1-15-2013

My Notes:

I am focusing on the movement from the opening b/c the overnight session does not seem to be indicative of which way the market is headed.  Mack is counting the 2nd entry long off of the lows, not the highs like I have been doing.

Mack's Notes:

The best place to exit when in an uptrend channel is at the very top of the channel.

A good reversal pattern to look for in a downtrend is a double bottom and/or a double bottom with a short trap.

Once you get a trend line break you are better off waiting for a 2nd entry.

Mack is counting his 2nd entry longs off of the lows and not counting them from the highs.

My Trades:

1.  Double bottom off of the lower trend channel.  It wasn't a 2nd entry but was a double bottom off of the lower trend channel with a good signal bar.  Price came back and took out my 2nd contract at BE before rocketing up.

2.  Long entry b/c it was off the lower trend line and the EMA, it also created a nice short trap.  I moved my scalp one tick lower from the previous high in case it made just a double top and wouldn't fill me.  Price was also at the overnight high and was having trouble bouncing through.

3.  2nd entry long and 2 legged move after 1st break of the trend channel.  I got out when prices closed near their lows 2 bars in a row and was not pushing through the EMA at all.  If I had been patient it would have worked and would have given me a nice runner.  (He said to take the 2nd entry long off the lows, not the highs)


Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long.

1-14-2013

My Notes:


Not a lot of activity so the good news is that I just sat there and didn't force trades b/c that is the 2nd fastest way to create losing trades.  The first is incorrectly drawing my trend lines.  I missed one trade I called and should have taken but my fear kept me out of it.  I was afraid price was going to retrace higher and stop me out.  I have Mack's rules in place to combat my fears and this is a trade I take 100% of the time since it was a 2nd entry short off the EMA and off my incorrectly drawn trend lines.

My blue lines are not drawn correctly.  Should have drawn them off the first two high swings of the day.

I drew the range correctly.

Mack's correct trend lines are the black dots.

Mack's Notes:


Price usually moves in two's.  Always measure the legs b/c that is a good indication of where it is going.


My Trades:

1.  2nd entry short.  Mack didn't like the setup b/c there was a lot of overlap in that area and price had just made a good move down and had not retraced too far back.


Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry short off of the EMA and my incorrectly drawn trend line.

2.  Long.  Bottom of the trend line and where the measured move ends.  Was also far away enough from the EMA to get at least a scalp

3.  2nd entry short off of Mack's trend line and what turned out to be the top of the resistance area.

3-28-2013

My Notes:

Big thanks to Welly192!  He advised putting the 45 EMA on the chart as well as another filter to help with the dreaded trend reversals.  I have it on their now and all of Mack's rules still apply it just that this helps filter which way you should be trading depending on which side of the EMAs the price closes.  The trend reversals were a HUGE problem when trading using the Day Trading Academy's system.  It's gotten better with Mack's rules but is still a major work in progress for me.

Still keeping my trailing stop 2 ticks below the last candle's close.

Drawing incorrect trend lines and support/resistance lines is the cause for most of my losing trades. I take bad trades that aren't good setups out of the badly drawn areas.  This is a big weakness I am going to focus on now.

(My blue trend lines were too wide, they should have been narrower.  Mack did not like the way it was setup.  The purple lines were okay.  Brown lines were good.  Still need work on my resistance level drawings b/c I am not drawing them at correct places)


Mack's Notes:

Day's before holiday weekends are low volume days.
Price usually comes back to gaps or big candle moves to fill them before resuming the trend.  He is not sure why but he is researching it but he sees it happen a ton.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long and 2 legged pullback.  The close was just below the EMA and it could have easily reversed to the lower trend channel but this is a trade I take 100% of the time.  Look how beautifully it bounced off of the 45 EMA though.

2.  2nd entry long off of the lower trend channel.  It had the first break of the trend channel so that could be a sign that price is going to go into a range or make 2 legs higher then go into a range or reverse.  At least I got a scalp.  (Mack didn't like the setup b/c he said it was too choppy)

3.  2nd entry long w/2 legged pullback to the 21 EMA and lower trend line.

4.  Here was the horrible trade of the day.  At this point in my trading I am good for one of these a day.  I thought it was a 2nd entry short off of a support turned resistance level.  Obviously it wasn't as I was on the short trap.  Horrible trade.

Missed Trades:

1.  Mack said it was a failed 2nd entry short on his charts.  On my chart it was a 2nd entry long if you were going off the bottom of the pivot.  The 2nd entry long was 3 candles to the left.  I didn't take it b/c I thought price was too close to my resistance area but it was actually higher.

2.  2nd entry short.  Since I had drawn the support/resistance level I was not looking for this at all.

3-27-2013

My Notes:

Another great video to review!
I took the blue line trend from the two swing highs of the day and copied to the lower channel.  This channel was too wide.  I need to find out how to come up with a better system for my trailing stop.  It seems I usually get stopped out at BE if I just leave it there when I could have at least gotten 2-4 more ticks by moving it up before it eventually came back to the BE.  Today I tried keeping it 2 ticks under the previous bars close.  It seems I get more profits in smaller trades but that you miss the big runs when they happen.

For the purple lines I drew them off the 2 swing highs and dragged it to the lowest swing low and went from there.  It worked for one swing that hit it but that was it so not sure if it was correct.  (It wasn't correct, it was too narrow)

Interesting day.  Went from a down trend to a range to and uptrend.  Good day to learn from b/c it had a little bit of everything.  The difficult part is when to recognize the trend going into a range and then the range going into the trend in the other direction.

Mack's dotted line is in the black.  His correct trend line is in black dots.

Mack's Notes:

Most healthy trends are at around a 45 degree angle but you can have them at any degree.
When you get a break in the trend line then look for a 2 legged move that makes a new high/low before it goes into a range or reverses.
Make sure you read his ebook over and over and over again because you will pick up new pieces of information every time you read it.
He says you should stay in your runner until there is a break of the trend line.

The market almost always comes back and fills and gaps that price creates.  If you see a strong bar or more with no or minimal overlap then the market will eventually come back and fill it.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry short w/2legged pullback to the EMA w/great signal bar off the EMA.  This is a trade I take 100% of the time that only seems to develop in strongly trending markets.  I got in 2 bars later b/c this is when I started the replayer and was able to get in at the same price when the entry bar signaled the entry.  I kept my trailing stop two ticks below the last bar close.  Not sure if that is ideal.  I should have just gotten out at the bottom of the channel.

2.  2nd entry short near the upper trend channel.  Obviously it wasn't a good trade so I'll watch the review video to find out why.  There were a lot of dojis and overlapping bars so maybe that is why.

3.  2nd entry short after price had broken out of the channel for the first time.  I put more precedence that we were now in a range by the support and resistance levels I drew so I took my 2nd contract out near the lows of the range.  (He talked about this and this was an incorrectly drawn trend line b/c nothing is hitting off of it.)

4.  2nd entry long at the bottom of a range.  The entry bar was an awesome short trap bar.  Kept my trailing stop 2 ticks below the last bar.  Obviously that was not ideal for this trade as it came back and stopped me out before taking off.  I need to stick to a trailing stop system or just take my profits out at a certain level.  Good entry and trade though.

5.  2nd entry long and 2 legged move off of lower trend channel and EMA.  I thought about getting out of this trade several times around BE but thought that price would go up and hit the 2nd measured move  for at least a scalp.  I should have gotten out once I saw it hesitating so much.  (He took this exact trade but got the scalp b/c after he saw the doji form he dropped a limit order a tick or two back.  He also liked the setup and expected prices to go higher.)

6.  2nd entry long off of the EMA.  After looking at it I got in one bar too late and one tick too high.

Missed Trades:

1.  2 legged pullback to the EMA and lower trend line.  It wasn't a 2nd entry on my charts but was 2 legged pullback to the EMA and lower trend line.

2.  2nd entry long off of the brown trend line channel.  Not sure if the channel is correct.  This 2nd entry was found by counting off the low and not the high.

3-26-2013

My Notes:

Good video to watch about how to trade range days.
I'm noticing a little bit of an improvement which is very encouraging.  I got the overall trend line correctly drawn.  Although my range area was off I only took one questionable trade but since it was a 2nd entry off the EMA in the direction of the trend I was able to get a scalp.  I missed a couple of trades that were 2nd entries but that is to be expected as I am still trying to keep my head above water at this stage.  I need to work on my resistance area lines.  I need to look bigger rather than trying to cram them into a smaller area.

Mack's Notes:

The only time he cares about previous days price action is when we are making higher highs/lows so he can look at past days to see where resistance areas would be.
It is almost better to wait on 2nd entries.
Our rules tell us to buy at support and sell at resistance.
The more you do this the better you will get at it.  It may take months or even years but keep at it and you will eventually get it.

A good clue to it being a range day is when price is on both sides of the EMA all day.

Price moves in twos.  Remember this.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long off of EMA and first break out of trend channel.

2.  2nd entry long off of lower trend channel and what looks like a support area.    I didn't like how high I had to get in off the lower trend line.  I had my trailing stop two ticks behind every closing bar, trying a new approach to my trailing stops.

3.  2nd entry long off of resistance turned support level.  It also was the first break of the trend channel but I'm not sure how much that came into play since price was so far away.  My 2nd contract got out at 2 points b/c I was running the replayer too fast.  Need to slow the replayer down when I am in a trade.  This was the trade of the day b/c it had a good setup candle that faked everyone out that price was going lower.  Right when that area was forming a voice inside me said to not worry about price going lower and it being a failed trade.  So I knew to look for a long at that area and it paid off.  I think that reviewing and going over these charts may have had an effect here b/c I just knew to look to go long here even though price was going straight down into that area.  Great job.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long off of the EMA and lower trend line.  I called this trade but I didn't like it b/c there were 4 overlapping bars.  Mack had no problem taking this trade.  Right after the trade took off I realized I should have taken the trade b/c the setup was too good with it being a 2nd entry long off of the EMA and the trend line.

2.  He has a 2nd entry long on his charts but on mine they are a 2nd entry short at the resistance level.

3.  I have a 2nd entry long but his is at 12:11 where he said it is a failed 2nd entry short on his chart.  My chart has a great entry candle with a short trap where I have it labeled so it's a great place to enter.  I didn't have the support line drawn there at that point so I didn't see it.

3-25-2013

My Notes:

I spoke with Stoplight and he has really helped me out with trend line drawing.  I am still horrible at it but he made it seem clearer and showed me how he draws his lines.  Thanks bro!

I got out of the trade the bar before the move to the 13 point downside.  Then I draw a new channel since I was trying to go off of the violet lines and the first trade I take is a loser.  This is after price bounced beautifully off the EMA in the brown channel trend.  That was a rough patch.

When I found the correct trend channel LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!  Goodness gracious it is amazing how much easier trading is when you can draw the correct trend channels.  YOU HAVE TO DRAW THE CORRECT TREND LINES!!!!!!!

I didn't know what to do at around 13:56 so I didn't do anything.  I thought price would go back down after making a lower high to test the lows of the day before turning back up which it did.  The problem was that my rule of taking the first of the 2nd entry that breaks the trend channel was in play.  I was leaning towards taking the short and even had it set until I called it off.  Turns out my read was correct which I'm happy with even though I didn't take the trade.

Mack's Notes:

When you are on both sides of the EMA then that means  you are in a trading range.
Price usually moves in 2's which is why we always look for a 2 legged move.
You have to draw your lines.
You want to have a good signal bar for your trades.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry pullback and 2 legged move down.  This was the first break out of what I thought a trend line.  More important was that I was waiting for price to fill the gap at around 1554.50 which it did and proceeded to create a nice 2nd entry long for an easy scalp.

2.  2nd entry short off of the top of the trend channel.  This is a setup I take 100% of the time.  When the entry bar ended in a doji then that is never a good sign.  After 8 bars and price had only come a tick within my entry I decided to get out b/c price is not going lower like it should with this sort of entry at the upper trend line area.  (Of course I get out right when price takes off to the downside...lol.....not sure if I'm that bad, that unlucky or a combination of both....haha)

3.  After I missed the 13 point move to the downside I draw the brown trend line.  Then I take a 2nd entry short off the EMA and close to the trend line and of course it is a loser.  haha.  Geez Louise.  Obviously the brown trend channel is not correct.

4.  2nd entry short off of upper trend channel.  Okay, now I think I have the correct overall trend line drawn but we shall see.

5.  Failed 2nd entry long off of EMA and close to upper trend channel.  I missed the original entry at 1546 with the time being 11:16am so I put a limit entry one tick worse at 1545.75and luckily got filled.  I kept my trailing stop 2 ticks above the swing high.

6.  2nd entry short off of upper trend channel.  Good for a scalp.

7.  2nd entry long and two legged pullback to the EMA and trend line.  Beautiful trade I take 100% of the time.  The bread and butter of my trades.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long with a failed break lower.  I called this trade at the time and should have taken it.  Good recognition, just take the trade next time.  This was actually in a range but I thought it was another 2nd entry long in a downtrend going back to the upside which it did as well.

2.  Failed 2nd entry long.  This is right after I got after my trade.  Mack said he didn't like this trade area anyways for a short trade.  He labeled it an advanced trade.  What happened was this area trapped a ton of people on the long side.  He said this area had too much congestion.

3.  2nd entry short and 2 legged move off the EMA.  I was still going off the violet channel lines so I thought price was too close to the lower trend channel to take the trade.  I'm not sure how he had drawn his trend line already?  I think he did it off that first lower low.  If I had drawn the correct trend line then I would have taken this trade.

1-9-2013

My Notes:

I finally drew the correct trend lines!  Well, I drew one extra set but I corrected it and drew the next 2 correctly.  Good day, I took one trade that I don't take so I got out right away for BE.  The other is a setup I liked but there wasn't enough room to the lower channel line so I got a 1 tick profit.  I might be getting a tad better at drawing the correct trend lines.  I went off of the overnight and opening swings and that seemed to work out perfectly.  I have to do this every time.

Mack's Notes:

My tick charts will never look the same as Mack's.  Different providers have different filters.
You just want your patterns to setup the same as Mack's which seems like that is happening.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long off of the EMA after price broke out of the trend channel for the 1st time.  I'm not excited about this trade b/c the setup bars were horrid.  The signal bar was a doji and the one to the left of it got pushed down.  I still took it b/c this is a trade I take 100% of the time when price 1st breaks out of the channel.  (As it turns out I think the purple line is the correct trend line so although it wasn't a first break of the trend channel it still turned out being a 2nd entry off the trend channel and EMA which is a trade I take 100% of the time.  Also Mack's charts had a different entry bar so the setup looked really good on his charts)  I used the measured move and had my exit 2 ticks below the top.  (Mack said to exit at the top of the channel as well so overall this was an excellent trade)

2.  2nd entry long 2 legged pullback after broke broke out of the channel for the 1st time.

3.  This isn't a trade I take so I got out as soon as I got in for BE.

4.  2nd entry short off the EMA.  I loved the setup but if my trend lines are correct then there isn't any room for a scalp so I got out with .25 ticks of profit.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry short off of upper trend line and support turned resistance.  This is a trade I take 100% of the time so there is no excuse for not taking this.  I had drawn the trend lines correctly and there was still room for at least a scalp to the lows of the channel.

1-8-2013

My Notes:

I didn't draw the purple dotted trend lines.  I missed that.  I was expecting price to resume the downtrend after it broke the channel.  I also did not draw the correct brown dotted lines that Mack drew which were the correct lines of the day.  I HAVE TO USE THE FIRST SWING HIGH AND LOW TO DRAW THE CORRECT TREND LINES!  I am not using the first swing high and low and it is causing me to draw incorrect trend lines.  The good news is that I ended up positive.
I should have realized it was a trend day when the price made a higher low it its 2nd swing and then sold off.

Mack's Notes:

He found the correct trend line by drawing it off the 2 swing high's where the 2nd was a lower high.  He drug this down to the 1st swing low and viola, there is the correct overall trend line.

Most of your high probablity entries will be when price creates a 2nd entry or a 2 legged pullback to your trend lines, EMA or support/resistance area.  (I need to add the EMA as a support/resistance area to my trades)


My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long and 2 legged pullback.  Price looked like it was in a range and a nice 2 legged pullback with a 2nd entry long formed.  Good trade.  I wonder if there is a way to get in better after the 2nd entry forms?  I think I could have dropped an order 2-3 ticks lower and still would have gotten filled.  The entry bar was almost 2 points which is too big for me to get in with.

2.  2nd entry long and 2 legged pullback off of support.  I got out with a .75 tick loss after my entry  bar formed a doji.  This wasn't a valid trade.

3.  2nd entry short and a 2 legged pullback to the upper trend line.  I got out with my 2nd contract when two double bottom dojis formed.

4.  2nd entry short and 2 legged pullback with a double top off of support turned resistance area.  I drew the yellow dashed line where I thought resistance was.  It looks like it was really where the black dotted line is located which I recognized after the fact.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry short off or resistance.  I tried to drop an order at 1455 but price took off and never came back to it.  That is the debate when at support/resistance, drop an order at a better fill after the 2nd entry signals or just take when it signals at that price?

2.  2nd entry short off the EMA.  You do not get too many of these in a trending market.  I should pay better attention b/c I was just waiting for price to go back up to the upper trend line.  This would have been a trade I take 100% of the time.

1-7-2013

My Notes:

My mortal enemy continues to win against me......drawing correct trend lines.  The blue trend lines were not correct.  The black dotted lines were the correct ones Mack drew.  I thought today was a range day when it was a trend day.  I need to remember that when price breaks out of the trend line for the first time then it will probably come back to retest or create a new high/low before it goes into a range or reverses trend.

Good video to review!

Mack's Notes:

When price breaks the trend channel (in a downtrend) for the first time then it will usually come back and test or make a new low before reversing it's trend into a range or an uptrend.
Draw your trend line from the overnight highs or lows and then copy and paste it to the other side where it fits the best to create your first trend line.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry short against resistance.  Good trade if that really was resistance but it was in a trend and not resistance.  Still was able to get a scalp.

2.  Not a valid trade.  I thought it was a 2nd entry short but it was not b/c it made a new high.  I also used a doji as a signal bar which you never do.  This was just a horrendous trade all around.  I thought price was bouncing off resistance which it was not.  I had it labeled incorrectly since I thought it was in a range and not a trend.  At least I was able to limit my losses by dropping an order up closer to the resistance area.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry short with first break of the (correct) trend channel.  This is a trade I take 100% of the time.

2.  Failed 2nd entry long.

2-20-2013

It's the weekend and I am all caught up so I'm going back and doing days I have not done before.

My Notes:

Found the correct trend line today. I didn't take two trades I should have taken.  I recognized the trades but hesitated taking them due to my lack of experience.  Making baby steps in my progression.  On a day like today you should be positive with a big gain every time so at least I was positive and not negative which is a start.

Mack's Notes:

Your best entries are around the trend channel lines.
Don't be guessing, just go with the flow.
You live for trend days like today.  When you find the trend you have to trust it and take the trades at the channel lines.
Stay with the rules and trade with the trend.
If you watch the price action it will tell you everything you need to know.
Don't let outside things influence you, follow the rules.

My Trades:

1.  2 legged pullback to the lower trend channel.  Even though I was able to scalp out with 2 ticks of profit but I should not have taken this trade.  This was a counter trend trade.  I just wasn't thinking.  I saw the 2 legged move form and I took it.  This is not a trade I am taking right now.

2.  2nd entry short and 2 legged pullback off of upper trend line.  This is the perfect setup I look for every time.  Good recognition and good entry.

Missed Trades:

1.  Failed 2nd entry short off of upper trend line and EMA.  I called this trade and even had the order on to take it but I took the order off before I would have been filled.  These are the types of failed 2nd entries I take when they are off the trend channel lines and the EMA.

2.  2nd entry short and a 2 legged pullback off the top trend channel line.  I have no idea why I didn't take this trade.  This is another perfect setup I take 100% of the time.  NO excuse for not taking this trade.

3-22-2013

My Notes:

Today I am putting on the trend lines from the overnight pivots.  I haven't been doing this but it seems those are the correct trend lines.  Good day today.  I missed some trades but they didn't fit the rules I am following now which are to only take 2nd entries and/or 2 legged pullback to the channel trend lines or support and resistance areas.  I finally understood what Mack means by "dropping an order down there."  I discovered you can do this with great success in support/resistance areas in ranges that increase your odds of success and decrease your stop loss.  Some of Mack's teachings are starting to stick a little better in my head.  Don't get cocky b/c if all of Mack's information was the size of a basketball then the amount of my knowledge would be a small dot of a black Sharpie marker on it.  I am getting better about recognizing when the trend switches to a range and how to trade those properly.  I am seeing a little growth which is encouraging.

The one horrible trade I almost took was due to me incorrectly drawing the trend lines again.  This would have been at 9:25 off of the purple lines.  Luckily I held off b/c of the horrible looking overlapping bars.  At least the fear of missing out on a winning trade is not as strong but it is definitely still there and tugs at me which is why I've taken so many losing trades due to bad setups.

(After watching his video I still didn't draw the major trend line correctly.....all I can do is laugh about it at this point.  The black dots are the correct trend line.  Haha, now after watching the video further he specifically states that my blue trend lines were incorrect.  I have a lot of work to do in this area.  If I had drawn the black dotted correct trend line then some of my trades and reasoning would have been different below)

Mack's Notes:

Keep studying and practicing and you will get better with this.
Experience makes this look easy.
It takes dedication to make money doing this.
You have to compare this profession to any professional profession.  Think of all the hours that lawyers, doctors and pro athletes put in to become successful in their field.  You have to take the same level of dedication, time and commitment to be a profitable trader.
Until you can prove you can make money consistently on the simulator then you are no where near ready to go live.
Being a successful trader is a two step process.  The 1st step is correctly reading price action, the 2nd step is the mental aspect.  Anyone can learn the 1st step but it is the mental side that stops people from being successful.
If you don't know what prices are doing and why they are doing it then do not take the trade.
This is not something you will learn to do quickly, it takes time, dedication and experience.
Most people give up before they become profitable because they do not want to put in the time and dedication.
There will be an emotional learning curve when you switch from sim to live.  If you have proven that you are profitable in sim then you at least can read the price action correctly.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long after price broke out of the trend line for the 1st time.  The rule is when price breaks the trend line for the first time it will usually go to retest the high or make a new high before reversing into a trend or a down trend.  This trade was easy for me.  I can honestly say this trade did not excite me at all when the scalp hit.  I still wonder if I should just put my 2nd contract one tick below the high to lock in the 1.75 or so profit rather than trying for a 2+ point runner.  But I waited for this trade and took it with no hesitation and didn't get excited when I was in the trade or when the scalp worked.  That is new for me and the path Mack says you need to be on if you want to be a successful trader.  I've seen this setup enough times the past month that it was pretty much automatic.

2.  2nd entry long off of resistance turned support.  There are a couple of things I like about this trade and one thing to think about.  I love the fact that I identified that price would snap back to this level after the prior breakout.  This was where resistance turned into support and I entered on a 2nd entry long.  I think what I should do so I can get in at a .50 - 1.25 point entry is after the 2nd entry signals is to drop my order back down a tick or two above the support level.  This way I get in at a much better fill and if price goes in my direction I get my scalp and a better opportunity on my 2nd contract.  If price happens to go against me then I've cut down my stop loss that much more.  Great job identifying that price would probably snap back to this area from the breakout.  I remembered this from the video the day before.  (After watching Mack's video I think the true 2nd entry was around 10:00 b/c price had made a lower low so the count can start over)

3.  2nd entry short and failed 2nd entry long off the EMA.  I did this trade exactly as I should have done trade #2.  After the failed breakout to the upside at around 10:25 I have usually seen price retrace back and make a new low below the low of the range it just failed to breakout from.  The yellow square is the 2nd entry short and I should have put my entry at 1548.50 which would have been on the EMA and 2 ticks below the high of that little pivot.  Once I saw the 2nd entry failed long form I wanted in on this trade so I put my entry at 1548.50 and luckily I got filled.  This is in Sim so who knows if I would have gotten filled if this was live but I did and my scalp got filled even before the entry bar was finished.  I though about moving my 2nd contract down to a tick below the lowest bar in the range b/c when price fails to breakout one direction it seems to make a new high/low at the other end of the range.  Instead I played it safe and put it 2 ticks higher than my perceived support line which made it a 2 point profit.  I really love trading ranges this way.  Sometimes I may not get filled but I think this way is worth it for ranges.


Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long after the first break of the trend line.  This wasn't correct b/c I did not have the correct trend line drawn.  Mack took this exact trade but he just took it off the support level it was on.  I didn't have the resistance level drawn yet.  I thought it as the first break of the purple trend line.

2.  2nd entry short off of resistance at 10:10.  I called this trade but I'm not upset at all with not getting filled b/c what I tried to do is what I should have done with my trade #2 from above.  After I saw the 2nd entry short form I didn't want to get in almost 1.5 points from the resistance level so I dropped my entry back up to 1 tick below the high from that pivot at 1548.75.  I didn't get filled so maybe I'll try 2 ticks next time.  If I had gotten filled even at 1548.50 then that would have been .75 ticks better than the 2nd entry short at 1547.75. I really like trading the support and resistance levels this way if the 2nd entry forms too far away from the support/resistance area because it gives your scalp a much easier chance to succeed, increases the ticks on your 2nd contract and decreases your stop loss.  What's not to like about that?  Sometimes price may not come back and fill you before taking off but I think in the long run it is much more worth it doing it the way I described.

3-21-2013

My Notes:

(After watching Mack's video I was wayyyyy off today.  No wonder I got destroyed.  I thought it was a range day but it was a trend day.  All of my support/resistance levels were not needed.  It's embarrassing how wrong I was about today but it just goes to show how much I have to learn.  At least I'm not throwing a tantrum like I did the other night b/c I recognize that I'm going to have many losing days right now as I learn this price action trading.  So if you are reading my notes below just know that most of them are incorrect compared to how I should have treated the day.  My first trend channel was too narrow b/c I didn't do it off the over night high and low.  I need to start doing this.)

(Mack's correct trend lines are in the black dots)

Still going with the theme of "If I don't understand the setup then do not take the trade."  If I can get 2-4 trades that follow the super strict rules right now of only taking 2nd entries or 2 legged pullback at trend channels or support/resistance areas then I'll be happy with that between 7:30am - 11:30am.

I ended up getting destroyed today but with every trade I had a plan and stuck to my rules.  After watching Mack's videos all of my losing trades were because I cannot read price action correctly.  I recognize this and I have much to learn.

Mack's Notes:

Most breakouts fail and they snap back.
You have to understand how and why price moves.
The goal is to learn and understand price action.
You have to get the experience until you don't have emotions in trading.
Whether you have a winner or a loser you should feel no emotion because winning trading comes with experience and when you get to that point trading gets boring.  That's when you know you are ready to go live.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry short off of resistance.  The expectation is down since price went down into the range.  Good trade.

2.  2nd entry short off of upper channel of trend line.  Good trade.  I was hesitant to take it b/c the range had been reached from the 1st range but this is a trade I take so I went ahead and took it.

3.  2nd entry long and 2 legged pullback to the lower trend channel.  My thinking was that it was in a channel within in a range and it was going to go back up to test the highs of the day.  Horrible trade.   (Mack said: "Today was a trend day, not a range day.  It suckered me in and he said it probably suckered some other people in.  The gap had already come within a couple of ticks to being filled so that is why it didn't reverse and go up to the high like I thought it would.  Horrible trade but learn from it.

4.  This trade I read incorrectly but it still worked out.  Mack says even if you get a bad entry if you are trading with the trend then you still have a chance to get a winner rather than if you were counter trend trading.  I was going off the failed 2nd entry long when I should have been looking at the 2nd entry short.  If I had done the 2nd entry short then my entry would have been at 12:55 off the EMA and resistance level.  Would have gotten in .75 ticks better.  I took the 2 point gain b/c I was running the replayer too fast.  I finally saw the range it was in and would have had my stop 2 points lower from where the measured range bar ended up 2 ticks above it.  It looks like if I did my 2nd target would have gotten hit at BE so I think this trade is kind of misleading b/c if I took the trade where I was supposed to then it would only have been a one point gain.

5.  2nd entry short off of resistance level.  I thought the market would reverse and test the low one more time.  Horrible trade

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry short off the upper channel line.  Beautiful trade I missed b/c I did not have the trend line drawn yet.  If I had I would have taken the trade b/c it was a great trade.

3-20-2013

My Notes:

My goal today is to not take the trade if I do not understand the setup.  Thanks to Mongoose I am going to focus on my trading goals which are to only take 2nd entries or 2 legged pullbacks from the trend channel lines or at support/resistance areas.  This will help me avoid the frustration due to my learning curve which is why I am only going to take trade setups that I can understand and easily recognize.  If there is any confusion on if it is a good trade according to Mack's rules then I am not going to take it.  I am going to ignore the voice inside of me that always tells me to take the trade or I'll miss out on a winner.

One other thing to focus on today is look at your 1st two successful trades and how they setup b/c one of those same setups will probably happen later in the day.

I need to adjust the support/resistance level when in a range.

Mack's Notes:

Before an FOMC announcement there will not be a lot of action like there was today when it got close to it.
The only way to make money on range days is to buy at the extremes.  Buy at the support and sell at resistance.  You also have to make sure you have enough room for the trade to run when you are in a range.
A strong trend is when most of the bars is on one side of the EMA.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long and 2 legged pullback off of EMA.  Great trade.  I'm torn between letting my runner to try to go to the upper channel or take a 1.5 to 2 point profit.  Not sure which one is more profitable.  This time I just took the 2 point profit.

2.  2nd entry long off of EMA and lower trend channel.  Great trade.  This time it created a double top with the previous high so we are probably headed lower into a range.  Didn't even hit the 2 point runner profit target, took out my BE stop.

3.  2nd entry long and 2 legged pullback off support.  I don't think this was a good trade even though I got a scalp out of it.  I think the 2nd entry long with a 2 legged pullback to support was around 9:00am.  That was where I should have taken the trade.  I would have gotten in a tick better and the entry bar had a short trap.  At least it worked out b/c Mack always says even if you buy at the wrong spot the trade can still work out if you are either trading with the trend or buying at support and selling at resistance.  That is exactly what happened here.  Bad trade, the setup was around 9:00am.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long and a two legged pullback to the support level.  This was the correct spot to take the long trade.  I took it too early but it still worked out.  Great setup.

3-19-2013

My Notes:

I had big trouble finding the trend line today and it cost me.  I could not figure out how to draw it off the swings.  I did have "a" trend line drawn but during my whole trading session I knew it wasn't correct.  I just couldn't find it, very frustrating b/c that should be the easiest part.  I notice that when I take a losing trade this frustration builds up inside of me and I get pissed so that indicates I am very very very far away from going live.  I have to get to the point where a win doesn't excite me and a loss doesn't frustrate me.  It's good to come back to reality in the fact that I am no where near ready to go live b/c days like yesterday build a false sense of confidence.  Today shattered all of that and I am really frustrated right now.  I think I did an okay job of following my rules but I definitely made up some trades or fudged the rules to fit a made up trade.  AT LEAST 95% OF MY LOSING TRADES IS BECAUSE OF CRAP I MAKE UP!  Since I have been doing these reviews I have only seen one trade that fit Mack's rules and was a losing trade.  Every other time it has been me not reading the price action and applying his trades correctly.  

I still have so far to go.  At this rate I'll be lucky to go live by the end of the year.  I better start thinking realistically of not going live until at least July 2014.  Otherwise if I'm anywhere near this level of trading when I go live I'll bust the account within a month.

Mack's Notes:

He mentioned that there were not too many trades to day and that other people had problems finding the trend.  Mack's correctly drawn trend lines are in the dotted black.

When you see a pattern once in a day it will probably repeat itself later in the day.  

He said if you are having trouble finding shorts in a down trending market then draw a line going up when price starts to retrace up.  Price will sometimes follow it up then come down through it, make a new high and then when it turns down again that is your signal to go short.  I drew a couple of them in green on the chart as an example.

If your entry bar after the signal bar ends in a doji then get out of the trade at BE or for a 1 or 2 tick profit if you can.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry short off of resistance level.  Good trade.

2.  2nd entry short off of resistance level.  Great trade.  I was thinking that price would eventually test the over night lows since it seemed like we were in a range and that's exactly what happened.  I had my stop 2 ticks above the over night lows.  Good planning and thought process!  Good job on recognizing that price was in a range.

3.  2nd entry long off of support from the overnight low.  It had a good short trap previously and the bars were starting to close on the highs but unfortunately I got hit bad by this trade.  Good thought process and I followed my rules but horrible result.  Since I thought we were in a range we would bounce up at least for a scalp.  WE did from the lows but I entered in too high for a scalp.  I need to work on this b/c the 2nd entry had me in too high.  After looking at Mack's video this was a HORRENDOUS trade.  He said to go short where I went long.  Just a horrible trade.  It was a 2nd entry short and a 2 legged pullback.  Geez, I misread this horribly.  Almost every loss I have is b/c of my mistake.  Not Mack's rules and reading price action correctly.

4.   2nd entry short off of the trend channel and support turned resistance.  If I was paying attention I would not have taken the trade b/c there were 2 dojis previously to the left.  Horrible trade due to not paying attention to the dojis on the left.

5.  2nd entry short.  When price breaks out of the channel for the first time look for price to retest it's lows or make a new low at least once.  I also liked the double top for the 2nd entry.  Good trade.  I had not drawn the purple line yet.  I was going off the blue line.  

Missed Trades:

1.  Look at trade #3.  This was a 2nd entry pullback 2 legged short to the EMA.  I went long here.  Horrible trade on my part.  I got totally confused (obviously).  

2.  2nd entry short and 2 legged pullback to the EMA.  I called it but didn't take it b/c it wasn't on the trend channel.  Mack said when  you have a 2 legged pullback with a 2nd entry short to the EMA then you have to take it b/c it rarely fails and has a very high success rate.

3.  2nd entry short off of upper trend channel.  This is Mack's trend channel that I drew after I was done trading.  This is a trade I would take if I had drawn the trend line correctly.

3-18-2013

My Notes:

Today was one of those dream days where you take a trade and off it runs w/o ever really testing your trailing stop until you get 10+ points out of 1 contract.  I saw that there was a huge gap down in the overnight session so I figured price would eventually fill the gap.  I thought it might test the overnight lows before filling the gap but it didn't even do that.  Stuck to my rules today.  The one trade that was a valid trade but not one I am taking right now I was able to get out at BE because it wasn't off the trend channel and the next bar created a long trap.

Mack's Notes:

Mack also talked about the gap down from the overnight and how we should have expected to fill it so my thought process was correct.  He said the first trade was a failed 2nd entry short as well.  The bias was up in the first trade b/c we traded up into it.  I need to work on looking at 2nd entries going the other way.  What I mean is you can count 2nd entry longs when you make a new low as well as when price makes a new high which is how I have been doing it.  He used the 2 legged measured move to show how price went within a tick of it before it corrected a bit.

Always pay attention to how price arrived at a level.  If it moved up into a range then the bias is up.  If it moved down into a range then the bias is down.

Find your channels, your trend lines, your support/resistance lines and label them!  Keep working on it, keep practicing and you will get better.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long, 2 legged pullback and off of support after price broke out of the trend line for the first time.  The rule is that when price breaks out of a trend channel for the 1st time it will usually go back up and make a new high before it trades into a range or reverses.  The one positive this trade had gong for it was that it was not too far from the gap lower from the overnight session.  Instead of taking my usual profits near the previous highs which is what I've been doing when this type of trade sets up I decided to put my 2nd target one point below the completion of the fill to the overnight gap and keep my trailing stop 2 ticks below the swing low.  This worked out extremely well.  Once price broke into the gap I felt good that it would keep going until it filled the gap.  Great trade and management!

2.  2nd entry long and 2 legged pullback to the EMA.  I got out when the next bar created a long trap and closed on its lows.  It wasn't off my lower trend line, just the EMA and I usually try to take them off the channel lines.  Good trade, even better to get out with a scratch trade.

3.  2 legged pullback to the channel line.  Turns out I drew the correct channel line.  Could have waited until the 2nd entry developed but I actually got in 1 tick better.  Either trade is good.  I got out a point too early.  Should have waited until price went nearer to the upper trend channel before I got out.  Left a point on the table but wanted to pocket 2.25 points rather than .50.  Great trade!

2-19-2013

Since I'm all caught up with the current day trades I'm going to go back and do some old days for practice that I have not done before.

My Thoughts:

Besides the one horrendous short I took I felt I did pretty well.  I stuck to the rules which one of the main ones being once price breaks out of the channel for the 1st time it will go up make a new high before going into a range or selling off.  Mack has said that when a pattern happens earlier in the day you can usually count on it happening again during the day and that is what exactly happened here.  The one trade I took that was a loser was because I didn't stick to my plan.  Today when I stuck to my plan which is to only take trades that are 2nd entries or 2 legged pullbacks to the ends of the channel or to support and resistance areas.  Every time I did that I was a winner.  The one time I deviated and looked for a failed 2nd entry long thinking price was in a range, I was a loser.

Mack's Video Notes:


My Trades:

1.  2nd entry long with a 2 legged pullback off the EMA.  Price had closed outside of the trend channel so the rule is that price will go up to make at least one more high before price goes into a range or reverses so I took both profits at one point.  (Turns out I didn't have the correct trend line drawn, the correct trend line was in purple but I was going off blue)  Great trade!

2.  2 legged pullback to the lower trend channel with a great signal bar.  Great trade!

3.  2nd entry long after price broke the channel for the 1st time.  I expected price to go up and make a new high at least once before it goes into a range or a downtrend.  It may keep on going up but Mack says to look for one more high after price breaks the channel before it goes into a range or a downtrend.  I took a 2 point exit on my second contract which was right at the lower trend line which tends to be resistance rather than support after price breaks the channel and makes a new high.  I was prepared to exit my 2nd contract as soon as I saw a double top formed but that did not happen.  Great trade!

4.  Failed 2nd entry long.  Well looky here.  You didn't follow your plan which is to only take 2nd entries and 2 legged pullbacks to support/resistance and channel lines and it was a horrible losing trade.  This is why you stick to your plan and do not take these trades b/c you cannot read the market yet.  Horrible trade!

5.  2 legged pullback, 2nd entry long, double bottom.  This was the first break of the trend line and coming off of a resistance turned support level.  As soon as price made a double top I got out of the trade with my 2nd contract b/c the rule is after price breaks out of the channel it will probably make at least one new high before going into a range or a downtrend.  It was also very close to the end of the day.  Great trade!

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long off of the lower trend line and EMA.  Should have taken this trade but I hesitated b/c I thought it was too close to the high which is horrible reasoning now that I think about it.  My target is the upper channel and price made a 2nd entry off the lower trend line and EMA so always take this type of trade!

3-15-2013

Well today I had no idea what the price action was doing, even less than usual which is hard to do as I do not know very much.  The ray of light is that I stuck to my rules and only took trades off of the channel lines in the direction of the trend or off of support/resistance areas.  This led to a whopping 1 trade that was a scratch trade.  Let's see what Mack says about today.  I'm sure he'll be able to pick out 8 easy trade setups that I could not see.  I guess it's good I didn't force any trades.  At noon I sped the replayer up b/c price wasn't doing anything.  Another positive was that I drew all the correct trend lines.  This is the first time I have seen one of the trades that was a great setup turn out to be a loser if I had let it run.  That's pretty good IMO.  All the rest of my losing trades were b/c they were not good price action trades so that is encouraging that Mack's rules really do work.  Nothing is 100% but if I learn and follow his rules then I'll be very successful.

Mack's notes:

Today after the trend line break the market didn't go back and test the lows.  That is good to know b/c that is where I took my trade that I scratched out of and my thinking was the same about the trend line break.  If you follow the price action rules you will be right more often then you will be wrong.

My Trades:

1.  2nd entry short off of resistance with great signal bar.  Price had broken out of the trend channel and when that happens it usually goes back the direction it came from.  Also I thought this might be a resistance level since price had bounced off their 2X recently and would go back to the bottom of the range.  After price made two doji's in a row I got out for a scratch trade.  Good trade.  This is the first valid trade I have taken that I have seen be a loser if I had stayed in it the whole time.  That is really encouraging b/c I know nothing is 100% but his rules seem to give you winning trades much much much more than losing trades if they are valid.  The rest of my losing trades I have taken up to this point have not been valid trades following Mack's rules.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry short.  I though price was in a range and was thinking it was still going to go up to where I drew the resistance line from the overnight high.  Mack's line is in black and was the correct resistance line b/c the surge above it is just that, a surge.  Of course I didn't have the blue channel in place b/c it was way to early for that.

2.  2nd entry, 2 legged pullback short with a great signal bar off of the support turned resistance area.  This is a beautiful setup that I saw at the time but did not take it b/c I expected prices to go up closer to the upper blue trend channel.  As I get better I'll take this trade but it's fine for now since I was waiting for price to go a little further to the upper trend channel.

3.  He has this highlighted as a long trade on his charts but his sound went off during the review so I'm not sure the exact reasoning for this trade.  I do know earlier he said he switched over from going to short to long but not sure of the reasoning behind it.

4.  2nd entry long after the first break of the channel.  I called this trade but didn't take it when I should have if I was following my rules of taking the first trade that is a 2 legged pullback or a 2nd entry after price breaks the channel for the first time.  The market had me confused so even though I saw the trade I did not take it when I should have.

3-14-2013

When a trend line breaks you are still looking to take trades in the direction of the trend line until there is a retest to the previous highs or lows.  After a trend line break you are still looking for with trend entries until you get a retest.  Usually it will be a couple of legs down to a new low before you get a correction.  

The good trades are at the extremes and that is usually around the trend line channel lines, EMA, support and resistance.

Good job recognizing when price turned into a range and drawing the correct support and resistance level.  You know you should have taken the long trade at 9:20.  You saw it but couldn't pull the trigger b/c you were afraid price was going back to the daily lows.  Even if it did you probably still could have bounced off the support at least for a scalp before price went down to the lows.  This didn't even happen so your fears were not realized.

It seems like a good rule of thumb for you is to take a trade at a support/resistance level when you know it is a good trade but you are too scared to take it.  It seems that your fears keep you out of the trade so that should be a signal that it is a good trade to take.  I'm getting better but it is taking time to get over to take trades at support/resistance levels when prices are going hard towards them.

1.  2nd entry long with a double bottom off the lower trend channel.  I thought at the time that it was the first break of the blue trend channel and that it was going to make at least one more high before going into a downtrend or a range.  Good trade.

2.  2nd entry short off of resistance.  I should have waited until price made a false breakout close above the previous high at the resistance level.  Good trade in concept but I missed the final piece of the puzzle which was to wait for the false breakout to enter.

3.  Failed breakout long at resistance level.  This is where I entered correctly.  Great trade.  I see this pattern over and over again.  Price does a false breakout one direction only to reverse and go back to the previous support/resistance level.  I thought price was going to go back to the previous support level but it looks like it is making a higher low and may have been starting an upwards trend channel.

Missed trades:

1.  Signal bar 2 legged pullback entry off of EMA.  Awesome signal bar off of the EMA.  I called it at the time but didn't take it when I obviously should have.

2.  2nd entry long off of support level.  These are the trades I am focusing on taking.  This one type of trade is hard to take b/c price comes rocketing down to the support level and I am afraid the support level isn't going to hold.  I have to get over this fear b/c I see this trade being successful over and over again.  This is where I want to trade, at the extremes (support and resistance levels).

3.  2 legged pullback with a great signal bar.  I tried to get in but I was running the replayer too fast and price moved up too quickly before I could get in.  I felt that price was going back up to the resistance level.  Good job spotting it but do not run the replayer so fast.

3-13-2013

Good damn day today.  I missed some trades but the two I took were great setups and I followed the plan of only taking 2 legged pullbacks and 2nd entries to support/resistance areas and to channel lines.   The only trade I missed that fits my criteria right now is the 2nd missed trade.  Other than that I called the rest of them but hesitated in taking them because I was unsure.  Watch this video again b/c Mack gives very solid advice again.  The past two days have been two of his best videos.  The biggest success for me is not that both of my trades were successful but that I focused on only take 2 legged pullbacks and 2nd entries (good and failed) to support/resistance and/or to the channel line.  That is a big accomplishment during this session.

1.  2 legged pullback with a short trap to support level.  Good trade.

2.  2 legged pullback with a double bottom to the support level.  Very proud of the exit.  I looked to the left and put my exit a tick or two below where most of the bodies of the candles were near the resistance area.  Turned out to be almost a perfect exit before the retracement.  Great trade!

Missed Trades:

1.  Failed 2nd entry long.  I saw this trade but didn't take it.  I should have b/c I recognized we were more than likely in a range the way price came off the resistance area and that price was more than likely headed down to test the overnight lows.

2.  2nd entry short off the EMA.  I didn't take it b/c I didn't think there was enough room to the support level.  There was enough room and I should have realized that price would probably make a new low before turning higher off of support.

3.  2nd entry long off of lower trend channel.  I think I did have the channel drawn at that time and I should have taken the trade.  I was afraid price was going to go back to the support area below which is why I didn't take the trade.  This is one that fits my criteria and there was still room to test the resistance area so I should have taken the trade.

4.  2nd entry long with a beautiful hit off the EMA.  I called this one but didn't take it b/c I thought it was too close to the upper trend line and was in the middle of the channel.  A great setup but I see why I didn't take it.  This is one I'll take in the future.

3-12-2013

Today's video has great information!  Great video to review!

I tried focusing on only taking trades that had a 2 legged pullback or was a 2nd entry off of the EMA, trend line or support/resistance.  Did an okay job but definitely needs more improvement.

You always want to enter along strong support or resistance areas.  When you are in a range you can enter on both sides of support and resistance.  DO NOT ENTER IN THE MIDDLE!  When you are in a trend or channel you want to enter along the support or resistance in the direction of the trend.  So if you are in a downtrend you want to enter at the top of the channel.  If you are in an uptrend you want to enter at the bottom of the channel.

There is always going to be a trade so be patient and identify your trends, channels, support and resistance areas because that is how you are going to make your money.

1.  2nd entry long.  It wasn't off support, the EMA or a trend line so I'm not to pleased with this trade even though it worked out.  It was also too close to the resistance.  Bad trade.

2.  Entry off of the trend line.  It became a 2nd entry off of the trend line and EMA so it is fine but I don't think I would have taken it had I had drawn the range arrow correctly the first time b/c you can see it matches the down move exactly.  Usually price consolidates after that happens or reverses.  Mack did not like this setup.  He said there wasn't a big enough bounce up to make this a good short.

3.  2nd entry short off of support turned resistance.  Price previously had made a double top against support turned resistance and came back to give me a 2nd entry short off of the resistance level.  Good trade.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry short with a double top off of overnight highs.  Beautiful setup and this is a trade I take.  I was thinking it was going to be a pullback long and had it marked as such but turned out to either be a failed breakout above the previous range or it was just hitting the overnight high resistance level with a 2nd entry short.  Beautiful setup.

2.  Failed 2nd entry long with the pullback off the EMA and trend line.  Beautiful setup.  I saw this at the time but didn't take it b/c I didn't think there was enough room to scalp out to the support level.  I should have taken this because of the beautiful setup and also whenever there is a failed breakout higher price usually makes a new low past the support level before either coming back up or continuing to make new lows.  A failed breakout one way usually leads to a new low/high the other way.

3.  2nd entry short

4.  Failed 2nd entry long with a long trap that closed on its lows.

3-11-2013

You can't force trades.  When you do you lose money.  Be patient and wait and take the setups as they come.

The best trades I can take right now are the pullbacks to the EMA and trend lines.  The 2 legged pullbacks to the EMA and the trend lines are the best setup I can learn right now.  Focus on that!

I drew Mack's trend lines in black dots b/c that was the correct trend line.  I need to get better at drawing them.

1.  Double top near the overnight high.  Don't really like this trade.  Don't worry about taking these right now.

2.  Thought it was a fake breakout long so I shorted it.  Once I saw the reversal bar form off the EMA I got out at BE.  Should have avoided the trade b/c price had been making higher lows and higher highs on it's way up.  Not a good trade.

3.  Double top at the top of the trend line.  Good in theory but counter-trend trading is not what I need to be focusing on right now.  Look for 2 legged pullbacks to the EMA and the trend lines, not these right now. Don't like this trade.

4.  Pullback to the trend line.  Don't like this trade b/c it wasn't a two legged pullback.  I got impatient b/c I was afraid I was going to miss more of the move.  Don't like this trade b/c it wasn't a two legged pullback or a 2nd entry long.

5.  2 legged pullback to the EMA.  Love this trade.  Great trade.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long with a short trap.  At this point I couldn't tell if we were in a range or a downtrend.  Market had me confused but at least I did not take a trade I could not see clearly.

2.  Double bottom off of the lower trend line.  I saw this trade and should have taken it b/c I even had the trend line drawn at that point (correct before it turned to be incorrect).

3.  Entry off of a great signal bar off of the EMA.

4.  2 legged pullback to the EMA and my incorrectly drawn trend line.  Also made a double bottom.

5.  2nd entry long pullback to Mack's lower trend channel.  Great setup!

3-8-2013

I traded the 3-13 contract when I should have traded the 6-13 contract.  I'll switch over for Monday's trading.  The price was too slow on the 3-13 so I called it quits around 11 or so.  Since I already knew the setups I chose not to do a review for the 6-13.

1.  2nd entry long pullback to the trend line.  Good trade

2.  Support from the overnight low.  Not sure about this trade.  If I had seen the gap to the left just below the overnight lows I would have put my entry 1-2 ticks into it.  Notice how price filled the gap perfectly then shot up.


I missed some trades but since he did the 6-13 and I did the 3-13 I didn't bother trying to label them since they would have been off.  Good job recognizing that you were in a range around 9:38 and not attempting to take the short there.

3-7-2013

I think my intentions were good but my execution is lacking in certain areas such as trying to make trades out of nothing.  The volume was low today due to contract rollovers.  You do not want to get long close to highs or resistance levels.  The bad trade I took was when price went outside and closed a couple of bars outside of the channel so I should have left it alone.

1.  Double bottom matching lows with two good signal bars off of the lower trend line.  Good trade.

2.  2 legged pullback with matching double bottoms.  Good trade.

3.  2nd entry long with good signal bar off of lower trend channel.  Good trade.

4.  2 legged pullback and 2nd entry long.  Mack said it was a failed 2nd entry short.  Good trade.

5.  2 legged pullback with matching double bottom lows off of lower trend channel.  Worked out but bad trade.

6.  Thought the resistance had turned into support and price was going to bounce off and go up.  Bad trade. You do not know how to take these yet.

7.  Horrible trade of the day.  2 legged pullback and 2nd entry long.  But it was at the top of resistance that price had not been able to break through the whole day.  Bad trade.

8.  2nd entry long, 2nd legged pul back to support...Great setup and trade.

3-6-2013

Well I traded pretty much the whole opposite direction of what Mack did. Haha.  I should have been taking shorts but I was taking longs pretty much the whole day.  I was thinking price was going to turn up since it went up over night into the range.  I also drew the incorrect trend lines in violet and was waiting for price to hit those which it never did since I didn't take any of the shorts he recommended.  I drew Mack's trend lines in black b/c those were the correct trend lines and my violet lines were a little too wide.

Mack said if you get thrills from winning and get down on yourself from losing then you are not there yet emotionally.  When you really start to get good then watching price action will become boring and it becomes a job.  When you get to the point where you have a winner you don't get excited and when you have a loser it doesn't upset you.  It means you are getting over the emotional roller coaster ride that comes with trading.  When you get to that point you are getting ready to start making money.  It is mechanical, you do what you are supposed to do everyday.  Trading is not exciting.  It takes a lot of time, practicing and studying to get to this point.  You trade to reach your daily monetary goal and then you close up shop for the day.  You do this over and over everyday.  It is a process that takes time and effort to get to.  Don't worry when trading doesn't excite you because that means you are getting there emotionally.  That is the point you have to get to before you think about going live.  When you eliminate the excitement you will eliminate your mistakes.

1.  Matching double bottom, fake breakout low off of support.  Expectation is to the upside since price went up to settle into the range.  Good trade.

2.  Long off the support.  Not really a valid trade.

3.  Long off of support.  Not really a valid trade.

4.  Long off of support.  Not really a valid trade.

5.  Reversal bar long off of my incorrectly drawn trend line.  It ended up working out but I still got out before the point profit.  Not a good trade.

6.  I thought this was the overnight low so I put in a long limit order.  The overnight low turned out to be right when the new day started.  That is the red line where price bounced off of.  Should have had my limit order down there.  Not a good trade.

7.  2nd entry short off of my incorrectly drawn trend line.  Good signal bar on Mack's chart.  Was a long trap on my chart.  Good trade.

Missed Trades:
1.  2nd entry short off of Mack's trend line and off of support turned resistance.  This is a great trade I saw and labeled at the time which I should have taken.  I did not take it b/c I was looking for price to go up to my trend line and I did not bring over the support turned resistance area.  If I had then hopefully I would have taken this trade b/c this is a beautiful setup.

2.  2nd entry short off of Mack's trend line.  Matching double top.

3-5-2013

Look for two legged pullbacks to the trend line.  Add this one as trade to take as well as 2nd entries.

I notice that while I am trading and I see the market moving either up or down the urge inside me wants to take a trade just to get a trade in and be part of the action.  My emotions are telling me to not miss the action so look for anyway to take a trade to get in on it.

I need to get better at knowing when to take profits and knowing when to let it ride.  On one of my trades I could have taken a 2 point profit but I held on when it hit resistance thinking it was going to blast on through and go to the range target.  It looks like there is at least one to two failed breakouts a lot of the time while in a range before price resumes the trend from the direction it came from.

Mack says that when a trend breaks the trend line but goes up (or down) and makes a new high outside of the trend line then you will at least get a correction that lasts at least an hour or so.  If you are not doing so well, stay on the simulator.  Don't worry about how many trades you take.  Trade as long as you can and take as many trades as you can that you think meet Mack's criteria.  If you win or lose don't let it shake you. At the end of the day go back and study and figure out what you did right and wrong.  Concentrate and try to do better the next day.  If you do this everyday, eventually you will start to get better and it will start to become 2nd nature to you.  You'll get to the point where you can glance at a chart and spot all of the entries real easy.  Eventually you'll be able to spot them in real time.  It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of study time.  It doesn't come easy for anyone right away but it works and if you can stick to the rules and learn it then you'll eventually be successful.  This takes time and effort, there are no short cuts when reading the price action.

If prices are generally above the EMA then we are in an uptrend.  If prices are generally below the EMA then we are in a downtrend.  If prices are on both sides then we are in a range.

When you have a pullback to the trend line and the EMA then you have a very strong setup.



Trade 1:  2nd entry long off of the lower trend channel.

Trade 2:  2nd entry long off of support.  I think I could have gotten in better if I had put my entry down closer to support after I saw the 2nd entry.  It could have shot up and I could have missed the move but I think the wiser play would have been to put my entry down at support after the 2nd entry formed so then I would have had a closer stop loss and a greater profit target.

Trade 3:  2nd entry Long off of support.  Notice that it was coming off of a failed breakout higher.  It seems every time price comes back from a failed breakout higher that it goes lower than the previous support before it turns around.  I think the reason why is there are a lot of trapped longs who are getting out of the failed breakout.

Trade 4:  Great signal bar and failed breakout lower.  I was looking for this after price had just come down from a failed breakout high.  Price previously had moved up to this range area so the emphasis was that price would eventually move back up.  I saw this yesterday where there was a failed breakout long that came down and created a failed breakout short before it turned up again.

Trade 5:  Failed 2nd entry short.  Not sure about this trade b/c I don't think it is a valid trade and I don't think I would have stayed in for the two point stop loss w/o moving it up even though it was below the low of the move.

Missed Trades:

1.  2nd entry long off the lower trend channel and EMA.  This is a trade that I saw but did not take b/c I was looking for a signal bar.  This is a trade you have to take every time b/c price was bouncing off of the EMA and lower trend channel while making matching lows.

2.  2nd entry long off of the EMA and the new trend channel that I had not yet drawn.  It also made matching lows which is another good signal.

3.  Double bottom against support.

4.  Failed 2nd entry long