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Net: $339.56 from gain of $492.46 less loss of $152.90; profit factor 3.2
7 winners, 3 losers; 70% win ratio
Average win $70.35, average loss $50.97; W/L ratio of 1.4
I traded four stocks today CMI, M, V, VFC
CMI
Trade 1 | CMI had been in a two day bull run. I wanted to catch the continuation of that. I watied until I saw two bars that had higher lows than the open and when the third bar failed to go lower, I got long. I had an entry stop set at $120.14 and an exit stop at 119.99, for total risk around $45. Slippage on the entry and slippage on the exit left me out of pocket about $51.
Trade 2 | Just a few minutes later after CMI put two bars with lows at $119.60 and started running up, I got long again. Was right on my expectation for a continuation of the run up. Ratcheted my stops tighter during the run, let myself get trapped out before retesting the high near $121.40. But was in place to go long again for a complex correction but the lower high just after entry spooked me and I tightened my stop to breakeven. Boy was I picked off. I have saved a screen shot of that one. Called and complained to the exchange. "Just providing liquidity" was the response. Thanks for nothing.
Trade 3 | I don't know why I feed my tendency to trade counter trend. But this was a failed test of the high, so I took the scalp. Ran a little more than I thought it would. Scaled out after I saw a double bottom put in.
Trade 4 | I thought there was going to be another leg up on the 30 minute chart. Waited and waited for it to get close to the trend line on the 30min chart. Took 3 round lots with $0.10 of risk per lot. Nope, that failed top from trade three was the reversal.
M
Trade 1 | Lousy entry, but hung in there. Wasn't easy give that I was taking heat for the first half hour of the trade. Then it took off. Then it started going even steeper. Then it went steeper still. Scaled off 200 of my 400 shares. Then I became distracted at work and got hit on where I had left my stop last.
Trade 2 | Still wanted to see if M would retest the highs, but I whimped out after a lower high and scaled half out. Then after a bar started to retrace off of what looked at the time as a second lower higher, I bailed for a small profit.
V
Trade 1 | Three longs here. Got in after a lower high.
Trade 2 | My entry for the first of two shorts was the exit of the last long in the previous set of trades. Usually don't flip positions, but I had been fighting the down trend for an hour. The exit on the last trade was driven by the lows of the day, but the market still carried lower.
VCF
Trade 1 | Started with with a short after stock failed to trade higher. But after I saw 4 bars stopping on Support from the prior day, I closed and reversed within 3 minutes. Was the best move of the day.
I will tack on Thursday and Friday of last week for this week's stats.
Net gain $260. Average daily gain: $37.22. 23 winners, 27 losers. Average holding time for winners 44min, average holding time for losers 34min.
Stats show that the first hour of trading are not working well for me, which fits my recollection. Lots of big bars in the first 30 minutes and stops have to be large.
Net: -$167.24 all loss
0 winners, 6 losers; 0% win ratio
Average win $0, average loss $27.87; W/L ratio of 0
Traded three stocks: APA, V, VCF
APA
Trade 1 Fat finger trade. Set up a trade for V, realized I had done it in APA. Got out in about 2 minutes. Just commission costs on that one.
Trade 2 Bought after a higher low. Moved stop up and was taken out early. Didn't miss much.
V
Trade 1 Bought after a higher low. Got out for $10 loss vs risk of $35.
Trade 2 Thought I had caught a turn down. Strong bars beforehand perhpas should have made me cautious. Biggest loss of the day at $72 on 800 shares, was supposed to be $48 risk
VCF
Trade 1 Was terribly late on the short. Finally got the right trade - long, but let myself get shaken out.
Trade 2 Fighting the trend on this short. Not enough of a broken trend line to justify it in hindsight.
Net: -$158.80 from gain of $182.02 less loss of $340.82; profit factor 0.5
3 winners, 6 losers; 33% win ratio
Average win $60.67, average loss $56.80; W/L ratio of 1.1
I traded FST, JPM, M, WHR, V, VFC (really need to focus on one or two, but never know where the next set up will be. Six is too much given where I am at this stage). Also need to do these the night of, rather than the morning after on the train.
WHR
Trade 1 Set up: Got in after triple bottom and failed push down.
Entry: limit
Exit: Scaled out in three peices. The first near a local high and R:R of 1. The second after a LL and LH shook me. Kept the third for a flier, and even managed to cut that one $1.50 short.
JPM
I will save this screen shot and hopefully look back at it to fondly remember my days as a retail trader. JP Morgan announced an increased dividend and $15BN stock buyback program. The stock took off - the markets with it. I watched trade up with barely a down tick for 15 minutes. I think about getting in. Nah, it will just trade down once I do, don't chase. The another 3 minutes pass. Still no down bars. Ok, why not. Closed out for a small loss $0.06. But I usually just have my stop loss that I drag up over time. However I added a limit to close out quicker. Forgot to kill the stop loss, which also got hit. Left me short a pretty bullish situation. $88 loss. Could have been worse.
That is all the time for today. Others had some ok set ups but just didn't work. Others were just the usual nonsense.
Net: $121.85 from gain of $223.45 less loss of $101.60; profit factor 2.2
4 winners, 2 losers; 66% win ratio
Average win $55.86, average loss $50.80; W/L ratio of 1.1
Traded LH, WHR, V, a little more focused today, few trades. Luckily one of them had a good run.
LH
Trade 1 | Set up: Bought on a failed push up after failing to break the high of the opening bar.
Entry: Stop
Exit: Scratched at break even. Risk was 200 x $0.15. I thought it would have run further given the run up at the end of the day yesterday, but turns out other buyers had different ideas. Glad I got out when I did. Unfortunately, my bearish bias prevented me from seeing the bullish triangle forming into the first leg up of a big run.
Trade 2 | Set up: Missed the first leg up. Was expecting more of a pullback after the first push. Held pretty flat for about 12 min.
Entry: Stop on first push out of trading range.
Exit: scaled first peice at R:R of 1:1, was intent on holding this through the next two legs up. Only one more materialized. Second scale out was a little panicky, need more patience, there was nary a pullback. Last exit was more patient. If I had been watching, perhaps I would have gotten a better exit point.
WHR
Trade 1 | Set up: Really don't know what I was doing for almost an hour as I top ticked the market and didn't move my stop once in response to not very promising price action. This should not have been a $50 loss. Perhaps it was the gap up and the two big wicks that formed right after i entered that made me think WHR was going to run higher. But not a single reaction... not good. The second trade was taken after a higher low. Trade was only on for 12 min, so not as much time to react, but after the failed push up, I should have been more defensive. I had one more trade in WHR, scratched.
V
Trade 1 | Set up: lacking, I was early. Even as I got in I saw the move down and I thought maybe I should wait until price gets to $116.60, rather than $116.70. Fear of missing out. Admittedly I took on a little more risk than I would have liked $60, rather than $40. So as the trade ran against me, I opportunistically trimmed my position down. Kept the last lot just in case it really did turn. It did, and I got out half way up. No trendline broken, no local resistance, no idea why I bailed here. Pullbacks are part of the tempo, need to remember that while trending up. Made $5 on this trade. Take what I can get, but this could have been a $100 trade if handled better for only $15 of risk. Instead it was a scratch for $60 of risk.
Net: -$134.91 from gain of $41.00 less loss of $175.91; profit factor 0.2
1 winner, 3 losers; 25% win ratio
Average win $41, average loss $68.44; W/L ratio of 0.6
I traded APA, WHR, V, VFC today.
Of the mistakes made today, being long 4 positions simultaneously was the most frustrating. Too many balls in the air. 3 ran against me. Stopped the day 38 minutes into the trading day $16 away from my daily stop loss.
APA
Four words: caught in a bear trap. I thought was continuing the down trend off a pull back. Totally ignored the sharp decline, long tail, and sharp retracement that all indicated a reversal had taken place. Hats off to the bulls that set that up. You deserve my $84.
WHR
Looking back at this chart, I can't even remember what I was thinking. Part of the discrepancy is that these charts are 2min. I am watching a 3min during the day. But the program I use to plot the trades doesn't have a 3min option. Ugly entries either way. Glad I had stops. There were very few ticks in my favor.
V
Late entry here. Fortunate exit. I also tried to play the pullback, expecting a continuation of trend that never materialized. But I was able to get out without too much pain.
VFC
Typically, I want to trade at the extreme of trading ranges. The entry for this trade was smack in the middle of the trading range at the time. Also signs of a reversal, similar to that seen in WHR. I did have the lower high to my back, but the reversal and higher low preceding my trade should have warranted more respect.
Net: $130.14 from gain of $224.14 less loss of $94.00; profit factor 2.38
6 winners, 2 losers; 75% win ratio
Average win $37.36, average loss $47; W/L ratio of 0.8
I traded APA, CMI, V, WHR
APA
Trade 1 | Set up: bought after the first pullback after APA breeched resistance around $108.10.
Entry: Stop 1 tick above previous down bar.
Exit: Dragged stop up as APA began pulling back, wasn't sure it would hold resistance, took profit. But ended up getting in for a second run up about 10 minutes later.
CMI
Trade 1 | Set up: bought after first pullback after CMI broke out above resistance from prior day. First two trades were trying to catch a swing up, which didn't pan out. First trade close to B/E, second stopped out quickly. Third caught, and held through 1 small pullback. Lots of trades for small profit, but tight risk management allowed a small net profit of $15.
Trade 2 | Set up: after a high with a long-tailed bearish bar, entered short.
Exit: Stop after CMI began pulling up.
Net: -$130.82 from gain of $5 less loss of $135.82; profit factor n/a
1 winners, 5 losers; 17% win ratio
Average win $5, average loss $27.16; W/L ratio of 0.2
Traded CMI, LH, V, WHR
WHR
Trade 1 | Steep sell off had me looking for a v-shaped reversal. Too early. Better reversal bar just minutes later.
Trade 2 | Unfortunately, rather than see that reversal bar, I flipped from long to short on the same transaction, which left me short for the actual reversal.
LH
Trade 1 | Bought this one after bouncing off the low of the day. But I held it through a higher high, retrace below entrey, and a lower high, retrace into losses. Ridiculous. If a trade goes my way and pulls back, it gets one more chance to pull ahead and then I should be at breakeven. If it takes off, great. If not, I should be out looking for a better entry.
They say you learn more from the ones that go against you. I look at the screen shots and don't even know how they happened. At least I stayed within my max daily loss.