Thanks traderNik. I definitely screwed myself this past month but am putting it behind me and will keep chugging along. By laying it out here I hope that it can be of help to myself and others. I had seriously considered not posting to this journal anymore in the hopes of it just going away, but didn't want to pretend to fool myself by sweeping it under the rug (and then just trip on it later). I don't expect to stop fucking up in the future, I just expect to limit the frequency and intensity of my faults.
Datamerc, I would not wish for you to go through any more pain than you have already, but I think this is an interesting journal, and I enjoy reading it. So thanks for posting here and I hope you keep it going.
Update for the week of 12/3/2007. I needed to jump back in the saddle. I traded 3 days this week and focused only on my discipline. I am trying out some software that automatically puts in stops for me (ZeroLine Trader). Stop orders have been my weakness and this software is helping me enforce that rule. Really wasn't concerned with P/L this week (up ~1%), just want to get control of myself.
Update for week ended 12/14/2007. Had ups and downs, but it felt decent overall. Using the software that automatically puts in the stops has allowed me to focus more on the right setups. Ended up adding a few percent to the bottom line. Next week I plan to demo ButtonTrader in lieu of ZeroLine Trader.
"2. Trading is like trying to fill a bucket with an eye dropper. Then when the bucket is almost full someone comes along and kicks the bucket over! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jaxon, any suggestions on how to stop tripping over my own bucket? " Empty the bucket before something kicks it over. For example when you make money tranfer it out to your bank acct. I trade stocks only.I have 28k capital.I f i make a trade and make 75$ or 300$ my balance will read 28075 or 28300...I immediately withdraw that money so my balance says 28000... i dont even wait til end of market....This keeps me conservative and reminds me that really im at zero and that im not some big fat cat which usually results in making careless trades since now i can 'afford ' to lose. From march to july i would keep bringing my balance up to 29.5 or 30k and then i would lose it all and end up at 28k again.I did this 3 times before i set up my acct so where i can ach transfer my cash out asap.Since then i have stopped breaking even.I am up 25% since july 1. When i lose on a trade and when acct goes sub 28k i trade more cautiously and remind myself to not do stupid risky trades only sure things and to wait patiently for opportunities. For example today there werent great opportuniies for me so i only did one trade and then said to myself i dont like the market today,i dont have a feel for it,I will just stay out unless there is a washout selloff.Well the washout selloff came but in the last hour and i generally dont like to open positions in the last hour and it was a friday.I felt leary about jumping in cause the downside risk was too high-ie like not getting the bounce....I was right.There was no real bounce but i could have still made 10 cents on a few trades that made weak rallies but i passed because the market could have had a meltdown and i would have been down dollars and not up pennies.
Everything in life is is evolving, and everyone is in a state of learning and growing everyday (the only ones who won't admit it are the people who think they know every thing ... ). This has been a great journal in showing the process a trader goes through to achieve success ... and in doing so, it explains why so few succeed at this game. The secret to your success will be in following your system to a "tee", there most definitely is a pot-o-gold at the end of this rainbow, but it can only be found by those who are mentally disciplined and emotionally strong. Good trading, Jimmy Jam
Thanks guys. Looking back, this journal could be a decent learning tool for people; although I believe everyone needs to experience their own pain in order to completely understand. I don't necessarily believe in karma, but it is rather ironic that November essentially erased the ill-gotten gains of Sept and Oct. By "ill-gotten" I am referring to the fact that many of those trades were the worst kind... profitable trades that were not done according to my strategy. Just a single profitable trade that is done outside of the boundaries of a person's strategy is a dangerous thing. It is almost intoxicating because it makes you feel above your own methods, smarter than your own system. That misconception is so overwhelming - I could see the train wreck coming, but was not strong enough to get out of the way. I am looking forward to 2008. I haven't decided whether to start a new journal here on ET, but if I do the title should be something like "My Goal for 2008: Trade My Strategy Well".
datamerc, Read the whole thread.. You did so well for so long, then One month??? I have a very similar pattern.. The only resolution I can imagine to this seemingly common pattern is to withdraw the winnings from the primary account.. Not done it seems even the best traders out there eventually step on "that" mine. The fuller the "bucket" the greater the losses.. Sooo.. given you WILL step on the mine.. stay light. The hardest aspect to deal with is any amount of gain over the longest time can be completely lost in the shortest time frame without money management. Good luck!
Thanks retire45. This year, I never withdrew any of the profits because I wanted to get to get the account balance back to break-even and, for that reason, didn't want to intentionally lower my equity. Obviously that didn't work for me, so in 2008 I will withdrawal 25% of the profits on a monthly basis.
Update for week ended 12/21/2007. Only had a chance to trade 2 mornings this week. Added about one percent to the bottom line. One of the days is a great example of how I want to be: It was a losing day (in fact both trades were losers that day) but it felt great because I followed my strategy perfectly and I was able to take the loss without hesitation.