NoDoji's Day Trading Log

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+ $237

Very frustrating day.

Offered 9.10 HOTT, missed by .02 cents and it tanked hard.

Short ORLY @ 33.35, pull back off failure to make a new high. Angry I didn’t take profits and short again off the rally. Offered 33.95 on the rally and it missed. Covered @ 33.06 off oversold round number pivot for a $141 gain.

Short ORLY @ 33.03, not quite overbought “rally”, cover target of 32.83 filled for a $100 gain. Left much money on this one.

Missed great ORLY short while getting the dog from the groomer.

Short ORLY @ 32.72, overbought, near last resistance. It was impatient of me not wait for test of that resistance, but SPY was also overbought, so I used that as a guide. I covered @ 32.64 oversold, SPY also oversold, for a $38 gain, looking for better re-entry, which never came as it tested the day’s low.

I realize that NFLX had run up like crazy on what was likely a huge short squeeze (38% short interest) and I shorted the pull back off highs @ 38.45. The moment I placed the order my platform vanished from sight! By the time I got it back up, NFLX was at 37.75 and continued down to nearly 36.00, but my order never went through! $1200 profit lost there.

AIPC hitting the hi ticker, so I want to short it via IB, but it dropped .50 cents a share before I could locate my husband to open his IB.

So now I'm off to the park to play ball with the dog, and wash away my day's frustration in Tucson's 90 degree sun.

No charts today; instead I offer proof that I lead a balanced life :p
 

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OK, a tiny bit of my frustration has been erased. Etrade actually had a record of my NFLX order, but there were no shares available to short. They have no idea why my platform crashed when that message should've been displayed.
 
Hello NoDoji

I've been following your journal for some time now and have been enjoying it. It has inspired my to start a journal of my own- becuase I havent been doing well lately and could really use a good critique.

My journal is here:

http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=155877

I also have been trading based on overbought/oversold conditions.. but I've been mostly trading long, which in the end didn't pan out so well.

Anyway I enjoy your journal, and wanted to introduce myself.

I'm from Arizona originally as well (Tempe/Phoenix) and have spent plenty of time down there in good ol Tucson.

Good luck in your future trading ;)
 
Hi QT,

I'm glad you're enjoying my journal. I think it's helping me avoid repeating the same mistakes TOO many times. I tried to subscribe to yours, but it came up with a registration error.

You said "Others were trades that didn't do what I expected right off the bat- but I held on, and then turned out profitable in the end. Often these trades I'd end up in the position where I just wanted to get back to break-even and get out, but they'd pass b/e a little and I'd make a small profit. I consider these trades to be pure luck, really."

That happens to me often and it's dangerous to use that as a benchmark for any other trade. You're very right to say those trades are pure luck. It's important to have your exit plan in advance and never change your stop, except in your favor. Today I shorted ORLY @ 32.72 and it moved into the .90's where I missed a second entry to add to the short. I've been trading this one for some time and I "know" it. However, if it were to have gone above 33.00 and I added to my position, and it then re-tested recent highs and broke through, I would be looking to scale back out at the next oversold pull back. This is my plan for shorting stocks at 52-week highs in a bear market. My plan for stocks that are not at major highs/lows is to set a tight stop based on the high or low of the day, or even the high or low of the previous bar. I am very pleased to say I have not moved a stop (except in my favor) for quite some time now.

You also said, "The worst of these were ones where I had an entry all setup and thought out- I'd enter the trade, and it would go against me. Often I'd pretty quickly be down $200, then $250 and not long- $300. I'd be gritting my teeth then, and having a personal battle."

Do you see what's missing? You had an entry all set up, but no exit. You must know your exit before putting on the trade. If you tend to have personal battles when trades move against you, put in a hard stop as soon as your order is filled. Move it to break even as soon as you're profitable. Then you're free to let your profits run.

And remember, if your original stop takes you out of a trade, you can trade it again if you still think it's a valid setup. I've done that a few times with success.

Best of trading to you!
 
Thanks for the reply ND-




Quote from NoDoji:

Hi QT,

I tried to subscribe to yours, but it came up with a registration error.

I will look into that :)




Do you see what's missing? You had an entry all set up, but no exit. You must know your exit before putting on the trade. If you tend to have personal battles when trades move against you, put in a hard stop as soon as your order is filled. Move it to break even as soon as you're profitable. Then you're free to let your profits run.

And remember, if your original stop takes you out of a trade, you can trade it again if you still think it's a valid setup. I've done that a few times with success.

Best of trading to you!
More...

Thanks for that advice. I am going to look further into using actual entered stops.

I avoided using them for a number of reasons:

1) As far as I can tell, at TDAmeritrade, I can only have one order in at a time.

IE: If I'm long SPY, and I set a stop at say 71.50 after an entry at 71.60

that is THE sell order for spy. If I fire off a market order later, it won't go through unless I cancel that stop order first.

This was "too much stuff to do" for me in the past, so I ended up not entering those stops, but rather would just hover my hand on the SELL button and watch the P/L and chart. If I saw too much loss, or a break through my support- I would just hit sell and do a market order. But perhaps this leaves me way too much opportunity to be undisciplined.

As far as exits for a winner- well, that is an odd one for me- I usually would just get out at the first sign of a stall in upward movement, if I was in the green, and if I happened to hit +$200 I just automatically would sell for fear of losing it.

I am more concerned about locking in a winner than leaving money on the table at the moment.. but perhaps thats another mistake.


I'm curious- when you enter a stop loss order at Etrade, and then you become profitable and decide to exit- do you have to cancel your stop-loss order first?

or can you just enter another order on top of it that gets executed?
 
Quote from quotetrader:

I'm curious- when you enter a stop loss order at Etrade, and then you become profitable and decide to exit- do you have to cancel your stop-loss order first?

or can you just enter another order on top of it that gets executed?
More...

I have two choices: 1) Change the stop order to a sell (or cover) order. 2) Place a bracketed order with a stop and target (i.e., I short @ 20.00, stop @ 20.20, target 19.60) I usually only use bracketed orders if I'm going to leave the office and can't manage the trade in real time.

I was able to subscribe to your journal, by the way :)
 
I was able to subscribe to your journal, by the way :)

Oh great :) That solves that one





I have two choices: 1) Change the stop order to a sell (or cover) order. 2) Place a bracketed order with a stop and target (i.e., I short @ 20.00, stop @ 20.20, target 19.60) I usually only use bracketed orders if I'm going to leave the office and can't manage the trade in real time.



Ah OK- makes sense.

Yes, I just read through all the possible types of order-entries that Quotetracker can do- I saw the bracket order (one cancels another) and thought that might work.. but I still end up having to exit using a limit order with that one. Right now, I like to market order out while there's still buying interest so I can just get out :)

With my luck, I'd have a limit order in there- get 20% filled and then down she goes.

Looks like I'll just go with the cancel first thing.. I wish they had a "cancels others" order that just overrides any other sell orders, so I could hit "sell market" and it would just do it, and ignore/cancel my lower stop order.

I see that you use quite a bit of limit orders and not many market orders- and I also see you posting from time to time that you narrowly miss getting filled.

What are your thoughts so far on the pros/cons of using that type of order?
 
Quote from quotetrader:

With my luck, I'd have a limit order in there- get 20% filled and then down she goes.

What are your thoughts so far on the pros/cons of using that type of order?
More...

OK, I've had that happen many times, and I ended up exiting the remaining shares at market UNLESS I am very firm and confident in my target price (as I was with HOTT last week, waiting patiently for the entire position to get filled over time).

My thoughts on market vs limit: When I absolutely want in and the price movement's volatile, I will use a market order, even with wide spreads (as I did trading APOL a while back). I also often exit at market when I'm planning to exit on a pivot from overbought/oversold, because such bounces can be hard and I want to get as much profit as possible without wasting time moving limits around. In these cases I'll watch the level 2 for guidance.

I like to use limits for entries where I expect a certain price level to be tested but likely to fail to beak out or break down. This allows you to get into the trade at a very good price just before the crowd moves in.

Unfortunately, these are also the ones I often miss by pennies before a strong move in my favor, proving how predictable the crowd can be, but generally leaving me wishing I'd simply entered at market when it was close to my price.

I also like to use limits to enter or exit trades based on trend lines because they predict price movement very accurately.
 
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