Importance Ok Keeping A Trading Log

Keeping A Trading Log

I wanted to make a quick post to you guys on the importance of keeping a TRADING LOG.

A trading log allows you to stay organized and keeps close tabs of ALL your trades. This way once the markets close and things cool down, you can sit down and look thru trading log and see what you were doing right and wrong.

This is the BEST way to:
1. see what you are doing right.
2. see what you doing wrong.
3. are you over trading?
4. are you undertrading(scared to trade)
5. are you being too aggressive with your position sizing.
6. see what type of of patterns/trades/setups work best for you or work least for you.
7. see which stocks/sectors work best or worst for you.
8. See what time of the day works best or worst for your of trading.

etc etc etc!

Anyway, you see the point i am trying to make! A trading log GIVES YOU VALUABLE FEEDBACK folks!

A trading log should literally help make you "DISCOVER" who YOU as a trader!


An example of a Trade Log i have used in the past might look this: I would use an EXCEL SPREADSHEET to do this:


Date: Long/short Symbol Entry Exit #Shares $P/L %PnL Held Pattern

Jan.1 LONG SPRD 18.50 19.00 1000 +$500 +2.70% 1 day Bull flag

Jan.2 LONG CRUS 17.00 17.65 1000 +$650 +3.80% 2 days breakout trade



Something like this!!


Things I learned from keeping a trading log:

i am not good at holding stocks for more than one week. (Now, i need trades to work quickly or else i am out, keep my money constantly working)
I suck at trading solars, gold and silver stocks. (i minimize activity in these names big time)
i suck at trading triple etfs(FAZ, TNA, FAS): (So i stopped trading them completely!)
I am NOT a scalper. When the market is very choppy, i sit tight and DO NOTHING! I just watching until a momentum stock come to life.
I hate shorting when markets are in strong trends higher.
I suck at catching FALLING KNIVES. So i avoid this strategy. I much rather be catching hot momentum stocks. Buy them as they rip and sell them on further strengths.
I play well with stocks that moving on strong volume: Stocks moving on above daily average ALWAYS catch my eyes first as momentum is likely very high in these plays.
I suck at trading a lot(over trading). Too many trades cloud my judgement. I like to do less than 10 trades per week. A lot of trading gives me anxiety and stress. So i keep my trading to a minimum and only get aggressive when i see a 'HOT HAND".

I would have never found this out without keeping a detailed log of all my trades and have that log give ME feedback which is so incredibly valuable in trading! LESS MISTAKES made equals less money lost while working thru that vicious learning curve and also helps to direct you onto the right path to profitability.



Hope this helps! Remember, the more detailed the log the better!

Happy trading!

http://artoftrading.net/

New ART OF TRADING Member Books $2500 On His First Week!!!

Hey Stewie - I am very impressed - this was my first week really trading your alerts and while my day job keeps me from being as fast to the trade as I would like - I still cleared $2,500 for the week using $10k lots on each trade.. that's really good considering how much was in play at any given moment..

Luckily, I could not get to the BORN sell alert and held a bit longer -- and that helped me out quite a bit! Got 7.5% on BORN.. I even sold AXTI at the end of the day for a nice 2.4% gain (I will be on planes all day Tuesday and did not want to hold)..

Man, I am sad that I will be traveling all of next week - this could get addicting..
Thanks for the week!

Jeff




This member started this week and is still on free trial!! Just paid for 4 years worth of ART OF TRADING Membership in one week!!

Art Of Trading Members Booking AWESOME Profits This Week!!!

"Here’s my day so far. Thanks Stew!"

Guy W.



I am in all 3 swings with you. First day trading with your service. Love everything about it! Constant updates, stop updates, charts. Everything. I'm looking for a huge comeback in 2011.

Gianluca

Stewie

"Great trade on BORN! I am out in at $12:48 out at $13.00…

Very happy not too greedy…

thanks!"

Yasien

"Traded IMAX and STEC for nice gains!!

Way to go Stewie... Keep it up!!!!

Thanks!"

Mike

...Sold 500 BORN at 13.15 for $360 gain. Holding 500 overnight. Great call."

Gianluca



"My robot got it. I just sold it. Booked about $550 from both STEC and BORN alerts. Good day overall, I have been pulling in about 1K average for each of the 4 days this week. Very good week. :-)

Thanks for the awesome alerts. Keep up the good work!"

Gin



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Art Of Trading Member Asks A Good Question About Over Trading

A fellow ART OF TRADING Member asks:

Stewie,

My nice gains yesterday in ZAGG and CRUS were offset by taking positions in some of the setups from the night before: KSU, MWW, MTW, N, LOCM, SFN. I took small positions in all of these, and exited with small losses, but it adds up of course. And today many of them are up.. I'm trying to learn what I'm doing wrong, either I over trade and am too quick to take a trade, or perhaps I need to be more patient with my stops. Any advise?

Thanks

-- M.D.

My Response:

HI M.D.

This is a very difficult question to answer. But for me, the first thing that comes to mind, is WHY ARE YOU TAKING ALL THESE TRADES? How can you manage 5-6 trades at once when 1-2 already require so much attention. I know you are using small positions but 5-6 small positions equals 2-3 large positions with 5 times more anxiety and stress. Right?

I would much rather see you relax, take your time and really focus on proper selection and proper entry on 1-2 high quality trades than execute trades like a mad man in rush hour traffic. Look, when you are tracking my setups, your setups, Trader A's setups, Trader B's setups, Twitter Trader Z's setups, Stocktwits Trader X's setups all at once and numerous alerts go off at the open: That does NOT mean you need to take every single trade! RELAX, breathe and think for a few minutes. Ask yourself: Are all these setups really a BUY right here? right now?? Some are surely going to do well. Many are surely to flop.

Ask yourself: "Hey, are these too many alerts going off right now?"
Do i even need to track that many ideas? Probably NOT!
If i take all these trades, will i see a big profit at the day's end? Probably NOT!
At the ART OF TRADING, i always reinforce the fact that LESS IS MORE! The less you do during a trading session, the better off you are in most cases.

Over Trading is extremely DANGEROUS!

I suggest you just chill for the first 30-45 minutes after the open and not feel like you "need" to be in something. Most of the time alerts that go off right at the open are not worth getting into anyway as that usually indicates a BIG GAP UP in market and at this point, and you would be CHASING at this point. I hate chasing stocks at the open. I do not mind chasing a good trend but chasing near the open is very risky as it is still way too early in the day to tell whether a trend is starting or whether you are sitting on a stock that gapped up, lured you in and now wants to drift lower the entire session.

Wait, relax and keep your composure. I would much rather see traders: WAIT patiently and allow 1-2 stocks to give SOLID entries in the highest quality stocks that are acting and behaving correctly than take on 6-7 average, so-so, mediocre setups.


Remember: LESS IS MORE!

Trade em with composure!

4 Stocks To Watch Going Forward

Love the way these 4 stocks look right now. Can be bought on continued strength or on shallow dips.

Trade em well!!

Art Of Trading Member Reviews His Progress After 6 Months!!

Why I recommend The ART OF TRADING!

It’s a service for the person who wants to improve on his or her gains.

Breakouts

I didn’t know what a breakout stock was, much less when a breakout failed, how to manage a winner and when to cut your losses on a failed breakout.

Alerts

Stewie is also one of the very best at providing “stock alerts” well in advance of the trading day. He gives you plenty of stocks to watch and you will have opportunity to make $$ if you pay close attention to his alerts for the whole trading day.

Self-assessment

I had to free myself of a past where I focused only on fundamentals. Adding charts, patterns and trends improved my success rate. Stewie’s momentum trading and several traders in his chat room offering their methods continue to sharpen my skills.

Ongoing Education

Stew’s alerts are backed up by detailed and explained charts. He also uses twitter to take chart requests and gives his analysis of each stock: good, bad, angry or ugly. He emails additional charts and trading thoughts from his friends and peers that support his teachings and the current state of the market.

Some people catch on to Stewie’s offerings quickly. It has taken me about 6 months to notice the profound and profitable changes in my own trading. I had a lot more baggage than many traders. My old habits were sabotaging my gains. Some fundamental info is helpful, but it is “good setups” that are paramount! It is easy to get distracted by information overload. Stewie and the chat room are a good way to improve focus (imho).

Be open minded, open to change and you will be glad you opted to learn from Stewie and his participating traders. Better management leads to good luck, not simply wishes.

Guy White a.k.a. white1h

For more ART OF TRADING Reviews Go HERE!!

New Stock Setups To Watch

5 Stocks To Watch Closely This Week

My gut instincts tell me to be a little more careful this week being too aggressive on the long side. We might see some downside action this week BUT just in case the bulls stay tough and come out to play here are 5 setups i'll be watching closely this week.

Good luck! Trade em well!

Awesome Week At The ART OF TRADING!

"Great calls stewie,
I followed your calls on SWM, EZCH, CRUS, ZAGG and MIPS and it was 4 winners and 1 loser.
Because you gave the signal to get in on MIPS before the breakout, although I was concerned that the first
attempt at 17.00 failed, I was able to sit through because I got good prices.

Thanks Stewie!"

Jen Y.



Hi Stewie, These chart patterns and set ups look fantastic! ...all look poised to go higher. Thanks for all the work you do for us and posting these charts. Thanks also for forwarding Fadi's analysis to all of us. All done in the spirit of a true mentor!. I just wanted you to know that I for one truly appreciate it.

Shirish

Stew! Nice one! Exited most near highs when it started pulling back from .90s... last 100 shares out at .60s

Worked out well right at the open! Thanks again! :)

Scott


Good job, Stewie. Booked close to $500 from your alerts today.

.....Booked about $200 from NCT. Thanks for a great week!

GHG



In NCT from 7.12 mate. Very nice. You are on FIRE!!!!

Stuart

Hey Stewie,

Been a busy week for me. With you on the following...

MIPS in at 16.98 out at 17.55 (especially loved moving the stops with this one)

Been in CRUS for a bit avg 16.30 and out this week at 17.33

ZAGG in at 8.20 and out at 8.48

In NCT at 7.11...over weekend

Thanks.

Matt L.


"Thanks for the book recommendations. Will look into it.

My main goal is to learn and you have been great with charts, alerts, explanations, and reminders re patience, discipline, and focus.

Have a great weekend."



M.L.

Join Us For A 14 Day Free Trial TODAY!

Art Of Trading Member Banks 8.9% In One Trade!!

Stewie, just wanted to let you know about the CCME trade. I was at work last Friday, when I happened to see your email recommendation / alert for CCME that came out late in the afternoon. I went long at 15.87 and sold this morning (Monday) at 17.29 for a 8.9% gain. Thanks a bunch!.

(Shirish) Rxtrader

5 Stocks To Watch Closely This Week

Really like how these four names are starting to move right now. Volume patterns and closing price action indicating at good continuation play candidates. Worth watching these stocks this week!

Nasdaq Losing Momentum

It is really starting to become more evident to me that a pullback or at the very least a pause is in order soon. Study the attached charts carefully. As you will notice is that as the nasdaq has been rising on lower and lower volume, the RSI and MACD indicators are NOT confirming the advance but more importantly, look at the NAHL indicator which shows that the nasdaq's advance is taking place with less leadership as NEW HIGHS versus NEW LOWS is not confirming the advancing nasdaq. This is a NEGATIVE DIVERGENCE indicating a weakening breadth to the rally. This is NOT healthy and tells me that the market is getting tired now and we are likely to start a pullback phase soon.