Rob C's Trading Journal - starting Feb 1 2019

[Rob C 826]

Day 4 going live trading Futures (ES).

I had platform issues yesterday so unable to trade effectively.

I took 4 trades today which again is a lot for me. I seem to be much more aggressive when trading live over SIM. 

I had to wait a bit until market choose a momentum direction. My first trade was a pull back trade or test trade which immediately failed. I tried a second test trade or as Day Trading Academy refers to as a "2nd Times the Charm" trade. It's the test trade again except there needs to be a new advantage. Here the price bounced a 3rd time from a level. I went long and did get a partial but then S/O at B/E.

After the price respected the level in red 5 times I took that failed break out of the level seriously and took an aggressive failed breakout trade (FOBO). Though I should wait for separation above the mid-band (in white) the BBs (black dots on the bottom plot) did show momentum up. Plus my stop was below the level in red. The trade failed immediately but I still think it was an OK trade.

We then got serious momentum down and I tried a test trade again. This one worked out well. I took a partial near the outer band and then waited for a slow down to exit. Then I called it a week.

Have a good weekend.

Rob C

 

[Rob C 826]

Second week going live Futures day trading.

An interesting day. With more live trading I will be able to determine if it was bad luck today or have I change my trading enough from SIM that days like today will be more common.

Due to using ticks instead of dollars, it is be much more common in Futures trading to not get filled even though the price is at your order and to get stopped out at exactly a tick. But today was the first time this happen 3 times in one trading session.

I thought I traded well except I took too many contracts on the first trade. Momentum was down heading into the open. We got a nice pullback and I shorted seconds before the open. Since it was so close to the open I should have only took 1 contract. But I took my normal 2 and got stopped out. I won't make that mistake again.

The price pulled back more making a larger reward to risk. I shorted again and was able to cover one contract before stopped at B/E.

The price moved higher breaking a marked level. The level was tested twice giving credence to it. When the price made a new high and pulled back I place a long order. The price touched it but it did not fill. Too bad because it did move higher to reach my target.

Three hours later there was finally another setup. Good downward momentum and a nice pull back. I placed a limit order and again the price touched it but it was not filled. Too bad that was a big trade.

The price bounced off the low 3 times then made a new local high. I went long with what The Day Trading Academy calls a Test-Retest trade. Essentially a head and shoulders set up. I was immediately stopped out. 

Soon after the price tried to break out and failed so I took a failed break out trade to the long. The price dropped to just touch my stop limit order. Of course this time it was filled stopping me out. Then the price shot up higher to reach my target.

 

[Rob C 826]

Second week going live Futures day trading.

I incorrectly thought that two years of equity trading I would be fine making the transition to live Futures trading, but there is some psychology I need to figure out. The first week of live trading I found myself too aggressive taking the trades. This week I am compensating too much and I am being too timid and missing some great trades. The Day Trading Academy said it usually takes 2 months to make the transition from SIM to live. So I have no need to rush this. I will fine my zone.

The morning had a setup with momentum down and a nice pullback. But equities had a turbulent open so I mistakenly thought so would Futures. So when there was a bit of erratic behavior just before the entry I decided not to take the trade missing a really nice trade. 

A bit later there was a great Test-Retest trade (double bottom trade) but I happen to be away from my computer for 5 minutes to help the kids with breakfast. So I missed it. 

Then I took a break out trade which looked promising breaking the top of the range with a higher high, but got stopped out. Then I took a test trade on a pull back and got stopped out. So I missed the two winners and took the two losers. That took some psychological toll so I stopped trading. With in the next 30 minutes there were two really big winners with easy setups that I missed. That didn't help the situation. But I will take my time transition.

[Rob C 826]

Second week going live Futures day trading.

Finally a decent day trading. The momentum was running down over night but before the open flipped to strong upward momentum. I did take a test trade (long) but the risk/reward was too high since the HOTD was so close. So I only took 1 contract. The price did go and test the level so I moved my stop up and then was stopped out a few minutes later. 

The price really broke down through the bottom of the range and then came back up to meet the mid band (white line). Though I have a rule not to take Break Out trades if the price has already moved 5 points beyond my planned entrance (thus the move is over), the downward movement was so strong I entered the trade anyway (short) with 1 contract. I was stopped out soon after.

I then entered long with a FOBO trade. The first really good looking trade of the day so I went long with two contracts. The coach from the Day trading Academy will probably say something about my first partial and wonder why I sold just after it made a new high. My first exit was was originally placed 5 ticks higher. But I have had 6 losing trades in a row now so my FOBR was really high. So I moved my limit order down some and was about to place it more exactly and then 2 bars printed really fast and filled my order. I then waited if the price would break HOTD. It did but about 20 minutes later suddenly 3 foreboding bars were printed and I exited the trade.

I hope everyone is having a good day,

Rob C

 

[Rob C 826]

Second week going live Futures day trading.

Not an easy day to trade. Low volume and momentum, but surprisingly I found 4 setups to trade today.

There was low downward momentum for the first 5 hours of trading. The price made a new low around 9am EST and a small pull back but the reward/risk was too small so I didn't trade. Sadly it was a winner.

The price dropped to a new low but failed to break out. There was no entry to that trade (also a winner). The price broke through the other side of the range and a break out trade did setup but the midband was just inside the range and the price made a lower high so I didn't take it. But then the price changed direction and I went short on a failed break out trade that did make it to my target, though small.

Then for 2 hours the price tried to to make a new low but could not. After the 6 failed attempt and a new high (compared the previous pivot) I went long and was immediately stopped out.

Finally a real break out near noon. The price retraced and tested the backside of the area (which is a good thing) and I shorted. I placed a very conservative exit 1 tick above the LOTD. At that point there had been no real momentum all day so I didn't expect much. So I missed out on the only decent run of the day.

After the run we had a nice pull back so I shorted for a continuation. Missed my target by 2 ticks and retraced back and I was out at B/E.

The price pulled back more for a better reward to risk but gave no entry.

That felt like a long day trading.

Hope everyone did well today,

Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Second week day trading futures live.

My first one and done day! We had no momentum from 11pm to 7am then a sudden drop and a beautiful pull back with a nice entry opportunity. I couldn't ask for better so I shorted with 2 contracts. I covered my first contract at a conservative one point above the "area" and placed my second limit order at what the Day Trading Academy recommends as "double the range". The price dropped and missed my order by a tick then started to aggressively pull back. So I exited and called it a week. 

It has been great ending both live weeks on a solid trade.

Everyone have a good weekend!

Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Week 3 going live day trading Futures (ES).

I had a schedule change so I may only have 1 hour after the open to trade for all of 2021. So I am glad I was able to get a trade in.

We chopped around in PM and at the open then the momentum headed down and pulled back. My entry had to be a little aggressive on the short entry because price was dropping fast. I placed an order at a conservative target and only took 1 contract. It was filled soon afterwards.

The price chopped around for awhile then a nice reversal setup occurred. I set my buy order in and it was touched but not filled. Then I had to step away from the screen soon afterwards.

[Yardley 6]

Hi Rob,

Can you give me some pointers on how you got started with futures? With my 9-5 job, it's becoming harder for me to trade stocks. So I thinking of switching over to futures or forex. What's your opinion about forex? Have you researched that before settling for futures?

 

Any advice will be very helpful.

 

thanks

yardley

[Rob C 826]

Hi Yardley, its been awhile. I hope you are doing well. Yes I am sort of the same situation with a day job. I didn't think at first it would be an issue since I live in California so I could trade for 30 to 60 minutes after the market has open. I saw Andrew and Brian usually finish by then so I thought that was the way to go. I soon realized ORBs do not fit my personality. I didn't give up but it took about 18 months until I stopped being really stressed during trades. I am not the type to get stopped out in 3 seconds after entering and be OK about it. But I suffer along and finally became profitable. But the profit is increasing very slowly. It just doesn't fit me. I won't give up but I wanted to try a different instrument.

I have been told Forex works out best if you want to control your time schedule. I also had an interest in commodities. Yes there are ETFs for commodities and some have good volume but not the same. Especially in pre and post markets. Even the ES futures move surprisingly well with volume well after the market closes. It seems it is traded in foreign markets.

Last year when I looked to learn Futures trading I looked around because I wanted to learn by mentorship. I found the Day Trading Academy and bought a years worth. They are a bit pricey. 6 weeks of doing their course work, 2 months of practicing "bar by bar" (stepping through the chart and trading not in real time). Then 7 months of SIM. Now I just started trading live. They will only teach you on the ES futures (SP 500) at first. Once you have learned it you move to other instruments. 

If you want to investigate it the book that most recommend is Zack Zarr's book (its in the BBT's book section). I haven't read it yet. Also Ninjatrader has a free SIM account for Futures. Its a really good platform. I like it more than DAS. They give you 2 weeks free SIM and data. Once it expires I hear people just give another email and get another two weeks. I started an account with the min $400 to get the "free" SIM. Its not quite free since the broker will charge you $25/month. But still cheap.

I hope I answered your question. If not please let me know what specifics I can add.

[Rob C 826]

Week 3 going live day trading Futures (ES).

I knew I only had 30 minutes to trade today so I do feel lucky to get a trade in. 

PM momentum was strong. It weakened into the open but still remained upward. We got a healthy pull back and even though reward/risk was a little below two I went long in hopes that the price would move beyond the HOTD. But after entering the trade I was pulled away from my screen so I left a limit order at a conservative target. Thus, I missed the big run. But really happy I got a trade in today at all.

I hope everyone did well today. I had a really choppy open with equities this morning. Luckily I was trading demo this morning since I hit max loss.

Rob C

 

[Rob C 826]

Week 3 going live day trading Futures (ES).

Again I was lucky enough to get a trade in with my limited morning trading time.

We had good momentum from PM into the open. Got the pull back I was hoping for and an opportunity to enter the trade. Price quickly dropped to my target.

Hope everyone had a solid day trading.

Rob C

 

[Rob C 826]

Week 3 going live trading Futures (ES).

Didn't see a setup I liked until minutes before the close today. Momentum was strong and we had a pull back at 9am EST but no entry given and priced move to target. Then a reversal setup occurred that Day Trading Academy refers to as a "TRT" Test-Retest Trade. But volume was so low I didn't think it was a good setup. But the price did drop to my target. Then a false breakout occurred again with low volume which also moved to target.

Finally the price broke out dropped and retested and then made a new high. I went long and was stopped out. Then I flipped the trade as a false breakout. After 5 minutes I was losing my cool since I have never been in a trade this near the close so I exited the trade. 5 seconds later the volume flew in and price crashed without me. Hopefully I learned my lesson.

Everyone have a good weekend!

Rob C

 

[Rob C 826]

Week 4 going live trading Futures (ES).

It's amazing with such huge moves in the SP500 today I didn't have a set up until 3 hours after the open.

After a huge run down the market bounced and we had good upward momentum. Then a strong pullback and a setup to go test the recent highs. But two bars were printed in less than a second and moved 5pts. This is one advantage over bars than candles, bars display more data when the volume is high (when you need it the most). This spooked me so I let the first setup go by, which is good because I would have been immediately stopped out. Then the setup occurred again. Usually the second attempt is higher probability than the first. So I went long and was immediately stopped out. The third setup had no entry and of course went for a big run.

I had to wait almost another 3 hours for the next setup. The price made a new high and touched it several. After making a new low and a pullback I shorted (TRT  Test-Retest-Trade). The price dropped quickly to my first conservative target and stalled so I exited. A minute later it started downward again without me.

The price dropped and broke through the level signifying the bottom of the range. Popped back up and pulled back a little. So I went long on a failed breakout setup. After making a new high I pulled my stop up one tick below the new low. A few minutes later the price dropped down to stop me out by a tick before running big.

I hope everyone had a good day trading.

Rob C

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Week 4 going live trading Futures (ES).

Got lucky today with an early winning trade. Then my habit of quitting early near the end of the month, if positive, really helped. As the SP500 got really choppy afterwards.

PM upward momentum was really strong. 30 minutes after the open a setup appeared with a healthy pullback from the HOTD. Then the price broke the mid-band (white line) and gave me one final pull back where my order, which had been sitting for over a minute, was filled. The reward to risk was so good I went long with 2 contracts. When the price stalled I sold one contract. The price then dropped and hit my stop at B/E (with a tick slide due to volatility).

I hope everyone is having a solid day. I had a mild red day in equities today, so I hope I am only one of the few. Luckily the Futures trade brought me back into the green.

Rob C

[Rob C 826]

Week 4 going live trading Futures (ES).

I was actually able to trade the first two hours today. But since I am being very protective over my P/L as the month comes to a close, I switched to SIM after my first trade. There were 5 great setups (all winners) afterwards I took in SIM, but I don't regret my decision. I will only show my live trade here.

Really good downward momentum in the PM. there was even a setup an hour before the open, but not really taking PM trades yet. The momentum continued strong and downward after the open. We got the pull-pack I wanted 7 minutes after the open and I shorted. It was a bit aggressive with poor reward to risk (1.2 to 1 based on bandwidth stop). But I knew I could bring my stop down quickly if the trade starts to move. After a few seconds I was able to move my stop down to 1 tick above the recent high thus giving a 1.9 to 1 R/R. The price quickly dropped to my target and I called it a day.

I hope everyone is doing well today.

Rob C