Wait. How do they know you are writing a journal? And how will they know if you write a journal in the evening from home with an alias? Does your firm actually read ET? I highly doubt that. Hell even hitman came back as another alias at some point. Although I think it was to sell. LOL.
What a shame, I just discovered your journal and have been reading through it and now tonight is your last entry. Best of luck with your trading.
They found it online I guess, I don't know. I got in trouble. If anyone ever wants to talk trading you can reach me by messaging me here. or here is my contact info: AIM = Zzzfilesk1 facebook = facebook.com/kurthsmetana Best method is facebook
Kurt, Just discovered your journal, sad to hear you won't be able to post it anymore. I think it was very helpful for new traders like me. I noticed you've mentioned that commissions eat quite a bit of your profits. You said you'll be paying $2 / 1000 shares. Does this mean you get 100% payout and just pay $2 / 1000 shares? Because the prop firm I signed up is giving me a 60% payout plust I pay the ECN fees. So yours sound like a better deal to me. Tim
So you have no commission? Honestly, no commission with low payout is probably better for new traders. ECN fees will be small since you add liquidity 30% - 40% of the time. When you start, you don't want to worry about commission costs, they will eat you alive in the beginning. Once you start making good money gross, then start paying commission and going for the higher payout. I did it backwards, and I paid for it.
No I don't pay any commissions, just ECN fees and platform fee but I don't think my payout rate is that great. I'm hearing from others traders that they're getting 85% to 95% payout. So still not sure if I got a good deal or not. I'm trying to add liquidity, still working on that. Sometimes I think I've added but it turns out I haven't.
What is your payout? The broker has to make money somehow. If you don't pay commission, you have to give them some P&L. If you are profitable, you want to keep more of your P&L. If you are mediocre or still learning, etc, you want lower commissions, imo.
Can't discuss trading. I'll just say I've lost money every single day since I had to quit writing my journal... Suffering a drawdown. Momentum destroyed by the software switch and murder of my journal. Mixed messages from my love. I get hope, then I get pounded, time and time again. Applied to a customer service job at a broker in LA. It would pay me enough money to move closer to the trading floor, letting me save money on gas. I'm overqualified for it, hopefully they give me an interview. Not feeling confident anymore, not going to attack the market. I feel lost and edgeless. It seems every time things go good, the universe finds a way to smack me. Series 56 costs, platform switches, love life misery, etc etc. I was hoping to continue the good trading into September, looks like I have to sit back, trade light size, and be super super selective until I feel things click again. I wish I could talk about trading here, I can't describe how frustrating and silly my losses have been. Might as well just trade lightly and very tight until earnings season. I think earnings season will provide a lot of opportunity as companies beat or miss. Prices will have good movement due to where the market is.