Friday, December 31, 2004
12/30/04 ... almost a disaster!
I just finished this post and hit the spell check and it deleted the whole thing!! I'm really pissed now. OK here goes again
7:27 s sp @ 121700
7:37 s sp @ 121775
8:25 b 2 sp @ 121725 eked out a profit
8:25 s bond @ 111070
9:00 b bond @ 111140 Not good. No method
902 s bond @ 111180
908 b bond @ 111240 got caught in the rally, and not for the last time.
910 s sp @121775
912 b sp @121700 Nice little trade.
916 s bond @111250
1003 b bonds @11128. This sucked as well. I will work on a method before trading bonds next year.
916 s sp @121775
917 s 4 sp @121825 My very first spike trade with the Tick count above 800. That's why I sold another lot.
950 b 5 sp @1217 It took a while but the method works and I just had to wait for it.
1001 b sp @121700
1034 s sp @121725 I know... it was only 1/4 point but I had to leave and I was running late. I could have just left the trade on and won because the market did collapses at the end of the day but it rallied before that to 121900.
I barely recovered from some lousy bond trades.
Trader X
7:27 s sp @ 121700
7:37 s sp @ 121775
8:25 b 2 sp @ 121725 eked out a profit
8:25 s bond @ 111070
9:00 b bond @ 111140 Not good. No method
902 s bond @ 111180
908 b bond @ 111240 got caught in the rally, and not for the last time.
910 s sp @121775
912 b sp @121700 Nice little trade.
916 s bond @111250
1003 b bonds @11128. This sucked as well. I will work on a method before trading bonds next year.
916 s sp @121775
917 s 4 sp @121825 My very first spike trade with the Tick count above 800. That's why I sold another lot.
950 b 5 sp @1217 It took a while but the method works and I just had to wait for it.
1001 b sp @121700
1034 s sp @121725 I know... it was only 1/4 point but I had to leave and I was running late. I could have just left the trade on and won because the market did collapses at the end of the day but it rallied before that to 121900.
I barely recovered from some lousy bond trades.
Trader X
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
12/29/04 I didn't trade today
I had to go to the lawyers office and sign papers all morning and then I had to take care of other business in the afternoon. I did find it interesting that the market couldn't rally to the old high of 1217 until after the cash market stopped trading? It makes you wonder why the futures guys are pushing the market up after hours. I'm sure there is an upward bias before New Years and that may be the reason. I think the market has run out of steam and may correct in Jan, but of course I have been saying that for the last couple of months. I've been listening to some Oliver Valez tapes while I was driving around today. I like this guys style... it is somewhat similar to The Great One's style. Look for overreaction and reaction. Wait on the sidelines until the opportunity appears and then pounce. I will have to look at Pristine's web page some more. Sometimes it's hard to tell if these guys are just selling seminars or do they actually trade? I don't know enough to know yet. I will investigate.
I know The Great One trades because I've seen him do it. More about him later.
Trader X
I know The Great One trades because I've seen him do it. More about him later.
Trader X
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
12/28/04 .... Today really sucked!
Well, my earlier analysis was very wrong! So wrong in fact that I only made money on 2 trades today.... it sucked!
Sold 2 SP @121050 (8:34)
Bot 2 SP @ 121025 (8:38)
My first profitable trade.. and wasn't it a duesy! Actually I did this by mistake... I bot back by mistake. Good thing too because the market was getting ready to launch... and it did!
Sold 1 SP @121000, 8:39
sold 1 SP @ 121125, 8:42 Oh, I'm just getting warmed up.....
Sold 3 SP @ 121350, 902. Got it, I'm now short 5 mini's and the market is ready to rumble.
bot 5 sp @ 121450, 915, Good thing I finally covered cause this baby went to 1216 shortly after. True... if I had waited until lunch time the market did dip to 121225 or so about 1220 but that was only temporary. I thought these were spike trades but the market just kept on spiking! I need to get another volume indicator to use for these trades. I'm going to follow the advice of the Great One and use the Tick or Tiki for these trades. I will setup Tradestation to give me live info on these. It will stop selling into a rally or buying into a selloff.
bot 1 bond @ 10290 @ 925.
sold 1 bond @ 10300 @ 931. Should have held on to this on much longer.. bonds ended at 111120! Could have made a bundle but as soon as I bot the market just traded sideways for a few minutes and I started to get nervous. I should have used a trailing stop. I will have to look into that.
sold 1 bond @ 111050 @1244
bot 1 bond @ 111100 @1351. I was actually so tired after placing this trade that I set a stop and then went to sleep. Figures I would hit my stop. 5 tic stop. What was I thinking????? If I don't hit in 30 minutes I should just unwind the trade and go to the next.
The bonds were crashing yesterday and this morning... so if figures that as soon as I go short they will continue up. This counter trend trading (fading) isn't so easy after all.
I mentioned the Great One a little while ago. Remind me to tell you about him later.
Sold 2 SP @121050 (8:34)
Bot 2 SP @ 121025 (8:38)
My first profitable trade.. and wasn't it a duesy! Actually I did this by mistake... I bot back by mistake. Good thing too because the market was getting ready to launch... and it did!
Sold 1 SP @121000, 8:39
sold 1 SP @ 121125, 8:42 Oh, I'm just getting warmed up.....
Sold 3 SP @ 121350, 902. Got it, I'm now short 5 mini's and the market is ready to rumble.
bot 5 sp @ 121450, 915, Good thing I finally covered cause this baby went to 1216 shortly after. True... if I had waited until lunch time the market did dip to 121225 or so about 1220 but that was only temporary. I thought these were spike trades but the market just kept on spiking! I need to get another volume indicator to use for these trades. I'm going to follow the advice of the Great One and use the Tick or Tiki for these trades. I will setup Tradestation to give me live info on these. It will stop selling into a rally or buying into a selloff.
bot 1 bond @ 10290 @ 925.
sold 1 bond @ 10300 @ 931. Should have held on to this on much longer.. bonds ended at 111120! Could have made a bundle but as soon as I bot the market just traded sideways for a few minutes and I started to get nervous. I should have used a trailing stop. I will have to look into that.
sold 1 bond @ 111050 @1244
bot 1 bond @ 111100 @1351. I was actually so tired after placing this trade that I set a stop and then went to sleep. Figures I would hit my stop. 5 tic stop. What was I thinking????? If I don't hit in 30 minutes I should just unwind the trade and go to the next.
The bonds were crashing yesterday and this morning... so if figures that as soon as I go short they will continue up. This counter trend trading (fading) isn't so easy after all.
I mentioned the Great One a little while ago. Remind me to tell you about him later.
12/28/04 Tsunami
I can't believe that there isn't more of a negative bias to this tragic event. I think the markets will be down today but how much I don't know. Maybe yesterday was just a digestion day. I know initially most people didn't know just how bad it really was. We have several numbers out today, consumer confidence, and retail numbers including same store sales. I'm thinking that this market has topped out. The SP tried to rally over night but didn't go any where. Looks weak. I plan on playing the sell side today. I will also be watching the bonds. I will look for shorts there as well.
Trader X
Trader X
Monday, December 27, 2004
12/27/04 Back at it
My first day back at it was a success! I had fun today.
1st trade. Bot the S&P's at 121350 (9:05:28)
covered at 121250 at 9:08:58. The market started it's decline and I bot into it! Good thing I was only risking 1 point on that one. Next I was waiting for a spike to play off of the negative bias.
2. Sold SP at 121525 at 9:32:33
Sold SP again 121475 at 10:01:37
covered 121200. 10:24:26.
Market spiked and I went short. It spiked again but with less pressure so I sold again as we were going into the NY lunch hour. Market got really weak after 10:15 or so because so many traders went to lunch. I covered shortly after. I went to lunch and ran some errands.
3. Sold SP at 121125. 13:56:11. Sold again at 121100. 14:24:10.
covered at 121025 at 14:30:25.
I shouldn't have done this trade because there was no real spike involved. This was a channel trade where I was trying play in a narrow range of say 2 points and trying to get about 1/2 of it. I did but I really need to be careful with these.
So today was a good day for me. Starting out I am only buying or selling 1 contract and scaling in with only 1 contract at a time up to 5 MAX. I will continue to do this until I feel comfortable with my trading techniques. I will also look at the Bonds some more tomorrow. Man, they really fell off the face of the earth today. A great slope down all day. I should have given that market a try as well. Oh well. You will never catch them all! The time is Central and I will use the E-mini quotes for the March contract with no decimals.
I will continue to log more tomorrow.
Trader X
1st trade. Bot the S&P's at 121350 (9:05:28)
covered at 121250 at 9:08:58. The market started it's decline and I bot into it! Good thing I was only risking 1 point on that one. Next I was waiting for a spike to play off of the negative bias.
2. Sold SP at 121525 at 9:32:33
Sold SP again 121475 at 10:01:37
covered 121200. 10:24:26.
Market spiked and I went short. It spiked again but with less pressure so I sold again as we were going into the NY lunch hour. Market got really weak after 10:15 or so because so many traders went to lunch. I covered shortly after. I went to lunch and ran some errands.
3. Sold SP at 121125. 13:56:11. Sold again at 121100. 14:24:10.
covered at 121025 at 14:30:25.
I shouldn't have done this trade because there was no real spike involved. This was a channel trade where I was trying play in a narrow range of say 2 points and trying to get about 1/2 of it. I did but I really need to be careful with these.
So today was a good day for me. Starting out I am only buying or selling 1 contract and scaling in with only 1 contract at a time up to 5 MAX. I will continue to do this until I feel comfortable with my trading techniques. I will also look at the Bonds some more tomorrow. Man, they really fell off the face of the earth today. A great slope down all day. I should have given that market a try as well. Oh well. You will never catch them all! The time is Central and I will use the E-mini quotes for the March contract with no decimals.
I will continue to log more tomorrow.
Trader X
Friday, December 24, 2004
12/24/04 Christmas
Well, I've not been trading all week. I have to admit that it is driving me nuts! I have been checking the markets when I can but it isn't like having tradestation up and running. I am out of town visiting relatives with only a dial-up modem and barely a cell phone to use! Ugh. I feel so lost.
I am suppose to leave here on Sunday so I can get back to it on Monday. I will have much more to write next week when I start trading again. FYI, I've been reading a book by Martin Schwartz called "Pit Bull". Not much on information but a very funny read. Trader mentality mostly, but good.
Trader X
I am suppose to leave here on Sunday so I can get back to it on Monday. I will have much more to write next week when I start trading again. FYI, I've been reading a book by Martin Schwartz called "Pit Bull". Not much on information but a very funny read. Trader mentality mostly, but good.
Trader X
Saturday, December 18, 2004
12/18/04 Homework
Every morning when I get up, usually between 5-6:30 CT, the first thing I do is go into my office and check the monitors. Sometimes, I will check in the middle of the night, even if I don't have a position on, just to see what is happening. It can be addictive I tell you!
Every morning I fill out an Excel spreadsheet that helps me get a handle on the markets for the day. Call it a Market Scan. I look where all the futures are trading, gold, oil, SP500, Bonds, Euro. I also look to know where all the economic indicators are or when they are going to be released. It's no fun having a position on when a number comes out and blows me out of a position. God forbid Greenspan says something. These are the things I try to do everyday.
Once the SP opens I have a notebook in front of me that I keep track of the way the markets are reacting every 15 minutes. I like to see if the SP and Bonds are moving together or inversely. I have noticed that there are certain times of the day that have sudden, sharp spikes of volume and volatility. You will see the sudden spikes up or down and I will try to fade them. I have only been doing this about 1 week but I am getting better. I only hope to be more consistent on these Spike trades before I move up to another setup. I have several other setups I would like to explore but I can only concentrate on one thing at a time. A typical male I suppose!
Trader X
Every morning I fill out an Excel spreadsheet that helps me get a handle on the markets for the day. Call it a Market Scan. I look where all the futures are trading, gold, oil, SP500, Bonds, Euro. I also look to know where all the economic indicators are or when they are going to be released. It's no fun having a position on when a number comes out and blows me out of a position. God forbid Greenspan says something. These are the things I try to do everyday.
Once the SP opens I have a notebook in front of me that I keep track of the way the markets are reacting every 15 minutes. I like to see if the SP and Bonds are moving together or inversely. I have noticed that there are certain times of the day that have sudden, sharp spikes of volume and volatility. You will see the sudden spikes up or down and I will try to fade them. I have only been doing this about 1 week but I am getting better. I only hope to be more consistent on these Spike trades before I move up to another setup. I have several other setups I would like to explore but I can only concentrate on one thing at a time. A typical male I suppose!
Trader X
Friday, December 17, 2004
12/17/04 1st Post
I want to briefly introduce myself. I am a trader. I am trading the SP500 and the 30 year bonds along with other potential markets such as the Euro. I am new to this type of trading and I am creating this blog in order to help analyze my trading to improve journey to being profitable. I hope that this Blog will help me do that as well as help others along this crazy path that I have chosen for my future life. I will be adding more to this next week. Although I will be on vacation for X-mas, I hope to start posting some basics before I start trading again. My intent is to document my trades nightly for all the world to see and discuss the reason why I did what I did and learn from it. I hope you enjoy the reading....
Trader X
Trader X
