Worst Trading Week in a Long Time

There's no good way to sugar coat it....I had a bad week trading stocks.

So, what factors led to my poor performance?

When I review my trades for the past week, I noticed that I was taking trades that I normally don't take.  Day trades, short trades, and bounce plays caught me over-trading and racking up small losses.  Some worked, some didn't, but they all didn't give me a very good edge.

There were also a couple swing plays that failed big for 4, 5 and 10%.

I had too much risk going into Friday, which I had noted for a volatile day....quad witch, end of the world, fiscal cliff drama, etc.

What did I learn?

Be more patient....wait for the best setups and confirmation

Don't hold too much risk overnight, especially into big "event" days.

Stick with the setups that work for me.  I was trying to learn some new trade setups....I should have paper traded until i felt confident and showed some success in what I was doing.

Watch the market for signs....after two big bounce days, signs were there for at least a rest or slight pullback.

The end of the year is almost here.  Its been tough to trade because of all the political drama that hangs over the markets.  I don't think that will change anytime soon.  Last year, I set some goals for the return that I wanted to achieve in my accounts.  Those goals were not met.....however, I was profitable, which is never bad.

Soon, I will be setting new goals for next year.  These goals will include profit targets, but may also include learning new tricks of the trade, limiting dumb mistakes, developing better habits, etc.

I'll come up with a list of these goals for this next year...

Merry Christmas to all!
~JP

12/16 Watch List

12/16 Watch List
Some ideas for next week.

Stock	Entry	Stop	1st Target	2nd Target	Risk Reward	Notes
STP	1.09	1	1.16	1.5	1-4:1	tricky trader (volatility). 4 month base.
STRI	2.68	2.49	2.88	3	1-1.4:1	thin. 20/50ma cross coming. riding 13ema
ECYT	9.8	9.6	10	10.3	1-2:1	thin. 20/50ma cross coming. volume increasing. riding 13ema
DRYS	1.85	1.75	2	2.06	1.5-2:1	good vol friday. maybe r/g move for entry.
JAG	0.8	0.77	0.83	0.95	1-5:1	thin. low price. inv h/s pattern.
NG	4.73	4.64	4.85	5	1.1-2:1	50ma above at 4.78.