Trade Review — May 1st, 2021

Been too long. Doing a quick trade review. This covers WAY more than my usual reviews do because I am so over due. This is for trades since March 1st, 2021 or so.

Recurring Problems

Don’t catch knives with size. Catching knives is OK, Sizing up is OK, both is not.

This is pretty self explanatory. Knives need room to be played safely. You can’t set tight risk, so go small.

Don’t get shaken out of low leverage trades so easily. That’s the point of being on low leverage. Give them more room. And let them run.

I could make a lot more money if I just let a bit of my winners run. Especially when trading with the trend.

Don’t take marginal bets with size.

Sometimes I punt garbage trades. Sometimes it is hard to tell if it is a good trade. At least don’t put on size when you aren’t sure how good the setup is.

Don’t over size.

Pretty obvious. The real issue is when positions start out small and then I add to a monster size. Better to cut and walk away and trade the next setup.

Don’t try and hold against the trend. Keep it as a quick scalp.

Fading the trend is fine for my style, but don’t confuse that as a swing position. Trading against the trend should be for scalps only. Don’t round trip your PNL.

Be patient and trade your own TA, you idiot.

My TA is much better than my trading. This is most likely a patience problem. If I waited for my setups longer, I would take better trades.

Wait for an entry when reentering scalp.

I usually take off size on an impulse in my favor, and then try and add back some if / when it reverses a bit. The problem is I often add back in too early, and really should commit to my TPs more.

When playing the h1 open pump / dump, you have to close if it doesn’t work. Don’t hold

This is one of my favorite plays, but it doesn’t always play out. When it doesn’t work, I need to cut it and walk away. Don’t convince yourself to convert the trade into something it isn’t (aka a proper scalp or swing).

When it’s time to take the L, just take it, don’t psych yourself and get back in.

This is a classic one I still struggle with. Trade attachment. Just walk away from losers. Don’t get back in…

Don’t trust weekend pumps. Don't try and buy for follow through.

Play the weekend pumps, but don’t bet on magical continuation.

When things break down and clearly wont fix themselves on the hourly, just cut it.

Often when I am fading a dip, I will get myself into what starts as a good trade, but once it is clearly invalidated, I hold it too long. Cut these obvious losers early.

TP more aggressively. When things look suspect, size down. Get out early for better fills. You can get back in if you need too.

It is better to TP early rather than late. Take size off quick, and then reevaluate.

Stop being so confident.

No trade is guaranteed. Stop sizing into trades that you think “can’t go tits up.”

ENTRY > BIAS. Aka shorting bc you think its overbought or even hitting resistance is NOT ENOUGH. You need a setup. It’s better to trade against your bias if there is a great setup.

Don’t take trades without a setup and defined risk.

Improvements

Don’t try and be smart with alts. Accumulate and distribute. Don’t try and time everything.

I have REALLY done well here. I hedge my alts with BTC when I am concerned instead of risking off of alts, and have caught SO much more upside on my alts because of this. Sizing has helped a lot here too. When size is in check, it’s infinitely easier to accumulate / distribute at the right times.

Don’t get complacent. Always TP at FTA.

I think I have gotten better at TPing more aggressively. It’s still something I need to work on, but I have done better.