I'm posting this thread purely for selfish reasons: 1 to track my progress and 2 maybe someone on Wall St will notice me someday and give me a couple million to trade. Until that time, I'll just stay in a basement trading 1-3 lots on the midcap. I've been trading for 7-8 years and for most of the past trading I've done something wrong. I finally got it this time. It took me all that time to figure out how to trade properly as I had no help and I trade in my spare time/sometimes I can't focus bc of other obligations. I have 180k in cash to screw around with. I plan on posting weekly. Happy new year and trading.
9 - 13 Jan 200 , (345) , 155 , (230), 375 Mon and Wed I'm pretty sure those could have been held for 3-400$ each. Amazingly, I messed up on Tue. Beautiful trend from the open which I did buy into. Saw most of the continuation but just let it go. I always think, it's too late, it's too late. Way over traded on Thur. I had the short near the open but scratched it. I traded 16 contracts (usually around 1-3 trades for the day). I also caught the reversal, and cashed out for about 100$... The midcap closed 14~ points up from where I bought. Left about 500$ on the table today on my opening trade, but the movement was crazy fast so I jumped out. In 12 seconds I was up 375 after buying pre open. The wait was killing me. I almost exited pre open... I have been watching NG in addition to EMD but often the trades are usually early around 0700 my time. Of course I have to get ready for work around then...
16 - 20 Jan (60) , - , (170) ,300, (680) Boy what a frustrating week. Shouldn't have tried to trade monday as it was a light day for the Holiday. Tue I had another obligation. Wed Skipped a couple good trades, finally took one. Didn't hold long enough. Over traded. Thur did well, but didn't hold long enough. Didn't take any of the continuation sells after morning reversal. Fri wayyy over traded. Had the initial way right, then kept trying to get in later.
(80), 275, 215, 205, (354) Patience is a virtue for a reason. The only way for me to make my living doing this will be to learn patience. Mon I left 800 on the table Tue I left 1000+ on the table Wed I left 400 on the table Didn't sell on Thur as I was up already Sold many times on Fri but never held Realized last weekend if I had been watching the commitments of traders in Jan 2016, I could already be a millionaire.
-, 160, 260, 30, 180 These are before commission which are around 5$ a round turn. No trades Monday, I had an previous obligation. Tue, I should have taken some of the afternoon continuation I saw. After I make money on the day I don't want to over trade and give it back. Wed went long at the open was up and therefore didn't take any of the sells. Quit Early on Thur, I had previous obligation. I had on trades that went at least 4/500+ Fri was scary. I was long at the open, and tried to exit when I was at around 250+, but my platform didn't get me out even though it dinged. I kept spamming the exit button but nothing. Luckily got out with 180, but of course I could have held that trade all day. Saw all the continuation but didn't take any of them. Last month I made money, which is huge considering it's been a while.
Congrats on your success, patience and under trading is a virtue. Many simple don't trade on Fridays as they find it hardest day to trade, are usually tired from the stresses of trading, I use to have a rule that if I was up on close of Thursday for the week, no trading on Friday. I did that for handful of years long ago till I honed my skills. Also, I have kept good stats of my trading, I know by the hour and by the day that if I go past certain number of trades, I make matters worse. I believe there are cycles and my methods work most of the time, but when they don't work cause of this cycling, I will grind it out till I make enough to cover fees and quit for the day. Now most of what I have is automation, but have developed a couple systems, so testing them out after I done enough back testing to know they should continue to work forward, have best buddy programming them, I don't seem to have the skills any more or patience to code, another thing in life you lose if you don't keep doing it, LOL. I never even think about money on the table, I like to think positive and what I don't get is negative so why think about the coulda's-either make it better, coming out profitable on the week is super. Cause for most part am a scalper, so I have small targets and reach a goal, no matter what time it is, am done on the day, so it has become more of a job to get it done, then back test something else. Have you done MAE and MFE back tests, they can help on risk and targets, if trading 2-3, take off 65% off at target and have a runner. I base this on your results of bigger losses than profitable days. Midcap is sort of like Russell or crude oil, runs hard one way then runs other way hard, most of it fits BB20, 2 going from one side to other in chop. It is a market I have traded a great deal manually and now automated. Once in a blue moon get 5-600 move on day trading methods, but scalping is nice as well as getting a buck, just can't do volume, even a ten lot can hurt, really hurt $100 plus per on the getting out. It is a market you learn how to use stop limits, LOL.
My best month ever (very lucky) was trading 5-6 lots on TF in 2014. I remember a lil of what I was doing - I would take off a few if it went my way a bit, then let the rest ride. It was a 'easier' psychologically than trading a 1 lot. Having 5 on is more pressure, but once you reduce it a bit, and have eliminated some risk you're more comfortable. I'm only doing 1 on EMD still. The psychological pain I have from my losses last 2 years really cut deep, but I needed it. I completely reworked my method. Ringing in my head is what you put in one of my threads a while ago, "I have trouble figuring out what you determine the trend to be." I was only counter trend trading up until a few months ago, and now I am completely with trend. Most of the time I am sitting out, but I am almost always leaving hundreds on the table either in trades I had on or in ones I see and skip. Clearly, my results show that I often just take 2 points. Most of the time there is no actual price action to flag an exit. I just get out bc of something in my head. The Midcap has frequent 10-15 pt swings. The only way to make serious money at this is holding. As soon as I am confident in myself, I will be back at 3-5 which which will make it 'easier' to hold longer. Trading is almost too easy for me now. I love it so much that if I miss a day, I get pissed. I'd rather be at my computer and lose money on Friday than be doing something I don't care about (most other things I have to on Friday).
(460), (90), -, -, (40) Had a lot going on this week. Several days of no trades and very interrupted trading days. Anyway, had on a position in natural gas that would have made about 2k Mon or Tue and I scratched it as it went my way.
I started going long Nat Gas in 2009 long term, it will go 10k and I take partial profits then eventually get stopped out on remainder of positions, but it is a systems been doing since 1992, and trailing stops don't work well at all, so after I get stopped out, I go long again again again and hedged. Got long that stuck in March 16 and added on few times, still long. Like to see it go above 11, eventually it will, don't know what year. Yep, trading can be more fun in earlier in your career as you are building, later in life, it is different and fun is more along the lines of building new systems and concentrating on risk or losing much less.