12/28/11 Trade results: 2 trades, $50 profit. Trading light and on low volume

This is the last trading week in 2011. The volume is very light this time of year, therefore don't expect much from the markets, be patient, and enjoy your vacation! I glance at the screens maybe 30min-1hr each trading day this week. I take very few trades because of the realization that there may not be volume to support the moves. I had 2 trades today, one was a $50 loss and the other a $100 profit, netting $50 profit on the day.

I began writing out my analysis sheet by hand this week, editing a few things, and incorporating the trade journal into the same page. I log each trade and note a mistake if a mistake was made. This is in the hopes that I can recognize and eliminate these mistakes if I see them regularly.

Here is the chart from today and below are the mistakes that I made and why they were noteworthy mistakes.

Trade 1: Took the 123 long signal, placing a stop limit to buy above the swing high.
Mistake: The trend was down and my rules say that the failure trade is a higher probability trade than the 123. Basically, placing a limit order to sell above that swing high.

Trade 2: Took the PB short signal, expecting the lows of the day to test and break much quicker than they did.
Mistake: I took a weak signal, micro-analyzed the charts. I should have waited to short higher on a better signal or waited for the breaker signal through MAJOR support.