Trading Journal

Aug. 13,2012

This market does not know how to slow down. It gapped down this morning but rallied it's way back up to its highs. I'm happy that the bulls are confident and as much as I want a pullback, they don't care what I think.

The market is extended but how can we still make money?

You just have to adjust your strategy. This means when you buy a stock, you have to take profits quickly. If we were not extended for example, you can let your winners run but that's not the case at the moment.

I have plenty of stock setting up nicely so that usually means that we are moving higher soon.. I still would prefer a pullback but you have to play what the market gives you.
 
So what is my plan for tomorrow?

I have 9 stocks that I will be watching.. I don't do any intraday scans because it's important for me to do my homework the day before and not be looking for stocks during the day.

I have several strategies that I look for and if any of my stocks trigger tomorrow then I will buy. As you can see, I'm bullish..

When the market opens tomorrow and none of my stocks set up nicely or the market is crap then I won't buy. Simple as that.

The biggest problem for a lot of traders is over trading.. They get too excited and just want to make money so badly that they buy for the sake of buying. If you can relate to what I'm saying and are still over trading, then you have to take a week off right now and evaluate yourself.

I guarantee you will lose all your money if you over trade. Anyway, see you after the market closes..
 
Today was another digestion for the market. I was hoping for a move higher but it didn't happen. Now that we've had 5 consolidation days, it's time for the market to move up. Hopefully, it happens tomorrow.

What are some attributes you need to be successful in trading?

I'm going to talk about Patience. It is so important to be patient when trading. A lot of times, you want to enter into a trade because your bored or want to make money right away. In fact, what will happen is the opposite and you will lose money because you did not wait for the nice set-up.

This is not easy to do. Up to now, I still have problems with this. All you can do is learn from your mistakes and try to be more patient the next time you trade.
 
Real Time update:

I'ts 8:40 est. and yesterday I said I wanted the market to move higher. Unfortunately, instead of moving higher, we are gapping higher.

A gap up isn't necessarily a bad thing on a bull market but you just have to be more careful.
 
Real Time Update:

It's 11:30 est.

Guess what happened today?

We gapped up and it was faded. This is why i don't like gap ups. Be patient today. The market looks like it wants to go up but it very hesitant so be careful.. Today is not a trending day.
 
Today was a tough one for me as the bull traders just did not want to participate. Let's go over the market.

1. SNP 500 - gapped up and pulled back today.. Still looks good but NOW it has to go up. It can't keep on consolidating or it will go down pretty hard.

2. Russell 2000 - It was very weak today so its gotta smarten up or it will fall..

3. Finanacials - Hugging around 15 once again.. What usually happens is it either breaks out away from 15 or breaks down..

4. Oil Sector and Semis were both very weak today.

5. Commodities - very weak as well

As you can see, I've lost my bullish tone.. A lot of stocks were hurt today and tomorrow will be important. Will the market hold their ground and bring us up and keep the bulls alive or will it break down and give confidence to the bears.

I'm rooting for the bulls but if we trend lower tomorrow, be careful going long..
 
Real Time Update:

It's 10:30 est.

It's boring!!! Nothing is happening. I bet the market will be at this range throughout the day. I have no conviction to go long or short. I suggest you just sit down today and not be buying things.
 
Starting tomorrow, I will be posting all of my trades real time. I will explain the reason for my entry and the reason for my stops.

Bulls held their ground today and hopefully, we get a follow through tomorrow.
 
My purpose for writing in this forum is to help people strive for their best in day-trading. I'm accountable for all the trades I will post here so if you guys have any questions, feel free to write back.
 
Real Time Update:

12:30 est.

I'm sorry.. I didn't know it would be difficult to post trades real time as I needed to focus on my entries and stops. I'll try if I can but I can't promise anything.

Like I said yesterday, the bulls held their ground and indeed followed through today. This was the time to have bought some stocks.
 
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