CCL Trade on Oct 8, 2020 10:38 from tjmiller2001: Tradervue User Stock Trades.

Two trades on CCL

This was a name in play, after releasing earnings premarket. I'd like to continue this strategy of trading names in play instead of just AMD all the time. I'd also like to continue the strategy of phasing into entries instead of filling everything at once.

My entry on the first trade was good not great. I'd say it was a little early. Entered with a 3:1 RR at 17.75 with VWAP at 15.78. Shouldn't have tried to fill all 3 contracts at this price. Should've set orders to fill at .76,.77, and .78. Phasing into this trade would've given me a strong entry.

I'm familiar with the VWAP Fade strategy so I felt comfortable taking this trade on. My risk was small. I had an opportunity to add at 7:56 PST but felt that I already had enough size on the position.

I can look back now and say, "Obviously that was a good time to add," but in the moment I didn't feel comfortable with it. I'll acknowledge that I may be biased based on how this trade worked out, but I think that would've been a good place to add because it was so close to my stop I could've been out quick.

I got out when my level was hit but I should've held on to a contract until the momentum dried up. This comes down to knowing when to adapt your plan and when to stick to it. I learned that, if a name has momentum when it hits your level, sell some into strength and let the rest see if they'll ride the momentum more. I left some money on the table because I was in a rush to get out with my profits. Early exit on this first trade.

Played calls on CCL next when it hit the important level of 15.50, bounced a little, and held. I entered with a 4:1 RR, and phased into my contracts. I'm proud of myself for taking a position with a strong RR and having the mental clarity to phase in instead of pound the buy button in fear of missing out on an uptrend. This is an added level of complexity to my trading that will benefit me if done correctly.

Strong exit, selling as soon as my level broke. Paid a little bit extra to get out because volatility increased on the level break. I wasn't thinking of that when I entered, but when trading options contracts, that's something I need to have in mind.

Proud of this second trade (the loss), my entries and exits were methodical and make sense looking back at them. I had a better mental focus day trading than I usually do, evidenced by my willingness to exit quickly and take the loss instead of holding on and hoping. Ironically enough, I struggled with this same thing for a swing trade exit on DUK today, still something to work on.

I've had what feels like lots of days recently of losing or making very small money on high RR trades. Can be frustrating to see an account value slowly fall, but I will stick to refining my processes and the results will come.

Today I didn't just enter with good RR, but the levels I entered at made sense. This is something I will continue to work on.

Lesson Learned: Phase into entries to get better fills. Don't be afraid to put more size on if your level is holding and your stop is close. If a name has momentum when it hits your level, sell some into strength and let the rest see if they'll ride the momentum more.A level that breaks can increase the volatility, changing the prices when you're trying to exit, adding slippage in some cases (Be aware of this to avoid unexpected drawdown)

Update: Didn't realize I held a CCL put overnight, didn't mean to do this. When I saw I still had it, my instinct was to sell immediately, but I caught myself and looked at the chart and the name was downtrending since open. I decided to hold until the downtrend was broken. When breaking news sent the name up 2% in 2 minutes, I got out of the put quickly. This was a mental lapse by not checking my open positions during yesterdays trade review, I'm lucky I didn't lose more on this, careless mistake.