Trade Report 22 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 23, 2018
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Swing Trades

I framed only one trade for possible execution today: adding a second position to PFE. It was filled shortly after the open. I have had several other projects taking the majority of my time the past few days, so I had no other trades to consider. PFE was framed because it is a current holding and looked ripe for a possible second position.

Two trades hit their stop losses today: CAT and SLB. Net return for the two trades: +2.33R.

This leaves the swing portfolio with 17 positions showing +.8R.
Long: AA(2), CBOE, CSCO, DIS, EWI(2), GILD, HD, IR, KR, MSFT, PFE(2), WYNN(2), XME.
Short: none.

Reflections

I have had no time to day trade this week. I expect to get a few peeks at what is going on during the next two days while the market is open, but will need to rely upon my stops to lock in profits and minimize losses. The market classification system I am currently studying encourages a cautious approach at this time, so I may have missed my opportunity to lock in profits on some of the positions today as they went against me.

It’s ok not to trade

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 21, 2018
Posted in: Trades, Trading Beliefs. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

Starting first with the trade report for 21 May 2018. I framed no trades for possible entry today, though two positions did hit their stop losses: SKT and STZ.

Both initially moved in my favor, so I moved the stop closer to the entry, but they eventually moved against me, so were closed out today for losses. Total result for the two trades: -.86R

This leaves the swing portfolio with 18 positions showing +4.69R.
Long: AA(2), CAT, CBOE, CSCO, DIS, EWI(2), GILD, HD, IR, KR, MSFT, PFE, SLB, WYNN(2), XME.
Short: none.

Reflections

Because I hadn’t framed any trades, and I wasn’t sure there would be any that closed, I intended to write today about my belief that it is ok not to trade. I’m not sure it is a solid belief yet, but rather one I am still working on adding to my belief system.

What this means to me:

As an individual investor, I have no mandate to have my money in the market. I can be in cash, bonds, stocks, futures, currencies, any number of investment vehicles completely at my discretion. There is no prospectus indicating I must always be invested, preventing me from going short, or keeping me from using leverage. There are other beliefs or parts of me that are definitely interested in being in the market, and I certainly know that if I am going to generate any returns from trading, I must make trades. Even so, making trades does not mean I need to do so every day. I can wait for the setups and conditions that I believe will give me an edge.

What this belief gets me into:

It can make it easier to ignore market movements and neglect the daily tasks of trading. It allows me to pick trades that fit the edges I have developed. It could permit me to cherry pick from the trades my systems generate. It provides a sense of ease and loosens the grip on a belief that I need to be in the market.

What this belief gets me out of:

It can keep me out of the market. It can keep me from taking what could be some of the best trades available. It reduces my anxiety around trading and needing to generate results now.

Limitations of this belief:

Taken to the extreme, this would keep me from generating my desired results and achieving financial freedom through trading. It can encourage a less rigorous application of trading practices.

Utility of this belief:

This belief gives me more freedom with y pursuit of trading, lowering my stress, and enables me to focus on process rather than dollar results.

Conclusions:

There are other parts of me that are still not convinced of the absolute truth of this idea. I will need to do some parts exploration to identify and negotiate the difference of viewpoints between the parts interested in being in the market and the drive to succeed and become a successful trader. More will follow as the negotiations are conducted or other parts step into the foreground.

Trade Report 18 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 18, 2018
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Swing Trades

Three trades were framed for today, all channel system trades, so they were all filled at market open. Two stocks hit stop losses and were closed, removing three positions. Total return for the three: -.18R.

Current holding 20 open trades showing +2.14R.
Long: AA(2), CAT, CBOE, CSCO, DIS, EWI(2), GILD, HD, IR, KR, MSFT, PFE, SLB, STZ, WYNN(2), XME.
Short: SKT.

Day Trades

I missed the market open today, but was able to watch for a few select windows of time. The first trade went all the way to +1R, though I missed capturing that by just a couple of points. The other two times I exited when I needed to walk away from the screen. If the trades had been solidly in the green, I might have been willing to put in a trailing stop. Net results for 4 trades; +1.43R.

Reflections

Today seemed to be a back and forth sort of day. I feel fortunate to have caught one of the larger swings on my first trade. It was interesting to notice the possibility of closing trades before they developed as I had hoped. Fridays can sometimes lead to big moves, but this was a quiet one. Knowing the markets I perform worst in are the ones headed into sideways quiet, I was happy to be out of the market most of the time. Follow the process and let the results take care of themselves.

Trade Report 17 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 18, 2018
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Swing Trades

Four trades were framed for today with three receiving fills. Two were channel trades with fills at the open. No trades were closed, leaving 20 open positions:

Long: AA(2), CAT, CBOE, DIS, EWI, GILD, HD, IR, KR, MSFT, PFE, RIO, SLB, STZ, TPR(2), WYNN, XME.
Short: SKT.

Day Trades

No time for watching the market today, so no day trades were made.

Trade Report 16 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 17, 2018
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Swing Trades

There were two channel trades today that were filled at market open. One position hit it’s exit point, OXY:

There are thus 17 open trades in the portfolio now:
Long: AA, CAT, CBOE, DIS, GILD, HD, IR, KR, MSFT, PFE, RIO, SLB, STZ, TPR(2), WYNN.
Short: SKT.

Combined, they show a return of +3.43R

Day Trades

There was no day trade update yesterday because I broke a rule and kept positions on overnight. Here’s how the morning went:

If I had entered my stop losses in the market, they would have been hit during a plunge down later in the day. The wisest move would have been to exit when I walked away from the screen. I was very fortunate that today, the market eventually moved back up and enabled me to bank, not just my daily +1R for today, but for yesterday as well. It was not pretty, and I’m sure part of the reason I held on was because it is a paper trading account.

Reflections

If the point of paper trading is to practice good behavior, then I did not do that yesterday. It is the process of trading that I need to make my focus, not the dollar results. Letting day trades or swing trades become position trades is a common fault that will sink traders. This did not become a trade to sink the account, but it did demonstrate how attached I still am to the results rather than the process. The relatively new +1R target goal for the day may need to be dropped for a return to focusing on the process of trading and generating whatever return happens to come my way.

Trade Report 15 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 16, 2018
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Swing Trades

Today I framed two trades for entry: one long, one short. The short trade triggered, but with the selloff in the general market, the long did not. Nine trades also hit their stop loss, closing out positions in six stocks. The nine positions generated +3.54R. Charts for each follow below.

This leaves 16 open trades.
Long: CAT, CBOE, DIS, GILD, HD, IR, KR, MSFT, OXY, PFE, RIO, SLB, STZ, TPR(2).
Short: SKT.

Trade Report 14 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 15, 2018
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Swing Trades

Today I framed thirteen symbols for possible trade entries. Eight were filled and currently show +.47R for the day. The only one showing a loss for the day was the “2nd position” I added to PYPL. No trades were closed today. This brings me to 24 open positions showing +14.46R.

Long: AEM, CAT, CBOE, DIS, GILD, GLD, HD, INTC, IR, KR, MSFT, OXY, PFE, PYPL(3), RIO, SLB, STZ, TPR(2), TWTR, UNH.
Short: none.

Day Trades

I had just over an hour to make day trades this morning when the market opened. After three trades, I was up +.73R. I considered walking away, but committed to trading until my time was up, I had four losses, or I made it to +1R. I ended up creating two more losses when I reversed my position on the next set of trades and reduces my return for the day down to +.45R before my time was up.

Finally, I will post a chart of my day trades. They are not stellar results, and I could have done better with the window of opportunity I had today, but I want to start holding myself to the same level of accountability with the day trades that I do for the swing trades which means posting them here when they are closed.

Reflections

I will have more reflections on trading with a target of +1R/day as well as the time crunch of possibly walking away before a trade closes sometime soon. Right now, I need to take care of myself by getting some sleep.

Trade Report 11 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 13, 2018
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Swing Trades

For today, I only entered orders to add a second position to TPR which was filled at market open. No other trades were framed, and no positions reached their stop loss or were otherwise exited.

This leaves me with 16 open positions showing +13.3R.
Long: AEM, BMY, CAT, GLD, INTC, IR, KR, OXY, PFE, PYPL, RIO, TPR(2), TWTR, UNH.
Short: none.

Day Trades

No day trades today due to other activities.

Reflections

I had expected a move up today, but had no time to watch the market so had to let my open positions be my participation. Even now, I have yet to flip through the charts to see what happened. I expect to find some time over the weekend to plot out some possible trading cenarios for the next week. It is possible that some of the current positions will merit adding 2nd positions for potential longer term swings, but it is also possible that as I tighten stops up, they will be exited. The great joy of being a private trader is that I can exit and enter without any obligation to be in the market at all times.

Trade Report 10 May 2018

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 11, 2018
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Swing Trades

Today I framed three trades for possible entries. I was only filled on one of them (UNH) which was a market buy at the open. One candidate gaped up past my entry point, and the other never made it to the entry point.

This leaves me with 15 open positions showing +11.78R.
Long: AEM, BMY, CAT, GLD, INTC, IR, KR, OXY, PFE, PYPL, RIO, TPR, TWTR, UNH.
Short: none.

Day Trades

No day trades today due to other activities.

Reflections

With a strong up move in the market, I made sure to adjust my stops this evening in order to lock in gains or reduce possible losses. As most of the systems I currently trade look for pullbacks before entry into an uptrend, I suspect my number of potential trade candidates for tomorrow will be limited.

The Price of Distraction

Posted by BMoreTrader on May 10, 2018
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Swing Trades

I framed no trades for today, and one trade hit its stop loss: JPM.

I consider this the price of distraction. The stop should have been moved up to break even after the hammer on 5/3. Having missed that during my time away from the screen last week, I could have had the stop at the Bollinger band mean, or even the PSAR dot. There was no reason to wait all the way to the original stop loss to exit this trade aside from lack of attention.

That leaves 14 open positions showing +7R.
Long: AEM, BMY, CAT, GLD, INTC, IR, KR, OXY, PFE, PYPL, RIO, TPR, TWTR.
Short: none.

Day Trades

As noted yesterday, I had no time to watch the market today, so took no day trades.

Reflections

In my non-trading life, today was a very hectic day. It is really easy to see how I am not putting the necessary time into my trading at the moment. I have framed no trades for the past two days, even though I am sure there were candidates available. The rest of this week will be a challenge to find the time to trade, so I have to be willing to give back more than I would like on some other positions if the market changes direction. The other option is to close all positions, but I don’t believe current market conditions warrant stepping completely aside.