Thursday Trading Journal - 3:45 PM EST
Another frustrating day in the books. Actually, scratch that - a completely demoralizing day.
Started my usual pre-market routine at 8:00 AM, juggling between Finviz, my basic scanner, and trying to build a decent watchlist. Had TSLA, NVDA, and AMD on radar from yesterday's momentum. Was also monitoring that small-cap BIOTECH stock everyone's been talking about in the trading room.
By 9:15, I had 4 monitors running - watchlist on one, Level 2 on another, multiple time frames on the third, and my trading room chat on the fourth. Felt prepared. Actually thought "today's the day I nail these setups."
Yeah, right.
9:45 AM: Missed the early TSLA move because I was refreshing my scanner trying to see if the volume surge was real. By the time I pulled up the Level 2 data and confirmed the buying pressure, it had already ripped up 2.5 points. Of course, the "pros" in my trading room were all posting their entry screenshots from 2 minutes before I even saw it. Real confidence builder there.
10:30 AM: Finally caught what looked like a solid setup on AMD. Spent crucial seconds switching between time frames to confirm the trend. Hit "Buy" only to get filled 30 cents higher than expected because my platform is so damn slow. Watched it go against me immediately. Stopped out for a $350 loss. Looking back at the charts now, if I'd had gotten my original entry, it would've been a winner. Story of my life.
The real kick in the teeth? Sarah (my wife) walked in right as I took that loss. Perfect timing to see me cursing at my screens. Got the usual "Maybe you should take a break" comment. Easy for her to say - she's not the one watching her old corporate salary disappearing while trying to make this work.
1:15 PM: Missed another massive move because I was busy updating my trade tracking spreadsheet. This hodgepodge of tools is killing me. By the time I document one trade, I'm missing the next three setups.
The guys crushing it in my trading room all seem to have these high-end platforms that spot opportunities automatically. Meanwhile, I'm here manually refreshing screens like it's 2005. Watched them call out five winning trades today while I'm still trying to figure out if my charts are showing current data or delayed quotes.
Just calculated my stats for the week: Down $1,250. That's another uncomfortable conversation with Sarah coming up. She's trying to be supportive, but I see the worry in her eyes. Hell, I'm worried too. My old colleague Jeff texted today about an opening at the firm. Didn't respond, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it.
My daughter Emma asked if I could make her softball game tomorrow. Had to say "maybe" because I need to review all my losing trades and figure out what I'm doing wrong. The look on her face... man, this isn't what I pictured when I left corporate.
Action Items for Tomorrow:
- Research better scanning tools (again)
- Find a faster way to confirm setups
- Figure out why my executions are so slow
- Try to catch up on backtesting this weekend
- Look into that platform the top traders keep mentioning
I know I can make this work. I see others doing it. I just need better tools, faster data, and a more systematic approach. Right now it feels like I'm bringing a knife to a gunfight.
Time to go face the family and pretend today was "fine." Maybe browse through more trading software reviews after dinner. There has to be a better way than this.
P.S. Just got a "Great setup on TSLA today!" message from another trader. Yeah, thanks. Real helpful. Let me just go back in time and catch that move with my prehistoric platform.
Shew...that was hard to read.
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