Day trader at a Prop firm who is seeking consistency. I think that by keeping a history of my trading exploits each day it will force me to review my trading performance and to hopefully improve over time. I'm a complete discretionary trader using charts and reading the tape for entry and exits. No overnight positions and never trade pre or post market. I prefer to trade high volume stocks where I can take decent size 5k-30k. On certain stocks like Citi I will take up to 100k positions. I prefer stocks that move 5-30c a day but I will trade where ever the action is. I have been on Elite since I started trading 2 years ago. I have never really posted but I have created a new account to keep this thing kind of anonymous. Although I'm sure those I trade with may recognize me. Feedback, questions and comments are welcome but I don't want any of the annoying drivel that I see on many threads
This is a summary of my month to date: Date: 01/12/10 Net P&L: $3,042 Balance: $3,042 Date: 02/12/10 Net P&L: (157) Balance: ($3,200) Date: 03/12/10 Net P&L: $2,216 Balance: ($984) Date: 06/12/10 Net P&L: $1,095 Balance: $112 Date: 07/12/10 Net P&L: $2,254 Balance: $2,366 Date: 08/12/10 Net P&L: $1,149 Balance: $3,515 Date: 09/12/10 Net P&L: $357 Balance: $3,872 Date: 10/12/10 Net P&L: $927 Balance: $4,800 Largest contributers to my P&L are $3k in C, $2k AIB, $1k IRE and ($1k) BAC
*In case it wasn't clear the first day was a large negative... worst in a while. I started trading yesterday but noticed a lot of chop and didn't see any clear direction. Days like these are ones where you can lose a lot of $$ without trying. I decided that this is exactly what I was going to be doing and so I left. Good decision I think
Date: 10/12/10 Net P&L: $1400 Month to date: $6,200 +$600 C - I noticed it was a weak opening on Financials with the SPYs slowly heading higher financials couldn't get any traction. I have avoided the open for the past week or so but this time I took the trade. Really should have covered my 30k short from $4.795 down @ $4.77 but felt we needed to go further. It inevitably shook me out @ .79. Ended up shorting .77 later and made an easy few cents but never as much as I should have. Disappointing day on this stock considering the opportunities available. +$800 XLF - When I noticed Citi started showing signs of weakness again and BAC had a decent size pull back I jumped in to short XLF @ ?.79 for 15k.... it chopped around for a little while putting in a decent level @ .78 however looking @ financials I felt it had to head lower. As the SPYs pulled back I got the move down to cover 10k@ .73 and 5k @ .74. I was waiting to see if it would go further but it chopped for a while. After the FOMC there was a lot of fake outs and I decided to avoid the mess. However this meant I missed the good short financials trade @ the end of the day. As it was going down I just didn't believe it and couldn't find a place to get in. Its another green day above $1k. Putting together a decent run compared to a few months ago. I'm concious that this volume will drop off at some point before Christmas and I don't want to be caught holding the bag racking up the ECN fees. So I'm taking each day at a time. January & February were bad months for me last year so I can't afford to give anything back when the market is decent
Date: 15/12/10 Net P&L: $1100 Month to date: $7,300 C - $1,300. By far one of the easiest trades I have taken in C for a while. Unlike yesterday where I just sat and watched the melt down I took a short @ $4.62 after it had formed a nice base. Low risk of a pop and plenty of room below especially if it broke the $4.60. It looked like it wasn't going to break for a while but then just started going prior to the market breaking down as well. Financials as a whole really took a sh!t. Just waited it out and covered the 20k @ $4.57 for $1,000. The low ended up being $4.55. It made a couple of nice moves up and down but I only played it a little. Trying to only be in it for the clear cut moves. BAC - ($200) - really got to stop playing this stock as the chop kills you. Looked like it was setting up for a break out of the range but it never came. Lost a bit avoided taking a decent size loss on it. Been doing that really well lately... cutting the losers very quickly. AIB - $100 - stuffed up with this one as I missed a really good break out in IRE / AIB. Should have made a huge trade but sat there watching it. Missing this move and getting caught in the chop after is what really prompted me to take C trade later in the day so I guess I'm learning. Been taught so often by a sh!tty market that there are no break up or break downs but got to get that out of my head because stocks are moving at the moment. Another green day with hardly any risk taken...
Date: 16/12/10 Net P&L: $1,000 Month to date: $8,300 Looked like it was going to be a choppy day... took a couple of trades and they all basically cancelled each other out. SIRI looked like it was going to break down big time but somehow recovered and was unchanged on the day. Something I have done really well of late has been not trading for 90% of the time and waiting for the moves to happen. When I saw a large market sell order come into BAC and then it to start trading lower I got short in C thinking it would do the same. Took 20k @ $4.60 and wanted to wait and see what happened. I was willing to add if I liked the market action. I then heard about V and MC making a big move down and saw BAC heading even lower with the XLF following. So I held C even though the stock specific action was not good as there was no selling... there was no buying either so I kept it. It started to work out and I shorted 10k more @ $4.58. Held until I saw the market start to up-tick. NOTHING brings this market down these days... Covered the 30k @ $4.56... couldn't have got much better... maybe EAB @ $4.55. This was the low and it retraced back up to .58 -.59 at the end of the day. Thats 22 out of 24 trading days positive now and it probably my best stats for that sort of stuff even though $$$ I have made a lot more in 1 day then the past 24. Green Green Green... no red for Christmas please. Going to trade tomorrow due to triple or Quad witching but I see the market being dead next week so might take the rest of the year off.
Hey, I understand the feeling. It seems like the first day of the month is more prone for these kinds of blowouts (mine was first trading day of Nov). It probably has to do with the fact that we're back to "zero" on a new month and we're trying to get the ball rolling too quick i.e. taking trades too aggressively and/or trades that aren't there, etc. Hang in there
Hey, yeah that's exactly it. You know what I have always been told... Much better to take that big loss at the start of the month rather then the end. Obviously better to avoid it all together though. It hurt but it was my fault... I took size on a choppy day
Very slow day on Friday despite quad witching. Missed a couple of good moves on Citi but I couldn't make much sense of it so I decided to stay away from it once I started shorting a clear up trend. Never a good thing to do and caught myself without losing much. Played a couple of the additions and deletions to S&P... Scams as usual with the stocks going up even though they were getting deleted hahaha ($150) month balance: $8,150