From patience to profits

Trade Summary

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If I were to summarize what happened today and how I felt, it would be this: don’t be afraid to cut your losses early and let your winners run.

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Yesterday’s loss was a gut punch, but today was a good one and I’m feeling a lot more confident going into next week.

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Takeaways

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1. Risk management: I was careful about my stop-loss limits and take-profit targets, which means I wouldn't lose more than 2% of my account. It felt good to have those boundaries, especially after yesterday. It's all about protecting those hard-earned tendies!

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2. Sticking to the plan: Even after yesterday's big loss, I didn't let my mindset get rattled. I stuck to my plan, which was to focus on limit orders and bracket orders for a more controlled approach, especially with a busy day ahead. This helped me avoid impulsive decisions and secure profits.

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3. Building confidence: I was able to bounce back today and make a profit. It shows that I can handle the ups and downs of the market. This gives me confidence that I can learn from my mistakes and become a better trader.

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Morning Trades

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This morning wasn’t as adrenaline-pumping as the last few days. And because of the downturn yesterday, there were some fears, but to me the Nasdaq felt like it was headed up.

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No major market shocks, no unexpected rate hikes, no surprise invasions (thank goodness!).

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When I woke up at 7:15 AM, I saw /MNQ just came off of a low of 19501.50, which seemed crazy to me, and then instantly shot up after that. I was going to be busy until around 9:30 AM, so I put the market out of my mind until then.

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When I got back home, I saw a bit of a pullback again at 9:30 AM before shooting up and trading at a range of 19600-19620. There was a low at 19575, so I set limit orders for one contract each at 19599.00, 19589.00, and 19575.00, then stepped away from my desk.

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After the craziness of the past few days, it seemed like this strategy was what I needed for a Friday, especially since I was going to have a busy afternoon.

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Even if I didn’t hit those orders, I knew I could set myself up for next week.

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Sure enough, it hit all the limit orders, including 19575.00, which I was really happy about.

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I carefully set bracket orders for stop limits at 19515.00 (which is what my walk away loss would be for the day - 2% of account value) and a Take-Profit (TP) limit order at 19651.00 and 19670.00, leaving 1 contract to run if it goes all the way to 19700 and beyond.

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Afternoon Trades

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Not much to report except everything went my way to end the week! My TP orders hit at both 19651.00 and 19670.00, locking in my profits and leaving 1 contract to run for the rest of the day.

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It kept climbing even after 4 PM, and I kept debating if I should close the one remaining contract so I’m not vulnerable to any unexpected news over the weekend.

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But I figured, let me put in a stop loss limit order at 19675, so if Nasdaq goes down the market opens on Sunday afternoon, I would still be able to lock in a $200 profit.

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All my futures trades today came in at $487 profit. My account says +$589 because of a few longs I still have in the account, mainly 2 $SHOP LEAPS (long-term equity anticipation securities) that have been doing well so far.

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And with that, I end the week on a good note! Catch you next week.

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EOD: $ 589  |  3.6 %

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