January 31, 2023 (3 Trades) (+$11.25)
Overall Grade: C
Day Summary: Today was one of the few days that I would honestly say had almost 0 opportunity for me personally. This was technically a trending day but it was very hard to trade being that a lot of the action was sideways before it actually made any big moves. That makes it very easy to get stuck in a range and almost gives you too much time in the trade. For example I had a trade today that was almost an hour long. That was actually a decent trade because I followed the trend at least. We will go over that shortly. Other than that, there was a big push up at the EOD (likely a short squeeze) but by that time I had shut down my computer and walked being that it was mostly a no trade day. I'm not sure I would have had the confidence to take that anyways. I was looking for that late day short squeeze in the hour-long trade I took, but the chop to get to that point ended up being too much and stopping me out.
DAILY - ES Futures (screenshot taken after break @ 7:30pm)
5 Min - ES Futures
Trades
Trade 1 - Long 2 Contracts @ 50 EMA Support
Grade: B-
- This was not a bad trade considering the uptrend we had going from premarket, but it was still a tough entry to take and hold through
- Had I been a bit more patient on the entry I could have gotten in at the 50 EMA or just above VWAP which would have made this position much more comfortable to hold
- I, again, sold a partial to "take risk off the table" but that gave me a less than 1R on that first contract which is unacceptable
- I also sold at the point it would likely break. I need to start holding through those points if I'm willing to hold to stop
- I was a bit uncomfortable in this trade because I felt like I was long into a supply zone from the PM data news run up, but I should have expected a break since we reclaimed the PM uptrend
FIX: Less FOMO. Be patient on entry. Do Not Take Partials
Trade 2 - Long 2 Contracts (1 initial, 1 add) (Trend Following After Failed Breakdown)
Grade: B-
- This trade in total lasted about an hour
- I was a bit aggresive with my entry, but i had some FOMO from a long I just missed
- I waited for a pullback after we broke HOD, but wasn't patient enough and set myself up for being red in chop for about 15mins
- Looking back, the prior highs of the range before were the best spot to get in at but I wasn't patient enough (Fucking FOMO)
- I was quite sure a lot of people were getting in short here (I even considered it) but I decided to go with the trend looking for that grinding green move higher and late day short squeeze (which we did get but after so much chop)
- This trade was a bit of 'trading what I wanted to happen' not what was actually happening
- Some good takeaways from this trade are that I held well, I added into a winner looking to maximize profits with still small downside risk, and most importantly, I WENT WITH THE TREND
FIX: Be Patient For A Good Entry
Trade 3 - Long 1 Contract (No Set Up)
Grade: F
- This was the dumb trade of the day. There's always at least one dumb trade. This is actually something Eury and I have been talking about. We usually throw away money at least once a day on a dumb trade. That's gotta stop. it adds up.
- FOMO from the previous trade stopping me out and thinking it was about to go without me
- No reason to take this trade
FIX: Avoid Giving Back money In Stupid Trades
Takeaways: I did a good job holding today in such a choppy market. I did well by going with the trend and adding to a winner. That is a recipe for success. Today was a difficult day but if I continue to follow good habits and avoid FOMO trades like Trade 3 I feel like I am on a good path. One thing I really need to do is stop throwing away money stabbing at C or less quality trades. Trading is not about how much you make, it is about how much you keep. Everytime I take a stab at a shit trade and say "I took it with small size because I'm not sure about it" I am exposing myself to unnecesary market risk. Stop doing that. Also in general, the price action was pretty garbage for most of the day today, so I should have probably just not traded at all.
Easy Money: EOD 50 EMA Bounce ??