Rob C's Trading Journal - starting Feb 1 2019

[Rob C 826]

Live trading summary of the month of July.

So by the end of June I have gone 8 months without a positive month and I have had a flat P/L for the last 5 months. Three days before the end of last month I was thinking seriously ending the month early and SIM trading to lock in a profitable month and solid score card. I thought that was silly and was thinking even if I lose every trade for the next 3 days I will still have a positive P/L. But that was assuming I stuck to a -1R loss. I under estimated my self-sabotaging behaviors. The following 3 days were a disaster, losing every trade and not holding to the -1R loss. Thus June was another flat P/L month and mediocre score card.

So Thursday morning I was thinking, “not again.” And decided to take SIM trades only the next two days and lock in a positive P/L. Which I did. So finally, my ninth month trading live, is green. Kind of funny that those two SIM days were my best two trading days of the month. Would they have been as good if I was trading live?

My win% (for live trades) for the month was solid at 58%. I added quite a few SIM trades this month on 5/10/15 min ORBs and saw an improvement as the month progressed. Using Van Tharp method for analyzing trading systems, the 17 live trades in July with my 1min/2min ORB setup has a very good rating. But that is a small sample set. The 3 months previous has a rating of poor (but tradable) due to the 5 trades I let the loss pass -1R. All it takes is two trades a month, that you don’t stick to your stop, to go from a “very good” system to a “poor” rating.

I am still trading with Centerpoint and it has been OK, but not great. I haven’t experienced any more tech issues since the second week. The execution speed is OK. I only trade very liquid stocks so I wonder why I get different speed results from day to day. Not impressed by the short list. Since they have a “hard to short” app, their easy to short list is not extensive. I remember when both ROKU and CGC were dropping like a rock one day. I had neither available to short and I hear people with IB making great trades on those stocks.

In July I read (actually listened to) The Willpower Instinct which was recommended by Tommy. I wrote a review for it.

https://forums.bearbulltraders.com/topic/1278-book-review-of-willpower-instinct/

I also listed to Trading beyond the Matrix by Van K. Tharp. The book is actually free on their website:

https://www.vantharp.com/trading-beyond-the-matrix-the-red-pill-for-traders-and-investors-soft-cover

It’s worth a read, but does read like an advertisement for their courses. With that said, it worked, because I am taking one of their courses.

I started taking the course (home study version): Van Tharp Institute Peak Performance Course for Traders. To place some accountability on myself to finish the course I started to post my reading notes and assignments online. Please see my link if you are curious about the course:

https://forums.bearbulltraders.com/topic/1286-van-tharp-institute-peak-performance-course-for-traders-my-journey-through-the-course/

 

 

Stats for February/March/April/May/June/July:

	February	March	April	May	June	July
Total # of live trades	21	34	36	36	38	19
Hulk Days	0	0	0	0	0	0
Max Loss Days	0	0	0	0	0	0
Broke max trade rule	1	1	0	0	0	0
Hoy Key Mistakes	1	1	0	0	1	2
Score card			81%	81%	84.5%	85.8%

Only half the trades as usual since I had 9 SIM only days this month. My two hot key mistakes was issues switching back and forth to SIM. My score card was lower than I had hoped but at least an improvement from last month.

Goals for July:

1)    Don’t go hulk.

2)    Learn to control your emotions after a loss.

3)    The trade score card average for the month should exceed the previous month.

4)    Increase risk per trade from $25 back to $30.

5)    Keep improving health.

6)    Follow the new 11 rules I specified in my June 28 weekly

7)    Keep making SIM trades on 5/10/15 min ORBs

[Rob C 826]

Thursday 8/01/2019

I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning. My nerves were fine.

WIFI was poor in our hotel room, the last 3 days, so I couldn’t even trade SIM. But it was a family vacation so I probably shouldn’t have been watching the markets. I have not taken a live trade in a week.

I took one live trade with AAPL and one SIM trade with MU.

I only liked AAPL in the premarket. I had MU on my secondary chart but was not planning to pay attention to it until 9:33am. I had no bias on direction on AAPL. Though I would likely need a hammer or weak first candle and pull back on the second 1min candle to go short. To go long my setup was simple, if it breaks the high of premarket <1min with high volume go long. I was betting on the 200MA-5min being a magnet to pull the price up. I usually would shy away with that big resistance in front of it. But I have been noticing the 200MA-5min is really good price magnet very near the open <1min. Though it may bounce and retrace to stop out. It’s a good place to take a partial and get out at B/E, where the price usually keeps retracing. Though it has a lower chance of working out it has a lower chance of a full -1R stop out. So, I took the trade when it looked like it broke the HOPM. Though looking at the chart now, it actually didn’t and I entered the trade a little early.

My target was the 216.50 level and my stop was all the way down to the 200MA-1min, so I had to go a little light on the shares. The price touched the 215 level twice and took some restraint not to take a partial there. Then I almost got stopped out. But, I waited for the correct first partial at the 215.23 level. Then I was about to take another quick partial at the 200MA-5min, but the there was a really big ask (unusual for AAPL where L2 is not very useful at the open) for 215.50, so I waited. The price popped and I took another partial. Less than a minute later the price had a big and instant spike down through my B/E stop. So I took another partial, since I was losing faith in the trade. Once it broke back through the 215.23 level I exited.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

The entire trade:

I took a SIM trade on MU, trying to practice my 5min ORB. MU opened strong and I saw AMD was really strong as well and I was hoping MU would follow. MU created an ABCD and I went long at the break of the 5min candle body. The same story with the 200MA-5min. Was it a hard resistance level and I shouldn’t take the trade or a good magnet for the price? Since this was SIM it was worth a try. My target was 45.81 level and my stop was VWAP and the 45.31 daily level. I took my first partial at the 200MA-5min then partialed when the price seemed to halt. I finally exited when we had 3 LL/LHs in a row.

Score card

AAPL

87%

 

What I did good today:  Waited for the correct first partial on AAPL.

How did I challenge myself today?  Traded with the higher risk per trade ($30)

What can I do better:  Wait for the proper entry.

 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

Friday 8/02/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were fine.

45 minutes before the open I was going through my checklist and that is when I noticed Centerpointe has no shorts available on any stock. I called them and they said they are aware of the issue and are working on it. 15 minutes before the open I decided to restart DAS in case I need to do that after they fixed the issue. But still no shorts. I made sure to change my order templates back to live after the restart. But, since everything was setup and my two stocks I want to focus on were already in the right charts I did not touch my watch-list table. Thus the order template did not get activated in the montage. So I accidentally traded only in SIM today. About 10 minutes before the open we had shorts available. If I didn’t see shorts by the open I was planning on placing an application to IB today.

I took two SIM trades (though I thought they were live until I looked at my P/L) with MU.

I liked a lot of things in the premarket, but only focused on AAPL and MU. Both were too choppy at the open so my first live trade actually a 5min ORBU on MU. The 4^th 1min candle was really strong then the price consolidated forming a little ABCD. I went long on the break of the 4^th candle. PDC was my target and my stop was the 200MA-1min. I did take a quick partial at the HOTD, but instead of using my original S/O or B/E I moved my stop to the 42.85 tech level. That was bad and I got stopped out for a loss. If I kept the original, I would not have been S/O. Or B/E for a profit. When the price rebounded and broke the high of the day again I went long. But my nerves were not so good now after the S/O and I took partial profits quite poorly. Too bad the price reached and passed my target.

It was still a nice winner, too bad it was on SIM. Even though I thought it was live I will not add it to my sample set. It’s time I stop doing that. I made a mistake and I won’t act like I didn’t.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

The entire trade:

 

 

What I did good today:  My winner was 2X times my loser.

How did I challenge myself today?  I thought I took a 5min ORB live.

What can I do better:  Need to regroup after a stop out. Need to double check montage is set for live trading before the open.

 

 

Edited August 2, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 826]

 

Live trading summary for week ending 8/02/19.

An unusual week. The first three days I was on a family vacation with spotty WIFI so I didn’t trade even SIM. I traded Thursday but only took one live trade. Friday I did take two trades, which I thought were live but were in SIM. So I only took one live trade this week. So no stats. I increased the risk this week to $30 risk/trade.

Back test data shows AAPL still in play at the open. MU and FB are marginal at the open. AMD and TSLA are possibilities at the open. But I don’t know TSLA well, I will need to trade that stock in SIM or half share size first, to get to understand its personality. AMD’s personality has changed at the open since the 2 months ago when I use to trade the stock. So I will need to keep share size small.

Here is my plan for this week:

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

AAPL is still in play at the open. Make it the primary focus.

Both MU and FB are marginal. Do not trade at the open until better data.

Keep $30 risk per trade.

Choose TSLA or AMD to be the second focus at the open based on PM data. Go small share size or even SIM on TSLA until you better understand the personalities.

Keep trading 5/10/15 min on SIM

Don’t add to any trade, even winners.

 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

Monday 8/05/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were fine.

Quite disappointed in my trading today. When the markets are quiet I can barely focus on two stocks at the open. I usually concentrate on the one I like more at the open and glance at the other in case of a really good setup. Today was a volatile open and one of my focuses was AMD which I haven’t focused on in awhile. So today would be a very bad day for focusing on two stocks at once, but that is what I did. If I chose either AAPL or AMD I would have likely had a good trade. But by focusing on both I ruined both trades.

Everything was gapping down. I did not have a bias on AAPL, though I was short bias on AMD due to very little resistance levels below its current price. I really liked that AMD gapped up the minutes before the open. This made me even more short biased. The price was respecting the 50MA-1min, so I was going short if it broke it. I had no idea I took a trade on AMD 5 seconds after the open. I knew it was close to the open, but until I watched the recording is when I realized how fast I took the trade. I did take it half shares because it was close to the open. My target was the low of premarket and my stop was the 28.25 daily level that it showed respect for already. Though R/R ~2 we are talking pennies here with a lot of slippage, so the R/R really was not that good. But I was hoping for a big drop if it broke the low of PM. Plus over 1 million shares traded in 5 seconds. Wow!

The chart when I took the trade.

I did make mistakes with the partials. I have to admit I seldom look at the spread with AMD I always assume it’s tight. So when the price dropped 8 cents I tool a partial which filled at almost B/E. So I looked and there was a 7 cent spread. So I waited for the spread to close to 1 cent and took another partial and got filled near B/E again. This flustered me a bit. Now looking at the recording I just happen to catch an upward spike, which happens a lot at the open. Then the price dropped to my target. I took another partial. Not the best fill but at least not at B/E. But I made the mistake of taking a small partial. I am at my target now, so why did I not take a large partial?

Then the worse of my mistakes. I started eyeing AAPL and seeing a really good setup. But I was still in the AMD trade. The AMD price started to go against me and the plan was to use VWAP as my stop. But I was looking for an excuse to get out. So as soon as it “looked” like it was going to break VWAP, I got out. The moment I did the price went back in my favor and would have been a good trade. So by not focusing on one stock I ruined the trade.

The entire trade (sorry about the image quality):

So I was really liking the setup on AAPL and was focusing on it more than AMD, which was really poor trade management. So I bailed early on AMD but the entry on AAPL had already passed. If I was just watching APPL I would have gone long with the strong hammer when it broke VWAP. Instead I chased it and took it the moment I exited the AMD trade. The R/R was now bad. To make things worse I took a full share size which limits my stop to 197.70 daily level instead of the better 197.50 level. The price instantly went against me the moment I entered the trade and I was stopped out at my shortened stop level. If I took the correct share size I would not have been stopped out as it bounced from 197.50 and went higher all the way to my target at the 200MA-1min. Its been a couple of months since I have taken this bad of a trade.

What it looked like when I took the trade:

The entire trade:

After the AAPL debacle I switched my platform to SIM. I saw AMD breaking the low of premarket again and L2 had some large bids so I shorted.  VWAP was my stop again and honestly I didn’t have a target since there were no levels below. This is something I would only take on SIM. But as soon as I took the trade I realized I forgot to click the watchlist again so the trade was still live. I wanted to get out, but the price went in my favor quickly. Again I took a small partial instead of exiting or a large partial since this trade is a mistake. Then got out at B/E. If I never bailed out early on the first trade I would have had a 30 cent move.

I then took three SIM trades and was stopped out on each one. That didn’t help my confidence.

Score Card

AMD	AAPL	AMD
80%	65%	87%

 

What I did good today:  I kept my losses to -1R

How did I challenge myself today?  Traded AMD, first time in awhile.

What can I do better:  Should concentrate on only one stock if there is a volatile open. Don’t look around at other charts for a next trade, while in the middle of a trade.  Don’t leave a trade early to take another trade.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Tuesday 8/06/2019

I had a well-being score of 5.5/10 this morning. Getting only 5.5 hours of sleep every night is really catching up with me. My nerves were fine.

I am so glad I took a trade with a good score card, my scores have been poor lately. I took 1 live trade with AAPL and 3 SIM trades.

With the premarket I saw no reason not to keep AAPL and AMD as my two main focuses. I had no bias on AMD but I had a strong long bias on AAPL. I really liked the premarket. Lots of volume and AAPL gapped up, then gave half of it back, then slowly creeped up to test high of premarket right before the open. The last two 1min PM candles both tested the HOPM and found resistance.

Huge volume for AAPL at the open. First, the price dropped and tested the 196.18 daily level twice finding support. Then shot up and plowed through the HOPM and the 197.09 daily level. Then the price dropped down and tested the HOPM and found support. I went long the moment it bounced from that level. My target was the 197.67 and my stop was 196.50. Since I entered the trade 20 seconds after the open on high volume I assumed I was going to get a bad fill (around 197). Plus there is a lot of slippage this close to the open so I took shares for a 75 cent R. This large of an R is not that uncommon this close to the open. But, I ended up with a great fill, so it looks a bit odd in hindsight taking so few shares. I used up 5 partials to make it to my target. My current goal is to only use four. Though my first 3 partials were all small. And I was happy I exited right at the peak.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

The entire trade:

 

I then took three SIM trades today and was stopped out on each one. I have been stopped out on all of the last 6 SIM trades I have taken. I need to review my SIM trades to see where I can improve.

Score Card

AAPL

94%

 

What I did good today:  Good score card

What I am grateful from today?  I had laser focus after the open, just looked at AAPL with some glances at my SPY chart for insight.

What do I need to improve on:  Still need to work on the next step of improving my partialing. Need to keep it to 4 partials to my target. I need to review my SIM trades to see where I can improve.

 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

On 6/25/2019 at 1:17 PM, MKINGSBURY said:

I didn't read through the entire journal but I have been a BBT member for about 2 months and have been checking out everyone's journals. Out of curiosity do you statically trade better when you have a better well being score? And I don't mean to be annoying or step on your toes but to minimize negative self talk, maybe change what I did bad today to what I would like to improve from today. Thanks and best of luck with your trades.

Yep you were right. I have changed my self analysis part of my journal to a more positive tone.

[Rob C 826]

Wednesday 8/07/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were fine.

I took 2 live trades (AAPL and AMD) and 1 SIM with MU. I definitely did not help the score card average today. I even almost hit max loss.

With the premarket I saw no reason not to keep AAPL and AMD as my two main focuses. PM looked good for both but I had no bias for either stock at the open. AAPL had 2 bullish 1min candle before the open, then after the open created a hammer on good volume. I would usually go long at that moment, but I was worried about a pull back to VWAP and the price would drop again. So I waited for a break of VWAP, but I wasn’t conscious enough of my scale. Waiting for a break of VWAP I gave up 50 cents. The price did break VWAP shortly after but I did not wait for the confirmation of the break. I have been working on this. I need the price to hold or go back and test the support level (here VWAP) and find support. I actually did this well yesterday. But that was yesterday. Today I went long immediately on the break of VWAP. My target was PDC with the 195.38 daily level as my stop. The price retraced and I was stopped out a minute later. There was some slippage on the stop so it was a -1R+ loss. Actually the setup wasn’t really that bad, it was just a terrible entry. Either take an aggressive entrance after the hammer was formed or a conservative one waiting for the show of VWAP support. I took somewhere in between and paid for it.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

 

The entire trade:

My next live trade was with AMD. The 2^nd 1min candle was quite bullish and there was a level at 28.60 that seem to be strong resistance. The 3^rd candle formed a hammer so I went long at the break of this 28.60 level. I had a good feeling that VWAP would pull it up, but would it break VWAP? That I had no bias and I was going to pay my R to find out. But, if it did I thought it may make a good run so I liked the R/R. My target was PDC with my stop at the 28.49 level. AMD made another bullish hammer and tested VWAP and found resistance. I know in hind sight it looks like I should have bailed at B/E at that point, but it really only tested VWAP once. It looks like from the screen cap of the trade that two candles tested VWAP, but actually it happen to test VWAP at exactly 9:34 so it looks like both candles tested VWAP. The price hit my stop shortly after.

I took a -1R+ loss as well, from this trade, though there was no slippage. My entry to stop was 12-13 cents. I have a 10c and 15c R button. I usually round to the more conservative, but after my AAPL stop out I went more aggressive. I have no specific rule against this, but it caused me almost to hit max loss today.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

 

The entire trade:

 

 

I then took one SIM trade today on MU on a 5min ORB. It was my most profitable trade (SIM or live) in 2019. I thought it would cause serious FOMO that it wasn’t live, but it didn’t. It actually may me feel better.

Score Card (live trades)

AAPL	AMD
75%	87%

 

What I did good today:  Took a really good trade with MU.

What I am grateful from today?  Not feeling salty about the two big stop outs. It is actually cool that I was 33% win-rate with two big stops and still positive.

What do I need to improve on:  Control emotions after a stop out. Watch for the price scale on your charts, I have been burned before from it.

 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

Thursday 8/08/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were actually OK, even after the double stop out yesterday.

I took 2 live trades both with AAPL and a few SIM trades. Got stopped out of both AAPL trades which is a bit of a story and I was green 4 out of 5 SIM trades.

Again with the premarket I saw no reason not to keep AAPL and AMD as my two main focuses. PM looked good for both but I had no bias for either stock at the open. Now I have been getting more and more irritated with my inability to take partial profits correctly. When I decided to hold to correctly partial yesterday on my MU SIM trade, I had the most profitable trade in 2019. So I was really steadfast this morning to at least hold to the correct first partial. That was my undoing of course. AAPL was positive at the opening, immediately engulfing the PM 1min candle. I waited to see where/if it would find support. It was moving through the 50MA-1min without much care, but it was finding support at 200.50. That happens to be VWAP, but I assume that was a coincidence since AAPL usually takes about 2 minutes before it respects VWAP. I do see resistance with the 200.50 level in premarket so I assume that was the reason. I went long after a bounce from that support. My target was the recent PM high of 201.55 with a stop at 200. I got a bad fill, but that’s common so close to the open. My R/R was still above 2.

So everything OK so far. But, all that was going through my mind was, be strong and take a correct first partial. I was repeating over and over in my head and honestly not really paying attention to the trade. If I took this trade yesterday my first partial would have been at 201, which is the first tech level. But that’s at ~0.5R. The price reached 201 three times giving me plenty of time to take a partial. It took huge restraint not to. But because all of my energy was going to NOT taking some profit I failed to think that 3 times hitting a resistance means I should exit or take a large partial. It’s not a rule, but something I think about when I hit a resistance/support level 3 times. But, I wasn’t thinking about trade management, I was just trying to hold myself from taking a partial.

The price retraced and I tried to stop out early at 200.30 since it was now setting up for a short. So I stopped and flipped. Lots of slippage on the stop so I ended up with a full –R loss.

I did get an OK fill on my short. My target was PDC with the 50MA-1min as my stop. Essentially, I was paying an R to see if it would break the 200 and drop. I had to wait 3 minutes but it broke 200 and dropped quickly. I waited, though difficult for me, to reach the 1R profit which was the low of PM. Just as it reached the 1^st target and I I tried to cover my DAS froze for about 10 seconds. When it came back I see the order was never initiated and the price retraced. I waited for it to drop again. It never did. After 4 bullish 1min candles, I had enough and stopped out at -0.5R.

So two stop outs, that could have easily both been small winners. Very odd. But, now I have a decision. Two double stop out days puts me back into SIM, but both of these S/Os were unusual. I need to see how I feel tomorrow. Any nervousness about it and I will go back in SIM.

The chart when I took the 1^st trade.

 

 

Both trades:

Score Card (live trades)

AAPL	AAPL
80%	88%

 

What I did good today:  The setups were OK.

What I am grateful from today?  Usually double stop out days really take its toll emotionally on me. But I feel OK.

What do I need to improve on:  Tried to change my profit taking methods in one day. That won’t work. It needs to be done gradually.

 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

Friday 8/09/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. My nerves were actually quite good. Eager for the open. Which is surprising since I had 2 days of all losses.

I took 1 live trades with AAPL and a few SIM trades.

Like the rest of the week, in the premarket I saw no reason not to keep AAPL and AMD as my two main focuses. PM looked OK for both but I had no bias for either stock at the open. AAPL dropped immediately at the open and bounce back making a really nice hammer. I am starting to really like entering a trade with the 200MA in my way. It seems to pull the price toward it at the open (at least with AAPL). Though I must take a partial there because it may bounce. There was no really good target, So I had to take the 202.50 level as my target. The price has been respecting the half dollar levels this week. My stop was tight at the 201 level, which saw respect in the premarket. This gave a R/R~3. I should have waited for the price to break the 201.39 daily level first. But I really liked the setup and was worried that it would pop when it broke that level, and I would miss my entrance. So I entered below that level and my shares were a little light since it was a Friday.

I took my first partial just below the 200MA-5min and my next one just below the 201.96 daily level. The price just about made it to my target of 202.50. I exited when price broke back through the 202.10 level which the previous three 1min candles respected. I still had alot of shares left so I didn’t want to hold to break even. Though I took quite a few partials I was good about keeping each quite small.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

 

 

The entire trade:

 

I then took 4 SIM trades and was stopped out on 3 of them. Wow, I have a lot of work still to do to find another setup.

Score Card (live trade)

AAPL

90%

 

What I did good today:  Though I still took frequent partial profits I did keep them small.

What I am grateful from today?  I am really glad I finished the week with a good trade.

What do I need to improve on:  Finding another working setup.

 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

 

Live trading summary for week ending 8/09/19.

Another unusual week. Not the best trading with a score card of 83%. I took 9 live trades this week. I took two trades that I am really not happy with. I had a win% of 22% so the -3R for the week actually doesn’t look so bad.

Monday started the week oddly, where I was splitting my focus on both AAPL and AMD at the same time. Either would had been a good trade, but since I tried focusing on both I ruined both trades. I got out of AMD early because I saw a great setup on AAPL. But if I waited 1 more sec (or one more penny) AMD would have been a great trade. But I got out early to jump to AAPL but I was late and chased it and missed a 50 cent move. Thus I got stopped out on both. So after Monday I was trying to focus on only one stock at the open (AAPL). Only when I saw no setup forming I looked at AMD. That worked out OK.

Then Wednesday I tried changing my partial profit taking and really hold to at least 1R for the first partial. Well this caused two stop outs. The first trade hit the first tech level, though under 1R and I didn’t take my usual partial and got stopped out. The second trade I held to my 1R and DAS froze when I tried to take a partial. When I got control back the price already reversed and I was stopped out. So I won’t try changing my 1^st partial anytime soon again.

Back test data shows AAPL still in play at the open. Though AMD made it to my top two watchlist last week, it actually ended up not in play at the open last week. MU and FB are still marginal at the open. TSLA is iffy but a possibility and I don’t have shares to short for ROKU. I looked at several other stocks and I don’t have anything set as my secondary focus at the open.

Here is my plan for this week:

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

AAPL is still in play at the open. Make it the primary focus.

Both MU and FB are marginal. AMD was not in play last week. Do not trade at the open until better data.

Keep $30 risk per trade.

If you can find a stock on the gappers list that you like then make it your secondary focus. If not choose TSLA or ROKU. Use small share size or even SIM when trading them until you better understand the personalities.

Keep trading 5/10/15 min on SIM

Don’t add to any trade, even winners.

Continue with the Van Tharp’s Peak Performance Course for Traders.

 

[Rob C 826]

Monday 8/12/2019

I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. My nerves were good.

I took 2 live trades with AAPL and a few SIM trades.

I did not have AMD on my primary focus charts this morning because of its poor performance last week at the open. So of course it had a great open run. But that is OK it gave me a chance to trade ROKU at least in SIM. AAPL also looked OK and was my primary focus.

AAPL opened a little choppy but was making a nice reverse hammer about 15 seconds after the open with a good R/R. I took the trade and got a really bad fill. This happens so close to the open. The R/R is now poor and I need to get out of the trade. But I really have issues bailing on trades when I get bad fills. This is something I need to work on. Even though the reverse hammer looks even better after my bad fill, my target of 199.21 is actually closer than my stop (50MA-1min). But it’s OK the market is really good about trying to teach me lessons and very quickly the price reversed. I even got a bad fill on my stop as well.

The chart when I took the trade. Sadly I tried to enter the trade at 199.60.

 

 

 

 

The entire trade:

 

AAPL quickly turned around and looked strong. It reached the 200 level and found resistance. Then made a pull back to the 199.80 level which was respected in the premaket and I went long. I got another bad fill and entered the trade at my planned first partial profit location. But R/R was still OK. My target was the PDC with 50MA-1min as my stop. I took two partials, one at 200.50 (another bad fill) and the other at 200.75 daily level. Both partials were small since I was hoping for a red to green so I was saving my shares. It didn’t happen and I tried to exit at B/E, but just like my other exit and two entrances there was slippage.

What the chart looked like when I entered the trade:

The entire trade (there is a 3rd trade that I took SIM - S/O)

I then took 5 SIM trades and was stopped out on 3 of them. But, I did learn quite a bit today from the SIM trades.

Score Card (live trade)

AAPL	AAPL
78%	89%

 

What I did good today:  Learned quite a bit from my SIM trades.

What I am grateful from today?  That my nerves were OK today. They are usually worse on Mondays.

What do I need to improve on:  Exiting immediately on the bad fill.

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Rob C

[Mike B 624]

The open was really tough today. I sat on the sidelines and choose not to take any trades.

[Rob C 826]

Tuesday 8/13/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were OK.

I took 1 live trade with AAPL and one SIM trade with ROKU.

AAPL and ROKU looked fine to have as my two main focuses this morning.

I liked the 201.30 to 201.40 levels, on AAPL with high of premarket and daily level. I was planning to go long if it broke those levels with volume. Though the R/R in theory is about 2 I knew that I wouldn’t get a perfect fill and my R/R would be less. Anyway it broke the level with good volume and I went long. My target was 202 with my stop at 201. It started to move higher quickly. Though I really wasn’t happy taking a trade 15 seconds after the open. I have been doing that too much lately. I did get 3 small partials before it retraced and I exited at B/E. Previously, I allowed some slack when exiting on AAPL if there was a strong level just below. But, I have been burned recently so I have stopped. Yes if I held to the high of premarket I probably would have got a $6 run. But I am not ready in my trading to do that yet.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

 

 

 

 

The entire trade:

 

 

 

I then took a SIM trade with ROKU and did well, but honestly if you took anything to the long side this morning you would have done well. It seems you have to always keep an eye on the bid-ask spread on ROKU anytime you are about to take a partial.

Score Card (live trade)

AAPL

87%

 

What I did good today:  I like my ROKU entry

What I am grateful from today?  Controlled my FOMO when I missed the rest of the AAPL run.

What do I need to improve on:  I need to learn how to use the short finder on Centerpoint quickly if ROKU stays on my top focuses. It takes too long to use at the open, but maybe when things slow down about 10-15min after the open it will be useable. It will cost an extra $0.006/share to find short shares for ROKU.

 

 

 

[Rob C 826]

Wednesday 8/14/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. My nerves were OK.

I took 1 live trade with AAPL and 5 SIM trades.

AAPL and ROKU looked fine to have as my two main focuses this morning.

I was long biased on AAPL. At the open the price dropped and tested the 202.87 level and bounced. Then created a nice hammer at the 203.50 level. Broke it and retraced testing the 203.50 level again on holding. So now is the perfect time to go long. But there is an issue. The volume was not there and I have combo 50MA-1min and 203.73 level in my way. The price only gave me 1 second at 203.50 and I decided not to enter. Then the price popped and broke the two levels I was worried about. Did I check if it was holding that level? Did I wait for it pop up higher and retest the level so I know it’s strong? No I was too itching to take the trade at that point. Volume was still not quite there but at least there are no levels above it for 60 cents.

So I entered at 203.74 with a target of 204.50 and a stop of 203.50. that stop was too tight, though that level had proven itself already, so I took half shares. The target looked strong having two daily levels. I partialed at 204 and at the 204.33 daily level. Looks like the 204.33 was too strong and price retraced and I exited at B/E. Too bad if I took the trade at 203.50 I would have survived the pull back and caught the run with AAPL. But without the volume I don’t think that entry had low enough risk.

The chart when I took the trade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire trade:

 

 

 

I then took 5 SIM trades. Two were winners and three I was stopped out (all with ROKU) . I still have a lot to learn on ROKU.

I tried using the short finder app with Centerpointe and was unsuccessful. Maybe because I tried to use it on SIM. I knew I would still have to pay for the location and reserving them, but they have a 100 share min and I am not ready to take 100 shares on ROKU.

Score Card (live trade)

AAPL

88%

What I did good today:  I like that I considered volume in the AAPL trade.

What I am grateful from today?  That I am still just taking paper trades on ROKU. I almost took one live today. I know better now.

What do I need to improve on:  I need to learn how to use the short finder on Centerpoint. I will call them today to determine what I did wrong.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by Rob C