Rob C's Trading Journal - starting Feb 1 2019

[Rob C 826]

 

Wednesday 11/06/2019

I had a well-being score of 7.5/10 this morning. Due to my rule breaking day on Monday I am only trading SIM until my mind is back on track. I also quit soda as a punishment. That is a 5 can a day habit so it ain’t easy. Today is when the withdrawal headache started. I replaced the caffeine with coffee, but I guess there are other chemicals in the soda I am now withdrawing from. I guess it is good I am quitting.

I took 3 live trades this morning with MTCH and BABA.

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, HAS, UBER, MTCH and HPQ.

BABA still looks in play with good PM volume and a daily chart looking to break out. BABA was on my main chart and at the open it did its usual no volume sit. But this morning it was really just sat with no volume and a big spread. While I was waiting I saw MTCH setting up and I placed it on my main screen.

MTCH gapped down this morning but the last 15 min of PM it worked its way up passed all the MAs. Then created a nice opening 1min hammer. The problem was I had no good target or stop. So when in doubt I gave it a large stop to the bottom of the candle, which was a level respected in PM. It was odd taking so few shares on a $60 stock. Then the stock moved past a daily level and I bought more shares. This buying into a winner is something I want to practice this week while I am on SIM. But, now I am a bit confused of my stop. The 62.80 level is too close. So I chose the avgcost as my stop. I already have a hotkey for that anyway.

The first partial I took quickly because of nerves (even in SIM) of the adding in. I also got a bad fill. Then took two more partials on the way up. The price then dropped hard and I took another partial so I could stay in to my B/E stop. Then the price just touched my B/E and stopped me out. Then it went on to a 5% run in 3 minutes without me. But that is OK I was up 1.7R and if I was trading live would have called it a day.

I took two more trades, but that would not have been live on a normal day. Both were with BABA. It was good it was SIM since I guess I needed another lesson about stopping at B/E with BABA.  I have had a winning trades that I have a stop order at B/E where it flies through and turns a winning trade into a loser. Same thing today. I had a small winner and I was going to let the stop order exit the trade for me. Then the last instant a huge squeeze in about ¼ of a second and blew through my stop and I was now at flat for the day. Wow. Another good lesson about BABA. I did take another trade with BABA (long when it crossed VWAP) so I finished the day at +1.4R.

What I did good today:  Traded a new stock I normally would not. I also tried adding in, which worked out OK.

What I am grateful from today?  I am grateful for seeing an improved discipline from yesterday.

What do I need to improve on:  Watch the B/E auto stops on BABA to close to the open. Stock is too volatile recently.

 

[Rob C 826]

 

Thursday 11/07/2019

I had a well-being score of 7.5/10 this morning. Due to my rule breaking day on Monday I am only trading SIM until my mind is back on track. Also, it is day 3 of quitting my five can a day soda habit.

I took 1 SIM trade this morning with BABA.

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, ROKU, MU, NVDA and BIDU.

BABA gapped up and was strong going into the open. With SPY being strong at the open I was long bias. Then BABA dropped a dollar at the open on high volume. So much for my long bias. The price found support at a PM level 186.1 and pulled back. I waited for the pull back and then waited for a movement down again. Then the price ticked down and T/S went read and I shorted with 186.81 (PM level and 50MA-1min) as my stop and 185.65 daily level as my target.

The price retraced a bit near my stop but after about 90 seconds the price started to drop. I set a limit order at 1.5R (50% shares) and it was filled. Then a few seconds later it reached my target, but it seemed so weak I didn’t cover and waited. Then I covered another 25% at 3R. Then started the 10 minute wait as the price tested $185 several times. When it finally broke $185 it bounced off the 184.88 level. Then I gave up on a big run and took another partial. Then all out when it made a new 5min high.

What I did good today:  I was happy with my patience today.

What I am grateful from today?  I am grateful for my +2.5R today. I showed patience on the entry and exit.

What do I need to improve on: Though my discipline was OK, I was surprised my nerves were a bit strong for SIM. I need to keep an eye on that to determine when to return to live trading.

[Rob C 826]

 

Friday 11/08/2019

I had a well-being score of 7.5/10 this morning. Due to my rule breaking day on Monday I am only trading SIM until my mind is back on track.

I took lots of SIM trade this morning with BABA and DIS. I was stopped out on my first trade then I lost discipline immediately. Looks like I am not ready to go back live yet.

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, ROKU, MU, DIS and GPS.

BABA gapped up but was weak going into the open. I had to wait 49 seconds before the volume came in. Volume was good and an 1min reversed hammer was created. Also, 4.5k was sold at the bid and I shorted when the price dropped below a PM level. My stop was the 188.07 level and my target was PDC.

The price did fall about 20 cents, not enough to take a partial, then spiked back. I was able to stop out at the right spot for -1R. So this trade was OK. But I guess my discipline is still not back to normal because I immediately lost discipline and took 5 more undisciplined trades. Yes, there were some winners, but they were undisciplined. My discipline is better when I trade live, but after today I am not sure if I will be trading live on Monday. I still maybe in SIM.

 

 

 

  

What I did good today:  At least I started with an OK trade.

What I am grateful from today?  I am grateful for that I am still on SIM this week.

What do I need to improve on: I need to get my mind straight and discipline back. Unsure how long it will take.

 

Post Mortem. I decided not to edit my journal entry from this morning and instead I will add to it. After seeing my video of the trade and some reflection I realize this was not a very good trade. 

Since the trade was entered before 9:31am, I have a rule the stop needs to be 50% farther away than optimal or go half shares. The next stop was the high of PM, which was a 50 cent stop instead of the 35 cent stop (full shares) that I took. If I followed my rules I would not have been stopped out and the price did drop one dollar and thus I would have gotten my 2 to 1 reward/risk. I remember making the decision not to follow my rule. I thought its almost 1 minute from the open....

Edited November 9, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Monday 11/11/2019

I had a well-being score of 7.5/10 this morning. First day back live after my rule breaking day last Monday.

I took 1 live trade this morning with BABA.

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, MU, ROKU, WBA and TSLA

BABA gapped down and I was short biased. I had BABA on my main screen at the open. After the open I waited for the big print. On most days BABA has a really big print on T/S. It is not like AAPL where it is a small part of its volume and occurs right at the open. For BABA it tends to be at least 20 seconds from the open. I do not know if this is a live trade or a print from PM or yesterday that is reported now. But it gives some nice info. Usually the print itself gives no direction. Even if it is at the Bid or Ask it still gives no direction. What I have noticed, is if it is big enough (>150k) it means the stock may move at the open. Usually the next prints is what hint at the direction.

After a big print you almost instantly get some smaller (but still sizeable prints). The secondary prints is what I see giving hints of the direction. Usually you have a signal from them or no secondary prints and no signal. Today was unusual is we got a lot of prints but they were conflicting.

First a really big print, so good we may move today. Then you see three bullish prints, then three bearish prints with the last one selling below the bid which is really uncommon. So this left me without a signal. So I waited.

The price was dropping and at 40 seconds after the open I got my signal. Four large bearish prints, a L2 signal and all of T/S went red. This occurred the same time as the price just broke through its daily level at 184.24. So I went short with half shares.

Yikes! I instantly lost over 50 cents on the fill. At least I was half shares so I wasn’t too stressed. The price retraced and I took the rest of my shares short as a standard 1min ORB as the price dropped below $184 with 5 more large bearish prints.

My stop was the 184.36 PM level and I really didn’t have a good target. The next level was too far at 180.41, so I used 182 as my target. It felt like I partialed too much but I caught a 5R move and I made 2.7R. If I make at least half of the move that is good for me. I exited the trade when it made two HH/HLs on the 1min chart. Of course the price then reversed at went lower

 

 

 

 

I first felt good about my one and done trade then I took 4 SIM trades and got stopped out on each one

Score card (live trade).

BABA

88%

 

What I did good today:  I focused on reading the tape.

What I am grateful from today?  I am grateful for having a good day back live.

What do I need to improve on:  I need to still work on those trades >15min from open.

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Rob C

[Glenn Budde 356]

Good Job..... I like your thought process....

Happy Green Day.....

[Rob C 826]

Tuesday 11/12/2019

I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning. A big rule breaking day today, will be back on SIM tomorrow.

I took 2 live trade this morning. Broke rules on both and was stopped out on both for a   -2R day. The last time I had a rule breaking day I was down -15R in under a minute, so I guess I survived today with less damage. After my two trades I had to quickly shut off my platform and walk away.

Rules broken today:

1)    I did not complete PM checklist. I did not perform my morning reading through my list of rules and trading plan before the open.

2)    Do not trade AAPL with a 1min ORB. I did and was stopped out.

3)    Do not trade full share size when taking a trade <1min. I went full share size on AAPL.

4)    When a bad fill makes your R/R<1 then exit the trade. I got a bad fill on BABA (which is not uncommon). I stayed in the trade.

5)    After any partial profit, bring stop back to B/E. I had my mouse on the B/E stop hot key but couldn’t get myself to press it so I was stopped out at -0.8R instead.

 

Plan for the rest of the week:

SIM on Wednesday

Break no rules. This needs to be completely flawless. My rule breaking has been poor in November and certain rules have always been bad. It is time to correct that. I will not move on until breaking a rule feels completely foreign to me.

Score card and P/L are now meaningless.

Making a good trade is now completely based on following rules. If I take B minus setup and partial too much, but followed my rules, then it is a good trade.

I have no discretionary rules. Like only take A setups. That is too subjective. My rules are very clear cut. So I can still have a rule following but sloppy trade. Until I get this following rules issue fixed, that will be a satisfactory trade. If I am down -100R by the end of the month, but followed my rules, it was a good month. If I instinctively follow my rules it will be easy to adjust my trading for better profits later. 

I need to finish my training plan for the the next 12 months. After my big rule breaking day last week I have stopped working on it and tried to deal with the tactical planning instead of strategic. I will post the plan soon. I realize now I need to simplify it.

If I have a solid rule following day on SIM I can trade live the next day. Break any rule, back on SIM the next day.

Edited November 12, 2019 by Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Wednesday 11/13/2019

I had a well-being score of 7.5/10 this morning. Back on SIM due to breaking rules again yesterday. Today it was all about sticking to the rules. I am not concerned with scorecard at the moment.

I took 2 SIM trades this morning with BABA and ROKU

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, MU, ROKU, LK and VIPS

BABA gapped down and I was short biased. I had BABA on my main screen at the open. After the open I waited for the big print. I only had to wait 9 seconds and a 239k print hit the T/S. I large print (>150k) usually means there will be a move at the open, so I waited for the next prints which are critical to determine direction. Then 20 seconds later some large bearish prints hit at the same time the price broke down through three tech levels. So I went short, half shares since it was <1min from open.

When I took the trade:

The price dropped but found support at the 184.88 daily level and retraced. Then found resistance at the 185.22 level. As it hovered around VWAP for a few seconds there struck the L2 signal, with a reasonable size ask about 8 cents lower than current price. I shorted with the other half of the shares so now at full size. My target was the 184.24 daily level with 50MA-1min as my stop.

I placed an order at 1.5R (to cover 50%) of my shares and waited. Two minutes later it was filled. I waited a few minutes to determine if there was any more down side then I noticed a bullish wedge was being formed. So I exited the trade well before B/E was reached.

My second trade was on a engulfing on the 5min chart with ROKU. I also liked it had an ABCD pattern on the 1min chart and it could go red to green.  Price was finding resistance with the 200MA-1min and the HOPM. I never seem to get a good entry on ROKU so I decided not to wait. So I took an OK entry with a big stop all the way to VWAP. When I take trades with stops less than VWAP on ROKU I tend to get stopped out. My target was the 135.80 level which only gave a R/R~1.5. But I really liked the setup and the possible red to green.

I took a partial at PDC in case it bounced hard. It didn’t and punched through easily. I definitely took too many partials, but ROKU usually burns me so I was a bit quick to take profit. I did hold onto a few shares to see if the price bounce back, but sold at PDC.

 

 

 

 

What I did good today:  I didn’t break any of my trading rules. That is all I am focusing on right now.

What I am grateful from today?  I am grateful for having a winning trade with ROKU. I usually get chopped up.

What do I need to improve on:  I am just focusing on complying with my trading rules.

 

[Rob C 826]

Thursday 11/14/2019

I had a well-being score of 3.5/10 this morning. I have a reaction form an immunization shot I received yesterday. So definitely SIM only. Since I was on SIM I tried practicing scaling into positions today.

I took 3 SIM trades this morning with BABA and AAPL

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, MU, ROKU, DIS and WMT

BABA headed into the open quite strong. HH/HLs for 30min on the 5min chart. I waited, as usual, for the really big print, which took a full minute today. It was a 201k print so there was a good chance for the stock to move at the open. So I waited for the next big prints to help determine direction. None arrived, but the price action looked strong so I went long when the price broke the HOPM and the 200MA-5min with a nice hammer on the 5min chart. I went half shares since I still had no T/S or L2 signal. The price instantly reversed and touched my stop (PDC). When the price bounced at PDC there was a L2 long signal so I added to my position. I was still risking less than 1R. The L2 signal disappeared and the price hit my stop. Only a -0.5R loss.

The 1min chart now looks bearish and there were two 5k bearish prints so I flipped my position and shorted at half shares since I was not trusting BABA today. My target was the $182 with a stop of the 182.68 PM level. I placed a limit order to take profits. The limit order price was reached but my order was not filled. If I was firing on all cylinders today I would have manually taken a partial profit when my order didn’t fill. But I had a fever and quite a headache so I was not on my toes today. The price then retraced and I got out at B/E.

My final trade was with AAPL. There was an ABCD formation with the PM candles. The previous 1min candle was a nice hammer that found support near VWAP. I took a small entry long and waited for a pop or a better entry to use the rest of my shares. The price dropped back to VWAP and I went long with the rest of my shares. My target was PDC with a tight stop of the 200MA-1min. I thought I took partial profits well. First partial was at the HOTD, the second was at PDC and the final at the 264.80 level. Then exited the trade on a new 5min low.

 

 

 

What I did good today:  Good use of scaling in. Didn’t break any rules today.

What I am grateful from today?  I am grateful for having a win rate today of 33% and still up +2R for the day.

What do I need to improve on:  I need to get my health back to normal as soon as possible.

 

[Rob C 826]

Friday 11/15/2019

I had a well-being score of 6.5/10 this morning. An interesting day. 7 trades (2 live and 5 SIM) and all stop outs. Definitely not a confidence boosting day.

I took 2 live trades this morning with NVDA and BABA.

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, NVDA, ROKU, AMAT and JD.

BABA gapped almost 1% up though only 100k PM volume. After the open I waited for the big print. After well over a minute I gave up and moved on to NVDA. Of course as luck would have it the print arrived just after and T/S and the 2^nd 1min candle gave a good long setup. I would have only gotten to my first partial (1.5R), but on a Friday I would have called it a day. On the positive side I did get to trade other stocks instead of the same BABA every day.

NVDA open strong on the first candle and pulled back all the way to the 200MA-1min. The price found resistance and bounce back I went long. My target was all the way to $215 which was a level in after hours trading the day before. It is a long way, but I had no other level. Since R/Rs that are too big don’t seem to work at the open for me I took a large stop all the way to $210 which was the bottom of the candle wick.

I set my limit order at 1.5R and the price did move higher quickly. It got to about 1.3R and T/S was showing some bullish prints so I tried not to partial early. But the price retraced and I exited at B/E.

Then I went back to BABA which was setting up for a 5min ORB. I went long a little before the 5min mark. I made a hotkey mistake, but I recovered quickly. My target was the 185.65 tech level with a stop at the daily level of 184.24 which also happens to be VWAP. Ten seconds after I went long large bearish prints hit which means I should get out of the position, but I held. I was stopped out shortly after for a full -1R loss. It is not a rule to bail on a trade when I get that signal, but it would be nice that I get strong enough mentally that I can start doing that. Maybe I will try and reduce my share size but not completely leave the trade on that signal in the future.

The bearish prints I ignored.

Then I took 5 SIM trades and got stopped out on all of them. The DIS trade looked like an a really good wedge on a 15 min ORBD. But that even failed.

 

What I did good today:  Didn’t break any rules today.

What I am grateful from today?  Trading new stocks.

What do I need to improve on:  Exit trades early when you see a T/S signal or at least reduce your risk.

 

[Rob C 826]

Monday 11/18/2019

I had a well-being score of 5/10 this morning. I have a few minor ailments lowering the score.

I took 2 live trades and one SIM trade this morning with BABA and YNDX.

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, MU, ROKU, AMRN and YNDX.

BABA gapped up some then lost most of it in late PM, then moved back up some before the open. Thus giving no direction except to say it was moving today. BABA was on my main screen and after the open I waited to see the big print of the day. It finally arrived after 59 seconds and it was very large at 312k. Thus, it is very likely BABA will make a substantial move, I just need to determine direction. Very soon after the price started to drop without any more large prints. I liked that the 1min candle already engulfed the PM 5min candle and it broke through a level the price was holding in PM for the last 20 minutes. So I shorted on a standard 1min ORBD. I got a terrible fill but that is so common with BABA that I already compensated with smaller share size. PDC was my target with the PM level of 186.85 was my stop.

The price did retrace and touch my stop twice. Then there were some prints, on the large side, that were bullish and I stopped out a few cents early. I don’t know what was going through my head and why I did that. I know I have been upset of myself not acting on the prints, but this was just a few pennies from stop out. There is no savings to stop out early by a couple pennies. Especially, since it found resistance twice at that level. Of course the price never broke my stop and started to drop fast. This would have definitely been my trade of the week or month if I just stick to my plan.

Before the price started to make its big descent, I flipped the position. Unsure if it was revenge or not. There was an OK setup IF the price broke the 186.85 to the long. But I never waited for that so it was not a full setup, thus another poorly executed trade and was stopped out quickly.

 

I did take a successful SIM trade on YNDX.

 

 

What I did good today:  Didn’t break any rules today. My trade plan for my first BABA trade was correct and would have been a big winner if I stuck to my plan.

What I am grateful from today? Even though it was a SIM trade, it was nice to see the YNDX trade to be larger than the sum of the two live trade losses.

What do I need to improve on:  Trade execution.

 

[Rob C 826]

Tuesday 11/19/2019

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

I took 2 live trades this morning with BABA and MYOV.

My watchlist today was: AAPL, BABA, MU, ROKU, MYOV and YNDX.

BABA gapped up some in the PM with OK volume. I followed my usual procedure. I waited after the opening bell to see how large was the big print on BABA. I didn’t have to wait too long (~15 seconds) and it was large 260k. So it is likely BABA will move, just need to get some hint of direction. I waited for the next prints, but the were inconclusive. There were some white bids 15c below the large print but there was a big print at the ask an instant after. Thus no help.

The price movement was bullish. The price had a bullish 1min candle just before the open and another bullish hammer was forming after the open. Then I saw a L2 signal, though not too big. Then T/S went all green and I went long.

The chart when I took the trade:

My target was the $187 level. My stop was the $186 level. Unless a got a great fill my R/R would be ~1. So not the best setup. But I really liked the volume, the candles and the L2. The price did move upward and almost made it to my first target (HOPM) but then it retraced and I got stopped out.

 

MYOV gapped up big in PM and was strong at the open. Both the first minute and second minute volume was good. MYOV made a nice hammer with the 2^nd 1min candle and I was seeing some bullish prints. But then I thought heard Andrew getting out of MYOV. Uh oh, so I paused for a moment then I saw a L2 signal. Not a big one but enough. Then the spread decreased to 2 cents and I decided to go long. I didn’t really have a good target so I had to use the solid dollar and my stop was the bottom of the current candle which happens to be the bottom of the previous two candles.

Soon after I entered the trade the spread increased to 1%. The price quickly dropped to half way to my stop but the L2 kept looking better and better. I was not use to a stock with 2-3% swings so I set a limit order not too far above my entry to decrease my risk. Shortly after my limit order filled the volume increased to levels I have seldom seen before. I was unable to read the T/S anymore. It was too fast. I thought I heard Andrew enter back into the trade. I took two more partials on the way up, then held onto 1/8 of my shares and exited on a new 1min low. Again, I am not use to these huge price movements. Holding onto 1/8 my shares through a 10% pull back is pretty wasteful.   

 

 

 

What I did good today:  Didn’t break any rules today. The prints were correct and  BABA did make a nice move after the open, I just happen to guess the wrong direction. I took a trade with a large gap up, I usually shy away from those.

What I am grateful from today? Very grateful for a +4R day. Too many days these pass two months I have been stopped out by a couple of pennies and miss huge moves. It was nice to finally catch one.

What do I need to improve on:  Need to create a plan for the large price moving trades. They don’t happen often, but would like to be ready for next time.

 

[Rob C 826]

Wednesday 11/20/2019

I had a well-being score of 7/10 this morning.

I took 1 live trade this morning with BABA.

Disappointed with my watchlist today. There were so many gappers but very few Centerpoint had shorts for.  So based on the short availability I created my watchlist: AAPL, BABA, ROKU, TGT, LOW and URBN.

BABA gapped down in the PM with OK volume. There were so many strong levels above the PM price that I was doubtful it could punch through them easiIy. So I was short bias’d. I followed my usual procedure. I waited after the opening bell to see how large would be the big print on BABA. I didn’t have to wait too long (~11 seconds) and got the largest print I have seen since I have following this procedure at 367k. So it is likely BABA will move, just need to get some hint of direction. I waited for the next prints, it didn’t take long. Two seconds later there was a large bearish print.

A few seconds later the price dropped through 183.38 daily level which the PM showed respect. I shorted and of course got a terrible fill, but that is to be expected. I took half share size since it was so close to the open. My stop was the 183.87 level. But, there was no good target. The next target was the 180.40 which was unrealistically too far away.

The price dropped fast and quickly reached my first target for a partial (182.58 LOPM), where I took a large partial. The other partialing was taken mostly at price stalls. With my half shares this was only a 1.2R trade compared to my fix risk. But the return vs risk particular to this trade was 2.5R. So I was happy with that and I didn’t feel like trading live anymore. I had my one good trade.

 

I took a SIM trade with URBN and got stopped out. Then I took another SIM with ROKU for a +3R trade. Now that is a big deal for me since I almost always get chopped up by ROKU and was thinking about not trading it anymore (even in SIM). But, the setup and entry it gave this morning looked too good to pass up.

 

 

What I did good today:  Didn’t break any rules today. The prints were correct and  BABA did make a nice move after the open. Today I guessed the right direction.

What I am grateful from today? I am grateful BABA gave more info on the T/S to help me determine direction.

What do I need to improve on:  I like my trading today. I am going to leave it at that.

 

[Rob C 826]

Thursday 11/21/2019

I had a well-being score of 4.5/10 this morning. Disappointed in myself for breaking a rule today. I also had a bad hotkey mistake.

I took 3 live trades this morning with BABA and ETFC.

My watchlist: ETFC, BABA, ROKU, M, AMTD and SCHW.

BABA had an interesting PM. The price dropped one dollar then rose two dollars to drop back down to PDC before the open. The PM volume was just enough (>100k) to have it on my primary screen at the open. I had no directional bias. I followed my usual procedure. I waited after the opening bell to see how large would be the big print on BABA. I didn’t have to wait too long (~12 seconds) and we got a marginally large print for 162K. My rule says >150K OK to use this method, but I have never traded on this small of a print before. I am assuming this print is large enough to say BABA will move, just need to get some hint of direction. I waited for the next prints, it didn’t take long. Five seconds later there were two large bearish print. But they were only 12 cents under the very large prints. I like to see at least 15-20 cents from the really big print. If it is only 10 cents I wouldn’t have used it in a signal. 15 cents I would have, so this is a gray area.

After the bearish prints, the opening candle became a bearish reverse hammer and the 5min chart looked bearish. Also, bids were building, but not big enough I would call a signal. But all these signals combine was enough that I went short with half shares. My target was $181 (LOPM) and my stop was the 200MA.

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

The price reversed the instant I got my fill and I was stopped out in a few seconds. It took about 15 minutes for BABA to settle down then moved higher. Was this stop out just probabilities or the marginal size of the really big print and the marginal delta between the first print the second? Will have to collect more data.

 

I then moved ETFC over to my main screen to look for a raising devil play. The price was moving up and reached VWAP. The moment it hit the screen I saw a L2 signal and the price move passed VWAP. I immediately went long without a full plan.

There were a ton of levels just above it and it gapped heavily down in PM, not the smartest play. The L2 signal disappeared immediately after I entered the trade. I usually wait around a few second to see if the ask will stay. The price quickly dropped and I was stopped out of a few seconds later. I then flipped positions. I would like to say it was just a reflex, but I knew I was breaking my trading rule. I had a full -1R stop out so I am limited to 2 live trades. So I consciously broke the rule. Even though I had an OK short with ETFC, the market was nice enough to teach me a lesson. After I exited the trade I walked away from the screen to clear my head before starting SIM trades. I didn’t notice I still had my order to cover at B/E. The price spiked up just high enough to fill my order (as a long) and spiked back down for a >-1R loss.

 

I did have a good SIM trade with SCHW to the short.

 

What I am grateful from today? Actually, I am grateful for the market teaching me a lesson about rule breaking. Making a profit from breaking a rule would have been bad.

What do I need to improve on:  Rule breaking and trading without a plan.

 

[Rob C 826]

Friday 11/22/2019

I had a well-being score of 6/10 this morning. Due to breaking a trading rule yesterday, I am back on SIM.

I took 1 SIM trade this morning with BABA.

My watchlist: TSLA, BABA, ROKU, JWN, PSTG and FL.

BABA had an uneventful PM, but had enough volume (>100k) to be on my main screen at the open. I had no directional bias. I followed my usual procedure. I waited after the opening bell to see how large would be the big print on BABA. I had to be patient this morning. Then 41 seconds after the open a 183k print hit, which is just large enough that it is probably likely BABA will move at the open.  The next print arrived 2 seconds later, a 4k buy at the ask but only 3 cents above the big print, so it doesn’t really give much info. So I was going to go with candles and try a 1min ORB if it breaks the 185.78 daily level. It did and I shorted. Since I was going off of only 2 signals (I usually like a minimum of 3) I took a reasonably wide stop to $186, a level which was respected in the PM and my target at PDC.

As usual I got the expected bad fill.  I didn’t trust myself partialing so I placed a limit order at 1R. It did fill and then the stock went sideways for 2min and the I saw a 7k ask so I sold some more to reduce the risk. I made a hot key mistake and shorted more and quickly covered for a loss. The price dropped a little more and I covered some then the price shot up fast. I don’t trust a stop order at B/E for BABA, the price tends to fly through and you lose all your winnings. There seemed to be a level around 185.55 so I exited when it broke that price. Of course it reversed to the penny of my exit and dropped all the way to my target and beyond.

 

 

 

What did I do good today? Waited patiently for the big print on BABA. Didn’t break any rules.

What I am grateful from today? I am grateful for a good watchlist today. Usually I can’t find enough stocks that I can short to fill my display.

What do I need to improve on:  Rule breaking and watch your exit with BABA.

 

[Glenn Budde 356]

I noticed that some of the fast stocks will blast past my stop orders on my Kyles Keys but my BE key is a market order and seems to work every time..... If you want the code here it is....

CXL ALLSYMB;Route=Stop;Price=AvgCost;StopType=MARKET;STOPPRICE=AvgCost;StopPrice=Round2;Share=Pos;TIF=DAY;Send=Reverse;

Not sure what broker your with but with CMEG I had to take the + out of DAY    (it used to be DAY+)