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The only setup which corresponded to the plan at around 10:00 EDT was
LOW therefore I went short in it. Result was a small win of 12 ticks.
I could have exited earlier, but I wanted to play for a trending down day.
Maybe because of the low volume it made a more or less range day.
No cold shower today. I maybe could think about my exit strategy but as far as i see it now
I will not change it yet.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
C it is near its daily MA 50 when it opens lower than yesterday and tests this level in the first half hour it is a buy.
Short
LEN in case a big gap occurs there is the opportunity to test the MA 50 which will lead to a good short sale.
ABX same setup as with len but in this case the MA 20 is my objective entry
VLO same as the setup with the MA 20 but it is also possible to only test the 3 days high and start a decline from there.
PHM MA 20 can be tested today this will lead to a short entry.
In summary I have more short setups than long setups. This should respect the case that I see the ES near a last pivot high which can lead to a reversal formation today. Therefore respecting the broad market trend for today I will
focus on the short side.
Ok, first my setups just worked not today. It was not a short but rather a long day.
I should have noted that after VLO closed its downgap and rallied to the MA 20.
First mistake I made was going short not around 10:00 but at 9:45 that resulted in a loss.
Instead of accecpting that, I made a mistake I just wanted revenge. This time I went short near the MA 20 and around 10:00, but still I can see so many reasons for cold showers I decided to take
every day until Thursday,the next trading day, a cold shower.
Picture below shows the rally I tried to fight against, what a stupid idea to think that after a rallye starting
at a gap running more than 100 ticks it is a good idea to go short.
The next picture shows my etries and exits.
After thinking about what was going on in my mind.
The first entry was just stupid, I should not having traded today.
Because for today I just had no setups which were working at the opening.
This can be seen as a violation against my trading rules. The only stock which was near my setup was
VLO therefore I thought before I do nothing today I have to take that trade in VLO.
I think this thinking that I have to trade is very dangerous, but it results from my rule to trade only the days when I have enough spare time to do daytrading.
This made me think I have to trade today. And that resulted in two losses.
Just that easy.
The question is now how can I avoid such a situation again.
Maybe it is a good idea to tell myself if I am not able to take a trade on one friday or holiday I am allowed to
take two the next friday or holiday when I am able to trade.
The other problem I currently in, is how can I reward myself when I done everything correct.
This reward should be possible to get without paying money. Because I do not want to spent money when I lost
with my setup in case I have done everything correctly.
I will be able to think about those problems during the next cold showers I have to take after that stupid trading day.
Therefore I had to think about how I could reward myself in case
I sticked to my trading plan. Everyday I took a cold shower to get reminded that
the next time I will care about my predefined plan.
My solutions.
1. To reward me I decided in case I done everything right I will take the sunday off and
go swimming, ( I had other suggestions in my mind but most of them would not improve my health )
swimming seems the best solution because I like it it is cheap in price and last but not least it helps to
improve my health.
2. I decided if I cannot see a correct setup, than I will not take a trade on that day.
Instead I am allowed to take two trades the next day I can trade. ( There is still an open question what to do if I cannot see two correct setups on that next trading day.)
For today I picked the following opportunities.
Short
ACN is near the 20 MA daily and therefore could make a intraday test during the first half hour of that level.
MOS is not in my trading list right now, but I have seen a harami which could lead to a continuation of the bearisch trend today.
BA I still have it on my watch list even if it is very high priced but it made a NR4 started by a big bearish bar. If BA
tests the previous high I think it should be a good entry playing for a breakout of that previous range.
Long
CRM made yesterday a breakout from a triangle this can be continued today. But this can be a dangerous setup to play because i expect to have to enter during maybe the first 10 minutes.
BBY is near its MA 20 daily a test of that could lead to a bullish day.
M made two previous bearish days and is on the lower part of a sideways trading range in an overall bullish trending. Therefore if M tests the yesterdays low this can be a good entry.
Ok I traded my plan, but I just traded the wrong plan.
In the current broad market situation it was a bad idea to go short.
But right now the S&P500 is near a previous high and I thought it could be
a reversal situation today.
Therefore I have chosen the setup to short BA.
First I was only filled by the half of my planned position size and I have not sold a second time.
The order was in the early segment of my entry time objective. Having waited a little bit would have been
the wiser decision. Therefore I maybe had a lack of patience today. Result -14 Ticks, not a big loss.
Anaylsing my last trades shows that I just prefer the short side. I maybe have to think about ways to
capitalize on the long side more often.
, while perhaps not as sudden as for those who dare too much, is equally sure and certain.
borrowed from the book Viewpoints of a commodity trader . Roy W. Longstreet.
And today I have on one hand dared too much and on the other dared too less.
I entered the trade very early because I recognized a ascending triangle during the first 15 min.
I entered on the breakout, even if it was not in my entry time zone I consider that as a good and sure entry.
Such triangles showed in history a reliable entry point. Anyway I consider that as having dared too much because
of entering very early.
I maybe have to make a software lock to stop me starting trades before 9:50 on the other hand maybe it
is better to do some exercises for building up patience. One suggestion was to go to the supermarket and when
you are just before the cash box, turn to the end of queue. Taking cold showers seems to be very common to me now and I doubt if that will help me to overcome my patience problem.
The second sin I made was that I exited too early, the long sideways line after a retracement to the open,
which I considered at that time as a normal behaviour, but that long sideways line just shaked me out.
I closed it by hand my stop was placed just 5 ticks below, therefore it was a very strange reasoning of me, the stop was placed at a little swing low, at that point the trade would have ended.
Those 5 ticks are nothing, but I considered em as enough to close the trade.
Below my entry in MRK is shown. Result minus -10 ticks.
@Big Mike thank you for the two thanks showing that you are watching this little journal, it gave me good motivation to keep me on my chosen track.
Today was my 18th Trade therfore I am still at the start. Therefore I consider those obstacles I am now facing as a temporal starting problem.
Today, I followed my setup, but lost money anyway.
In my opinion I placed the stop correctly after LOW seemed to form a ascending triangle
after the first half hour. The stop was placed near the third swing low.
This trade ended with 5 Ticks minus.
Only one trade to complete my ten trades to calculate my DDRL value.
I have selected the following setups for my watchlist.
Short
AMT test of the 20 MA daily will lead to a short setup
APA seems to be a great setup for testing the old high during testing the 20 MA daily.
APC could test tomorrow the level around 91 leading to a falling back to the 20 MA daily.
CAT seems to be also a great short setup if it tests the MA 20 daily during the first half hour of tomorrow.
Long
HFC if it tests the level around 45,80 during the first half hour this can lead to a good buy setup.
LEN if it tests the level around 33,70 it can lead to a good long setup
Both directions
WMB is identified as a Rudd setup and therefore can lead to a short if it opens above yesterdays high. If it opens at the close it should be treated as a long. Because the W/R bar just started a breakout from a trading range there is a high probability of followin up.