0-2: Not Worried Though

So....Its the moment we (well (I've) been waiting for... I placed two trades today (awesome; since I didn't place ANY yesterday)!!! I think if you are expecting pomp and pagentry, you won't find it here...at least not today. I lost on both trades. I'm not worried though- my timing on both entries was not perfect, but it put me in a position to pull a few cents on each trade. I didn't close out any trade or take a percentage off any of the positions as neither trade moved enough to validate doing it. Moreover, I'm not a scalper, nor was it my intent to make a few cents and run. The profit potential looked great this morning ( at least 3 R's on each). Enough talking/writing. Shown below are the results of my trading activity for April 4, 2013:








  
One can say that I got in to ABB a little early; to which I did. I missed my first opportunity, but it looked like the move would continue down. This stock was .015 cents away from closing the gap on the day. I could've pulled the trigger earlier, but I didn't. 









I could've taken a few shares off at $32.67 on CCL, but I refused to. I would've made a few cents on the trade at that point, but I figured the stock could go head a little lower; which would've allowed me to drop my stop price. It didn't, but that's OK; I'll get them next time.

Review:
 Day Setup: Both stocks gapped below their current trading ranges with the closest area of support at least 3.5% from its location in the morning; making them good trading candidates for the day.

Intraday Setup: 
Good entry on CCL (a little early, but you don't want to be too anal, as you will miss most moves being too cautious); a little early on ABB. I didn't mid it as much, as both entries allowed me to set tight stops to limit my overall risk in each trade.

Trade Management:
Both trades were intended to be all or none. The stocks (well CCL did) behaved well in the beginning. Gyration in price was and is always expected when dealing with stock prices. I observed the sharp V formation that ended around 10:36, but I didn't allow it to sway my judgement.I viewed it against the big picture and I made the decision to stay in the trade. The same is said about the rounded U on ABB.
I closed out both trades as they hit the stop price for each. 

I followed my trading procedure (even with the early entry on ABB). That's why I'm not upset. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm process oriented. The plan makes money/points daily, as well as it losses. Sometimes, you win, sometimes you loose. You have to be smart enough and tough enough to endure and accept minor setbacks (losses) and endeavor to learn from those mistakes and trade what the market is giving you.

Until tomorrow........................