NoDoji's Day Trading Log

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+$133 Day
+$2797 Month

ES ORB bar was too large and “middling” (as in: ranged between overnight S/R in a market with no real news driver) for me to play, so I stayed on the sideline.

Retailers weak today and ANF surprisingly weak against the backdrop of an analyst upgrade, so I shorted small ANF @ 40.39, pullback from an approximate internal double top and trailed a stop; stopped out @ 40.12 on a pivot near the LOD for +$51. It quickly sold off the attempted bounce and hit new lows. I ended up leaving more on the table than I took off it!

Offered 1097.50 ES as it moved up to test the overnight high. Missed by a few ticks and I (sadly) didn’t jump on it at a lower price, despite seeing the perfect shooting star/double top setup. Hit head against desk several times over this one. Sometimes I wonder about myself…

Short small ANF @ 39.97 off another internal double top; trailed a stop, hit @ 39.71 on the rapid pivot off .62 for +$50.

I missed entry on the next lower high because I thought there was more bounce coming off .62. There was a decent 4th leg down to .50 off .88.

Short ANF @ 39.81, overbought run off a higher low. Tightened the stop when price hit the converged 10- and 20-period MA’s, since I was shorting a possible trend reversal. Out @ 39.65 for +$30.

ANF moved up off a higher low and I offered 39.85, figuring a slightly higher high, but it sold off .71 and I didn’t chase entry.

Short ANF @ 39.51, overbought pullback from lower high. Scratched the trade for +$2 when it became oversold without price moving more than a few pennies and I had to leave for a while. Just as well I scratched it, as it was milling around a bit higher when I returned to my desk.
 

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+ $40

Just a couple live trades today.

Short ANF @ 39.57 pullback from lower high beneath a falling EMA, out for +$10 on quick pivot off .42.

Offered 39.71 ANF which was where price would reach the 10-period MA, where it should then continue the downtrend if intact. Price only reached 39.69 and dropped to a new low, but I didn’t chase an entry because it had already made 3 pushes down prior to that low.

Short ANF @ 40.00 pullback from a lower high after a strong run up, also weakest of the retailers against an up market. I had a friend over part of today and before I went to have tea, I placed a limit order @ 39.84, came back to find that my order was lifted at the exact pivot low of the move to the penny for +$30.

Here was my rationale for .84 as the limit: After the run up and double top (which I missed because of talking with my friend), it was slowly making lower lows by about .04-.05 cents, so I placed my limit order .04 cents below the previous low of 39.88.

Tested some scaling strategies in sim with ES. Although it worked out profitably, I realized that I prefer all in and all out.

Also continued to sim trade CL, buying at the lower channel line, selling at the upper channel line (CL was in a major uptrend today; would do the opposite on a down day). This worked very well with +$925 on 3 trades.
 

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Quote from NoDoji:



Tested some scaling strategies in sim with ES. Although it worked out profitably, I realized that I prefer all in and all out.
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My position exactly. I find it hard to be half-in on the trade and adding or reducing. Mind works differently, I guess...

Good day again for you - small, yes, but no overtrading :)
 
Quote from NoDoji:



Tested some scaling strategies in sim with ES. Although it worked out profitably, I realized that I prefer all in and all out.
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I am with you on that one. Aside from occasional add-on here and there it is easier imo just to get in and watch the trade like a hawk zeroing in on the next pigeon. A hawk, fighter pilot, cheetah, lion etc see a pack of targets and know they MUST pick a target and stay with that target for a kill or a complete miss.

Distractions are the bane of many a trader. I know i am easily distracted and do not want to believe any different. Scaling in and out is doing what? Is it about the trade or is it about the money? Just the very nature of the process says it is about the money. When it is all about the trade, you can get all-in and all-out a lot faster relative to the momentum of price when not distracted about scaling. Surely less thought process and faster brain cell clicking involved. LOOK, with todays INSTANT FILLS there is no sense putzing around with a thought process............FOLLOW the PLAN. BOOM!!!..........you are in, your next thought process is to stay in the trade or BAIL. If we get out to soon we can get back in in a flash...............and unless price really runs away from us ..............more often than not we can get back in a couple ticks better.

I have jumped in trades and price takes off in my favor and yes have smacked the mouse for a double or triple amount. Sometimes you can make a day in a couple minutes and feel great..........RARE, yes, but doable. That is not adding to a flat loser where you use the hope rope to hang yourself. Scaling in and out is not for the average daytrader, heck if your entry is good enough to enter............then why not go in with a full load?

Nod is doing a really good job of knowing what she is doing and WHY she does what she does. Think the trade through BEFORE you enter and there is no need to scale in.

Intuition as they say............."Go with the first thought that pops into your head" Thinking is a distraction that clutters your mind. Thinking remembers and brings up the FEAR factor.

PS: Watched today but was not trading. Distracted by holiday stuff and cable company etc............aside from scaling or not............sometimes i just know i will be distracted enough not to even trade at all...................

PSS: Charter cables exclusive franchise for this area expired today and now AT&t can expand their U-VERSE landline tv stuff...........not in my area yet but soon i hope. Charter like is horrible cable crap. Can not wait to shitcan their TV srevice.

Boston killer, i see we both had same thought about scaling in or out, ha. funny.
 
Quote from bighog:

I am with you on that one. Aside from occasional add-on here and there it is easier imo just to get in and watch the trade like a hawk zeroing in on the next pigeon. A hawk, fighter pilot, cheetah, lion etc see a pack of targets and know they MUST pick a target and stay with that target for a kill or a complete miss.

Distractions are the bane of many a trader. I know i am easily distracted and do not want to believe any different. Scaling in and out is doing what? Is it about the trade or is it about the money? Just the very nature of the process says it is about the money. When it is all about the trade, you can get all-in and all-out a lot faster relative to the momentum of price when not distracted about scaling. Surely less thought process and faster brain cell clicking involved. LOOK, with todays INSTANT FILLS there is no sense putzing around with a thought process............FOLLOW the PLAN. BOOM!!!..........you are in, your next thought process is to stay in the trade or BAIL. If we get out to soon we can get back in in a flash...............and unless price really runs away from us ..............more often than not we can get back in a couple ticks better.
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Hog, this post is a true gem.

I have struggled with this both live and in sim (mostly in sim). Here's the rub: You gather a lot of experience over time, hours of screen time, positive expectancy, and so on, and you may come to believe that "when x occurs, it's always followed by y, which is always followed by z".

Except when it isn't.

Here's the problem I have with scaling: It works ALL THE TIME in sim. But I KNOW that in reality it may NOT WORK one day and if you believe it ALWAYS WORKS, you will become that deer in the headlights when it doesn't work.

Now I'm referring to scaling as a trade runs against you; "fading a strong move".

This is very different from adding to a winner.

However, as a short term day trader (I use a 5-min chart), I pretty much get in and out with each price thrust and pullback, so "all in, all out" fits my style well and also provides me with the best way to manage risk.

In sim recently, I've found that scratching a couple trades close to b/e, BUT STICKING WITH IT (avoiding distractions), you end up catching a real move. This works within my comfort zone. If I was well-capitalized I might take bigger chances with scaling into positions like AMT, Ammo, and Flatron do, but right now I'm far more conservative.

There are many ways to make a living in the markets.

The two most important things IMHO:

1. Trade within your comfort zone

2. ALWAYS draw a line in the sand IN ADVANCE that protects your capital well enough to trade another day. ("Plan the trade and trade the plan.")
 
Nodoji,

Started about the same time as you and followed your journal, and would like to thank you for an excellent journal.

For trade/money management and scale in/out, I found Phantom of the Pits book a great help for me. For long term (swing trading) he recommends adding to winners, but for day trading: All in/Scale out (reduce position) for Losers, All in and STAY IN for big Winners (This is opposite of what most people do in day trading).

You may have to read and re-read the book to get it, and I hope it will help you to get to the next level in your trading. Good luck!
 

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Quote from NoDoji:


I have struggled with this both live and in sim (mostly in sim). Here's the rub: You gather a lot of experience over time, hours of screen time, positive expectancy, and so on, and you may come to believe that "when x occurs, it's always followed by y, which is always followed by z".

Except when it isn't. .........................................................

How true!!!! Thats what is called playing the odds. That is why this game is a game of chance. We never have perfect inputs, we deal with imperfect and incomplete inputs to extract perfection. That is what drives many to failure..............they are seeking something that is NOT there. Trading is a profession where losing is more than normal, it is expected, it is integral. Karen Finermen once said on FAST Money.............if you do not learn how to lose you will not last long in this game. Intuition is the holy grail, intuition only comes from losing first.

Well, we never fade a strong move unless we receive a GOLD SIGNAL that flashes a reversal. Whenever anyone mentions FADE...............I just cringe. In my world, FADING is GUESSING. Nod does implement a FADE plan and that is fine for her... Now i will clarify that by saying fading is not the same as price losing momentum and ringing the register to book profits or pull the canopy on a loser and hitting the silk.
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Quote from Love Trading:

Nodoji,

Started about the same time as you and followed your journal, and would like to thank you for an excellent journal.

For trade/money management and scale in/out, I found Phantom of the Pits book a great help for me. For long term (swing trading) he recommends adding to winners, but for day trading: All in/Scale out (reduce position) for Losers, All in and STAY IN for big Winners (This is opposite of what most people do in day trading).

You may have to read and re-read the book to get it, and I hope it will help you to get to the next level in your trading. Good luck!
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Thank you very much, LT!
 
+ $162

I'm getting too comfortable sim trading ES & CL and I need to get live now. I've proven to myself day after day in sim that I can make money trading futures!

Short ANF @ 40.02 on the open and scratched the trade for +$11 when it didn’t break down.

Offered 40.34 ANF based on where I thought price would go if following the usual stochastic ride, and missed by .09 cents. There was a reasonable drop off that high, but I didn’t chase; decided to wait.

Short ANF @ 40.15 pullback from lower high. Double down @ 40.10 when a shooting star was left behind on my entry bar. Covered @ 39.96 after it left support at a higher low: +$128.

OK, I know, I know, I scaled in after stating that I prefer all in. My initial position was intended to be my full size, but when a shooting star prints off a lower high on a 3-min chart, especially early or late in the day, it’s like an ATM machine with cash in the bin saying, “Hey, pssst, here you go.” So I figured 800 shares would produce a decent trade even if the lower end of the range constrained a breakdown.

Offered 40.27 ANF figuring the higher low would result in a slightly higher high, but it only reached 40.19 before reversing and then left another higher low at the now-rising EMA, so I waited.

Out of the office for a while and missed a nice internal double top lower high (@ 40.00) short entry which broke down hard to new lows on the day. Should’ve just bracketed a position before I left. I always feel jinxed when this happens…

Watched AMZN for a while and liked the way it moved. Short 100 shares AMZN @ 141.77, overbought pullback from a lower high, covered @ 141.52 for +$23. This was later day doldrums, so that trade actually captured a very solid move believe it or not (pivot low of the move was .47).

Sim traded POT using a variety of strategies because I like the size of its moves. It has real momentum when it gets going. My trades went very well, but I cut my profits significantly short EVERY time.
 

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