Trader P/L 2009

brownsfan019 · #1 03-02-2009, 10:36 PM

Being accountable to someone/something is an important part of any business, incl. trading. Whether you have been around the block or brand new, knowing that you need to report your #'s can be a great motivation to do your job properly. Prior to being a full-time trader, I was a stockbroker and we had quotas to meet every month and you knew that hitting those #'s were incredibly important to keeping your job. You also knew that hitting those #'s consistently meant that your chances for success increased dramatically.

With that said, I was hoping we could post and discuss the current day's trades and move on. We don't have to create a 5 page thread about 1 trade or 1 day, but just a place to post your thoughts on the day and move on. My goal would be something quick and easy so we can get as much participation as possible.

Exactly what you post is up to you. The quickest method that comes to mind is taking a screen shot of your daily P/L. Maybe include a sentence or two on your day. For example:

(recent P/L statement)

Or you can post your thoughts on the day, whether you followed your plan and/or if you are happy w/ the day's results. If you are not comfortable posting a screenshot of your actual P/L, that's ok! Feel free to post your own version of the daily scorecard that you'd like to create. Could be as simple as:

In the end it's more about being accountable and feeling that there will be people watching and waiting to see your results on the day. For the goal-oriented traders it can hopefully provide a benefit.

Personally I have started this thread b/c I'd like to step up my trading results. I feel like I've been 'floating' along in recent memory and could probably use some motivation to get even more done and do my job with better focus.

==============

Update - adding a few questions I've received about the account being presented:

What size account is this?
$10,000.

When do you plan to increase the # of contracts being traded?
I think I will bump it up at $20,000.

Is this the only account you have?
While I am trading in a few accounts, I am presenting the account that is a realistic starting point for many people. Funding an account w/ $10k is very reasonable and something that most can follow.

brownsfan019 · #2 03-02-2009, 10:45 PM

And here we go...

3/2/09

I'll be posting from an account that trades 1-2 contracts. I find it easier to track the results on a per contract basis and it keeps me grounded.

Overall, a decent day. My end number was close to what it 'should have been' - meaning the plan was not followed exactly, but pretty close.

My focus on bonds is from 8am - Noon EST and today's trades were capped off fairly early. That's part of the reason why I love these things! Can get nice moves in the AM and then go do other stuff! More bond info here.

brownsfan019 · #3 03-03-2009, 02:26 PM

Anyone else want to participate? I'm sure DB, Steve, etc can blow me out of the water, so hopefully some of the other vets will participate!

3/4/09

Talk about a roller coaster day. Unfortunately I missed 2 profitable trades early on which would have changed things some, but coming out to the positive is a good thing today. I thought for sure my 2nd post here was going to show a nice loss, but was able to catch a very nice sudden and quick push in bonds.

Hopefully this thread will force me to make sure I catch all winners and not miss them. In hindsight the P/L should have been a little smoother vs. the one I produced.

daedalus · #4 03-03-2009, 02:30 PM

I'll play

Trading 1 lot on the ES... just getting on my feet again this year after having to sort some methodology issues out.

Yesterday was basically a wash, though traded correctly.

Today I missed an easy +2 in the morning due to getting to par too quickly (and being a pansy) but redeemed myself a bit in the afternoon with solid signals, entries, and mgmt.

brownsfan019 · #5 03-03-2009, 02:31 PM

Well done sir!

And thanks for joining us! (well, me for now).

HAL9000 · #6 03-03-2009, 06:29 PM

Hi Brown,

I will join in too, like on CG

Anyway, give me some minutes or a day, but from my side its still simulation, just that you know that upfront. I am not proud of it, because I am behind my time table ( right!?

).

Anyway, its a good idea, maybe you or somebody else sees, what my problems are. Some I already know, but ...

Lets have some fun.

Ryan

brownsfan019 · #7 03-03-2009, 11:10 PM

Ryan - that's the point of this thread - to help each other out. For me, it's nice to know I gotta post my #'s somewhere. Hopefully more will follow or eventually I won't need the thread anymore and it will fizzle out.

daedalus · #8 03-04-2009, 03:23 PM

Got knocked around this morning taking a loss that was valid, but almost 2x's my normal stop amount... had to play catch up. Was waiting around and passed up on a lot of valid profitable stuff for Beige Book to come out this afternoon.

Then I got stopped gunned for another loss (swing low held but the pit ramed through it by 1 tick).

Overall a rough and not very profitable day but I did what I needed to do and we walked away with more than we walked in with.

brownsfan019 · #9 03-05-2009, 03:08 PM

3/4/09 Came out to be a wash, forgot to post.

3/5/09

An OK day. A couple woulda, coulda, shoulda in hindsight.

Those 2 losing ZN trades were not the best trades in the world. One of those - well, I made $XXX so far, let's take a shot - and it bit me in the behind.

brownsfan019 · #10 03-05-2009, 03:42 PM

You know what is interesting about this thread? First, not surprising there's only 2 of us posting here. I've posted in other parts of the forum and when you ask people to post here if they could use a little added motivation, provide some motivation to others, etc. - it's very quiet in here. For example, there's some serious discussion about VSA, Wyckoff, etc. etc. but I don't think we've ever seen one blotter showing one person making money using those systems. Not one...

Second, I notice that on this smaller account, the $ result is ok, but nothing to get excited about. One interesting thing about trading is that if you are making money and want to make more, you can just up your size. Granted that's a double edged sword, but we operate in a very nice business where you can do the SAME amount of work and get paid MORE. That's rare if you think about it - doctors, lawyers, brokers, etc. - all get paid more by working more. Here, you can still work the hours you like, trade more and make more money.

I bring this up b/c it's easy to get lost in the shuffle as you trade more (size, accounts, etc.) that these smaller accounts may not seem like much initially, but you can work them up over time. And when the time is right you can increase size to increase profits w/o having to do more work.

It's hard to find too many business that will keep increasing your pay for doing the same amount of work.