Drtro's Attempt At A Journal

drtro

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Hello, my name is Christopher, I'm 20 years old. My experience is very novice. I began paper trading at the beginning of the year. Mostly equities, but I've had my feet wet in futures and forex as well. I just began trading for a prop firm in Chicago and I'd like a place to record my progress and receive comments from other fellow traders.

I never had a formal education in Finance. I went to school for nursing but I've been a freelancer in web/app development since I was 16. I watched maybe 10 minutes of an Al Brooks video on YouTube and a Bob Iaccino webinar on location and volume. Everything else so far has been trial and error. I've shadowed a retail trader who's been successful, as well as a retired Merrill Lynch trader, asking questions along the way. I'm confident in my abilities but I still feel I have plenty to learn.

I started at TowerHillTrading in August 2014. TowerHillTrading is a no capital required "recruitment" firm free for anybody to join. They start you off with $2,000 in buying power and 5 share limit per stock. Every two weeks if you are profitable at least 5 of the 10 days and are overall NET profitable, you get a x2 bump to 10 share $4k BP, 20 share $8K BP, etc. It goes all the way up to 3,000 shares and $500k buying power. They evaluate you for 6 months I believe. After that, they sponsor you for your Series 56 and move you over to Great Point Capital managing $10MM. Current profit share is 80%. I started trading live August 11, 2014 and I've already received one bump. My goal is to reach 1,000 shares which is what I've been trading for almost a year in paper money. However, making it all the way to Great Point Capital would be a dream come true.

My setup involves a 20, 50, and 200 period EMA, 20 period StochRSI, and a custom VolumeStrengthAnalysis indicator I found. I trade the same stocks. I don't get involved in market movers or earnings plays. I usually watch 5-10 stocks. Recently, I've been actively trading AAPL, AMZN, GOOG, NFLX, TNA, and TSLA. I watch 133 tick, 1 minute, 5 minute, 15 minute, 30 minute, and 1 hour time frames. I like to find a trend that pulls back and bounces off an EMA. I wait for the RSI to bottom out to confirm. I also use the VSA for extra confirmation when it gives off a signal. My exit is when the RSI tops out, it meets a level of resistance/another EMA, or the VSA gives me a bearish/weakness signal. For higher spread symbols like TSLA, I tend to trade off the 15 and 30 minute charts, using 5 minute for entry. For smaller spread symbols like AAPL, I will scalp valleys and peaks on 133tick and 1 minute charts. Occasionally, I'll play small sizes in closing imbalances for fun.

I hope to use this thread to record each individual trade I make, why I entered, why I exited, etc. to look back on in the future. I hope others enjoy following along for the next few months.
 
Good luck with your trading journey Christopher.
Short term trading will keep you busy... Let the games begin hey...
By the way, do you also short "I will scalp valleys and peaks"... I take it from this you do.

Lloyd
 
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Good luck with your trading journey Christopher.
Short term trading will keep you busy... Let the games begin hey...
By the way, do you also short "I will scalp valleys and peaks"... I take it from this you do.

Lloyd

If it's an uptrend on 5/15 minute, I will long, vice versa.
 
Monday September 9th, 2014


9:36AM Short TSLA 1 Share @ $279.92
8:37AM Short TSLA 4 Share @ $279.16
9:38AM Close TSLA 5 Share @ $281.10


Was looking at the 1 minute time-frame. Bearish confirmation on the VSA with the RSI being maxed out. Lesson learned not to worry what the 1 minute time-frame says in a stock like TSLA during market open volume.


9:47AM Long AAPL 5 Share @ $98.98
10:04AM Close AAPL 5 Share @ 98.87


I was waiting for AAPL to break $99 so I got back on the 1 minute time-frame. It was showing support at the 20 EMA but the RSI hasn't bottomed out. I bought anyways expecting it to likely break and it did. My plan was to scale down at around .78 which was on the 200 EMA but hesitated and didn't scale down. By the time I hit b/e, the RSI was maxed out. It fell a bit and just started riding the 50 EMA going sideways. I got tired of waiting and took a small loss. Minutes after, AAPL had a bearish to fall signal and made lower lows. Using time limit stops with $ risk losses are always good, especially when trying to trade on small time frames. This trade could have been worse.


10:27AM Long TNA 5 Share @ $76.16
10:31AM Close TNA 5 Share @ $75.91


Has been riding support on the 5 minute. Went to 133 tick for entry and it's been riding the 200 EMA for quite a few candles. Not very long after, it broke down and I got out at .91. Down to .67 within a minute. I'm 3 strikes in a row now. Hisorically I've always performed poorly on Mondays. The anxiety over the weekend to get back into trading makes me trade on weak signals. I'm going to step away from the market for now.


11:35AM
I usually call it a day once I get three strikes. May try to find a setup in AMZN or NFLX on the 15/30 minute time-frame after lunch. I've always done well in the afternoons. My goal is to only enter another trade if I strongly feel I can at least recoup my losses on the day.



12:27PM Long AMZN 5 Share @ $340.79
12:35PM Close AMZN 5 Share @ $341.45
12:45PM Long AMZN 5 Share @ $341.77
1:18PM Close AMZN 5 Share @ $341.06
1:19PM Short AMZN 5 Share @ $340.77
1:20PM Close AMZN 5 Share @ $340.51


AMZN made signifigant lows and my NSDQ and SP500 comparisions were reversing giving it momentum. Initial target exit is $342. I got out early after seeing the NSQD and SP500 go sideways for a couple minutes. This was an entry on AMZN's first push since 10:40AM. Could very well be nothing but a pullback. I will get back in after a higher low confirmation. I ended up seeing strength in the market regaining and AMZN looked good on the 30 minute chart. I got back in with a price target of $344. It was making profit then the market made new lows again. I washed my trade and made a little in a short.


There was a few more trades I forgot to jot down. I ended the day -$5.49 NET which is good for Mondays. I usually do terrible, taking any signal no matter how weak because I'm anxious to get back into trading from the weekend. I'm still holding 5 AAPL shares overnight from $98.28.
 
For a $1400 Options trade you could have either...
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 295/300 CALL @.32 LMT (credit to your account)
or
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 270/265 PUT @.35 LMT(credit to your account)
or both for $1400

As long as the stock stays below $295 for the Calls position or above $270 for the Put position, or in between for both by this Friday you'd be in for a profit of $96 or $105 or $201

To make $100 profit share trading you'd need a $20 stock move.
chick-ching
 
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For a $1400 Options trade you could have either...
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 295/300 CALL @.32 LMT (credit to your account)
or
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 270/265 PUT @.35 LMT(credit to your account)
or both for $1400

As long as the stock stays below $295 for the Calls position or above $270 for the Put position, or in between for both by this Friday you'd be in for a profit of $96 or $105 or $201

To make $100 profit share trading you'd need a $20 stock move.
chick-ching

I've never gotten into options. I tried following TastyTrade but I don't use ThinkOrSwim. My only options trade ever lost me $50. Do you have any links that you used to learn about them?
 
I've never gotten into options. I tried following TastyTrade but I don't use ThinkOrSwim. My only options trade ever lost me $50. Do you have any links that you used to learn about them?

Tasty is 'ok' maybe for the information about option strategies but they can't trade to save themselves they have such a poor win/loss ratio it's a joke.

One could try CBOE for video's but I am self taught through hours and years of chart and option chain time.
 
For a $1400 Options trade you could have either...
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 295/300 CALL @.32 LMT (credit to your account)
or
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 270/265 PUT @.35 LMT(credit to your account)
or both for $1400

As long as the stock stays below $295 for the Calls position or above $270 for the Put position, or in between for both by this Friday you'd be in for a profit of $96 or $105 or $201

To make $100 profit share trading you'd need a $20 stock move.
chick-ching

What's teh max risk in the above examples? (I know NOTHING about options and how they work. I downloaded the thinkorswim platform years ago, but I found it all SO confusing. I had no idea what was going on with my (demo) account)
 
I didn't record my trades today. I basically kept going in and out of AAPL for .20-.30/share during the event. Made about $14 out of it. But I had a bad open with TSLA and finished about +$3 NET.


Tasty is 'ok' maybe for the information about option strategies but they can't trade to save themselves they have such a poor win/loss ratio it's a joke.

One could try CBOE for video's but I am self taught through hours and years of chart and option chain time.

Thanks. I'll look into it.

What's teh max risk in the above examples? (I know NOTHING about options and how they work. I downloaded the thinkorswim platform years ago, but I found it all SO confusing. I had no idea what was going on with my (demo) account)

I asked TastyTrade and the guy in the chat said the max you'd lose would be $270 or something. I can't remember. I understand options, I just don't understand how to execute them. So many different words I hear flying around. Butterfly, Iron Condour, yadda yadda yadda.
 
I didn't record my trades today. I basically kept going in and out of AAPL for .20-.30/share during the event. Made about $14 out of it. But I had a bad open with TSLA and finished about +$3 NET.




Thanks. I'll look into it.



I asked TastyTrade and the guy in the chat said the max you'd lose would be $270 or something. I can't remember. I understand options, I just don't understand how to execute them. So many different words I hear flying around. Butterfly, Iron Condour, yadda yadda yadda.

It all seems confusing at first but here is something that may help. All of those you listed and others are based on the "vertical spread". Once you understand that one the rest are just variations of that.

Example....an iron condor is just 2 out of the money vertical credit spreads (one on the put side and one on the call side). A butterfly is a credit spread and a debit spread that share the same short strike.

Just think of the vertical spread this way. A vertical spread means you are buying one option and selling another. (both either on the call side or put side with the same expiration) That's the easy part.
The money in play is the dollar difference between the strikes. So if you take a position at the 10 and 12 strikes the amount in play is 2$.
So here is how to figure max win and loss.
If the position results in a credit (a credit spread) the most you can win is the credit received and the most you can lose is the other half of the spread. So if the spread is 2$ wide and you received .66 in credit the most you can win is .66 and the most you can lose is 1.34 (.66+1.34=2$)

If the position results in a debit (you had to pay for it...a debit spread) the most you can lose is what you paid and the most you can win is the width of the spread minus the debit. So if the spread is 2$ wide and you paid .66 then the most you can lose is .66 and the most you can win is 1.34 (.66+1.34=2$)

So credit spreads are profitable if they move further out of the money or the cheaper they get....means if you sell it to open for a .66 credit and can close it later by buying it back for .10 then you made a .56 profit.

And debit spreads are profitable if they move further in the money or get more expensive.....means if you bought it for .66 and can sell it later for 1.00 you made .36 profit.

Just remember....if you paid for it the most you can lose is what you paid....if you got a credit...the most you can win is what you were paid. To calculate the other side just subtract that number from the width of the strikes.

If you get those concepts down understanding the other variations becomes a lot easier.
 
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What's teh max risk in the above examples? (I know NOTHING about options and how they work. I downloaded the thinkorswim platform years ago, but I found it all SO confusing. I had no idea what was going on with my (demo) account)

For a $1400 Options trade you could have either...
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 295/300 CALL @.32 LMT (credit to your account) MAX RISK $1404
or
SELL -3 VERTICAL TSLA (Weeklys) SEP2 270/265 PUT @.35 LMT(credit to your account) MAX RISK $1395

or both for $1400 and a MAX RISK of $1299
 
So risking $1404 or $1395 or $1299 for potential profit of $96 or $105 or $201?
 
I'm trying something new today. I'm overlaying a 20-period AverageTrueRange on my 20-period StochRSI to determine the level of significance in the bottom/top maxing out. I've informally backtested it on various stocks looking back a week or so, and many like to make a reversal around 10:45-11:00AM. Yesterday could of been a $5/share day in AMZN, but I know it's easier said than done.
 
I haven't forgotten about this journal. I've just been busy this past week. I failed my bump after a $12 hit Monday. So hopefully next Friday I get a bump. Will be at 20 shares then.
 
Today was my first losing Friday ever. I fell asleep while holding GOOG and TSLA with no stops. Won't happen again!

Monday, I will begin logging trades again. I was up 1% my first month. Yesterday's IPO crapshoots and today's loss puts my profit back at ~0% so it's like starting over. It was also my first time losing two days in a row. I've had three two day winning streaks and my longest win streak being five days, so I'm still confident I can turn things around.
 
9/22/2014

Didn't take today too seriously. I was working on a new freelance project so I was only watching the charts every 15-30 minutes. I've only been 20% successful on Mondays so I was wary of trading. I didn't want a 3 day losing streak. Trading 1 share today.


10:32AM LONG AMZN $322.70
10:37AM EXIT AMZN $323.29
+$0.59/share

Entry on 5m engulfing candle. I got out early. My profit target was $1 at $223.70, but I was busy and didn't want it to run against me because I wasn't paying attention.

10:49AM LONG BABA $90.90
10:54AM EXIT BABA $90.30
-$0.60/share

Was watching BABA for a signal to move back up to the $91-92s. I got in a bit higher than I wanted. Was looking to get in around the .60-.70 level but I got distracted. Turns out it was just a stop run for lower lows.

12:30PM LONG ALXN $158.26
1:32PM EXIT ALXN $158.57
+$0.31/share

Engulfing candle on the 15 minute. This will likely be my last trade of the day. Profit target is $1.00/share but anything above $0.50/share will be a win for me. I was reaching on $0.50/share profit and started watching it. Didn't like the gap nor the Level II so I took my profits early.

1:00PM LONG GOOG $585.50
1:29PM EXIT GOOG $886.63
+$1.13/share

GOOG was long on both 15 and 30 minute charts. Planned to sell around $1/share profit.

I'm done for today. Didn't even pay attention to the market that much. Much less emotion involving the longer intraday time frames. +$1.39 NET PnL. That's $1,390/1,000shares. Glad to have a winning Monday. It's only my second. Will bump up my share size if I can continue to make $1/share a day on my new strategy.

I was 75% successful but I'm a bit disappointed I didn't hold until my initial profit target on a few trades.
 
I'm done recording every trade as it's getting to be too many. But today, I made about $0.20/share scalping AAPL. I was 14/5 W/L on my trades.
 
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