Trader P/L 2009

[brownsfan019 17]

Being accountable to someone/something is an important part of any business, incl. trading. Whether you have been around the block or brand new, knowing that you need to report your #'s can be a great motivation to do your job properly. Prior to being a full-time trader, I was a stockbroker and we had quotas to meet every month and you knew that hitting those #'s were incredibly important to keeping your job. You also knew that hitting those #'s consistently meant that your chances for success increased dramatically.

 

With that said, I was hoping we could post and discuss the current day's trades and move on. We don't have to create a 5 page thread about 1 trade or 1 day, but just a place to post your thoughts on the day and move on. My goal would be something quick and easy so we can get as much participation as possible.

 

Exactly what you post is up to you. The quickest method that comes to mind is taking a screen shot of your daily P/L. Maybe include a sentence or two on your day. For example:

 

(recent P/L statement)

 

 

 

Or you can post your thoughts on the day, whether you followed your plan and/or if you are happy w/ the day's results. If you are not comfortable posting a screenshot of your actual P/L, that's ok! Feel free to post your own version of the daily scorecard that you'd like to create. Could be as simple as:

 

 

 

 

In the end it's more about being accountable and feeling that there will be people watching and waiting to see your results on the day. For the goal-oriented traders it can hopefully provide a benefit.

 

Personally I have started this thread b/c I'd like to step up my trading results. I feel like I've been 'floating' along in recent memory and could probably use some motivation to get even more done and do my job with better focus.

 

 

==============

 

Update - adding a few questions I've received about the account being presented:

 

What size account is this?

$10,000.

When do you plan to increase the # of contracts being traded?

I think I will bump it up at $20,000.

 

Is this the only account you have?

While I am trading in a few accounts, I am presenting the account that is a realistic starting point for many people. Funding an account w/ $10k is very reasonable and something that most can follow.

Edited March 23, 2009 by brownsfan019

[brownsfan019 17]

And here we go...

 

 

3/2/09

 

 

I'll be posting from an account that trades 1-2 contracts. I find it easier to track the results on a per contract basis and it keeps me grounded.

 

Overall, a decent day. My end number was close to what it 'should have been' - meaning the plan was not followed exactly, but pretty close.

 

My focus on bonds is from 8am - Noon EST and today's trades were capped off fairly early. That's part of the reason why I love these things! Can get nice moves in the AM and then go do other stuff! More bond info here.

[brownsfan019 17]

Anyone else want to participate? I'm sure DB, Steve, etc can blow me out of the water, so hopefully some of the other vets will participate!

 

 

 

3/4/09

 

 

Talk about a roller coaster day. Unfortunately I missed 2 profitable trades early on which would have changed things some, but coming out to the positive is a good thing today. I thought for sure my 2nd post here was going to show a nice loss, but was able to catch a very nice sudden and quick push in bonds.

 

Hopefully this thread will force me to make sure I catch all winners and not miss them. In hindsight the P/L should have been a little smoother vs. the one I produced.

[daedalus 10]

I'll play

 

Trading 1 lot on the ES... just getting on my feet again this year after having to sort some methodology issues out.

 

Yesterday was basically a wash, though traded correctly.

 

Today I missed an easy +2 in the morning due to getting to par too quickly (and being a pansy) but redeemed myself a bit in the afternoon with solid signals, entries, and mgmt.

 

[brownsfan019 17]

Well done sir!

 

And thanks for joining us! (well, me for now).

[HAL9000 10]

Hi Brown,

 

I will join in too, like on CG

 

Anyway, give me some minutes or a day, but from my side its still simulation, just that you know that upfront. I am not proud of it, because I am behind my time table ( right!? ).

 

Anyway, its a good idea, maybe you or somebody else sees, what my problems are. Some I already know, but ...

 

Lets have some fun.

 

Ryan

[brownsfan019 17]

Ryan - that's the point of this thread - to help each other out. For me, it's nice to know I gotta post my #'s somewhere. Hopefully more will follow or eventually I won't need the thread anymore and it will fizzle out.

[daedalus 10]

Got knocked around this morning taking a loss that was valid, but almost 2x's my normal stop amount... had to play catch up. Was waiting around and passed up on a lot of valid profitable stuff for Beige Book to come out this afternoon.

 

Then I got stopped gunned for another loss (swing low held but the pit ramed through it by 1 tick).

 

Overall a rough and not very profitable day but I did what I needed to do and we walked away with more than we walked in with.

 

[brownsfan019 17]

3/4/09 Came out to be a wash, forgot to post.

 

3/5/09

 

 

An OK day. A couple woulda, coulda, shoulda in hindsight.

 

 

Those 2 losing ZN trades were not the best trades in the world. One of those - well, I made $XXX so far, let's take a shot - and it bit me in the behind.

Edited March 5, 2009 by brownsfan019

[brownsfan019 17]

You know what is interesting about this thread? First, not surprising there's only 2 of us posting here. I've posted in other parts of the forum and when you ask people to post here if they could use a little added motivation, provide some motivation to others, etc. - it's very quiet in here. For example, there's some serious discussion about VSA, Wyckoff, etc. etc. but I don't think we've ever seen one blotter showing one person making money using those systems. Not one...

 

 

Second, I notice that on this smaller account, the $ result is ok, but nothing to get excited about. One interesting thing about trading is that if you are making money and want to make more, you can just up your size. Granted that's a double edged sword, but we operate in a very nice business where you can do the SAME amount of work and get paid MORE. That's rare if you think about it - doctors, lawyers, brokers, etc. - all get paid more by working more. Here, you can still work the hours you like, trade more and make more money.

 

I bring this up b/c it's easy to get lost in the shuffle as you trade more (size, accounts, etc.) that these smaller accounts may not seem like much initially, but you can work them up over time. And when the time is right you can increase size to increase profits w/o having to do more work.

 

It's hard to find too many business that will keep increasing your pay for doing the same amount of work.

 

[daedalus 10]

Long story short i'm still tweaking my method and I finalized some stuff today that came to my attention after taking two back to back losses. My entries are a *tad* too aggressive. By backing off maybe 7% I can avoid catching a lot of bad trades.

 

Even so, I didn't trade well. And there was more than ample opportunity for me to walk away with money today and I didn't take it. Disappointed with my execution.

 

Oh well... It could've ended up a lot worse than it did. And when I consider how much money I have paid in losses I didn't need to take over the past two weeks I'm happy I realized this simple flaw in my entries. So all in all... one down day to figure out an integral way to make more money more of the time? Well worth it IMHO.

 

 

Brownsfan - even though for right now its just you and me... at least it proves that there are two honest traders out there in the world!

[brownsfan019 17]

One thing nice about really looking at your P/L is you can sometimes hone in certain aspects of the trade and see where improvements can be made. For example, I probably should have not taken those ZN trades which would have left me P/L at +$500. I'd like to see this account regularly performing at $500-$1000 on average per day, so if I was a little more patient it could have happened.

 

But sometimes you can fall into the 'this is the house's money' mentality and risk more than you might otherwise.

[bathrobe 10]

Brownsfan,

 

I have been paper trading the 30 year since you started the thread based on the advantages of trading that market. Congratulations on your success in that market and the 10 year.

 

I trade the ES for a living and was wondering if you ever take advantages of the inverse relationship between the es and ym and the bonds? I know you told me previously you trade 30 and 10 year using technical analysis, but I often see great setups in the es and ponder taking an inverse live trade in the ZB along with the ES trade I am already taking.

 

Thank you for opening my eyes to a great market and I wish you continued success. :)

 

Thanks,

Chris

[brownsfan019 17]

Chris,

Here's an interesting thing you will note about the ES and the bonds - they don't always move in perfect inverse correlation. There are many times that I scratch my head when they move in tandem! So my suggestion is to watch both and see how they look to you, based on how you trade. Most times they are moving opposite but there are times where it moves in perfect harmony together. My guess is that some computer programs out there are trying to arb them and the big boys have to keep them in check or else everyone would do it.

 

[brownsfan019 17]

3/6/09

 

 

 

Nothing special from Fri. Had I been focused more would have gotten a few other trades on but wasn't there 100% on Fri apparently.

 

Overall, an ok week on this account.

[brownsfan019 17]

3/2/2009

$656.25

3/3/2009

$125.00

3/4/2009

$0.00

3/5/2009

$328.13

3/6/2009

$203.13

$1,312.51

 

Not a bad week on this account. Hypothetically if this was a $10k account that's a return of 13% in a week.

 

I think consistency is key for longevity in this business and if I can continue to keep the accounts performing at respectable levels, then I'll be happy.

 

Now, if I can focus the entire time trading and take all the trades I see, then we can get that number up even more.

 

 

note - in all fairness these numbers do not include commissions. I wished OEC's reports would factor commissions in. The nice thing about bonds is that the commissions are lower than the indexes (for now at least).

[brownsfan019 17]

[steve46 12]

Hey Brownsfan

 

Had a nice conversation with Swingfade who as we all know is actually trader28 from ET. He thinks it is very important for traders to prove themselves by posting blotters and is going to post here on your thread....Sorry to say its not my style, but I am glad to see that a big trader like Swingfade is willing to post and show us how it is done.. I'm sure this will inspire others, and bring some "momentum" to your thread.

 

Best Regards

Steve

Edited March 8, 2009 by steve46

[brownsfan019 17]

Sorry you won't be joining us Steve as I think it might lend some credibility to all the different things you discuss in your thread. It'd just be nice to see some evidence that the ideas actually work in real-time.

 

We'll be here if you'd like to join us!

[Stevenvegas 10]

ummm thanks I think. I don't post for fame or credibility. I've been daytrading under the same name for 8 years. I post em at bottom and along the way. It is up to each person to decide to buy or sell. I have been trading full time for 5 years. continued success to you

[brownsfan019 17]

My reply was directed at steve46, who had posted in the thread.

[Stevenvegas 10]

gotcha. Sorry for the confusion

[Soultrader 12]

Quick note on this thread. This thread should not be treated as a ego boost nor to prove yourself anything to others. Many cultures despise others from posting or discussing profits and wealth publicly. I was raised in these cultures. On the other hand, many may also be trading multiple accounts or institutional accounts. This could prohibit the trader from disclosing such materials as well. (compliance, legal, contract, etc...)

 

Please keep this thread objective and to the point. It is not to be treated as a show-off thread to compare each others cohonas. Thank you.

[brownsfan019 17]

Quick note on this thread. This thread should not be treated as a ego boost nor to prove yourself anything to others. Many cultures despise others from posting or discussing profits and wealth publicly. I was raised in these cultures. On the other hand, many may also be trading multiple accounts or institutional accounts. This could prohibit the trader from disclosing such materials as well. (compliance, legal, contract, etc...)

 

Please keep this thread objective and to the point. It is not to be treated as a show-off thread to compare each others cohonas. Thank you.

 

There's only 2 of us posting James, so I think we are ok there. If you want to discuss further, drop me a pm. thanks!

[HAL9000 10]

Today I took just 3 trades during the session,

because my concentration went down.

 

Here they are: