Use Breakeven Trades in your Data Collection

Which broker gives you $3 all in costs roundtrip for CL?

 

algofy,

I am with TopStepTrader and commission is about $3.

 

Funded account will be at least 4

 

algofy,

Yes, it's a cost for sure. And it's a cost for all my breakeven trades and will be added as a loss when I calculate my Expectancy of both systems in current manually backtest phase.

I am learning the ins and out of statistical confidence, something my knowledge is weak on now.

 

Better just know for later when you are trading live that the cost will be significantly higher.

 

Also, if the system losses money, IT lost the money and not you, way too many traders get down on having breakeven or small loss days when they traded as they should correctly. Markets don't cycle like each or "normal" days, and you have to have in your trading plan either a way to recover that day if the morning goes not as expected. This is why I have set makeable goals in AM session, cause if it is negative after 50 minutes, I have entire day to work at making up the loses and fees. Whereas traders who don't have goals, might have much more losing days as they might not have a second condition of getting back to better than breakeven on the day by a certain time. I want smooth equity curve and besides risk, concentrate on capital appreciation. Fifteen percent of my morning sessions I am in the hole scalping, but sometimes it takes me over 100 trades later to get the goal and recover the losses, you have to know your system well and even better when it is losing than when it is profiting.

 

Do what you think is best for you but trade performance analysis is not the same thing as your P&L.

 

Thanks speedo,

Yes, i agree. For now, for me, I am making sure I am recording the right data so I can see if I have a profitable system or not in the future.

All this different metrics (Expectancy, Sharp Ratio,etc) may seem intutive to some, but for me its still new, so I am having to learn. And I want to make sure make sure what I writing in my spreadsheet is enough before I get to +500 trades and can't go back.

EdgeWonk is something I am reviewing and considering besides my Excel Spreadsheet.

 

Thanks Handle123, You give good examples. And I agree. Time after time, I have to tell myself "let the system be wrong, not you", "follow your plan", "remember the stats say in the spreadsheet". This is why I focusing so much making sure whatever system I trade I understand the metrics for that system. Cause once I start trading it, there is no going back.

When i find a system, the system and I are married, there is no going backwards. I guess we get a divorce after a year of losses. And this is why I am asking the questions and reading the books

I record that breakeven if its a loss.