Daily Trading Report — 2025-12-16

2025-12-16 · 4 min read

A qualitative run-through of every trade from 2025-12-16: setups, thought process, and outcomes.

Running P&L for 2025-12-16

Day P&L: $-16196.19 | Total R: -21.20R

The morning opened with AMCI, and I was looking to catch a washout long. I entered at 11.91, hoping to capitalize on what appeared to be a sharp drop. Unfortunately, it didn't hold, and I quickly exited for a small loss of $252.88. The tape was choppy, showing a lot of indecision right from the start. It felt like the market was still figuring itself out.

I then shifted gears and took a sub VWAP trap on AMCI, entering at 12.50. This time, the stock responded well, pushing up to 12.63 for a gain of $500.58. It felt like the momentum was finally building, but as I continued to trade AMCI, I got caught in a series of sub VWAP traps that didn’t pan out. The most painful was my next trade, where I entered at 11.86 and exited at 11.71, landing a loss of $606.97. The stock showed some promise, but the tape turned against me, and I was too slow to cut my losses.

As I chased a few setups, I noticed that AMCI was struggling to maintain its gains. I had a couple of small wins after that, but they were overshadowed by the big hit I took when I went long at 13.54. The trade went completely against me, and I exited at 11.91 for a staggering loss of over $16,000. This was a classic case of ignoring the tape; I saw the push but didn’t respect the signs that it was fading.

Mid-morning, I switched to VMAR, which had a lower float and was showing some volatility. I caught a nice sub VWAP trap at 1.06, exiting at 1.08 for a quick gain. Then, I hit a big winner entering at 1.02 and exiting at 1.17, netting over $1,600. The stock was volatile but had enough buying pressure to keep pushing, which felt great. However, I quickly gave back some of those gains in the subsequent trades, as I tried to catch the momentum but ended up overtrading and taking unnecessary hits.

The afternoon was filled with more chop on AMCI, as I tried to catch washout longs and bull flags. I had a decent win at 12.15, but I was still battling the tape. Entries were forced, and I found myself taking trades that I wouldn’t have touched on a different day. The market felt heavy, and I was struggling to find my rhythm.

By the end of the day, my stats reflected the chaos — 38 trades with a win rate of only 37%. The average win was $478, but my average loss was a hefty $953.72. This is a clear indicator that I was fighting the wrong battles and not respecting the market's movements.

What I did well was recognize the potential in VMAR and capitalize on the volatility when it was there. I also managed to cut some losses quickly, which helped prevent worse damage. However, I poorly executed my trades on AMCI, overtrading and failing to adhere to my stop-losses. I let a couple of revenge trades dictate my strategy, which is always a slippery slope.

Trading grade: C. My entries were often forced, and while I had a few good reads, the magnitude of my losses overshadowed my wins. I need to work on maintaining discipline and sticking to setups that align with the market's behavior.

Tomorrow, I need to focus on quality over quantity. Less is more, and I have to avoid getting caught in the emotional rollercoaster. Stick to the plan, respect the tape, and don’t chase the action.