End of day review 6-15-11 Wednesday

Trade plan and Price action review: (Price action) ES gaped down on negative econ release pre market. The AM trade was slow and choppy. We formed a triangle and the sellers came in around 11:30 pushing ES down breaking the IBL. Sellers continued to push down to the lower balance area around 1261 area. There were a few rotations at the S/R levels below offering some good opps.

(Trade plan) My trade plan was spot on today. I was expecting a rotation down to the lows of the balance area and was looking at 1268 as a first potential target. I wrote my trade plan before the 8:30 AM release and the market was trading a lot higher before the release so 1268 was far away at the time.

Trades review: (Hypothetical)

(Actual)

1^st trade: Type of Set up: break and PB

(Technical) the market was bearish with the pre market news release and i was looking for a possible rotation to the lows of the balance area this morning. So on the selling i got short on the PB into resistance and was looking for a quick move to new lows. The buyers were active on the move lower so I got out BE scratch.

(Emotional) I was calm and comfortable taking this trade. I was able to identify that the trade wasn’t working out and was able to bail on it with a BE exit.

(Execution Grade) B. I was a few ticks late on the entry.

(BSO Points) scratch trade + 1 tick

2^st trade: Type of Set up: Break of trend line.

(Technical) The market formed a triangle and with the bearish tone in the market I was looking for opps to get short. So as soon as the market broke out of the triangle I was looking for an entry. I could have gotten a better entry but the order flow was telling me to get in so I got short at 1271.25. I had a 3 point target at 1 point past the IBL which was the first logical target. There was certainly more in it but I have to stick to my plan of taking the 2-3 point trades till my size increases.

(Emotional) I felt good on this trade. I had no problem holding it for my target.

(Execution Grade) C . I could have gotten a better fill but still happy with the trade.

(BSO Points) 3 points

3^st trade: Type of Set up: Impulse trade

(Technical) I was guessing the market was going up so I jumped on it really quick to catch the momentum ride. The market fizzled out and quickly reversed and I was stopped out for – 5 ticks.

(Emotional) I totally jumped the gun here and was playing with fire. No reason to take this trade. It was completely an impulse trade and I will try to not do it again.

(Execution Grade) F

(BSO Points) -6 ticks

Conclusion of the day and thoughts going forward: Over all im happy with the day other than work interfering again. I’m still trading well and I’m getting paid for it. I stick to my rules (except for that one today) and my plan and my results speak for them self

BSO Points for the day: 2 points

Winners: 1

Losers: 1

Scratches: 1

Grades for the day:

Following my plans: A My trade plan was good

Following my rules: C impulse trade brought this down

Emotions in check: C and felt I was missing something on that last trade.

Pre market analysis 6-15-11 Wednesday

Was busy with work again. Not sure how long this is going to go on.

News: Housing market index @ 10AM

Trade plan and Price action analysis: (Price action) Yesterday ES gaped up and traded higher off the open. Buyers are stepping into this market recently. Globex has traded lower in the overnight session showing that the sellers are still active. We have established value below yesterday value area in the overnight session giving us a bearish macro structure so far. We are at the top of a balance area that started on 6/6 and it is possible that we get responsive sellers up here for a push back down to the lower balance area.

(Trade plan) The plan is to watch the open today to see who is taking control of the market. I’m expecting a balanced session today although we have the possibility of responsive sellers being active up here for a push back to the 1268 area. There is one news release out after the open that could provide some movement if it is way out of line so i will be watching that at 10AM. Over all i will be looking for opps at the S/R zones depending on the open. And i will be looking out for responsive sellers to be active up around the 1288 and the 1291-1293 area.

End of day review 5-16-11 Monday

Trade plan and Price action review: (Price action) I was late coming into the morning session. ES opened below Fridays value and this brought in responsive buyers. The market moved up into Fridays value area and stalled at the globex highs area. We had a PB into my support area and it was a great place to get long. The market shot up and hit the next level above at 1337 where we had a small rotation back into the 1333.1335 level that was broken this morning. The market had another strong push above the IBH and trough the 1337-1338.50 level. Sellers were active at the 1341 level and the market pulled back and broke back into the IB. This was a warning sign that we could see a rotation back to the lows. We retraced back into the IBH and down we went for an almost complete rotation. The market bounced back up in the 50% area and the 1333-1335 level where sellers were active once again pushing ES down into the lows of the day and breaking the IBL. The day established value lower down with sellers in control closing the day at the lows. The vpoc shifted down from Fridays session.

(Trade plan) My trade plan was pretty much right on queue today. I was expecting responsive buyers to be active at the lows of the bigger range and that's exactly what we got. Buyers moved us back up into the recent range.

Trades review: (Hypothetical) I missed the action in the morning because of work but there were a few nice trades. 1^st was at 1331 on the pull back into my level and previous low of day. 2^nd After breaking the A period on the MP there was a little PB into the 1333.75 A period high. 3^rd was the retest of IBH after breaking back into the IB. And 4^th was selling the down trend line in a down trending afternoon. The ones with the black circles are the hypothetical trades.

(Actual)

1^st trade: I tried a long here at IBH looking for the market to continue higher. It was a good area to look for a long as long as we stayed above it. As soon as we broke below the IBH and had trouble getting back above it I should have bailed on the trade. I did take off one lot to hedge some risk and that was a good idea.

2^nd trade: I bought the 50% retrace looking for the market to still move back up. This trade ended up being a winner and I only kept my target at 2 points because that was my first target and in case we couldn’t get back above the IBH then it’s the best place to be flat.

3^rd Trade: market was moving lower and I was expecting the retest of the lows of the day. I used order flow to get in this trade and go with the momentum that came into the market.

4^th Trade: This trade was an impulse trade. I shouldn’t have taken it because I was trying to guess that the market was going higher so I tried to buy the little break above that swing high. But if the market was going to go up that was the place for the buyers to keep pushing. They didn’t and I was stopped out for -6 ticks. That was also the 50% retrace level of the bigger move down. It wasn’t a good place to try and get long at all because the market was trending lower most of the afternoon and with 50% right in front of me it was poor risk to reward on that trade. I deserved that one lol.

5^th Trade: The market was breaking down and I tried a short after it broke the trend line and the previous swing low area. I was almost 2 points up and I saw signs of a supply and demand shift so I bailed for BE on that one. I was looking for the market to follow through to the down side.

Conclusion of the day and thoughts going forward: I was really happy with my trading today. I feel like I’m finally starting to make the turn. I’m having more confidence in my trades now and I feel like I am better able to read the market. When you’re able to read the market you can look for trades to take. I spent a lot of time trying to just find set ups and all along I was missing what the markets were all about. It’s not about set ups it’s about context and price action. I’m eager to move forward and see what the rest of the week brings.

Grades:

Following my plans: A+

Following my rules: A+

Trade execution: C+

Pre market analysis 5-16-11 Monday

News: Empire state mfg. @ 8:30AM. Treasury international capital @ 9AM, Housing market index @10AM

Trade plan and Price action analysis: (Price action) Friday was a selling day with value established lower from the previous day. We still managed to balance in the same area though. Globex placed value lower down on Fridays session giving us a bearish tone to the sentiment.

(Trade plan) With the bearish tone on the market and a bearish reaction to the econ release we could get a break lower out of the balance area. Were at the bottom of the balance are so i will be cautious trying to sell down here. Depending on the market's reaction on the open and the econ release i will determine if i want to get long down here. This area is where one should expect to see responsive buyers getting active for a move back up into value. Over all i will be looking to be a buyer at support and a seller at resistance areas on my chart. But will be cautious of a break below the 1327 level also globex lows. A break and hold below that could mean that we see lower prices over the next few days. If we bounce from there then we could trade back up into the range.

End of day review 4-18-11 Monday

Today was a little tricky for me. I couldn't get a good read on the market. I look back and i can now see where i should have traded. I should have taken the short at 1298.00 after it sold off down to 1291 area and retraced back up. There was a few reasons to sell in that area. In all fairness to me i was pulled away a few times from work and couldn't give 100% attention to trading. Although i was able to sit around for the boring choppy stuff. Over all the market rotated from IBL to IBH and that was about it.