Seventeenth: Market Manipulation

Summary

I lost $3 from commissions. I guess it could have been worse.

I made some interesting discoveries with a chart and gone mad with my plays. Even being right cost me money, but at least it's didn't cost me as much as before. I must continue to work even harder because I am always behind. It's the only way to succeed. 

Take a look at this shit. There was so much market manipulation that it's not even funny. I am lucky I caught on to it before dying out. 

Ticker: AERI

So this gapped up yesterday but looked weak. I ultimately was looking for a short, but today's chart proved me wrong. 

Note: Good thing I wasn't too biased about the chart.

A lot going on. I saw an ABCD pattern form, but also thought that it was too weak because it lacked volume and was forming a descending triangle. However, something was wrong with the chart. $20.00 was being soaked by the market makers and when I realized it, I thought there was a short trap going on. I immediately went long at @ $20 and when the trap triggered, it shot up. Unfortunately, I stopped out before it went higher.

Note: I suck at trading it seems. There is nothing but that. I just gotta practice more. 

Please let me know if you have any comments or opinions. I would like to know if you have spotted any mistakes in my logic.

Twentieth: Failed Read

Summary

I stupidly sold 50 stocks when I had 60. This was a $25 mistake that I don't want to do again. I need to look over at my position to determine my total position before entering it.

The market continues to surprise me and prove me wrong everyday. A reason for my misfortune is due to some fundamental mistakes that I have been committing. It is today that I realized these mistakes fully and how it affected my judgement on some charts. 

Mistakes

1. Assuming that is chart is done for the day based on daily.

2. Placing incorrect trade specifications.

3. Using only one chart for determining when to enter.

I need to correct these mistakes if I actually want to make profit. If I don't, I will just fail.

  Ticker: PBMD

Although my initial opinion for this chart was long, I quickly shifted views after it broke down during the one minute chart. I should have just kept an open mind for the possibility of this going higher.

Note: I had the right idea in the beginning but quickly dismissed it after what the 1 minute chart was doing. I cannot dismiss anything and must keep an open mind. 

My idea was to long and anticipate a $3 break. The chart was holding higher highs at the time so I purchased some @ $2.81. As you can see, I focused on the one minute chart and stupidly did not consider anything else. After the flush down, I sold out @ $2.70. I quickly switched to a short view for this chart since it has already been up so high. This was my first mistake.

Note: I quickly switched my views to short as soon as my long attempt failed. This chart also did not show any signs of continuation for longs. This was my biggest mistake because it stopped me from looking at the bigger picture. 

This was the bigger picture I should have been looking at. This is what my original plan should have been. If I only looked at all the charts, I would have noticed that the 5 minute view was the chart to work with with this ticker.

Note: If I took 20 seconds to look at the 5 minute view, my whole strategy would have been different. I would have made bank and today would have been a good day. Instead of this, I lost $15 on commission and took a $6 loss on top of that.

Ticker: CLRX

I added in @ $0.77 when it was almost low of day. I will trust this chart since it is still producing higher lows and higher highs. The bar types such as an indeterminate bar does not bother me.

Please let me know if you have any comments or opinions. I would like to know if you have spotted any mistakes in my logic.

Twenty Third: It's a Trap!

Summary

I did not follow my original plan because I got scared out of my position. If I held strong, I would have not lost as much as I wanted to on commissions. Other than that, I think I did an okay job with my longs to shorts switching. There are plenty to work on, but not following my own plan is just a big blow to my morale because of how basic that concept should be.

The stock below was kind of hard to play for me and I was trapped multiple times. I completely was off with volume and level 2 because it was low with small pops. If I followed the trends, I would have been okay. 

Ticker: RIGL

Another mess of a trade because I was not patient. Lost too much on commissions.

I learned that a chart that gaps and doesn't continue will typically go sideways throughout the day. If it holds the channel, it can squeeze the shorts. I played both long and short and switched accordingly. However, I did not follow my plan which burned me at the end. 

This chart had low volume all day. For these types of charts, I must depend on the uptrend and downtrend patterns. It broke out from my initial symmetrical triangle so I longed. When it went down, I sold off and drew and new downtrend line. I then purchased on the next pop. I did, but waited too long to sell. My stop at the time was $3.51 and when it reached $3.50, I got scared and sold off! It didn't touch $3.51 and just dropped before it broke out of the downtrend. I should have just followed the trends. Volume here didn't help much.

Note: I need to stick to my plan and the trends I draw. Especially for stocks with low volume, I read the LVL2 incorrectly and it tricked me twice. On my last try to long, I followed the volume instead of the trend and called it a day. Two minutes later, it just broke out and I lost even more on commission. I really need to the trends.

Note: Other than that, my transitions from long to short got better. I need to remember that volume is there to help, but the chart is what matters. All I needed to do was follow the trends to be okay. I also need to know if it is worth the time to spend on one chart compared to another.

Side Note: This stock was referred to me by VinnyB. I really appreciated it, but I don't think I will be going into stocks that I am not familiar with. The times I do, I get fucked because I am not skilled enough to play on the spot. I need to solidify my basic knowledge with stocks I am familiar or else I won't be skilled enough to play a random one. 

Please let me know if you have any comments or opinions. I would like to know if you have spotted any mistakes in my logic.