Worth noticing

It is worth noticing: I had a red day today, and at a certain point around 11 a.m. I stopped trading. Looking back now after the close, nothing I was watching would have helped me, so deciding to stop with a small loss saved me from a bigger loss.

Overtrading and a little out of control -5%

Relative volume didn't help today. Today seemed like "up is down and down is up" kind of day. Fed Chair Powell was speaking into and during the open. That should have been a huge red flag to sit still or at least go extra small. Or HEY! How about take the day off? I thought I could be too smart. Instead I wasted 2 hours and 5% of my account, plus the psychological toxicity. Really, <SELF> take these days off and call it a green day.

If my biggest trading fouls are

1. "trading like an ass"
2. too big position
3. not stopping losses
4. not quitting at max loss
5. trading too big spreads and/or illiquid option
6. overtrading

Today I was guilty of #5 for sure. Also one case of #4. I think these offenses lead to #6, which I think is "damage control" but often just makes it worse. Also, I kept trading despite the sensation of #1 at a certain point.

Reflecting on my p/l in general, I need to come up with a method to trade Thursdays and Fridays. I think trading this week options on R,F is a recipe for disaster...as tempting as it is. The volatility makes it hard for me to do the right thing all the time. 

Still need to work on answering the question, "What makes me stop?" Is it maybe 2 loses? Maybe I shouldn't take any new trades after 10am in general, green or red.

Here's what I did do right today: Control position sizes. Stop while red instead of continuing to try to redeem the day.

Something else to keep in mind: Beware the instant loser (red right away, no partial). If I have properly small position, the instant loser won't hurt me financially or psychologically. That should be plenty enough reason to keep positions small, and to trade next week expiration on Thursdays and Fridays.

Introspection on losing streak

I'm not sure what happened. I don't know how it started. I don't know what I did to end it, but I feel like I have my mojo back. Now I hope I can restore my account! I got hurt pretty bad. 

Maybe I have a certain comfort zone with account size. When I've gotten about 2-3x that size, I have blown out more than once. As much as it seems like I should just be able to scale and scale, I think I get emotional. Maybe my comfort zone is 1/3 or 1/2 that big $number. Maybe I should skim off gains and trade solidly and consistently in that comfort zone. It seems like that's less growth potential, but actually, it will perhaps just be steady gains vs exponential rise and precipitous fall. 

How do I keep trading sane like this? How do I pull in and STOP! when it's not working instead of getting all crazy? I think there was a video I once liked on this topic. I need to find it. Maybe the gist of it was: a loss sucks, but I can generally make it up in a few days (if not the very next day!). And there's going to be days like that. But if I let it go nuts, it's going to take a much longer time to repair. 

My number 1 job should be to keep losses under control by stopping!

I'm going to post for now, but this is a topic I definitely need to continue to ponder, examine, expand on.

UPDATE. I reviewed July and Aug entries, taking notes and processing. Attached.

Pretty good article about losing streaks. Not losing more than an avg daily gain, regaining confidence in a demo account.

My piece for +14%. Peace.

 Another satisfying and profitable trading day Baruch Hashem!

I didn't get the most money, I didn't get the biggest runners. But I took my picks, traded my plan, grabbed MY money. I got my piece, and PEACE.

Clockwork and a little luck for +19%

 After a multi-multi-week losing streak, it's nice to have another sizable winning day (albeit on small account). A+ lesson is to preserve capital while regaining a grip. The smartest thing I did when I started going downhill was to set money aside (and then more money aside) to keep some powder dry. This made it easier for me than simply trying to restrain myself with 2 small trades. I need the cash out of sight. It is still out of sight. I might leave it aside for weeks/months. 

Today I tried to integrate a lesson I've become aware of recently about relative volume, and it goes to conviction. I am working on a theory that the higher the opening relative volume, the more I can trust the move (therefore hang on through a spike against me). Well, at least today, it kept me in CRM for a winner. 

Good old clockwork +15%

I am trying to do a lot of mental work around trying to trade my best. Trying to put the brakes on losses and more so, trying to put the brakes on bleeding my account out. I have moved so much cash out of my account, I'm trading like a newbie. And yet, I think this is a very sophisticated move... to preserve capital while I'm being a jerk. 

So today I decided to allocate my capital across 4 trades, with the option to double into something. 

First trade was BILI, which did a nice first leg, then stalled below my target. I yanked it for capital preservation, but then missed the next leg up. Still, +7% is a solid trade and most of all, I didn't lose.

Get in, grab my money, get out.

BABA ran really well, and I had the sense to yank it at the top, which saved me from losing it all. AZN, I took a late entry and ate it when it reversed. 

In fact, everything reversed pretty hard.

B"H I got redeemed this morning

If I'm praying over a trade, if the only hope I have left is Divine intervention, I'm not following my plan. 

While I do believe that GD is involved in my life, in the market, in the world, I can only do my hishtadlut. I can only follow my rules. Hashem decides. If I've abandoned my rules, and all I have left is to try to call for a "favor", that means I'm not protecting my capital, I'm not acting with discipline... I'm gambling. And I'm not a gambler. I'm a Trader. 

So yesterday I couldn't get myself to stop NVAX puts (after having dumped my calls, which was the right play). Thankfully, NVAX dropped out this morning enough to get back almost flat on that. 

But it's not progress. I need to move my account forward! upward! and with clockwork trading, not with hope and prayers.

Thank you Hashem for intervening to help me. The help I should be asking for, though, is for self control to make wise decisions and help to follow the plan. 

Friday's loser

 This is a case of a simple loser. Good pick, good play. didn't work. Every loser is a huge bummer at this point, though. I need to stay clockwork and my $ will come.

Descending spiral

Today I am grateful. I took home some calls that I stupidly held overnight. I got rescued from them. Didn't even try to optimize it. Just lucky to get out of wide spread, low volume, tomorrow expiration stupid calls without losing my pants. So I got out for +3% in the first minute and I'm happy as a clam. Whatever happens after that, was not my money. I'm not even going to look back. Today, luck wins.

Then I had 2 more winners in MU puts and NVDA calls. I caught the move and didn't stick around when both reversed hard. That's how I want to trade! In and out.

BUT, I am still in the throes of a terrible descending spiral in my account. I have moved a lot of cash out of my trading account to slow myself down and keep powder dry, so I'm comforted by that, but why do I keep trading like an ass?

I need to follow CLOCKWORK TRADING rules: small size; tight stops; pay myself first. 

What is my major malfunction? I freak out over losing trades. Literally lose my mind! I think my main defense against this needs to be the tenants of clockwork trading.

• Small size keeps losers small
• Tight stops keeps losers small
• Pay myself first ensures I can lock in some profits

I might also add: trade only the most liquid options; trade only the opening move. If I'm not done before 10, something is wrong. 

I think I need to do some research about how to not freak out over losers. Not revenge trade and all the other crap. 

Restraint for +1%

 Just trying to regain my sanity. A few small trades. 

Up is down and down is up

Up is down and down is up again today. The big gappers up above levels, all crushed down. The gappers down, all surged up. WTF? 

First of all, a great lesson in need to take quick profits. But why? What makes a continuation day and what makes these reversal days?

So far 10:45am, I'm flat on closed trades, but have one giant loser still open. I may eat this big. Ugh.

And back down -10%

Clear as day. Started great. Then dig the hole deeper and deeper. How do I stop?

Starting the month +10%.

Extremely strong open this morning. Lots of nice setups that launched🚀 like gangbusters. I was mostly done at 9:47. Fun to get on for the ride.

New trade chart including open/close times

BABA beautiful pennant breakout. Ran so strongly. For a while I was not sure if my market order got filled. Then after it filled I just entered an order for +$100. Then around that time the call simply disappeared from position list without showing in my realized list. Did I ever own it? Did I sell? Eventually it showed up, but it seems like I was trading before the options market had its head on straight. 

Later, as I was journaling, I saw it bounce off the vwap and tried another small position with insanely tight stop.. Got a smidge off that, and it didn't make ndh so I'm satisfied with my sell.

BILI turning back up on daily. Whole market launched. Missed the first entry bc other open trades. Traded a micro entry with very tight tolerances. I think it only worked bc market was to the moon.

MSFT, like the others, breaking above high triangle.

PTON new ath. Got my piece.

+10% day, but very destructive month

+10% day
But very destructive
-13% week
-53% month

A lot of days I liked my picks, maybe I played them wrong. Overall feeling that "up is down and down is up" where good gaps up sold off and good gaps down were bought.

What I can say about today is I traded small and with tight stops. I traded today's expiration, which is both a good way to gain and a good way to get totally burned. Today I gained, bc picky timing and tight stops.

Today I also used 15% pl target vs 12%. I feel it worked well, and I'm glad to keep shaving off these extra dollars.

QQQ gapped up about 1.5% this morning with FB and AAPL each gapping up 5%+ to ath. Looked gorgeous, but they sold hard and I did a good job waiting and waiting.
The picks that were "supposed to" go down, CVX, CAT, GILD initially ran up hard.

Up is down and down is up.
What is the psychology there? Gap to new ath, so profit taking?
The gaps down were arguably gap below middle range bases, so I can't say gap below strength (see AKAM, huge loser). If anything, gap below neutral.