Missed the trade i thought about taking and should have taken then went on tilt. Was concerned about shorting a strong open so didn't take the trade. Missing trades has probably led to more bad trades than anything i'd guess. 3 trades - 7.00 pts shutting down platform to avoid any revenge trading. Will go get some excercise and be back at it tomorrow. -7 pisses me off but the reality is i can make that back on 1 decent trade so i'll keep it in perspective as best as possible. I'll also add that the first trade i took was really a stupid trade. Had another chance to short and i went long instead. Must have left my brain at home today.
2 trades +6.50 pts ( -3.00 + 9.50) Pretty much sat on hands after that then went out to lunch. Next step for me is power of NOW and to keep trading after booking , for me , a decent daily point total. Felt a little confused in the morning then i remembered i'm not trying to predict every move, just waiting for me set ups. And they came. Charts available on request 1 minute, 3 minute and 500 volume
2 trades; - 3.75 pts Made a mistake in stop placement which is really inexcusable at this point. I figured i would exit before stop was hit anyway so didn't bother to move to where market structure dictated. Price jumped and stopped me out before i closed. Proper stop placement would have allowed a profitable trade or a smaller loss if i did decide to exit. oh well. Lesson learned. The 'easy' money was on the long side but i was very hesitant given weak ES YM and adv/dec numbers. NQ just kept grinding up in a perfect breakout pullback manner. I recognized trades but had the 'too high' mentality so just waited. Besides the stop placement error there was a failure to re enter after the stop that i should have taken. For the most part i still feel i'm making progress in the right direction. Keeping notes on what i should be focusing on and getting better at being objective. Now it's time to start making some $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ !!
2 short trades -2.75 points Good entry on first , fair entry on second. Good trade management today. If i did anything wrong today it was failure to take another short set up. And i suppose not recognizing the bull trend earlier in the day. The progress is subtle; not chasing, seeing better entries ( but not quite trusting myself to take them) and better focus in the trades. It's a fine line between pushing myself to the next level and being impatient in trade selection.
3 Trades -.75, -1.00, +4.75 net +3.00 points too much of a short bias perhaps. no doubt influenced by the negative adv/dec numbers. no real mistakes overall. continuing to focus on quick entry when signal occurs and trying to stay calm and objective in my trade management. passed on a couple entries due to indecision but didn't chase when price moved in the expected direction so i see that as a positive. As long as i can keep my head above water and pick up a few points a day then i feel it's just a matter of time until the bigger days start to roll in.
Where do i start ? +5.25 points today. The positives: traded my first 2 trades quite well. not perfect but well. On past large down, volatile days i likely would have lost money. After recognizing my first trade was wrong i exited and reversed within 15 seconds. I showed good patience MOST of the day in not chasing. Negatives: Patience ran out near end of day and i sold a low. -3.00 points bringing my +8.25 total down. I should have been more aggressive in selling the early trend breakouts given the bias today. My don't chase attitude instilled in me kept my out too much. Lost some focus in the afternoon- need to take better breaks during chop and review set ups. I was being too cautious in trade selection after being up +8.25 which then led to impatience. Looks like a alot of mental issues. Recognize the problem then solve it. Feeling better now. About threw my mouse through the wall after I chased that last trade for a loss. chart of first 2 trades . very pleased with both entries.
We've all heard that trading is mostly mental and i've frequently thought bullshit. Give me a setup and the mental part will be easy. Finding the set ups is the hard part. Today i think i get it. It's more mental than i realized. My 'set ups' are price patterns and my ability to read the market. When i'm focused and patient that's the edge that lets me find and manage good trades. The mental part is realizing when i'm tired, unfocused or impatient. Trying too hard to find trades is mental, getting discouraged after a bad trade, and by bad i mean forced, is a mental issue. Getting discouraged because i miss a trade is mental. These are some of the issues i had today. I felt rested today but the focus wasn't quite there. i think it might have been the breakfast of donuts. I'm done doing that. First trade was a bad read. Trying too hard. Then second trade i forced and entered when my basic rules, experience and setups dictate not to. It was a 'hope' trade. Maybe a revenge trade. Third trade i closed too soon that would have made up for the first two losses. Mentally beat i didn't have the heart to try any more of the afternoon sell setups. I don't believe in static setups but in setups within market context. Until i'm proven wrong on that belief i will be working on calm focus and patience. I'll still continue to refine and increase my market reading skills but having the proper mental state gets more attention now. -7.75 today.
Trading is 100% mental game. Markets are random and are not affected by out thoughts/hope or emotions. Thats the beauty of trading. Its alwasy that you are wrong and after knowing you are wrong - only recourse is to correct your self. GL