| Date | Trade | Quantity | Entry | Stop Loss | Profit Target | Reason | Result | Remarks |
| 24 Jul 14 | Buy | 1 | 25.245 | 24.34 | 26.15 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 9 days | Stopped out by less than 5 cents |
| 10 Oct 14 | Buy | 1 | 27.165 | 25.54 | 28.79 | Breakout from horizontal consolidation | Loss after 4 days | Stopped out by 12 cents. |
| 8 Dec 14 | Buy | 1 | 30.68 | 29.065 | 32.295 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 11 days | |
| 20 Jan 15 | Buy | 0.5 | 33.55 | 31.55 | 35.55 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 12 days | |
| 13 Feb 15 | Buy | 1 | 36.335 | 34.115 | 38.555 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 21 days | |
| 29 Apr 15 | Sell | 0.5 | 34.595 | 36.15 | 33.04 | M reversal | Loss after 8 days | |
| 9 Jul 15 | Buy | 1 | 37.9 | 36.155 | 39.645 | Breakout from pullback | Exit at breakeven | 21 cents from take profit |
| 1 Dec 15 | Buy | 1 | 38.27 | 35.95 | 40.59 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 5 days | |
| 15 Dec 15 | Buy | 1 | 41.97 | 39.63 | 44.31 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 20 days. | Should not have taken this trade because pullback did not reach moving average. |
| 14 Jan 16 | Sell | 0.5 | 39.04 | 42.47 | 35.61 | M reversal | Exit at breakeven | |
| 17 Aug 16 | Sell | 0.5 | 31.96 | 33.33 | 30.59 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 19 days | Almost stopped out |
| 10 Nov 16 | Buy | 1 | 32.56 | 29.92 | 35.2 | Breakout from horizontal consolidation | Profit after 24 days | |
| 15 Dec 16 | Buy | 1 | 35.48 | 33.79 | 37.17 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 12 days | |
| 28 Feb 17 | Sell | 0.5 | 31.93 | 34.8 | 29.06 | Breakout from horizontal consolidation | Profit after 6 days | |
| 2 May 17 | Sell | 1 | 28.6 | 30.45 | 26.75 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 8 days | |
| 20 Nov 17 | Buy | 0.5 | 23.52 | 21.23 | 25.81 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 8 days | |
| 23 May 18 | Sell | 0.5 | 24.62 | 26.42 | 22.82 | False breakout | Loss after 16 days | |
| 22 Aug 18 | Buy | 1 | 31.81 | 29.56 | 34.06 | Breakout from horizontal consolidation | Loss after 16 days | |
| 30 Oct 18 | Buy | 1 | 28.91 | 26.89 | 30.93 | W reversal | Profit after 7 days | |
| 6 Dec 18 | Sell | 0.5 | 28.45 | 30.68 | 26.22 | Breakout from pullback | Exit at breakeven | |
| 28 Feb 19 | Buy | 0.5 | 29.91 | 28.24 | 31.58 | W reversal | Loss after 2 days | |
| 3 Apr 19 | Sell | 1 | 23.66 | 25 | 22.32 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 6 days | |
| 17 May 19 | Sell | 1 | 24.48 | 26.48 | 22.48 | Breakout from horizontal consolidation | Profit after 10 days | |
| 23 Jul 19 | Sell | 1 | 20.75 | 22.17 | 19.33 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 9 days | |
| 5 Sep 19 | Buy | 0.5 | 24.86 | 23 | 26.72 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 6 days | |
| 27 Apr 20 | Buy | 1 | 33.2 | 29.96 | 36.44 | Breakout from consolidation | Profit after 80 days | |
| 14 Sep 20 | Sell | 1 | 33.58 | 35.79 | 31.37 | M reversal | Profit after 41 days | |
| 15 Jan 21 | Buy | 1 | 33.54 | 31.38 | 35.7 | W reversal | Profit after 6 days | |
| 26 Mar 21 | Buy | 0.5 | 37.15 | 34.47 | 39.83 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 59 days | |
| 21 Jun 21 | Buy | 1 | 39.72 | 36.72 | 42.72 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 31 days | |
| 2 Sep 21 | Buy | 0.5 | 46.72 | 43.46 | 49.98 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 6 days | |
| 18 Oct 21 | Sell | 1 | 38.37 | 40.44 | 36.3 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 6 days | |
| 5 Jan 22 | Buy | 0.5 | 46.43 | 44.47 | 48.39 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 3 days | |
| 28 Feb 22 | Buy | 1 | 46.75 | 43.09 | 50.41 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 4 days | |
| 18 Aug 22 | Buy | 0.5 | 49.48 | 44.29 | 54.67 | W reversal | Loss after 27 days | |
| 14 Dec 22 | Sell | 1 | 45.33 | 47.59 | 43.07 | M reversal | Profit after 3 days | Low was 1 cent below take profit |
| 3 Mar 23 | Buy | 1 | 46.72 | 44.16 | 49.28 | Breakout from pullback | Profit after 16 days | |
| 21 Jul 23 | Buy | 1 | 47.97 | 45.87 | 50.07 | W reversal | Profit after 12 days | |
| 17 Nov 23 | Sell | 1 | 42.47 | 44.89 | 40.05 | Breakout from pullback | Loss after 9 days | |
| 1 Dec 23 | Buy | 1 | 45.05 | 42.92 | 47.18 | Breakout from pullback | Pending |
| Win | Loss | Breakeven | Pending |
| 17.5 | 12.5 | 2 | 1 |
Net Win
The net win for today is 5. However, if we consider those trades that took more than 25 days to profit (4 in total), the number of win drops to 13.5 and the number of losses increases to 16.5, giving me a negative net win (-3). Further, some breakeven trades may be losers as well. Therefore, today’s results is rather abysmal.
Losing Trades Analysis
There are two many losing trades to list down today, I’ll just analyse the first two.
These two losing trades are rather unfortunate, as I am stopped out by a small amount.
For the first trade, I entered above the high of bar A, with a stop loss below the low of bar 1. I was stopped out at bar 2. However, if I set the stop loss below the high of bar 3 instead, the trade would be profitable.
For the second trade, I entered above the high of bar B, with a stop loss below the low of bar 4. I was stopped out at bar 5. However, if I set the stop loss below the high of bar 6 instead, the trade would be profitable.
I guess this is pure unfortunate. Nonetheless, given that the stop losses that would have worked are so near the stop losses that I used, I should have chosen them instead.
Lesson learned: Do not just use support or bar lows as stop loss levels. If there is a resistance level nearby, use that instead.
Updated Rules
I also need to be more specific in terms of my entry rules. Currently, I require price to move by a certain amount above the high of the signal bar for a long trade (or below the low for a short trade) before I enter the trade. The same applies to stop loss. The amount of buffer required is as specified below:
| Stock Price | Entry | Stop Loss |
| Below $25 | 5 cents | 2 cents |
| Below $50 | 10 cents | 5 cents |
| Below $100 | 20 cents | 10 cents |
| Above $100 | 25 cents | 15 cents |
However, how long am I allowed to wait for a trade to happen?
Let’s fix it as such: I can wait for a maximum of 2 days (i.e., if the signal bar is Day 0, I have to enter by Day 3, or give up the trade) as long as there is no new price action that indicates that this will be a bad trade.
Psychology
I think there is a difference in my mentality when I’m ‘trading’ well vs when I’m not. When I’m not, it is normally a state of trying to look for trades. I was determined not to miss a good trade, I WANT to find a trade. In contrast, when I’m ‘trading’ well, I’m waiting for a trade, I’m not actively looking for one. When I am trading well, I am not frustrated. I am emotionless. In fact results may have improved towards the end because I got a bit numb.
Analysis of the number of wins for buy vs sell
| Number of Trades | Win | Loss | Breakeven | |
| Buy | 25 | 16 | 8 | 1 |
| Sell | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
Percentage win for buy trades = 16/25 = 64%
Percentage win for sell trades = 5/14 = 36%
My performance will definitely be better if I only go long. There are 3 long trades that took more than 25 days to be profitable. Therefore, considering this, my net win will be 13-11=2 if I only took long trades (ignoring the breakeven trade).
Analysis of 0.5 vs 1 trades
| Number of Trades | Win | Loss | Breakeven | |
| Buy 0.5 | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| Buy 1 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1 |
| Sell 0.5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sell 1 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
Percentage wins for 0.5 trades = (5+2)/(8+6) = 50%
Percentage win for 1 trades = (11+3)/(17+8) = 56%
Conclusion
It may make more sense for me to focus on buy trades. Although the 0.5 trades do perform worse than the 1 trades, they may serve the purpose of preventing me from getting impulsive when I miss a trade. Therefore, it makes sense to continue with them, especially if I only focus on buy trades.
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