11-20-2013

Pre-Trading Notes:

1.  Keep taking the same 3 trades.
2.  Draw the short term trend lines.
3.  Do not force or make up trades, if it is not clear then do not trade.

Post Trading Notes:

1.  Another rough day.  Trying to learn and do better.  It is still so confusing for me in reading price action.
2.  Going to give it my best shot tomorrow.
3.  Mack's lines are in black

Mack's Notes:

1.  FOMC day
2.  There is always an advantage to getting in early at a better price than to getting in late.
3.  A couple of hours or at least an hour before FOMC announcement the market usually goes into a small trading range

Trades:

1.  9:33 - Failed 2nd entry long
2.  10:02 - Failed 2nd entry long that was a losing trade
3.  10:35 - 2nd entry short
4.  1:06 - 2nd entry short
5.  1:25 - 2nd entry short

11-19-2013

Pre-Trading Notes:

1.  Focus on understand why price is moving.  Analyze and have an expectation.
2.  If you are not sure and have that confused feeling then do not take the trade b/c I am guessing.
3.  Draw the small range areas and watch what happens every time it breaks out of one.

Post Trading Notes:

1.  Tough day.  I hate range days.
2.  There were a ton of trades but I had no idea on which ones were good or not.  I had no confidence.
3.  The last trade was a horrible trade that I moved my stop below the EMA which is quite possibly the worst habit I could start.  I got in horribly b/c price had broken out of the short term trend channel.  Should have followed the trades I only take which for some reason I have a hard time doing.

Mack's Notes:

1.  When it is a range day draw all of your small trend lines.
2.  When you see price is swinging on both sides of the EMA then that is your first clue that it is a range day.

11-18-2013

Pre-Trading Notes:

1.  Focus on understand why price is moving.  Analyze and have an expectation.
2.  If you are not sure and have that confused feeling then do not take the trade b/c I am guessing.
3.  Draw the small range areas and watch what happens every time it breaks out of one.
4   Taking 3 trade setups:  1) Price breaks out of a small trend channel and creates a 2nd entry.  2) 2nd entry at the EMA, trend line or S/R areas.  3) Failed 2nd entry when trending one way and still within the small trend channel.

Post Trading Notes:

1.  Probably my charts just messing up again but none of the lines loaded b/c it showed a huge gap from Friday's session till today's.  Probably not correct.
2.  If I had just drawn the extra line on the initial down trend then today would have been so much easier!  B/c of this mistake I cost myself in a couple of trades.  Live and learn and remember this for you next chart.

Mack's Notes:

1.  Draw your small trend channels
2.  You have to use your range rules on a day like today

Trades:

1.  9:46 - 2nd entry short off of upper trend channel.  Obviously it was a failed 2nd entry short.
2.  9:52 - Realizing I was on the wrong side I reversed my trade.
3.  11:17 - Thought it was a failed 2nd entry long and a 2nd entry short off of the EMA.  Price went up and stopped me out on the 2nd leg of the move before returning down.
4.  2:08 - Failed 2nd entry long

11-15-2013

Pre-Trading Notes:

1.  Taking 3 trade setups:  1) Price breaks out of small trend channel and creates a 2nd entry 2)  2nd entry at the EMA, trend line, S/R area. 3) Failed 2nd entry when trending one way and still within the small trend channel.
2.  Stick to those 3 for right now b/c I will still get plenty of trades.
3.  Draw the short term trend lines.


Post Trading Notes:

1.  Another tough grinding day.  Didn't see many trades.
2.  The one bad trade I am find with b/c I really do not know why it was bad?  Maybe b/c there were 2 dojis in a row and one was the signal bar?  Other than that it seemed to have a great setup that I would take every time.

Mack's Notes:

1.  No video


Trades:

1.  8:13 - 2 legged pullback and 2nd entry long to the bottom of the trend line and the EMA.  The only negative as far as I can tell to why the trade didn't work is that there were 2 dojis and one was the signal bar.  Other than that it is a great setup I will take every time.

2.  9:41 - 2nd entry long off of lower trend line.

11-14-2013

Pre-Trading Notes:

1.  Taking 3 trade setups:  1) Price breaks out of small trend channel and creates a 2nd entry 2)  2nd entry at the EMA, trend line, S/R area. 3) Failed 2nd entry when trending one way and still within the small trend channel.
2.  Stick to those 3 for right now b/c I will still get plenty of trades.
3.  Draw the short term trend lines.

Post Trading Notes:

1.  Missed a bunch of trades today but to me the market was hard to read.  Especially beginning around 10:40.
2.  Took one trade I shouldn't have b/c it wasn't at a trend line or bouncing off of the EMA.

Mack's Notes:

1.  No video today

Trades:

1.  8:41 - 2nd entry short after price had broken the short term trend and made a quadruple top against the top of the trend channel.
2.  9:06 - 2nd entry short off of the top of the trend channel after price had broken out of the small trend channel up.  A failed 2nd entry formed off the EMA one bar over.
3.  11:14 - Failed 2nd entry short after price had broken the small trend channel down but it wasn't off of the EMA or the lower trend line so I got out when the 2 dojis formed.

11-13-2013

Pre-Trading Notes:

1.  Work on analyzing why you are taking a trade.  Think through why I expect a trade to move in a certain direction.  Do not just blindly look for 2nd entries.  Think through it.  I will get much better much faster doing this.
2.  Keep drawing the short term trend lines.

Post Trading Notes:

1.  Good job trying to identify why price is moving and actually understanding what to look for.  This is going to cause a lot of losing trades in the intern but it is the price to pay to understand why price is moving and not just going through the motions.  It is kind of starting over but that is okay.
2.  Do not let your ego get the best of me.  When I have a losing trade then I analyzed the price action wrong so go back during the review and see why I was off in my thinking.  I will learn faster this way.

Mack's Notes:

No video review

Trades:

1.  8:29 - Was looking for a 2nd leg down to a new low. off of a 2nd entry short counting from the previous high.
2.  8:37 - Failed 2nd entry short in an uptrend channel.
3.  9:24 - 2nd entry short and thought it was a failed 2nd entry long after price had broke the trend channel and tried to make a new high but failed.
4.  10:10 - Horrible trade.  No 2nd entry either way.  Just totally misread it as being a failed 2nd entry long.
5.  2:36 - 2nd entry long
6.  2:54 - Failed 2nd entry short at the lower trend line.  I had my entry there near the lower trend line b/c the trend up was so strong.

11-7-2013

Pre-Trading Notes:

1.  2 trade setups to focus on.
2.  The first is a 2nd entry to the trend lines or EMA.
3.  The 2nd is when price breaks out of the small trend channel and fails to create a new high then creates a 2nd entry.  Price could also make a new high but then makes a 2nd entry at the end of a 2 legged measured move.

Post Trading Notes:

1.  It is good going back to the basics.  What happens in my cycle is I start out focusing on one or 2 setups.  Then I see other's I like and try to incorporate those but I end up confusing myself which causes losing trades.  It is good to go back and kind of do the 2 steps forward 1 step back thing.
2.  I've also started using a one point scalp and a 2 point goal for my 2nd lot for the majority of my trades.  It seems I was missing out getting my 2nd lot hit when I would have a prescribed spot for it.

Mack's Notes:

1.  Corrections or consolidation going the opposite way usually last for about an hour before deciding to do something.

Trades:

1.  7:40 - I thought it was a 2nd entry off of the lower trend line.  Got the scalp but very lucky b/c I mis-read the price action.
2.  7:54 - 2nd entry short and one bar over was a failed 2nd entry long.
3.  9:32 - 2nd entry short off of the EMA and a break of the small trend channel up.
4.  9:44 - 2nd entry short off fo the eMA after a 2 legged move up.
5.  10:32 - Failed 2nd entry long and a 2nd entry short off of the EMA.  This was a losing trade because it was a tough trade.  It had most of the characteristics to take so it isn't a horrible trade.
6.  11:39 - 2nd entry short and the failed 2nd entry long was two bars to the right.
7.  1:30 - Failed 2nd entry long and a 2nd entry short off of the EMA
8.  2:00 - Thought price was going to the upper trend line and was a failed 2nd entry short.
9.  2:24 - Failed 2nd entry long off of the EMA.
10.  2:33 - Failed 2nd entry long.