8/11/11 Gross: +142 Shares: 10,000 Net: +97 ---------------------------- Well.... Today's results are an example of how I have absolutely no experience in this kind of market. I found great trades, I had no idea how good they would be. My mentality for a volatile market is to take profits before the market takes them away. There were a few points where the market seemed like it wanted to sell off and break the uptrend. I suppose I should have expected a bounce even though I am bearish. But I have never seen the S&P move like this. I can't believe we closed at highs after that big of a move. So be it. I read the tape fine, I just had no idea the market was capable of this. I can understand -5% days due to the force of fear, but +5 or 6% ??? New to me, I wasn't here for the 2008 crash. Could have had a great day, but I didn't attack positions, they required more risk that I like to give trades. Market was up big, but I wouldn't call it EASY. I've had easier days. I'm just not used to the market taking price that far. Phew. All these idiots buying highs are gonna get smoked. ----------------------- Notable trades: 1. SLE - SLE set up at 16.50. Did not bounce with market. Tried to break, failed and boom, blasted up. I shorted 16.50 but immediately covered when it failed. Another trade took the long and was handsomely rewarded for my callout. 2. Bought POT down at 53.18, sold at an average of like 53.50. Only had piker size, was unable to capture more of the move. Grrrrr, I took the trade because agricultural stocks had relative strength in the morning, and some selling sweeps were holding POT back from his friends. Eventually the market blasted and the ags ran and the selling ended. 3. Tried shorting DRI up at around 48. Hahaha, any other day it would have probably been a decent idea, but it held up as the market chose not to roll over, and the MA's caught up and stopped me out. It was actually a sick long setup, ugh. 4. Shorted MOS up at 65, again expecting some resistance. I covered in the 64.50s and 64.60s, turned out to be a winner. I went to lunch, came back and the market made new highs along with MOS. hahaha good outs 5. Bought MCP on a dip to 53. Sold after 40 cents. Did not catch the second dip, wish I did. 6. ARUN - UGHHHH. ARUN had a level at 21.50. It broke, I watched, it failed, then it broke above again, looked stronger as bids came in. I bought 59s, not good prices, wasn't happy about it. However it began to work. Market was strong. ARUN pulled back to 47 cents, stopped me out and ran. God damn it. I wanted to buy this before the level but I hesitated. 7. Tried some other shorts near the end of the day PRE - The short worked but I was too early, too many morons buying highs. BSFT - Stock was making new highs as the market was finally rolling over. Finally a decent looking trade. Shorted at 31, covered at 68 a minute before the close. ------------ Got piker size all day. It just seems with the markets as crazy as they are, CLEAN setups are hard to find, which are what I usually attack. I way to get size seems to be to come up with an idea, and buy dips. You have to be more anticipatory than usual. So, in the POT trade, I could have bought dips at around 53 and below to get acceptable risk for more size. I KNEW it was going higher, I was just afraid of lame jigs. Same thing with ARUN, could have been anticipatory and gotten more size at better prices. Wanted to get bigger in BSFT, but after 2 failed attempts at shorting highs, I was not as confident. ------------------ Tomorrow is another day. I do NOT expect another +5% day.
8/12/11 Gross: -91 Shares: 12,600 Net: -147 ---------------------------------- What a terrible day for day trading lol. I had a chance to leave +50 net, but I went for the GS short at the end of the day which screwed me, TWICE. Crappy action all over, I basically gamed for dimes all day long, ground some profits out, but game em all away to GS. It looked like the market could breakdown, led by the financials, I took the trade before the 115.50 break, since GS likes to jig, and thwack, the market and financials bounced, screwing me. Later, it did break the level, and screwed me again. You could have made money playing around in MCP today. The only good SETUP today was in LULU. I took that trade, but bailed when buying absolutely dried up in the 20s. I took my profits since I had bought 11s. As soon as I got out, BAM, LULU blasted up to 70 cents. LOL. Owned. No trades to talk about, the market was absolute garbage today. I screwed up LULU, which turned out to be easy if you just let it go. Got ripped in GS, twice. Gave away a full day of grinding in 2 trades lasting like 1 minute each haha. -------------------- That all being said, I was due for a real down day. I shouldn't have pressed it to the close today, but I must admit I expected more afternoon weakness. I thought we'd get some selling before the weekend. I could have been more anticipatory with the GS trade, but today's major error was the LULU. I bailed from a trade for P&L woes... Overtraded today as well. The crappy market brought out bad habits in me, it brought out the chase for performance. -------------------------- August stats so far: Gross: +1077 Net: +725 % winners: 42% Reward / Risk : 1.73 I've definitely been eager on the profit taking, today drastically lowered my R:R ratio due to the high amount of scalping and dime catching. I suppose it is predictable that my win rate is higher due to me taking profits sooner than normal. Whatever, next week we will refocus, be selective, size up where you can, decide profit points before the trade. Today's lesson: avoid trading in a crappy day trading market. All this scalping crap that drove up my share count is not part of my trading plan.
Great thread Kurt, and love your personal story tidbits. Just curious, who do you prop trade with in the Los Angeles area, and which firms did you have to choose from? Go Anteaters!
ZOT ZOT ZOT You can PM me to learn my firm. There are not many firms out here, most of them are shady. Yeah I haven't been posting any personal stuff lately. Basically nothing has changed. Still in love and heartbroken. Her boyfriend is a total bozo, it makes me look down on myself when I think about how she chose him over me. This makes it hard to be myself around her, because I feel lame. Been leaving the personal stuff out to try and focus on my trading, but who's kidding, I think about it all day. Profits do help the pain, but then a day like today slams me. However, I know today was just a crappy market. Earnings season is over, so now the real test comes. Can I continue to be relatively consistent and improve my stats outside of earnings season? It will take great discipline. It takes much more patience, which sucks since I can't trade all day, 5 days a week. I made a goal to ask out 2-3 other girls this month but so far I haven't asked out any. Getting rejected for that guy drained the confidence I had left. I'm left with only the markets, and the hope that once I make it out of this mess, she will give me a chance. To move on is to lose my hope, my engine. I do love her, through and through, and I know love because this is the second time in my life I've been in love. Sometimes she says things that make me feel bad about myself. Other times she complements me but I can't accept what she says. I have been teaching a friend to play table tennis. I am a very good table tennis player. If you youtube professional table tennis, I can do all that. I don't play ping pong, I play table tennis. It has been good to get exercise, and to feel competition outside of the markets. Maybe it has had an impact on my trading? I have found a balance of selectivity and trade management that works for me. Unfortunately, I can't seem to size up. I make excuses. "Oh I don't want to risk 20 cents on 800 shares when I can get 100-200 and add on a dip, etc" "Oh I'll try and get a good start with piker size so that I have money to risk for a trade with size" "I want to grind my account up right now, I'll get size later" Not getting size is about the worst thing a day trader can do. You NEED to size up when the trade calls for it. You NEED size to properly manage trades. For a while, I was sizing up, and everything I got size in failed. EVERYTHING. Perhaps the results of those trades conditioned my brain to avoid it. Size = Pain It's much like the situation with the girl. I should just man up and kiss her, or at least stop being so defeated. If you go for it, sure you can feel pain, but if it works the benefits greatly outweigh the pain. ElecEquity made a great point. 'Size up when you know what you're doing.' If a trade has good R:R parameters, a good setup, etc, it is still just a gamble. However, if a trade has factors in its favor. If you have edge, if you have a greater understanding of what is going on beyond the setup and price action, you can attack it with much more conviction. Does this mean one should only man up with a female when he knows he has a great shot? Well sure, when you have a reason to be confident. But what if there are factors in the way? A 500k offer in a dead stock? Well, obviously you wait for volume to come in and take out the size. Or, you put in a buy stop above the offer, and move on to search for other opportunities. If the wall is broken, you have a shot. Be patient, know there is potential there, but continue searching for other opportunities. That trade is the only trade if you sit there like a doofus and watch a bunch of computers screw with each other below the offer. That girl is the only girl if you sit there like a doofus and dwell on something that is NOT going to work at THIS exact moment. Well, I wish love was as easy to deal with as trading. She told me today that if I learned to play the violin like the guy in the movie "The Red Violin," she would totally do me. Can you believe that on my car ride home I was actually thinking of buying a violin and taking lessons!?!?!!? HAHAHAHA. There is a girl that works near me, she's way beautiful and I think she's within my reach. I think she's italian too, and she looks sad as much as I do. She dresses nice like me, I think we'd be good together, but this whole situation has snipped my balls off. There are 2 parties this weekend, but what's the point? I guess getting drunk makes the weekends pass by quicker so that I can get back to the markets. Alcohol also lubricates my mind, helps me turn my swag on, and turn off the massive analysis. Well, I'm done typing, I will continue to be heartbroken, I will continue to be selective and apply great focus on improving my profit taking techniques. I will continue to give table tennis lessons. If I can produce good results in my trading during the off season, I will be in great shape for next earnings season.
Let me give you some advice that I'm sure you are too "stewed" to take right now.......but please save this post and try it some day ! YOUR WASTING YOUR FUCKING TIME WITH AMERICAN BITCHES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have the WHOLE world out there that is filled with truly good girls.....who really would appreciate you ! I suffered the same as you for years dealing with truly sick American bitches.....one day I finally woke up and decided to look around and see what is available......I am a fulltime trader...I daytrade TF everyday...and do well......I am from Las Vegas, but I have been living for the last 5 years in Ukraine, I can tell you from personal experience that the girls here in Ukraine....Russia......Brazil......Thailand....and China.....are completely different !!! True "family values" honesty......devotion......dedication.......I wasted 20 years on American women !! Not knowing any better. Do your self a favor and atleast check it out ! Good luck to you !
LOL...the more you work towards getting one the others getting away. Story of my life lmao, sacrafice Kurt! Sacrafice!