NT's summary (w/o commissions):
As an overall sense of the way the day went, I started off losing today, had some mixed results, got down to about -$600. By break time I was at ~-$169. Pretty much all downhill for the afternoon session. Let's look at the charts:
AIG on a new low (+$80.02):
ATHR breaking on day's S/R (happens to be the day's open) ($-93.97):
Breaking high on BID. It was the 7th try of the day and with the failure rate I was playing it safe (+$30):
Breaking high on BTU, I went long and got stopped, I reversed right away, and as the candle went green I choose to close. I went long on the next candle as it broke the new high again as it fizzled, I closed. Went short on the same candle as it dipped below my previous entry, and got stopped out on the new high. I reversed and closed two candles over as everything went red. No momentum (-$107.97):
Breaking high on BVN. I decided to short this one - everything was was failing... Called it right - but the exit left something to be desired. I reversed and got stopped out on the doji (+$88.78):
Breaking end of day high on CAL. Fizzle. The short was a mistake - I closed and at the same time the stop got hit (-$24.98):
New low on CAM, exited with a reverse on the strong green. Discretionary exit on the 5 minute mark (at the start of the long green...) Tried again later on the new low and stopped (-$134.88):
New low on CETV. never hit the stop and I let it wander around. The spread varied from 1 to 12 ticks so I decided to get out on a limit order as it came back down (+$25.07):
Long wick and breaking the low on COF, so I shorted. stopped out (-$141.88):
DNDN was heading down - why not tag along? Great idea in concept, but I completely failed at it. Shorted, doubled up, and the 5 minute re-traced and went green. I reversed and then proceeded to get stopped out as it dipped below previous candle close. I tried to scalp some profit with a little bit of success, at least enough to cover most of my losses (-$17.32):
New low on FAS - which I timed on the bottom... (-$147):
New low on GRMN. Stopped out after two green candles. Reversed with a spooked exit. Tried to reverse and got stopped (-$122.47):
New low on GYMB, stopped out. The entry was on the late side (-$160):
New low on HLF. Stopped (-$55):
Late day new low on ITMN. Stopped (-$35):
New high on JWN. Waited too long to exit? (+$36):
New high on MEE and I tried to short a the end of the 5 minute (part of the entry carried over to the next candle). Stopped out and I tried to reverse, only to get stopped out.Then I decide to enter short and get stopped out on the same candle. Decide to go long as it is approaching new high and stopped out. Reverse, stopped (-$282.96):
New low on MOS, stopped out. New low and I wait for the 5 minute to go long. Reversed as the candle finished and stopped out on the next candle (-$77.48):
RRC was bouncing around the high. I shorted on the five minute (after the red) and got stopped out as it broke the high again. Went long and sold a little late with a reverse. Exited after the small red (+$185.02):
New high on TX, stopped out (-$64.96):
Sad day. I can't say that I made very many mistakes today, just wish I wouldn't have traded so often =). Some of the entries were not as close to the breaking high/low as I like them to be, but with momentum this is usually not a problem. The day was just lacking momo.
Interestingly enough, the new high/low served more as a strong S/R level rather than a fear/greed impetus. I would have realized more success - especially this afternoon - if I would have gone against the 'flow' on the new highs and lows.
This morning I had several 15 to 30 unrealized profits that reversed and went negative and I could of scalped those it I would have realized. But how is a guy supposed to realize? Towards the end of the day I played the contrarian on some positions, but not all that smoothly.
Not sure about what to do about days like today. Guess I need to think about it some more.
Hey man, I just came across your blog and really enjoy your accountability. I started posting all my trades on my blog (www.tarigal.com) in March and it is a great practice to get into. So many traders try to keep tight lipped about their losses, but its good to get them in the open. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteDays like yesterday are tough for intraday traders. I know there is a major allure to see the uber internals, and think the movement should match. I am not saying that necessarily happen to you, but it is one of the many psychological traps present on days like that. I sat on my hands for the entire day. Perhaps today we will start seeing some stocks with different behavior then the main market.
Good luck!
Lucas
Thanks for the comment - I will check your blog out.
ReplyDeleteHow did you know to sit on your hands yesterday?
i don't think my comment went through yesterday, but i had said with you, more risk/more reward. i have yet to make a decent day like you have.
ReplyDeletethe DNDN chart is strange. I actually have 2-3 different data feeds that i tried switching to see how they would come up. i have the lightspeed, td ameritrade, and scottrade. end of day, they all looked like yours. i am thinking about taking snapshots like scott when i enter the trade to see if end of day data is different.
tarigal-nice blog. do you enjoy trading with keystone? do you go into nyc for that or trade remotely?
I live in AZ, so trade remotely. I do enjoy trading with KS, they give you a solid chance to become successful without really restricting your options to trade. If you can fork over the few grand, I think it is well worth it to trade with them. I signed up for the year program, so I will be there for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI sat on my hands because of two reasons. The first involves several technical reasons. Monday's tend to be choppier then the rest of the weak. I am not sure how long you have been day trading, but you start to get a feeling of the kind of volume going through the system after awhile. The entire market felt slow, and with how strong the day was, I did not want to go short. When the market started slightly breaking down, I just left the screen. I do not trade as short term as you do, I look for trades I can sit in for 15 minutes to an hour. This requires good follow through, and I was not seeing any indication that it would happen.
The second reason I sat out will be detailed in my blog today on the "lesson" section. Basically I was going through many emotions and did not trust myself to create solid results, no matter my read. Today was much better, had my head on straight, and the market really followed through well in one direction.
Thanks for checking out the blog!
Lucas
i also check to see if the market is breaking the swing high/low of the market. usually it is the high/low of the first hour.
ReplyDeletetarigal, this may relate to your volume watching. an inside day, where the market doesn't break the 1st hours high/low, may have low volume. have you ever checked into that.
Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it.
ReplyDelete