Day Trading Method Daily Journal

daily trading journal  

chart1:  consider the dark blue line-dark blue dot - is this a base pivot entry WITH mex flow into a triple break?  what-where were your trades on this chart AND were the setups base?

red dot1 - green dot:  2 hits of the blue line [there was a focus line from the left 1 tick higher] - sell the lower high WITH mex flow down.  the sell didn't partial AND then after a shift-reject of the blue line into/through the yellow line triple break WITH mex flow - the sell was reversed back long.  i consider these both to be base-pivot entries.

dark blue line-dark blue dot - red dot2:  does this setup exist as described in the question - yes - BUT now try to see it-react to it-fill it real time. trading has 2 difficult issues that traders need to consider:  (1) seeing-reacting to setups real time (2) hindsight evaluation of trade setups BUT doing so with real time relevance.

consider this setup real time.  you are long from the green dot with a partial and a reduce - you are trying to hold the yellow line as support AND shift the dark blue line to a higher low and break back out the top as a triple top break.  there is a double hold of the yellow line AND it looks like the range high is going to be tested BUT then there is a reversal bar - the previous bar is a 3 tick bar up AND the reversal bar is a 3 tick bar back down. 

my mindset is not going to [didn't] react to a counter reverse on these 2 small bars where the entry bar is a reversal bar counter to direction AND this is what i mean by evaluating with real time relevance - before you consider the entry location of a trade - be sure you would see it-react to it at the same location real time.  the sell was entered on reaction after the break - still with mex flow AND the ttmf hook AND into the triple break - this is what i could see-do real time WHICH also includes reversing the buy.  IF flat - the yellow line shift-reject blue line-blue dot is a base first continuation trade.

chart2:  consider the dark blue line-dark blue dot - is this a base setup AND if so what are the components?  what-where were your trades on this chart AND were the setups base?

blue dot:  is the dark blue line-blue dot a base setup - line break2 into/through the prior 2 breaks AFTER a higher low WITH mex flow?  yes as described - this is a base-pivot entry AND a trade done many times BUT i did nothing - including the exit.

red dot2:  short red dot1 = -801.10 +800.10/+800.10/trail AND instead of doing a pivot entry against that trade - a setup that was also against the 120t at the time - i made the trade decision to do nothing at this point.  then after the lower high-ticki high - i did the dark blue line break2 as an addon.

AND right after i did this trade i started thinking about the discussion from chart1 - regarding to small bars AND seeing the entry - wondering if anyone in the room was viewing this as inconsistent.  IF i am still short at the blue dot - i am committed to-managing a sell at that point -vs- chart1 where i would be reversing out of a long while thinking buy management-support hold.  then while short AND getting the lower high-ticki high - seeing resumption OR in this case the sell addon - is not 'counter mindset' along with 'counter reverse'.  no - i see no inconsistency here - the situation is not the same.

chart3:  green dot buy AND nothing done at the dark blue line-yellow dot - is the dark blue line-dark blue dot now a base reverse out of the trailing long - as a break2 WITH mex flow into a triple break?

dark blue line-dark blue dot:  this is essentially the same discussion as chart1 - seeing-reacting to a small bar reversal bar-trade reverse.  again there is more at issue than whether this looks like a setup now in hindsight - this just wasn't something i reacted to at the time AND this was still 'against' the 120t at the time - something that could have added the clarity to do this trade.

red dot:  after the fast chart reversed it continued to remain 'in sell' AND after the dark blue line shift-reject - i did the red dot sell as my first continuation trade to the dark blue dot - this timing also synched with the 120t ttm flip.

open:  where are the key prices for open trading - what was the difference between trading the open AND the open scenario?  regarding any potential open trade which trade 'hadtobe' tried AND what was the significance of that particular trade?  what-where were your open trades?

our job as traders isn't to try to pick tops-bottoms OR try to figure out how to get into a trade early.  our job as traders is to try to be market sensitive - that is trying to identify-locate those setups-situations with the most continuation-breakout potential.  thus the concept of the open price scenario - where we are trying to use prior price action areas AND 'fit' them to the day's open.

we came into today's open focusing on 2 price-price movement situation:  (1) a reversal-breakdown yesterday after the fomc minutes (2) a last hour move up from the lows into the close.  matching left side price to the overnight gave use the 5:41ct chart AND the 791.40 centerline synch to 791.80-790.50 - 789.60-788.40 support on a break of 790.50-790.20 overnight low AND 792.60-793.30 resistance on a break through 791.80. 

considering yesterday's move down AND the diagonal breakout points from yesterday's counter closing move - along with price currently having shifted the 791.40 centerline to resistance - the open scenario sell would be viewed as a trade with continuation-breakout potential.

green dot:  there was a change between the open and the open scenario - 791.40 wasn't resistance any longer - it was support.  basis this the trade i first looked to do was a buy into/through the left channel using the 791.80 price - my first trade filled at the green dot = +792.40 -793.30/-793.30/trail.

dark blue dot - red dot:  with the left-right 793.30 reject - i tried to reverse out of the buy at the dark blue dot - trying to fill by 792.40 and a scratch of the trailing long.  i missed my fill at went short at the red dot = -792.10.

blue dot:  this is the setup being referred to in the open question regarding which trade 'hadtobe' tried - this comment made due to the significance of this setup in light of the open scenario AND the described continuation-breakout potential - again the concept of market sensitivity basis previous price action.

the further significance of this setup AND then the 790.50 price setup at the dark blue dot - became the management of the red dot sell AND using the continuation-breakout concept for profit expansion.  instead of base partials and/or initially expanded 2x partials - these setups were allowed to break-continue AND after the partial profits were available - trail behind them trying to maximize the potential where the 792.10 short got an initial partial at 789.60 AND then at 788.50 on a 788.40 hit = 61 ticks of partial -vs- 21 ticks which would be base1 + base2. 

as well the swing was further maximized by doing no fast chart buys or exits AND doing 2 addons instead - no buy was done until there was a 120t pmd low-synch reverse at 8:47ct.

chart1:  left side short was exited at the dark blue dot - where is the buy setup after this exit IF a reverse isn't done?  what-where are the trade setups after the initial swing high - what-where were your trades during this period?

buy setup:  what buy setup-buy - did you get one-do one?  -787.00 +786.20/+784.70/+785.90 AND flat on a retrace - viewed as a reaction into the 9:30ct eia oil release.  BUT then the release came and the thing kept going up AND i just couldn't figure out how to get into a trade - almost a panic feeling - it kept going AND i kept watching it go not knowing how to enter a trade that didn't 'feel' like a chase.

AND that is one of the primary points for including this chart - to discuss a situation that is going to happen sometimes AND there just isn't anything to do about - a move that continues where you don't know how to enter.  all i can say is i think it's better to miss a move when you don't have a setup that you can commit to -vs- chasing and/or taking a trade that you can't call a setup.  there are bigger implications to losing on a trade like that than simply the dollar loss - it's the tpsych loss where you are also 'steaming' from losing when you know that you shouldn't have traded.

red dot - yellow dot:  is the red dot a base setup - a line setup after a pmd swing high - done as an initial reverse?  before i say whether this is base - i will say that IF that dark blue dot has been available as a buy because there was no pending news - i would be long with 2 partials and trailing AND i would have never done this trade.  from that viewpoint alone i am going to suggest that it isn't base because it was done because i was flat. 

the yellow dot is a pivot trade - again using the setup line after the lower double top at the 2 yellow dots BUT there isn't a retrace with mex flow into this trade AND actually at the time the trade would have been done against ttm.  this trade isn't base AND without a retrace-reject of the blue line with mex flow down AFTER the ttm flip - that gives a triple range break WHICH includes a break-failure setup of 787.50 AND a key price specific in this area trying to shift to support - i am going to say that no base sell setup occurs.

green dot:  what about this trade - is it base?  the setup - focus line break AFTER the double channel hold test of 787.50 - into/through the diagonal AND the 2 yellow dots as a triple break into the swing high WITH left side directional strength BUT no retrace-mex flow into the trade which makes it an initial reverse.

this is the reason for including this chart - to discuss this trade as a right side initial reverse at a pivot line which isn't a base pivot entry BUT also a trade that has left side breakout potential basis what is being traded into AND as a resumption of left side swing direction.  in light of this the buy is certainly a better trade to try than the sell AND after doing the sell - also tried the buy.

open:  where are the key prices for open trading AND were these prices 'known' from the open-price scenario - what-where were your open trades?  do you have an open trade on the last bar of this chart - IF yes what was the setup - IF no where was your next trade?

red dot1:  didn't react to the 791.80 break2 setup - ended up entering on a pause-reject of the line = -791.40

red dot2 addon:  790.20 break setup = -790.10 - this trade broke to the 788.40 price discussed in the open-price setup which filled there on a 788.30 hit - which was done as an addon 2x partial.

open trade last bar of chart:  the addon was exited at 789.30 BUT the initial short was held - there is no base buy setup after the indicator reverse AND no exit WHEN left side price being tested as resistance is considered.

consider:  yesterday we discussed the open not simply from an open setup-trigger BUT in terms of market sensitivity AND the continuation-breakout potential AND a trade that 'hadtobe' tried.  were there any trade setups today that 'hadtobe' tried on a market sensitivity basis - IF yes what-where was the setup?

red dot1:  this is a 'textbook' pmd swing reverse - 'textbook' because the setup includes a reject of s1 as resistance in a down market.  the trailing short was held on the yellow circle indicator reverse - there is no buy setup here OR exit when left side price being tested as resistance is considered.

from the open-price update - 1-4 9:27ct 784.60: double bottom low - this was a test of the 1-3 784.10 low WHICH now would be a triple bottom break IF today becomes a sell day.  this is the type of price setup situation which often accelerates through both price levels.

red dot2 addon:  this is what was being referenced in the open-price update AND the market sensitivity consideration.  784.60 hits-holds to the tick AND retraces back to test the yellow line - the 784.60 break was then sold as an addon into/through 784.10 AND we got our breakdown scenario.  another addon was done at red dot3 on the mex rollback AFTER the shift-reject of the 12-22 783.30 low - this reject to resistance again accelerating the breakdown.

chart1-chart2:  consider the area of the yellow circles - IF trades were done would they be base - why-why not?  did you enter trades in any of these areas - IF yes where was your entry - IF no did you enter at a different location during the swing?

another way to have worded the question:  can the yellow circles which would be initial trade entries be done AND considered base - when left side price and market conditions are taken into consideration?  OR - what additional setup components needed to be added to the yellow circles to 'allow' the counter trades? 

OR - when making a trade decision - first decide whether your trade is a defined base setup AND then decide whether the setup triggers relevant to market conditions-market type.  when you do this you are making a distinction between definition AND concept - definition giving you the setup components AND concept giving you the method context that you will trade that setup.

these trading decisions made were done consistently in that context - where sells were done as 'quickly' as possible on resumption of the initial setup-trigger BUT where shorts were held 'as long as possible' OR buys were done 'as late as possible' after setup components showed the failure of the sell and/or continuation potential.

green dot1:  higher low pmd double hold - buy into/through the diagonal first to the blue line/yellow line targets.

red dot1:  yellow line across the chart double top - blue line setup then break as an initial trade WITH direction and after the resistance reject.  go back look at the open chart for an additional view of the blue-yellow lines.

yellow circle1:  nothing done - no setup to buy AND the trailing short was also held for a reject of the dark blue line - it did tick through but then rejected and the sell remained open.

yellow circle2 - green dot2:  initial indicator reverse BUT no buy setup - then after the higher low WITH mex flow up on the retrace - the green dot buy was done as both a triple break AND into/through the diagonal.

red dot2:  blue line initial setup-trigger done as a reverse of the buy WITH direction - again a directional decision to trade the initial setup.

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