It's been a nice break and I had a chance to get back to the blog today. I paper-traded last Thursday, August 13th and did 13 for 13 for a $295 gain, although it was mostly a scalp-fest and not really trading in trend. I didn't trade on Friday the 14th. Yesterday, I was 2 for 4 in the live account and was down, -$27. I've been less concerned about the blog of late. Just trying to prioritize...
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I let two stops go too long today; one for $150 and one for $100. I also had one trading error , clicking sell instead of buy to cover... leading to a $50 loss. It wasn't bad other than that. I have been starting over in a sense. I must learn entry signals other than the one I had been using, so I have been back to the basics of chart set-ups, etc. Trying to study and understand them in association with volume and momentum. I'm less concerned now with the overall chart or on what the current price per share may be. I am paying close attention to the "pulsation" of price levels, especially on movement as the price approaches critical areas; S & R, moving average lines, trend lines. At the same time, I have taken to watching the time & sales window as well as level II which is very new to me and doesn't quite make sense after only a few days. I am seeing patterns of movement so that is encouraging. If anyone knows of a detailed primer on reading and interpreting level II and/or Time & Sales, as they affect price movement, please leave me a comment. I am especially looking for free web-based material but am interested to hear of other sources as well.
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9 for 15, a 60% win rate. Loss of $17 in 5 hours of paper-trading primarily because of two excessive stop-losses and one trading error.
