I am starting this journal for the same reasons as all of the others. I need to keep track of my trades and my emotional fluctuations during trading. I started with 23,000 about 8 months ago and my biggest draw down was to 17,787. I initially was just swing trading during work. I got laid off about 5 months 3 months ago or so and decided to mix swing trading with a few day trades. I use interactive brokers and now my account balance is 22,487 (almost back to even). I am at 22% return in the last the 30 days. My average daily return is near 1%. I need to get to 25000 so I can actively trade and not be limited to just 3 trades in a 5 day period. I current hold apple as my long term investment but I get in and out on dips and peaks. I have 200 shares of apple right now. I was doing really well until one day I decided to keep moving my stop and lost 1000 dollars on a single trade. I shorted PLNR and that was a mistake. I will post each trade with pl each day on here as well as my thoughts leading up to the trade and my execution on my plan. I think this will be a big help. I currently keep my trades in a diary, but letting the public see and comment on my actions can only help improve my success as a trader. Thank you all for this wonderful group.
Looks like you are trading stocks.
I am looking forward to your journal.
Are you strictly day trading or do you hold overnight?
It is difficult with the PDT rule.
"The days when I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
I do only trade stocks. I generally hold AAPL or other more stable equities over night if trade is going the right direction for me. Since I can't freely day trade yet, I have to swing trade and throw in day trades every week. I don't hold my day trades over night because I have an entry and exit point that I have predetermined before the trade. So, by doing that, I will either get stopped out or take my profit the same day. Being confined to the PDT rule is kind of helpful because it forces me to wait for high probability setups and not push to hard to find a trade. I only get 3 day trades so I have to make them count! I am going to fund my account soon to avoid the PDT rule or perhaps profits will get me there. I only need 2500 more. I will post every trade.
I am holding 200 shares of APPL at a cost basis of 113.29. I am a little concerned about it not holding 113 tomorrow. I believe it is overbought and might exit the trade if it drops below 113. I am hoping for another good day but hoping doesn't get you much in trading. I think 113ish is a good near term support level. The bad thing is, if I sell, I can't buy back until Wednesday due to interactive brokers stupid pattern day trading block. They won't let you buy anything once you have used your 3 trades. I hate that because I wouldn't mind selling early on and then buying back on a dip. I am going to call them tomorrow and see how long it will take to wire money to my account and have 25k in there so I can quit having my hands tied constantly. I will let you guys know how it goes tomorrow! Good luck to all.
Ok, thank you for the information. I would hate to make my first few posts in the wrong area. I attached some pictures of my trade for tomorrow and my account balance for reference. Goal is 25k by end of month. YOD is another one Im watching right now.
I closed my Apple position today and 114.80 and made .5% profit just a few minutes ago. I was happy with the gains and was using the 5 second chart to play close attention to price action. After Asian stocks not doing so well I was a little gun shy and possibly pulled the trigger too soon, but I am happy to get out green and will look to re-enter on another dip. Here is my chart. Red triangle shows sale.
Apple is my swing trade and small caps are day traders. I usually buy and sell Apple at peaks and valleys on a daily chart. As for my day trades, I look for volatility and volume combined with technical analysis. Remember I am limited in number of trades due to PDT rule. I funded my account today so tomorrow I won't have that problem. I think I timed my sell decently by the chart. What hurts is I can't buy anything today. Would like to pick apple back up below 114. Does that make sense?
I know it is still early but I have to minimize losses and take profits quickly since my account is not that large. Here is the latest chart the red arrow shows sale
AAPL doesn’t meet my criteria. Too much volume, too many professionals playing games with each other, I don’t think the small retail trader has a chance.
It doesn’t have to make sense to me as long as it fits your method of trading. You’re doing much better than I am. I’d be happy with 22% a yr much less 22% in 30 days.
When I day traded I used 5 minute charts and I found that the decision making process was almost too fast for my feeble mind. I can’t imagine using 5 second charts.
If I have a day trade now it’s because one of my swing trades hit my stop.
I have a trading universe of about 800 stocks.
Any stock that trades between $20 and $90 and has a volume greater than 500K and less than 3500K.
I scan these nightly for set ups.
If I find a set up I enter the next morning with a bracket order and let the exits get hit.
"The days when I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
Sounds like you have a decent plan as well. I agree with you about apple in terms of day trading, but when it comes to swing trading, I have found decent success with it. There a few times it would have benefited me more to just buy and hold but I don't like much risk. That 1k day loss really was an anomaly. I usually would never let myself get in that deep. I was just pushing too hard to get to 25k. I now don't have that problem so I can free enter and exit as needed. Also, I trade primarily nasdaq stocks. I just got back from my bank and am waiting for the wire transfer to hit my IB account. It irritates me because if you check apple, there was a nice buyback opportunity that I missed. If you don't mind me asking, how much capital are you working with? Lastly, I doubt I will consistently hit 20 percent or more a month. As you know, sometimes there is no trade and you just have to wait. I have been fortunate lately in terms of trade setup and execution. I feel that shorting is going to be the best strategy for me pretty soon. I feel a downturn (correction) is coming soon. Then again, everyone says that every day! lol
I don’t think it matters how much capital I have. I’m an anonymous poster on the internet so I can say anything. I don’t have to worry about the PDT rule. And I can live quite comfortably with a 20% return. If you feel it will help you to know the size of my trading account PM me.
I tend to risk 0.5% of my trading capital per trade.
When I started I had problems with the PDT rule so I moved to swing trading. Once I had enough to day trade I eventually found that my returns from swing trading were not that much different than day trading and I had more time for other things and a lot less stress.
My number one priority is to preserve my capital. I take lots of small losses.
I’m strictly a long trader (Canadian tax laws treat shorting differently than longs) If we hit a bear market I’ll probably trade inverse ETFs.
"The days when I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
I hope I didn't offend you. You are absolutely correct. I doesn't matter how much capital you have. I was merely asking to see if we were in similar situations and how our strategies may compare. Obviously you have much more than I at this point but that is not an issue. I am still waiting for the broker to accept my wire. I might find the same as you that swing trading can be just as profitable as day trading, but I like to do both. I take very limited risks as well but for different reasons than you. I have a small account and cant afford a big loss nor would I want one even if it was affordable. Well, if Interactive Brokers doesn't post my transfer soon, I will have to wait till tomorrow to post any new trades. Again, I hope no offense was taken.
If we risk the same percentage of our capital we can compare returns of our strategies. Commissions and slippage should be about the same as we are both using IB.
With regards to the amount of capital and the amount of risk taken I found it sort of counter intuitive that with more capital I seem to take less risk.
When I started trading I thought that as I increased my capital that I would be able to take more risk, widen my stops and give the trades more room to work.
It seems now that I’m taking less risk. Taking losses sooner rather than later. Accepting that small losses are part of the strategy and realizing that I have no control over the market and only have control over how I react to the market.
"The days when I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
IB finally got my wire transfer and I made a small gain after that..... But, like an idiot I forgot to cancel an order and now I own 200 shares of AAPL at 114.03. Trying to get rid of them ah but no success yet. I just got excited when I realized the chains were off and I could trade freely and tried to force a trade just for fun. Dumb idea. Now instead of being up 125 I am only up 83 dollars for the day. Disappointed in myself but that is what this journal is for. In the picture the two red triangles are where I shorted. The first green one is where I covered but I forgot I had another order for 200 that I didn't cancel. So nearly right after covering a short, it spiked and I bought it back and it went down. Pay more attention and dont chase trades especially for only a few dollars.
What is the plan now?
You are $145 away from being below the 25K limit.
If you risk 0.25% of your capital or 62.50 per trade you get 3 shots at it before you get shut down for PDT.
Or can you risk more? I'm not sure of the rule.
Maybe you can risk $100; 5 times.
The first 100 puts you just shy of 25k
The next 100 puts you under and then you get 3 more day trades.
I'm not sure.
Just because you can day trade doesn't mean you have to. Stay with your strategy of just taking the best set-ups.
How do you pick the stocks you day trade?
"The days when I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
I completely agree with you. I just got a little crazy today (I didn't loose capital though). I won't take any trades unless I know they are profitable. Also, I use super tight stops. Always have and that wont change just because I can day trade. I'm pretty much in the same position as before. Every trade counts and I truly don't have an unlimited number of trades. But, when you think of it, no one has an unlimited amount of trades. Sometimes, actually often, I don't see any day trades to take. I try to be as discciplined as I possibly can. Take today for example. I still made a profit. That is all I need to do. Make more profits than losses. They may not be huge gains (due to the size of my account) but they will add up exponentially. That is how I got to this point. In the last 30 day period, I am positive 70% of the days. I am happy with that. They days that aren't green just have to be managed. I still will treat my strategy the same. I just won't miss opportunities that I couldn't take before. For example, look at AAPL after hours. It is down lower than when I sold it. I have never sold in after hours before but today I did and I was fairly sure it was worth it. I locked in profits, limited any potential for a gap down in the morning and now have all of my money free to trade with in the morning if the opportunity presents itself. That is more what I wanted to have. I wanted the ability to exit a trade and not have to wait 5 days till I could buy again. I'm sure you know what I am talking about with IB they wont let you open any new trades once you have used your 3 day trades. I still plan to buy and sell AAPL on peaks and valleys and look for good day trades. I am going out on a limb here, but I am willing to be that AAPL will have at least a 1% or more variation peak to valley tomorrow. I am not saying it will close down 1%. I am saying that there is at least a 1% profit to be made and I have watched APPL alot so it generally follows the same pattern. I think it will gap down just a bit, rise to a little over 114 (maybe even flirt with 115) and then drop back down below the days high. I am just basing this thought off from the charts. To be honest, I haven't even looked for any good day trades tomorrow. I am still trying to figure out a good entry position, or short term trade on AAPL. That has been my strategy for a while. Lock in profits with apple and then pursue other trades. Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to explain myself and also see if I hold myself to what I wrote on here when tomorrow is done. Discipline and money management, which go hand in hand, is key to my continual success. This is why I love trading. I used to be a golf instructor and I find trading similar to golf. Risk vs reward when it comes to shot making and the same goes for trades. (now that I have spilled my guts and tried to sound confident I will probably lose everything tomorrow... haha)
I love the golf analogy.
You play the same course every day yet it is different.
It’s not that you make mistakes; it’s that you compound your mistakes that ruin your score.
It’s not your good shots; it’s how you manage your bad shots that affect the outcome of the game.
When all is said and done you don’t really play against your competitors or the course you are playing against yourself. Just like trading.
"The days when I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
The following user says Thank You to deaddog for this post:
I am done for the day. I traded Apple for multiple gains. I lost 53 on VGGL. And I made money on BDR. BDR was like fighting a monster. It took nerve to stick that one out. I am definitely done for the day trading wise! I might take another position in AAPL for a swing trade.
I did trade in and out of AAPL which I said I wasn't going to and it cost me a little. I currently hold no positions and finished the day up $351 for a gain of 1.4%. Not as good as 2% but I learned another lesson and still finished green!
I had a dismal day today. I woke up extra early and felt calm and reminded myself to limit my losses and take gains as quick as possible. Since I was so close to breaking below 25k, I knew these points were paramount to my trading future. Needless to says, as indicated by the title, things didn't go my way. I mad 6 trades and all were negative with only one being positive. I fell below the 25k mark and now have to have my account reset unless the position I am holding brings me over 25k. It is highly speculative and at time very volatile so I doubt that will happen. I will have to wait 5 business days to trade again. I think that might be what I need. I can watch the market and trade on paper and see if that is where the problem lies. I will not be posting until my current position stops out or I reach my target. Not happy today. I feel blessed to be able to trade and I am thankful for all that I have, but I am pretty down about this.
Either you no longer feel that letting the public see and comment on my actions can only help improve your success as a trader or you already realize what mistakes you made are so obvious it would be painful to have them pointed out.
We should learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes.
You should measure your success by whether you followed your plan, not by how much money you made or lost.
A trade that follows the plan and loses money is a good trade with a bad outcome.
A trade that doesn’t follow the plan and results in a profit is liable to re-enforce bad habits and will eventually cost you.
Unless you trade your plan consistently you won’t know if the problem is the strategy or the trader.
IB has a demo account available. You can use that to test your strategy while you wait. Be aware that the demo will give you much better fills than real time trading. (Especially on stops.) Don’t trade again until you have a proven to yourself that you have a strategy that will be profitable.
"The days when I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, I have really good days" RW Hubbard
