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pseudo-liquidity scalp on AMAT - missed meager profit opportunity on all but a small piece... ate the rest of it for a larger than planned loss... Got to get a little quicker on closing these down on any adverse movement... Not quite ready to give up on the idea completely, as I've had a...

Three sessions in a row now, virtually all of the trending "action" has taken place within the first hour or two of the day, reacting off the open. Volume and volatility have largely evaporated thereafter, making it difficult for me, at least, to find much to do beyond spinning wheels and...

Well, you're rambling a bit, IMO, but, to be fair, I suppose I should put back the post that you're responding to, that I had deleted - just so everyone knows you're not coming totally from left field. Not the first time this kind of ghost-post thing has happened to me. Anyway, I'd had second...

If I could just stay out of trades like today's CYMI, I'd be doing pretty well. If I learned how and when to take the other side of them, I might be doing terrifically well. In the meantime, trades like this one keep me from blowing up, and point to better possibilities for the future...

Look familiar? Basically another, earlier in the session version of the CELG and USAI trades which, together with this one, ensured a lousy overall performance for me this week. I, um, kinda knew the moment I saw it that I was engaging in wishful thinking: Ragged, volatile consolidation...

Had a lousy day - getting caught up and crossed up in that "megaphone range" that faked both a breakdown and a breakout - and then threw that horrible USAI trade on top of things, but made some back and made myself feel a little better with this one. The entries, both the breakdown and the...

Another "volatile breakdown" very similar to that terrible CELG trade from the other day. I really am going to have to collect these again, and study them more deeply - as I know that I lose more money and at a faster rate than I ever make money chasing set-ups like these. If I'd gone the...

Didn't have any losing trades today - but I took only three set-ups. I could include some missed opportunities as "bad trades," but, then again, feeling cautious due to the FOMC announcement and other crosscurrents, I also passed up some marginal set-ups that might very well have turned into...

GARDEN VARIETY GAP FADE... also a contender for worst trade of the day, in that I COULD have held some for extension or looked for re-entry, but instead just took what I could get and bugged out. Since the exit wasn't a true violation of my trading rules, but merely a suboptimal use of...

Played around a bit more with E-Signal, and one thing I'm surprised about is that they haven't improved their "alert" sub-routines. One of the most useful features of TS is its "intelligent drawing tools" - draw a trendline, get an alert when it's crossed. There's no similar capacity in...

ADBE gapped down this morning, and, heading right into support amidst an overall uptrend, appeared to present a perfect opportunity for a fade. Only the generally lackadaisacal, consolidating quality of the trading on the heels of so much action and ahead of so much news (elections, FOMC, CSCO)...

As stated above, I never should have taken this trade: I call them "volatile breakdowns," to distinguish them from true breakdowns (or breakouts) from good consolidations. This set-up might actually, at least in another context, have been a good fade candidate, especially after it re-crossed...

An in-range breakdown, also an intraday H&S. Wouldn't have taken the set-up if not for the determination that the larger market would support further downward movement.

...just let me say that I'm very well aware that no one was forcing me to trade today, that the markets will still be there tomorrow, that you don't need to trade when conditions - personal, market-internal, stock-specific, technical, whatever - aren't favorable, and so on, and so on. I did...

Pitt seems like a minor issue to me at this late date in the corporate scandal story. Maybe a negative - Bush forced to capitulate, uncertainty about possible tough enforcement and intrusive investigations from successors - but probably just inside baseball...

So whaddayathink, catman? Do you head into trading on Monday with any set of expectations or a specific plan (buy in pre-market, wait for other signs, etc.)? Regardless of what happens to MSFT in particular, having the judgment coming on top of Friday's rally and heading into Congressional...

Good... Now, to more important matters - I'm very glad to read over in chit-chat that Shreddy came through the operation well. I wonder if, given the nature of his injuries, he's not going to be spending a lot of time in your lap, helping you put your market overview together. Annie...

Nitro, Catman... I'm happy to see you engaged here, I respect you both, and I enjoy discussion and exploration, but I think we've gotten off track: I'm NOT dissatisfied with my approach to trading. I seek constant improvement, and I am not "satisfied" in the sense of believing I've...

Well, it's a nice paradox, but it remains one all the same: Either the trade is governed at every point by clearly defined, objective signals, and the signals themselves are derived objectively, or elements of discretion - including thought, instinct, gut, improvisation, etc. - become involved...

Over the long term, I have taken significant hits from blown stops, but problems arise more often from taking marginal or worse set-ups - which are more likely to lead to difficult stop-related problems. My worst results have come from bad "experiments" - ill-timed, over-capitalized testing of...