StockSlinger

Mostly watched and took notes today, great hindsight tool!

2012-02-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

BIDU - Pullback to previous day high was great entry

DE - Breakout on daily for a quick partial gain

VMW - Goat called long and i hesitated

NFLX - Called out short and then long, but didn't take either. DAMN!

LVS - Missed open bounce but chased long for gain

AMZN - Round top short miss but caught long for pennies

Tuff day and had a plan that worked...but didn't stick to it

2012-02-13T20:20:00.000-08:00

Lessons:

TPX - Long off open but stopped out at support

AMZN - Great long but miss managed

NFLX - Hindsight short, good for review

Caught 1 winner and still took off way too early

2012-02-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

Interesting day

AMZN - Great long on bounce, then fail on 2 shorts but nailed 3rd, just miss traded it.

BIDU - missed the break above 50MA

MOS - Long off bounce

Green on all trades today

2012-02-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

Great day but didn't feel that way while trading. Review helped a lot today.

CF - Great short but didn't stick to game plan

AMZN - Great reversion long bounce

Man i'm on a losing bend and it seems market is giving away money

2012-02-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

Only 3 trades, 1 very miss managed.

FSLR - breakout failure but should have taken partial profit.

RVBD - Breakout failure and "wished" too long

ILMN - Short at previous day high

$hitty Day but still learning

2012-02-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Missed 2 great trades (Hindsight is such a gift) and took 1 great trade but due to terrible entry (my bad) and even worse exit (my bad again) i took a loss on day and my account is sucking do to picking the wrong ones for day account. Here are my scars for today:

BIDU - Chewed nicely at 131 and missed it.

LVS - 2 great long entries and missed both

FSLR - Looked like a bounce but too early and didn't honor my indicators

Flat day on few trades

2012-02-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

Ehhh

JOY - Long breakout trigger

POT - Great support long

CAT - Short off Daily Resistance but wrong

Great day

2012-02-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

Most winners, a few losers but stopped quick!

CRM - Failed breakout, 2 losses AND FAILED TO THINK TO GO SHORT!

WLT - Huge winner and proud of myself for harvesting profits.

GRMN - Short attempt but too strong, took off B/E but should have reversed long

LVS - Great pullback long

BIDU - Great long off pennant

Tuff day but finished green

2012-02-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

A few great calls but wrong stops!

BIDU - Great short call but stop too tight

FFIV - Great long, poor exit execution

CF - Short and wrong

GS - Great reversion short but missed the bounce off 20MA

More winners than losers = good day

2012-01-31T19:04:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the lessons learned today:

BIDU - Great bounce, great 1st target, 2nd exit lucky!

GMCR - Great area was watching but missed trade!

ITMN - Great daily clue to short but missed

Interesting day, sat on sidelines most the morning

2012-01-30T16:54:00.000-08:00

Only 1 stock traded today

BIDU - Nailed short, but missed the long

It's O.K. to chase strong stocks

2012-01-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

BIDU - Felt i was chasing it and wasn't sure where to place stop. Great lesson!

GMCR - Chased it but had too tight of a stop. Great lesson on 50% retracement

AMZN - Missed short due to fear from previous day spanking, but stuck to pullback long plan

Blah day, kept missing fills by .02 cents using limits. ERRRGGG!

2012-01-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

Although got frustrated as kept missing great fills, i didn't force anything. Here are some misses and hits on the day.

SINA - short and failed, missed the long off volume though

ILMN - Remembered i can switch ways, so took off small loss on short and went long for big gains.

GS - Long top tick fail

Another perfect day

2012-01-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

It is beyond rare i get the bragging rights of perfection, here are the lucky trades today:

WDC - Caught both long and short, pure perfection

VMW - A little late, but got a quick gain. Missed re-entry

NTAP - Great bounce but took profits too early

FSLR - On radar, missed it, and learning from my mistake

The perfect trading day...and still room to grow

2012-01-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

100% today, Amazing. No loses, 1 B/E, and all the rest nice winners.

NFLX - Long off open but rolled so took off flat and missed re-entry

VRTX - Gap up off Daily cup and handle

FFIV - Great run up, and roll over

AMZN - Short and exited too early, with 2 longs

BIDU - Nailed the lows but took off early, great trade

Back to Basics

2012-01-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Starting fresh in 2012. Had to reallocate funds as i didn't do as well as I'd hoped in 2011. Now i have 2 accounts, one for day trading that is under the minimum 25k so i can only take 3 round trips per 5 days and the other account for swing trading. So now I'm only looking for the highest quality setups intraday as am limited but will be paper trading the rest to hone my skills and continue to tweak my tools to stay current with what is working in the market.
All were paper trades as looking to go live, I'm finding I'm trading HEAVILY in FEAR and thus not working that well. My last several trades over the last month have all been realized losses which I've allowed to jack myself up internally. I desperately need to refocus and force my fear to take a back seat to high reward with low risk only setups i.e. Support/Resistance on multiple time frames. Haven't figured out how to beat the psychological aspect yet as FEAR totally paralyzes me. With that being sad, here are my days results and until i can end several weeks heavily in the green i refuse to risk my capital.

LULU - Right idea but wrong timing as stopped out on pullback.

NFLX - Daily candle broke above 50MA and intraday broke above previous day highs

OXY - Falling hard so looked for reversion, bounced off 95 for small gain

BIDU long and then a few shorts

2011-12-22T18:11:00.001-08:00

BIDU - 2 positive trades

Only 1 for 3 but let the winner run big, and cut losers quickly for great day

2011-12-21T18:44:00.000-08:00

BIDU - Huge short and nailed it

FFIV - Long but no bounce, didn't reverse trade

AMZN - Long and fail...and again didn't reverse trade

1 nice trade, 1 absolute idiotic trade, 1 great read and stopped out! using hindsight of course

2011-12-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

AMZN - great short

SNDK - Great short but stop too tight for loss

HANS - Stupid trade

Many nice shorts again

2011-12-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

CAT - Great short

MOS - Quick short

BIDU - Trade of the day

And shorts prevail again

2011-12-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

MOS - Short

SPRD - 1st shorted the momo, then long the bounce. a 2fer!

Nice day for shorts

2011-12-13T19:38:00.000-08:00

LULU - Amazing short

WORK ON LETTING WINNERS WORK!

2011-12-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

I notice that losers are losers, but the necessity to let winners run is what over the long haul takes my account up. Here are 2 examples today:

NFLX - Took a small loss on short but missed the LONG

BIDU - Chased long

..And then a 4 for 4 day!

2011-12-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

This is where i struggle is consistency. Kick ass day today!

GS - Great long

MELI - Great long off role reversal

DMND - Great buy strength lesson, got lucky on reversion short

NFLX - Perfect Pullback buy

I can't figure this crap out!

2011-12-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

I'm doing something terribly wrong and can't learn for the life of me!!

NFLX - Short and wrong

FSLR - Short of the day...and still messed it up

Keep making mistakes that are easily corrected using HINDSIGHT

2011-12-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

MELI - Great long, missed short

GS - Didn't wait for pullback

OK day, still workin on correcting mistakes

2011-12-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

The setups:

IMAX - Great long off daily setup

GS - Chased the long for +1, and nailed the short

NFLX - Shorts killed

Great lessons today but had to pay to learn them. 43% win rate and missmanaged trade.

2011-12-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

I just knew GS would roll, but entered to early and snowballed too big and ended up taking off for loss on day due to poor risk management. Here are the trades:

CAT - Long and wrong

NFLX - Shorted weakness in a gap up market, barely got a profit though

RL - Short but didn't follow through

GS - read the short but was too early and bailed gameplan

3 for 4, and BIG winners, just didn't let realize. SAME MISTAKE OVER AND OVER

2011-12-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

The trades:

PANL - Great long off strength

POT - Took long at open and then short, great double dipper

RIMM - Shorted the chatter but a tad too early

1 stupid trade, and 4 great trades for +80% win rate and hit +230% of daily goal.

2011-11-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

The trades.

FFIV - Great long momo

NFLX - 2 attempts

FSLR - Great roll to short

SNDK - Classic flag

2 for 2 but didn't let profits hit initial target

2011-11-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

SINA - Great long, forced to chase it

AMZN - Great short

Ended day positive but was really looking to fade huge gap up

2011-11-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

WYNN - Short on roll over but strength prevailed

ILMN - Great short but took off early

Potentially a huge day but took off the 1 big winner early

2011-11-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

AMZN - Great short at yesterdays highs

NFLX - Missed a great short

Fantastic Day, still need to let positions work, all hit targets...but all were taken off early

2011-11-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

WLL - Amazing strength in gapdown market

JOYG - Shorted the takeover chatter

Great day, only 1 loser but liked the odds

2011-11-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

The trades...and the lessons that ensue through reflection:

TIBX - Short reversion but wrong

POT - Long of previous day's low

VMW - Didn't want to chase it so missed it but great lesson:

ATI - Quick breakout trade

AMZN - Amazing reversion trade (but missed the big trade long off open)

Took several trades on Friday, most were chasing and it paid off

2011-11-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

My reversion methods are really hot and cold so trying a few different methods that seem to be working particularly well on trending days, i'm just trying to figure out before the day's end if it's a trending day!

SPRD - Great rocket ship ride on break of previous days consol...that i chased a little.

SNDK - Tight pullbacks indicate trend day, chased a little

REDF - Quick Chase as looking for quick small gain

HANS - Textbook flag intraday

Only took 2 trades, 1 great one, and one really bad one that had no edge

2011-11-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

AMZN - Long was terrible trade as there was no edge/advantage. No reason to get long

GS - Short was textbook, i just keep taking off early thinking it'll turn into a loser.

Good day but still not letting winners run to Target 2 and it's costing me profits

2011-11-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Here's where i struggle. Trade 1 i took off prematurely not letting target 2 become realized and left quite a bit on the table. While trade 3 i took off early for profit and stayed green, otherwise i would have taken a loss. HOW DO I DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TAKING PROFITS EARLY AND LETTING WINNERS RUN?

Here are the trades:

POT - Short, Target 1 realized, target 2 hit but didn't get

ROVI - Long but too early

FSLR - Long

3 for 3 and ended early for +242% of daily target realized

2011-11-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

What a great fast day. Here are the trades:

GMCR - 10 gallon HT to @gtotoy. Great eye on this perfect setup, strong out the gate on a gapdown day.

FSLR - Great rip and topping formation, shorted looking for +1

BIDU - Nice quick bounce

2 for 2 today

2011-11-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Only took 2 trades, both great winners that hit target. Unfortunately i'm trading with "scared" money and keep jacking myself psychologically.

GS - Long but skiddish and big mistake on small gain

FSLR - Great entry but BS exit due to FEAR!!!

Kickn ass today. 83% win rate and hit close to +250% of daily target

2011-11-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Great quick setups today.

OIH - Fast fade the gap

SPRD - Strong stock

CIEN - URGH. Boner mistake

FSLR - Textbook short, left lots on table

FFIV - Textbook long

AKAM - bought support test at major MA

Only 1 trade and a loser as i couldn't find high prob setups

2011-11-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

FSLR - thought a bounce was in, wrong.

0% win rate, stopped on -95% of daily loss allowance

2011-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

Man what a crappy day, got no love, but honored my stop on daily loss allowance so i live to trade another day.

SNDK - looked to bottom, stopped by pennies before the rip

NFLX - right idea both times, too early though

Fridays results, 66% win rate with +250% of daily target hit

2011-10-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

2 great trades, and 1 trade that looked fantastic but was wrong and stopped!

V - Classic consolidation long for MA's to bring support up

NFLX - reversion short looked great, but was wrong

CERN - By letting my winner run, HOME RUN DAY

Potentially a great day, however scared myself out of trades (common occurence) and went 2 for 3 with 30% target hit

2011-10-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

CF - Not high prob. trade at open but faded big gapup.

X - What appeared to be good trade, i was wrong but took a wonderful breakeven/loss and avoided major pain.

AMZN - Short for gapfill but showed Rel. strength, took off small loss and GRATEFUL

Tuff day, went only 33% win rate but ended day only down of -60% of daily loss allowance

2011-10-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Found myself really hesitating and 2nd guessing each trade sign today (Trader Cardinal Sin), this hesitation caused me to miss many BIG winners and also on a few take a loss with a trade that only went against me a little bit with natural movement (wiggle room).

FSLR - Great trigger long before rolled over

SPRD - Stop too tight

SINA - what looked to be a great bounce. THIS IS WHY YOU USE STOPS

CF - Stock of the day and boner trade of the day

100% Win rate, +285% of daily target achieved! Great day

2011-10-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Best day in awhile. All trades worked and even ones that didn't i took off early enough for small gain.

NFLX - 74 Support held so took long but bad management

BIDU - Shorted off open, but missed the 2nd opportunity, great lesson

X - Off the bounce

AMZN - Great bounce play

CF - Great short but should have used the 20MA as target

1 missed trade i tend to miss OVER and OVER on trending days

2011-10-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

BIDU - Lesson

Missed 2 golden opportunities, took 2 losers, and broke even.

2011-10-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Not a great day for P&L but did learn a bit today. Most important to take away as im finding with my main style is tight stops as it either works GREAT or fails great. Fast on the trigger allowed me to take a losing day like today and only give back some but still very conservative on sizing, here are the trades:

POT - Short that failed, took off B/E

NFLX - long and stopped out, then missed a text book setup

MELI - Missed opportunity but papered to learn

OXY - took bounce long but failed

FSLR - Frickin Lightspeed, tried to short but wouldn't let me, gotta figure out what that was about...so just papered another missed opportunity

Had only 20% win rate today and missmanaged 1 trade with too big position which took me down -42% of daily loss allowance

2011-10-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

Couldn't find my rhythm today and although 4 of 5 were losers, my winner ran big and my mistake was i took too big of size on my 1big loser for the stop i placed. Easily detectable with hindsight. Few of the trades:

GMCR - Long but got shaken out

MUR - Long off double bottom that failed

FNSR - Great scalper lately, long again for nice gain

Went 1 for 2 today with +55% of daily target hit

2011-10-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

I overslept and didn't get CPU booted till 5 min after market open and the few times i've done this, i just can't seem to get in the groove. I took 1 trade and it worked but still felt off. Took 2nd trade and flubbed up for a small loss.

FNSR - 1 long, 1 short

83% win rate but took profits WAY to soon for only +77% of daily target acheived

2011-10-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Huge day in market, many missed opportunities due to lack of patience.

GS - 2 shorts, both worked

BIDU - Long and wrong but took profit as @gtotoy said looked weak and saved me from being stopped for a loss

EDU - missed monster bounce but got small short

FNSR - Short but got pulled out on price wiggle

75% win rate with a +224% daily target hit

2011-10-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

Best day in awhile, went in with a shortside bias on overbought conditions and nearing resistance but tried to be somewhat neutral in case we kept ripping so kept stops TIGHT!

WLL - Gapfill Fade short

POT - Long at yest highs but took small loss

GS - Short at yest highs

EDU - Nice quick short, missed 2nd helping

Decent day, took off winners too early and left big gains on table but with a 75% win rate and +54% of daily target, i consider that a good day

2011-10-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

Had a few decent trades, still taking off winners TOO early. Here's the main example.

PRU - Great short, took off EXTREMELY EARLY

50% win rate but only hit +35% of daily target due to lack of letting trades workout

2011-10-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

Daily recap:

X - Long off opening strength

NFLX - Initial long (was right but took a loss)

FSLR - trade of the day

POT - 3 trades. 2 winners

Given the heinous 14% win rate today, only hit -65% of daily loss allowance

2011-10-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Due to my best trade management to date, i was able to take a terrible day win rate wise and chalk it up to success as i cut my losers quick and let my 1 winner run. Now i learned some great lessons from the trading today such as REVERSE THE TRADE WHEN WRONG ON A SUPPORT LOSS SHORT WHEN IT MAKES IT BACK UP OVER SUPPORT and REVERSE THE TRADE WHEN TRYING A BREAKOUT FAIL AND THE BREAKOUT WORKS. Here are some of the trades:

FCX - shorted the rel weakness but market pulled it up

SINA - short attempt that failed so switched to long and got stopped again

POT - Lesson on shorting resistance that turns to breakout

GMCR - short that i was watching and missed

FSLR - Amazing long setup

GS - shorted with right idea, wrong timing

0% Win rate, -218% daily loss allowance

2011-10-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ouch, struggled today and found myself getting frustrated. Then as i reviewed i noticed i tried 4 shorts in an absolute strong trend day. Glad i stopped at 4 shorts, but 3 were the same stock. Thinking about introducing a new rule, only 2 reversion attempts in a stock in 1 day, if both are losers then to stop. Here are the trades:

BIDU - 3 shorts gone bad

POT - Weak in a strong market and then decided to rip

66% win rate, +60% of daily target hit

2011-10-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

Trading's been great for me although i'm hesitant to say i'm consistent again as every time i feel i get in the rhythm, i get my ass handed to me. Trying to stay humble and continue tweaking my weaknesses but not sure what's changed as far as me psychologically. I feel the market is working for my style again as this last week was fantastic. Anyways, time will teach or take away. Here are today's trades:

CF - Long fail, short worked for B/E due to lack of patience

BIDU great long setup

Vegas type luck, another 100% win rate and hit +65% of daily target

2011-10-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

What started out as a frustrating day with internet being down for the first hour of the day, finally got booted up and took 2 quick trades before having to head out, both small winners.

FFIV - TEXTBOOK LONG OF FLAG TO 20 MA

NTAP - quick long off orderly trending day dip/pullback to 20 ma

Another lucky day of 100% win rate and daily target exceeded at +187%

2011-10-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Been extremely lucky with getting in at the beginning of moves lately so exceed daily target with only 2-3 trades in the morning. Still very stingy on position size so may look to put on a little more risk as i seem to be comfortable again.

AAPL - quick short HT @gtotoy

FSLR - Long off pullback

Another 100% Win rate day with +172% of daily target hit

2011-10-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today i feel like i just got lucky, it was like i was in the zone and a few great setups came across that looked poised and they all worked out.

GMCR - Short

SHLD - Short off rip for +1.35

RIMM - Great reversion short

100% Win rate and hit +120% of daily target

2011-10-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

2 Big setups came that were high probability, took both and only needed the 2 for a great day.

FCX - Short after open

PII - Short on parabolic move for a reversion trade

66% win rate, +101% daily target hit

2011-09-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Started the day amazing, went 2 for 2 and was well over my 100% target profit for the day. Didn't establish discipline and walk away. Then took 2 poor trades on much more volatile stocks and took losses on both. Stayed focused and looked for excellent setups, and found 2 to end the day positive. Here they are:

MON - Great short off daily support loss and great bounce long intraday

FSLR - missed 1st trade but took 2nd for gain

VRUS - Short and was right but foolish stop and too big of a position gave me a loss

BIDU - Final few trades, 1st attempt failed, 2nd attempt right but FORGOT TO LET A FEW RIDE AS IT FELL APART.

43% Win rate, due to taking winners off TOO QUICK, took a -75% hit of daily loss allowance

2011-09-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

Tuff day as i didn't stay disciplined and stick to game plan. I feel i need to learn that if the reversion method doesn't work the first few times, that it's a very strong trending day (Up or down doesn't matter) and to trade in direction of that trending day looking for small pullbacks from initial direction to take.

AMZN - 3 trades, all winners in my book but still not sticking to game plan of letting winners run and let MA targets take me out

WYNN - Wrong on long

SINA - long of anticipated bounce and wrong

AAPL - Small bounce, chased it but was quick

Decent day, didn't let winners run. 50% win rate for +75% of daily goal attained

2011-09-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Only traded 2 stocks today, was early on both, then the 2nd attempt was great but took off profits a little early. If let them breathe and run, would have had a huge day just on the 2 positions, but even with me jackin my own trades, still did well.

FSLR - Short then long

AMZN - 1st short fail, 2nd short nailed it

Amazing 83% win rate with target exceded +284% of daily target

2011-09-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Great day with high prob setups. Getting better at letting target hit, taking off 1/2 positions and raising stop on rest. Still need work but i pulled my P&L off my main page last 2 days in trading. Will try for the next 1-2 weeks to see if that gives a psychological advantage. So far answer is yes!

POT - Short after open for quick gain

AMZN - Scalpers dream today

GMCR - High prob setup

FSLR - Chased but ok

Only hit +28% of daily target with a lousy low 38% win rate. But finished green is where R/R plays in

2011-09-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Missed a lot of great setups late in the day. Had more losers then winners but by working on looking for high prob. setups and forcing myself as much as possible to stick to game plan and allow winners (that i could force myself) to run, was able to end green on day.

NFLX Long off open strength and took controlled loss

MELI - Great bounce

WAG - long on bounce and took off early for loss

BIDU - Amazing textbook long on all indicators, took off early for +1

TWI - Great bounce, stop error

LVS - Great trade and target hit, left room to ensure plan would work with target/stop

Way late to the party but can apply to future lessons

2011-09-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Many trades have set up great but had to exercise extreme patience. This method is going top of my book as it's almost textbook S/R trading with a small twist of the shakeout. I've been reading a lot of @HCPG and @GTOTOY old blog posts and have not been seeing the BASIC lesson they both teach so well of S/R. The books i've ready give examples but they're just that, examples. Nothing is ever textbook in trading, but forming a basic knowledge and applying it real world with some leniancy has been a key factor i tend to miss as i am so literal with all that i learn. AHA moment for me? Maybe. Here are some examples: LBTYA, TIBX, PPO

Target overshot by +160% with a 86% win rate

2011-09-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

Great trading day with some trades that appeared to be obvious that ended up working. I feel these are the same "look" that worked well for months, then clobbered me for a few weeks, and now seem to be working again. Still not sure if the problem was me or the method just stopped for that time? Anyways, here are some of the trades.

NFLX - Great long

POT - breakout long

FSLR - Amazing long today

YOKU - Great example of a short not breaking down

Another great day +108% of daily target with a 80% win rate

2011-09-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hopefully i'm finding consistency. Here are some of the better lessons today:

FSLR - Nailed both the long and short WITH A LESSON OF THE WEEK

BIDU - 1 out of 2

CMG - The one that i didn't take

Amazing Day, took balls but shorted RRC to end day +122% of daily target with a 69% win rate

2011-09-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some trades:

BIDU - Long off open strength and wrong

FSLR - Long off bounce

EDU - Shorted weakness

RRC - Got chatter, shorted into strength

Days like today keep me in the game. +150% daily target with a +73% win rate

2011-09-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i got schilacked with not sticking to the game plan and by taking a few VERY FOOLISH trades. When i feel like walking away in defeat a day like today comes along and reinforces that maybe i can do this...but now it's back to the challenge of consistency. Here are the trades:

CELG - HT @gtotoy HUGE DAY, and got stopped B/E prematurely due to lack of discipline

AAPL - nice gap up and ran

AMZN - High prob. setup using MA as Support and indicators

BIDU - Amazing short and then long call, nailed it

SOHU - Great short at downtrending MA

TZA - Long but missed out on huge run

Bad day gets worse. -395% of daily loss allowance with only a 8% win rate.

2011-09-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Gotta learn when to hold em...and when to fold em. Worse win rate % in awhile. Interesting to see what i learn tonight as i've been doing absolutely terrible for several weeks. Let's begin:

TNA - Long within minutes of the open for a gapfill however lesson was NO INDICATORS SAID TO GET LONG, HONOR INDICATORS!

CF - Took a long at 9:47 as price showed a bounce but NO INDICATORS SAID TO GET LONG, HONOR INDICATORS!

NFLX - Didn't stick to game plan, took for small gain and left +2 of original target on table.

BIDU - Looked all clear for long but was wrong

APA - Long off indicators...took off premautrely

GS - Great entry but winner turned loser

SGEN - Hindsight, should have never shorted the strength. I forgot that one.

CMG - Mistake to short stair step strength just like SGEN

I continue to make the same mistakes but notice even setups i see as "high probability" i am wrong. My issue is i took 2 potential winners off prematurely therefore took a big loss.

Tuff day on the board but in review were good set ups and good stops, just didn't go my way

2011-09-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

-89% of daily loss allowance hit with only a 20% Win rate. Terrible on the books but in review looked like great setups with good R/R, just was wrong.

GS - Long attempt fail but great read to exit flat

AAPL - Short setup that failed

BIDU - Long and missed

POT - Missed trade

Finally a strong day, +86% of daily target with a 63% win rate

2011-09-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

FSLR - Long off open, looked for +1 but took a hit early

GS - Shorted too early on what appeared to be a top, stopped and switched to long, stopped again. STOPS TOO TIGHT

LVS - Great entry for a quick pop

NFLX - Huge news gap down and faded it for +1.5

BIDU - Greatest plan of the day, worst execution of said plan

And finally biggest miss of the day VECO

Beat up and bruised...yet i can't stay down..please don't throw in the towel yet!!

2011-09-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Tuff day. Ended it in a bloody fashion. Only a 25% win ratio today for a -165% of daily loss allowance. Let's see what i learned today:

CREE - Long off break above yest high

BIDU - Great long on break but took loss, tried an extended short and stopped out on new high

FCX - Finally a great entry, get stopped but get in again...just took gains too early

X - Another great entry sold early

Why I press on through the pain to continue to learn

2011-09-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

I've had a few people ask me why i seem to be so positive on negative days or how i keep pushing through big losing streaks and continue to force myself to learn daily.
The answer is simple. "How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?"-Tyler Durden

If i stayed disciplined, a 30% win rate could have yielded a +130% day

2011-09-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

I find myself still "micro" managing which enables taking losses on the standard noise of normal price action. Today was still a great learning day that provided great trades with easily correctable mistakes. I ended the day down -50% of daily loss. Only 30% Win ratio. Perfect example of letting winners run. Should have had +130% day if let my targets hit and let my stops play out instead of micromanaging. LEARN!

Here are the results:

GMCR -3 trades and did fairly well.

PANL - Long early, and stopped out. HUGE MISTRADE

CAT - Nailed the short entry and still messed it up

Hit +20% of daily target with a 62% win ratio

2011-09-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

Another "o.k" day, finished green, back to cutting winners to quick. Need to work on letting winners run and will increase % of daily goal by 2x. Here are 2 trades that can use improvement.

LVS - Long early on strength, took off way too early for gain.

WYNN - Early on 1st half short, added and closed out green, but was tainted by the "breakeven" mentality so jacked up the trade overall.

Monster down day, almost walked away, put in a stop loss and target and walked away, ended day +3% daily target

2011-09-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

After 9 losses in a row, frustration matured into full blown rage. Saw a great setup, put on the trade and set the stop and target and walked away. I've been butchering my trades. I may be onto something here. Will try monday, to set up stop and target and walk away. Let the final trade work out itself and erased 9 losers. Perfect example of cut losers quickly and let winners run. I finally followed my own advice. Will review my own blog over weekend and learn from past mistakes. Terrible win:loss ratio of only 28% winners. Huge swing from -500% daily loss limit to +3% daily target. Still controllable sizing but just terrible win ratio which the lesson of the day for me is WAIT FOR IDEAL SETUPS.

Here are the losers and winner:

FSLR - Huge fakeout on open, took intial loss, then shorted it and forgot LESSON: WAIT FOR 1ST BOUNCE TO SHORT THE LOWER HIGH IN WEAK MARKETS

NFLX - Great short fakeout. 1st short FAIL, 2nd was right idea, just took off prematurely for B/E instead of LETTING TRADE WORK OUT.

AAPL - Long of giant flag breakout fakeout.

WPRT - Finally had time to take an "entry" screenshot and an "exit" screenshot to remind myself of what to look for....just glad it worked out. Here's the side by side:

DAMMIT...I lost it

2011-09-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hands in the air...frustrated as hell, so much that i took the day off yesterday and didn't even look at the markets...although inside it was killin me. Now that is tuff discipline to not even take a peek at what the markets doing for 1 whole day. Stepped back in today and was close to +75% of my daily goal. Then put on 2 more trades and quickly got bumped back to flat and then down -72% of my daily loss max. I have no edge anymore. Even by really pulling back size and amount of trades, i'm still finding myself with a feeling of utter hopelessness. Although it just being a feeling, i don't give up, but am flirting with the idea of just shadow trading a few traders that i follow closely until i can get the swing of things again. Enough about emotions, here are the trades:

LVS - HT @gtotoy great long for +.35 on 1/2 position. I missed the classic double top to short though.

DECK - 1st short loss, then short gain, net winner

POT - Looked for reversion trades again, 2 shorts which looked great and then got crazy pushes up and stopped me out, both manageable losses but still a groin kicker.

SINA - Long on the breakout, once again HT @gtotoy room, and loved that trade. I made the cardinal sin of letting my last few losses effect my judgement. As soon as the stock pulled in -.10 cents i bailed...and the kicker was my target of +2 was hit. HONOR THY TRADING PLAN AND DON'T DEVIATE.

NFLX - Best for last, was 3 minutes early on this short, took max loss at -1 that killed my day. LESSON: WAIT FOR INDICATORS

Potentially an amazing day, I only hit +3% of daily target

2011-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Days like today is where patience really prevails. I notice i'm still trading scared (not good), using smaller lots (which is ok), and micro managing positions pulling off small gains in order to "feel" like a proficient trader or projecting a early loss and taking trade off prematurely. And i forgot the most important lesson: BUY HUGE GAP DOWNS IF THEY DON'T MAKE A NEW LOW FROM THE OPEN!

AMZN - Great long off open as looked strong. Took off +1. I NEED TO LET MY WINNERS RUN. WHEN A STOCK SHOWS INCREDIBLE RELATIVE STRENGTH THEY TEND TO RUN HARD EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE.

POT - Great long entry, but micro managing took me out for a loss of -.05 when the potential was +2!!

LVS - 1st short was too early. LESSON: INDICATORS DIDN'T SAY SHORT QUITE YET. Then a long off bounce for a gain. overall trade was -.10

BIDU - Chased the short but was ok, took gain way too quick. LESSON: IF INDICATORS GET YOU IN, LET INDICATORS TAKE YOU OUT!

TNA - Picked the bottom for long and still took loss by not sitting and letting stock take me out i exited prematurely.

Green on day, +55% of daily target hit

2011-09-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

Win ratio of only 50% working on getting ratio to 65% consistently and want to work on getting ratio from 1:1 more around a 3:1 ratio by strongly enforcing to taking off partial and letting winners run for a few more minutes then i'm comfortable with.

NFLX - Long for +1.5

POT - Great long off open with rel. strength. +.40

AMZN - Tried for long but rolled over, this is my definition of a great loss. Showed strength, made new intraday high, took long, wrong, got out quick.

A little rough on the edges. Daily loss target exceeded -140%

2011-08-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

Win ratio was only 33% which is sub-par with past results. Still keeping positions 50% or less of average size. I'm realizing that there may be a direct correlation of when volatility is extremely high to the success of the reversion method i've been utilizing. By advocating tight stops with robust targets, i've managed roughly a 8:1 ratio reward to risk. Needless to say i would take profits well before the target but was still able to average daily target goals by +200-300%. For the last week and a half i've been taking larger losses and find myself back to square two (that's just one step above step one, lol). I am always open to constructive criticism and will continue to extrapolate the daily data from which i've traded. Here are today's results of a few for further self education purposes.

AA - 2 shorts that didn't work, 1st stop was a good loss, 2nd stop i don't agree with now.

CMI - Long off opening strength and got filled long at high and stopped out at low. JEEZ

FFIV - All looked well on short. LESSON: USE NEW HIGH STOP AND ADD +.10 AND SIZE ACCORDINGLY TO RISK

POT - Tried to short, didn't want to chase so never took it...and it became the one that got away

Still very small positions and taking fewer trades. Only hit +35% of daily goal

2011-08-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

1st positive day in a week, still staying cautious

FCX - Long wrong, short wrong. Lesson: INDICATORS DID NOT SAY READY TO SHORT.

LVS - great long entry on break of yest. highs, however failed to give wiggle room and took off prematurely keeping only +.10 instead of +1.5

BIDU - initial long worked out well, but didn't look to re-enter on obvious p/b at 50 MA and previous high.

Red on day but for small loss. Still very small positions to regain psycological edge!

2011-08-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Decent day re-learning basics. Kept stops tight and kept loss very minimal. Really focusing on risk management and reading price action better. Caught myself during this review of not watching indicators real time and see that i need to focus on utilizing tools.

FCX - Long off gap up open looking for a runner, switched short for small gain to make up for loss

AMZN - Short off gap up fade as market looked to continue. Wrong

AAPL - short as price action looked toppy

WYNN - Great consolidation and volume spiked showed hand to get long

+$12, I am a Golden God!

2011-08-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today is the definition of victorious. I try to always post % as it doesn't matter if your trading 1 share or 1k shares. When dealing in terms of probability, it's wisest to go by % as it's more applicable in real world applications. Anyway, today i broke my losing streak, granted i only ended the day +$12, however after getting my ass handed to me by the market, re-educating me in proper risk management i am still taking much smaller positions to gain my edge back. Without an edge, probability will slowly bleed you out over time. Here are my lessons for the day.

GS - short for a small gain after open

TNA - attempted long and got stopped out right before the rocket ship hit

ATPG - Lesson of the day

BIDU - short for +1

Trading much smaller positions to build the confidence back. Cut losses back by 66% of past few days by utilizing smaller sizing

2011-08-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

BIDU - Shorted a great entry but really jumpy on exit. Small gain

GS - Tried long 3 times for losses before i finally was smart enough to say "hey, this stock is weak today, look elsewhere"

3rd Straight loss day of over -200% daily loss allowance. Back to Basics

2011-08-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm imposing a new rule. After 2-3 straight days of ending red, i am stepping down to 25% position sizing maximum. Here are todays ass-smacking losses. I traded with 50% accuracy today which tells me i still need to work on managing losers quicker and allow winners to run.

TNA - Great long entry on break of intraday highs but allowed bruised ego to take gains WAY TO QUICK. Only took +.25 when there was +2 potential. Read the topping pattern great, AMAZING ENTRY on the short side (trade #2) and yet again exit too early taking +.8 when there was +3 potential.

BIDU - 2 long attempts, both failed.

Back to 1/2 sizes, and still got smoked, less then 25% accuracy. Not a good day for reversion tactics.

2011-08-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

Tuff week so far. In 2 days i've managed to erase 1 whole week of trading gains. Yesterday's mistake of miss managing sizing for risk was an easy learning experience however today i cut back from 2x size to 1/2x size and still had a -250% loss of daily target which leads me to beg the question "Is it my method that has stopped working or my interpretation of the method?" When i'm wrong, i'm really wrong.

POT - Anticipated breakout long so took position and got shaken out right at support instead of realizing that the pullback to 51 should have been welcomed.

NFLX - Shorted roll over and was wrong

GMCR - Shorted roll over and was wrong again....should have gotten the clue strong day that just wouldn't stop. LESSON, AFTER SEVERAL SHORTS FAIL (2 OR MORE) SWITCH TO LONGS AND GO WITH MARKET DIRECTION INSTEAD OF REVERSION METHODS

FSLR - Finally a short that worked

Raised lot sizes too big and got hammered. -300% of daily loss. Didn't honor quiting the day when -100% stop target is hit.

2011-08-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

AMZN great initial short that took off prematurely (still fighting that) and then tried a long with too much size...was right but tighter stop caused a loss.

NFLX Took initial loss, then tried again and took gains too quick trying to catch counter rallies and got spanked.

LESSON OF THE DAY: KEEP SIZE COMFORTABLE SO TRADES CAN BREATHE. RISK MANAGEMENT WITH SMALL-MID SIZE LOT SIZES ALLOWS ROOM TO MOVE SO IF WRONG, STOPPED OUT BUT IF RIGHT CAN MOVE. WHEN TAKE TOO BIG POSITIONS, STOCKS CANNOT BREATHE SO EVEN IF RIGHT ENTRY, GET HIT!

Daily target hit by +185%

2011-08-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

BIDU short for reversion method, 1st attempt FAIL, 2nd attempt made up my earlier loss.

TNA went long on break of 39

LNKD Great entry on short and due to my earlier trades, psychologically found myself afraid of losing the days gains so took off entire position. LESSON: EACH TRADE IS A ITS OWN TRADE, NOT DICTATED BY PRIOR WIN OR LOSS

Hit 210% daily goal. Lesson of day. ALLOW BREATH

2011-08-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

CRM Short chase in and out

PCP Great bounce and actually tweeted this trade out real time

AAPL Long but bailed early for a loss

COST nice long. LESSON OF DAY, LET ALLOW FOR BREATH

Hit 92% of daily target. SAME ISSUE OF TAKING WINNERS TOO QUICKLY

2011-08-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

APKT great short on loss of lows, but didn't honor the violation of the 8MA exit rule leaving majority of potential gains on the table.

SINA 2 longs do make a right

POT break above yesterday high

WLT short and was too early, stopped for almost -1

APA great entry, crappy exit too quick

FCX 3 failed short attempts and threw in the towel like a chump before the market laughed and showed me how it can control one by inflicting ultimate frustration before yielding to ones theory.

Long Ass Day.....worked too hard for +$1 today.

2011-08-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Left my notes at the office so don't have all the actual trades, times, and entries like i normally keep in my notebook, however after a careless mistake in attempt to SHORT FCX i hit buy instead of sell and took a fast loss. Shortly thereafter i tried SINA long 3 times and finally was able to catch support on my 4th attempt to make back my FCX losses and previous 3 SINA losses and after all was said and done, took home a whopping $1 so it's ordering off the dollar menu tonight...1 item.

Daily target hit by +175%. Still trading scared and taking profits too quick

2011-08-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

IDCC Great short but was too scared, took small position and took profits quick.

BIDU Short and stopped for small loss, and never reentered. LESSON: IF STOPPED OUT AND ENTRY RESETS ITSELF, FOLLOW UP. A realized -.35 loss could have been +7 gain.

GTAT Great short entry but didn't let target get hit, pulled off prematurely

AMZN Great short on break of support. LESSON: STILL TAKING GAINS PREMATURELY. NEED TO FOCUS ON SCALING OUT AND NOT TAKING OFF FINAL POSITION UNTIL THE 8 MA IS VIOLATED!!

Entries..check. Exits...errrr, not so much. Needs a little work. Daily target hit by +225%

2011-08-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

TNA nice short and then long. LESSON: STILL TOO QUICK TO EXIT AS ENTRIES ARE SPOT ON

LULU Great breakout long

Found my Mojo, Overshot daily target by over 450%

2011-08-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

POT nice long on break above previous day high

GTAT Favorite pattern. Short after very extended move to previous day high

AMZN Call of the month, great support that it bounced, well executed plan.

Off my game. Closed the day red.

2011-08-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

BIDU short and didn't take gains, then long for -1.

ATPG great short but messed up. LESSON: LET TRADE BREATH A LITTLE AND WATCH STOPS SO NOT SO TIGHT

Amazing day of clear signs for over +300% of daily target hit

2011-08-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

BIDU LESSON: THIS IS WHY YOU LET THE 8/20 MA GET YOU OUT OF THE TRADE, CUZ EVERY ONCE AND AWHILE YOU TAKE CRUMBS WHEN THE MARKET IS WILLING TO GIVE YOU EVERYTHING

FSLR Great bounce play