NoDoji's Day Trading Log

[NoDoji]

- $40

Frustrating morning. AAPL was on my watch to the short side because it showed weakness in pre-market and the economic news wasn’t so hot either. I was about to short @ 204.98 with a stop just above 205.50 when IB froze and (I am not making this up) my PowerEtrade charts froze AND the L2 had the bid/ask all screwed up. By the time the DOM resumed action AAPL had fallen over $3 and I didn’t want to short it at that level.

So then I shorted AMZN when sellers came in big off the opening range high and it was breaking down. I actually left my initial stop in place for quite a while, and the trade moved very nicely in my favor, then shortly after I moved the stop just above b/e a sudden pop took me out with slippage for -$20. AMZN and AAPL are cowboy stocks, no doubt.

I shorted X when it left behind a lower high and a shooting star. From the look of the chart, this was a “B” level trade, because I was shorting a flat 20 EMA, not a falling one. I figured it could possibly be a bear trap especially after selling off so much lately. So as soon as it moved in my favor I placed a stop to lock in some profit. Price then held strong and started to tick up, hit my stop, no trigger, moved past my stop 3 ticks, no trigger, moved another few ticks, still no trigger. I canceled my stop and as price ticked back down I tried to exit with a LMT order (just to see if that would work) for a small gain of $10 and price then ticked up, every time I moved my LMT price kept ticking up until I whacked above the freakin’ offer and finally got out for - $20.

So then I’m watching X to see how far past the previous resistance it would go and contemplating another short entry. I absolutely kid you not, my X chart in PowerEtrade freezes!

At this point I cleared my Java files and restarted my system, which fixed the bolluxed charts, but then things seem too choppy for me to play, so I took a break and pondered. You know, I’m one of those people who cause street lights to go off when I approach and then go back on after I pass by. I’ve also been unable to wear a battery-powered watch in all the years I’ve been in Arizona (I have a drawer with 4 watches whose batteries die within two weeks of being replaced if I wear the watch). So I started wondering if my jokes about being jinxed have some basis in quantum reality.

So as I’m pondering, my husband goes into his office and notices one of our internet connections is intermittent (it’s rained all night and morning, which always causes internet issues here). So I guess my problems had a basis in physical reality.
:eek:

 

[mavericktrader]

Good luck NoDoji. Consolidation is my favorite trade as you just have to wait. Keep up the good work

 

[oraclewizard77]

Hey, you should not be upset about losing $ 40 when your recent days you have been making good money. I have been doing pretty good recently trading the es, some trades I have double my contract size if I see more confirmations. I am glad that you kept the loss under control and did not revenge trade to try to get back even, this shows you were in control not the market. Congrats, keep up the good work. My thoughts on trading the es is that this is where the pros trades, this is where my mentor trades, this is where the bighog trades, if I want to be the best, you got to trade with the best. I was in the top 5% of my school, and I had someone who is successful show me how to trade and gave me their indicators, so I am feeling better with trading lately.

 

[NoDoji]

Quote from oraclewizard77:

My thoughts on trading the es is that this is where the pros trades, this is where my mentor trades, this is where the bighog trades, if I want to be the best, you got to trade with the best. I was in the top 5% of my school, and I had someone who is successful show me how to trade and gave me their indicators, so I am feeling better with trading lately.

I'd replaced my ES DOM with SPY the other day, deciding I was not trading it well, hesitating too often, cutting all my winners.

Today it went right back up again because I realized that every S/R level 3 months back was ingrained in my brain from all the study and sim trading I'd done and I didn't just want to throw that out. I was gazing longingly at it throughout the day, remembering those few trades I had where I didn't hesitate and where I let a winner run.

After my connection issues, I decided it best not trade any more today. I may give ES another college try here soon.

 

[bighog]

Ok, (i really do not like to do this, but i think it might help) lets do a little review of today.

The opening dropped like a rock, booked a fast 5 handles in 2 trades. Worked 3 more trades on down for a few more. Was not real aggressive. We stalled at 1081.00 area as support. and at 1130 EST we tanked for a 7 handle bar down...........i was not in for it and almost chased, decided a climax bar like that was due for a retrace. The next bar turned out to be the days low. Did not know that at the time but did observe it as a KEY bar, extra value in that signal because it followed the big juicy 7 handle bar. We bounced 5 3/4 handles off the low during the next few bars........i was still flat looking to get long. price dropped back 4 1/4 handles and at 1220 and 1225est it fell back to 1075.75 both times and still did not fall below the KEYS bar opening tick(remember, thats a gold signal). Got filled on a mkt order at 1078.50 for a couple more handles (2 3/4).

First sex and catching reverses are things to remember as we get older to tell the Grand kids about. JK

Anyway, the rest of the day i did channel trades because that is what the mkt was doing. A lot of trades today (none yesterday), 13 trades, 1 scratch, 1 -1 1/4 handle loser, 11 winners. Total was good but could have been better + 15 1/4 handles.

Nod, I gave this review to show you some value of following a single instrument. I was choosy after the reversal, i sat there and saw a lot more trades but picked off maybe 1 for every 3 i saw as good ones. Those were all channels. BEFORE the reversal, in the morning it was trend stuff on the way down where i missed most of it.........thats why i was trading after the reversal............kinda mad i did not catch the gist of that gimme down move. Point being: I traded the same thing, but switched gears. I have a difficult time trading six different strats at the same time. I am either in trend mode, spotting for a reversal mode or range-channel mode. If i am in range-channel as example, i do not trade the up or down chann as a trend but pick off small stuff by selling strength or buying support. Trends are what i look for in mornings.

I notice a flaw in your trading..........you should not be using trailstops on profits. You should be booking profits instead of trying to preserve them, i know you are trying to stay in the trend run and thats good. But maybe try this: Train the discipline to book the profit and just reenter the trade in same direction. That discipline will work on you to stick with the trend. (unlike me today, ha) Trailing stops get hit a lot because they get taken out in even small retraces.............that discourages new traders to reenter in same direction. THUS, you can see why trail stops in daytrading are bad, GOOD idea, but bad results.

Tomorrow should be or could be a good day............this mkt smells like a dead fish. Lets see what happens.





Commissions are just the cost of doing business, when i am picking off small trades i am not bothered with costs as long as most are winning small trades. Thats why i am picky later in the day. Trends are for early.

 

[learningTrading]

Quote from NoDoji:

I traded my first stock about 5 months ago, then focused on swing trades and options. I learned a ton via the school of hard knocks and hours of self-education and chart study. I paper traded some day trading strategies for 3 weeks or so and last week decided to actively day trade. I've been keeping a trading journal since April and will share my daily adventures in the hopes it will help keep me from doing something really stupid.

Comments from wise old traders are always welcome

July 25, 2008:

First trade of the day, nice retracement on SPWR (qty 1000) that rallied hugely for a $1230 gain in 15 minutes. A looser stop would’ve allowed a good added bit of profit, but SPWR has tended to pull back more than I normally like before continuing. An entry later in the day that was signaled went past my target rather quickly, but turned out it would have returned another $1000. However, I am pleased that I stuck with my rule of not chasing, as that’s been responsible for many losses in the past. I prefer the security of high probability and quick lock-in stop set at break even.

Second trade was a JNPR short. They gapped up on record earnings and hit new highs all morning. Shorted 1000 shares at 26.22 and covered at 25.97 for a $250 gain in 15 minutes.

Shorted JNPR again not long after the first one at 25.72 and it stalled for nearly half an hour, so I covered at 25.74 for a $20 loss.

Next, I shorted BIDU after watching its chart carefully. A gradual downtrend with mini rallies set the stage and I shorted 200 shares as the next rally began to stall (figured out what “fading the move? means) at 333.20 and set a target profit via limit order to cover at 332.20. BIDU moves in frightening chunks and just when it looked it might turn against me and cause me to cover at a very small profit, it triggered my limit within seconds for the full $200 target profit in just 4 minutes!

Shorted JNPR yet again at 26.17, and it stagnated for over half an hour. I set a stop at the day’s high and grabbed a bite to eat. This time it rallied out of consolidation and the stop triggered for a loss of $200. LESSON: Don’t trade a stock that’s consolidating just because you THINK you know where it will go based on what it did a while ago. Wait for the actual break in one direction or the other.

Rather than leave JNPR alone, I shorted once more at 26.44 when buying volume dwindled and selling pressure began. Could’ve scalped $50, but thought for sure it was pushing a bit lower, then with frightening speed a rally began, triggered by institutional purchases (10K and 20K lots appearing on the Level II). I should’ve exited on the spot for a tiny loss, but decided to give it a bit of time. A secondary rally ensued and I quickly placed a stop at 26.84 that triggered a $400 loss. I was very pleased with my ability to cut the loss quickly without thinking, analyzing, or hoping. I had no regrets afterward. LESSON: Exit quickly large blocks start printing against your trade.

(Turns out the JNPR short of the day occurred almost at market close when it topped 27.00 and failed to hold that new level. It pulled back to 26.57 in just minutes.)

Good weekend to all!

Sorry to bother you. I am new to trade. I have been trading for a year with no success. I trade stocks and options. Buy and HOPE. I lost half of the account.
I love your journals. You start day trading so quickly and its so amazing that you have known so much. When you have a moment, do you mind to share some of your advice to me? What I need to do and prepare now to be able to day trade successfuly as you?
I appreciate all your comments!

 

[NoDoji]

Quote from learningTrading:

Sorry to bother you. I am new to trade. I have been trading for a year with no success. I trade stocks and options. Buy and HOPE. I lost half of the account.
I love your journals. You start day trading so quickly and its so amazing that you have known so much. When you have a moment, do you mind to share some of your advice to me? What I need to do and prepare now to be able to day trade successfuly as you?
I appreciate all your comments!

Thank you for your kind words, but I don't feel qualified to give too much advice yet, since I'm learning something new every day.

My basic advice is to look at how price behaves in relation to a 20-period moving average in your time frame. If that moving average is rising, look to buy when price dips down to it without breaking through. When it's falling look to short when price rises up to it without breaking through. (If it breaks thru but quickly recovers, that's a false breakout and you can still enter with the trend). If the moving average is flat it's either in a range or consolidating, which is where I often paid commissions for very little reward, and so I no longer trade in that zone unless I'm looking to get a position in place for a continuation move.

If you watch price behavior in relation to a 20-period moving average on a chart in any time frame you'll see how solid it is for entering a trend, counter-trend trading overextended moves, and catching the start of a new trend.

Following a rising or falling moving average is really the same as buying a higher low or shorting a lower high.

If price is trading in a range and it's a wide range, then I use stochastics to trade from one end of the range to the other.

Stochastics are worthless in a strong trend.

 

[NoDoji]

Quote from bighog:

Nod, I gave this review to show you some value of following a single instrument.

Thank you as always for your post and advice. I sent you an email earlier.

 

[NoDoji]

+ $283 Day
+ $743 Week
+ $2775 Month

I overtraded early morning and paid the price. I thought I’d try some quick AAPL scalping using a 1-min chart. Instead of trying it in sim or live with 50-share lots, I traded live with 200-share lots and the strategy didn’t work well, causing me to lose $134 over a series of 3 trades. If you look at that choppy mess on the AAPL 1-min chart just before 10:00 a.m., you’ll see what I was attempting to trade (and you’ll seriously doubt my sanity, I’m sure). I was using buy/sell action and trying to catch a move, but everything chopped at this point, leaving me red and frustrated.

I played around with a NFLX fade as it made new highs and basically churned trying to top pick. Then I finally caught the reversal and cut $40 off my profit by not allowing price to reach oversold: -$20 on this set of NFLX trades.

Then I shorted X @ 47.41, pullback from a run up, and since I was top picking, I nervously covered at the first sign of support netting just $26 when it found quick support. I then missed the re-entry at a lower high because...

I’d earlier decided to wait for a proper setup on AAPL and guess what? There it was winking at me hard from across the dance floor.

The 4th trade, based on a real setup, worked like an ATM machine. Wow! What a concept! Wait patiently for a strong setup and get a no-heat winner!

What I did was short AAPL @ 200.26, on a pullback from a lower high after a 3rd push up from the LOD with shrinking stairs (smaller breakout on each push) on the 1-min chart. I’m now using the 1-min chart to get me into trades “on time”, because I hesitated too much before when strictly using 3- or 5-min chart. This has been a godsend because my hesitation and frustration at missing trades was eating away my confidence. I’ve found that micro-setups on the 1-min provide early signal for the macro-move, so I’m in quickly and have a very survivable exit point should the trade fail.

Now I would like to tell you that I covered at the initial LMT order I had in for a target price of 198.95 and netted $300, but I must confess the truth. Once price moved far in my favor and was at that “scalper’s bounce” area on the 10-period MA, that zone where I’m not sure if it’s going to attempt to continue the uptrend or break down further, I tightened my stop, which was then hit for a $152 gain. Guess what the pivot low of the move was? $198.75

I could’ve appeased my anxiety at the 10-period MA by covering half the position and then leaving a stop at 55% retrace on the remainder. Or I could’ve trusted the strength of the setup and waited for stochastic lines to meet at oversold. Either way I would’ve improved my profit on this trade. But again the initial dumb trades influenced my management of this very solid trade.

I missed another nice lower high short of AAPL because I had to step away from my desk for a while. This next lower high was left behind right at the falling 20-bar MA on the 1-min chart and just beneath the falling 20-bar MA on the 3-min chart, making it also a high probability short trade. Was it ever, leading to new lows all morning. In fact, if I’d had a power outage for about 45 minutes after putting on my 4th AAPL trade, and my initial stop had remained in place, I would’ve returned to find myself $1200 richer just like last time that happened.

All the while I’m trading stocks, I’ve got one eye on ES and I suddenly realized something so very obvious I can’t believe that I never internalized it before. Almost every single time price makes a new high or a new low outside the outer channel lines, it pulls back a bit, pauses and retests. If it’s 2nd or better push in a trend, the failed test becomes a perfect reversal signal. Hog, is this what you mean by key reversal bars?

POT sold off to a new LOD and I used the 1-min chart to bottom pick a scalp move, long @ 101.70 (very small because of the falling knife thing…), sold @ 102.00 when sellers came in at the top of the run on the 1-min chart for +$29. That worked well. I’ll try 1000 shares instead of 100 next time ;-)

Later, AAPL was in consolidation looking very ugly and I thought about shorting but waited for an actual breakdown first. Shorted @ 194.02 and covered @ 192.86 for +$230 when price found support and pivoted. Again, I could’ve just sat on this and made so much more. In fact, I could've just held my early AAPL trade until the trend was broken and made over $2K.

My day had many interruptions, but some things can’t be put off, so I ended up missing some good opportunities. Have to cut out early. Have a great weekend all!

 

[learningTrading]

Quote from NoDoji:

Thank you for your kind words, but I don't feel qualified to give too much advice yet, since I'm learning something new every day.

My basic advice is to look at how price behaves in relation to a 20-period moving average in your time frame. If that moving average is rising, look to buy when price dips down to it without breaking through. When it's falling look to short when price rises up to it without breaking through. (If it breaks thru but quickly recovers, that's a false breakout and you can still enter with the trend). If the moving average is flat it's either in a range or consolidating, which is where I often paid commissions for very little reward, and so I no longer trade in that zone unless I'm looking to get a position in place for a continuation move.

If you watch price behavior in relation to a 20-period moving average on a chart in any time frame you'll see how solid it is for entering a trend, counter-trend trading overextended moves, and catching the start of a new trend.

Following a rising or falling moving average is really the same as buying a higher low or shorting a lower high.

If price is trading in a range and it's a wide range, then I use stochastics to trade from one end of the range to the other.

Stochastics are worthless in a strong trend.

Great tips! Some fundamental and more specific questions.
I am swing trading now. I expect to hold for 2-3 weeks. Should I still be looking at 20-period. When you say 20-period, SMA or EMA? Please dont laugh at me...
Do you take Support/Resistant level into account with the 20-period at all or barely?
Look forward to reading your todays trade! Many Thanks!