*** A Newtype Is Born ***

ENDLESS WALTZ

** MY Recent NVDA Trade is the same thing that happened on my VNR Trade Dec 6.. I need to watch Pre-market action **

History and this past year was much like an endless waltz. The three beats of bulls, bears, and pigs continue on forever. However, history will change upon the day of my coronation. The instant this year comes to an end, I will be on the top of the Earth Sphere and the dawn of a new age will arrive. I will rule the world.  - KenLauren

**** DECEMBER 18, 2016 **** 20161218 Entry

1st trade:
Positive news catalyst. Bought the GAP UP BUT did not have an F3 the prior day nor my usual profitable pre-market pattern. Should've waited for a sell-off then buy the bounce off previous day close/support. Bought AGAINST the trend and HOPED for a spike. Whipsawed me within 4 mins lost $1.22/share. DID NOT CUT LOSSES FAST ENOUGH and HOPED. DID NOT REALIZE it was NOT a GO-TO-SETUP !!

FUCKING CUT LOSSES BRUH !!

2nd Trade:
Saw that the best time to buy was NOW !! Bought the dip once trend change was confirmed. New indicator Heiken Aish diff showed trend change and took 60cent profits. The STRONGER trend MACD still showed a greater overall general upward trend. Stock went up for a further $1.3 and at least $1.10 til macd showed change of trend.  GO-TO-SETUP

3rd Trade:
FOMO FUCKING MO !!.. I was pissed off at the 1st trade of the day and even more pissed when i took profits too early. I had NO DAY TRADES left so i said fuck it and bought at 15.3 completely chasing it and went to sleep. Woke up and the fucker hit 16 when rumours of a financing brought the fucking thing down to a LOD 14.5. Pre-market went as low as 13 point fcking 8. Sold my position at 14.3. Nerve fcking wrecking trade due to REVENGE TRADING.

REVENGE TRADING AT ITS FINEST !!

December 18 was my trial by fire day.. Lost 600$ but managed to cut the loss down to 464$.  I was fuming mad but I felt different.  I couldn't figure what it was though..

**** DECEMBER 20, 2016 **** 20161220 Entry

During My XGTI Trade, I noticed that the 1min TF failed while the 5min TF kept going strong.. What's going on?

I reviewed my AKAO trade once again....

Looking back now, I bought in when the longest time frame momentum have alrdy dried and has alrdy turned pre-market. The middle TF momentum has already turned and is AGAINST ME.  The shortest TF has turned to the upside and is indicating a "SHORT-TERM" change in momentum.  Not knowing the significance of how important the bigger TF's are.  I entered the chart early not realizing the bigger TF are against me.

Something clicked that day and I knew I was on to something.  I finally figured out what I was missing and the reason why some setups work and the same setup does NOT work at other times. This is exactly what I believe Sykes has a natural nack of through his years of experience without the need of indicators.. He is able to visualize the momentum at different timeframes. Catalyst > Price action Pattern > Where is the trend? ..

There are multiple trends going at once!!!! But the general big picture trend is stronger than the smaller TF trends. I must be able to see all trends at diff TF and make a good call on how strong the momentum really is. If all the planets line up, that's the best time to take a trade.

(This explains why a long in one time frame is a short in another.... It's like ripples in water or waves canceling each other out.. It's only 2D up and down in a slice of one time dimension, Humans quantify time into chunks.. But in reality, stocks are emotions/waves/vibrations that exist in MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS aka Time Frames... It makes so much sense now... support and resistances at specific prices are arbitrary price points that humans give value to but in reality doesn't mean shit.. Visualizing the trend/strength of the momentum is PARAMOUNT to see whether it'll have enough force to break people's support/resistance points.)

That right there is the recipe for the momo trader folks... Good Luck, Have Fun... 2017 is going to be my year...

**** DECEMBER 21, 2016 ****

Everytime I have a huge epiphany and boost into euphoria, I end up having a setback.  Short comments specific to the actual trade today just because it's what led to the trade that was significant.  The trade itself was nothing special, positive catalyst but not an ideal Go-To-Setup, F3 Pattern Pre-Market hours due to a News Catalyst of CALA collaborating with BMY (Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) on a evaluation of a cancer drug.  Boredom from lack of plays yesterday as well as being physically drained from working nights/staying up after work to trade/not eating as well as I should/haven't been working out caused the worst ZOMBIE trade I've done.

I didn't set my risk, I didn't have profit targets, I chased blindly, I traded AGAINST the fckin trend.  The worst part is that I finally made flash cards of my go-to-setups which I didn't bother utilizing.  I didn't do my pre-trading checklist which the first question on there is to assess my physical/mental/emotional status prior to taking on trades.  I felt like my mind wasn't functioning at all yet I somehow ended up being inside a trade that is not what I am used to, and a big size on top of that.

With the momo strategy refined now.. a good 70% of my losses comes NOT from the strategy, but with my LACK OF DISCIPLINE.  This is an exerpt from my CALA Trade:

"I was in the trade for a total of 1 min and 12 secs !! Fckin' multiplied to an hour, I technically lost at a rate of $14,400/hour !! How much money am I going to let myself lose until this lesson hits me hard enough emotionally to change my habit/behaviour?"  - The Undisciplined Trader aka Me

Goals for the next two weeks:

1)  Create watchlists daily/develop patience and only trade what's on my WL > FOCUS only on Go-To-Setups

2)  100% compliance with pre-trading requirements prior to making the trade.  If i stick to this plan = 0 ZOMBIE/REVENGE TRADES

3)  Stop thinking about money and focus instead of making the right plays.  The money will follow.

"Think of it this way, as traders, Our job is to be patient. Most of our time should be spent watching and waiting.” -LX21

"Aim Small, Miss Small." -T. Sykes

"No one ever went broke locking in profits !!!"- Superman



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below are entries from April which I really should have paid more attention to... During the break from these entries and now.  I have had to go through ALL the same mistakes/re-learn what it is that I alrdy had an idea of how to be consistent.  Reading through these and this past month's trades.  My conviction is FAR FAR stronger in sticking to know what is working and cut out the bad habits that are causing my losses.

APRIL 22, 2016

Overtrading

Already fixed last year july when i cut down from paper trading 30times in 1 day to 5times a day to 5 times a week. I'm currently under the PDT which forces me to really choose only the ideal setups to play. LX21's Star rating system is also being utilized. Whenever i get the urge to trade something that is NOT a play/pattern.. I walk away from the computer, i've also been using Syke's preferred hours of trading.. 2pm-4pm and never mid-day.. almost all my losses have been during mid-day. There will be plays during mid-day but it's a diminishing return effect for all the work/mental effort put in to babysit the mid-day..

Overstrategizing


I've been learning so many different strategies which is beneficial since i'm starting to get a feel for all the different types of traders out there.. Momo traders, scalpers, day-traders, swing traders, shorters. The downside of this is (which i fell for a few weeks) is that there's so much noise/distraction that i fall in love with the different types of setups but never really excel in one. In the beginning i fell into overtrading, now i was falling into overstrategizing. I fixed this by really only focusing on trading one actual strategy at a time until i've gotten the hang of it..

Mentality

Theoretically, I can have a 95% winning rate strategy utilizing the most accurate/precise indicators and still be an unsuccessful trader if i don't manage my emotions well. One by one i've been isolating each emotion as soon as i meet him/her in my trades and really really do some deep thinking on how to overcome them from interfering with my trading.

Pride- The first problem i ran into in and what i believe is solely the biggest reason why most traders fail to be profitable. The reluctance of people to swallow their pride and admit their mistakes is nasty news. I've learned quick with the #1 rule: cut losses quickly.. I've really swallowed my pride alot in my life sacrificing things that i emotionally wanted for things i logically needed. Hi, My name's Ken and i'm a trader (mimicking AA introductions)... WHILE TRADING, I WILL LOSE MONEY AND I CANNOT CONTROL THAT FACT. BUT WHAT I CAN CONTROL IS HOW MUCH I LOSE. - KenLauren.

Greed-  Funny i ran into this one, and thankfully hearing superman say "Lock-in profits/half-profits/some-profits" really defeats greed so fast.. The problem I had with greed was with trades that i'm already up let's say 800$, instead of locking in some profits.. the trade went south on me and i ended up having a loss of 100$.. That's pretty shitty when that happens to you. Sucks being under the PDT atm, but "No one ever went broke locking in profits !!!"- Superman . From then on, it's almost second nature for me to lock-in a portion of my shares when i am up. Also, going long.. once it's above my buy point... riding the 9 or 13 EMA til it breaks is a SOLID, SOLID EXIT Point for majority if not all of my position.

Fear- This is the current boss that i'm fighting this past 6weeks. I still haven't categorized it yet, but my last few trades i've been in have been solid setups/profitable but i took maybe at most 1/4 of my size... Possiblity is that i wasn't fully comfortable with the play i've been using Force/Survival pattern overnight into a spike. being unable to take my full size cut a huge chunk of what my gains where.. This type of fear i'm anticipating will go away as soon as i get more and more experience with the plays/trading.

A 2nd type of fear that i ran into before is also a very dangerous one. FOMO !!! The fear of missing out... Very very very very very very very very very dangerous... did i mention how dangerous this is? There's a few times i feel like it's acceptable to chase but i really have to weigh in using my indicators to lemme know if how far into the move i'll be chasing in and depending on the risk, i will NOT be using full size on chases. An even preferable adaptation to my trade to combat this fucker is that i've been setting actual entry price points and if i don't get my fill at that price, i just walk away from the computer... Eat shit FOMO !!

APRIL 26, 2016

Losses that result from self-sabotage can be just as damaging but they're usually more subtle in nature. Making errors like a sell for a buy, or vice versa. Or indulging yourself in some distracting activity at the most inappropriate time are typical examples of how traders make sure they don't win. Why wouldn't someone want to win? It's really not a question of what someone wants because i believe all traders want to win. Yet there are often conflicts about winning. Sometimes these conflicts are so powerful that we find our behavior is in direct conflict in what we want. These conflicts can stem from religious upbringing, work ethic or certain types of childhood trauma. If these conflicts exists, it means that your mental environment is not completely aligned with your goals...

APRIL 27, 2016

Closing Remarks/Immediate Goals:

 Almost all my mistakes have NOT been because of the market but because of my inability to stay disciplined and stick to the rules my mentors and I have formed. The goal is to quell/defeat/ELIMINATE this enemy of mine that is being an undisciplined trader. Self-Sabotage is a bitch. So for the next 2-3weeks, I will ONLY be trading the 2 plays i've been successful with and  papertrade using ORB 15-30minutes after the market open to get more experience with it. I will also try to control myself from a new term i've came up with, Zombie Trading =D... Trading when you are in mental functions are compromised, making sure i'm in good physical/mental health prior to market open as well as having done my homework and being well-prepared vs rushing to get to the market open.

For the next 4weeks:

1) Trade only the 2 setups i know

APRIL 28, 2016

It's funny that up to this point, most of my studying/learning had been focused on trying to KNOW the market, KNOW the strategies, KNOW the indicators.. but something always lingered in the back of my mind... Alot of the successful traders i follow and learn from admits publicly that they aren't smart at all... They have no financial background, some have no degrees, sykes at the extreme just basically uses barebones candlesticks and nothing else other than basic support/resistance lines. Grittani who i love doesn't use that much indicators as well and trades off the level 1 mostly+basic resistance/support zones.---

--- Only when I started to listen to Matt Owens that it really hit me that the more complex/hedge fund strategies are out there alright,.. ones you can use to scale up your wins as your account grows. BUT for most if not all retail traders.. It's not needed.. The market is neutral... The strategy is already proven to give you an edge, the MAIN thing I really need to focus on is trying to be as objective and an impartial trader as i can. Finding a way to not be swayed by emotions such as fear, greed, fear of missing out, anger/revenge trading, boredom, etc.. should and IS NOW my main goal for trading since these are exactly what i see between the novice traders and all the successful/profitable traders i've followed so far... sykes, grittani, fous, kunal, nicorico's blog, tim bohen's presentation on youtube, derrick leon's blog, matt owens, and in the future superman..

The market is NEUTRAL, controlling yourself to be a disciplined and consistent trader = successful trader. Discipline.... Compared to the majority of americans, with my past, i feel like i have a very, very good discipline as far as financial discipline and work/studying discipline.. But currently, i'm having discipline problems in trading when it comes to sticking to the strategies i know since i like to try out new things. I do have systems thought out to counter the habits i have the is in direct confrontation to trading, but I have identified a 2nd problem.. a behavioral problem that gets in the way of me fixing my first problem.. Laziness/Procrastination... I've decided to halt trading for a week or so until i finally have the systems i want in place that'll protect me from my 1st problem of being an undisciplined trader..

Having a patient, disciplined, objective and impartial trading mindset/attitude is what i'll be working on this next 2weeks-1month .. Once i start on a path on being consistently being in that state.. Only then can I expect myself  to be a consistent profitable/successful trader. ................

Computers can't accurately judge huge portions of the market because the market itself are just a huge blob of emotions. It's very irrational like everyone keeps saying, cause what moves the market at it's core is human emotion. If people stopped going to sbux, how would it affect its stock? If people's emotions towards buying each new iphone that comes out changes, what would happen to the stock of Apple for each new gen release of the iphone? lx21 says show me someone with no emotion, i'll show you someone with no passion.. On the other hand, there's been successful traders out there that says to trade as if you have no emotion, just like a robot.. Humans have the edge in analyzing the market because the market itself is irrational and made up of emotions.. humans are at heart, irrational/emotional beings... Computers have the edge in the act of trading, because they don't let the emotions of a human affect/disrupt the plan/strategy. I think I can refine those two opposing schools of thought even more in one sentence...

MAY 13, 2016

I've been really reflecting hard on the main problems i've been having. Most of my losses are because of my inconsistency in being controlling my emotions and not the strategy/market.

NVDA and my 1st time shorting

NVDA

12/22/2016  11:18:46    Bought 40 NVDA @ 108.79
12/28/2016  09:36:05    Sold 40 NVDA @ 117.92
12/28/2016  10:22:29    Sell Short 40 NVDA Executed @ $109.47      
12/28/2016  10:30:48    Buy to cover 40 NVDA Executed @ $111.1593

Profitable trade long.  I prolly have more theory in swing trading than day trading but this is my first ever long that's more than 18hrs.

Mistake #1
My profit point was when the long term charts (1h / 4h) showed a reversal in trend.  It hasn't reversed in two days and was severely due for at least a good sized pullback.  The momentum waned once it hit the price point of 120 pre-market and signaled a reverse in trend on the 1h/4h when it failed to break 120 a second time.  I stared at it and told myself that this is where i should sell.  My stop loss was set at 118 though.. There was news of a new analyst with an upgraded Price target from 95$ to 130$ pre-market and I ignored my plan of selling and risked the 2$ to the stop loss and "hoped" it'll spike past 120 in the open even though the momentum had already reversed 5mins prior to open on ALL-- 1min/5min/15min/1h/4h timeframes.

Ignored plan / trend and "hoped" caused a 2$/share opportunity slip away.

Mistake #2
As I kept hoping against my strategy, and I was eventually stopped out. The best time to sell was at the open and where my s/l was at.  IT WAS ALSO THE BEST TIME TO SHORT.   Citron Research which is a HUGE Short Selling Group put an article why they are short on NVDA with a price target of 90$ which ACCELERATED the pullback into the first MASSIVE PANIC i've EVER witnessed in real-time.  The bad news set off STOP LOSS AFTER STOP LOSS.  Clouded from my anger from the opportunity lost earlier in the day. I kept biased on being long and missed the opportunity on the hella good short entry.   All of IU chatroom was now in this as a short and eventually I semi-cooled off and thought about being short as well as trying out my new broker E-Trade.  But i took a little too long and didn't realize I was chasing if I got in now as a short.  Curiousity, FOMO and a little bit of revenge trading caused me to completely ignore my pre-trading checklist, set risk, set position size, set profit targets--yeah you can see where this is going..

Even worse was the fact that 1min chart and 5min chart is showing signs of a reversal/bounce.  Which is actually my bounce play.. So what do I do best? Fck it and clicked short--On my phone too... soo cool... bang.. 8mins of telling myself that 1yrs worth of studying is wrong and that my current position is correct.--Hit my stop/loss and stopped out.. Fcking found rock bottom alright---too bad I ignored my go-to-setup and was on the wrong fcking side of the trade.....

Ignored standard procedures in place/FOMO/Revenge trade
I'm sooooo tiiiired of this.  I'm undisciplined as ****.  HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO KEEP REPEATEDLY MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES BEFORE I LEARN???? I make a system to prevent the mistake from happening yet I'm soooo good at finding ways around the system I have put in place.. I have a nice 2'x'3 whiteboard with the pre-trade checklist on it right next to the monitor and I failed to even take a look at it prior to clicking TRADE.

FIX:  I will be making physical fillable forms of the checklist on paper that I MUST fill out prior to being able to trade.  This will take up time prior to the actual trade but i'm trying to filter out me zombie trading into stupid--you'd think it'd be easily fixable mistakes.  This will help me track my progress as far as pre-trade planning/execution as well.

Cool video of AI predicting an impending crash that is out of vision from a human observer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TtODhB-008

NVDA demonstration of it's Self-Learning AI.. cute it's name is BB8 (Star Wars?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-96BEoXJMs0

Goal for tomorrow+first two weeks of January = 100% compliance with pre-trading requirements prior to making the trade.  If i stick to this plan = 0 ZOMBIE/REVENGE TRADES

THIS IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY atm.  I will be profitable if i cut out the stupid trades/losses.  I'm tiiiired of this....

Limit Orders / Stop Loss / No more chasing on stocks more than 5% from entry lvl set

Created a watchlist for the first time, chased an entry.. paid for it... I wanted to get out at break even but I kept having errors with ToS where it wouldn't let me sell due to some price increment crap.  From now on though, I will use the setting where I will buy with a limit order while creating a S/L order.  This will prevent me from entering trades without having calculated the risk prior to the trade and prevent stupid application errors from happening.  Lost a little bit today but this one was a learning experience that was due.  

Goals for the next two weeks:

1)  Create watchlists daily/develop patience and only trade what's on my WL > FOCUS only on Go-To-Setups

2)  No more chasing stocks more than 5% from initial/ideal entry point.  Will start using hard stops now.  I'd rather miss trades than lose money from now on.

3)  Half my normal size or risking max $50 until I can get a good rhythm winning ratio. At least 5 winning trades until I start going back to full size.

CALA, LESSON 24: Trade With Energy

CALA

Everytime I have a huge epiphany and boost into euphoria, I end up having a setback.  Short comments specific to the actual trade today just because it's what led to the trade that was significant.  The trade itself was nothing special, positive catalyst but not an ideal Go-To-Setup, F3 Pattern Pre-Market hours due to a News Catalyst of CALA collaborating with BMY (Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) on a evaluation of a cancer drug.  Boredom from lack of plays yesterday as well as being physically drained from working nights/staying up after work to trade/not eating as well as I should/haven't been working out caused the worst ZOMBIE trade I've done.

I didn't set my risk, I didn't have profit targets, I chased blindly, I traded AGAINST the fckin trend.  The worst part is that I finally made flash cards of my go-to-setups which I didn't bother utilizing.  I didn't do my pre-trading checklist which the first question on there is to assess my physical/mental/emotional status prior to taking on trades.  I felt like my mind wasn't functioning at all yet I somehow ended up being inside a trade that is not what I am used to, and a big size on top of that.  I just wanted to take a quick scalp but was functioning waaay too slow.. finally mentally woke up when the market turned against me and was red on the day.  Once It hit me hard that I was down, I quickly assessed where my mental stop loss was and cut my losses quickly once I realized the price was below it alrdy, I stopped a few secs to think whether I should wait for a bounce to get out of since i've done that before and the drop was pretty quick from where my entry was.  I did alot better than my AKAO trade though and I cut my losses quickly instead.  I did look back and I had a 2min period where I might have gotten out 10-15cents higher, but it sank where I got out right after and I would've been out twice as much within 20mins if i didn't get out.  On a side note, I need to focus less on what the stock did AFTER i'm out.  A comment from Arick Russell reinforced the fact that I should focus more on the stuff I have control of and not on the parts of the trade I coulda, woulda, shoulda/no longer in the trade emotionally.

Overall, completely upset in the fact that I pretty much blew through all the rules I've made/follow so far.. as well as revisited mistakes that I thought I have already learned from in the past.  I mean, I have learned it already, but I guess the emotional consequence of the mistake in the past wasn't large enough yet where I am compelled NOT TO repeat it.  History repeated itself today and I hate the fact that I fell for it.

I was in the trade for a total of 1 min and 12 secs !! Fckin' multiplied to an hour, I technically lost at a rate of $14,400/hour !! How much money am I going to let myself lose until this lesson hits me hard enough emotionally to change my habit/behaviour?

Anyways, Completely lectured by The Daily Trading Coach when I was driving towards the cafe right now.  All credits go to Brett Steenbarger, don't sue me please:


LESSON 24: TRADE WITH ENERGY

One of the important dimensions of psychological well-being is energy.
Happiness, enthusiasm, motivation, and general contentment are difficult
to sustain when you feel mentally and physically run down. Fatigue is the
enemy of concentration; physical vibrancy fuels a positive, energetic mood.

We are like laptop computers running on batteries: after sustained
operation, we run down. Concentration and attention require effort; eventually
we drain our mental reserves and lose focus. This leads to trading
mistakes: missing opportunities, overlooking important pieces of data, forgetting
key aspects of trading plans. When we are run down, we’re also
most likely to fall back into old—and often negative—habit patterns. When
we’re drained, we might find ourselves eating out of boredom, becoming
unusually irritated when things don’t go our way, or getting caught up in
negative ways of thinking.

Think of it this way: it requires sustained focus to remain goal-oriented.
To actively direct ourselves, we need an alert, active mind. When we become
fatigued, we lose this active direction. We become passive, responding
to events rather than making them happen.

This distinction between active and passive trading is all-important.
The active trader is one who researches markets, identifies distinct areas
of opportunity, and consciously executes and manages trades to maximize
that opportunity. For the active trader, nothing is left to chance: where to
pursue opportunity, where to sit back, where to take profits, where to limit
losses—all are preplanned. This takes time, energy, and a sustained focus.
Good trading, in this sense, is pure intentionality: it is a directed act of will.

When we are physically drained, we lose the ability to sustain this
intentional focus. We neglect our research; we fail to calibrate risk and
reward. We fall back on simple heuristics and enter trades based on
simple reasoning—chart patterns or price levels—that may well lack any
true risk/reward edge. Worse still, when we’re run down, we become emotionally
reactive and find ourselves chasing price highs or lows or robotically
enacting rules (fade weak stocks in a strong market) without taking
the time and effort to assess the broader context our decisions (an trending
day to the upside).

Managing your energy during the trading day may take little more than
ensuring that you:

- Get proper sleep and proper quality of sleep. Interrupted sleep
can deprive you of important stages of sleep and leave you feeling unrested,
even though you’ve spent a full number of hours in bed.
Eat properly. Highs and lows in blood sugar can make it difficult to
sustain concentration; an excess of caffeine and sugar may provide
temporary jolts, but can also lead to distracting rebound effects.
Maintain your mind properly. I’ve seen alcohol and drugs take a
fearsome toll on traders over time, as partying the night before leads
to diminished performance the next day. Conversely, those who are
focused and intentional in their personal lives tend to see this carry
over into their trading.

- Maintain your body properly. Physical exercise is one of the
most neglected facets of a trading plan. Hours upon hours sitting in
front of a screen do not promote aerobic fitness. Over time, we lose
conditioning—and our energy batteries lose their charge.

- Take the breaks. Not many people can stare at a screen and follow
market action continuously through the day without losing focus.
Breaks during slower market action can replenish the energy and concentration
needed when markets become busier.

A trading career is a marathon, not a sprint: the winners pace
themselves.

None of the above considerations is earth shattering, but it’s amazing
how poorly many traders score if they incorporate the five factors above
into a daily checklist. We prepare our trades, but we often fail to prepare
ourselves for trading. How can we stick to disciplined trading decisions if
we’re inconsistent in our personal discipline?

When you are your own trading coach, you cannot afford to run yourself
into the ground by working so hard that you can no longer work. Nor
can you so neglect your physical state to such a degree that, like that laptop
battery, your memory effects lead you to lower and lower energy states
with each recharging. Your assignment is to track your daily profits and

losses simply as a function of two factors: your energy level (high or low)
and your trading mode (active/planned or passive/unplanned). Add a simple
checklist to your trading journal to help you see the correlations among
your physical state, your concentration level, your intentionality, and your
trading results.

If you lack energy, you will lack focus; if you lack focus, you’ll lack
intentionality; if you lack intentionality, you’ll lack the ability to
follow trading plans.

Unless you calculate and appreciate these correlations for yourself,
you’re unlikely to sustain the motivation to address—with consistency—
the five areas above. Once you see that your energy level is directly correlated
with the quality of your trading (and with your trading results), you
will prod yourself to build a daily routine that addresses sleep, eating, exercise,
and a healthy lifestyle. You’ll also be able to overcome guilt or fear
over leaving the screen and realize that opportunity is not just a function
of moving markets: it’s also a function of your ability to capitalize upon

those markets.

C O A C H I N G C U E
Many traders neglect their family lives (spouse, children) in their absorption into
their work. The resulting guilt and distraction from those unmet needs wind up
interfering more with performance than the time it would have taken to spend
the quality hours together. The mental rejuvenation from vacations—even weekend
holidays—can renew family relationships and energize work. If you’re too
worn down for your personal life, you’re probably not operating with good efficiency
in your trading. It’s not necessary to have a totally balanced life—few of
us do—but if your life feels unbalanced, that will undermine energy, concentration,
optimism, and effort.

20161220 Paper trade slow day

Slow day.. Paper trading new strategies

NVDA In at 105.10 dipbuying SWING post-analyst upgrade PT to $115.

BCEI Short @ 2.24, S/L @ 2.3 .
* Review - Good short scalp off breakdown of trend. Next day gapped up into a panic at the open.  Holding O/N shorts is unknown atm.. DO NOT HOLD O/N.

MNKD Short @ 0.84, S/L @ 0.87
* Review- Good scalp short 10%. Gapped down next day. Holding O/N shorts is unknown atm.. DO NOT HOLD O/N.

AKAO Review and State of DayTrading Progress

AKAO Reviewing my largest loss to date

Looking back now, I bought in when the longest time frame momentum have alrdy dried and has alrdy turned pre-market. The middle TF momentum has already turned and is AGAINST ME.  The shortest TF has turned to the upside and is indicating a "SHORT-TERM" change in momentum.  Not knowing the significance of how important the bigger TF's are.  I entered the chart early not realizing the bigger TF are against me.

1 Minute TF - MACD shows possible bounce.  White arrows show where I entered/exited.

5 Minute TF - MACD shows I'm entering a trade AGAINST the bigger TF.  I'm too early.  I was up for a few secs but got whipsawed fast d/t the huge influence of the bigger downtrend.  White arrows show where I entered/exited.

This is exactly how NEOT went as well.
1) Entered a non-Go-To-Setup.
2) Traded AGAINST the trend.

But the biggest mistake here was "NOT CUTTING LOSSES QUICKLY".
The 3 red lines were 3 mental stop losses that I should've taken into account prior to trading or did take into account but I froze and did not cut the loss. What could've bn just a 100$ loss, 160$ loss, 300$ loss turned into a 386$ loss in roughly 3mins and 20secs.  Worst single trade of my year.

My takeaways from here is:
1)  Trade WITH the trend.  This is MUCH MUCH more important once I swap to shorting.
2)  When cutting losses, use price action and stop loss points instead of the indicators since they lag behind price action.
3)  When taking profits, use indicators instead of price action to prevent from taking profits too quickly.
4)  Cut losses quickly bruh....

DAY TRADING PROGRESS
Momentum Trading - 

I need to make sure what side of the trade i'm on and what the overall general trend is on the Daily/5Min/1Min TF.  Momentum is what will tell me if the trade is tradeable or not.

Indicators -

MACD

RSI

HEIKEN AISHI DIFF

9 EMA/13 EMA
* I've ditched the Ichimoku Cloud for now since I can actually approximately visualize the calculations of the cloud WITHOUT having the cloud on.  My focus is on measuring the strength of the momentum of the NOW moment.

I need to be careful in not using too many indicators and hold more weight to where the trend is vs what the indicators are saying.  Too much noise with too many indicators and I end up freezing.  MOMENTUM is where it's at.  Indicators will help me find my entry on shorts as well as help me spot profit taking spots/exit points.

On Profits -

When I pick a Go-To-Setup, I have an edge and profits usually come in naturally.  My biggest problem is profit-taking.  I had a problem with it initially but thankfully after learning from superman, systematically taking profits keeps me afloat.

On Losses -

I constantly find myself hoping that the stock will rebounce when i'm in horrible setups.  Not cutting losses quickly enough is stacking large overall losses.  

Revenge trading has been the culprit for my #2, #4 largest losses i've had thus far.

Fix:  Have a system in place to re-assess myself once i'm done with a trade.

Zombie trading has been my #1, #3 largest loss so far.  Both times it was similar to a Go-To-Setup BUT it was alrdy overextended and I entered when the trade WAS already against me.

Fix:  MOMENTUM is your friend yet I went against it both times.  There are multiples trends and I need to make sure that i'm trading with the overall general trend.

** Random Thoughts **

Last week after that loss, I started to distract myself with Forex Trading.  At the beginning, it looks very similar to stocks but the Forex market is vastly different and I can see no edge for me thus far.  There's alot of good vids on youtube but there's also alot of possibly fake/marketing vids that promote making alot of money on a short period of time but is not very transparent on their losses.  At first, I really thought I can split my focus due to having an anticipated future slow progress on stocks.  But after today's trade and review of my previous trades.  I've made a significant learning experience and reaffirms my belief in only focusing on one thing at a time and MASTER IT !! I don't need to be good in a whole lot of things trading wise, I just need to focus on ONE thing and trade it VERY WELL.  I feel like i've grown alot since this started and been refining my trading.  I will be opening up a 2nd account on E-Trade and slowly dip into the waters of "Shorting".

Total Trades	20	20	0
Percent Profitable	35%	35%	0%
Winning Trades	7	7	0
Losing Trades	13	13	0
Avg Trade Net Profit	$2.88	$2.88	�M
Avg Winning Trade	$259.67	$259.67	$0.00
Avg % Gain	11.39%	11.39%	0%
Avg Losing Trade	$135.39	$135.39	$0.00
Avg % Loss	5.17%	5.17%	0%
Ratio Avg Win to Avg Loss	1.92	1.92	0
Largest Winning Trade	$636.19	$636.19	$0.00
Largest Losing Trade	$386.07	$386.07	$0.00
Largest Winner as % Gross Profit	35%	35%	0%
Largest Loser as % Gross Loss	21.93%	21.93%	0%
Max Consec Winning Trades	2	2	0
Max Consec Losing Trades	5	5	0

1st thing to work towards profitability: (Based on Priority)

1)  I'm only 35% correct on my trades.  I NEED to make sure I'm only choosing high probability setups.  It's insane that I am WRONG x2 as much as I am RIGHT yet still profitable as off today.  Trading LESS is MORE. ( I think when I was paper trading last year June/July, my ratio was more like 6 winning trades to 30ish losing trades in one day trying to scalp.. so much much better)

2)  I've been doing good in the beginning of the year as far as cutting losses to my mental stops, Now that I'm focusing more towards the beginning of the day where it's much more volatile and at a shorted period of time.  I NEED to be able to cut losses quicker shown by my loss on AKAO.

3)  Learn how to read Price Action better.  I've put too much emphasis on lagging indicators and not enough on reading what's going on AT THE MOMENT.

Shit overdue:

KNOW my Go-To-Setups and create Flash cards for them so I know what setup i'm trading.

Rate the trade prior to the setup and only trade GOOD setups / ONLY Go-To-Setups for now.

BOOKS:

The Daily Trading Coach by Brett N. Steenbarger

The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas

Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas

Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg 

*Recommended by Lt.Col. Resch* Really Good but too long and boring imo.

The 7 Habits of Highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey

The 4-hour workweek: Escape 9-5 by Timothy Ferriss

The Buttefly Effect: How your life matters by Andy Andrews 

*Recommended by Lt.Col. Resch but I personally didn't like it.  I liked Benjamin Franklin's "For The Want of a Nail" story better*

KEEP MOVING FORWARD !!

Integrity and Excellence in all I do...

XGTI

XGTI

Bought 300 XGTI @ 4                 09:34:12
Bought 700 XGTI @ 3.9847         09:34:12
Sold 500 XGTI @ 4.25                09:37:18
Sold 100 XGTI @ 4.35                09:43:33
Sold 400 XGTI @ 4.59                09:44:07

From Trade Recap Tracker:

Positive news catalyst prior day but had a shitty pattern, Pre-market with a NEW positive news catalyst started an F3 pattern, plan was to buy if break $3 and sell on prior day's HOD at $4. I told myself that i wasn't going to trade today. Watched the price action do what i wanted and FOMO kicked in. HOWEVER, i did stop to reasses the trade for what it currently was and not what i wanted emotionally. Saw that the momentum was still strong breaking past 4. Bought on the breakout of previous day HOD, sold 1/2 at 4.25 for PT. HA Diff showed reverse of trnd but overall MACD on 1m/5m still showed an uptrend. Sold rest at 4.59. 10 min sweet GO-TO-SETUP trade.

 GO-TO-Fcking SETUP

Captured 43ish cents of a 2$ move.. Shoulda coulda woulda.. I'll improve on this..

MAINTAIN THIS SHIT !!

AKAO

AKAO

Sold 250 AKAO @ 14.3   08:55:25

Review 3rd Trade from Last Post.

AKAO, ARRY

AKAO

Bought 300 AKAO @ 15         09:33:48

Sold 300 AKAO @ 13.78        09:37:19

Bought 300 AKAO @ 14.1      10:22:04

Sold 250 AKAO @ 14.7098    11:15:18

Bought 200 AKAO @ 15.3      11:31:16

This shit was a fcking mess: ** Copy/Paste from my trade recap tracker **

1st trade:
Positive news catalyst. Bought the GAP UP BUT did not have an F3 the prior day nor my usual profitable pre-market pattern. Should've waited for a sell-off then buy the bounce off previous day close/support. Bought AGAINST the trend and HOPED for a spike. Whipsawed me within 4 mins lost $1.22/share. DID NOT CUT LOSSES FAST ENOUGH and HOPED. DID NOT REALIZE it was NOT a GO-TO-SETUP !!

FUCKING CUT LOSSES BRUH !!

2nd Trade:
Saw that the best time to buy was NOW !! Bought the dip once trend change was confirmed. New indicator Heiken Aish diff showed trend change and took 60cent profits. The STRONGER trend MACD still showed a greater overall general upward trend. Stock went up for a further $1.3 and at least $1.10 til macd showed change of trend.  GO-TO-SETUP

There are multiple trends going at once. But the general big picture trend is stronger than the smaller TF trends. I must be able to see all trends at diff TF and make a good call on how strong the momentum really is. If all the planets line up, that's the best time to take a trade.

3rd Trade:
FOMO FUCKING MO !!.. I was pissed off at the 1st trade of the day and even more pissed when i took profits too early. I had NO DAY TRADES left so i said fuck it and bought at 15.3 completely chasing it and went to sleep. Woke up and the fucker hit 16 when rumours of a financing brought the fucking thing down to a LOD 14.5. Pre-market went as low as 13 point fcking 8. Sold my position at 14.3. Nerve fcking wrecking trade due to REVENGE TRADING.  

REVENGE TRADING AT ITS FINEST !!

Prior to making a trade, I need to re-assess where my emotional level is at !!

ARRY

Same thing, I honestly don't remember why I put this here...