Another awesome day, and once again, I left a ton on the table, but I guess that's going to happen a lot when I'm scalping in and out the way that I do, just taking quick profits within 1-10 minutes. Probably the fact that I'm more short biased overall on VLTC and NVGN (and don't have shares to short), is part of the reason I can't hold them for very long when I have a long position on them, it's just quick dips/washout scalps and that's it.
This is what I'm writing now:
I guess that's why I was being so careful on VLTC and NVGN longs, I forced a trade in the last 15 minutes and gave back my entire day. I went from +$1550 to -$200 in the last 15 minutes, that's why you don't try to catch falling knives into the close, especially on such an overextended junk stock. Crazy what can happen in 15 minutes with too much size and just "holding and hoping" when everyone else is slamming the bids. A completely forced trade after being up a lot and being greedy looking for more, and feeling that I should still be up a lot more considering I left how much I left on the table on both VLTC and NVGN. Guess I just gotta learn from it and avoid buying washouts into the close ever again, I've taken some losses in the past from buying a washout into the close, but this is the first time in months that it's happened, guess that lesson of not buying big washouts into the close still applies.
FOR NEW READERS ONLY: If I am scaling in and out of a position, that is considered one trade until I am completely out of the position and then it becomes a new trade, that's why some trades have a lot of shares, even if I never had that much at once, if I cover half and then re-add my cover, it's still considered one trade until I am completely out. The entry is the average of the entries and the exit is the average of all the exits. The entries/exits are rounded to 2 decimal places, but the exact number is calculated for the PnL, so that's why the dollar amount may look different than what you see. (it may be 7.165 instead of 7.17, etc). Also, you can click on the charts if you want to make them bigger to be able to better see the entries/exits.
VLTC
Opening minute washout from 7.75 to 7.35 and I went long 1000 shares at 7.36 and sold immediately 7.56ish, it came back down to 7.32 and I was wanting to go long in the 7.10-7.20 range, but it held a double bottom and bounced from there (hard to anticipate that, if you have an order already in it might fill you and wash 10-30 cents lower, and the spread was 7.32 by 7.40 at the time) and then reclaimed VWAP and VWAP acted as support twice, at 7.50ish and 7.65ish and it spiked r/g and continued onto 8.90 and then later 9.90. It had some big pulls off those 9.60's, down to 9.10 in one candle and then later 8.60, I scaled in long into the second washout with not the perfect average, 3000 shares 8.81 average and sold 8.84-8.98 into the immediate bounce for a quick scalp. I missed so many good long opportunities on this stock today and left a lot on the table on my first long. I did a quick trade from 9.26 to 9.33, I was very careful with that trade because I expected it to washout more after that "premature" spike. It washed out below 9 and I was just trying to be a "piker", and scalp 5-15 cents on the washout, I started in too early at 8.97 thinking it would hold over/under 9 and bounce back up to 9.10+, I added at 8.88 and 8.76, I had 3000 shares 8.87 average and it bounced back to VWAP 8.82ish and failed, and I missed selling any. I added 400 more at 8.68 and then got liquidated on 1000 shares at 8.61, I readded another 1000 at 8.52 and it bounced to 8.57 and I didn't get anything sold. It washed out to 8.27 then bounced to 8.47 and I only got 1000 shares sold, I still had 2100 shares, it washed out again to 8.16ish and I added another 1000 at 8.25 even though there was literally like 3 minutes left until the close. I had "fishing orders" to sell it all 8.38-8.44 on a quick spike but that didn't happen. I could have sold 8.25-8.33 before the close but I didn't, ended up holding it into afterhours and selling 8.18-8.24 for a total of a $1750 loss giving back my entire day in the last 15 minutes. 
| Type | Entry | Exit | Shares | +/- $Amt | $ PnL | % Pnl |
| Long | 7.36 | 7.56 | 1000 | $0.20 | $195.65 | 2.66% |
| Long | 8.81 | 8.91 | 3000 | $0.10 | $310.00 | 1.17% |
| Long | 8.26 | 8.33 | 1000 | $0.07 | $70.00 | 0.85% |
| Long | 8.68 | 8.35 | 5400 | -$0.32 | -$1,747.81 | -3.73% |
- Lessons:
- Can always be buying dips in the morning looking for a weak open r/g (especially on crowded shorts like this) as long as it's holding a double bottom and higher lows (also VWAP supported it well twice and it spiked up from there)
- Can also be buying near support areas when it's not breaking down and selling into spikes (8.50's acted as support and it ran to 9.80's then 8.50-8.60 acted as support again and it ran to 9.60's)
- DO NOT TRY TO CATCH A FALLING KNIFE INTO THE LAST 15 MINUTES, ESPECIALLY ON A JUNK STOCK THAT'S UP A LOT OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS/WEEKS (longs panic into close not wanting to hold overnight and shorts hammer into the close wanting to hold overnight/swing)
NVGN
Nice chart to be shorting today but still no shares, so I was just scalping washouts and dips long but it would have been much easier to short. Big gap up to 7.50-8.90 range on no news, I was long 3500 shares at 7 yesterday but I don't hold anything overnight, oh well, doesn't matter. Parabolic at the open which I don't like chasing long, from 8 to 8.75 in 3 minutes, then pulled back to 8.30 and I missed it and bounced back to 8.75 again. Then double top and fade to 8.21 and I went long 825 shares partial fill at 8.21 and sold at 8.25 because I thought it was weak for a second, and it bounced back to 8.54, then it faded to 8.02 and I went long 1000 shares at 8.05, I tried to sell at 8.21 and only got 500 filled and then hit the bid at 8.10 on the rest just to get rid of it instead of trying to make it work like I usually do. Rebought 1000 shares at 7.95 and sold at 8.07 and didn't rebuy at 8ish when it was holding a higher low and it bounced to 8.20's. Washed out from 8.20 to 7.80ish, and I went long 1k at 7.83 and added 1k at 7.80 when it was holding, sold 1k right away at 8.87, but ended up rebuying that 1k at 8.87 when it was still holding a higher low and holding that premarket support level. Then sold everything WAY TOO SOON like a total scalper from 7.93-7.98, and it bounced to 8.10 and then uptrended to 8.50, missing 20-50 cents on 2k shares.
| Type | Entry | Exit | Shares | +/- $Amt | $ PnL | % Pnl |
| Long | 8.21 | 8.25 | 825 | $0.04 | $33.00 | 0.49% |
| Long | 8.05 | 8.16 | 1000 | $0.11 | $105.00 | 1.30% |
| Long | 7.95 | 8.07 | 1000 | $0.12 | $120.00 | 1.51% |
| Long | 7.83 | 7.92 | 3000 | $0.09 | $272.00 | 1.16% |
- Lessons:
- Try to be more patient on a long if it's bouncing off of premarket support and continuing to hold higher lows and uptrend
CLSN
This was the "easy" stock to trade today and I hesitated on it for some reason. Many signs to short early on and then basically a 3.10-3.30 channel the rest of the day. Big gap up from 2.65 to 3.40's on what some were saying was "rehashed news" and this stock tends to give back a lot of it's gains like it did on February 20th. It was rejected perfectly at 3.55ish resistance (from Feb 20 and premarket highs), but I hesitated on the short for some reason possibly because it went 3 cents above 3.54 (high from Feb and premarket) to 3.57, but it was still "stuffing" in that 3.50-3.55 area on lots of volume. It faded to 3.32 (below VWAP) and then bounced to 3.45 and made a lower high and rejected VWAP, I missed everything and it faded to 3.15ish. I scaled in long 2100 shares, 3.16 avg (accidentally put 100 shares instead of 1000 shares on one order), and sold for 3 cents on the bounce because I thought it was weak and the ideal trade was still a short but I had missed it. It bounced back to 3.35ish and it was rejecting VWAP and "stuffing" in that area on some volume, it faded nicely from there to 3.10, started to grind again and bounced back to 3.30, rejected again and back to 3.10ish, back to 3.28 and I scaled in pretty big size short (5k 3.25 avg) just because the stock is so slow moving, I was basically looking for 3-10 cents. I missed covering anything 3.22ish and then I added 1000 "to a winner" trying to "create more downside" but it was just absorbed and it held 3.22 and popped back to 3.33, I added another 369 at 3.27 (all that filled then I canceled it), then added 1500 at 3.32. I had 7869 shares (too much) 3.26 avg and I covered it all 3.18-3.24 for a tiny profit. That 3.23 "adding to a winner" when I was already in huge size was very stupid and messed up the whole trade. I also missed the short on the "premature"spike to 3.35 and it faded nicely to 3.10's by close.
| Type | Entry | Exit | Shares | +/- $Amt | $ PnL | % Pnl |
| Long | 3.16 | 3.19 | 2100 | $0.03 | $63.00 | 0.95% |
| Short | 3.26 | 3.21 | 7869 | $0.05 | $370.95 | 1.45% |
- Lessons:
- When you have good signals to short and good risk/reward, don't be afraid to pull the trigger (I hesitated on so many good shorting opportunities that I worked perfectly but I just never pulled the trigger and then I forced a trade with big size when the setup wasn't that great)
- Do not use so much size in a setup that isn't that great, and do not add so much all in one spot going for the "big score", the max I wanted to be in was probably 4-5k shares but I added too much all in one spot and didn't have many "bullets" for when it popped to 3.30's and I was already down unrealized more than I wanted to be because of the size (my 3.23 add was especially stupid, it was where I should have been sizing back down not adding)
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