Sam's Day Trading Log (With Charts)

Sam Morgan · Feb 3, 2011

Quote from ddlee:

If it was me, I would print out that chart of those two trades and have it on my wall near my computer.

Looking at it will remind you of the good, the bad and the ugly of trading

On the wall it is!. For now, let's remember the good; we have the whole year to face the bad and the ugly

NoDoji · Feb 3, 2011

Quote from Sam Morgan:

The above points/quotes are from a very valuable journal titled: NoDoji's Day Trading Log ( although a long time ago, it is still very alive!!!)

There is such great info. in there and I refer to it now and then to refresh my memory.

That journal encompassed some of the blood, sweat, and tears of learning the business by the seat of your pants. I had an experienced mentor trying his darnedest to talk sense into my head, but I'm a stubborn one and had to learn things the hard way on my own and then finally admit, "Mom and Dad were right after all."

I don't what it took to get you to where you are, but you "got it"!

Quote from Sam Morgan:

I have just understood the concept of finding that optimal entry point and this is so important as it makes it easier to manage your trade. Getting in at the right entry point, initially allows you to keep your stops tight and there is nothing wrong with doing this. I always thought that stops should be left a little wide to allow for some wiggle room, but this is not the right way to do it (only my opinion). If I enter a trade and it does not go my way (with a tight stop), then my entry was not a good one.

I, too, just over the past several months came to understand this concept. It's precision trading and takes a lot of intense focus, but as I began mastering this it was a real game-changer. With practice, you learn to always think a step ahead ("If price does that I want to have my order ready at this price and my stop will be there") and always have price levels in your head as you trade, because in small time frames you have to think fast or by the time you highlight a price bar to determine a S/R level or bar high/low, the ideal entry opportunity is gone.

Sam Morgan · Feb 4, 2011

I have been missing my entries today. The price comes to within pennies of my entry and takes off again :mad:

. Am I doing something wrong?

The only trades I made today were CIEN and JDSU. I will put up the charts tomorrow.

ddlee · Feb 4, 2011

I watch the CL but trade GLD and SLV so I am watching all three futures, The morning wedge on oil was beatiful as long as you waited for the direction

Silver futures make a breakout (turned ito a failed failure) but had me thinking oil was going up but it was a good example of not forcing your opinion on CL

4re · Feb 4, 2011

Quote from Sam Morgan:

I have been missing my entries today. The price comes to within pennies of my entry and takes off again . Am I doing something wrong?

The only trades I made today were CIEN and JDSU. I will put up the charts tomorrow.

You are doing nothing wrong. This is where patience comes in handy and it can save your butt sometimes as well. Take what the market gives you and do not chase.

ElecEquity · Feb 4, 2011

Quote from Sam Morgan:

The above points/quotes are from a very valuable journal titled: NoDoji's Day Trading Log ( although a long time ago, it is still very alive!!!)

There is such great info. in there and I refer to it now and then to refresh my memory.

I've been a full-time trader for four years Sam. I read a quote in the Psychology forum that NoDoji posted a week or two ago about trading your plan and I'll tell you that it's one of the most insightful things I've ever read about trading. It really hit home for me. I'll have to check out his journal.

TraderZz · Feb 5, 2011

Mr. Sam,

I do not have much to give you other than a solution to your stop outs with the tails.

You currently make more than me, but I see an opportunity to help.

When trailing your stop, go through prior retracements and guage their average length. Add 25-50% on top of this average. This should keep you out.

Best wishes... I wish you extraordinary success.

PS, 4re's rule of 3 is good in this case. It should be sufficient to use 3 waves. Or, you could take a similar looking trend and guage that

.

Many ways to stay out of the noise....

ddlee · Feb 5, 2011

Double EE never assume in the markets and in traders

NoDoji is all girl

Sam Morgan · Feb 5, 2011

Quote from NoDoji:

I, too, just over the past several months came to understand this concept. It's precision trading and takes a lot of intense focus, but as I began mastering this it was a real game-changer. With practice, you learn to always think a step ahead.

NoD, you are right. It takes a great amount of focus and is very mind saturating. Since this is something that I have just discovered, I still have a lot of getting used to. The issues I have with this is that after a couple of trades, my mind is saturated and I can hear the "tick, tock" as my head gets ready to explode :eek: . It is also very difficult to move around with ease in search of new opportunities (as you said, things are moving FAST!). I am using a single screen, so I suspect that some screen real estate may help.

Is there any good reading on this that you would recommend. Any and all advice will all so be taken with both hands.

Btw, nice seeing you here NoD

Sam Morgan · Feb 5, 2011

Quote from ElecEquity:

I read a quote in the Psychology forum that NoDoji posted a week or two ago about trading your plan and I'll tell you that it's one of the most insightful things I've ever read about trading.

Any chance of sharing it with us?