Another Bizarre Day --And a Decent Profit

I didn't think yesterday's gains would disappear quite this fast. My trading was a mess this morning and it was all my fault. I started with the right attitude, but I jumped in way too soon and bought 4 stocks that had nothing to do with my trading plan. I even bought DELL because I heard that the CEO (Dell) bought a bunch of stock. Apparently I have learned any lessons over the FIVE YEARS OF SIMILAR MISTAKES.

I stopped out of DELL quite quickly and went long on three others. What is my deal?!!

I stopped out of them rather quickly as well. I was down 4R and felt like a complete moron.

So I dusted myself off and decided to trade like I did in August. I waited for the kinds of setups that worked and found a couple of winners. NRG was my biggest R win. It was up 8R for a bit before recovering a bit for a 5.5R gain.Overall I made 3.53R today. It should have been a lot more, but I'll take it.

I thought when I started using real cash that I'd become more disciplined. That hasn't been the case. I find myself getting out of trades too quickly when they start going against me and obsessing about taking gains too quickly when I've made some money.

I've also tried too many "hot dog" trades where I have no real confirmation, but the temptation of making quick bucks overwhelms my logic and risk management. Hopefully today will boost my confidence a bit, and I'll apply the lessons I've learned--but probably not.