December Review P/L: +7.65 Win%: 33.33 AvgW/AvgL: 2.02 I don't have a whole lot to say about December except I wasn't really very active. I only traded 12 days and spent most of the time treading water. Also, I've been on vacation for the last 10 days and not been thinking about trading. 2013 Review P/L: -312.83 Win%: 36.01 AvgW/AvgL: 1.71 Well, the trading year is done. Unfortunately, I did not turn a profit, but I really didn't lose very much. What I gained in knowledge about myself and my trading was well worth the financial cost and effort. I'm still learning how to trade and mostly how to learn how to learn how to trade - if that makes any sense. One of my greatest shortcomings was overtrading. I have rules about what are good trades, but there are subjective aspects to them. I would find myself shooting off trade after trade and take unnecessary losses only to look back later wondering what I was thinking. Over the last couple months I have shown much better restraint and patience. I've spent a lot of time printing off charts and reviewing trades. It has helped me better recognize the patterns I'm looking for along with determining if the reward is worth the risk. As I've gone through good and bad times this year, one thing I am proud of, that saved me, was that I always stuck to my limits. Never once did I have a blow up day. Never once did I lose more than $100 in a day. I may not have been able to keep myself from taking bad trades, but I was always very strict about my risk management. If I hit my limits, I would shut it down and come back the next day. I've also gotten a better handle on my emotions. When things weren't going my way, I used to get very angry, cuss, smack my chair, throw things, and just get out of whack (not too violently, but I would get pissed). Now, of course I still get frustrated and pissed at times, but I am much better at rolling with the punches and accepting losses and pain as part of the business. I find that just getting up from the chair or a short walk are all I need to clear my mind. Looking forward to 2014, I am very excited. Going through 2013 and trading almost every single day and not losing my ass is a confidence builder for me. Yeah, it sucks to have spent an entire year doing something and not have a profit or get good at it, but I know that as long as I manage my risk that I can stick around long enough to become profitable. I have much more experience along with lots of statistics on my trades and strategies. I believe I have a great base to build on and it is just up to me to execute my systems properly. Here are some key ideas I'm looking to have in effect for January. Overtrading is something that has become less of a problem, but I'm still going to be sure to take only the prime trades. I want to be able to look back later and CLEARLY see the setup, not an ambiguous or messy setup. Also, when I do see something I like I want to press it. As in - add to it. I tried adding earlier in the year and it didn't work out that well, but I feel it is something that is very important to one of the ways that I trade. On those setups, I'll be much more willing to sacrifice small to medium sized winners in order to get a monster winner. I feel like my trading is morphing into two different types. Certain setups I take risk a certain amount and then looks for targets that are around 3x or so the size of my risk. For the other setups, I'm not looking for a 2x, 3x, or even 4x winner. If it is working for me, I want to add and add and am looking for a 10x+ winner. But I'll never risk more on the trade than what is initially determined. I'll only add if I have some unrealized gains. For those, I'm not looking for a break even trade or a small winner. I'm going to have an idea for a trade and push it. If the idea works then it will be great. If not, then I just take my pre-determined loss. Thanks for following me along this past year, allowing me to log some thoughts, and for tolerating my seemingly meaningless trading amounts. It has all meant much to me and I look forward to a great 2014. Good luck to you all! Chuck
Total Trades for December 2013 Profit/(Loss): $38.00 No of Trades: 4 Wins: 3 Loss: 1 Avg Win: $81.17 Avg Loss: ($205.50)
2013, was +50% until september; then despite far smaller size forced upon me in june by a massive exchange mandated margin increase i kicked some serious ass in the last quarter making 2013 actually better than 2012. the october shutdown that drove vol up, then the vol reversal after the shutdown could not have been written by me any better than the reality of what transpired. then november and even december were great. attached is my ib portfolio analysis. i should have at least 50% of my funds at advantage by february i figure.
sellingindexvol66, congrats for another great year and we all appreciate your contribution and motivation. i ended the year at about half of your cum %, same dd, and similar sharpe. that is the same as say i only have 1/2 of your gut as well. lol. hard to show a consolidated IB analysis table since i have several accts implementing several diff strategies. njrookie
thanks rally, worst "daily DD" was -7.73% (selling vol a bit too soon in vol rise) in late august and just my luck i was away on vacation with poor internet/pc access. a lot of stuff worked which surprised me. i still am rain dancing that the SPAN margin change gets approved asap. your wheel is bigger than mine so i ask you please to squeak it over there at CFE.