You wrote, "Then why the hell were you sweating a few bad GC trades?" Ahh, you are observant. Have you noticed me talking about GC lately? I have NOT traded it actively in 2020. 2019, I took some heavy losses in GC. That experience and thanks to your encouragement to stop trading GC that's why I stopped. Just because I have multiple accounts doesn't mean I want to blow them up! Stop doing what is NOT working is always a smart decision. Then starting in Sept 2019 onwards I focused exclusively on equities and trading MNQs. Since then it has been less stressful. I've evolved a lot as a trader since my old postings about GC and hogs and NG here on ET. I even stopped trading NG too. LOL. NG used to be a my favorite futures to trade. Still constantly evolving. You wrote, "Do yourself a favor and forget the pipedream of the ESPN. Slow and steady wins the race. Always." I've a white collar professional job and daytrade on the side. So steadily cranking out the the low 4 figures P&L until I'm good enough for the mid 4 figures and the 5 figures day. No dreams of grandeur. If I can consistently crank out mid 4 figures days then I don't think I need any hedge fund backing. You wrote,"You're going to be mad as hell at me when I post my next journal update. It's just sad." WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME? Traded GC?!! You better NOT man!
Wow, I really didn't expect too many replies. I'm glad my failure make you guys happy...just joking. I have an excel file that recorded my P&L since day one - 4.5 years ago. It really hurts to think about all that money I have lost, and all the time I have wasted. I burned accounts faster and faster. My first one is the most successful one, from 26K to 22K, then back to 29K. One day I had my biggest loss - 9K+, after that I keep losing, big and small...I hate the PDT rule, because of it I need to fund 26K account, because of it after my account dropped below 25K, I turned to future, future options... I stopped trading for 6 months, I swore not to trade ever again. The worst part of trading is that I neglected my real job, as a result, as a desperate move, I funded my last (current) account with loan. I wish I've never started trading in the first place, life was good, really good before that. Unfortunately I'm the most impatient person, I lack self-discipline more than anyone in the world, I always thought it's the psychology part that made me lose, recently I realized it's not, not understanding the market is the real perpetrator. I think I get the trading thing, I kinda know how the market develops, I become calm and patient. It's a bit late though, I have to use very tight stop loss, with the current volatility it's hard. I have a 10% loss limit setup on the server side, if I lose $30, I can't open new positions. Anyway, let's forget about the past. My biggest problem: I don't know when to stop, if I make 10, I want to make 20; if I make 20, I want to make 50. It's even harder for me to accept loss, if I'm at a loss, I will trade until the last minute. Countless small loss days were turned into big ones. Why is it so hard to call it a day, win or lose? $271 as of now.
Most traders fail. Some traders make a living. Only a few traders make a killing. You have had a rough start and from the numbers you state you were trading too aggressively for a new trader. Learning to walk before you run is important. I have blown up accounts early in my career and they were huge learning points for me. It took me 2 blowups for me to commit to putting risk management above profit. Learning to cut losses when you need to is important. Even more important is figuring out what is an edge and what is just hope. You didn't blow up giant accounts or anything that would ruin your life. Those tax loss carryovers would be a nice benefit towards future gains. So, the real question is are you cut out for trading full time or part time? Chances are dollar cost averaging into investments will beat the average trader so if you question your ability to turn your trading career around I would suggest taking this path. Good luck. Getting punched in the face sucks.
My question is: If you've blown up 5-6 accounts, and just blew up your 7th -26k, when your account net liq was down lets say 50% to 13k, did you revise and ponder that this account is well on its way to blowing up as well as those others? Do you have a position sizing problem? (scaling losers, too big % risk per capita etc) or is it mental? You definitely aren't risk averse. So what do you think is the problem with your method?
Just give up. Don't waste what little sanity you have on a tiny ass account. Focus on your career. Pay off that loan asap
I knew a guy a few years back. That was him right there. Wouldn't give up 'til the bell rang and he had to give up. If he started out the day to the good he would usually have a decent day. But if he started the day with a loss he no longer focused on trading the market. He focused on getting that loss back. If that is your focus, then not much you can do but fold shop, imo. He did, as his wife finally refused to fund yet another account for him (she was the earner in the house). If I were down to my last $300, and rather than whiskey and a hooker I decided to keep trading, I'd open up one of those Robinhood accounts and stalk an option trade(s). Or, as others suggested, swing trade some stocks. Trading futures in this volatility with a small capital isn't likely to end well. Hen the micros are moving $50 to $100 in the space of minutes. I'd put that money in a zero commish account and either swing stocks - even a few shares can get you into the "swing of things." And then, if I saw a good play where I could lever up using an option contract, I'd put it on black. And there is always whiskey and that hooker.
It's not all a money machine. Gotta account for losses and flat days. Sometimes the market might not have the opportunities for you to capitalize on. But honestly, I believe there are great opportunities every single day. You just need to keep improving your skills to capture those moves.