No trading today!

I just arrived at my office! Overslept today!

I hope all of you will have a wonderful long weekend! Good luck with your trades today.

052407 - DIS - Daily

I entered a longer-term real money trade today on DIS. I'm hoping that the premiere of The Pirates of the Carribean will create some hype around the company. We shall see what will happen. I have to admit that I really don't have a plan. But I'm going to hold this for longer term, so I supposed I have more leverage against short-term pull back.

052407 - KOMG - 15mins - Loss*Paper

Symbol: KOMG
Type: Long
Entry: The beginning of the 15th bar
Exit: Stopped-out during the 21st bar
Result: Lost -1.27%

Wow! Was I able to catch this at the beginning of the 3rd candle, I would have made a killing... on Paper! I hope some of you were able to catch this! It was a very busy morning, from my day-job, and I hardly have time to pay attention to any set-ups. I noticed that (KOMG) has been falling and falling, and I was hoping to catch the bottom and ride a small reversal move.

The 14th bar painted a Hammer, and I took a chance and entered at the beginning of the 15th bar. But the prices couldn't even get to the next Fib. level (from Day-high to Day-low.) My Protection Stop was set to the bottom of the 14th, and it was reached at the 21st bar.

I didn't manage a win, but at least I managed an experiment!

052407 - DLB - 15mins - Loss*Paper

Symbol: DLB
Type: Short
Entry: During the 8th bar
Exit: Final bar of the day
Result: Lost -0.34%

When the 8th bar painted a weak bearish signal, covering both the 6th and the 7th bar, I really thought I could NOT go wrong with this trade. The Bearish Engulfing happened again on the 13th bar, but still, it didn't happen. Looking back at the chart now, I noticed that there were hardly any volume! (Something that I didn't pay attention to when I was executing my Paper Trade.) Anyway, my Protective Cover was set at the top of the 8th. It never got there, but it also never hit my target. I covered my short prior to the market closes.

Estocastica - http://estocastica.blogspot.com

Today I came across this post from Estocastica... saying that he will pull the plug on his Blog at midnight tonight.

Personally, I have learned a lot from Esto, and I really hope that he will continue with his post, even on a once-a-week basis. However, I did notice that the Post Date of "All Good thinks must come to an end" is dated December 24, 2007. I wonder if Esto was preparing his post now, for later this year, but accidentally pressed 'publish' without even noticing it. If so, the good news is... I still get to learn from Esto for a few more months. The bad news is... if he is already planning for December, when it is only May, when the time comes, I'm sure there will be no turning back.

Esto, if you are reading this, maybe you can do what Kevin did at Kevin's Market Blog. He announced that he's ending his site here, and later decided to continue his blog with less frequent postings.

Regardless, I'm sure both Esto and Kevin have their reasons for whatever decision that they make. I fully respect that! Let me take this opportunity to thank them both (and 00NR7 of course) for their contributions to my daytrading education. Thanks!

Update #1: I checked Esto's blog just now (5/25 1312hrs), and it is still 'live' but without new postin.

No Trading Today!

Go Liverpool! You will never walk alone!

052207 - AEO - 15mins - Loss*Paper

Symbol: AEO
Type: Long
Entry: The 10th Bar
Exit: Stopped out on the 15th Bar
Result: Lost -0.39%

Another perfect example of forcing a trade. I was looking for a quick reversal trade from (AEO) by picking out the strong closing 8th and 9th bar. The 10th bar was an upside-down hammer that closed above the 5eMA. I thought it would mark an end to the downward movement, and hoping that the prices will begin to rise. Although it managed to stay above the 5eMA, the prices never went far up, and eventually dropped the 5eMA hitting my Protective Stop of $28.25 during the 15th bar.

052207 - SPSN - 15mins - Loss*Paper

Symbol: SPSN
Type: Long
Entry: The 10th Bar
Exit: Stopped-out on the 10th Bar as well
Result: Lost -1.59%

I forced this trade in because I'm itching to make some money! But I always forget that this type of setup is never really my strength. When the 9th bar painted a hammer, I thought the prices are going to reverse, and then rise. I entered almost at the high of the 10th bar, and the prices fell minutes later. My Protective Stop was hit in the same bar. This is pathetic!

My 100th - Watchlist for May 22

Wow, I just noticed that this is my 100th posts!

I didn't trade yesterday as I had to take my wife to the Doctor. (Sorry for not informing.)

I am looking at the following symbols:

KONG, SPLS, WYNN, MGM, LVS, NFI, CELG, TNE, BYD, SPSN, ENER, & AEO.

This list is way too 'Gaming-Industry-Heavy.' So far, I have yet to see any set-up that is worth even a closer look. I doubt that I will be executing trades today.

Feel free to share your watchlist!

Happy 100th to me! :-)

200704 - Month-end Review (Paper)

Since I switched back to Paper Trading, the results are somewhat promising in my opinion.

Total Trades: 21
Winning Trades: 13 (~62%)
Losing Trades: 8 (~38%)
Profit/Loss: $221.27
Commissions: ($419.58)
Total Profit/Loss: ($198.31)
% Profit/Loss: -0.50%

One thing that I want to note is that all individual trades are based on a $5000.00 purchase, regardless of the price of the stock. My primary objective for April, is to monitor the accuracy of my observation on Entry and Exit points. That's why I kept the separate entry to track the commissions, which I believe it can help me to gauge the effect if I want to evaluate other online brokers' commission structure.

What I want to focus on, is the number of Winning Trades vs Losing Trades. In this case, a 62% win is encouraging to me.

200704 - Month-end Review

April concluded with a major change... back to Paper Trades!

I decided to switched back to Paper Trades because I felt that I was 'short cutting the learning curve.' Below is a summary of my real money trades from April 2-April 19...

Total Trades: 7
Winning Trades: 3
Losing Trades: 4
Profit/Loss: ($223.28)
Commissions: ($139.86)
Total Profit/Loss: ($363.14)
% Profit/Loss: -0.91%

Which brings my Total Profit/Loss of my first 2 months of trading to: ($816.58)

This is/was the reason why I decided to go back to Paper Trading.

051807 - SEPR - 15mins - Gain*Paper

Symbol: SEPR
Type: Short
Entry: Mid-way through the 5th bar
Exit #1: The 7th bar @ 138% Fib.
Exit #2: The 9th bar @ 161% Fib.
Result: Gained +4.14%

I just stumbled upon this setup as I was going through my Watchlist. By the time I made an entry, the prices were already at $47.21. Ideally, had I caught this setup sooner, my entry would have been right underneath the 4th bar low. The Target was at the 138% Fib, and my Protection Cover is at the Opening Low.

I didn't have to wait long after I entered the trade to see the price to keep on falling. I hit my Target 2 bars later, and I decided to Cover half of my position. I Covered the remaining half of my position when the prices hit the 161% Fib level. A very nice profit!

When the 10th bar completed, I thought about going Long. But the prices were so erratic, by looking at the Sales Ticker, I just don't feel comfortable making further moves, even though it is only Paper Trading.

Looking back now, I also see a potential entry for Long at around 1330hrs. But this is all aftermath.

So with this trade, I conclude the week with 5 trades. 3 wins and 2 losses.

Although they are all paper trades, I'm very satisfied with my results.

I hope my readers also had a successful trading week. Please feel free to share your stories!

Watchlist for May 18

Good Morning!

These are the stocks that I'm watching right now...

DRYS, SEPR, INTC, MT, INTU, AKAM, OMX, and VCLK

No Trading Today

Got a day-long off-site training today. No, it's has nothing to do with the Wall Street!

051607 - BRCD - 15mins - Gain*Paper

Symbol: BRCD
Type: Long

Entry #1: The beginning of the 7th bar
Exit #1: Mid-way through the 7th bar

Entry #2: The beginning of the 15th bar
Exit #2: The 19th bar

Result #1: Lost -0.53%
Result #2: Gained +1.06%

I took a (somewhat) low risk entry at the beginning of the 7th bar when I noticed that the 6th bar closed above the Opening Range High. The lower shadow of the 6th bar also led me to believe that Support has been established at Opening High. Unfortunately, my analysis was wrong. I was stopped out within the same bar.

I took another entry at the beginning of the 15th bar. This time, I noticed that the 14th bar closed strong, and the 13th bar had an unusually high volume. That's when I though the momentum was picking up. Although, it casted some doubts over me when the 15th bar is completed. I reached my target of 138% Fib., four bars later.

051607 - ACM - 15mins - Loss*Paper

Symbol: ACM
Type: Long
Entry: The 9th bar
Exit: The 25th bar
Result: Lost -0.04%

My strategy for this trade is to go Long when the prices closed above the upper shadows of the 4th and 8th bar. The 9th bar accomplished that, but it failed to hit my target of 119% Fib. It came close at around 2pm, but the prices retraced back the 5eMA. I exited at almost the same as the entry price for a small loss.

Watchlist for May 16

AMAT, JBX PAYX KLAC, NX, EYE, ASML, ACM, LRCX, CVLT, BRCD, NVLS.

I did 2 trades so far on BRCD and ACM, and both got stopped out. (Charts to follow later today.)

I re-entered BRCD @ the 15th bar. We shall see how it turns out.

Please feel free to drop me a note to tell me what's in your watchlist!

Good Trading!

051507 - TIVO - 15mins - Observation

I saw (TIVO)'s upper shadow on the 4th and 5th bar (see circled), and I thought that must be the resistance level. I didn't enter to Short because I was not too sure of my own observation. Therefore, I decided to observe (TIVO) for the rest of the day to see if it turns out to the way that I thought.

My initial target was at the Opening Low of the day. I don't know if I would be bothered by the long lower shadow of the 7th bar. Chances are... I might.

Then again, the ultra long lower shadow of the 9th bar, would have, once again, prompted me to take profit.

Although this is a potential winning trade, I would still like to learn how to interpret the 7th and the 9th bar. Your observation is fully appreciated!

051507 - STEC - 15mins - Gain*Paper

Symbol: STEC
Type: Short
Entry: The 10th bar, when the prices broke the 9th bar low
Exit: The 15th bar at the 119% Fib. Ext.
Result: Gained +1.93%

(STEC) gapped on opening, followed by a hammer-type 2nd candle with a long lower shadow. Based on the 2nd candle, I almost took this stock out of my watchlist, because I know I would not feel comfortable entering Short, when prices are still 'within the shadow.' But since my watchlist wasn't that long today, I left (STEC) there. The 5th bar broke away from the Opening Low, but closed with a small lower shadow. The 7th bar continued to produce a lower shadow, but it confirms the support when I drew a line across (see yellow line.)

This is when I set my entry to slightly below the yellow line, since I noticed that a sizable gain can still be achieved if prices only reached the 119% Fibonacci Extension.

The entry took place rather soon during the 10th bar, and my exit point was reached during the 15th bar. Everything just worked out as planned.

Watchlist for May 15

I have yet to come across anything that is worthy of 'close monitoring.'

Right now, I'm overlooking the following:

STEC, TIVO, TJX, GMR, and PCS

Earlier this morning, I also had the following on my list but I disqualified them for one reason or another...

BSTE, TRA, HTLD, IGLD, AMGN, TW, and MR

If you see anything that is worthy for paying closer attention, please drop a note. Thanks for the heads-up!

No entry!

Sorry for the late post!

I did not see any decent set-up today; No entry was made.

Watchlist for May 14

I'm back! 

I'm monitoring the following stocks this morning...
RDY, IRF, NOK, RFMD, GERN, GM, F, & SCRX

Are you a prostitute?

This is a post found in a Mexican restaurant in Mainland China. (click to enlarge)

No trading until Week of 5/21

I'm pretty much jam-packed with meetings for the next 10 days.

I am still trying to work on my month-end result for April. I will post it as soon as it becomes available.

Good luck to you all!

No trading today!

There will be no trading today! Thank you to those who voted in my first ever 'Predict the move' post.

Good luck to your trading today.