ES trades for 9/27/13

Rough day trading today. Ended the day early - not watching market until closing anymore. After the initial morning drop, the market spent the whole day trading in a 5-6 pt range. I like range days, but only with volume. Today was a range day without volume. Basically got chopped to bits left and right. The fact that I had a hard time figuring/drawing the correct trend lines hinted at the difficulty of the trading day. Also, I sort of over-traded, which meant more commission expenses.

Trade #1 - Got anxious and basically jumped into this short too early. Didn't wait for a 2nd entry signal. Had I did, I would've gotten a 1st target scalp from it. As it were, I was able to bail out for a slight gain. Booked 0.50 + 0.50 = +1.00 pt.

• sell 2 @1683.00 at 9:35
• buy 2 @1682.50 at 9:40

Trade #2 - Took a 2nd entry short, after the market pulled back from an early downtrend. Was within 1 tick of hitting my 1st target scalp of 1 pt, but instead got stopped out for 1 tick. Manually exited the 2nd contract, after some congestion in which a couple of Doji candlesticks formed. 0.25 + 0.50 = +0.75 pt gain.

• sell 2 @1683.25 at 10:20
• buy 1 @1683.00 at 10:23
• buy 1 @ 1682.75 at 10:24

Trade #3 - I didn't learn from the mistake made on Trade #1. I jumped the gun and went long. Even though there was a 2nd entry signal, prices were still in no man's land. Should've waited until it touched the trend line, before even thinking about entering. As it were, prices broke through the trend line. Had I waited, I would not have gotten into this long trade. Result: (1.25) + (1.25) = -2.50 pt loss.

• buy 2 @1684.25 at 11:02
• sell 2 @1683.00 at 11:06

Trade #4 - Third time's the charm? Not in my case. Saw prices reached upper trend line resistance. Did not wait for a 2nd entry to form first before going short. Paid dearly for it, as prices rocketed to the upside immediately. Loss (1.50) + (1.50) = -3.00 pt.

• sell 2 @1683.50 at 11:31
• buy 2 @1685.00 at 11:36

Trade #5 - Continuing from where Trade #4 left off, prices met resistance, after a decent climb up. As a result, an opportunity for a 2nd entry short formed. Trade #4 should've been executed here, instead. Anyway, the trade direction was good. However, market was choppy at this point (in an overall choppy day). As with Trade #2, I was within 1 tick of my 1 pt scalp target. Got stopped out for 1 tick gain, instead. Got a pt on my 2nd contract. 0.25 + 1.00 = +1.25 pt.

• sell 2 @1685.50 at 11:40
• buy 1 @1685.25 at 11:53
• buy 1 @1684.50 at 12:09

A losing day for me, but I'm still net positive for the week.

ES chart 9/27/13