Summary:
A positive day. And a very well traded morning.Re. the consecutive day tally: Implementing the plan is not quite as simple as I thought. Each day I do the best that I can, but the fact of the matter is, things do not go perfectly - e.g., today I had two stops that got out of hand because I did not have time to change them, before they moved beyond the stop. And after going thru all the trades, I recognize that by the end of day I was not in the emotional place that I was this morning. I think I need to address the emotional problem, I don't think the plan is enough, but I am not sure how - feel free to offer a suggestion if you have one. This is probably the most important part of the entire excercise.
Part of this trading business is about discovering my weaknesses - and remarkably, this happened today - while paper trading. The weakness was an emotional trip - without real money on the line. It was more about being right and then being wrong, not about how much I lost.
If you go down thru the trades, I think you will notice a distinct turning point in trading style. The morning I remained focused on the markets with great results. I took a break, and started the afternoon the same way. Then the chop session came along. At one point this afternoon I had 4 shorts on a good market signal. But I ended up getting stopped on three of them after seeing 24, 30, 37 and 43 ticks of direction respectively (12:15 on ANR, CMI, WLT, and TNA). Even preparing myself for this - I kept repeating 'Be prepared for these to come all the way back and stop" - it was a blow. I had maybe one good trade after that - and all the trades after that happened to be TNA.
The fact of the matter is, it is hard to see plenty of direction, no clear reverse signal (the 12:25 was a low volume/big reversal - bizzarro world - move), and get stopped.
Anyhoo - today was paper trading on 100 share lots, watched for market sync, than a stock to match for the entry. Tried to let things run as much as I could, with mixed success. +$49.80 EOD, with a max of +$261.10 (@11:14), a minimum of -$38.35 (@8:28), and the account sitting at +$192 just prior to the 12:15 debacle. I was +$168 after the 12:25 stops (which is still a pretty good number for the day, but mentally I was not able to acknowledge it). Ignore the trade number. For some reason NT did partial fills on the order of 1, 2, and 3, share size orders. Go figure:
Details:
ANR - trying not to be frustrated on this one. Good market signals and in on 4 positions (all short). 25 ticks at best and then stopped. I wouldn't have entered on the green candle and even volume. Market retraced on even less volume. The exit and reverse looked like a great decision. I guess this is the way the ball bounces (+$8.12)
BIDU (-$16.95):
CMI: 30 ticks at best - one of the four positions over the time (-$15.96):
CRM loose on the stops (-$46.94):
DO - who would have thunk it could retrace like that? The long would have been nice - but the exit would of stumped me (+$95.24):
OII was close enough to price point on the strong market. Another opportunity for a reverse, but the low volume 12:25 would of thrown me - like it did on TNA (+$39.13):
POT (+$88.13):
RDC - not a very good read on the initial exit - way off. Tried to go long on the candle change, and tried to find direction after. Controlled trading, which is good, but that exit left a lot to be desired. The doji I was short on (at the candle change) should of turned into a long (-$6.43):
Back and forth market, and SNDK was holding a doji on the market red. Could I of called the long? maybe if I would of noted the change in volume (-$9.91):
TNA.... TNA, TNA, TNA. Why do I bother with this beast? My Achilles heel.
Worth spending more time on this one.
Awesome perfect first short. What prompted the exit and reverse? Looking at the 1 minute, it was the drop and then the reverse back to the prior close. The next exit was a discretionary as it came all the freakin' way back - after being up 60 ticks.
How to call/play these? I want to let it run. I don't want to be distracted with the minutia (intra-5 minute candle). Maybe moving the stop up to prior hi/low respectively? That is pretty much where I exited. Tough, tough call.
Same thing happened on the 10:55.
The 11:20 was right at the end of the candle and a good call. The 11:30 short was on TNA's green, but good market support. It finally gave in, only to stop on the next candle.
I went long one the 11:50 doji. Why? See the gap open? Just after the candle change. The stop was a downright beast. This entry went against everything else that I did right today.
Short at the end of the candle - trying to find the flow. Was this going to be the big finish for the day? Good stop and worth the chance.
Now - with my head back on, I shorted after the doji, only a little late for the price point. This was the retrace and stopped.
I tried to back on the wagon at the 12:35 with another terrible stop. A matter of timely movement, and it didn't happen very timely.
Short on the 12:55 change, with initial market. TNA decided to go up, while the market was red so I shorted again.
Then I went long on the final candle after the prior short was stopped. Good entry and tripled up. And got stopped.
The decisions on the last two bars were made with what I thought were market support - and I was watching the VXX. Everything looked good. But I had poor stops, and things were just too choppy. No doubt about it, I was edge. Looking back now, I was not in a good place emotionally after all the retraces. This should have sent a flag. Part of becoming a good trader has to be knowing my weaknesses. And my psychological reaction to those violent retraces is one of them. After 4 good entries for the prior part of the day, I fell apart (-$64.38):
WLT: The first long is not a double up, it was a slow fill. I should of tried for a better price point on the second attempt. The 12:15 short ended with a reverse with just a little too much on the stop - not enough momo for a launch. But there is no way I would of called an exit on the 12:45 (-$26.42):
Wrong call on the discretionary exit for X, but it was with the market (+$6.17):
Re: your emotion stuff.
ReplyDeleteOne lady from TraderPysches has some great advice on how to deal with emotions, and use them to your advantage. Use the Acronym ANNA.
1. Anticipate: Stop thinking that if you just keep pushing, your emotions will go away. Anticipate that they will come, write down what you think your triggers are, and watch very intently when they go off. A good example for me was trend days. I would see a trend day potential around 9:40 EST, and would instantly get triggered emotionally that I HAD TO DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW. So write down your emotional triggers.
2. Notice. Be on the lookout for your emotional cues to come up. When they do, notice how they feel below the neck. Don't get into your head and analyze them. Where do you feel them, in your neck? heart? stomach? What does it feel like?
3. Name. Name your emotion. A good place to start is Mad, Sad, Glad, and Afraid. Most emotions fit into those broad categories, so ask yourself where what you are currently feeling fits. Use elimination...Do I feel angry...no...alright am I sad...maybe. You eventually get one that fits the best. Don't be a perfectionist in your head, its about feeling it and just labeling it broadly.
4. Address. Healthily address any emotion that comes up through either words, wallow, or walk. So either writing it in a journal without censoring yourself or talk it out loud to yourself or some good listener. You can wallow in it, which really means just sitting and feeling it so completely that eventually you get tired of feeling that way. Wallowing is also synonymous with meditation. Just make sure you really get to the very root of your feeling. Or walk, i.e exercise it out. Exercise is a great way to get it out of your system. Emotions are in your body, so moving it gets them through.
This was some great advice I was given. I hope it can help you. When people talk about discipline, they are talking about emotional discipline. I think this is a good cornerstone to have for your emotional discipline around trading.
gorgeous trading on the TNA! here i something to get you pumped up:
ReplyDelete"we need to believe we can do this: We have what it takes. We are excellent traders. We will keep our minds open to what the market is showing us. Anything can happen at any time. We will trade what the market is showing us. We will wait for the signals and we will trade them well. We will be rewarded for trading well today. We will follow the momo, we will have good entries, we will have good stops, we will exit when the momo stops, after a huge run (and before gravity sets in), or when we get stopped."
if that doesn't fire you up, i don't know what will.
Thanks guys - appreciate the insight on both accounts.
ReplyDelete@Tarigal - hope the trip goes well next week.
@Fozz - you rock man =)