A Simple Futures Trading Journal

Still moving forward which is really nice! Reached my goal early again today and switched over to sim. It took me a few more trades than I wanted but I still got there. I had the right direction and targets today but ended up with some small winners as price pulled back before reaching the targets.

Where did I shine today:
  • Most important was keeping my losses small!
  • Not being greedy!
    • Being content with reaching the daily goal and not trying to reach $1,000 every day which many times leads me to over trading and giving money back
Where do I need to improve next time:
  • Stick with my main setups and try not to take aggressive entries so much
    • IOW focus on better entries
Here is the recap for the day:

9.13.20 Summary Pic 1.jpg


9.13.20 Summary Pic 2.jpg


I must admit that I like these days where I am done trading early!
 
One other idea -- ever try recording your trading? I use OBS Studio software to capture my screen and to record my ideas and thoughts (speaking out loud).
 
Haven't actually done that! I have another guy that trades with me regular and we bounce ideas off one another and encourage each other thru chat. I've gone thru a lot of trading partners most of them don't last. I will think about the recording. The best trading partner I have had was an awesome trader! We use to talk thru things together live but he retired and left trading for health reasons. If you have a short video of one of your trades, I would love to see it.
 
Today was a long, long day. It started last night where I went up $125 on a quick scalp. Then I tried 2 more trades later in the evening and both were losers so I entered the morning session down about $250. I had 2 good setups that just didn't work and got stopped out and was down over $450 within a short time of the open. I got back up to about $250 down and then proceeded to have several losses in a row trying to catch a top while NQ just kept grinding up on me. When will I learn NOT to do that. Now, I was down $850 plus commissions which were beginning to add up. I took a long break and hoped to come back fresh to the charts with a clear mind. I worked myself back to about $250 down plus commissions. Then darted back up to $500 down plus commissions. I took a few more trades and got myself down to about $50 plus commissions where I was content to end the day.

What area(s) did I shine in today:
  • When I stepped away from trading for a long break after several losses in a row and being down over $850
  • I was also pleased with the way I worked myself out of that deep hole
What area(s) do I need to focus more attention on the next time I trade:
  • DEFINITELY quit trying to call tops and bottoms
  • Get more sleep - I only had 3 hours last night and decided to trade anyway today which was a mistake!
Here is the recap for the day:

9.14.20 Summary Pic 1.jpg


9.14.20 Summary Pic 2.jpg


I was very pleased to keep my first losing day to less than 1/2 my smallest winning day! Keep your losers small!!
 
Being able to work yourself out of a hole is a confidence builder for sure so you can add that to your "mental highlight reel" when you need a reminder that you can do this. What's up with the 3 hours sleep? LOL! I have some trading hypnosis audio that I use during the middle of the day when I need to recharge and get my mind right. Picking tops and bottoms isn't bad, itself, unless you're just guessing and it isn't really a strategy.
 
Another typical FOMC day! A day of major roller coaster rides in price action accompanied by a lack of follow thru. My worst day yet in the evaluation! Day where my profits just seemed to follow the wild swings but I was never able to get higher than $150 in profits and ended way in the hole!

What area(s) did I shine in today:
  • Well, I got a good night's sleep - lol
What areas do I need more attention to the next time I am trading:
  • Follow my plan - specifically take a break away from the charts when things are not going my way and I have had 3 full sized trading losses in a row
  • Let go of my biases when the chart is clearly telling me something else
    • For some reason I just didn't do this today - Had I traded what I saw and not what I thought I would have had a much better day - Probably not positive but at least not so painful
  • Stop for the day if my losses exceed $1,000
Tomorrow, I need to keep a close eye on my max trail down limit as it is much less than my daily loss limit!

Here is the recap:

9.15.20 Summary Pic 1.jpg


9.15.20 Summary Pic 2.jpg
 
My wife's doctor appointment got changed to early tomorrow morning. It is across town and we will be fighting rush hour traffic so I won't be able to do much trading, if any tomorrow, so I am trading more tonight. So far, I am up $430 less commissions.
 
This was my perfect setup but I was eating dinner and taking the dog out for a walk so missed it.
9.16.20 Trade Setup.jpg
I am expecting price to drop to 11100 specifically the 11093.25 area
 
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