T Trade on Feb 16, 2021 15:48 from tjmiller2001: Tradervue User Stock Trades.

T is a weak stock that I want to short every upmove on.

I entered short at resistance with a 5:1 RR, I plan to switch my bias and get long if 28.5 support holds.

I like the liquidity of the options contracts but I sized down because resistance is a diagonal level, which isn't as strong as horizontal levels.

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I was not well prepared coming into this trading day. I slept 6 hours, didn't wash my face, and traded while I was cold in my pajamas at 6:30. How can I beat some of the best minds in the world if this is how I prepare for the trading day? In the future, I should have slept 8 hours, done some exercise and mindfulness activities, been dressed in a comfortable but nice outfit, with levels drawn and contracts ready. That is the routine of a winner, someone ready to act with surgical precision on their entries and exits, someone who is mentally sharp from the opening bell, someone who's trading account won't survive but will instead thrive.

After the close yesterday, it was revealed that Warren Buffett initiated a large position in Verizon, a competitor to T. This was my thinking:
1) That could be a negative catalyst because he chose Verizon over a very similar company T
2) That could be a positive catalyst because that means he has faith in the telecommunications sector.

If it was an obvious negative catalyst, I'd want to keep my short position on. If it was an obvious positive catalyst, I'd want to exit my short and maybe even play the long side. However, I wasn't clear on whether it was positive or negative, so I did not act quickly on the open. I wanted to see the market's reaction.

It consolidates at the open and then quickly gets strong, making higher highs and higher lows. From 7:15-7:40 (10:15-10:40 on TraderVue charts below), it is pushing higher while SPY is weak.

My stop loss was a Daily close above 29.10. Usually, my stops are simply a 1m or 5m close past my level. Here I set that as my stop rule because I wanted to avoid a fakeout since T is a name that has dropped quickly in the past.

However, this name was relatively strong compared to the market, had a catalyst, and was looking strong. The plan was bad in the first place, I won't be using "Daily Close" as part of my exit criteria for the foreseeable future. But a great trader knows when to change their plan mid-trade. The time to exit early is when the character of the stock has changed. I don't have the same "intuition" that experienced traders have, where they can "feel" the strength of a stock. But I could "feel" that this was strong when every down move was quickly bought up.

When the character changed, I could've accepted my small loss without taking it personally. Then I could've found a spot to get in long. Entering long with small size here would've made me more than I lost being short.

Around 11 AM on the Tradervue chart, I was looking to get long at 29.25 with a stop under the consolidation at 29.20, and a TP level at 29.40. This was an inflection point where this stock just refused to pull back any lower. I was watching it, I knew it deep down, but I didn't want to admit I was wrong on the short. I sat there, watching the relative strength, listening to my intuition telling me to buy, and watched it move past my 29.40 TP level up to 29.74.

I thought I would've learned my lesson from my recent large loss in HYLN. Why would I rather be right than profitable? Is it an ego problem? I should've been out way earlier.

My failure to get in long on T aligns with other trade opportunities today. I sensed relative weakness in PLTR but wasn't willing to get in before it tanked from 29 to 28. I've had great thesis on swing trades as well, such as JKS before the election or IEP a month ago. But I didn't take them because I was afraid to put on the risk.

I need to be comfortable putting on risk. I'm thinking too much about my weak performance this month. I need to learn from my February losing trades, then leave them in the past so I can take the great opportunities that I am seeing.

If I take great opportunities and lose money, that doesn't matter right now. I'm just under a year into this, and right now, I need to develop winning practices that will make me money when my size is larger. Don't be afraid to lose. Enter positions and you can cut them quickly if your thesis is proven wrong.

Lesson Learned: Cut your losers quickly, keep small losses small. Don't let a losing trade damage your confidence. Even the best traders make losing trades often, they just keep them small. Take more shots on goal, often your strongest ideas are ignored and you're leaving money on the table here.