Trades 6/22 (Mon) - Wrap Up

No ES trades (not selling, not selling, not selling!!), and not intending to stay up for one.

At long last, a positive Monday.

6E Trades 6/22 (Mon) - Price Action Through Kids' Eyes

Asian Session (Trades #1-5)European Session (Trade #6)

Momentum: Down
Scalped in wave 4 channels & wedges

Blue arrow: Loser
Pink arrow: Scratch at breakeven
Green arrow: Winner

Seabloke dropped off her 5-year-old twins about 2 hours before the European session began.

We played a little, and when twins decided to do some coloring, I thought I could go back to trading.

But little ones got very curious about my work, and came to sit with me. I explained my charts to them: when candles are red and coming down, I can't buy; when price's come down a lot and is very cheap, I'd want to buy; when price is going up to near certain lines (resistance), I can't buy anymore coz if I did, I'd have no one to sell to unless I sell dirt cheap (at which point twins commented they don't like CHEAP...Sea, YOU'RE IN TROUBLE!! LOL!!)

As I went about doing some chores, twins reported to me what price was doing. Amazing.

Then at various points that I had considered buying, little ones said no go, and price went back down immediately, forming a higher swing low. At the point that I entered my only European-session trade (trade #6), twins had no objection, and I took my 1.1 points.

Creepy.

They drew me a birthday card. Melts my heart.

Market-Chasing Week

While last week gave me some hints that my performance is somewhat correlated with the number of hours I spend in front of my screen, this week is proof that staring at charts for more than 16 hours a day is a serious impediment to my trading .

Week in Review:

Monday
A downtrending day where I kept buying in 2 fairly huge bear wedges. Had I taken some time off my screen, I would have had the opportunity to think about my thinking process while trading. Decisions I made would have been much better, especially those related to profit-taking.
Loss: USD 425

Tuesday
Ranging day with upward momentum where I had waited for my setup even though I was at my desk the entire day. I guess non-down days just make me a more patient person.
Profit: USD 225

Wednesday
Ranging day with upward momentum during the Asia & Europe hours. The most notable trade was the one that I chased during the US session, when the momentum has shifted from bullish to bearish, and after I had missed my favorite setup (D's fault! He's a major distraction!)
Profit: USD 262

Thursday
Asia and Europe Session:
PERFECT ranging day - channel was perfectly horizontal. It was supposed to be the best day of the week. I felt so in sync with the market I got cocky and thought I could aim for the sky. On a day that I could apply my scalping skills beautifully, I started it swing trading a position for a 8-point profit instead of taking my usual 1 to 2 point profit in the 6E. Realized my folly after being stopped out for nearly the amount that would have required me to close shop for the day, I went back to scalping. I was in 2 point profit immediately before taking the 2.7 point loss in the first trade. The remaining 4 6E trades were perfect. I have to say they felt EASY. Shows how trading only on my type of day can significantly improve my bottom line. In fact, going forward, I'm going to put size back on on days like this.

US Session:
Uptrending market. Missed the opening bell and my MOST MOST favorite setup. D's fault again!! He got home late, and instead of focusing on the market, I started telling him about my day, and listening to him tell me about his. I missed my signals by mere seconds. Once I miss a signal, I don't chase. So I thought. I ended up not chasing that particular setup, and merely chase any upmove instead. BAD decision. Because I was in trades that I wasn't comfortable with, my execution was CLUMSY and for that I lost POINTS.
Profit: USD 87

Friday
Asia & Europe Session
Ranging day with DOWNWARD momentum. Sat in front of my screen since 7am local time and started CHASING market in wave 4. Terribly stressful session where I saw profits disappeared and became losses. Recovered some at the end of the session.

US Session
DOWN, DOWN , DOWN session. I traded my setup, but simply refused to take profit that was realistic for a down day (I was buying, as usual). Then I refused to give the trade the room it needed to move (I hadn't used the appropriate stop for my signal - it was a day with huge candles and if I choose to trade, I'll simply have to use a wider stop).
Loss: USD 400

6E & ES Trades 6/19 (Fri) - Typical Friday

6E

ES

Losing day to end the week. Textbook.

At 1:30am local time (1:30pm NY), D reported excitedly - as I was coming out from e shower - that ES was finally getting back up. I looked at my chart and told him that's still his market. It's a wave 4, bear broadening wedge, doesn't matter what you call it, it's what sellers live for.

If there's anything I can feel happy about the week/month, it's that POMPOUS D, MY disciple, has had a month of NIL losing day! Yes, 100% winning days with just 1 losing trade. I wish he'd let profits run for more than 3 ticks though. Even with a bear outside bar signal on a strong down day, he would not hold his position. But, he's doing better than me. So I'll shut up just for this week.

AAR

Had I waited til after 2pm to enter the 1st trade of the day (where I'd still have my USD 400 chips to play!):

Bad Week, Bad Trading, Good People

I've always considered myself a very lucky person. Dad, Seabloke and Pilot love me; my cats are extremely attached to me; D is still with me; my friends don't hate me (I think).

Even my cleaning ladies are good to me. The first one, Mdm O, was with me for 11 years and retired last year. She would bring me breakfast everytime she came, and bought all my cleaning supplies when they ran out (I know nothing about cleaning products). When I brought her to my new home a few weeks ago, she cried when I walked with her around my neighborhood coz she had missed D and me so much....my bad for making the very sweet lady cry....

The second one, Maria, is from the Phillipines. She's been with me for more than a year. I think she has either a master or PHD in chemistry. Maria knows I'm so quiet I'd be mistaken for a mute, and will chat with me only when I look like I welcome a conversation. Today, I looked like I would eat people alive, and so she took the ironing to the kitchen to avoid having to open the blinds (I don't like sunlight). I didn't realize that she was in the hot kitchen until I got out of my losing trade. I felt so terrible I took her back to the living room, switched on the air-con for her, and drew open the blinds so she could iron in there. Then for the first time, I told her I was in a really lousy mood, and the market's driving me crazy. I told her how agitated I've been for the past 7 days, and how my own brain just wouldn't stop pushing me to the edge. She asked if I've considered taking up yoga. And I told her that THAT would really be an ultimate test of my patience. I told her how I have to take a stress relief pill everyday for the past 3 years just to get 4 hours of sleep and to keep me calm in the day. And even with my pill, I'm mostly NOT so cool. Maria was surprised. She said she couldn't tell from my demeanor. I thanked her for listening, and told her that I'd settle for nicotine instead of yoga for stress relief. Ha ha.

I'm not sure if I'm done for the day. I'm down by 225. I would have taken a worse hit had I not realized what I was doing. I was chasing the market the entire day, buying a wave 4 again. I knew I was buying in a wave 4 channel and I had wanted to be nimble...but once in trade, I would get totally irrational and unrealistic about the market.

This is just a really, really bad week. I've been impatient, agitated, easily distracted, and extremely rash with my trading. Knowing that I would do so much better if only I'd get a hold of myself just doesn't seem to help at all.

I really need to calm down before I can deal with the market again today. I've simply got to stop dwelling on the trades that I've missed, and believe that the market's always there. I scalp, so I'd always have many good setups a day, and there's really no need to keep beating myself up for missing a couple of them.

A few have asked if I've turned off comments. I did. LP, I'm turning comments page back on. Lonely's site is for cool conversations and cool gang (since when did Lonely become Godfather? LOL!). ;-)

6E & ES Trades 6/18 (Thurs) - Crazy Day

Cutting a long story short:

D got home at 930am N.Y. time SHARP. We exchanged stories about our day, and coz of that I missed my favorite setup. I don't know why I did it, but I chased (one of those things I don't normally do), right at the point where ES hit major resistance. Covered at 6 ticks loss. And then I did the unthinkable: clicking more than once on "sell". Realized that immediately and bailed at breakeven. Then I entered long right when ES was moving back up to the same resistance level!! Then I double-click on "sell" AGAIN!!! This time I wasn't so lucky. I simply couldn't hold a short at a place where I won't SELL (it's where both bulls and bears can get trapped). So I covered at 6 ticks loss.

Total disaster.

Recovered 200 of the 300 I lost in the next 2 trades.

Total for the day: + USD 87

What a day.

6E Trades 6/18 (Thurs) - On To ES

All 5 trades on chart. Have had enough of 6E for the day. My mind has kind of printed an image of the 6E DOM...keep seeing 14, 23....strange but when you see them, you can almost just hit buy. Kidding. But really, 14 and 23.

Buy 4-D!!!

It's lunch time (or dinner...whatever....)! D's at a function tonight...we had fun last night after I wrapped up, and after I told him I'd have to put work before him. Ha!

He was in a short position (a 2nd entry setup), and was eager to get out. I put my hand on his shoulder, and kept whispering to him to "hang on". Then at absolutely the lowest that ES could go, I told him to get out. He had a stop at 2 points away and had wanted to get out when it went 5 ticks against him. He was happy he got a profit instead. And then he got his massage too ,and was doubly happy!

I FEEL GOOD!!

Such a hopeless woman.

6E Trades 6/18 (Thurs) - STILL A Scalper

Am just too adventurous for my own good...

Ok, rephrase: GREED DOESN'T PAY!

Was targeting 1.4026 exit, and wasn't willing to place a stop that's wider than my daily loss limit. And, totally ignoring the fact that it's just plain stupid to put a stop just 5 ticks below support (and I thought 5 ticks was generous!!).

Penalty for being stingy & GREEDY (I had at least 2 chances to take USD 200 within 10 mins after entry, and I refused to take it) : USD 340

I most absolutely was NOT happy to be stopped out just 7 ticks before price turned around. Activated my scalping mode and recovered all but USD 75 of my money in 2 scalps.

See, that's the reason why I'll always be an extremely short-term trader. Anything longer than 15 minutes in the market is just WAY TOO LONG for me!!!

Had I insisted on holding for my 8 point profit at all cost, I would have had to risk USD 420, and by now price is not even half way to my 8 point profit - in fact, I would have just earned barely USD 200 (which I would have pocketed in my 10 min scalp...IF i had taken the profit of course).

So, why wouldn't I choose scalping where I would have earned USD 200 +180 +85 = USD 465 today??

No more holding. For the umpteenth time - UH- UH to holding !!!!

Ok, to be fair, had I taken the 200, I'd probably have taken a nap and come back hours later...

I'm not complaining. Today is one of the best trading days I've had. It shows me that I can most definitely manage up to 3 scalps at one go. No more smoke break after each trade. It's not like trading is so stressful.

Is that me brain-washing myself??

After 7 hours of being in the market without a break, I deserve a nicotine fix now.

I'm too thrilled that my day has just begun (according to my PnL)!!

6E Trades 6/17 (Wed) Wrap Up & Jules The Punisher

Missed ES SetupIt's a bad day. It's bad coz I've finally come to realize that trading is NOT on the top of my priority list. D remains the most important thing in my life, frustratingly so.

I took my last trade without a proper signal and ended up scratching at a 2-tick gain, all because D came home with a headache AGAIN (I wish he would quit his job). His right-hand man drove him right up the wall today.

Anyway, I promised him a massage and he was waiting. I was waiting for my signal for my desired trade but i couldn't stand letting him wait. So I went in knowing that I was chasing price. It was Deja vu that saved me. Been through this too many times, and definitely not making the same mistake again.

Gave up my favorite ES setup too (3rd screenshot above). I was just too frustrated to trade.

Told D about my "problem" - that he's become a MAJOR distraction and obstacle to my trading. Market's not there to wait on me. I'm the one that's doing the waiting, and I deserve the peace-of-mind to trade my setups when they appear. Trading's my bloody job!

I suggested a solution. I asked D if I can ignore him, and put work before him. He agreed.

I'm happy for now.

At least I asked. I'm better than him. And I feel GOOD!!!

Sweet revenge. Took me 15 years!!!

6E Trades 6/17 (Wed)

Blue arrow shows my losing trade; green shows winning

Initial plan was to trade off the Hourly:

Since it's probably going to take hours before I can make a move, I took trades off the 5 min (which is really NOT my favorite timeframe for FX trading) in the meantime.

Nothing much to say for the losing trade except that not very many people wanted to buy at the price I went in at so it was just too bad for me. In time, after many small (ouch, ouch, ouch!!!) losses, I'm sure I'll learn to NOT buy in the middle of a channel just as price's moving down!

Not touching the 5min anymore for the day. Will either take a trade on the hourly or wait for a setup in the ES.

ES Trades 6/16 (Tues) - Wrap Up

2nd trade is based on very similar setup....the tape is a little more chaotic during the active hours of course. Price is still struggling to break above opening range...should it break below instead, I'd be very tempted to sell. And then I'd most probably kick myself for not sticking to my plan of trading just that 1 or 2 setups - at least until I'm back on my footing.

So I'm calling it a day. There's always tomorrow. I don't even need the market to go up to buy, so there's really no hurry to RECOVER MY LOSSES FROM THE PAST 2 DAYS. $%*$%&***!!

The most important task for me now is to regain my composure.

When I'm cool, I can trade.

ES Trade 6/16 (Tues)

One of the 2 setups that I trade (when I'm disciplined).

I'm not sure we're going up just yet. I keep seeing a 3rd leg down, and support at 900 - 910.

Original plan was to avoid globex-hour trades, but I just really needed something to cheer me up.

ES 6/15 - After Action Review

On a day that's trending down, I scalp "wave 4"s, which can be either up or down sloping channels. I'll buy towards a MSH (usually the 2nd - can be a lower or higher swing high - the 3rd, if it's a lower swing high than the 2nd, would be a nice H&S for bears).

The mistakes I made yesterday are found in the following list (by no means an exhaustive one) :

1) Scalping during the globex session - price forms miniature legs during the quieter hours, and because of that, I tend to be unwilling to enter at 1 tick above signal, reason being that I don't want to be caught in buying the 2nd MSH (where bears sell, and I become the trapped bull). I tend to buy 1 tick above an outside bar (instead of the inside), which can be 3 or 4 ticks above my signal candle. In scalping, every tick counts. I enter at a lousy price, and that's fine as long as I'm realistic about my exit. Sometimes I get carried away and overstay.

2) Assuming that market's reversing after a significant move down - which causes me to overstay when I buy the 2nd MSH of a wave 4. I get into trouble when I target my exit at a point that's higher than the previous MSH (I don't do that if I assume that what I'm seeing is NOT a truncated wave 5 - but the risk-taker in me tend to see truncated wave 5s....and I had no basis to assume a truncated wave 5 yesterday since it really wasn't a day that bears were desperate to cover).

3) Stop loss was too LOOSE. Even a 6 tick stop is a loose one on a day that I fade a strong trend, let alone a 9 to 10 tick stop.

All in all, I should have stayed away on a down trending day. I could still scalp what I mentioned above, but if I choose to do that, I would do well to heed my inner voice that's always telling me to get out before the bears are done taking profit.

Interestingly, D had sold yesterday (well, he always sells anyway), but always got out too soon, taking barely 3 ticks each time.

When I asked about his setup, he said he would sell when price had touched the upper channel. I told him that's technically not a setup. A setup is one that gives him an edge. If he's selling, his best shots are those where price has broken out of a downward sloping channel - that's because on a day with strong downward momentum, the first 2 or even 3 breakouts are mostly fake breakouts, and bears would take over once bulls stop buying. That means that his best shorts are the ones where price has overshot a trendline (it's where lots of scalpers that buy a breakout find themselves in a market without a follow-through, which will send them covering immediately).

D's best entry yesterday was a few candles after I exited my long. It was the textbook "2nd-Entry" short that I've shown him before (and told him to just trade that setup until he can hold his trades for at least 6 to 8 ticks). The signal candle was beautifully small, so selling 1 tick below would still give him a nice scalp profit of at least 6 ticks.

D used to wonder why I don't sell when I recognize sell signals better than buy signals. I think he finally figured out that I'm playing defence here. Since I know the onset of a PLUNGE, I'm better off buying. I'm not good at reading WHEN selling stops - and since I have a tendency to get carried away, I get caught in selling at a point where market's stop plunging. I find buying better suited to my personality, coz the market's always making an effort to go up. My only problem with buying is that of overstaying, but I rarely get caught in a situation where I get in and the market immediately turns against me.

On the chart above, I have shown only my last 2 entries. The first 2 entries were based on similar premise, except that they were globex-hour trades. After those 2 trades, I had stopped buying once the time was up for a wave 5 down (I was buying a failed wave 5, yes, but wave 5 didn't fail, so I gladly took my loss). In hindsight, I should have just totally stayed away ie. give up all down trending days. But I have a more enterprising spirit than that ie. it will take me a LONG time to learn to be conservative. Only time will tell if insisting on being who I am will pay off.

ES Trades 6/15 (Mon) - Nothing New

Definitely should have waited til at least after 2pm to buy. Impatience got the better of me AGAIN.

Nothing to cry over. Just need to stop being myself.

I'm still NOT going to sell. Not selling is a huge part of my strategy, and I'm not going to change it just because I'm pigheaded enough to keeping buying on a fierce down day.

No chart - there isn't any notes on it (yes, I had forced all my trades).

To all who have asked about my comment section, it's been inactivated. Will turn it back on when I feel less glum. Just don't want to be rude (I don't do anything other than sleep and stare at my charts now, and overlook everything else. Yes I still read emails, just haven't gotten down to responding).

ES 6/12 (Fri) - Notes

Good setups that were passed (daily loss limit hit before start of US session).

Lesson:
Save chips for good setups, especially at end of week, especially after consecutive winning days

No Time For Bad Trades

It's apparent that my best days this week were those where I hadn't the time to sit in front of my screen (staring at my charts) for 12 - 16 hours a day.

When pressed for time, I trade the best setup coz I have no time to nurse bad trades. I take a look at my charts for a few minutes and if within that time I don't see my favorites, I simply walk away. It was "Carrie Week". My friend was my priority.

Actually, I was prepared to take a trading break for the week to spend time with Carrie. However, it turned out that I had a few hours to kill each day while Carrie went out to meet her other friends here. I had used those spare time to go over my charts, and if I didn't see anything I could trade, I simply get dressed earlier and played with Al (didn't want to get stuck in bad trades that I had to nurse - coudn't let my friend wait for me). We usually got home way after the US market had opened, and I would scan the ES 5 min for my favorite setups. I was able to quickly make out what the trend was and where it was likely going. My eyes and mind were simply way, way sharper after being away from the screen for the entire day.

A more detailed review of the week:

Monday - Carrie had arrived in the morning and we were out the whole day. When I sat down in front of my charts for the first time that day, it was slightly before US lunch session. I took 2 trades while Carrie was in the shower. Stopped out on both. After Carrie and D turned in - which was 2 hours later - I recouped all my losses. Breakeven day : + USD 25

Tuesday - Carrie was out in the afternoon, and I took a few 6E trades. Then in the evening, when she was having a chat with D, I took a quick ES trade. Good day. Best day. + USD 487

Wednesday - Carrie went to an island nearby with a friend. I took a few 6E trades, then spent a lot of time sleeping (and didn't feel guilty, coz, hey, I wasn't supposed to be trading anyway). Took just 1 ES trade in the evening coz I had to be up early the following morning. Good day (albeit filled with blunders) +USD 375

Thursday - Spent the whole day with Carrie and saw her off at the airport. Got home shortly before the US session started. D was having a headache and I didn't want to keep him up. So my plan was to go for just 1 good trade and then call it a day. I had to be selective about my only trade for the day. Great day. 1 trade + USD 300

Friday - The first day of the week that I had the ENTIRE DAY to trade. D-day: -USD 575

Nuff said.

Lord Tedders once told me that his best days were those where he spent only a couple of hours in front of his screen. I always remember what he said, but it hasn't stopped me from doing stupid things now and then.

Once in a while, I must sabotage myself.

Maybe I don't love me so much after all.

6E Trades 6/12 (Fri) - Painful Wrap Up

This is me at my most stubborn. Broke all the rules that I could possibly break:

1) Ignored the very pathetic volume, and went in 4 times

2) Blatantly ignored the inner voice that was telling me that I wasn't trading according to my plan (which is to enter only when price has come down to the area highlighted on my chart)

3) Moved my stop for the 2nd trade, and totally removing it for the 3rd and 4th trade (didn't want my stops to be taken out by spikes on a low volume day)

4) Refusing to take a step back to re-evaluate and re-group after 2 consecutive stop-outs

5) Ignored rule number regarding trading the 6E: that I was NOT to expect to have a trade everyday (since I'm only taking LONG position) - especially not on a Friday!!

6) Blowing my daily loss limit (this I have no control over - I simply couldn't get out fast enough for the last losing trade - had I had a choice, I would have bailed at 100 plus loss!)

I am officially calling it a day. Even if I have a setup in the ES, I am going to have to pass.

My only consolation is that I'm still up for the week, and my gains for these 2 weeks is still within the target that D has set for me (mine is 4 times that figure!!! But now's a good time to go with his, else I'll really feel like killing myself).

From now on, I will NOT enter a trade that does not allow me to put in a HARD STOP. That means no trading unless there's VOLUME!

I'll be a better trader next week.

Sea,
I'm not getting out of my cave until July. So, bring me my birthday cake. :-p

6E Trades 6/12 (Fri) - Patience Tested

I have reason to believe that being the mule that I am, I'll most probably buy again within that boxed area that looks very much like a partial rise (read: reliably bearish). Going out for a breather before I do the unthinkable & impossible...

Oh, yes, I was the stupid bull that got trapped by going in at 1 tick above what I thought was a signal (despite seeing a lower H3).

You're not going back up just yet, are you, 6E??!

Trading Is NOT About Winning...

...neither is it about losing per se.

Trading's just business - at the end of the day, all that matters is the bottom line.

Yes, you definitely need to LOVE this business - almost as much as you love your kids, your shoe-chewing puppy, your annoying girlfriend, etc,etc. Anyone who's considering- even albeit very remotely - TRADING (as opposed to INVESTING, and in reference to very short-term trading only) seriously, or is already a serious trader, will know what I'm talking about.

A post on the topic in question (by Ivanhoff , who writes for the Trading Goddess) that I like very much.

While there are heaps of articles and books out there that touch on the topic of "cutting losses" that I've always just outright ignored, this particular article strikes a chord.

Something to do with timing, I reckon.

Yes, I believe in using a stop loss now.

I've traded without it before, and while at first it was good to not have it (means you won't ever be stopped out - you get out on your own terms and in a losing trade, that's always based on how much PAIN you can take; and since I can take A LOT, the "big ticket" losses I've had in the past have been catastrophically disastrous for me - not so much in the monetary sense, but they definitely nearly broke my spirit), a series of good, hard lessons taught me that if I want to do this (trade for a living) for the long haul, I'd have to accept - perhaps even learn to embrace - small losses.

ES Trade 6/11 (Thurs) - Wrap Up

Been out the entire day, spending some quality time with Carrie. Carrie's not well, and no words can describe my feelings about what happened to her. All I want now is to get to where I want to be as quickly as I can, so that I can see her on a regular basis. During her short stay here, she had told me a number of times that there are more important things in life than work - and that she had realized that only after the episode that she had gone through. My response was that I had heard that too many times, and that I had made up my mind, chosen my path, and am all prepared to live with whatever that life decides to throw at me as a result of my choice.

Saw Carrie off and got home 1 hour before the US market opened. Had a quick bite before taking a look at what the ES has been doing in the past 18 hours. D has been having a nagging headache, so I was targeting for a one shot one kill sniper style trade that will allow me to wrap up before midnight. If I didn't see one, I was prepared to not trade at all today.

Started with a clean chart (deleted all S/R and trendlines), and ended up with the following, 5 mins before market opened:

After market opened :

SPY & SPX charts, and P&L for the day:

D has been the sweetest - rescheduled his meetings so he could see Carrie off too. Am calling it a day so he can have an early night.

Emini-Player:
I enter on market mostly, sometimes on stop (like today). Hardly (almost never) on limit.

Thanks again to all for your comments. I'll really get down to responding to each one of you tmrw.