Daily Recap: Navigating Delays and Achieving Profits
Today was a standout day for my trading, despite facing significant delays on my Thinkorswim platform. The charts were lagging by 5-10 seconds, making it challenging to execute trades accurately. Nonetheless, I stayed patient, handled the issue well, and avoided moving my stop loss too early. My strategy today was to buy the dips and let the price recover. This approach paid off, resulting in a profit of $108.25, bringing my account total to $1,273.54. Here’s a breakdown of the trades.
First Trade: PCSA
PCSA was on my radar as a premarket gapper with a new catalyst. After a sharp sell-off at market open, I looked for a dip-buying opportunity. Although I didn’t catch the lowest point, my 13-cent stop loss allowed for some flexibility. I entered at $2.39 after seeing confirmation of support at the low point, aiming for a 3:1 risk-reward (RR) ratio, hoping for a rebound towards the daily high.
This trade tested my patience. At 7:59, the price briefly dipped past my stop, but I wasn’t stopped out. By 8:14, the price exceeded my 2:1 RR, and I planned to move my stop to that level. Unfortunately, I missed this quick move but remained hopeful for another chance. When the price reached my 2:1 RR at 8:21, I moved my stop and got stopped out at $2.64 at 8:22, securing a gain of $43.74.
Second Trade: IMNN
My second trade, IMNN, was much quicker and overlapped with my first trade. IMNN was the top premarket gapper and had a new catalyst, so I anticipated a dip buy after its post-open sell-off. I entered at $3.11 with a 13-cent stop loss, targeting a 3:1 RR, expecting a recovery towards the premarket high.
The price quickly ramped up, hitting my profit target at $3.54 for a gain of $64.49. This trade executed perfectly as my profit target was just below the ramp-up high.
Reflection and Lessons Learned
Today was an excellent exercise in buying the dip and staying in trades longer. I stayed patient, entered trades at potential ramp-up areas, and set realistic profit targets that I successfully hit. I’m proud of my discipline and confidence in my decisions, allowing trades to play out to either my take profit amount or stop loss. This experience reinforced the importance of trusting my strategies and maintaining discipline, especially under challenging conditions.
Today’s trading showcased my ability to navigate platform delays and maintain discipline, resulting in a solid profit and valuable lessons for future trades.