I didn't ask about the reason. I'm asking those who participate how they feel it has benefited or hurt them in their trading. Thanks for replying anyway.
by posting my p&l helps to keep myself honest. and i can see a series of progression or regression in my trading. i post a short exerpt from my journal as well just to have a story to go w/the numbers
I participated a few times last year and I can tell why I do not participate currently. Its mostly because I do not see what posting just my blotter would bring to the table. Other than showing a number and some executions, the idea seems more self serving than anything else. Funny you bring this up though FT71, I was honestly thinking about posting my blotter today but decided against it. It feels a bit like bragging talking about it but oh well - Today was my best day since Tuesday (which was now my 2nd best day in over a year). I kind of wanted to show off. Fully loaded into GOOG and KONG along with some EMD and ER2 contracts. Anyway, lately it seems like this market is just giving away money. But now that I've said it, my streak will end Regardless, good luck to all here, no disrespect intended, I just do not see the benefit to myself or others. Regards, Mike
Hey Mike Your thoughts are very well appreciated, however I beg to differ on some of your points and here is why. On the surface, yes you are correct, it may seem that many traders are 'tooting their own horns' by posting their numbers, it does seem self serving and a little egoistic to post numbers. I have been posting mine for the last few months and in all honestly it has helped me quite a bit. For the longest time I was stuck at a plateau, since I trade remotely I do not have that group trader huddle where you can bounce off other ideas from other traders. Although I was a very consistent trader I could not seem to break out of that certain dollar gain per day, I thought, 'hey this is the most I can make' so just be happy with that, till I stumbled on this thread. Then I saw other traders putting up monster numbers compared to my paltry numbers, it made me re-think my whole trading plan, I realized that it could be done. Since then I have traded a little differently, started holding my winners for that extra cent or two more then I would have, increased my position size when i am confident, hold through the jiggles a little more and not get pushed out of my positions etc, you get the idea. All this from simply seeing other traders numbers. Although I am a very consistent trader I was not making mad cash, honestly I thought that it could not be done, my plateau I had concluded was everyones plateau. This thread has helped me out a great deal by opening my eyes, that 'hey, wake up, you can do better'. Its all perception and nothing more. Bottom line - Ok so whats the bottom line, ok I am still not making mad cash but I have increased my plateau by an extra $150 bux a day, id say that was a start, and all from seeing a couple of posts on this board. In addition I would like to think that I have also helped a few people along the way by posting mine. After all seeing that it is possible, is the most important thing I was missing, the rest is all semantics. Sun Tzu said "that warefare is fluid. It changes continuosly, just as water will adapt its form to the earth. He who can change tactics in relation to his enemy or opponent will succeed in winning." Cheers - TachyonTrader
I just started posting in December. I have been following this thread since the beginning. I watched how everyone progressed and was very impressed. Guys like Szeven, Steve T., TachyonTrader put out some good performances. I have one question for all you guys posting. Do you feel that posting here help improve your trading? I have been trading for a little over 3 years of trading and I feel like I am stuck in a plateau or my progress has been slower than I expected. I am posting here to see if it would help my performance. I can also track my progression in the future by looking up my posts.
I trade ES and I did post my profits and Losses too. Anyway today I did not trade. The market never came to my buy point.
ET mind melt continue, a moment ago I just send a email asking another guy does he know the reason why I keep looking at those numbers, I havn't got his reply yet, then I see the perfect answer from you, wow! ps. and when those 'superstars' show less than stellar day, I can say hey! I can do better
The benefits of me posting my blotters in my mind is: -Surprisingly, its a better record keeping system than anything swifttrade offers. -I have met interesting people who have opened doors and provided me with ideas and information all because they see my blotters. Drawback: -I get a lot of emails and pm's from people of varying topics. Some want/expect me to spell out how i make money, although most people are just asking if i can share anything general about how i improved (which is fine) Do i think it helps me or benefits my bottom line? I would say yes, but not a resounding YES! It allows me to see how some of my peers and others are doing, and gives me a sense of what is possible, but the main thing is the people ive met through this thread.