Trader P/L 2009

[MCM 10]

3 trades thus far - all short - and all losers. Not great set ups - but certainly not dogs either. Just didnt work. Good thing - I stuck to my exits.

 

So dont feel bad - you have company. (By the way - Nice trades earlier Brownsfan !! Love how you are packed up and done in a couple hours!)

 

Of course I saw one nice set up - and didnt get the limit fill - then took it off the table - only to have the market come back and hit the # again when I wasnt by the computer.

 

Of course - it looks like that one is gonna be a nice trade (891.25 to target of 898) Nice to sid idly by - and watch it - with zero money in the trade.

 

Will hang in there and see if something sets up this afternoon. :missy:

 

P&L later - but it is likely gonna be red today.

[pimind 10]

I feel your pain all my losses where shorts and to rub it in I got stopped out on a huge loss at the high before it turned and of course it went down under my short .

[Tams 20]

The Trend is Your Friend.

[MCM 10]

Tams...couldnt be more right. Sometimes I let the internal bear in me (love being short more than being long) move me into taking some counter-trend trade.

 

The one set up I had for long (that I missed - see above) just hit its first target.

Probably no coincidence that it was in the direction of the trend.

Edited May 4, 2009 by MCM

[JKLM 10]

last few days I feel bad ...

but I trying to stay on right tracks ...

[edabreu 10]

Good start to the week. Would have preferred the breakout at 09:41... but I'll take this and be happy.

[edabreu 10]

The Trend is Your Friend.

 

I used to think that. But now I know its my fair weather friend and a fickle one at that.

[brownsfan019 17]

(By the way - Nice trades earlier Brownsfan !! Love how you are packed up and done in a couple hours!)

 

Just wanted to comment on that MCM - after many years and thousands of dollars, I've come to realize a few things:

1) I am not good a trading all day

2) My system is also not good trading all day

3) Trading for me is a means to an end, so I don't need to be there from 8am-4pm EST

Took me a long time to get there, but now I can go in hard in the AM (when a lot of moves occur), get out and move on w/ my day. Based on this idea, I'd much rather go in hard (ie use leverage) on 1 or 2 quality setups per market than trade all day but using less leverage. If the markets moved all day like they do in the AM, I might trade all day again. But they don't. In my eyes, the markets have 3 cycles in them each day - meaning:

 

CYCLE 1

: AM session (8am-Noon) = moves will more than likely occur whether from overnight orders hitting the books, overnight news forcing the hands and/or econ news ranging from 8am-1000am. In other words, PLENTY of reason for the markets to move in cycle 1.

 

CYCLE 2

: Lunch session (Noon-2pm) = many choppy areas, but could also provide the occasional move. In other words, it might move or might chop.

 

CYCLE 3

: PM session (2pm-4pm) = similar movements as lunch, meaning chop is very common, but also can see some monster moves as well. In other words, you might catch some giant moves or you might get chopped.

 

So looking at that analysis, I said - why bother trading cycles 2 or 3? What's the point? If I know moves will almost always occur in cycle 1, maybe I should just focus on cycle 1.

 

And that's where I am today. I should expand on this more some time when time permits.

[pimind 10]

Clicking my mouse in the hot sun

 

I fought the trend and the trend won

I fought the trend and the trend won

 

I needed money cause I lost some

 

I fought the trend and the trend won

I fought the trend and the trend won

 

I lost my money and it feels so bad

Guess my trading is done

It was the worst run I ever had

 

I fought the trend and the trend won

I fought the trend and the trend won

 

**** I'm down 896 on 20 trades, was down $1200. Made stupid countertrend trades all day and just happened to pick the ones with no meat. Gap didn't fill , no big sell off after the close, should have jumped on the trend when it was obvius this morning, but shoulda coulda doesn't pay the bills, these are my worse days. I always think How much higher can it go, :doh:

I no the answer as high as it wants. The funny thing is taking a pullback is less risky then countertrending, so yes today i fought the trend and trend won. I am now 100% wrong when i fight the trend. lol.

[MCM 10]

Two left feet today during the dance. Someone remind me why hindsight is 20/20 and foresight can be blindingly impossible some days.

 

Walked in with the wrong thoughts - and didnt respond to the first 30 minute push which should have suggested a strong trending day to me. And I just kept pushing against it.

 

In the spirit of finding the good for the day

1) Didnt let any of the losses run past their original stops

2) Didnt chase any entry late in the day - which (in hindsight) would have made money - but for all the wrong reasons. Hope that pays dividends somewhere down the line.

 

 

Reset for Thursday - my next trading day due to other committments.

 

Thanks for the wisdom Brownsfan019. Since I am still < 6 months into this - still OK with spending some time watching the market. But certainly appreciate there are some times to stay out of the chop. But eventually would like to move towards your methods of finding the first quality moves - trading them - and being done

 

P

[HAL9000 10]

I fought the trend and the trend won

I fought the trend and the trend won

 

I think there was an old Clash song:

 

I fought the law and the law won.

...

 

I have done my sim trades today after implementing the last days

and even up until the RTH started. Well the beginning was OK,

but then I said to myself, that now would be time to quit.

Anyway, I traded on and felt in this counter trend mode too, and even more worse, I toggled short, long, short, long.

In real I would have ended with a big loss, based on many "small losers".

 

I guess it is partly a mental thing: Impatience, greed, and fear.

Once I recognize my mistake. Then it will be different.

 

I think, I am my worst enemy.

Maybe, I have just to find my peace.

 

Relax, open my eyes, open my mind.

The pictures are there, which are showing

 

the law of the market.

 

Up and down and up and ...

 

Just wait until it fits.

 

It might be so easy.

[thalestrader 14]

Hi folks,

 

I don't trade everyday, but I'll join in when I do. I'm a cut 'em or run' em kind of trader. If a trade doesn't go my way quickly, I'm out. If it does move my way, I let her run with a trailing stop.

 

In reference ot Brownsfan's post above, I traded from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT today. I do not typically initiate trades between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. I rarely trade premarket. If I trade it is either 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM or 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM, and sometimes, though rarely both of those sessions.

 

Best Trading to You,

 

Thales

Edited May 4, 2009 by thalestrader

[diablo272 10]

....

 

So looking at that analysis, I said - why bother trading cycles 2 or 3? What's the point? If I know moves will almost always occur in cycle 1, maybe I should just focus on cycle 1.

 

And that's where I am today. I should expand on this more some time when time permits.

 

If you get no setups during that morning session (maybe this never happens when you're watching multiple instruments, I have no way of knowing), would you rather take it as a flat day or trade into the afternoon?

[Harlequin 10]

I think there was an old Clash song:

 

I fought the law and the law won.

...

 

 

They covered it, Sonny Curtis and The Crickets was the original, but the best....

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPXnoLAEUSQ]YouTube - Bobby Fuller I fought the law[/ame]

 

 

Sorry to interrupt, back to trading.......

[brownsfan019 17]

If you get no setups during that morning session (maybe this never happens when you're watching multiple instruments, I have no way of knowing), would you rather take it as a flat day or trade into the afternoon?

 

So far diablo, I've gotten setups every morning BUT that's b/c I am watching a few currencies, bonds and oil.

 

In the rare instance where nothing triggers, nothing triggers. I do not initiate any new positions after 12pm EST. Zero. Zilch. Nadda. Reason outlined above.

[brownsfan019 17]

5-5-09

 

 

 

Good morning. Nice to be done by 930am EST and have a good day trading.

 

Have fun on the indexes boys, I am out.

[hedonQ 10]

nicely done brownsfan019!

 

It looked like we might have some moves today in GBP/USD after breaking above 5062.

Instead, we were chopping wood with a bit of upside bias until about 9:30am.

Some of the risk event later in the week might curb any fresh positions.

 

 

The good: nothing today

 

The bad:

- trade 2 was an impulsive trade.

- trade 3: I could've split up the position in half, cover one and trail the other. I shorted 5145 around 9:20am.

- I missed on a trade later in the morning. Why? I got bored and started browsing, espn ... That's unacceptable and disrespectfully to my boss, the market!

 

Good Luck.

[HAL9000 10]

They covered it, Sonny Curtis and The Crickets was the original, but the best....

 

I didn't knew that, thanks for sharing.

 

 

But now back to sim trading.

 

I switched to the ES, because I think it is behaving somehow "cleaner" as the NQ.

 

Today I used my new charts. So I don't know what my results are worth.

I try to reduce the number of my decision points and my other problems.

But what a choppy day.

 

Anyway, here are my results:

 

 

And for fun, I have also attached the chart I have used today.

[thalestrader 14]

Hi Folks,

 

Traded the afternoon only again today.

 

Best Trading to All,

 

Thales

[bathrobe 10]

Taking small 1 contract scalps.

[bathrobe 10]

I didn't knew that, thanks for sharing.

 

 

But now back to sim trading.

 

I switched to the ES, because I think it is behaving somehow "cleaner" as the NQ.

 

Today I used my new charts. So I don't know what my results are worth.

I try to reduce the number of my decision points and my other problems.

But what a choppy day.

 

Anyway, here are my results:

 

 

And for fun, I have also attached the chart I have used today.

 

HAL9000,

With Button Trader are you able to scale into positions where it averages the price (when I tried the demo it opened a new separate, non-averaged trade at each price level I bought/sold) If you can scale with it averaging please point me in the direction of a source that teaches this. I loved everything about BT except this.

 

Thanks in advance.

[MidKnight 12]

Hi bathrobe,

 

Yes you can do that in BT. It will open a separate order line, but you can join them and that will reflect the average price. By opening a separate order line, this gives the trader the flexibility to easily remember where their original entry was and then scratch it out. You can switch between these two views when you scale-in by using the split and join feature. I haven't used BT in a couple years, but search the reference doc to see what I mean.

 

All my best,

MK

[bathrobe 10]

Hi bathrobe,

 

Yes you can do that in BT. It will open a separate order line, but you can join them and that will reflect the average price. By opening a separate order line, this gives the trader the flexibility to easily remember where their original entry was and then scratch it out. You can switch between these two views when you scale-in by using the split and join feature. I haven't used BT in a couple years, but search the reference doc to see what I mean.

 

All my best,

MK

 

 

Thanks so much for your help.

[Robert Joyce 10]

sorry I didn't post last Thurs or Fri. Just got smashed on my sim on Thurs and Fri wasn't much better. But Monday I did better on my sim $450. But today I traded for real, 5 trades for a grand total of $37.50 minus 22.50 cost of trade net $15.00 Woo Hoo lol lol

 

Very choppy day, my ema's were all tied up... when I did get a decent signal they just wouldn't run for me and I either got stopped out at even or just a quarter point.

 

No but seriously just to have put on real trades is huge for me. I'm actually really happy and looking forward to tomorrow.

 

Outstanding Brownsfan..... so is your longer term plan to simply buy more contracts on the same signals and thereby make more money on the same performance. It seems to me that your plan is working just fine. Let me ask you do you want to be right more often or simply make more money...... we are doing this to make money... right... lol

 

Anyways 100% in sixty days is outstanding in anybody's book.

[brownsfan019 17]

 

Outstanding Brownsfan..... so is your longer term plan to simply buy more contracts on the same signals and thereby make more money on the same performance. It seems to me that your plan is working just fine. Let me ask you do you want to be right more often or simply make more money...... we are doing this to make money... right... lol

 

Anyways 100% in sixty days is outstanding in anybody's book.

 

Robert - I am in my 'longer term' plan, which is trade more size. No point of forcing trades and it's been working so far by focusing on my best setup, which normally appears in the AM. The setup itself does appear later in the day, but as I said in a previous post, there's a 50/50 chance that there will be enough momentum behind it to make it worthwhile. So the plan is just trade more and more size. What I am posting here is a snapshot from 1 account that started at $10k. I trade more than this 1 account, but I am using this 1 for purposes here.

 

The only addition I could see myself doing is trading a little longer. Today was a day where if I kept going about till about 11am or so, there were other moves that that could have been taken. Problem is that after the first initial move, it's hit and miss whether or not another move will occur before 12pm (which is the latest I will trade). Basically on days where you see a \/ or /\ formation from 8am-Noon, I could have made more. On days where you see the first leg of the \ or / and nothing else, it's a good thing I stopped.

 

From there the only other consideration would be exits. At times I can time the exit nicely and other times, I say 'woulda, coulda, shoulda'. At times just trailing behind some candles or something catches a huge move; other times getting out at my current predefined exits look very timely in hindsight.

 

So all in all, I'd probably say that the exits could change - perhaps get most out like I do now and maybe a trailer or something. But that's down the road b/c the account isn't large enough to be trading multiple contracts in multiple markets, possibly simultaneously.