SPAB- Jan Gains Gone

*sigh* I don't know if I can really do this. I just lost all my Jan gains in 2 days. I know what my problem was, way too big of a position size.

 

SPAB opened at 1.90 and I jumped in at 2.00 The bid and ask were pretty damn wide and so the offer hit 2.24 and I had more in my account to cover my last 2 days losses and then some. But, that all quickly went away and it made since because the daily pivot point was right at 2.25 It hit the price twice and basically fell.

 

Freakin' market orders...I put in limit orders on the way down but nothing was getting filled so I said screw it and started putting in market orders and got filled at absolute horrible prices. On top of that I kept getting partial fills so I was charged a huge amount of commission just to get out.

 

I'm at a point where I feel like saying fuck it and just getting some job to work at for the rest of my life.

 

Well.. it's not that bad I guess. I'm still technically up 2% for the year so it's not like I blew out my account or anything. But all that work I put into Jan and now it's completely gone. My self control got tested, twice, and I failed both tests. I guess this is why I'm still a rookie.

 

CTUM- I think I'm going to cry

Where do I begin. I picked CTUM last night for a possible run in the AM. It moved extremely slowly so I moved on and decided not to trade it.

 

I come back later and it's up 22% I buy some shares at 1.50 when I see it spike. Well, It falls all the way down and what do I do? I get out at the bottom and sell all my shares at 1.63 I lost a gigantic amount of money on this trade. I don't know. I'm pissed but more in shock right now.

 

I'm starting to fall apart a little emotionally. I was up 12% for Jan as a whole and now my account is down to 8% as a whole. Biggest loss of my life.

 

For some reason I don't feel too worried, maybe it's denial or maybe it's because I know I can get it back. I just need to take some time and get my head on straight.

 

VSCI- Hit a Snag

Only stock that started to move nicely in my watch list. Retrospect it looks like I got in pretty close to the end of the upward move with an entry of 3.75

 

Next candle had me a bit worried because there was a lot of volume coming up but the stock wasn't making any new highs. It stopped dead in it's tracks at 3.75 and didn't want to budge anymore. The 3rd candle is when I decided to get out. Reason being is because what it showed me is my exit strategy. My exit strategy is when the bottom of the most recent candle starts to run away from my 7 EMA tells me it's a good time to get out. I decided to get out at 3.65

 

The gap between the bottom of the candle and the moving average seems to create a vacuum and the price want's to fall back down to fill that gap (touch the EMA) before it'll take off again, or fall lower.

 

I didn't think twice about selling when my exit strategy was shown to me. I felt extremely calm when I sold even though I took a bigger loss than average. Looking back at the chart it seems to be slightly rebounding off that EMA. Seems fairly obvious now the volume was extremely light on the selling part of the chart and volume is heavily picking up on the buying side. What's done is done.

 

ORCT- Back and Forth

Had a loss today. Basically jumped the gun, got all excited, I don't know about what but I felt excited for some reason. I didn't pay attention to any of my indicators except what stocks I was watching. Got in at the top, and then got out at the bottom. Fell below my bail out point and I had to get out.

 

Got in at 6.57. Used a market order and the bid jumped right as I sent it, lmao. Got out at 6.42 I cut my position size smaller than I usually do because I didn't feel too good about the stocks I was watching. That was my first clue that, "hey, maybe you shouldn't trade this". But no, I went out chased rabbits. Why is this so hard to do! haha

 

 

Thoughts on Not Trading

Not trading on days that are bad for your strategy or not trading stocks that don't work how strategy defines them is very hard to do. If one can master that idea and execute that idea without hesitation, you've just found the holy grail of trading. By only trading on good days and/or good stocks that are defined by your strategy and at the same time cut on any losses that might result from a winner, you'll be profitable. You cut your potential winners when they turn out be to losers.

 

I've been cutting losers that turn into losers. I'd trade stocks that aren't apart of my strategy, for some reason thinking they'd be winners, and I'd have to cut them. Yeah it's good I'm cutting my losses but I'm screwed before I even get in the trade because the stock is a loser.

 

When people say, cut your losses. I think it needs to be explained a little more. The idea of cutting losses is key to becoming a trader, but don't trade losers and then be forced to cut it. If you always trade potential winners based on your strategy, your odds of success are boosted extremely. Sure, you won't be hitting 100% winners but that fact that you're trading all potential winners is great. This is when cutting your losers helps a lot. You're already trading all winners, and hey, a potential winner comes a long and turns to a loser, cut it and wait for the next winner.

 

This might sound so elementary or so simple but it's like I'm getting a little light bulb turned on in my head and I'm truly starting to understand WHY these people always say these things. It's different when you read it for the first time and try and do it, but when you finally begin to understand the meaning backed behind these ideas, it's like you can see behind the smoke and mirrors.

 

Today I traded a loser and had to cut my loser. That's what I'm pissed about. I don't care if I trade a winner and it turns into a loser, that I'm ok with. I have a post on my blog about 4 different kinds of trades.

 

-Winners

-Losers

-Good trades

-Bad Trades

 

Winners and Losers will always happen. But good trades and bad trades are totally different. I'm working on having Winners and Losers come from only Good Trades. A Good trade is one where you execute your plan perfectly, you trade a good setup, you wait for the wounded rabbit instead of running in the fields tiring yourself out chasing everything you see. A bad trade is one where you are chasing rabbits, you don't trade stocks based on your strategy, you're ignoring your strategy. Now, getting a winner from a bad trade is horrible because it'll only reinforce that a bad trade could work.

 

Good trade can come from not even trading at all. By waiting on the sidelines when your strategy says, "hey, there's nothing here for you, move along", you've just saved yourself from making a Bad trade that will probably result in lost cash. This is an idea I'm trying to grasp and I believe I have grasped it, but executing that idea is the next step. Truly not trading on days that are bad for you. If I can do that, I'll be another step closer to ending the week profitable.

MTTG- So Stupid

Man, it's hard sitting on the sidelines wanting to trade something. I feel I still have some addictive traits left in me. I still want to chase those damn rabbits.

 

MTTG was something I was looking at for a trade at the open. Which it started to move like I wanted at the open but I never got in. I was putting in limit orders as it started to run but none of them got filled. So, I put in a market order, I knew it was so stupid. I guess I just wanted to buy something. I got in at .95 cents and set a stop at .91 cents. It fell to .92 and I got filled? I never saw it hit .91 it had to of been a glitch or whatever, something happened behind the scenes but I got filled at.91 cents and now I'm out for a nice sized loss.

 

I don't know..I mean, I know I shouldn't of traded, I know the market order on a penny stock is retarded I just hate sitting on the sidelines waiting for the things to be in my favor. I was hesitate to close out the chart when I decided not to trade it but I still kept looking at it. If I could just tell someone I won't trade and then have them force me to do it. That'd be great, haha. Self discipline is so damn hard. But hey, I'm a rookie when it comes to not doing things I know I shouldn't. Still working on that. I'm improving a lot I just need to get it down in stone.

 

LCRD- Took a Hit

Kind of funny how it happened. Lat night when I was going over some charts, initially, I didn't see anything I liked so I left but I had this nagging feeling like I needed to go back to make sure there wasn't anything I was missing. I went over all kinds of charts again and sure enough, somehow found what I thought was a winner in a pile of stocks I deemed losers a few hours before.

 

I went out looking for the winner, and I found one whether it was one or not. My emotions got the best of me on this one. I got in on LCRD at 12.40 saw the weird crazy candles after and really didn't like the way it was acting and I got out at 12.17 just in time before a nice decline came.

 

This trade is more than just a loser, it's a pure, rookie and emotionally charged mistake. I shouldn't of traded at all last night and I knew it too, I walked away, came back and forced myself to find a winner and lost.

 

DON'T FORCE YOURSELF TO TRADE

 

QID- Good and Bad

Went short this morning by buying QID. Market agreed with me and kept declining but I bailed out on the next candle, haha. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I was watching the next candle and saw that it might decline, which it did but it was only one candle and then quickly took off again. It actually hit exactly, my 2% target and then fell.

 

I guess we can sum this one up to, impatience. I've been focusing on my discipline to trade high probably setups which I'll continue to focus on but I also need to focus on being patient. Getting in, setting my stop immediately (immediately is key, I keep it mental sometimes) and just let go.

 

 

 

Took a Giant Hit

I have to get this off my chest because I know this will linger in the back of my mind until I do. I took a huge hit on Thursday. I lost 5 times my average loss. First two trades I got caught on the wrong side of the order flow big time and then the third time I got caught just as the market started to decline at the end of the day. The third one was revenge trading for sure. I wasn't paying attention to anything and saw a stock running and I wanted to jump on. I did, and lost big.

 

I think I needed this though because I've been pretty careless with my trading. But now I have this huge hit which is probably officially my worst loss I'm starting to feel a little more cautious with my selection. I need to wait before diving in right away when I see a possibility instead of seeing the probability. Just be aware of my surroundings (market conditions) before getting in.

 

Also, I need to know when to fold' em. For example, Thursday morning when I sat down I looked around, checked the conditions and even told myself, I probably shouldn't trade today and actually had a...I don't know if you'd call it intuition or instinct or what but I got a flash in my head saying go short and it quickly disappeared and I ignored it. Missing out on a huge decline that day. So, I really need to start trusting myself, pay attention to what I'm telling myself and follow it.

 

Man, this is so much easier said than done. It's like you need a thousand different scenarios running in the back of your head and pick the right scenario when you see certain conditions. Also, I need to realize I'm still going through the learning process. I can't expect to be pro after 6 months of hard trading, learning, and research. I just hope I have enough cash to get me through this phase.

 

Anyway, I feel better now. :)

JRJC Caught Off Guard

Got caught with my pants down on this one. Right after I got in the entire market was selling off because of the Assassination yesterday I'm assuming. Anyway, it fell so hard and fast I didn't have time to put in my stop after I got in and sold out at market level for 24.83 Entry was at 24.50

 

ONXX- Slow

Had a loser today but it was less than 1R because I was moving my stop up slowly as it was gaining in price. Only down side was that I moved my stop right onto a support level and once I got stopped out finally, it rallied right after lol. I need to keep an eye on that.

 

After I got stopped out I wanted to see if I could spot a pattern between what the market conditions are like and my winners. I found that when the VIX is up I usually have more success and when the VIX is down I have some losses. To me, when the VIX is increasing implies that people are afraid of losing money and when the VIX is up implies that people are afraid of missing out on money. The latter is what I'm looking for which is the driving force of my momentum stocks. So I'll be making it a rule now to only trade when the VIX is up at least 2-3% but ideally around 4-5%. I'll see what kind of performance I yield with that new rule.

 

So back to ONXX I got in at 56.97 with my initial stop at 56.25 Once I got in it started to move and pulled back a little but I felt ok with it and let it ride out. Started moving up again and I had a feeling it might reverse right under that resistance level and it did but I still held on because I felt that the buyers were all over this. Plus it wasn't at my 2% target yet. On a side note, I also noticed that support and resistance are so much more effective when the VIX is down. Anyway, it reversed and I let it go all the back down to my stop and got out at 56.50

 

PSS- Failed Pattern

Saw a pattern on PSS that I've made some decent cash on so I took the opportunity and bought in at 18.79 It was making higher lows and then blew through resistance and shot up which I've seen before waited for it to dip and then got in. It struggled to keep the momentum and died just before it fell hard. My stop was at 18.69 but didn't get filled until 18.66 which caused a 1.3R loss. Which isn't too bad but not ideal. Worst case scenario I can handle about 5 2R losses in a row but ideally I want to see them under 1R.

 

Looks to be rallying now that the Q's are starting to take off as well. There's always tomorrow.

 

TPX- Horrible Trade

Oh man, where do I begin. Maybe it's from all the turkey I ate or that I missed a day or what, but I screwed up big time. My entry was fine I got in at 30.04 and I put my stop at 29.80. Now, I have no idea what happened but apparently I canceled my stop order and had no idea because when TPX hit 29.80 I wasn't being sold. I go to check my order status and it says I'm canceled. A few curse words later and I put in a new stop loss at 29.75 and this time I put in a market order to sell not a stop loss. So I immediately sold out at 29.68.

 

1.5R loss because I can't pay attention to what the hell I'm doing. The black line was my initial stop loss but the green line shows where I actually got out.

 

QDEL- Ran Out of Steam

Watched the market conditions for about 20 mins. VIX was up but the Q's seem to be stable and even inching it's way higher as all the short funds I watch were going up, etc. It was weird. I'd say 80% of my watchlist was in the red but I picked out QDEL and liked what I saw, and wanted to get in. I bought in at 18.46. Initially it looked good, I liked what it was doing. Then the Q's started to fall apart and the tick index was going off at -1000 and everything started to collapse, along with QDEL.

 

My initial stop was at 18.20 but I jumped ship when it hit 18.35 and got filled at 18.32. It looks to be stabilizing a little bit now at 18.29 while the Q's make lower lows.

 

I'm happy with this trade. Saw a pattern I liked and I took it. I bailed before it hit bottom which was a wise move as I saved some cash. I'm bummed it didn't work out, but hey, there's always next time and I know I'll make it back.

 

Pay Stopped Out

Went long on a massive wide spread decline. I thought I might be able to duck and run as the bullets were flying by my head. I got in on PAY at 44.81 which is a pretty high price in retrospect. I bought on a huge tall shadow and then it fell big time and slowly made its way to where I got in and then basically declined after that.

 

It was strong at first and then remained strong for about 30 minutes after everything started to decline and then PAY finally broke down and gave in to the wide spread selling and started selling off as well. My initial stop was around 44 but I raised it to 44.20 where I was finally stopped out.

 

CCC- Umm...WTF?

Ok, so I'm looking around for a good trade even though I probably won't find one and I shouldn't be trading anyway. I come across CCC and it showed a patter I've been trading a lot only problem was that I missed the breakout and got in a little late at 12.37

 

I'm sitting here waiting for about an hour for it to do something. I had my stop initially at 12.10 but soon raised it to 12.20 to try and cut some risk. I had a sell order to get rid of 25% of my shares at 12.47 I canceled the order about 10 seconds before it hit 12.47 and I decided to sell my entire position at 12.37 and just get out.

 

lol, I'm a little pissed. I mean, I got in waited and waited for it to show me something as to why I should still be in this trade. I didn't see anything that should keep me in. I sell, and then it shoots up. Oh well.

 

I didn't execute my plan. I got bored and anxious and wanted out. I'm pissed at myself not because I missed out on a nice chunk of cash but like an idiot, I didn't follow my plan. I knew when I wanted to sell for a profit, I knew when I was going to get out if the it goes against me, yet I sold based on my feelings not on my plan and I paid the price.

 

I got in late, and got out early.

 

TWM- Stupid Rally

Went short a little late but I thought the sell off had more juice in it to keep going. Got in on TWM at 71.19 just under resistance but it was looking good. It shot through resistance and turned it into support which was a good sign. It had one more last leg up and peaked and I thought I should unload some shares at this point but I didn't (I was waiting for a 3% gain to unload instead of a 2%, a little aggressive). I was stopped out at 70.40

 

I held on as it was going neutral. I did notice something that told me I should sell. TWM was on a downtrend but was holding support. A clear sign that a breakdown is in the works. What made me hold on was that I heard a tid bit on CNBC and some guy thought we'd be going lower before the close. That's the only thing that kept me in. If I hadn't heard that there's a pretty good chance I would of got out. CNBC is killin me. I like watching it because it's entertaining and I never do what they talk about unless it's the opposite. But this time it just got stuck in my head and bounced around and I wouldn't sell because of that.

 

ERES- Bad Trade

Traded ERES right after CPHD. It was a bad trade. I tried catching the wave and basically got in on the top. I sold out before it hit my stop though. Got in at 9.63 and got out at 9.39 and my stop was at 9.10... Bad trade.

 

 

Traded CPSL

I originally saw CPSL a 9.50 and went to put in an order but I got distracted by someone and then I had problems putting in the order with my broker and by the time I was about to submit the order I missed the first move. Then it broke resistance and it I missed the second move and thought I'd get in even though it could of been too late.

 

I tested the waters with a small amount of shares and increased the amount as it started showing me a profit. It stalled out at the top because some news came out about CPSL reporting a 1% loss in revenue, I think. At that same exact time, the stock basically started stalling out and slowly coming back down. Established new levels and it couldn't break 1.90 so I got out.

 

I feel really good about this trade, even though I lost some cash. I was extremely objective. I could totally tell a difference on how I was acting compared to my last trades. It felt good when I sold the shares. I had this weird, calm, confident, good feeling.

 

Yellow boxes on the left are my entry points as I kept buying on the rise and sold on the right yellow box. Looks like I caught it on it's last legs up.

 

Still working on my impatience problem. But I'll get there.

 

Traded DRYS

Bought DRYS at 117.00 It was touching the lows of the day. It made a double top and fell and I thought it might turn around at the low of the day. I set a stop at 115.90 and got stopped out a few seconds later. It continued to fall which it probably will for a while since it break the lows of the day.

 

It's funny how I've been watching this stock since it was around 85 bucks and the one time I decide to buy it I lose money on it. I'm weird..

 

I was trying to catch a falling knife and I got what I deserved but I felt good about the trade, it just didn't work out. I didn't fully wait for the 3 minute candle to fully develop, I saw a doji at the time and it went bullish but finished negative. I need to fully wait for the candles to develop before making a decision.

 

Green arrow is my entry and red arrow is where I got stopped out.