NoDoji's Day Trading Log

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Nod

Agree. No more posts for that guy. I also undid receiving pm's that go unread from him. End of that problem.


That idea of swing trading in a different account is kinda neat. Let me try to see if i can put my finger on why you want to do that. Because as a newer trader you see lots of opportunities and want to cash in on some of that. Am i close?

Sounds like a good plan but it has the usual drawbacks. Mixing time frames to trade and mixing swing/daytrading is maybe better left for next year. Becoming consistent at this stage is probably a better idea. Then after you become more consistent you simply can move up in the number of shares/cars to trade. This is not the time to complicate the gameplan, regardless of your good intentions.


Work on those trader muscles first, work on becoming automatic. Work on polishing up the odds of your signals and attack plan.

I am consistent about this i know for sure. I am consistent about being insistent about keeping it simple. :)

Steel yourself, get that ES mo-jo cranked up. good trading you did today, a win day is ok.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwbKakPRRI&feature=related
 
>>>>>>I watched a live trading webinar with Greg Capra and he was buying and selling right off the chart. Not sure what platform allows that, but I too am very visual and I'm always watching my chart.<<<<<<

sierra charts allows u to trade off the charts; right-click on chart; select type of order and a horizontal line appears once order type is selected. now this line can be dragged anywhere on the chart at the price u want to trade. if u get nervous drag this line away from price and relax, lol.
place order just near the breakout area and wait. when it breaks out it feels like the market maker came running snatched your order and took it along with the breakout. makes u feel like market makers are your errand boys. lol.
:D
ps. not affiliated with sierra charts
 
TEST: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/899179/dancing_the_waltz_will_keep_you_in.html?cat=51

Nod, remember banjo from chat? One of his tidbits was in trading stock index futures, he does NQ, was :

" Trading is like dancing the waltz, let the mkt lead and you follow along"

Welcome to summer slow days. :)

PS: TA anticipation is your leader in the mkts, you anticipate the next moves based in what the signals (clues) the mkt gives you. Dance with a slug and you get smashed toes. :D


PSS: from the artical...............relate this to trading.................. . It takes discipline t learn the Waltz and it will lead to good muscle tone throughout the body. When you are learning the Waltz, it is important to master the rise in the side step when you are practicing alone in front of a mirror. Then, when you are together with your partner it will seem like second nature as you move along the floor.
 
great suggestion. stick with what you know and what you are comfortable.

I have several retirement accounts, all in index like IWM kind of things. the problem is I have a day trading account, when I saw ES/ym/NQ or whatever is drooping, I hesitate because my mind will say "he, you are going long the market, what the heck are you doing?", so I let it drop and do nothing.

finally I decided to pass over those accounts to my wife and let her take care of it, now feel much better, it seems I am free.

when you have some positions whether in another unrelated account, your mind will be still there.

bighog is right. focus on only one thing





Quote from bighog:

Nod

Agree. No more posts for that guy. I also undid receiving pm's that go unread from him. End of that problem.


That idea of swing trading in a different account is kinda neat. Let me try to see if i can put my finger on why you want to do that. Because as a newer trader you see lots of opportunities and want to cash in on some of that. Am i close?

Sounds like a good plan but it has the usual drawbacks. Mixing time frames to trade and mixing swing/daytrading is maybe better left for next year. Becoming consistent at this stage is probably a better idea. Then after you become more consistent you simply can move up in the number of shares/cars to trade. This is not the time to complicate the gameplan, regardless of your good intentions.


Work on those trader muscles first, work on becoming automatic. Work on polishing up the odds of your signals and attack plan.

I am consistent about this i know for sure. I am consistent about being insistent about keeping it simple. :)

Steel yourself, get that ES mo-jo cranked up. good trading you did today, a win day is ok.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwbKakPRRI&feature=related
More...
 
+ $110

Very little trading today. Spent most of the day studying ES price/chart action, and also a lot of chart patterns based on stuff I’m learning from Alexander Elder’s book, “Come Into My Trading Room”. Only during market hours can I compare daily chart setups to real-time intraday action and I'm a firm believer that observation of new knowledge in real time prepares me for the next level of confident trading.

I did notice in pre-market this morning that ESRX had bids above yesterday’s close, so I expected a shortable run up at the open. It ran a few pennies up to 69.00 and dropped really hard. I jumped off a cliff to catch it, got only 100 shares lifted @ 68.47 (my ESRX karma I guess), and trailed a limit to cover, lifted @ 67.64 for +$81.

Scalped a bit of ROST early in the day: +$29.

Did offer STEC a bit too high, then it seemed to find great strength at maintaining its price level so I left it alone for now, waiting for it to become overbought on the daily chart.

I learned how powerful the trend line/moving average is on the daily chart for a trending stock. STEC broke through the opening 3-min high right at the 10-day moving average/trend line and never looked back. Had I been paying attention to the daily chart yesterday I would’ve been ready for that move, but I was focused intraday on it yesterday.

Took a small MYGN swing position @ 26.29 in my E*trade account, based on some pretty solid buying volume/support at the 25.70 level, looking for some retracement of that gap. Their last gap down had a very decent retrace and the downside quarterly guidance was from 48% growth to 46% growth. I believe the panic was institutionally overdone and some big money will come back in off this major support level. Stop @ 25.30, target 28.00 or whatever the market will offer.
 

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+$181 Day
+$575 Week

I’ve noticed that every time futures are up pre-market, there’s a nice gain on the open and every time futures are down pre-market, there’s a nice drop on the open (ES). I’ve only noticed a strong fade on open once and that was after a very long string of up days. When there seems to be a significant pre-market futures move, I’ve been paper trading at the open in the direction of the move and having my best “paper” gains.

Question for ES traders: Is this a fairly common phenomenon? (I’ve only observed for a few weeks, so I don’t want to draw a conclusion off such a small time window.)

MYGN staged a small move up in pre-market, but when employment numbers drove futures down, I sold the position @ 26.48. MYGN’s recent lowering of guidance was based on poor economic conditions and I decided to get out and re-visit this one later: +$27. I then stopped watching it after the open and missed a nice re-entry at the higher low off yesterday’s support area.

Offered 68.50 ESRX at the open, it fell from a slightly lower point and I thought it was too low to chase, what a mistake that thought was.

Short STEC @ 24.80 pullback from the open, set a target @ 24.20, missed by pennies, then it bounced hard, came back down, found buyers above the previous low and I quickly covered @ 24.45 for +$66.

Watching MYGN ride the 10-period MA nicely up and placed a bid @ 26.45 to catch the next push, missed by .02 cents and it gained almost .30 cents in minutes.

Watching STEC reverse its uptrend and placed a sell stop @ 24.70, below the previous support level, filled. Covered at the oversold pivot @ 24.49 for +$40.
This was the first time I’ve entered a trade via a stop and it was a fantastic way to catch a move in the direction of its momentum and paid off very quickly.

The reason I didn’t hold on longer for a test of the LOD is because I thought STEC has been too strong lately and would stage another bounce near support back up to the moving average (standard behavior), but noooo, it tested the low, broke down hard and hit 23.75 before bouncing just as hard. Oy.

Short CL @ 72.13, pullback from failure to make a new high and inability to break back above the 20-period MA. Traded this one in E*Trade account because it’s higher priced, I was putting on a regular size position for a scalp at the very least, and I thought it might be worth swinging part of the position depending on the action. Covered @ 72.01 off round number oversold pivot for +$49 because it was very strong in a down market and the last 2 breakdowns of the trend line on the day ended up resuming the uptrend rather quickly, plus huge refreshing on the L2. Missed another great short later. Focus, focus, focus...

Solid week for piker size. Have a great 4th of July weekend all!
 

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Just for grins I checked my simulated swing trade portfolio from Monday's close (attached). It ended the day up $2900 (this is the one that was up $1500 by midday Tuesday). I would've taken my profits on Tuesday.

How do swing traders have the patience to sit through a draw down (yesterday) and wait for nice profits like this?
 

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Nod

Sorry, i have no answer for your ES pre-opening question. I really do not pay much attention to what happened over night. Yes, there have been times during some reports and some hairy globex moves where i played.

Ask other users of IB if the use of bracket orders with order cancalls order (OCO) is reliable and allows one to sleep at night. Myself, i used to do this in days gone by: get filled and then set a STOP loss order and forget the trade until you wake up. If upon opening up the platform and NO fill report comes up...........i knew at least i was not Stopped out. If a decent profit, i would just grab it and then wait for regular opening to start the day. Do not do that anymore though. The trading animals that are young and indestructible can have globex, (globex overnight that is )daytime is plenty for me these days.

By only paying attention to the 0930 opening that tactic also allows me to eliminate what i consider a trading pain in the ass........that being how to trade opening gaps. I consider gaps as non events........... Fudgeddabout them. :) (thats because the +6/-6 is basically a mechanized trade for 1st hour)

This game is more about eliminating what does not work for you and letting the rest just happen. Once we clean out the roaches and rats, the profits take care of themselves.

The mission is to get what you feel is a decent return from the mkt with the least amount of blood, sweat and tears.
 
Quote from NoDoji:

+$181 Day
+$575 Week

I’ve noticed that every time futures are up pre-market, there’s a nice gain on the open and every time futures are down pre-market, there’s a nice drop on the open (ES). I’ve only noticed a strong fade on open once and that was after a very long string of up days. When there seems to be a significant pre-market futures move, I’ve been paper trading at the open in the direction of the move and having my best “paper” gains.

Question for ES traders: Is this a fairly common phenomenon? (I’ve only observed for a few weeks, so I don’t want to draw a conclusion off such a small time window.)
More...

How I would look at is I would generally play for a continuation of a strong pre-open move ONLY if it pulled back into the open. Conversely, I would fade a significant straight run into/thru the open. You start by scalping and hope to catch a run on occasion. As to what is "common" behavior ... that would be subject to change at any time, of course.

Hope that helps.
 
+ $7

Short GS @ 143.28, pullback from a lower high, stop @ 143.65, above previous resistance. It formed an internal double bottom with a slightly higher support and at that point the L2 action told me to exit at b/e, but I didnt' listen and I let the stop run: -$38

Short GS @ 143.57 when attempt to test the HOD failed and left a shooting star. Stop to b/e because price was rather undecided in this midday range; covered @ 143.10 for +$45.

Nothing after that other than watch price off trend lines to see how it played out.
 

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