NoDoji's Day Trading Log

+ $56

Offered 27.50 STEC on open, missed by .12 cents, then it bounced hard just below 27.00 and I pulled the offer to wait for further action.

Offered 28.04 STEC on run up, figuring momentum would take it through that level then pull back. It hit 28.00 on the nose and dropped quickly. Should have chased…

Short STEC @ 27.88, via a sell stop below the LOD which was about to be tested for the 2nd time after a series of lower highs, covered on pivot bounce @ 27.73 for +$28.

Short STEC 26.93 pullback from lower high, covered @ 26.78 for +$28.

Paper traded ES (+9.5 pts):

Long 894.00 after pivot low left a hammer behind. Sold @ 901.00 on pullback from lower high for 7 pts.

Reverse to short @ 901.00 because of pullback from lower high. At oversold pivot, moved stop to 898.75, hit for 2.25 pts.

Short 899.00, pullback from near term double top, cover @ 896.75, pivot off oversold for 2.25 pts.

Short 900.25, pullback from lower high on the day. Stop hit late in the day @ 902.25 for -2 pts

 

Had a few limit offers missed and didn't chase.

Swing short on CL @ 73.29.

 

did not see you P/L, you must have damn great day, the index shoot nicely 3.0+%, ES shoot almost 30 points

 

I've done very little trading lately and a lot of dedicated study, especially of trend following, using the swings from overbought to oversold (or between S/R levels as the case may be) on the daily charts.

I've spent a huge amount of time paper trading ES and watching its price action in general. Trader_David, yes, some fantastic moves lately!

Over the past couple months I've learned a lot about the power of trends and trend lines, the 20-period moving average and price channel, and I've been working on a set of trading strategies that utilize this knowledge. My husband is just finishing up work on a scanner that signals trade entry points based on these strategies and I look forward to using it with 2 or 3 stocks that have a solid daily range, while shifting my main focus to trading ES.

I've read in many places the importance of writing up a business plan and by doing so it will force me to quantify and make concrete my trading strategies, risk management rules and income goals.

The largest hurdle I now face is trust in my analysis of trade setups. Both trend-following and counter-trend trades can be extremely profitable. I see familiar patterns that signal breakouts or breakdowns from previous highs or lows, yet I don't take the trade because I still seem unable to shake the perception that price is "too high" or "too low" to move further before reversing.

 

I said it many times, do not try to theorize something. trend lines or so called trends or resistance or support, actually when you go through most charts, there exist none of them.
you need learn to gauge people's expectation or fear before news, then you will leap a big step.

think in your mind, suppose google try to aciqure yahoo, did you see support or resistance, no. if google is said to have financial accounting cheating, what good'price go? maybe drop 200 points in matter of second, still no resistance

when you have some theories in your mind, what you will do is: try to fit your theory into the real market, this will cause big trouble, for example, since yopu have "too high" /"too low" idea, you could not jump into the order flow like today: a big day. the key in trading is listen to the market inner voice "fear, expectation, ...", then do that voice said to you.


there is no "price too high" or "price too low".I did not trade Es today, I trade sweet crude. I got data feeding issue in nymax crude today, did not do much trading on crude, but still made decent profit.

 

Nod,

Good idea, work on the game plan. narrow those signals down to a few from the possible hundreds out there in "vendor-wonderland".

Neighbor bought a trading book and we have been going through it. It is about price action, some of it is about price action also, and there are also some price action stuff in there.

This guy is your cup of tea, he uses candlesticks only in the book, he trades mainly ES and says his chart is bare bones 5 minute with a 20 period moving average and thats it. No volume, no fuss no muss just pure price action. Did i mention the book is about price action?

I will not rewrite his book to you but i will just say 1 item he states...............the 5 minute is the BEST for daytrading and NOT a 1 minute chart because there are to many signals on a 1 m chart. Myself i have not bought a trading book in a long time, but i did look at this book and so far i would reccommend it.

This book is for someone that gets down and dirty into the nitty gritty of price action either for range or intraday trends. I am not a fan of scalping as you know.

I have not really gotten into the book as she reviews it a lot, but later i will give a better synopsis of its worth or not. As it stands now.............you would not waste about 50 bucks buying it.

I have always said to understand the larger moves intraday you first need to develope what not to trade and wait for the good stuff.

Keep up the good work.............sometimes backing up and taking a breather does wonders.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Reading-Price-Charts-Bar-by-Bar/Al-Brooks/e/9780470443958

 

I'm using 5 min candle chart with 20-period MA as well. Looked at all kinds of stuff and it all boiled down to this pure simplicity.

 

Hey NOD

To start – Thank You for the kind words in that other post about serenity Ma’am



And to expand on serenity a bit – A few rhetorical questions

Do you like yourself?
Do you love yourself?
Do you trust yourself?

Then time to become detached from the trade and trade it – You "WILL" exit if it doesn’t work…. For the above reasons Ma’am… (If you truthfully answered yes to them all)


BTW – IM “very” HO – A detached state is what you’re searching for… not trust in a particular set up…

On some trades – you’ll do everything perfect, the setup will be there – you’ll take it… and the flipping thing fails…. It’s just the way it works…..

(so how much trust can you, I, or anyone really place in any given set up… we must trust our self above all else – to always do the right thing - for us)


Truly trust yourself… trust you’ll always do the right thing – for you – for your trading account…. And everything else will work itself out

or

Stated another way – Trust yourself completely, become detached – serenity soon follows…..


Another comment about becoming detached – just like the market, a stock’s price just is… neither good or bad, helpful, or hurtful, high or low, long or short…..

It is just - what it is… at that moment in time.

We trade what we see, trade what price is doing, and exit when appropriate…. Win/ Lose or Draw...

And - We let others worry about the whys and why nots……..



And to think some have the audacity to say trading is not about psychology – go figure….

(aside to anyone who reads this…. This is NOD’s Journal – If you have an issue with my last statement – feel free to call me out on it somewhere else – just not here please)





And yes Ma’am – I believe a trading plan is important – solidifies “in concrete” what you’re doing…. when you do it… and why.

Also provides a solid (definable/ measureable) base to work from, and precisely modify when appropriate...


Just some Food for Thought from a dumb ole redneck Ma’am


Take Care

RN

 

Been enjoying Nods journal for some time. For a fellow noob really a good example of a calm, systematic and quite disciplined trading journey, as opposed to mine.

Thanks RN for ur insightful posts.
To the questions above I would propose to add the question:
Do you trust your rules/system?

At least for me complete trust in the rules/system can help me become detached and indiffirent to the outcome because deep inside I know it will work out. Hoping not to confuse or anything, just proposing it more as a suggestion. Possibly also a small enough bet helps with detachment, unfortunately.

 

RT said:

" BTW – IM “very” HO – A detached state is what you’re searching for… not trust in a particular set up…

On some trades – you’ll do everything perfect, the setup will be there – you’ll take it… and the flipping thing fails…. It’s just the way it works…..

(so how much trust can you, I, or anyone really place in any given set up… we must trust our self above all else – to always do the right thing - for us) "

Redneck, In a game of chance, in a game of probability, when gambling (which trading really is) we MUST first have trust in the setup in as you say a particular setup. Without trust in a setup based on the odds we have assigned to any particular setup what else could we base a trade on?

Once the trade based on trust is placed and filled then and only then will the trader be "ATTACHED" to the trade. As soon as a trade setup is filled the brain sends automatic "RED ALERT" signals to all of the bodies systems to be prepared for the worst.

The easiest part is placing the trade. Once filled, how one controls the trade to its worst loss or highest profit potential is when the fun begins.

Do not take this as debunking your post, just saying as Ronnie Reagan said to the Russian President.

"Trust, but Verify was a signature phrase of Ronald Reagan. He used it in public, although he was not the first person known to use it. When Reagan used this phrase, he was usually discussing relations with the Soviet Union and he almost always presented it as a translation of the Russian proverb "doveryai, no proveryai" (Russian: Äîâåðÿé, íî ïðîâåðÿé) - Trust, but Verify. At the signing of the INF Treaty he used it again and his counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev responded: "You repeat that at every meeting," to which Reagan answered "I like it."[1]"

PS: I married a gal once that said she would love me forever. then when we split as a joke i said to her: I thought you said you would love me forever. She said: I lied!!!! Same for trading a thin line between winning and losing.