Rob C's Trading Journal - starting Feb 1 2019

[Rob C 826]

Monday 10/07/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. Back to a 2 trade/day limit.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with AAPL and NVDA.

I really like the daily chart on AAPL. Looks like it may make a break higher. Also good PM. NVDA was also in play so they were my two focuses at the open. MU, ROKU, BABA and AVYA were placed it on a side charts.

AAPL immediately got volume, dropped and bounced off the daily level (226.08) and created a nice looking hammer. Volume was good and I liked the 200MA-1min ~1R away to help pull the price up. I went long with PDC as my target and a reasonable sized stop at the 226.08 daily level. R/R ~ 2.5R

What the chart looked like when I took the trade:

The price hovered around my entry for about 30 seconds then headed south with SPY. I tried to stop out at the daily level but got a huge slide making it a -1.5R loss. Then the price reversed an instant after my stop and headed back up. The price didn’t reach my target but did reach my 2R profit so it was a bit irritating. The chart below also shows my 2 SIM trades with AAPL afterwards, which I was stopped out on both.

The volume for NVDA arrived not to long after the open but the price did not move for awhile then jumped after about 40 seconds from the open. When the price broke the HOPM I went long with 187 as my target with a scary tight stop (HOPM).

I immediately hit my 1.5R limit order hotkey to try and help have patience. It was about a 30 second wait, then the price moved up and my 50% share order was filled. Then I took another partial (25%) at 2.5R with not the best fill. Then held the last 25%. I don’t have a stop at B/E hot key setup yet, but I will set that up tomorrow afternoon. If I waited to the exact B/E, the price would have reversed and made it to my target. But I am still happy with this trade. I tried a SIM trade afterwards and was S/O. I should have waited for a better entry.

Score cards (live trades).

 

AAPL	NVDA
90%	91%

 

What I did good today:  Waited patiently for my 1.5R order to fill on NVDA.

What I am grateful from today?  My NVDA trade was slightly larger than my AAPL loss with a big slide. Grateful to trade something new.

What do I need to improve on:  Need to create a B/E stop hot key this week.

 

[Rob C 826]

Tuesday 10/08/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with AAPL and BABA. I like my trading today.

I really like the daily charts on both AAPL and BABA. Either could break high (AAPL) or low (BABA) or bounce from the resistance/support.  Thus I had no bias in the direction of either stock.

The volume arrived quickly on AAPL and about 20 seconds after the open a nice hammer was formed. I went long with PDC as a target and a reasonably large stop at the bottom of the candles wick. This was a R/R~3 which tends to be too high for an opening trade. I sent a 50% sell order at 1.5R and waited. The price went to 0.8R and stalled and I noticed SPY was dropping hard. I was nervous about being S/O so I sold 25% shares at 0.8R. I only had to wait 15 more seconds and the price reached my 1.5R limit order. Ten the price retraced fast. I was nervous about the price dropping faster when it broke the 226.08 daily level so I sold the rest of the shares before B/E. And as usual the price reversed to the penny of my stop and went for a big run without me. But, I still liked the trade and happy with my +1R. Much better partialing than I usually do.

A few seconds after I entered the AAPL trade, BABA setup as well with a hammer, good volume and semi strong levels to help pull the price through. I went long with the 165.51 daily level as my target and VWAP as my stop. I immediately set my 1.5R limit order and the price jumped up and touched it without filling it. Then reversed quickly. By a rule I need to stop out at B/E which I did and was quite proud of myself for doing it . Yes the price reversed a few cents after and reached my 1.5R target but I am still glad I followed my plan.

I had to take my eye off the BABA trade since I was going to stop out of AAPL and I thought the BABA trade was over. But since I had to move my attention quickly over I did not get a chance to cancel the BABA order. The price jumped and triggered the order, which is now a short. After my AAPL trade I noticed I still had an active BABA trade. I first thought I didn’t sell all the shares and hit the sell all button. But trade was still active. The same moment I hit sell all again I realized I am short and doubling my shares. I quickly covered. Now for the last 18 months (live and SIM) I have NEVER had a hot key mistake go in my favor. So it was a surprise I saw a +0.7R profit from the mistake.

Now this is significant. I spent my life a very unlucky person. I am also a very negative person. Until recently I didn’t know they were related. Recently, I have tried to be more positive and I have noticed that once in awhile now luck is on my side. Though very cool, it is very disorienting. So I assume this hotkey mistake in my favor is a continuation of this. Again. Very cool.

One note. PG&E are planning proactive power outages in my area to reduce chance of fire. I may not have power for 2 to 3 days. So if you don’t see any journal entry from me the rest of the week, you know what happen.

Score cards (live trades). Does not include hotkey mistake trade.

 

AAPL	BABA
92%	93%

 

What I did good today:  The new partial profit plan is working out well

What I am grateful from today?  Made profit on a hotkey mistake.

What do I need to improve on:  Need to create a B/E stop hot key this week.

 

[Rob C 826]

Thursday 10/10/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with AAPL and BABA.

Probably shouldn’t have traded this morning. I wasn’t planning on it because there were planned power outages to occur 4am. I woke up and there was still power and the outage was moved to noon. But I wasn’t in the right mind set and the usual nightly tasks to prepare were not completed. Adding to that I injured my food last night which I thought wasn’t bad. Then I saw how black and blue it was this morning and realized I probably under estimated the injury. Essentially, I was not in the right mind frame and should have skipped trading today.

Though the trades, on their own, do not look that bad. I have no memory of looking at SPY, L2 or T/S before I took either trade. Actually, I don’t even remember looking at volume before I took the BABA trade which is a must. So I consider this a bad trading day and it was not bad luck for my -2.3R loss today. I traded poorly and should have not even opened the platform today.

I still like the daily charts and PM on both AAPL and BABA. I was long bias on both before the open. Both stocks, especially, BABA were showing strength right before the open.

Volume was instant for AAPL and a small hammer was created and I went long when the price broke the HOPM. My target was 228 with the bottom of the candle as a stop. I usually like better stops this close to the open. The price immediately went against me and I was stopped out a few seconds later with a >-1R.

   

   

BABA had a really strong last 5min of PM and I waited for a pull back. An incomplete hammer was created and I went long at the bounce of the 165.20 level, with 165 as my stop and 166 as my target. There was volume, but honestly I didn’t check it at the time. Just like AAPL the price retraced immediately after I entered the trade and I was stopped out a few seconds later.

Got my head spinning to be -2R just after 9:31am and done with my live trading for the day. I did take a SIM short on BABA for +2R, but it didn’t really help my mood. I shouldn’t have traded today.

One note. PG&E are planning proactive power outages in my area to reduce chance of fire. I may not have power for 2 to 3 days. So if you don’t see any journal entry from me the rest of the week, you know what happen.

Score cards (live trades). I can’t really blame myself for the long bias, both looked strong in the PM. Not following my entrance checks were my main errors.

 

AAPL	BABA
85%	88%

 

What I did good today:  Took a good SIM trade.

What I am grateful from today?  Stopped trading at 2 trade limit

What do I need to improve on:  When not to trade when you don’t have the right mindset.

 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Rob C

[Glenn Budde 356]

Dang, sorry about the outages..... hope all gets better for you soon...

[Rob C 826]

Friday 10/11/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I was not able to trade yesterday due to power outages.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with AAPL and BABA.

I still like the daily charts and PM on both AAPL and BABA. I was long bias on both before the open. I essentially took the same trades I did Wednesday when I got stopped out on both. And today I also got stopped out on both.

Volume was instant for AAPL and a large hammer was created and I went long when the price broke the 200MA-1min. The only target above that price was the 233.49 daily level. But that is an R/R~1.7. My stop was the PM level of 232.65. I set a limit order at 1.5R, which was just below the target. Two minutes later the price missed my order by a nickel and retraced back to B/E, where I had a stop order to exit the trade for no loss. A few minutes later AAPL started its run up.

   

BABA had a really strong volume quickly and I really like the bullishness on the 5min chart with PM. I saw a L2 signal and a break of the 171 level that was resistance in the PM. I also liked there was a daily level 1R away that seems to pull the price up near the open. I had no good level for a target so I used 172, with my stop at 170.50. Wow, the price instantly reversed and I was stopped out in seconds. The one bad thing about the trade is I used the wrong share size. I saw the stop was 50 cents away but I used shares for a 35 cent stop. For some reason my stops coincidentally have been 35 cents for BABA for almost two weeks. So I think it was a reflex. But that stop now cost me an extra -0.5R. BABA did go for a run up later. Which is good because I have a swing trade on BABA.

5min chart when I took the trade:

The total trade:

Then I took a few SIM trades for +2R profit.

Score cards (live trades).

AAPL	BABA
93%	90%

 

What I did good today:  I like that I followed my new B/E stop out when price reaches 1R on AAPL. That is not easy for me. It’s difficult to S/O at B/E unless I take a profit.

What I am grateful from today?  That the power outage didn’t last longer.

What do I need to improve on:  I think I may move my backtesting from weekly to daily. I think AAPL and BABA stopped being in play at the open by midweek, but I kept trading them at the open. I just have to be careful not to make decisions on one point of data. Need 5 min. So I have to use the backtest data as a moving average.

 

[Rob C 826]

 

I am almost at my 1 year trading live anniversary. Time to evaluate if it is worth continuing this journey. I was in SIM for 6 months, so I have been trying to learn day trading for 18 months. I always planned to access my progress and evaluate if I should continue at my 1 year live anniversary. It has been quite costly in time, so it is a serious consideration. Though I feel like progress has been made in my trading I don’t see any change in profitability, so it is not an easy decision. But with some reflection, this week, I realized it is better to look at this more holistically.

The change in my personality (for the better) has been dramatic. I would even say transforming. Especially, the last few months. I see improvements constantly and I would not want that to stop. Waking up at 5am and forcing yourself to face your fears, endure stress and muster the strength to make changes in yourself to improve creates dramatic results.

Let us say I went a different path and started working on starting a business. I would have worked on prototypes, a business model/plan, and presentations for funding. For the most part not stressful and no internal improvements would have been made. If I feel off that day, the worse thing is I program the 3D printer wrong and the part is thrown in the trash. If I feel off while trading I could go tilt and lose a large part of my family savings, permanently altering our lives. A much greater incentive for personal growth in the latter.

I like this growth in myself and I don’t want to stop. That alone it is worth continuing. Now if someone walked up to me and asked if they were training correctly, and they showed me my training plan for the last 18 months, I would say no. So way am I training this way? If you get a couch potato and you want to start training him for some track/field event, would you spend 10 minutes a day practicing in each decathlon event? No. But that is what I did. I set up my platform, and started trading different setups every day. Hoping I would get good at one of them. I would have recommended to the couch potato to first put the mileage in running. Then hit the weights. Improve your flexibility and get on a sensible diet while reading up on the events. So why didn’t I do that? And worse why am I not doing that now? Yes, I am trying to improve on some of that, but looking objectively I am still training wrong.

So first I listed what I should have done the past 18 months, find the deficiencies and then I will create an appropriate training plan. So here is my should have done list:

1	Education	Read enough to know you have a serious interest. Read enough to learn what next to read. Read enough to know what platform broker/SIM to use.
2	Get fit	Physically (exercise and diet)
3	Get Fit	Mentally (Decrease the incoming stress, able to handle stress and methods/activities to alleviate the stress).
4	Business plan	Do you have at least two years to learn? How many hours/week can you devote? How much disposable cash reserves do you have to cover expenses and losses?
5	Set up	Trading equipment. You can be frugal, but don't be cheap.
6	Training Plan	6 months SIM. Training during market hours and training after market hours. Mental and physical fitness should be part of the training plan. Also reading, webinars, etc.
7	Trading Plan	What time of day do you want to trade SIM, for how long? Chat on/off? Risk? Max loss? Max trades? These should all be decided in SIM
8	Learn the platform in SIM	Make a trade, partial and stop. Don't leave this phase until hotkey mistakes are <10% of the trades
9	Exploration phase	You need 3 trades in your playbook, though only one needs to be solidly profitable.
10	Dip your toes into live trading	Once hotkey mistakes are reduced and you have at least on setup in you playbook, you should go live at least once a week with very small share size
11	Discover trades that fit your personality	Nothing works? Or some setups do work but you are completely stressed when you take them?
12	Reread trading books, especially psychology	The books will mean more after being in SIM awhile
13	Revised trading plan	At least the last month of your trading plan should mimic your live trading plan
14	Choose 3 setups	Not just the one's that have worked the best, but the one's you feel the most comfortable taking.
15	Refine trades	You should be now taking trades like they are live. Once you do this you will see adjustments are needed.
16	Revised trading plan	This is the live trading plan, risk, max loss and max trades need to be written in stone
17	Revise Business plan	If not yet, trade losses need to be in your business plan
18	Go live 50%	I assume, in the beginning, you will hit max trades quickly then switch to SIM. Also make sure you take some SIM trades on setups you are still working on.
19	Work on nerves	Reread psychology books, they will make the most sense once you are live.
20	Test risk management	Even if you lose every trade, your losses should be manageable. If not work on risk management. Do not go past this step until complete.
21	Go 100% live	Once risk management is solid, go fully live.
22	Increase fixed R	Find the risk you are comfortable and slowly increase. Stay within comfort zone.

 

With that in view I didn’t even get through step 3. In the Van K Tharp course I am taking, they give you a test to check if you are ready to handle trading. There are essentially 3 parts. How much stress is in your life now (can you handle any more like day trading)? How well do you handle stress? Do you have methods to efficiently alleviate the stress? I failed this so badly I was below the bottom of the scale. So I should have known and fixed this 18 months ago. Now I have made progress and I do noticed my nerves are better when I trade. I have set goals to improve it and I have listed those in another part of the forum where I journal the Van K Tharp course I am taking. But this must be my top priority.

I am so glad I created a business plan or I would have quit when I started losing lots of money when I went live. Because I assumed I would have losses and had it in my business plan. Though I spent 6 months in SIM, I never really made it through step 8 (know the platform) or step 9 (exploration phase). I use to make 2 or 3 hot key mistakes a day. It completely disrupted my trading and was a big impact in learning how to trade. I should have spent all my time fixing the issue before moving on. This issue is fixed now and my hotkey mistakes are low, but that was a waste and caused undue stress. As for step 9, I left demo without any working setups. I tried and nothing worked. Then I chose the 5min ORB and heavily practiced it on DAS SIM and tradingsim.com with little improvement. I finally left demo just to try another platform to see if it would help my hotkey mistakes. It did.

I wish I did step 10. I do recommend it for new traders.

Step 19 took a while to fix (nerves). Rereading Trading in the Zone and Daily Trading Coach after you go live has much more of an impact. I tried reading lots of other books to help, I found most not useful. I did finally find a couple that helped. Essentially, I was raised that being negative was good. We would be punished as children for acting to positive, like we are jinxing the future. If we enter a task to positive and we fail my parents would love to tell us we ruined are chances because of the positive thinking. “Laugh before breakfast, cry before dinner,” was my parent’s favorite phrase. So this was a lot of programing to change. But, I have known lucky people. They enter the situation positively and assume things will go their way even though the odds are against them. And I watch how things go their way. So this mind set can really help in trading. You don’t second guess yourself and the ability to find setups is improved. There was actually an experiment that showed this.

To keep an open mind to different possibilities. If you think that something positive may happen, when an opportunity, though it may be outside the box, crosses your path, you would see it and act. I would be close minded and not see it. There is actually some data for this. I once read about an experiment where volunteers were gathered. One set of people considered themselves usually the lucky type and the second group considered themselves unlucky. Everyone was given a newspaper and asked to count the number of pictures in the newspaper. The unlucky group usually took 2 or 3 minutes to count all the pictures. The lucky group usually took around 10 seconds. Because the lucky group all noticed a big sign on page two stating, “there are 46 pictures in the newspaper.” The unlucky group were focused on just looking for pictures and never noticed the sign. You can imagine how that applies to day trading. So you need to make yourself luckier by using the power of attraction.

Step 20 (Risk Management). Ok, I think I got this one. I have not lost any money in the last 8 months trading live. My trading is not very good so it must be risk management keeping me afloat.

Step 21 (increase your fixed R). Definitely doing this one wrong. Essentially, I increase my fixed risk/trade, during profitable time, to the maximum I can handle without it affecting my trading. That’s not really the correct way to improve one’s trading. My fixed R is currently $30. If I go any higher the impact of a full stop out is too much to handle. Thus, I am at my maximum I can emotionally stand. But, it is still too high and affecting my trading causing bad habits. You shouldn’t choose the most you can handle you need to find a sweet spot in the training phase. If too little it feels like you are in SIM and you will trade too reckless. If too high you will trade to careful. So I need to lower my R. It will take a few tries to find the sweet spot.

So I am trying to determine my new trading plan. I will need at least a week to plan and experiment. I will have it fully implemented by my 1 year live anniversary. I have decided to give it one more year. If I still haven’t seen steady progress I am pretty confident I never will and should move on. The one thing that is certain, as in all changes for the better, things will get worse before they get better. Once I step outside my comfort zone and change things up, I will take losses again. I need to prepare myself for it. I have gotten quite use to not losing money.

Sorry this post was a bit long winded. Thanks for reading. Have a good weekend.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Monday 10/14/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. I moved my fixed R to $10/trade while I figure out the sweet spot. High enough to feel the uncomfortableness of live trading, but low enough I will trade smartly.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with YNDX and FAST.

Backtesting showed AAPL and BABA are no longer in play at the open. Sadly there was enough data by last Wednesday to show this. I will backtest charts daily from now on and use the last 5 days (moving average) to determine the plan going forward. This would have save me two days of double stop outs. But, AAPL has made really nice 15min ORBs all last week and BABA still in play at the 5min mark. So Both stocks are off limits at the open. I can look at BABA at the 4min mark and AAPL just before the 15min mark.

YNDX and FAST were on my opening watch list, with MU and BABA on my 5 min watch list. AAPL was on my 15min watchlist.

My attention was entirely on YNDX at the open. I like it was the only stock I saw gapping up and it was gapping up more, with volume, right before the open. I already planned if it broke the 31.05 level with volume to go long. Which it did 2 seconds after the open. I usually wait a few seconds for the price fluctuations to settle down, but the L2 looked positive so I went long immediately. The priced spiked during my fill and I immediately lost 20 cents on the fill. For a $30 stock, it is pretty much game over. But since I was so close to the open I did go half share size. So my risk was still just above 1R and my R/R still OK. Too bad the price retraced back and I could have gotten a better entry a few seconds later. Live and learn.

So I was long YNDX a few seconds after the open with HOPM as my target and the daily level of 31.05 as my stop. Due to my bad fill it didn’t feel promising to take my first partial at 1.5R and instead I took 25% at 1R. The price than retraced and I was all out at B/E.

FAST actually setup while I was trading YNDX. Though I will take two trades at once with stocks I know well, I wouldn’t dare with these. After my YNDX trade was over, I did miss a move with FAST, but there was still a lot I liked about it for a 2min ORB. The candles were creating a mini ABCD and even though the stop would have to be far away, the 200MA-1min was right above my 1.5R and the PDC at 3R.

So I was long with PDC as my target and VWAP-1min as my stop. The price advanced quickly and I took a 25% partial at 35.85 which was a really strong level, since there was a daily level, HOTD and the 50MA-5min. Then the price moved higher and bounced really hard off the 35.93 daily level. So hard I took another 25% partial because I just lost faith in the trade. Then all out at B/E.

Then I did well in SIM. I took a 5min ORB on BABA which made it to 1.5R partial than out at B/E. I also took a SIM trade with AAPL for a 15min ORB which really ran.

Score cards (live trades).

YNDX	FAST
86%	95%

 

What I did good today:  I like how I managed the FAST trade.

What I am grateful from today?  +0.6R is not that much of a day, but it was a lot of fun trading new stocks.

What do I need to improve on:  I will move my backtesting from weekly to daily. I just have to be careful not to make decisions on one point of data. Need 5 min. So I have to use the backtest data as a moving average.

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Tuesday 10/15/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. A bit of an emotional rollercoaster today. But I feel better now. I learned a lot today. Plus, I just donated my car to charity this morning and I am getting some good vibes from that.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with NVDA and JPM.

I really liked both the daily and PM on both stocks. Really liked the gap between tech levels that both were sitting on.

NVDA immediately had volume and found support on the 189.60 level and made a small hammer. I went long with the 192.77 daily level as my target and the 189.60 level as my stop. The R/R is too big ~7. I usually don’t do that well with that large of a R/R. But there was the HOPM 1.5R away for a good first partial. The price popped up but missed my 1.5R limit order by a few cents. Then the price retraced. By my current rule if the price moved 1R and retraces I get out at B/E. So I placed my stop order at B/E. The price came down to stop me out by 2 cents. Then the price immediately reversed and went on a 10R run in the next 7 minutes without me.

My attention briefly moved to JPM where it was setting up for a 2min ORB. Then I moved back when I thought I hadn’t canceled the 1.5R limit order on NVDA. But I didn’t see anything in my order window so my attention swung back to JPM for a few seconds. But then I thought, “No I really have no memory of cancelling the order.” I looked back and the price reversed so quickly it took out my limit order and now I am shorting NVDA which is flying higher. I covered quickly for a -1.5R loss.

You will also see a third trade on the chart, but it was a SIM trade (+2R).

So when my attention finally went back onto JPM I missed the 2min ORB entry. But T/S were flying and I thought entering at the break of the LOTD is not bad either. The R/R is now less than 2, but the volume at that moment was great so I went short. My target was the 118 tech level with VWAP as my stop. I set my 1.5R limit order which was just above the 118 level, which was perfect. The price bounced hard at the 200MA, where I should have probably taken a partial, but I was not ready and it bounced fast. Since the move was greater than 1R I set my B/E stop. I was then stopped out by few cents. Then the price reversed and made it to my target.

So two good trades both ruined by my B/E stop rule. According to the data I have collected for the last few months, stocks usually do reverse on me if they retrace after a 1R move. So I will keep that. But I need to give it more room than B/E. I tend to enter as the price breaks an important level. It is my style of trading. Which means there is a good chance the price will find support/resistance on the level I chose to enter the trade. So it is not a coincidence I keep getting stopped out within a few cents.

My B/E stop hot key uses the AvgCost +/-2 cents. I added the two cents to help with the fill slide. But that makes the situation worse. So I rewrote the script and added the opposite. So a B/E sell will be 2 cents below AvgCost and 2 cents above for a B/E cover. If I had this today, both trades would have been winners.

So you are probably wondering why I don’t use a range order for the 1.5R limit order with the B/E. I don’t want to activate the B/E stop until I see 1R or a bounce form a tech level. Essentially I need it discretionary. I also need the 1.5R limit order activated quickly or I will immediately start taking partials. I usually can’t help myself and take one as early as 0.5R. Once I see the 1.5R limit order I can sit on my hands better. Though not a permanent solution I am learning to be patient.

Score cards (live trades).

NVDA	JPM
93%	85%

 

What I did good today:  I did spot and enter two good setups.

What I am grateful from today?  Emotionally recovered from missing a 10R run, by S/O too early.

What do I need to improve on:  Rewrite B/E scripts. Careful to cancel out of unused limit orders.

 

[Rob C 826]

Wednesday 10/16/2019

I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. Sloppy trading today. I am grateful I finished at break even.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with ROKU and BAC.

I really liked both the daily chart on both stocks (ROKU and BAC). Since they trade completely different, it was uncomfortable having them as my center focus, but I did. I also had AAPL on a side chart to look for 10/15min ORBs and YNDX since it had a small pendant forming on the daily.

ROKU immediately went green to red, but I was not ready to trade it. ROKU is so choppy I needed to wait for a really strong sense of direction. The plan for BAC was to go long if it broke the HOPM with volume. So I was watching both, then I felt ROKU moved enough to short it. But, it was 75 cents away from the stop (PDC) and ROKU loves to swing way pass tech levels and then bounce. So I gave it a $1 stop all the way 25 cents passed PDC. But, since the target was the 200MA-5min I still had a R/R>3.

The price started to move in my favor, but this is where I ran into poor trading. I am not sure why but I took a look at BAC. But, ROKU is the type of stock you need full attention so I shouldn’t even have looked. But, I did and saw I missed my entry and the stock was heading up. I still can’t believe I chased it and got into another trade. Two trades at once is fine for stocks I really know well, but this was not smart. So I went long with BAC as well and got filled 2R above my originally planned entry point. Not sure why I did that. There was no R/R.

Now I am in two trades at once so I didn’t feel comfortable setting up my 1.5R limit order with ROKU.  So this proves how helpful it is to have that limit order up on my chart. Because without it I went back to my regular MO. I started hitting the sell button like a woodpecker on steroids. Too bad because ROKU did reach my target and I only made 1R.

 

So I am really embarrassed about the BAC trade. It was definitely FOMO. I was just upset I missed my entry so I went long anyway. My stop was the HOPM, which should have been my entry. The price went against me immediately and slowly moved down to my stop over the next few minutes. Of course 2 cents after my stop it reversed and went back up passed the HOTD.

I also took one SIM trade. A 10min ORB on AAPL. I made +1R.

Score cards (live trades).

ROKU	BAC
88%	60%

 

What I did good today:  I did catch ROKU with a solid setup.

What I am grateful from today?  For being at B/E after a bad day trading.

What do I need to improve on:  Really need to limit the two simultaneous trades, unless I really know the stocks well.

 

[Rob C 826]

Thursday 10/17/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with NFLX.

NFLX and ROKU were on my two primary charts. I really liked NFLX was selling off into the open, though I didn’t have a bias. Then NFLX  had lots of volume at the open and was strong. In 20 seconds the price moved up a dollar, engulfed the last 1min PM candle and almost engulfed the PM 5min candle. I waited for a break of the 305.84 daily level and I went long. Though I have traded BABA a lot, so I should know better, you need a REALLY clean break with these stocks that always have a large spread. It was just a small break, so I should have waited. My target was the 200MA-1min and 50MA-5min with a long stop down to the 304 level.

What the chart looked like when I took the trade:

The price instantly reversed on my and hit my stop within seconds. At that moment it looked like a really good short and I flipped my position. My new stop was the 305.84 daily level and I really didn’t have a target since it was just wide open space on my chart. Which I have learned is not a good thing. But there was a 301.67 daily level that could be a good place to take a first partial.

The price did move in my favor. But then the price stalled and the one big bid disappeared from L2 so I took a 25% partial. Then there was a really big buy on T/S but the big bid came back. So I had mixed signals. I was right at B/E and I remember my prefrontal cortex trying to convince my reptilian sector of my brain that it is time to get out of the trade for a small profit. But the reptilian part one and I stayed in the trade. I stopped out when I clean break of the $304 level was made and a sizable ask appeared.

 

So actually the setups were fine today. It was my trade management that caused the     -1.5R today.

Then I made way to many SIM trades. Most of them undisciplined.

Score cards (live trades).

NFLX	NFLX
83%	90%

 

What I did good today:  Setups were fine.

What I am grateful from today?  Stopping out early on the second NFLX trade.

What do I need to improve on:  Trade management.

Plan for tomorrow: No trading in the first minute (except AAPL/BABA and only if they are in play). I need to practice trading in other time frames.

 

[Rob C 826]

Thursday 10/18/2019

I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. Was on a >1min restriction this morning.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with ROKU and GIL.

ROKU and KO were on my two primary charts with MU, AAPL, and GIL on my secondary charts. I liked KO and GIL, but was nervous trading GIL since I have never looked at the stock before so I had it on a side chart.

ROKU open with OK volume and made a small 1min hammer. Then made a bullish candle and I went long at the break of the 50MA-1min. My stop was VWAP and my target PDC. R/R~2. It took about a minute to get stopped out. I keep forgetting I need to trade ROKU like I trade BABA and give it a large stop since it tends to slide through VWAP and reverses a lot. Essentially this is what happen. The price dropped a few cents below my stop and reversed and reached my target. I should have used the bottom wick as my stop.

Right after I stopped out on ROKU I looked around and saw GIL dropping back to VWAP. I was hoping to go long after it bounced from VWAP. As I transferred GIL to my main screen I heard Andrew announcing he was going to take GIL. Usually if I take the same trade as Andrew it is usually doesn’t work out well for me. So I hesitated for a second, then decided to take the trade.

For some reason I took a really tight stop (at the end of the wick). That is not correct and it should have been VWAP. So what looks like I took too many partials, really wasn’t. I took partial profits a t 1R, 2R, and 3R. Then after 3 minutes and 3 rejections of the $25 level I decided to take a large partial if it bounced from $25 a fourth time. It did get rejected and I took a large partial locking in 2R profit. Then seconds later it shot through $25 (figures). I didn’t have many shares left but I decided to squeeze out what I could. Though I caught a 7R run I only made 2.3R

I took 3 SIM trades where I am flat.

Score cards (live trades).

ROKU	GIL
83%	88%

 

What I did good today:  Setups were fine.

What I am grateful from today?  Not trading in the first minute. Grateful for my +1R today.

What do I need to improve on:  As usual trade management.

Plan for tomorrow: I plan redesigning my DAS Platform this weekend and work on my Trader Performance course. I am losing the momentum on it.

 

[Rob C 826]

 

Plan for week starting 10/21/19.

I reduced my risk per trade, last week, to $10 and it worked out OK. I changed my DAS setup, this weekend, so I only have one Montage. I am starting to get more comfortable taking two trades at once. I need to prevent that.

Back test data shows the usual stocks are no longer in play at the open. AAPLs amazing 15min ORBs from two weeks ago were gone last week. The only stock showing promise is ROKU and only on the 1min/2min ORB.

Here is my plan for this week:

No trading before 1min after the open

I must take at least one 5min ORB and one 15min ORB live this week. If I have not taken either by Thursday I am placing myself on a no first 5min rule for Thursday and Friday.

ROKU is worth a chart since it may be in play for 1min/2min ORB. AAPL 5min ORB may become in play later in the week.

Keep $10 risk per trade.

Try to set a limit order for 50% shares at 1.5R.

Also try and get out at B/E if the price reaches 1R and retraces.

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.

Remember you can take a third trade in a day.

Try and take partial profits on the way down as well if you lose faith in the trade. Instead all out at B/E or exit too early.

 

[Rob C 826]

Monday 10/21/2019

I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. Was on a >1min restriction this week.

Took 2 live trades this morning was with YNDX and ROKU.

YNDX, ROKU and AAPL were the stocks I liked the most in the PM. I liked ROKU the most but it was on SSR. AAPL’s daily chart looked great, ready for a breakout. YNDX gapped up big with lots of volume and I liked how it traded last time. Though I liked YNDX the least of the 3, I placed it on my only montage.

So I actually traded all of those 3 stocks today. Two live and one SIM. All 3 setup really nicely before 1min after the open and all 3 would have been winners. But due to my 1min restriction I had mixed results.

YNDX  opened with good volume (but not great) and created a nice hammer and broke a daily level when it finished its hammer. This is my favorite setup. But it occurred less than 1 minute so I waited. After a minute the price passed all the obstacles and there was just open space. It did move 1% from open, but since it gapped 10% I thought t wasn’t extended. So I went long at the break of the 1min wick with 33.68 daily level as my target and VWAP as my stop. The price did move 10 cents in my favor than retraced and I was stopped out (yes by a penny as usual) for a full -1R. But that’s OK I was going to get stopped out a minute later anyway.

ROKU had a strong open with OK volume (also not great) but went red to green. I was about 50 cents late to the entry, but I was still in the YNDX trade. R/R was still good even with the late entry. My target was the 200MA-5min with $130 as my stop. I set a limit order at 1.5R (50% shares) and waited. It took a minute to get my limit order filled, but then the price dropped fast and I was out at B/E. A few cents lower it reversed again and reached my target.

I took 1 SIM trade with AAPL for +2.7R

Score cards (live trades).

YNDX	ROKU
89%	92%

 

What I did good today:  Traded fine with the new DAS setup. I was patuent waiting for my 1.5R limit order to be filled.

What I am grateful from today?  Not trading in the first minute. Grateful for my -.3R today since I did not trade my best today.

What do I need to improve on:  Patience. Both setups were just OK. I should have waited for a setup with more volume.

 

[Rob C 826]

Tuesday 10/22/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. Feel surprisingly OK for having only 4 hours of sleep

Took 3 live trades this morning was with NVDA, MCD and HAS.

I liked a lot of stocks in the premarket. I chose AAPL, BABA, NVDA, ROKU, MCD and HAS. HAS was on my main screen, but NVDA set up first. NVDA had gapped up ~1.5% in PM and has strong opening volume. It created a small hammer and went through the MAs. I went long when it broke the HOPM and got a good fill. My target was quite far away at the 202.74 daily level and my stop at the 200MA-1min. the R/R was really large. Then I made a hot key mistake. I meant to press my hot key to set a limit order at 1.5R instead I instantly sold 50% shares at 0.7R. So even though it reached my target I only made 2R. But after that kind of hot key mistake I am really happy squeezing 2R out of it.

My next trade was early 5min ORB on MCD. The price created a mini ABCD below VWAP. I was waiting for the new 1min low to go short, than I heard Andrew say he was going short. I usually don’t do well on stocks that Andrew and myself are in the same trade. I did hesitate a second then went short with half share size. Though my target was $200 there were some really strong levels to pull the price down (LOTD and the 201.20 daily level). My stop was the high of the previous candle. As soon as I took the trade T/S screeched to a halt. I got all out before my stop. I do like I bailed on the trade before Andrew announced that he did.

I really liked HAS for a 15min ORB. HAS created a small 15min candle that was just breaking through VWAP. The 5min chart looked great with three bullish candles HH/HL. Volume was solid so I went long (half shares) when the price broke a PM level I had marked. I thought the 103.82 daily level above it was weak so my target was the $105 level with the 103.07 level as my stop. To my surprise the price did bounce hard from the 103.82 level and I was quickly stopped out.

Investigating after the trade to double check if that daily level was stronger than I thought I noticed my chart was set wrong. It was set for 2 days data not one so the 200MA was in the wrong place. Actually, the price bounced from the 200MA. I wouldn’t have taken the trade at that time if I saw that.

The chart I used for the trade (2 days of data). See below for the correct chart.

Compared to the chart I should have used which showed the strong resistance obvious.

 

 

Score cards (live trades).

NVDA	MCD	HAS
87%	93%	91%

 

What I did good today:  Lots of good learning today. I traded a 1min, 5min and 15min ORB live today.

What I am grateful from today?  33% win rate. A big hotkey mistake and another chart mistake, that both went against me. So I am really grateful I am still up +1.4R for the day.

What do I need to improve on:  Watch the chart settings. It looks so obvious now that my chart Y scale was off, but I didn’t notice during trading.

 

[Rob C 826]

Wednesday 10/23/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning.

I took 1 live trade this morning was with AAPL.

TXN gapped down and took the rest of the semi’s down with it. So they were my focus. TXN was on my primary chart at the open and side charts were: AAPL, BABA, MU, NVDA and ROKU.

TXN open with no direction. I quickly noticed AAPL had lots of volume without any large blocks. I also liked it was bullish going into the open. The price moved up slowly and broke the 242.20 level than the price sat on a spot for several seconds with T/S really moving. It felt like it was a coiled up spring. Then I saw some reasonably large asks in L2 and I went long. Since we are at an all time high I didn’t really have a target but I had a tight stop using the 242.20 level. The price immediately moved a few cents buying up the asks then sat again. I placed a limit order at 1.5R (50% shares) and tried to sit on my hands. About 45 seconds later it filled my limit order. Then a minute after that I was stopped out at B/E.

AAPL’s L2 entry signal:

 

 

 

I switch to SIM right after the AAPL trade since I really wanted to take a trade with TXN but was really nervous trading it live, even with small share size. So I switched to SIM early today and took a losing trade with TXN (-1R). Then I took two more SIM trades, both winning, to finish my SIM trading positive. (+0.8R).

 

Score cards (live trade).

AAPL

94%

 

What I did good today:  I liked I caught the L2 signal today on AAPL.

What I am grateful from today?  I am grateful I switch to SIM early and locked in my live gains (+0.7R).

What do I need to improve on:  I was happy with my trading today.