Hi Laissez Faire, Margin call is my disaster stop. I would sell just enough shares to meet margin (has happened before). Day in day out stop is indicator based, as they say, I think. I need to keep size small at least until markets have really, really, really, really, really… sold off Goal is not to exceed 25% exposure, where 100% is at risk of margin call.
I need to avoid thinking "position trade" because it usually doesn't end well when I started it as a short term trade . Otherwise large account quickly can become small account.
And we have lift off! Holding these to the close. Trying to get back to my high water mark (And then some).
Here's where I stand for those who may be wondering. Account took a recent huge 50% DD, and then I rode it all the way back up to approach my high water mark. The upside is that I didn't get a margin call, LOL. Let's see if I can be more careful. Account value at market of $320,887 was marked-to-market at end of January including open positions. Now I am sitting at 365K.
So, you basically repeated the same mistake as the last time you took a major hit? I.e., holding large unrealized losses through a market drop? I'm glad you survived and then some, but clearly this is a blow-up waiting to happen. Large stops will give you a high win rate, but requires only one bad trade to give it all away.
Thanks for the reminder Laissez Faire. Yes the market was forgiving this time. This should be a stark reminder of what can happen.
Your journal annoys me, only in this facet... You do not realize the gold mine you are sitting on, with that cash balance. With recent market volatility over the past few months (and dare I say, years), you can simply swing a single contract in NQ (or ES) and make buku bucks, without all this messy layering in on micros to the point where you are overlevering on the micros and find yourself with 50% DD on a 360K account. Just ONE mini contract is all you need, man!
It's a bit concerning that it happened twice in a row in such a short period of time. I have a hunch the money on the long side won't be as easy and risk free this year as it's been in prior years. I've blown a few smaller accounts doing similar mistakes, i.e., trading too large and not taking the stop. Sometimes it works great, but eventually it doesn't. I'd hate to see it happen with that handsome account of yours, unless you're already filthy rich and this is play money.
Could you please post your performance summery showing slippage and commission....Thanks! I tried running my strategy on the micros using 10 plus contracts and it was not worth it due to slippage. When I run 2 mini contracts i get better results.. Just curious what your looks like.