AAPL Trade on Apr 27, 2021 09:44 from tjmiller2001: Tradervue User Stock Trades.

SPY and AAPL both opened weak, trending downward early. AAPL was showing relative strength, consolidating while SPY was falling. Then when I saw that SPY was starting to show minor strength on the 1m chart, I wanted to buy AAPL at the bottom of its consolidation range.

The thesis was that if SPY got strong, AAPL would mirror that strength. This is reasonable because mega-caps like AAPL tend to trade alongside SPY decently closely.

I entered long at the bottom of the consolidation zone with a close stop loss right under the consolidation. This trade had a 4:1 RR.

My level broke the next minute and I did a great job selling quickly and cutting my loss. I had very little emotional attachment to this position. I didn't feel like I needed to prove to myself that I would be right, I just followed my plan and got out.

Looking back on this trade, the trend was downward, and trying to time a bottom just because you see a few green SPY candles isn't a strong decision. This is far from an A+ trade so in the future I should be more picky about my entry. For example, a better entry would be at the 134.80 support. Then the trade is on a tighter leash and won't be a meaningful loser.

Lesson Learned: If you are trying to time a reversal without much confirmation, be picky about your entry and keep the stop loss close. Cut your losers quick, especially on setups that aren't that strong.