Should We Help Traders Become Profitable?

Discussion in 'Journals' started by Spectra, Apr 1, 2007.

  1. People ask me how I can keep an upbeat view when so many traders fail. For every woeful message I receive from a PureTick user, I get 10 inspirational e-mails. Here's one Alex received today from a user who has been struggling with his trading for years.

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    Hello Alex,

    Just a note to thank you again for pulling me away from the edge of the
    cliff. As you probably remember, a few weeks before I joined puretick I was ready to cash it in,
    admit defeat and move on. I was around $700 away from having my trading
    privileges suspended. That would've been the end since I had no intention of
    refunding the account (and still don't). Though not out of the woods yet,
    I'm much further away from my account's "death zone" now, about $1700 away.
    In fact, after examining my statements for March I have noted two things:

    1) total of six loss days, the rest winners;

    2) the loss days show the largest losses near the beginning of the month,
    and generally become progressively more contained as the month progresses.

    To be sure the gains are now smaller, but they are more consistent now, as
    opposed to large profit one day and give it and more back the next. I'm
    actually keeping most of my profit now! No net gain for all of March (loss
    of $1.11), but the low point of the month (and of my trading career) was
    over $1300 below that! That was when you sent me that email where you made
    the point about taking money from people who don't respect themselves.
    Seemed that things started to change for me after that, though I really
    don't remember the change in mindset that made it possible. Could've been
    your note! In any case it is worth noting that the first 7 trading days of
    the month show my usual pattern of relatively large gains on a given day,
    followed by a large or largER loss the following day(s). By contrast the
    last two-thirds of the month shows the smaller, consistent gains with only
    one loss. And that loss was large only because I went stupid on myself again
    on the fomc day, breaking a lot of rules and taking the consequences for it.

    Bottom line, March may be the first break even month since the consecutive
    loss months started I think last September. This is a very significant
    change for me and it points to a much better April, providing I trade the
    way you are teaching us to trade. I trade differently now since I began
    trusting your methods, and you are definitely teaching me how to break
    destructive old habits. I am doing mostly one-contract trades, with an
    occasional 2nd added when appropriate. When my account shows an additional
    $1000 of net gain, then I might do add-on of a second contract with a larger
    percentage of trades in a given day. That is because, based on the numbers
    from the last two-thirds of March (the consistent days) I have not been able
    to average much more than a net (after commissions) of $100/day.

    With regard to charting I have signed up for a free 1-month trial of
    esignal, but it likely won't be ready for monday's trading as I have to
    download it. 6-hrs+ download time for dialup so after trading tomorrow I
    have to go to the community center (open weekdays only) to use their
    wireless high speed internet to do the download.

    You have convinced me that it is possible to make consistent income from
    this tough market, without having to give it all back on the "bad" days. And
    so, "I live to trade another day". A thousand thanks Alex, and I'll see you
    tomorrow in the room.
    ---ces