January 9, 2023 - (3 Trades) ($28.75)
Overal Grade: B-
Day Summary: We finally broke out of the viscious daily range we have been in since Mid-December and had 2 solid moves today, both of which I missed opportunities on, but after being red all 4 days last week, I needed to lock in a green day. The long side of the move today was difficult to catch, but I should have capitalized more on the short side.
DAILY - ES Futures
5 Min - ES Futures
Trades
Trade 1 - Short 1 Contract @ Trend Break Retest (Trend Reversal)
Grade: C
- This trade overall was not very good because I was shorting a frontside move, especially after breaking out of such a strong Daily range
- However, I am happy I only attempted this trade once (old me would have had 5+ attempts at shorting this)
- I did wait for the trend to break at least and entered on the retest, so that was at least better than randomly shorting
- Looking at all the HTF's, this was still very bullish so no reason to short it at this point
FIX: Wait for a supply zone or resistance on the HTF before attempting to short, even if it's a trend break retest
Trade 2 - Short 1 Contract @ 5 Min Trendline Retest after Double Top
Grade: B
- Not an A+ set up by any means but a much better trade than Trade 1 because I waited for a Double Top and a rejection close to the supply zone on the 60min chart
- You can't see it in the screenshot I took, but the 15Min chart also had retested a multiday trendline for the second time which added to my conviction in this trade
- This was a decent trade, but overall it was still only a 1:1 R
FIX: Look for better R/R opportunities
Trade 3 - Short 1 Contract @ Downtrend after Big Bearish wick (Trend Continuation)
Grade: B+
- This was the best trade I took on the day, but it could have and should have been so much better
- After entering this trade, I immediately wished I had taken at least 2 contracts
- I considered adding 2 contracts on the first pull up and holding for the bigger move, which I should have done because this melted for the rest of the day
- As usual, I need to hold my winners longer, but I will say after having such a bullish move in the morning, it did shake my confidense in holding this trade
- The entry on this trade was quite good an it never retested my entry. That is the type of trade that NEEDS to be held. No sense in covering a trade that doesn't even test your entry
- *Note* This became a 1:1R trade, when it had potential to be 5:1+
FIX: Hold winners. Put a stop at breakeven on trades like this so I can comfprtably let my winners run in a risk free trade. I need to start catching these bigger winners to eat up my losers
Takeaways: Being patient helped me avoid massive damage today, but when I do decide to take a trade, I need to be confident in it. I waited all morning for a reason. Also, as usual, trend continuation is the way to go. Don't fight the trillions of dollars! Go with it!
Easy Money: My 3rd trade was the easy money trade, or potentially the next lower high it set