Mixed results

Tried some new things out today and traded quite a bit to end up with a slight loss. CSIQ was my biggest loser as I entered off a break of the 10:18 bar high. Started off well and then went south quickly. The way it set up... I thought it would run a bit. My biggest winner was BRCM. Tried something new off the 3-min chart and shorted off a break of the 10:48 bar low. Price moved nicely but then stalled around the ORL. Other stocks I traded included WERN, CVC and AIG. If I hadn't entered CVC a second time off a break of the 12:15 bar low I would've ended the day red.

Solid day

While I'm not going to post charts of my ECA and HAR trades (just don't think they're very nice) I can say that both at least provided a good day's pay. Shorted ECA off a break of the 10:12 bar low (3-min) and exited as it bounced at the $66 area. I was a little greedy and thought it would touch the fib. ext. Instead, it bounced right above it.

 
Shorted HAR on a break of the 12:27 bar low (3-min) and ended up scaling out to reduce risk as the trade started going against me. Managed to take 'dinner for two' profit out of this trade.

 
This has been a very nice couple of weeks and I'm encouraged by my results. I just hope to keep it going. I'll be off on Monday and possibly Tuesday so I'm glad this week counted.
 
 

A surprise

AMAT and UYG were my losers today. I shorted BAC off a break of the 10:36 bar low (3-min). I decided to scale out for some profit then held on and managed the exit off the :15 which didn't work out as I was stopped after the 12:30 bar high was exceeded.
 
The surprise of the day was AEM. I spotted a nice base and break entry off a break of the 11:27 bar high. However, when entering my order, price had kinda shot up a bit so I didn't think it was going to be triggered. After 3 minutes - and not noticing if the order was triggered - I went ahead and canceled/deleted the order. I was a bit in a rush and really didn't notice much. Anyway, later in the day I noticed that AEM was doing well (not thinking I was in the position) and was hitting myself for not being able to get in and thinking I should've placed a market order instead of a limit order. I think you know where this is going. Turns out my order was triggered and I was up and above the fib. ext. but the time I realized it. I exited all my shared just below the $53 level for a nice gain on the day. Nice when things go your way like that. However, I really should be more careful as price could've just as easily tanked without me realizing it.
 
 

 
 

 
 

Good day

Started the day off with MS short (3-min, 10:18 bar) for a quick gain. Scaled out because the price was choppy. Sold all shares when price closed above the red line (last pivot high on the 1-min chart). Gave all my gains going long CSIQ (won't go into detail).
Ended the day well with shorting CHL off a break of the 12:15 bar low (:15 chart). Exited all my shares after a 1 point gain.
 

 
 

 
 

LPNT - Long

Didn't really find a whole lot of setups early on. There were some late day moves but by that time I was already done. I entered LPNT off the 3-min chart on a break of the 11:06 bar high. Exited just short of the fib. ext. which, for the first time this week proved to be the right call (even though price reversed later in the day and went beyond my exit). I also entered FDX on a break of the 10:12 bar high... took partial profits after 1R before price turned on me and I ended up with a small loss.
 
Closed out my TWS platform so I can't do a screenshot of my trades but I'll try to have something up tomorrow when it's emailed to me. Have a good weekend... this was a nice week.
 
 

FIS - Long

Not a whole lot to report as I had to stop trading by 12:30pm for a dinner date. Entered FIS long on a B&B setup off a break of the 11:21 bar high. Gave me some nice returns quickly but then just stopped dead in it's tracks at around the 22.70 area. I scaled out to lock in some profit and then sold the rest just above breakeven.
 
 

 
 

Good day... still disappointed

Let me just say that I'll take today's results and be the happiest man on the planet. With that said... I still flubbed my exit and missed a great B&B entry with FRO.
 
So... starting off with FRO I short off a break of the 10:30 bar low (:15). I was stopped out 4 bars later after a strong move up. Later in the day, I missed a great B&B entry off the 3-min chart on a break of the 12:21 bar low which broke through the pivot/low of the day. This would've been a nice gain and more than redeemed the stop out earlier.
 
Next I entered AKS on a break of the 10:45 bar low. Pretty wide candle but it was a strong move below the low of the day. Wacky action on this trade and I was stopped out on a break of the 12:45 bar high... but still a nice gain.
 
My real missed opportunity of the day was FCX. I entered on a break of the 11am bar low which close strong and had room to run to the fib. ext. Problem is... I exited above the fib. ext. after a decent gain but the stock continued to drop 3.5 more points. I flubbed this because my exit are off of a candle that closes above the 5ema and this stock coasted to the bottom. Still and nice day but I really have to start trading smarter. Making good money is one thing but making a lot of money to cover for the days when there aren't a lot of opportunity is another. Always room for improvement.
 
 

 
 

 
 

TTEK saves the day

Went long TYC and TRN and was stopped out of both. Why??? Who the hell really knows. But I suspect it was because I entered at or near the fib. ext. based on the :15 OR. My trade earlier this week in KFT was the same thing. I will not enter any B&B trades at or too close to the fib. ext. What's too close? I figure around 2R is far enough away (a little under 2R will do as well).
Also went short AKAM on a break of the 12:09 bar low but it didn't work out. However, I didn't get hit that bad.
 
My saving grace today was TTEK. Entered long on a break of the 1:21 bar high which had taken out the 27.86 pivot high on good volume. Now, I probably should've been stopped out on this as well but I didn't place my stop before price moved against me. My new exit strategy calls for me to set my stop once price closes below the last pivot high (for longs). In this case, the 1:36 bar close below the pivot high of 27.86 and I should've placed my stop .02 below that bar which did not get hit. Price rallied after that drop and I decided to exit my position just below the fib. ext. Had I not made those stupid trades in TRN and TYC I might have had the cojones to let this trade ride a bit... possible beyond the fib. ext. I most certainly would've made about .30 more sticking to my exit strategy. Whatever... I was happy to make back my losses.

 
 

 
 

GDX, GRMN

Took a quick loss in a GDX B&B trade. Shorted on a break of the 10:30 bar low (3-min). A look back on that trade and the volume wasn't what I would like it to be leading up to my entry. I look for lower volume and as you can see... volume was kicking up.
I then turned my attention over to GRMN. I initially missed a good setup off the 3-min chart on a break of the 11:54 bar low (red arrow, line) which took out the morning pivot low that set up at 37.69. It had a bunch of room to fall down to the fib. ext. so I kept monitoring.
I entered on a break of the 12:45 bar low which took out the previous pivot low at 37.01. My price target was just above the fib. ext. which is where I ended up exiting all my shares. Even though price subsequently dropped further down, I made the right call to exit where I did because if I waited, I most likely would have exited at 36.49 or so... giving up considerable profit.
 
There were a ton of stock candidates in my watchlist today and I had a difficult time filtering through them all. So I ended up just focusing on stocks that had a very high relative volume number. That's probably a good approach to remember.
 
 

 
 

Did well, but...

Not nearly what I should've done. Traded SAP (twice), AKS and CL. Got stopped out of my first SAP entry which was off the 10:24 bar high. 57.85 was decent resistance and my entry broke that area on good volume. I then traded AKS off a break of the 10:39 bar high. Things went wacky and fast. I was up quickly and really was just settling into the trade and looking forward to managing it. I was up almost 1 point before the shit hit the fan. Luckily, I moved my stop up to 58 and for some reason it was triggered and I exited at 58.16. At first I was pissed, but then the stock plummeted and I would have certainly lost more. Still bummed I was up .97 in the stock and ended up with a loss. I need to do a better job of locking in profits but the price action was all over the place.
 
After 11am I flipped over to the :15 charts and set my trendline alerts at the ORH/L of each stock. That's when I saw SAP again. But this time, I flipped back to the 3-min chart and saw a nice breakout bar. Entered long off a break of the 11:33 bar and started managing my exit. I was happy to make back my earlier losses but I was certainly hoping for a whole lot more. A one point move would've been perfect. Again, dinner called so I moved my stop to 58.68 and a sell-limit order at 59.24. Wouldn't you know it??? The damn stock stopped me out at 58.70 (although I don't see where price reached 58.68... should I talk to IB about it?). Still, it was a nice gain but the stock did end up moving up to 59.41.
 
I then entered CL off a break of the 12:45 high off the :15 chart. Nice strong bar with volume that finishes above the ORH. Can't say I really effed things up but I switched over to the 3-min chart to manage my exit... a new strategy I'm working on. I exited when price dropped below 73.84 as it was setting up to be a failed breakout. Looked like a good idea at the time. Decent profit but had I kept my exit rules I normally have off the :15 chart I would be sitting very pretty.
 
Overall a nice, active day. The more B&B trades I make the more I can realize what I'm potentially doing wrong and the more confidence I'll have.
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Red again

Sucks being red but if there was a silver lining with today's trades it's that I was able to enter 2 base and break trades in the morning, flip over to the :15 charts at 11am and place two more trades (albeit in the same stock). Oh, and I also cooked dinner throughout all this.

The B&B trades were SID and KFT (red arrow with KFT is a potential second entry that I missed). Both started off with a quick bump but then turned on me for a loss on both. In hindsight, the relative volume for both was not good at all. Something I need to remember in the future.

I ended up shorting HAS off a break of the 11:45 bar low. This is not my typical entry bar as it had a long lower wick but after looking at so many B&B setups for the previous week or so I really liked this bar's volume and the fact it looked like a reversal. I was stopped out for a tiny gain off a break of the 1:30 bar high after moving my stop. I then re-entered on a break of the 1:45 bar low (red arrow) and came within .05 cents of my target (just above the fib. ext.) before price moved against me and I ended up breakeven.

This felt like a very tough day but I can certainly handle these kinds of losses. Still, I feel real good about the way I handled my trades... spotted them and took action. Did it all at a manageable pace with a new trading strategy. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict that this week will be one of my best in a long time. I can feel it.
 
 

 
 

 
 

Learning curve

For me, the trickest part of B&B trading is determining exactly where the base is. I think part of the problem for me is I'm trying to find a base on every stock in my watchlist and I really should just look for an obvious basing pattern and then stalk the stock.
I traded BMC today for breakeven but it really should've been a nice winner for me but I didn't recognize a new base that was setting up. I originally set my baseline at 33.52 which was the first intraday pivot point of the morning on the 3-min chart. I then made what I believe was the mistake in the trade and moved my baseline to the next pivot point of the day which was 33.11. Since my original baseline did not prove to be resistance and was later broken again I should have never moved it in the first place.
What I'm thinking, and I may be wrong, but a baseline should be an area of support or resistance where price touches on at least 2 occasions. So, essentially, my baseline should consist of two pivot points at the same price. With this rationale, 33.52 was the most obvious baseline and an area to look for a breakout. Now if you look between 11am and 12pm you'll see a new baseline appear at 33.18 with 3 pivot point areas. I didn't this and ended up paying for. Had I caught it, I would have entered on a break of the 12.06 bar which would've lead to a nice profit.
I ended up entering on a break of the 12.12 bar on huge volume and things looked good originally but then price spiked up... then down and I ended up exiting the position for breakeven.
All in all, a good learning experience despite no profit. However, I really do feel that my recent B&B discovery in addition to focusing on volume is going to really help my trading out tremendously. Another observation... there weren't a whole lot of B&B setups today like there have been the past few days. Oh, and JNPR was another nice B&B trade late in the day off the 3-min chart (2:45 bar).

No trades

Not really by choice that I didn't trade... my trading software wouldn't boot up. Called IB and they said it was my ISP that was blocking the TCP or some shit like that. After asking the guy 3 times (since I waited 10 minutes) if there was anything he could do the best he came up with was for me to call my ISP. Remember, I live in France - the land of no customer service. In fact, if you actually want customer service it's gonna cost you .34 euros a minute just for the right to call.

So, after fumbling around and becoming extremely frustrated with not being able to even find the customer service number I thought I would use IB's online chat service. Long story short.. Raymond fixed me up in a jiffy after making a small adjustment to my .ini file.

I didn't even run my scan till 11:40. However, I did go through a little exercise and looked at the charts up till 10:15 and placed my alerts as if I was going to actually trade. It was good exercise as it helped me formulate a routine that I can follow every day. In any case, I missed one very good B&B trade that I'm pretty sure I would've taken. It was AMZN... here's the chart: