Trader P/L 2010

[kuro 10]

Decent day back five trades. I rate 4/5 trades were executed well. I missed one because I was too slow on the mouse.

 

The second trade I was stopped out to the tick before a 10 point run that would have been in my favor. I still count that trade as executed well because in hindsight , I would have done the exact same thing.

[Dinerotrader 10]

SIM

+$804

 

 

 

I am hoping to be posting everyday again. My current focus is on only taking valid entries based on plan, minimizing intraday drawdown, and increasing my win rate. I started a little journal of notes for each entry like JEH does on his post so I can analyze each trade and hopefully correct some core problems. After trading live off and on for a week or 2, it wasn't very hard to get to a place where the money didn't bother my analysis except for intraday drawdowns. Once I saw a -$400 on the screen, it became hard to continue taking trades per plan. I will soon probably implement a rule to stop trading if I have closed losses that exceed $300 but for now I am trying to tweak the entry setup so I will continue taking trades until 1st ~3 hours of trading are over.

 

There is always discussion of SIM vs live trading and everyone has to decide on their own what to do. I have decided to mostly SIM trade and take live trades once SIM appears to show that I have a valid setup, money management, etc. I stop live trading if it appears I have miscalculated something in SIM that isn't translating to live correctly. I do this because I believe the switch between live and SIM should be simple (for me) if my strategy has been properly defined,executed, and proven in the past during SIM. Live trading exposes problems that need to be fixed and I don't have enough money to work through the correction process with real money. SIM works well for this, for me personally. Everything I can fix and work on in SIM will be done there first before I try to stay trading live. When I switch to live trading, I trade EXACTLY the same as I do on SIM.

 

I respect all the good advice from those that are far more experienced than myself at trading but this makes sense to me and my available funds for trading.

 

(Note: If your simulated trading doesn't accurately reflect the mechanics of your live platform such as entry fills,etc., using SIM to practice can cause serious problems to your trading education. The ES often has this problem on SIM and this is partly why I don't trade the ES.)

 

[Cory2679 11]

+$1.20 (Live)

 

 

Big money! :o

 

I'm not going to be posting regularly...just today, since it was my first day live.

 

I sim trade (and sim traded "off the record" when I was sim trading) Monday's, so today was my first day live. I'd been sim trading (or sim trading "off the record") Monday's because I would get thrown off from the 2 day break over the weekend, but I think I'm getting to the point now that I don't need to do that anymore, so beginning next week I'm going to trade Monday's live from now on.

 

I did all right. Trade #4 could have been a big winner if it weren't for having to pull out because of upcoming news, due to Oanda spiking their spreads.

 

I was so frustrated as I watched price take off because I feel like I basically have to trade in spite of Oanda, that I quit trading and began researching and started a thread about spot forex brokers and news/spread spikes, found here. I should have waited until I was done trading, but in the moment that is what was on my mind. I didn't take any more trades after that.

 

HOWEVER, even though you could describe today as mediocre (+0.6R), I'm still very happy because much to my surprise, it was EASY to trade...much easier than I anticipated...easier than when posting daily sim results!

 

So easy in fact, that I'll likely be moving to a $1,000 live account as soon as next week (probably the next week, though).

 

After talking with Thales, I am now focused on my results in terms of a trailing 5 week average R-multiple, rather than focusing on daily or even weekly results. This mindset really frees me up to trade in a continuous flow, rather focusing on this day or this week.

 

A lot's changed for me over the past month or so. You may remember me posting this...

 

Hey guys,

 

I just funded a new Oanda account with $100, which I'm going to begin trading next week. I plan to post my P/L here.

 

Well, it didn't happen. When I went to do it, I was immobilized by fear and went sim. NOW, trading my $100 live account is truly as easy as trading sim! (But to be clear, I'm not saying it would be so easy with a $10k account or even a $1k account...)

 

On another note, I'm seriously considering moving to Interactive Brokers ECN spot forex in the near future, which has their leverage for the EUR/USD set at 40:1, so I'm going to set my Oanda account to 40:1 right after this post to prepare (it's currently set at 50:1).

 

I'm pretty excited...maybe I'm finally getting somewhere with this!

 

-Cory

[Dinerotrader 10]

SIM

+$518

8 entries

 

 

Didn't get to trade much today so 8 entries was too high. Broke the rules a few times on moving my stops up which cost me.

[Dinerotrader 10]

SIM

+$98

 

 

 

Really bad execution today. Part of it is to blame on my lack of a definition in my pullback setups but still, too many rogue trades. I cannot tolerate having any of these days again if I want to live again. Just shows my lack of discipline which is unacceptable behavior for me at this point.

[thalestrader 14]

+$1.20On another note, I'm seriously considering moving to Interactive Brokers ECN spot forex in the near future, which has their leverage for the EUR/USD set at 40:1, so I'm going to set my Oanda account to 40:1 right after this post to prepare (it's currently set at 50:1).

 

If you have the dough, and spot is really going to be your thing, I would not hesitate to open an IB account. But you must be prepared, if I am not mistaken, to trade 25K lot size minimum to trade Idealpro, and you will need kiwi or Blowfish to explain IB's forex accounting to you.

 

Make sure you know what you are doing when you make the move to IB, otherwise you'll find yourself buying Aussie's and selling dollars on Ideal and getting clipped for an 80 pip spread.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Cory2679 11]

If you have the dough, and spot is really going to be your thing, I would not hesitate to open an IB account. But you must be prepared, if I am not mistaken, to trade 25K lot size minimum to trade Idealpro, and you will need kiwi or Blowfish to explain IB's forex accounting to you.

 

Thanks for the advice. It will probably be a month (or 2 or 3) before I make the move, if I do. I'm going to stick with Oanda a little while longer...

 

In less than a week and a half I'm going to begin trading a $1k account with Oanda, which I want to trade consistently with no changes/additional deposits/etc. for 5+ weeks so I can get an idea of my 5-week average R-multiple (recently I've been changing every couple weeks...sim trading privately, sim trading "publicly," live trading with a $100 account, etc.).

 

I realize IB requires minimum 25k positions, but I believe you can size in increments of 10k...just has to be >= 25k total...I think.

 

I also realize IB requires a $10k initial deposit, which has me considering just going back to futures rather than moving to an ECN spot forex broker...I definitely want to trade currency futures in the long run, but I sort of wanted an account larger than $10k so that I can size my positions as close as possible to a 2% risk per trade...trading the 6E with a $10K account, my risk would vary a lot because the contracts are so big (ie 1.2%, then 1.5%, then 1.9%, then 1.3%, etc.). I'd really rather have something like $100k to trade the 6E...I know I don't need that much, but I'd feel the most comfortable that way (and I don't have $100k...the most I think I can pull together right now is $10k...so I'd simply have to grow that if I wanted $100k).

 

That's why I thought something like IB ECN spot forex would be nice...I can trade the smaller lots ("mini" lots) without trading with a bucket shop...while I gradually build my account to a point where I feel ready to trade futures.

 

Make sure you know what you are doing when you make the move to IB, otherwise you'll find yourself buying Aussie's and selling dollars on Ideal and getting clipped for an 80 pip spread.

 

I would certainly sim trade the platform until I was 110% confident that I knew what I was doing.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Cory2679

[MidKnight 12]

I realize IB requires minimum 25k positions, but I believe you can size in increments of 10k...just has to be >= 25k total...I think.

 

Hiya,

 

Just to clarify here, through idealpro you can trade any size on EUR/USD that is above 20 000 euro. There is no requirement that you must trade in 10k increments. The only requirement is that the trade must be within 20 000 - 5 mln euros. If you wanted to trade more than 5mln, you would do it through multiple orders.

 

As an aside, I honestly don't know why you seem hung up on wanting to trade the futures vs trading EU spot through an ECN broker.

 

With kind regards,

MK

[Cory2679 11]

Just to clarify here, through idealpro you can trade any size on EUR/USD that is above 20 000 euro. There is no requirement that you must trade in 10k increments. The only requirement is that the trade must be within 20 000 - 5 mln euros. If you wanted to trade more than 5mln, you would do it through multiple orders.

 

Thanks, MK! I've spent the last several minutes on their website trying to find that information...I wasn't sure that I knew what I was talking about...I finally sent customer service an e-mail.

 

As an aside, I honestly don't know why you seem hung up on wanting to trade the futures vs trading EU spot through an ECN broker.

 

Personal preference, I suppose.

[Cory2679 11]

The only requirement is that the trade must be within 20 000 - 5 mln euros.

 

And for the USD, it's $25k - $6 million...(I finally ran across this while researching Ideal Pro)...

 

[MidKnight 12]

Yeah but you are talking about trading EUR/USD, not USD/EUR, so you will be required to be within the EUR minimums....

[Cory2679 11]

Yeah but you are talking about trading EUR/USD, not USD/EUR, so you will be required to be within the EUR minimums....

 

Good point...EUR is all I need to know seeing as I'm solely trading the EUR/USD...don't know where my mind was...thanks. :embarassed:

[MCM 10]

Was in sim a little bit this week in trialing out trading in and out of multiple contracts. Thus light trading - which proved to be of benefit in the P\L statement.

 

Used my Dorman account to trade some of the nicer set ups, while in sim mode on the TS account. Those trades worked out nicely. Perhaps there is a nugget of lesson to be learned there. (take only those trades that make you walk across the room and enter on another computer) Wonder if my thick skull will absorb it.

 

Managed to get up in the sim - but have concerns that I would go nutso with a loss out of the gate if I was trading multiple contracts. (disclosure: 3 contracts on the YM with a 20 pt stop is a large position for me...lol...realize that is potentially laughed at with some of the traders around here. Trying to not blow up an account. Typically still trade 1 or 2 contracts)

 

Question for the group - what was the one trick you used to "let go" of the fear of losing money. Removed my profit/loss/position marker off the top of the screen this week so it was no longer visible - and it seemed to help - but wondering if there are any other "techniques" that people have used. I still have a tremendous urge to be right on the first trade of the day - sets the tone. Realize I need to get away from that and just treat each trade as a small step in a journey. But finding it tough. It isnt that the loss of 5-10K would hurt me financially...it wouldnt. (Happily I have a nice paying stable job...for now) But I think the damage it would do to my psyche and continuing on in trading would be enormous. Just cant seem to shake the "lock in profit" syndrome - and thus can have a nice string of winners - but not get hugely ahead in the account.

 

Thanks for any wisdom...

Edited April 30, 2010 by MCM

[Cory2679 11]

Question for the group - what was the one trick you used to "let go" of the fear of losing money. Moved my profit/loss/position marker off the top of the screen this week - and it seemed to help - but wondering if there are any other "techniques" that people have used. I still have a tremendous urge to be right on the first trade of the day - sets the tone. Realize I need to get away from that and just treat each trade as a small step in a journey. But finding it tough. It isnt that the loss of 5-10K would hurt me financially...it wouldnt. (Happily I have a nice paying stable job...for now) But I think the damage it would do to my psyche and continuing on in trading would be enormous. Just cant seem to shake the "lock in profit" syndrome - and thus can have a nice string of winners - but not get hugely ahead in the account.

 

I highly recommend "Trading in the Zone," by Mark Douglas...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Zone-Confidence-Discipline-Attitude/dp/0735201447/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

Edited April 30, 2010 by Cory2679

[MCM 10]

I highly recommend "Trading in the Zone," by Mark Douglas...

 

]

 

Will re-read it - a good thought. Seems like 99% of my battle is between my two ears.

[enochbenjamin 10]

Will re-read it - a good thought. Seems like 99% of my battle is between my two ears.

 

as is the case for most of us!

[kuro 10]

My problem is still between my ears. Wed & Thur were flat. I traded but I did not get anywhere. Today, Friday, which is usually a harder day for me because the late morning gets thin, gave me some good opportunities. I found myself taking profits when the price stopped moving on the DOM, instead of trailing.

 

The average time in these two trades was 42 seconds. The first trade, I wanted to put a win down just to get something. That first trade I convinced myself that since is was a Friday, we probably were not going to get a decent move, and I should scalp. The second trade came along and I took profits way too early.

 

I am profitable for the week ( in SIM ) so that is a good thing.

[bathrobe 10]

My problem is still between my ears....................

 

Well done, those are good entries Kuro

 

My personal account is propaply larger than most traders so I am able to manage it in a way where I find it to be not as stressful.

 

Yet, about a year ago I made a personal loan and traded a smaller acct. for a while and went back to taking a tick to a point and when I was re-paid my trading went back to my style rather quickly. That is why I feel the Race is a good idea; for me it forces me to make correct decisions when it comes to R/R.

 

Christopher

[Dinerotrader 10]

I had a little breakthrough last night looking at my charts and had to do some experimentation today to get a feel for a change in my setup. No post for me today.

 

Don't you love that feeling you get late at night studying charts when you think you might have discovered the key to really changing your trading. Even though I know it always turns out to be less revolutionary than it seemed the night before, I still love that rush. Have a good weekend.

[TradeSmart 10]

Don't you love that feeling you get late at night studying charts when you think you might have discovered the key to really changing your trading. Even though I know it always turns out to be less revolutionary than it seemed the night before, I still love that rush. Have a good weekend.

 

Wish I had the drive you do. I'd rather be spooning my wife and/or watching reruns of Golden Girls "late at night". All joking aside, if you become a consistently profitable trader then I will bust my butt to do the same. If I could spend 12 months studying charts, reading others' posts and studying on my own and be profitable, count me in!

[BlowFish 10]

Wish I had the drive you do. I'd rather be spooning my wife and/or watching reruns of Golden Girls "late at night". All joking aside, if you become a consistently profitable trader then I will bust my butt to do the same. If I could spend 12 months studying charts, reading others' posts and studying on my own and be profitable, count me in!

 

I watch reruns of all sorts of rubbish...while trading....often in bed!

[bathrobe 10]

I'd rather be watching reruns of Golden Girls

 

You sound like my brother, oddly he is 25 years old. He also has a signed script from an episode, not NOT joking

 

Just Kidding

 

Sadly I wasn't

 

He is also brilliant, near perfect SAT, I felt it was necessary to say this also because otherwise.........

[Dinerotrader 10]

You sound like my brother, oddly he is 25 years old. He also has a signed script from an episode, not NOT joking

 

 

Now that is a nice "show and tell" when you bring the ladies by the house. "Check out my signed Goldern Girls script." :rofl:

 

That is awesome! Thanks for sharing that Bathrobe.

[Dinerotrader 10]

All joking aside, if you become a consistently profitable trader then I will bust my butt to do the same. If I could spend 12 months studying charts, reading others' posts and studying on my own and be profitable, count me in!

 

I'll say this in my best Jeff Goldblum impersonation I can muster.

 

Ahh, the tough part is that you have to spend all that time/money NOT knowing if you will ever become profitable. There is the catch.

[TradeSmart 10]

I'll say this in my best Jeff Goldblum impersonation I can muster.

 

Ahh, the tough part is that you have to spend all that time/money NOT knowing if you will ever become profitable. There is the catch.

 

That impersonation was so accurate it's as if you wrote that sitting 20 feet away from me and acted it out at the same time. Seriously though, maybe I should spend more time on here (it's been a solid 6 months since I last posted) and if I read enough I may realize that trading for a living is possible with enough hard work and attention to detail.