Keep Calm and Don't Move Your Stops.....

A little risk management saves a lot of fan cleaning!

The Purpose of Life is Joy!!

Monday, September 30, 2019

Piss Poor Performance

So I'm home for lunch and took at look at my earlier ideas in light of how things played out.

As you can see, it didn't work so well today. Some poor reads AFTER my original idea to get filled around 55.60 failed and went down without me.

I tried to be long back to that level and that worked but again without me after a BE stop out.

Then later on, it tagged those areas and reversed down per my original idea but of course I was long gone and had not left an order in.

Overall, a reasonably good read on both the shorts and the longs but ended the day down 1 stop out after trying to be short in the noise before the cash open.




Friday, September 27, 2019

Another early day

Once again another day done early.

This trade set up on the 5M chart and the daily. My original premise was all this support lost and a gap fill trade. I was right on both but executed rather poorly on the gap fill piece of it.

I got the trade on and figured I had plenty of time to get figure out exactly where I wanted my targets but the darn thing went so fast that I barely  had time to adjust my preset target a bit before it just kept  pushing down.

Then the price just stopped mid air for no reason and started putting in what looked like a potential V bottom and I got nervous and bailed out, just as price just collapsed from 55.40 all the way down to my original target of 55.00. I left another 40 ticks on the table. Had I walked away today would have been an outlier for me. Oh well. Time for the weekend.


Thursday, September 26, 2019

Out Early

On the days I trade, I like it when I am done really early and today is a perfect example of this.

While the set up wasn't the best in my opinion, the conditions for a trade were all met. Because I was getting in pretty late after the short leg had started, I was very aggressive in moving to BE once it got started in my direction as I think there was a 50/50 chance of reversal long before continuing a short.

But it worked out pretty quick and I got 30+ ticks in just a few minutes. I know there is more but I only need one trade a day like this and I am a happy camper.

I should add that this trade was found on the 30M chart but executed on the 610 tick time frame.

Weather is great here, time for coffee and meditation here in my man cave with the roll up door up and the crickets signing.

Cheers.


Thursday, September 19, 2019

Right but still wrong

Did a stupid thing today.

Couldn't sleep last night, something I ate because my stomach made all sorts of unpleasent sounds all night long. After watching about 20-30 you tube videos, I decided to see what the market was doing.

I was long and tried to sleep while it was in progress but ended up not sleeping at all so got up to see it had went in my favor and then scratched out. I had a break even stop on it so I could sleep peacefully.

Then I finally got to sleep around 3:15ish and got up at 6AM. Made some coffee and decided to see what else I could find.

Turns out a nice trade area but I was so sleep deprived I should not have been making money decisions in that state. It worked but it was still the wrong thing to do.

Another thing that happened today was fear. I have been making new equity highs all week and I know it has been happening but this morning, I started thinking about it and I started to fear I would lose. I was able to suppress that fear and still trade well but that was a fear I have not felt in a long time.

I have decided to take a few days off and let the success this week settle in and let me get over new equity highs.


Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Sill short

Still a long way to go to close the gap from Monday but I think it might take a few more days and therefore I take my 30-40 ticks and be done for the day.

Today was pretty easy. Just sell the untested level, make sure my exit point is within reason and my bail out point isnt to far away just in case and go.

I was watching on all time frames but it was most obvious on the 1M chart which is where I took the trade and then monitored it on the 5M chart. It didnt need much monitoring as it went straight down from my entry point. That is the way I like a trade to work, quick and easy.

The weather is finally turning nice here and I am sitting outside trading on my iPad and drinking a lovely cup of coffee. Time for some meditation and then off to the "real" job!

Cheers.


Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Short bias

I'm still short biased, so took one with the smallest risk I could find and it paid almost instantly. I think it has room to run a bit but there is significant support in the 61.58 area. Its where the gap open occurred and price has been there twice already so until that breaks, shorts for guys like me need to exit before that level and today, I choose what I call an inside swing level on the 5M chart to exit.  Good for 40ish ticks.


Monday, September 16, 2019

Discretion today.

Got up, saw a nice short opportunity, got in, was up 15-20 ticks then saw the $10 gap up, knew I was on the wrong side and bailed out with 10-15 ticks and walked away. I figured it might be pretty volatile today but in all honesty, it was just buy and hold but I was on the wrong side of that and I knew I wasn’t gonna shake the sell side bias.

Tiny money today but better than fighting a trend all day.!

Friday, September 13, 2019

One and done

Yesterday, 3 and out. Today, 1 and done.

I couldnt see bigger targets but 30 ticks is enough for me. Should have added but entry point was further along in the trend on the shorter time frames than I liked for added risk so left it alone.

I traded every day this week, one loser day and 4 winning days. A new equity high for me I think and going into the weekend on a high note. Roll over next week so probably wont trade that day at all. Maybe not at all until the volume is clearly higher on the new contract.

Time to go. The weather is beautiful here in sunny AZ so time to enjoy it. Its been a super humid summer which we are not used to so having the dry cool mornings right now is such a wonderful thing. I'm back to trading outside again with my laptop and my iPad. I have to say its my favorite way to trade!


Thursday, September 12, 2019

3 and out

Twice at the first level and once at the second one. All stops....and I ran out of time and ideas.



Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Another quick hit

I like shorts and I cannot lie!

Seriously, it does seem like I am better to the short side but my intention is to just follow the momentum based on how price is moving. Thats what I did today. 

I realize that many times I am short and the overall trend is up but I trade smaller time frames and I am ok with being counter trend as long as my time frame is short. Other times I recognize the over all trend is long and I am long. Those are the moments when I want to be large and hold longer if possible. Slowly starting to realize the difference. Sheesh.

I think price will end up in the 57.30 area today but I am done for the day. Lots to do.


Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Quick hit

I wanted to be long today but couldn't really build a case. Turns out there was one but I couldn't see it. But there was a case for a short off a daily high double top after a long run up and that felt good to me even though it is counter trend on the higher time frames.

In these situations, best to be quick and both in and out.

A quick 30 tick hit short and flip long for another 10 or so ticks and time to hit the showers and get ready for the "real" job.

Short in the red, out at the green. Back in at the green because by now I had a clearer picture of where the longs were but no real longer term exit in mind. Only in it for ten as it was just a scalp. There was more of course, but I couldn't see it and it was at the open as well.



Thursday, September 5, 2019

No stops

Well after all this time, I finally decided to stop using stops.....or at least a tight one. Things work so much better if you allow the trade room to breath. To be fair, I still have a disaster stop but its so big it feels like no stop.

Its only been a few days and I'm a bit jumpy with it and that bit me in the ass today but overall it is very freeing.

Lets see how it plays out going forward.