Net: $55.14 from gain of $150.04 less loss of $94.90; profit factor 1.6
3 winners, 3 losers; 50% win ratio
Average win $50.01, average loss $31.63; W/L ratio of 1.6

Traded APA, LH, V, WHR

APA
Trade 1 | Was in the right place, right direction. 6 min too early. Got caught by a complex pullback. Could have been a $200 trade.

Trade 2 | Gave up a lot on that second leg waiting for the pullback to set in and reverse back up. Was pennies away from my price target; never made it.

WHR
Trade 1 | Caught a good run down on this one. Second one should have been a break even. Last one was close to B/E.

LH
Trades 1 & 2. LH was in a bullish trend all day. I watched it all day waiting for a short. Took two opportunities. Netted $20 out of the two trades, but wish I had just woken up and got long!

Net loss of $154. No winners, just 4 quick losses. Stopped out for the day.

Traded LH, V, VFC, WHR

V
Thought the big tailed bullish bar a few minutes earlier would provide some trapped traders to push things back downward. Ended up being trapped myself. Tried to give the trade some room, and took a full stop loss.

VFC
Thought that once the gap down had retraced back to the yesterday's close and then started retreating, I would see a rejection of that level. No go. Stop hit.

LH
Thought that the gradual uptrend off the gap down would eventually fill like many of the other stocks I was watching. Never panned out.

WHR
Thought that I would see a rejection of support level at $76. WHR was down strong, while most of the other stocks I was watching had recovered from opening lower on the day. This was probably the closest set up to one that I should have taken, of the four today, but the signal bar was weak.

Net loss of -$236. 2 scratch trades and three losses.

But one big loss really did me in today. I was down $100 for the day. So I put trading off for a bit. When I cam back towards the end of the day, I discovered I was still short 100 shares of CMI. Of course this happens on a bull trend deay. Lost $135. Think that is my biggest loss this month on a single trade.

APA
Trade 2 I thought resistance had been rejected, so I shorted. Bull rally was just getting started. Stopped out.

VFC
Two scratch trades.

V
Did see rejection of resistance. Saw a decent short. But as I was about to close it out, I shorted more shares rather than buying to close out. This fat-finger mistake slowed my execution, so i didn't keep as much of my profits. I saw resistance rejected once more and shorted. No turning point, just a pause in a rally. Stopped out.

This will be a tough week to recover from. Only one remotely positive day. Attached are the win/loss ratio and equity curve for the week. Ugly.

$111 loss, quit for the day after 3 losers.

Traded APA and V

APA
Thought the big bull bar that broke a couple trendlines down would be enough to put in a reversal. Bought after APA appeared to form a higher low. Initial stop hit.

V
Tried twice to catch a run up in Visa. Would have been nice to be in right off the rejection of resistance. Instead I was trying to play a breakout above the high of the day. Unsuccessfully so.

Net -$83.87 from 144 gain less 237 loss
3 winners, 5 losers 37.5% win
Average win $48, average loss $45

Traded CMI, LH, V, WHR

CMI

Trade 1 | Continuation of trend, entered on pullback. Probably should have been more aggressive on exit near support.

Trade 2 | Tried trading countertrend. Thought I saw CMI put in a double bottom higher than a recent low. Got trapped, big time. Was only in the trade for a minute or so. Full stop loss.

Trade 3 | Tried trading with trend after the previous countertrend failure. Was trapped going the other way.


LH

Trade 1 | Another trade where I grabbed the top tick and traded immediately to full stop. Double bottom was no help.


V

This first trade was poorly place - right near the top of the trading range of the day so far. The second trade was a flip to short from long. Lost on that one two. Rarely seems like a good idea in retrospect.


WHR
Trade 1 | Kind of counter trend trade. I gave up way too much waiting for the stock to retrace to the EMA only to discover there was no bounce. Tough to call when to let it swing and when to cut the trade.

Trade 2 | Not the runner I hoped, but a small win.

$100 loss, 1 winner 4 losers. Something is definitely wrong/broken. 7 of the last 8 days have been down days. Had another down day on 3/29. Probably not going to trade tomorrow.

Congratulations on your journal!



In the spirit of our March Trading Journal contest, I am asking everyone to spend a few minutes and share their journaling experience.

A) What are the top five benefits you have seen as a result of regularly posting in this journal?

B) What are the top five problem areas you have identified as a result of regularly posting in this journal?

C) Were you initially reluctant to start this trading journal? If yes, why?

D) How do you feel, overall, about your journaling experience?

E) Would you recommend to others that they should also start a trading journal?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate your posts, and I hope you have benefited from your journal. I also know that others will benefit as well, just by reading about your own experiences.

Enjoy your weekend,
Mike

4 trades 2 scratches, 2 losers.

Will post the two losers in WHR

Trade 01 | Trying to find a short. Took one during a triangle - maybe not the best time, but rest of market was going down, and I thought WHR would eventually follow suit. Got trapped out on the other attempt short.

Trade 2 | Lots of stocks were putting in higher lows. WHR was doing the same. I bought a pullback but before the resistance line had been broken. Always so tough to wait for the pullback after breakout.

So gave up right as the rally up began for the day.

Against better judgment I traded today. Two trades, two losers $40 loss. To cap off the month with 9 of the last 10 days.

Trade 1 | Good trade, but let myself get trapped out.

Trade 2 | Don't know why I thought this was a good entry. Countertrend trade.