I had a nice morning trading RIMM on the Open.\u00a0 Tough stock, but as I like to make sure everyone on our desk knows…. I am fast and agile.\u00a0 So RIMM is not too tough of a challenge for me.\u00a0 After the Open, I got up from my desk and took care of some firm business.\u00a0 And then I sat back down around 11am and made a few trades.\u00a0 I have to admit I am very tough on myself as a trader.\u00a0 Perhaps too tough at times.\u00a0 And I always judge my trading based upon my actions and not my results.\u00a0 But what I did midday today was unacceptable.<\/p>\n
During the midday unless my stock will be in play the entire day, or I see a setup that offers an unusually promising risk\/reward, I do not trade.\u00a0 I spend most of my time sitting on my hands.\u00a0 I spend most of the midday preparing for my trades into the Close.\u00a0 I only make a trade if my risk\/reward is outstanding.\u00a0 On the Open I make many more trades.\u00a0 My standards to make a trade are not as demanding.\u00a0 It is rare where intraday traders have an edge midday.\u00a0 The order flow is low and programs dominate.\u00a0 So I don’t trade much.<\/p>\n
And yet today during the midday I lost my discipline. \u00a0 Losses do not bother me.\u00a0 Taking a rip does not bother me.\u00a0 But causing my own losses does.\u00a0 Losing my discipline is rare for me and completely unacceptable.\u00a0 And I failed for about 45 minutes today from 11am to 11:45am.<\/p>\n
Around 11:45am I just stopped myself.\u00a0 RIMM was not a good short or long at any moment during this time period.\u00a0 My gains from the Open were erased.\u00a0 Actually it was more that I was pretty hungry than I stopped myself.\u00a0 So I guess then it was a good thing I got hungry.\u00a0 Because I would have just lost more.<\/p>\n
So I went to lunch and I thought about my AM.\u00a0 Now a ton of new traders at this point may start thinking that you are just not a good trader.\u00a0 You might let your mind conclude that you just hate that RIMM.\u00a0 You might blame some kid who sits next to for bringing up the Jets game this weekend.\u00a0 Some conclude that they are just morons!<\/p>\n
I concluded that I made a few mistakes.\u00a0 I made no conclusions about my trading ability based upon those 45 minutes.\u00a0 I acted in my own self interest.\u00a0 I analyzed what had happened and identified my human error.\u00a0 And I concluded that if I did not overtrade RIMM during that time period that I would have had a nice Open.\u00a0 I concluded that I can’t do stuff like that again.<\/p>\n
Bad traders will let those unfocused 45 minutes snowball.\u00a0 They will lose more during the midday.\u00a0 They will continue to rip it up into the Close.\u00a0 But I just ate some lunch and recognized my errors.\u00a0 And I had a nice close.\u00a0 And my brown rice, turkey burger topped with lentils platter, was delicious.\u00a0 And as I write I am confident that I will trade well tomorrow and have another nice trading day.<\/p>\n
GS did not trade below 55 into the Close.\u00a0 That should offer an interesting level off of which to trade tomorrow.\u00a0 GS is 2 points away from its IPO price.\u00a0 That is amazing.\u00a0 What a new world we live in.<\/p>\n
Best of luck with your trading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"