@ $12k (-50%) Of course, after I tell someone else that a 50% draw-down is hard if you have a 'good' plan (which I sorta kinda don't) I get to that point. Karma's a bitch..
Your margin rules are what I have written in my plan. However, this plan needs serious revision obviously. There are many observable instances where you can enter the market in the correct direction and price won't go against you very much/at all -> this leads me to believe with proper entry technique, a resting stop loss out of noise will invalidate the trade if it's hit. I can sleep at night knowing that my losses can't ever be more than I chose... @ $14k (-41%) 4 open positions Long Cotton, Rough Rice & Wheat Short Crude Oil Let's hope the 'trends' remain intact...
Still @ $14k (-41%) Have trades open in cotton (+$800), wheat (+$800) and rough rice (+$1,000). Did some 'day/night' trades based on PA tactics from Al Brooks last night on natural gas, which was very difficult, market skips around and bars aren't printed well... definitely not doing that again. First trade was short after a lower high was shown as reversing to the downside. However, market said fuck your short and took my $400 stop in <5 min after the position was entered. Might it have been wise to wait here for that pullback to above the lower high??? (If you can enter where many will be taking a loss or become trapped, it's likely a winner). I don't know, don't think it matters. No way to enter perfectly... Second trade made +$600, held overnight. I re-entered on resistance from a minor bear trendline. Price went into a trading range after trade was entered, and formed a wedge, failing to break significant micro bull/bear trendlines. Placed stop above previous swing high and set a close profit target near previous support because I couldn't watch the PA develop (which is a must if you are day/night trading). Of course market falls further than my buy limit. Thank you day job. Was doing 3 lots (too much)...
Masterm, it's still not crossing your mind to work out your logic before continuing to trade? Dare I say, take it to a professional? Another 50% loss means $6k (-75%).
So.. after losing half of my account, I am going to revise my approach once again. I've been trading the night session for each night this week, trying to see what works. At least 2 nights this week, I attempted to read price action alone instead of waiting for a particular setup. This lost me about $500. Almost immediately after my trade was entered, my stop was hit. Last night I waited for sepcific setups several on here have stated are profitable. Results seem promising... 3/4 winners last night 2 on 6E and 2 on CL. The type of trading I'm doing is based on simple setups on 5 min chart, using the 1 min for more information. After entry, I exit based on profit target being hit, trade being invalidated (stop), or unfavorable price action. For example, after entering my last trade last night, priced formed a wedge, therefore I exited at +1 tick. Risk & time in the market is very low. After doing some digging, there are at least 4 and probably more traders on here trading this style and making money. The approach makes sense to me. Only doing 1 lots till I'm consistent. Once consistent, I'll ramp up. In my current drawdown, this is very emotional for me. However I have no problem trading a plan. I have had one for a while, but obviously needs revision. I have realized that probabilties have not been on my side recently, and I'm at fault for that. If anyone follows me, I know this type of trading has some merit, as I was tossing five lots on ES last year, and had some really good results over short time. But like this draw down proves, over time if you don't have something robust that is high probability and don't wait for the best trades, you will end up throwing away most of the money you make. @ ~ $11k (-54%)