Day 18 what a CRAZIE day..? Gap up early morning, then sold off on GDP numbers and then at the open.. it rocketed up, up, up.. . & up... then it came back, and went back up again only to finish at the highs of the day. Everything looks so clear when you look back on the day. Yeah, I could've definitely traded a lot better....a LOT better # of Disasters: 1 The market will always let you in on the losers; the market's job is to keep you out of winners. Dump the dogs & ride the winning tide.
Righto Shitty moves lets you pickup multiple contracts then whips you in the wrong way, back and forth
Against all Odds: 1) 98% of all scalpers lose money. 2) 95% of all $10,000 or less accounts will not survive a full year of trading. 3) A new futures account lasts just 3 months.
Yeah.. Net positive (+$$$) for the year... but, adding more contracts looks like a long ways off. I made a solemn pledge to myself that I will never feed any more money into the markets, but rather take it out. I am a disciplined trader with an edge, it is only matter of being patient and milking it out of the market.
February 2006 Day Trading Plan 1) Trade with the trend. 2) Cut losses short. 3) Let winners ride. 4) Manage Risk. February 2006 Risk Management Plan 1) Risk < 0.25% of account per trade. 2) Shut off point for the day at -1.5% loss. (-1% was too small, and -2% was a little too much). 3) Monthly shut off point = -10% of account equity. 4) Yearly shut off point = -50% of account equity.
Day 19 another UNECONOMIC day I spend two hours driving around for the Jan 2006 version of Futures Magazine. Thats 2 hours of trading time, time to print money wasted: UNECONOMIC But, I was already out for my -1.5% stop loss point for the day: 2 UNECONOMICS... (maybe my stop point for the day is a bit too close... not sure right now, but I will in the next couple of days.) It was such a range bound, predictable day to make some money.. but I wasn't able to capitalize on it. But, next time.. I'll be ready for a day like this. So much to do.. so little time. I have to make some time.
Day 20 The problem with FOMC days: No volatility before the announcement, and too much volatility after the release. But, too much volatility is definitely better..