Best day vs. worst day P&L

Discussion in 'Trading' started by Peblo, Feb 11, 2020.

  1. Peblo

    Peblo Guest

    What should your best trading day in terms of net P&L be in comparison to your worst day? Is it OK if your best day is only slightly better than your worst one?
     
    murray t turtle likes this.
  2. tiddlywinks

    tiddlywinks

    If your worst day is say plus $500 and your best day is say plus $1000, I see no real problem.
    OTOH, if your worst day is minus $500 and your best day is near breakeven or less, something is amiss.

    If best and worst day are extremely similar amounts, and that remains for an extended period of time, it could be indicative of a system with no edge whatsoever... 50/50 at best, or just dumb luck right place right time at worst.

    In REALITY, there is no best/worst day comparison. It is merely a "fun" metric that has meaning to the particular trader only. It should not to be confused with MFE/MAE or any other metric with the ability to highlight the onset or specifics of failure.
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2020
    comagnum likes this.
  3. Sekiyo

    Sekiyo

    In the end what’s ok is to be profitable over time.

    1. Stay in the game.
    2. Be profitable.

    Now ... If your worst day < best day.
    You need less best days than worse ones.
     
  4. Peblo

    Peblo Guest

    My best day is about 1,2x better than the worst one. With the way I approach trading it is near impossible to have mega-winning days like some people brag about. I guess it suits my personality - more stable P&L fluctuations
     
  5. DevBru

    DevBru

    My best day is around 4 times more than my worst day. However i must add that on that particular day i took more risk than average, i saw a very good opportunity (scalp based on fundamentals) and i took it with some extra risk, it paid off.
     
  6. traider

    traider

    Which instrument is this?
     
  7. taowave

    taowave

    If you are short vol,1 to 1 is a home run
     
    samuel11 and Magic like this.
  8. MarkBrown

    MarkBrown

    I was long the big sp when 911 hit so ... that was my worst couples weeks waiting for the market to open.

    within weeks of the market reopen i gained it all back.
     
  9. schizo

    schizo

    Best day and worst day comparison doesn't tell you much. These days, in particular, one hardly needs any trading skills to have so-called best days. Lately, we've had raging trending sessions from the open to the close. Rather you should focus on consistency.
     
    jys78 and DevBru like this.
  10. DevBru

    DevBru

    This particular trade was on gold, right after FOMC release.
     
    #10     Feb 11, 2020