Trader P/L 2009

[brownsfan019 17]

The good, new record. The bad, gross loss.........same as last time I had a huge day. My problem with these trades where I have an overall winner but a large gross loss is I get shaken and bail early. Usually my analysis is spot on. I need to work on this.

 

I cannot post the .png image directly to my post, what is explained in the link provided by BF does not work for me I have no clue why.

 

Also, I took 1 trade today, not 257

 

I can see BR now...

 

 

Nicely done today!!!

[daedalus 10]

The good, new record. The bad, gross loss.........same as last time I had a huge day. My problem with these trades where I have an overall winner but a large gross loss is I get shaken and bail early. Usually my analysis is spot on. I need to work on this.

 

I cannot post the .png image directly to my post, what is explained in the link provided by BF does not work for me I have no clue why.

 

Also, I took 1 trade today, not 257

 

Congrats on the new record!!! I just have to laugh how you have to work on something when you net 60k in ONE day. lol. But that is what is awesome... you're constantly working to improve regardless of the P/L - and thats what probably got you to where you are to begin with.

[bathrobe 10]

I can see BR now...

 

 

Nicely done today!!!

 

Thank you, I wish my setep looked as good as your smileys setup, I use two monitors only, and most of the time the second is on the internet, I could easily trade with one.

[bathrobe 10]

Congrats on the new record!!! I just have to laugh how you have to work on something when you net 60k in ONE day. lol. But that is what is awesome... you're constantly working to improve regardless of the P/L - and thats what probably got you to where you are to begin with.

 

Thanks deadalus, obsession and dedication (as I am sure we all have) is what got me where I am now. I started as an investor while in college about 10 years ago with absolutely no clue as to why I bought stock and I remember reading a book called Dow 30,000 and took this book very seriously

[BrianNC 10]

I can see BR now...

 

 

Nicely done today!!!

 

That's BR's secret! He's tapped into the Matrix! (which is what is showing on those screens )

[Dinerotrader 10]

Real

YRCW -0.05/share or -1.2%

 

SIM

I decided today to just trade everything that looked interesting instead of filtering for the best setups. I got worked but I expected it. Ended up down about $400. I wasn't seeing very many of the setups I like most on the ZS either so that didn't help much. As it turns out the volume was much lower today than past days. It was just wasn't moving like usual. The thing I liked about trying to take lots of trades was that I was constantly trying to interpret price action and make a trade based on what I sawand then exit based on what I saw.

 

Right now I do best when I wait for the moves like the "V"move below. I have always thought trading would be easy if you could just find something that didn't chop around so much and I finally did with the grains. You can cut your losses quickly and watch the winners run. If I can become consistant on trading these, I will definitely owe Brownfan for introducing them on his posts.

 

Now I need to find some more sources for info on the grains.

 

http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14671&stc=1&d=1256761964

[hunnybunny 10]

:haha:

 

I can see BR now...

 

 

Nicely done today!!!

 

That's BR's secret! He's tapped into the Matrix! (which is what is showing on those screens )

 

Chris, i have to say your numbers make me goggle :shocked: Congratulations on your new personal record!

 

Brownsfan, Subterfuge, Grey1 - way to go, you guys!

 

The consistent gains i see posted (the great company too! ) on this thread are what keep me going on this long lonely trek to becoming a true blue trader

 

That you guys do it in a variety of approaches using different set-ups trading different instruments from each other makes it all the greater. (The one thing that you do have in common is your kindly desire to put novices on the right track!)

 

Yup, your results offer newbies massive encouragement to keep at it .. so don't let up please.

 

Grey1 does have a point about a P/L thread not necessarily showing the "how". This thread is primarily about the results and us newbies don't always get the "how it's done", which is not to say that contributors haven't been generous with their guidance.

 

Well, after all the waffling ... time for me to 'fess up. i violated so many of the cardinal principles the TL veterans kindly tried to save a newbie like me from learning the hard way that i can only hang my head in shame. Where do i begin? :crap:

 

Here's the list (by no means exhaustive):

(1) no set-up, much less a trading plan - i went long on the dow and the brent crude yesterday when the markets were coming off (surely the dow will go back to 10,000 ... was what i blithely thought)

(2) trading against the trend (catching a falling knife :doh: i might as well have thrown myself in front of a train) - as thales has pointed out elsewhere, trading against the trend doesn't make sense

(3) no stop-loss or cutting of losses on pullbacks

(4) doubling my position when the markets continued to come off and amplifying my losses - doubly (quadruply?) bad because the sizes were double my normal size to begin with

(5) holding the positions into today (when my goal was to be an intraday trader and close all positions at the end of the day)

(6) holding the positions into an economic data day (when the likelihood was great that the numbers would be bad?)

 

Boy, was i asking for it :helloooo:

 

To cut a long story short, i finally cut the positions today. Gave back all the gains from my winning trades since i started (which was a month or 2 ago, if anyone's asking) .. ouch. Sheer stupidity and recklessness ... ah well, it's back to square one for me

 

So, it's your trades, your gains and your stories which are keeping me going

[MidKnight 12]

Hi Bunny,

 

Just a short note about your point number 2. While many do say trade with the trend, it of course isn't the only way. There are many guys that do make solid livings from fading areas in a trend. Keep an open mind on that point, in fact, keep an open mind on anything about trading

 

Sorry to hear about the hard day. We've all been there many times, and probably continue to revisit it every now and then.

 

With kind regards,

MK

[brownsfan019 17]

Right now I do best when I wait for the moves like the "V"move below. I have always thought trading would be easy if you could just find something that didn't chop around so much and I finally did with the grains. You can cut your losses quickly and watch the winners run. If I can become consistant on trading these, I will definitely owe Brownfan for introducing them on his posts.

 

Now I need to find some more sources for info on the grains.

 

I'm glad that someone is reading those posts I put up about 'different' markets.

 

I don't know that you need more info on grains - I mean, when they move, they move. Either you are w/ the move or not. As for what causes moves and how to expect them, it's no different than the indexes - sometimes certain econ news moves them and other times it doesn't, sometimes outside forces will move them and other times not. I think you get the idea.

 

Don't get caught up in trying to find website or books dedicated to trading the grains specifically b/c I don't think you'll find much. IMO here's what you need to know about grains trading:

1) These are truly pit traded contracts so when they open @ 1030am, get ready to make your move. Unlike just about any other contract out there, these things thrive on the pit open and orders flow in immediately @ 1030am. I don't think I've found ONE day where they didn't move on the open. Not one. Now compare that to the indexes, oil or gold -- plenty of days where they don't do anything on the open (like today on oil where I got chopped around).

 

2) While some would say the liquidity isn't the greatest, it's fine for daytrading. Personally, I've found the most success on the ZS contract. As you've seen, when it decides it's moving, it moves.

 

3) You should have your profits booked by 1230pm and shut it down. There are days where it will have an afternoon move, but it's very common for it to slow down once all the positions have been booked.

 

4) From there it's a matter of working a trading methodology. That just takes screen time, practice and more practice.

One thing I did forget to mention - when rollover is near, the movements can slow down on the grains as the volume could be split over 2 contracts. When that happens you may not see as large moves as you might be expecting.

Edited October 29, 2009 by brownsfan019

[brownsfan019 17]

I cannot post the .png image directly to my post, what is explained in the link provided by BF does not work for me I have no clue why.

 

BR - if that doesn't work (not sure why) here's a quick workaround:

 

1) Upload png to TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

2) Highlight code in the box that says "IMG Code for Forums & Message Boards"

3) Paste here

4) Done

 

That's actually what I do on most other forums since many don't host pics on their servers.

[hunnybunny 10]

Hi Bunny,

 

Just a short note about your point number 2. While many do say trade with the trend, it of course isn't the only way. There are many guys that do make solid livings from fading areas in a trend. Keep an open mind on that point, in fact, keep an open mind on anything about trading

 

Sorry to hear about the hard day. We've all been there many times, and probably continue to revisit it every now and then.

 

With kind regards,

MK

 

MidKnight, thanks very much for your kind note and advice Searching for a thread on fading areas in a trend now :missy: The next time i feel inclined to throw myself in front of a train, it'll come in real handy!

[subterfuge 10]

No blotter today but im up around 40 pips again and probably done for the day. Mainly traded cable. it would have been a very small up day (+9 pips or so), but I managed to cathc a piece of the ES move just after the news release.

Its strange but i find winning streaks like im on almost as frustrating as losing streaks! It just kind of reminds me that its upto the market as to whether i make money or not. My setups are obviously working at the moment, but will the market dynamics change soon, rendering my 'system' useless? I imagine some of my doubts/questions could be answered by backtesting my methods more, but because they are mainly price action based with some discretion, I imagine you'd need to be an absolute computer programming genius to do it (that's if its even possible). Have you guys all managed to succesfully backtest your methods?

Id like to think that im worrying about nothing and im simply getting better, but as a generally 'breakeven' trader after putting in YEARS of 12 hour days watching price/charts, you'll understand why I am pessimistic when it comes to my own trading!

 

have a good days trading.

[brownsfan019 17]

No blotter today but im up around 40 pips again and probably done for the day. Mainly traded cable. it would have been a very small up day (+9 pips or so), but I managed to cathc a piece of the ES move just after the news release.

Its strange but i find winning streaks like im on almost as frustrating as losing streaks! It just kind of reminds me that its upto the market as to whether i make money or not. My setups are obviously working at the moment, but will the market dynamics change soon, rendering my 'system' useless? I imagine some of my doubts/questions could be answered by backtesting my methods more, but because they are mainly price action based with some discretion, I imagine you'd need to be an absolute computer programming genius to do it (that's if its even possible). Have you guys all managed to succesfully backtest your methods?

Id like to think that im worrying about nothing and im simply getting better, but as a generally 'breakeven' trader after putting in YEARS of 12 hour days watching price/charts, you'll understand why I am pessimistic when it comes to my own trading!

 

have a good days trading.

 

We are our own worst enemy... And I understand your concern. It's funny how the human brain works - when we are in a losing streak, very easy to jump ship and give up; when we are winning, we wonder if it's a fluke or will it continue.

 

My only suggestion is to do some backtesting (even manually) if possible. If not, then you have to watch your results like a hawk and track them closely. Build a database or excel sheet to track them and create a chart of your trading and track it. Would you buy your trading or fade it?

 

Something else that comes to mind is simply increasing your size when you are winning and decreasing when you are losing - similar to a blackjack strategy. When you know the deck is stacked in your favor, put on a larger positions; when you aren't sure, minimize your risk as much as possible.

[subterfuge 10]

We are our own worst enemy... And I understand your concern. It's funny how the human brain works - when we are in a losing streak, very easy to jump ship and give up; when we are winning, we wonder if it's a fluke or will it continue.

 

 

Couldn't put it better, and that's definitely how i feel.

 

As for your suggetions, that's pretty much the route i've already been taking for a while now. Ive been tracking every trade in an excel spreadsheet. Also, on only ONE of my setups i've also started doing as you suggested about 1 month ago, and put the results into a graph in excel to give me basically an equity curve. I chose that particular setup because its my most 'mechanical' setup.

In fact, here is that one setups data so far. Since the 22nd of September its made 23 trades and has made 42 ES points. Im gonna try and get much more past info on it as I doubt 1month of data is partucularly statistically relevant..?....

Anyone, thanks for your input.

[brownsfan019 17]

10-29-09: +$683.13

 

Today was a day where it was so easy... wish every morning was like this. I kinda screwed it up good on the ZS though. First, I was trading the old contract; then I moved to the new one and got out of a good long b/c I was trying to preserve the daily profits. There was no reason to exit the trade other than I liked how $700 looked. And then I hit the button too quickly and didn't get the $700. :doh:

 

Also - trading 2 contracts on the ZF. The $ per tick is smaller, so beefing that up a little to get that profit in line w/ the other markets more.

[bathrobe 10]

I am starting to feel under the weather again, I guess I will load up on Vitamin C. As for trading, was almost a standstill when I was in mkt.

 

We will see if I can post the png on the thread

 

 

 

EDIT: Thanks BF, I always wanted to do that.

[Dinerotrader 10]

Didn't take any stock trades today. I am finding it hard to be fully engaged in futures trading development and still get time for stocks so I am probably going to slow down significantly on trading stocks.

 

I was watching the ZS again today but volume was crap again and it was just a chop storm. Thanks to Brownsfan, he pointed out that the contract rollover is near so the volume gets split and really slows things down compared to the norm.

 

[daedalus 10]

I am starting to feel under the weather again, I guess I will load up on Vitamin C. As for trading, was almost a standstill when I was in mkt.

 

 

EDIT: Thanks BF, I always wanted to do that.

 

Organic Apple Cider vinegar with the MOTHER (try and find Braggs) buddy.... 2tbps mixed with some Orange Juice.... it'll stomp just about anything out in a day. I swear by it... i drink 4 tbsp a day and haven't had so much as a soar throat or runny nose in 6 years.

[brownsfan019 17]

Organic Apple Cider vinegar with the MOTHER (try and find Braggs) buddy.... 2tbps mixed with some Orange Juice.... it'll stomp just about anything out in a day. I swear by it... i drink 4 tbsp a day and haven't had so much as a soar throat or runny nose in 6 years.

 

dae - I don't follow the recipe exactly... can you lay out it like a regular recipe? Thanks as I got a persistent cough following me around.

[Dinerotrader 10]

Do any of you use the DOM bid and ask sizes above and below the current price at all? I use the DOM for order entry right now and sometimes I wonder if there is anything useful in watching the orders at various depths.

Thanks.

[brownsfan019 17]

Do any of you use the DOM bid and ask sizes above and below the current price at all? I use the DOM for order entry right now and sometimes I wonder if there is anything useful in watching the orders at various depths.

Thanks.

 

This thread might give you some ideas.

[daedalus 10]

dae - I don't follow the recipe exactly... can you lay out it like a regular recipe? Thanks as I got a persistent cough following me around.

 

Oh well I just mean to take 2 tablespoons of it... by itself its horrible in taste (ie it tastes like vinegar - go figure) but if you dilute it with Orange Juice, you can drink your OJ and never be the wiser that you just drank the dosage of Apple Cider Vinegar as well.

 

Its the one thing I truly swear by. Go to E A R T H . C L I N I C - Folk Remedies and Holistic Cures for more info on what people are using it for.

 

One example, my dad had high blood pressure on his last physical, the doc's wanted to put him on some expensive prescription (one that we had a friend who went on it and within 3 months her kidneys failed and killed her) I told him to take the Apple Cider vinegar - he did and changed nothing else and went back for a check up - he dropped like 40 points on his blood pressure. The doctor was astounded.

 

Thread jack over. :rofl:

[diablo272 10]

More info about ACV:

 

Apple cider vinegar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Apple Cider Vinegar cures - the best NATURAL home remedy for many health issues.

 

I first heard about it as a rinse for hair...never taken it as a dietary supplement though.

[eric341 10]

Bathrobe do you mind telling us your percentage return for the year so far?

 

I am very curious, as you seem to make a profit the vast majority of the time.

 

I wish I was that consistent!

[brownsfan019 17]

Oh well I just mean to take 2 tablespoons of it... by itself its horrible in taste (ie it tastes like vinegar - go figure) but if you dilute it with Orange Juice, you can drink your OJ and never be the wiser that you just drank the dosage of Apple Cider Vinegar as well.

 

Its the one thing I truly swear by. Go to E A R T H . C L I N I C - Folk Remedies and Holistic Cures for more info on what people are using it for.

 

One example, my dad had high blood pressure on his last physical, the doc's wanted to put him on some expensive prescription (one that we had a friend who went on it and within 3 months her kidneys failed and killed her) I told him to take the Apple Cider vinegar - he did and changed nothing else and went back for a check up - he dropped like 40 points on his blood pressure. The doctor was astounded.

 

Thread jack over. :rofl:

 

I appreciate it as I'm not a big fan of taking pills and such.