As a new trader, a rookie trader, novice trader or amateur trader. What ever the right way to say it. The most important aspect of everyday is working and building on good habits that will benefit me on my journey to earn a full time income by trading the market(s).
Lately, I’ve had a good run upward into a positive momentum. And I really don’t want to lose it chasing profits with out a proper set up or the strategy that I’m not working on.
I’ve made gains from the last two trades using the reversal strategy between $13 – $25, during the first 2 hours of the market. That is the habit I am working on, and it’s very hard to stay on track when shiny green candles make higher highs in a different set up.
Not much was coming into the alert window, so I searched for different stocks that were coming into a toplist window that shows stocks that are moving above the open.
$ENPH came on my screen and I looked at it with no intent to trade it. It was moving up the first 5 minutes and the second 5 minutes were also continuing up. This would of been a great chance to chase and enter the trade with no other explanation but it was moving up.
After the third 5 minute candle and no alerts coming into my strategy window, I was tempted to enter the trade with no reason but the three 5 minute candles. In retrospect it would have been a good trade, but that would have been a bad habit to create. Especially since I’m just starting and the last thing I need is bad habits.
The Forth 5 minute candle began to come down and finish off as a long red candle. That gave me a sign of relief since I would have been buying a fast moving stock with a 15 cent spread at the top of it’s high of day.
Fifth 5 minute candle was starting off and I still had no alerts in my strategy window. I was getting anxious and ready to jump into this stock in front of me. But when I searched my emotions and took inventory of my feelings, I found that I wanted to be in a trade. And when I realized that, I pulled away and remembered that the only strategy I was working on was a reversal one. No alert for a reversal trade, No Trade.
Today, I chose discipline instead of profit. I know I’m growing as a trader by keeping the good habits in place of having a green day. Even though it was going to be a great gain, but if I took that trade. It would enforce a bad habit that might end up as a bad trade one day in the future. I know my abilities as a trader will grow and progress with time and discipline. And patience is one skill every trader must have.
