Trading is Fun: September 2009

+4.6 pips = 30 cents

09.30.09

8 Trades - 4 Wins - 3 Losses - 1 BE

I knew there was a very good chance I would end positive today and voila! 4.6 pips

The last 3 trades today were trading 1 cent per pip. I'm going to continue with 1 cent per pip all day tomorrow.

I think I've come to a realization and the results and charts tomorrow should be interesting.

Here is today's chart in the mean time:

-25.7 pips = ($2.57)

09.29.09

9 Trades - 2 Wins - 7 Losses

O.K. - I'm going back to what was working. Being extremely deliberate with entering my trades seemed to work before so starting tomorrow I should be able to stop my losing ways. I've just got to become more proficient in letting my winners run.

-17.22 pips = ($7.29)

09.28.09

25 Trades - 12 Wins - 13 Losses

I traded like crazy today. I over traded and I did it intentionally. I kept losing money so I again dropped down to 10 cents per pip for the last few trades today. I'll be staying at 10 cents per pip again until I feel like I've earned the right to begin stepping it up.

I learned some good things today. Nothing new in terms of concepts; tight entries, patient w/ profits, keep losses small etc. But I've gotten closer to implementing them consistently. Out of 25 mostly crap trades there were two that were excellent and I'm going to focus on them as what I'd like my trading to look like.

Things for me to remember tomorrow. Tight entries & don't move my stop too quickly.

Art of Losing

ATradersBlog posted a nice video covering how to become good at the Art of Losing.

Notes & Observations

09.26.09

I've been trading for years now and one of the simplest things a trader can do is track their results. I've finally moved my pride out of the way and have begun to keep this journal. I've read the advice to keep a journal every where but I never did it successfully. I'd write a few things down for a short period of time but then I'd inexplicably stop.

I really like keeping a public online journal because it gives me a place where I can access my information at anytime and it holds me accountable to whomever stumbles across these entries.

Regarding my current struggles of being patient with my winners I've realized I'm trying to be too perfect and if stop trying to be so perfect that my profitability is likely going to increase allot. Very often when I place a trade it'll be in the correct direction of the short-term trend but I cut my profits so quickly that I don't catch hardly any of the move.

What I'm going to stop doing is taking profits from the initial push I get in my favor once the trade has triggered. Of course there will be some exceptions to this rule but way more often then not I'm going to demonstrate the ability to give my trades time to move in my favor.

+16.8 pips = $4.20

09.25.09

7 Trades - 6 Wins - 1 Loss

-14.9 pips = ($14.90)

09.24.09

7 Trades - 4 Wins - 3 Losses

Continue to only place limit orders.

Pay attention to the scaling on the chart.

Wait for candle to close before placing order above/below price.

Blah - Gotta do better

No real trades today. With the interest rate announcement coming out today I was thinking that it was going to be another slow day like yesterday. Looking back I don't see any reason why I should have treated today's session any different. The market still moved up and down and there was opportunity.

I made some trades today trading at 1 cent per pip. Experimenting... ended down 4 pips. What I found interesting while trading 1 cent per pip is that I'm still extremely impatient with my winners and my impulse is to cut them quickly and take the profit. I've really got to focus on relaxing once my trade has been triggered.

I became a little frustrated at myself after the news announcement because I was planning on taking some normal sized trades but I allowed myself to be distracted by a phone call.

Everything will be better tomorrow.

Notes & Observations

I'm writing this as a reminder and for my future benefit.

Fear still permeates my trading decisions. I definitely think I must always have a healthy respect for the market. My ignorance of what the market is capable of has kicked my ass a number of times. The problem is when my respect turns into fear. Paralysis of analysis doesn't lead towards profitable trading. I respect the market when I place a stop loss, I fear the market when I don't take a viable trade to begin with.

The market pace is always changing from fast to slow & slow to fast ad infinitum. Go with the flow.

No one can backtest the present moment. If the trade looks reasonable then take it.

-11.3 pips = ($11.30)

09.22.09

7 Trades - 1 Win - 6 Losses

All my trades today were in the first hour and a half. I didn't do a good job of identifying the markets slow pace today and I paid the price for it. Wiped out nearly 3 days pip total in a very short period of time. Wiped out my winning streaks total gain only because I increased trade size yesterday to $1 per pip.

After the first hour and a half debacle I attempted to find good trades but I was scared because I didn't want to dig myself any deeper.

In general the current challenges I'm facing are being patient with my trades & tightening my entries. What I mean when I say tightening my entries is that once I've identified a short-term direction placing my entries just above price while price is pulling back.

As a reminder I wouldn't have even come close to wiping out 3 days pip total today had I executed my trades better over the past 3 days. I know what I need to focus on to get better.

+4.8 pips = $4.80

09.21.09

12 Trades - 8 Wins - 4 Losses

I started my day off on a bad note. The first losing trade really pissed me off because I had missed the initial move down. Then I missed where I usually enter for continuation. I missed these trades because of hesitation.

I was able to regain my psychological footing pretty quickly though and I ended the day positively.

+1.4 pips = 21 cents

09.18.09

4 Trades - 2 Wins - 2 Losses

Today is a familiar story. I let my two small losses get to me and canceled my third attempt at a solid long continuation. As you can see in the picture my canceled trade would have been the most profitable in this sequence.

At around 7:30AM PST I missed a trade because I allowed myself to get distracted. I ended my day earlier than usual do to lack of focus.

I'm almost there I can feel it. I need to tighten up my trading game a little bit more and I'll be seeing better daily results. Better daily results will give me confidence to start ramping up my position size.

+6.1 pips = 91.5 cents

09.17.09

5 Trades - 4 Wins - 1 Loss

I really do feel like I'm close to solving my problem. It's been a difficult one too! I must continue to cut losses quickly. But how do I balance cutting losses quickly while letting my profits run some more?

For instance today's first trade I'll continue to do the same thing every time. I knew if price didn't immediately push comfortably past my entry then I was out. However my second, third and fourth trades all deserved a little bit more time. My entries on those trades could have been tighter as well.

I read a blog post yesterday written by a very experienced trader whom reiterated that he continues to make mistakes everyday after many years of trading. I think this is my answer; keep at it!

+3 pips = 45 cents

09.16.09

3 Trades - 2 Wins - 1 Loss

Today is my 5th winning day in a row. I told myself every 5 winning days in a row I'm going to increase position size. However I'm going to have to override my previous decision and leave my position sizing where it is currently.

Without making an adjustment to how quickly I cut my losses and before I can start to incrementally increase my position sizing I need to get better at letting my profits run. In order to accomplish this I need to get rid of the last bit of hesitation still remaining that's not allowing me to act as decisively as I should. I know a new level of profitability awaits as long as I can get rid of the last bit of fear that's causing me to hesitate.

Tomorrow on the 5 second chart I'm going to make an adjustment. I'm going to chart the Ask Price and then I'll price overlay the Low Bid. The chart will visually represent the same thing as the min/max chart and I like the way it looks.

+1.4 pips = 24 cents

09.15.09

2 Trades - 1 Win - 1 Loss

Today was a difficult day for me. Given time I know I'll perform better on days like this than I did today. Basically all area's of my game need polish other than cutting losses quickly. Tomorrow will be a better day!

+2 pips = 30 cents

09.14.09

4 Trades - 2 Wins - 2 Losses

Patience is my new challenge. Once I have more patience with my winning trades I'll be much more profitable.

+3.13 pips = 47 cents

09.11.09

4 Trades - 3 Wins - 1 Loss

My focus today was better.

My resilience today was better.

My discipline was good.

My patience needs some work.

I've overcome my hesitancy to put on a trade. I've also been able to bounce back from a losing trade and immediately take the next trade. The next component I'm going to improve is my patience with winning trades. Right now I'm cutting my winning trades as fast as I'm cutting my losing trades. I don't need every trade to be a +20 pip winner. What I'm looking for are my winning trades to usually fall into the range of +8 to +14 with occasional trades that are +15 and over.

I've read and heard about short-term traders that can count the number of losing days they have in a year on one hand. This is what I'm striving towards. It's been a long journey so far but I feel like I'm almost there.

Guiding the subconscious mind

Here is an interesting link I've come across about guiding the subconscious mind.

+5 pips = 75 cents

9.10.09

2 Trades

2 Wins

Today I started placing my orders on the 5 second min/max chart from Oanda. I'll start taking screen shots throughout my day so I can post a better chart than todays. My focus was still really bad but it was better than a couple days ago.

Nothing happenin' Wednesday, Sept 9th

Didn't make any trades today.

-2.8 pips = ($.70) Tuesday, Sept 8th

2 Trades

1W - 1L = -2.8pips for ($.70)

Total crap. I don't feel like posting the charts today. Complete lack of focus.

Friday 9/3/09 (3.40)

3 trades - 1 loser - 2 winners for minus $3.40

After today I'm dropping my trade size down again to $2500 or 25 cents per pip. I'm doing this for two reasons. The first reason is I'm still hesitating w/ putting on trades. The second reason is I'm still not CONSISTENTLY performing at a high level. Once I gain a measure of reliability and trust in my trading I'll begin to ramp up the size.

In the chart below you can see where my hesitation cost me what would have been a solid 20+ pip winner. I entered a limit order short some minutes after the NFP report was released. I was busy triple checking the validity of the trade before placing the order and it cost me too much time. Price didn't wait around for me! (lol)