Friday Log – Chop Suey

This trading day was a plate full of chop suey. Amazing four point range bound market from 1100-1435. Very tough to trade. On days like this it’s best to scalp .50-1.5 points on fades within the range. An anticipated big pop at some point which eventual came.

Two trades all day, one of which was literally all day. First trade was a TC trade based on continuation of chart from yesterday. Short from 36.75 after first pullback to mid-upper KB after EDRP. PO1 hit but was looking for retest of low which would have been PO3. PO 1 & 2 were within 1 point of both targets so in hind sight should have taken both off @ 934.25. Got a little too greedy. Result: +2.0

Second trade was a CO but took from 1048-1500 to transpire. Got in long @ 938.75 but price stalled @ 939 area and fell back. BOT more @ 35.75 with stop above overnight low area as this was a key support area. Based on 5 min chart, set stop one tick below swing low of 934 with first target on half of position set for 940.75, just below PP and eventually hit. Second target was 942.75 and missed by one tick. Weakness on the move came in and with low volume all day, I did not expect much of a move beyond this upper target if at all. Moved stop to 941.25 on remainder of position and exited from the HH by 1.25 pts. Not bad. After that long awaited gift, I closed down the platform and started the weekend early. Result: +15.0

Patience and getting away from the screen was the recipe for surviving the plate of chop suey today. I anticipated an eventual test of CO and PP so it was nice to see the plan come together. Minimal trading next week and minimal posts likely as I’m taking a little time off and stepping away to recharge the batteries. Might even indulge in some Chinese food.

Trade Well !

Thursday Log – Rollover Day

Today was rollover day for the futures and charts adjust automatically. Forgot to adjust my pivots in yesterday’s pre-planning for today’s trading day but caught the oversight prior to open. Drew lines of S & R on the chart which helped identify key levels quickly as opposed to yesterdays missed CO. Will continue this practice.

I started the trading day pre-market with the 0830 eco-report “Hot Box” trade. Worked nicely with short set at 942.75 and long at 928.75. Both were in resistance / support areas and short was 1.75 above overnight HH. Strangely only half my order filled on the spike up. Price was about in the middle on the overnight range five minutes prior to report. The key support and resistance levels as well as being approx 2 points above HH / LL seems to be a good zone. I continue to track. Result: +7.5

Tried to get too cute with trying to take price back up but actually it was a good idea but poor fill area thus my 2.25 stop was hit to the tick before price went up. Needed to be a bit more patient for better fill and/or have 3 point stop in place. -2.25

Played the CO nicely with good targets although could have let PO2 work more to the upside. Price hit resistance in 45 area so tightened stop. A stop @ B/E would have enabled full PO2 potential to work out. Result: +4.5

TC setup on next trade. Good fill at 942.25. Waited for pullback but looked like a lot of momentum was draining out of market. PO1 and 2 were within 1 point and should have taken full position off after 8 ticks realized. Took off one and B/E on 2nd. Result: +2.0

Tried CT trade @ 1128 but was not patient with it and also got in at a poor fill level. Bottom of channel! What was I thinking?! Eventually the trade worked but the poor fill negated any advantage. -3.25

Tried a momentum trade once resistance was broken @ 947-948 area but did not yield much other than realizing a lucky profit on what was more of an emotional entry than anything else. Result: +1.5

Took a CT at 1331 952 HH area after realizing price pattern, it was 2nd push up from +1200 TICK reading on lower volume and SS / ADX divergence. Target was 40% Fib. Only traded ½ of normal position. Result: +3.25

End of day traded late in the afternoon looking for VWAP bounce. Got lucky as longs released early, filled my long @ 45 area and went another 3 pts down before setting my stop. Got out -1.0.

Overall not a bad day. Two TC MO’s after mid-lower KB pullback @ 1405 and 1st MA bounce @ 1445. Interestingly price has closed within the same 938-940 area the last 5 days. Also, watch for the rollover. Other than maybe the 1st hour, it's biz as usual!

Trade Well !

Wednesday Log – Not Great But Better Today

Market opened with an up gap of approx. 11 points. Second candle print set the pace. I had a short waiting to fill @ 51.75 just prior to the bell but missed the fill by two ticks. Waited for first pullback which came at about 1000 and entered short @ 46.25. PO1 hit for two points and let the runner go to just above PP. PO2 hit. I felt very good about this trade due to having a good plan going in and letting the trade work. The market told me what it was doing and traded accordingly. Need to do that more often. Result: +7.75

I missed the 1st TC setup @ about 1036 as I was away from my desk for a few minutes (costly coffee break). Also missed (forgot) about CO level and missed initial move thru it. I will start to draw a line on my chart to indicate CO area beginning tomorrow. On a retest of the CO, I entered short for a quick scalp which was within .75 of the move. Result: 2.5

Another TC setup at approx. 1442 and was at resistance area of intraday trendline and S1. The setup was there but maybe not as clean as it could have been. Price made a HH after previous TC setup in mid-upper band and green trend candle. 1421 time period would have been a better entry for PO1 to be hit. Result: -2.5

Tried a couple more shorts but basically scratched on them. As it turns out the decision to scratch was good although 1 point per C could have been realized. Was also looking for retest of LL area at 927 area which might have setup the CE near the 1535 time area but didn’t setup. Price found its way back to VWAP on 3 min near 1600. Result: +.50

Two MO’s which were both TC setups.@ 1033 and 1218 area. Need to trust the setup. Starting to look for and see the price bar setups and legs discussed in “Price Bars”. The High/Low 1,2 etc are viable areas of entry / exit considerations. Will continue to study.

Trade Well !

Tuesday Log - Work on Risk / Reward

Today was more of the same as far as not letting trades work. Once price could not push through yesterday high, saw short opportunity but got in a bit late and then did not let the trade work. More conviction needed. A three point stop would have worked. Result: +.5

Two other trades were scratches as both would have worked with 3 point stops. Tried a couple of entries with stop limit but seems to work at low of range when going long and high of range when looking short unless a breakout is expected. Result: -1.0

In order to supplement this diary, today I put together a spread sheet to improve tracking my MO & DLTW trades. By tracking these types of trades, the result should be to develop more confidence and conviction with my trades.

Also, thanks to FuturesTrader71 for sharing his risk / reward methodology with me. He is really quite good at calling out various TA observations and how he enters and manages his trades. I found it VERY insightful. Although there is some variation and discretionary management of positions, the following is how he managed a trade in the AM session:

Entry: 942
# C’s PO Size Taken Off B/E
12 940.0 1/6 942.5
10 939.0 1/3 944.5
6 938.25 1/6 948.0
4 936.5 1/6 959.5
2 runner 1/6 964

Obviously there is more leverage when working with more contracts. Pick the best trades and manage the trades properly and the P&L will take care of itself.

Trade Well !

Monday Log – Maybe Let the Trade(s) Work!?

The start of the day I went short and did not let the trade work. Next trade in AM was correct and did not let the trade work. TC setup at about 1030 and did not let the trade work. From there, it was a choppy day with no high probable trades for this traders experience level. Result: -5.50

Continuing to get into trades and not letting them work. Really kills my confidence at times but I do bounce back for the next day. The risk / reward and planning of the trades needs to get better.

End of day, the CE set up with +1400 Tick @ 1521 and lower volume on second push up. Did not get into the trade even though I saw the set up. Probably due to earlier trading results and I usually don’t trade the CE unless I have at least 5 points profit going into the trade.

I need to let the trades work...broken record. Tomorrow is another day.

Trade Well !