jnbadger's bad day

Discussion in 'Trading' started by jnbadger, Sep 20, 2021.

  1. jnbadger

    jnbadger

    Hi all.

    I haven't been this frustrated in a long time. I've been doing this shit for a long time (August was my 25th anniversary), and I've done very well. My best strategies have been automated mean reversion (haven't done this in a long time) and systematic momentum trading based on relative strength and weakness, and very simple S/R and tech analysis. (This is what I still do, and it's actually very fun and profitable.)

    First of all, what did I lose today to satisfy everyone's curiosity? 130 bucks. That's it. A molecule in the bucket. But I feel like I left a gallon on the table.

    I worked out yesterday, slept great, ate well, and sat down at my desk with a great and relaxed attitude at 6:00 CDT. (2 and a half hours before the open, for those of you over seas.) I thought it was going to be a great day because of the volatility pre-market.

    So, what is the source of my frustration? I traded like an absolute idiot right out of the gate.

    One of my rules is "If you miss the first one, don't take the second one". I missed the first bid at 210 on BA off the open for a quick huge probability scalp, and took the second one a couple of minutes later and it blew right threw me. Luckily, I only took a 40 cent hit, because I knew I was an idiot. Of course, I should've been looking at pre market support. Wasn't doing that.

    The second was in ASAN. Same rule. I missed the break of 114, so I offered the short when it came back up to it. (This is actually a very good strategy IF a lot of volume has occurred at that price. It hadn't. Ironically, one of my favorite trades is a failed support break and buying when it comes back up through. Didn't do that either). Again, I took a 60 cent loss because I knew I was trading like a moron. It went up to 117 in the next 10 minutes.

    I tried not to trade my P/L and scalped my way back, trading very small to manage risk, to a "reasonable psychological tolerance". (I made that up, and it's a bad thing to aim for, but it's what I was after today). I know how to do this well, but there are better opportunities out there every day. And I'm too old to do that shit all day every day. I was exhausted.

    Then I brought up an old window on my scanner in the last half hour for some reason and tried and old volume spike mean reversion play. (This can also be a great strategy if you do it right). Bought GREE just above 31.50. Thank goodness I was still trading small.

    I'll look back at this and laugh, but only because the losses are so small because I managed my risk based on knowing how badly I was trading. Tomorrow is another day.

    New Guys: Knowing what to do and how to do it is not enough. You've probably read it in a few books, but knowing yourself is paramount to success in this business. You need to know when to push and when to pull back, regardless of how those around you are doing.

    Experienced guys: This is my first "opportunity cost" related frustrating day in quite a while. How often do you have these?

    Sorry for the novel, Brandon.

    Thanks for any responses.
     
    VPhantom, KCalhoun, Onra and 2 others like this.
  2. maxinger

    maxinger

    I presume you are a swing trader.

    Asan - it is quite rare to see such a beautiful trendy chart.
    did you manage to long it during the end of the day on 2 Sept or anytime on 3 Sept
    at around $92?
    There was significant volume plus breakout.


    if you failed to enter on those dates, you have already missed the boat.
    and when you missed the boat, it doesn't mean there will be another boat coming.
    the market is merciless to those who missed the boat.
     
  3. jnbadger

    jnbadger

    Day trader.
     
  4. Don't scalp.
    I don't know how scalpers do it. The reward is minimal, marginal and the stress is high.

    Aim to capture, understand, the one, single, large move of the day on the chart.
    Doing this, I suppose, can be equally tough, hard and stressful. But it makes more sense.

    Scalpers are short-sighted, narrow-minded. They instantly take the quick bait.
    A good trader should understand and see the greater wider picture of the chart movement.

    A lot of major stocks essentially mirrors the S&P chart movement daily. Just trade, maybe, the S&P.
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2021
    formikatrading and comagnum like this.
  5. maxinger

    maxinger

    ok.

    you were trading on a messy /choppy / non trendy day.

    Notice that before that day, ASAN has been rather trendy.

    It is very difficult to earn $$$ from a messy/ choppy/ non trendy day.
     
  6. destriero

    destriero

    lol maxinger and the "non trend day" as spooz have a 100 point range and naz posts 325. WTF is a trend day to you?
     
    yc47ib and KCalhoun like this.
  7. jnbadger

    jnbadger

    I know. I agree. I missed FB when it was holding up while everything else was breaking lows, even though it was right in front of me on my charts. I was watching too much. That was a great long at the end of the day. I need to re-think this extremely short term crap.

    Honestly, if I just go to where I was a week ago, I will be fine. Psychologically and time frame. Most days are effortless. I was just an idiot today.

    I've already forgiven myself. Just wanted to share and ask others opinions.
     
  8. jnbadger

    jnbadger

    He's talking about ASAN in particular. I agree with him.
     
  9. destriero

    destriero


    How would you know that other than in hindsight? Obv the expectation was there.
     
  10. jnbadger

    jnbadger

    Experience. I traded it terribly. It was a strong stock on a weak day.
     
    #10     Sep 20, 2021