January 28th

I had some extra time today to practice trade today so I took advantage.

Nothing unusual really... just looking for my favorite signs of direction change as guideposts for my entries. While my instincts seem to be improving, I still find myself in early, unable to sit back and wait for the candles to show me the way to a timely entry. Inevitably, I am also early getting out, though that is less of a concern to me at this point. When using 5-minute candles as signals for a call to action, I must allow the candles to complete unless it is an extreme move that is developing.

It is at my peril that I not develop the appropriate amount of patience.

January 27th

One lonely paper-trade today.
In between day-job appointments, I had about 15 minutes to stop at the office, eat a late lunch, and catch a glimpse of ERX while I ate a warmed up cheeseburger.
The 2:15 & 2:20 pm volume rush and the corresponding candles with their large wicks but relatively tight open to close ratios spoke of an impending burst of price. I was a shade early but correct in my idea when I took my long. I exited with a gain far too early but I was running late for my second appointment of the day as it was...
The close of the next large candle after the one in which I exited (2:40pm) was an ideal exit point; the big volume spike suggesting a change of direction might be approaching. Alas, I am still a prisoner to my day-job and don't have the skills sharpened enough to merit trading with real-money. However, with every practice trade I approach my goal.

January 26th

Wow... AAPL was a beast today! I picked up a tiny fraction of it as it fell off its HOD. My paper-trade was a two-position short and my exits were between 2:19 and 2:20 pm for quick scalps. ok... no guts, no glory. It was more fun to watch and learn on such a big mover than to actually try to trade it. The point of all this is to learn, after all. What a ride it would have been to have 1000 shares up then 1000 shares down... a possible gain of about $20,380 from four trade executions: bottom to top and top back down to bottom.

It was a big mover but from the chart you'll see my "What's Familiar" marks on the chart are still relevant; those little lines pointing to likely reversals which are so familiar to me are still relevant!

So, for experienced traders, today was a real nice payday because those clues to stock movement were there even though it was moving unusually for multiple dollars over the 6.5 hours of the trading day.

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Days like today in AAPL are why I continue to study and learn, to pursue trading for a living.