This my friends is going to be long...I realized many things today. For starters...
1. I have an issue/emotion problem with the 930 bell. For some reason, it tells me to trade. And sometimes, trade I shouldn't. Immediately, I fear losing "that" trade. The one that runs 20 points. Stupid. For the past 3 days, I've gotten chopped at the OPEN, and then realize that price eventually "calms" down, and respects supply and demand VERY well. I'm considering skipping the first 30 minutes. CONSIDERING.
2. Even though I ended profitable today, which is a success having gone live for only 3 days now, I made far too many mistakes. I succeeded in making money. I failed at executing my well-defined plan. It's tough to remember all of my damn rules, which I've recently written. There are MANY "what-ifs". A plan should be simple. Not easy...simple. Mine is. But having gone live, it still needs many kinks worked out.
3. Even though my plan is written and next to my laptop, it needs to be memorized and practiced, in real time, with real money, to become second nature...and memorized, almost intuition-ed plan.
4. I recognize CHOP FAR too late. I need to add a rule to my plan/brain, that recognizes CHOP. Not necessarily a range, but CHOP. Generally speaking, lower highs/higher lows. This could vary however.
5. I also learned today how imperative it is for me to zoom out of the chart, and draw some necessary trend-lines. It was almost an AHA moment. Seriously. Notice it in the charts attached.
6. I overtrade. Plain and simple, I'm looking for "better/faster" trades, and I'm not waiting for my retraces. My patience is severely lacking. If I boiled it down to a personality flaw, it's because I'm amazing and I should get what I want. Isn't that silly? How about some humility and neutrality in life? In the markets? I"M SORRY.
7. Again, because it's important, PRACTICE RECOGNIZING CHOP EARLY. The number one question I think I need to ask myself is,
"is price going anywhere?" --> Higher highs? Lower lows? No? CHOP/RANGE = Wait.
Attached are the trades I took, and the trades I should have taken.
20 Trades Today. TOO MANY. DUH. 6 Winners. 14 Losers.
1. -1: I bought at 0924. Who does that? I surely shouldn't. It's not in the plan. Why am I so eager to trade?
2. -2: 0935. Greed. Fear of missing the move? Impatient? I didn't follow any part of my rules on this trade. No retrace. Even if price was rejecting previous range, my rules wait for a solid, evident retrace. There was none. Bad.
3. -2.75: By this point, CHOP should have been evident. But not for this brain. Price retraced 50%, and then another 120%! Why did I buy? 930 bell witch! At this point, one would definitely sit out and analyze what's going on.
4. +1: Longs weren't working. Let's short. SHIT.
5. +4.5: This was an ok trade. I exited because of fear though. Because? Because I wanted to lock in some profit after my losing days. I wanted to lock in profit because I want to succeed. Maybe, just maybe, I wanted to show you all how I made some money. Is my reputation on the line? moving on...
Trades 6-11: - 11.25. I SHOULD BE PATIENTLY SITTING RIGHT NOW. PRICE DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE. WHAT IS MY PROBLEM.
I am trading things that aren't even there. I am creating them in my mind because for some reason I think the market should give a little because I put in some work.
All this bitching, and I do have to say. I'm working on me. This will not continue to improve.
12. +11.5. Finally.
13-15. -6. What was I doing? I went long. Then two SHORTS? I shorted an OBVIOUS uptrend? An obvious uptrend channel that's been in effect since overnight? WHAT? In hindsight, I'm a dumbass! SHIT!
16. +3.5. Exited because we went sideways.
17. +14.75. This is a trade where everything clicked. I left for 2 hours to clear my head. Eat. etc... Came back, and price was ranging right into the trendline, and I had to go long at the bottom of the range, and boom. My only regret is not holding until the end of the day. Would have taken no heat and tripled the points earned.
18. -2.25: Tried to get back in. Wrong time. Wrong retrace.
19. +1.75: Regret not holding. Fear of not having a winning day got to me. Price only skyrocketed after this entry. This could have easily been 30 points. I'm learning though.
20. -2.5: Who shorts in an uptrend again? ME. idiot.
You do the math. 9 Points I think? Profit? Should have been 90.
Blind grandfather could have made a killing today saying BUY! No BUY! Buy it you piece of shit!
The question my friends, is what can I do to avoid the trades I should not have taken, and take the trades that I should have taken.
Attached is a chart of what should have happened.
Trade 1: Not triggered.
Trade 2. Triggered. If I were completely fearless and new what I was doing and understood price action, I simply would have held until at least 1230. if I exited on the the long down bar, which could have happened, my entry would have been trade 3.
Trade 3. We broke the range, and price retraced a perfect 50%, and we never took any heat.
Trade 4. Trading range during lunch, demand line touch, and up we go.
Avoid 930 trades for now. A lot of volatility and shakeout's according to plan.
STOP TRYING TO CATCH "THAT" move. SHIT! Even if I missed number three, I still had 3 or 4 more opportunities circled in pink!
Trade the plan!
One final note. Have you noticed that even with a written plan, it takes time for it to become ingrained into the mind? I want it to become a second nature. When will this come? Hopefully tomorrow. wuh? Good night.
Over and Out
SMACKS
***last image totally skewed to fit whole day of analysis. What a profitable day this must have been for some people!
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