Pay myself first. +6% day. Clockwork.

I should come back to this post over and over. and not forget this lesson. Even if this turns out to be a big day, I should never regret taking my piece. What an excellent hourly rate to make 6% on my account in 35 minutes!

I love how I traded today. I didn't really love any of my picks before the open, but I like this method of clockwork trading

- small positions

- PAY MYSELF FIRST

- tight stop is the right stop

As my account grows, it seemed counter intuitive to take small positions, take off half+ on easy (12%, is that so easy?!) targets, and use tight stops. It seemed like I would leave so much on the table. But you know what... so what? I was having a hard time making (keeping) money using other methods. This way is low emotions, and the small gains add up especially when the losses are small/none. PEACE

TSN

Gap down. Initial entry after surge, watching premarket levels esp 9:29 surge bar. Took off first trade on target and stop. I missed the precise entry when it moved again, but waited for a micro pause and watched lvl2. First exit when it stalled before my p/l target. Then trailed/squeezed stop on the rest.

BA

Gap down. Short failure to bounce. Exit on tightened stop, without reaching target.
This is the best example of the tight stop is the right stop.

BILI

Gap up against red bar. Spread was wide and it stalled at/without filling my p/l target so I yanked it all. I missed the money on this trade, but I do not regret that I stayed sane and didn't have to wait out a loss. 

AAPL

When the market bounced off the bottom, AAPL went bonkers. I refrained from grabbing a runaway train, waited for p/b which was vwap bounce in this case. This pos was big-ish bc expensive options. Trailed stop as it dallied under p/l target but hit eventually. Then trailed/squeezed. G-d I love how I traded today!!

Small positions, tight stops, pay myself first לנצח

Small positions, tight stops for the win again!
Take profits. Pay myself first.
This is the SANE way for me to trade, although possibly I overtraded today (particularly NFLX)
I don't sweat losses because losses are small and I have money to reenter.
Market gapped down, then wiggled not giving much help after the gap.
And it's all about minimizing losses. 

TWTR 
Followup, with add today

BABA 
Great short setup on daily

NFLX 
Should have stuck with long bias

AAPL 
In retrospect, I squeezed out the "hard side" of this trade. I passed on the second leg up.

V

FB got me on trade errors. Also DIS, TWTR.

Thursday, April 30
Disney trade was clockwork.
FB trade was NOT. I jumped the gun, then a trade error, then tight stop got grabbed.
With my last money, I took 2 lotto puts on TWTR.

DIS

FB

TWTR

I *LOVE* how I traded today. +8% day, everything clicked

I LOVE how I traded today. Everything clicked. I made nice money. It felt great! I think the key points:
-Trade size that I can handle
-Use the tightest smart stop. First stop is best stop. Don't wrestle emotions of losses. Just take the smallest ding and move on.

The setup of the day was: Gap up against red bar, while strong.


AMD +16%
Breakdown of box. Shorted below premkt level. Missed my stop by a hair, then reversed and I added. Took p/l target, then squeezed stop.

FB +16%
Gap against down day while strong. WAITED after first run bc market dropping. Calls out of high pivot as market turning up.

MA +16%
Gap up against red bar. Strong, but overhead ma's so took small size, careful entry, tight trailing stop.

MRNA +10%
Massive momo stock gap below daily flag. Entered after failure of minute box/bounce. Options very spready and I got filled on bid when stock price target hit. Later trailed price stop gave a better fill bc option shifted. This option was laggy. Glad to be green, after general market surged like crazy and I managed to fill here without a loss.

AAPL -5%
Gap against red bar. Relative strength when I entered, but stopped on tight stop. No regrets to take a ding vs a whack. Even when I missed the real move a little later, I wasn't upset because I had a nice day today and no reason to hack around.

NFLX redeems ridiculous DGX trade and MRK loser

Was it a good day? NFLX redeemed me.

DGX -26%
First I took a WTF trade on DGX. I looked at it and thought, "blow off top", but like a posessed idiot, I tried to preempt?! a continuation higher. In the second minute, inside bar? I deserved that loss, and it hurt!

MRK -10%

Gap below strong up bar. Looking for continuation down. I saw the 20sma and 50ema right below on daily and thought it might get caught up there. Went for it anyway. I like how I waited for a pb, but obv not enough. I like how I stopped it tight, even if I could have gotten out better. 

NFLX +41%
NFLX saved my day. I've been watching it for weeks. Hoped to get break above high pennant, but it broke down. It was HARD to hold, and I got out at smaller targets, even though it did go to my T2 later.

GS frustrating af -10%

Very relative weakness to market, playing for breakdown of daily pennant. Spreads and fills were against me.

ZM another loser -28%

I wonder how many ZM babies I have fed. I'm sure I've lost on this way more than I've won. This wasn't even a good setup.

FB +19%

Gap against selloff day, back to top of mini range. Play for bo, while watching SPY.
Like my entry and I really like how I managed the exits. Seemed disappointing at the time, but need to keep my money, take what the trade gives me and PEACE.

AAPL oversize position +25%

AAPL I took normal size, then when resistance held I added. After it tested that level a few times, I started to get scared and sized down 1/4 at +/-breakeven even though market was dropping and dropping meanwhile.
It kept reversing just above various targets I set, so I exited on squeezed stops vs waiting for the targets, because I know they sometimes don't come. I don't regret how I traded this at all, though before it initially moved I was nervous bc the size I had. And it was a beautiful gainer. Even though I left a lot on the table, peace.

ZM gave it too much room again -22%

I keep wanting the orange box breakout. Was watching 152 level. Bought, then scraped half off at a daily resistance (though it seemed dumb at the time). Gave the other half too much room... again... a fatal flaw on ZM. But at least I put a stop somewhere.

After Passover, SPY -6% overall

Squeezed one trading day in today after Pesach, before Shabbat. Later times make it easier to trade on Fridays.
Today was frustrating. Net -6% day. I had the SPY short trade for a rejection of the 50dma on a Friday after a senseless run up. But the timing wrong and stopped the first positions for a big loss. I recovered it, but pressed for more and ended red. Frustrating.

The real underlying problem here is I arrived late and tried to be lazy and trade the index instead of finding better picks. On a Friday! When I could have traded anything for today expiration.