing on the 5min ORB (I currently only back test my strategies on the 2min ORB). I need to learn more about it.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 824]

Tuesday 5/14/2019

I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. My nerves were OK.

Took two live trades both with AAPL.

It looked from the premarket that I probably would not trade right at the open again, which helped my nerves. I usually have some plan for AAPL before the bell, but today I had no idea what would happen so I just waited and to see. Soon after open AAPL looked weak with a bearish 1min candle. When it broke the $186 mark I shorted. My S/O was at the 186.13 daily level and my target at the 185.7 level. The R/R is right at 2 but this is a very tight S/O so there will be some slippage so the R/R <2. But, I really liked the potential of a green to red play, so I was fine with the reward to risk ratio. It did reach a first partial but quickly reversed. I do have a rule not to S/O at B/E after the 1^st partial if just beyond the entry was a strong level. But in this trade there wasn’t. So I S/O at B/E for a small profit. The whole trade was 5 seconds long.

 

What AAPL looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart                            5min Chart

             

 

The second trade with AAPL occurred when a really bullish hammer was created with the 2min candle. It was a really nice setup. Bullish hammer, engulfing the first 1min candle and broke through 3 levels at once (VWAP, 200MA-5min, 186.52 PM level). The setup had a good R/R = 3, with 200MA-1min as the target and the 186.50 as the stop loss level. It even had a strong 1st target which was the HOTD and the 50MA. I couldn’t ask for a better setup. But of course that doesn’t mean it’s a winner. The price did reach my 1^st target where I took a partial but then floundered for a while then dropped. Since the level was so strong below the B/E, I waited for the price to break the level to S/O instead of B/E (the AAPL rule I use). So the trade did become a small loser. So my profits were flat for the day. But that’s OK, that means I got to trade for free today.

What AAPL looked like when I took the trade:

1min Chart                                       5min Chart

            

My score card for today:

 

What I did good today:  Best score on any trade since I have been tracking them (~6 weeks). Funny that it was a losing trade. In general I traded well today.

How did I challenge myself today?  Took a trade (1^st trade) that was not any specific setup I use. Also the trade was only 5 seconds long, but I still managed the trade well.

What I did bad today:  I forget to go through my preflight checklist until a few minutes before the open. During the checklist I found an issue with may layout. It was nothing major, but shows you that it needs to be done every day and as early as possible.

What can I do better tomorrow: Perform preflight checklist early.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by Rob C

[Tommy 55]

Hi Rob,

may i ask, how do you give yourself a well being score? is this subjective or you have some measuring method?
it sounds interesting.

Tommy