Friday Log - Plan

Missed the primary trade and did not chase it even though price went thru yesterday close set-up. 1000 eco report loomed and did not want to get caught. After that it felt like I would be chasing and did not get a feel for the price action although I "saw" a nice combo I had in my head play out.

Spent the next couple hours working on my new planning tool and will continue off and on over weekend. Have a relaxing weekend all.

Trade Well !

Wednesday & Thursday Log - Combo Post

Failed to enter Wednesday post and trades so combining with the Thursday post. Wednesday I played the open/close set-up that worked well. Once price tested the prior day close around 89, I entered long on the slight pullback and scaled out in 91's and 93's. Result: +6.0

Scalped a couple other trades over lunch for small gains after feeling the rotation prior to the Beige book. result: +2.25

Thursday no trades made. Working on a new planning tool for me to use in preparation of each trading session. Combining EWS system, key price levels, etc. I currently use a daily worksheet as part of my routine. As with the EWS spreadsheet, my worksheet helps me map out the ES, identify key levels of interest and awareness of scheduled economic reports, major earnings announcements, etc. It is an evolving document as I tweak the layout and information while also making it more automated.

Planning minimal trades on Friday. Probably only the primary AM trade if any.

Trade Well !

Tuesday Log - Recovery Mode

First worked a long shortly after the open from the 1/2 gap. Quickly stopped out. Once stopped out near yesterday close I failed to turn my trade opinion around fast enough and work the close/open set-up which would have been short from 1090.5. Result: -4.0

Had to wait for the next set-up(s) and chip away to recover early loss. Scalp mode entered long near reversal time of 1020 and second leg bounce. result: +5.0

Got in short too early prior to lunch session after doji formed. Enter low 85's with 1/2 position and stop in 84's. Result: -2.5

Chipped away off and on in late afternoon session buying off of 83 and 84 bottom and scaling out 86's and 87's. Result: + 5.0

Closed the day with a late day long expecting shorts to release and capture profits. Entered long on 1/2 position in low 87's with 1 pt stop in 86's. Scaled out 88.75 and 99's. Result: +3.5

Still need to work on patience for edge set-ups. They are there most every trading day and occur after 1-2 re-tests of bottom/top. Also, watching the VPOC relationship with these edges which after two days is providig some clues. Combining EWS combo and FT71 VPOC areas helped me have a successful recovery mode today.

Another thing I need to re-visit is not being too anxious to trade within the first 10-15 minutes. I want to play for the gap trades but my timing is off.

Trade Well !

Monday Log - Let The Trade Work

Waited for market to settle a bit after open looking for short side. Took a good fill in 87's near opening high area. 1st target was 85's and second target was 83's. Target one hit and moved stop to breakeven. Ended up closing trade prior to T2 ultimately being hit. Did not let trade work to full potential. Result: +3.50

Failed to pull trigger on reversal around 1015 time frame and 84-85 area. Thinking combo's but did not execute plan knowing 82-83 area was good support zone. Felt the market fairly well but did not let 1st trade work and did not "listen" to intuition on reversal idea. I continue to be aware of my problem letting these trades work and revising rules to reflect the issue.

Trade Well!

War - Low Rider

Trading is a war. We win the battle by staying low, ride the wave of patience and strike when the odds of success are bouncing with us.

Friday Log - Better Fills With Patience

Opened the session going long from 82's looking for 1/2 gap fill. Consumer Sentiment report out at 1000 so needed to be nimble. First target was 84's but tightened stop prior to price moving 2 points short of 1/2 gap. Result: +1.0

Was frustrated with myself for tightening stop as I was pressing just to get a winner in the bag. Had idea to go short from 85-86's but could not pull the trigger, eco report announced and priced dropped without my idea onboard and would not chase it. So missed the prime move into anticipated T1 area of 81-80's.

Waited for one last set-up near lunch time and looked for combo set-up and 50% retrace short. Did not want to get into the late short arena so waited for 82.25 short fill that hit about 1120. Scaled out at 81, 80's and runner for 76's to complete a 10 and 20 combo. Stopped at break even as I left for the day with trade limits on auto pilot. Result: +3.0

One thing I thought of re-focusing on is working on my patience and getting better fills along with better identified risk management. Stops have been too thin, entries have been sporadic at times due to impatience to trade "something". Gotta remind myself that it's quality and not quantity of trades. If I get good entries, I'm more apt to let a trade work, identify the risk more sensibly and relax more.

Trade Well !

Thursday Log - Missed the Move

Felt I had a good afternoon fill in 1086 and planned out the trade to scale out. First target was the previous high in 88's, then 89's (2 points above previous day close) and have a runner for test of high in 90-91 area. Got the 88, scaled out, adjusted stop to not break even which I should have done but set stop at 1086.5...which was stopped out by a tick before price ran up to anticipated targets. Result: +3.0

Missing trades, not letting them work, pressing too much for a "winner" only to not give myself a chance. Not sure what has happened to my pysche. One week things clicking, next week the inconsistency shows its head. Will continue to sort thru and re-evaluate.

I am printing charts and reviewing the combo moves in relation to chart patterns and flow. This process is frustrating but yet rewarding. What a business. Not expecting to trade past first hour or two on Friday due to possible expiry volatility in afternoon session.

Trade Well !