When it came down to it, a disregard for getting out of bad positions (i.e. using stops) and a general lack of discipline (i.e. adding to losers) prevented me from reaching my goal in 2007. I am looking forward to this new year and the opportunities that arise. I will use this journal as a record of my successes and mistakes of 2008.
You have already done enough trading. No need to continue if your purpose is to learn. Let me explain myself: If you put a cat in a cage with a latched door, the cat, wanting to get out, will try many areas of the cage (trial and error) until finally locating the latch and opening the door and getting out. If you put the same cat in the same cage, the cat, wanting to get out, will go straight to the latch and get out in no time. Either you have found the latch, or the cage has no latch.
You are completely right! I have stopped trading some time ago when my results were not good. I concluded that it was not just due to some bad habits. The key point is that I used strategies that were simply not profitable. Time to step back and find a strategy that does have an edge. You don't necessarily have to put money on the line to find that out. I hope to start trading again in 2008, which would mean that I have found a winning strategy. Of course this is my wish for 2008 But if I don't, that's OK too. At least I still have my money in the bank.
Update for week ended 1/4/2008. Overall I am very happy with the holiday shortened week. By no means did I hit any home runs, but it felt good. When I felt myself disobeying my strategy, I would just pause to reflect or completely stop. Here is my activity for the week: Code: Date P/L ($) Pips Range Size Win Lose Scratch Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - - - - - - - Wednesday, January 02, 2008 $70.34 18.5 89.0 55,000 5 3 0 Thursday, January 03, 2008 $185.27 40.0 96.0 55,000 6 0 0 Friday, January 04, 2008 $23.59 8.5 26.0 55,000 2 1 0 --------------------------- Total for the week: $279.20 67.0 211.0 13 4 0 I like to keep track of the number of pips I get and the range for the period of time that I was trading. Simply put, the "Pips" column is the sum of the pips I gained or lost for all pairs for that day. The "Range" column is the sum of the range (high - low) for all pairs while I was trading (although a pair may move 100 pips in a day, I only grade my trading based on the limited hours I watch during the day).
AHA! use stops and don't add to bad positions. if you can do that, you won't lose so much, might break even, might even make a profit!
Right, but it can be a bit slippery sometimes - I want to use both hands and pry that bitch open this year . Really I think most everyone knows where their weakness lies... I am simply trying to ensure that the discipline becomes second nature to me.
hmmm, I see a bit of problem when juxtaposed with your previous post The problem is that instead of actually opening the latch, the cat has surmised that since the latch exists, It can be opened, and It can opened by me. Your nicely formatted columns are failing to give you meaningful information to assist you in gaining the "second nature" discipline. What was your setup? Where were your stops placed? Did you use stops? Did you need stops? Did you adjust them? What was your drawdown? (your tracking the entire pip range for your hold) What was your expectation? Did your expectation change midstream? Did the trade work exactly as you expected or were there times of angst? Why? Why not? Win/Loss ratio is meaningless. One trader can be highly profitable with a 20/80 ratio. Another trader can be a total failure with an 80/20 ratio. Your pretty columns do nothing to make you a better trader. The cat knows where the latch is, the cat has no idea how to unlatch it because he's never done it! The cat must unlatch the cage, in exactly the same way many times, before it is second nature. Osorico