The Race

[Attila 10]

Statement for 06/10............

[FX_Cowboy 10]

Attached are trades for 6/9.

[FX_Cowboy 10]

Trades from 6/10 are attached.

[Attila 10]

Statement for 06/10............

correction.. Statement for 06/09............

[daedalus 10]

FX_Cowboy... i just want to commend you on your faithful posting of your blotters. It looks like you've had a rough go of it these past few weeks but are bouncing back.

 

A lot of guys would fall out when it starts going rough but you've kept right with it. Kudos to you and keep at it!!!

 

Out of curiosity - have the drawdowns you've experience been fairly typical of your method?

[FX_Cowboy 10]

FX_Cowboy... i just want to commend you on your faithful posting of your blotters. It looks like you've had a rough go of it these past few weeks but are bouncing back.

 

A lot of guys would fall out when it starts going rough but you've kept right with it. Kudos to you and keep at it!!!

 

Out of curiosity - have the drawdowns you've experience been fairly typical of your method?

 

Thanks for the encouragement, daedalus.

 

You're absolutely right that I was struggling there for a while, and at one point, I strongly considered dropping out of The Race.

 

In all honesty (and humility), I must admit that the large drawdowns I experienced had nothing to do with my system, and I wondered whether participating in this competition might be making it more difficult for me to trade well. (Some of the other traders have alluded to this negative influence, and I agree that it can be a factor.)

 

However, for now, I have decided to stick with it, and to try to increase my focus and self-discipline so that I can avoid similar drawdowns as we go along. I'll continue evaluating my performance in this light as The Race progresses.

 

Best regards,

FX Cowboy

[Attila 10]

Statement for 06/10........

[sicktrader 10]

Gentlemen,

 

Sorry that I have been around much, but had some personal issues that are taken care of. Going on vacation next week, and will be trading. I only made a few trades this week, and was near a blowout. As you can see from this statement, I started yesterday at a whopping $675, and proceeded to lose my next trade to put me down to $519, only $19 above my $500 CAD margin. Things turned around though, as I won, my next trade yesterday, and two this morning that will be on the next statement. Now sitting at $1,650.25. Ready to get this out of first gear. Good Luck to all this next week.

[FX_Cowboy 10]

Attached are trades for 6/11, and late 6/10 trades.

 

Have a great weekend!

[Attila 10]

Statement for 06/11..... Lost a bit of control.. Statement should never exceed one page per my system.. The more pages, the less well I do.

Edited June 12, 2010 by Attila

[Attila 10]

Thought I'd post this for fellow dreamers.. Key question is how many units considering current volatility you should use and whether to keep the risk constant or decrease it as you progress. To me no reason other than psychological and instrument liquidity to curve down the risk over time. In this case he has.

Piker Trader.pdf

[daedalus 10]

^^^ Thats an excellent document. Thanks for posting it!!!

[Attila 10]

His website looks like either this plan never worked for him and therefore he is selling something OR he achieved it and he is snorkeling somewhere.. entertaining nevertheless. Guess I should be trading 4 units as times have changed and there is $500 margin now.... NOT! I am basically trying to get to 2% per trade risk as soon as possible.. currently at 4%... I could drop my stop to the 2% but the current market would kill such a stop. 1% would be better ultimately but not consistent with the game plan here.

Edited June 13, 2010 by Attila

[daedalus 10]

The thing I find interesting about the Piker Trader document is that its VERY applicable to whats going on in this thread (and dare I say what every trader has pulled up an excel spreadsheet at one time or another and dreamed about).

 

To make it more applicable to us (less than 3K account)... They roughly assume that they have 1,600.00 for each contract (or 5k for 3). Which means for most of us starting in this thread we should be trading 1 lot for starters.

 

The only part I slightly disagree with the simulation is on the choice of the market. I personally think its much easier to get 8-9 ticks out of the 6E/A/J than it is to get 24 out of the NQ. 9 Ticks in the 6E is still 112.50, and god knows that market moves 9 ticks like nobodies business. Anyone disagree? And frankly you could still use a 8 tick fixed stop most of the time and get away with it keeping that 100.00/contract fixed risk in tact within the piker simulation.

 

I also really like the idea of trading to a fixed $ goal and quitting. I have never traded like this before but I think i'm going to start. I like the idea of doing my job and quitting when its done, rather than lingering around continually looking for trades. I don't know about you guys but it seems for me (and even in this thread) that the less trades we are taking the better we do. Thus, it seems only logical to achieve our daily targets and quit while we are literally ahead. Less commissions, less risk, less time in front of the screen, more time sipping margaritas. Good compromise eh?

 

Forgive the pointless meanderings of this post... just thinking of ways to more realistically apply that simulation to those here (and for myself).

[mike21 10]

Thought I'd post this for fellow dreamers.. Key question is how many units considering current volatility you should use and whether to keep the risk constant or decrease it as you progress. To me no reason other than psychological and instrument liquidity to curve down the risk over time. In this case he has.

 

 

Did you pay attention to his risk/reward? Risk $300 reward $180. -or- risk $300 reward $120.

 

If you follow this plan you won't have to worry about moving on to 'Phase 2' because you'll go broke in 'Phase 1.'

 

.

[daedalus 10]

Did you pay attention to his risk/reward? Risk $300 reward $180. -or- risk $300 reward $120.

 

If you follow this plan you won't have to worry about moving on to 'Phase 2' because you'll go broke in 'Phase 1.'

 

.

 

 

I believe his reward is 120.00/contract, which means his risk on 3 contracts is 300.00 and his reward is 360.00.

 

Not great, but not 1:3 as you stated.

[Moyyim 10]

I believe his reward is 120.00/contract, which means his risk on 3 contracts is 300.00 and his reward is 360.00.

 

Not great, but not 1:3 as you stated.

 

Per Trade the risk is $300 (3 ctrcts x $100 each)

 

The anticipated reward is:

a) $180 (3 points @ $60 per point ie 3 points on 3 ctrcts)

or

b) $120 (2 points @ $60 per point ie 2 points on 3 ctrcts)

 

To get the $360 he states.. do(achieve)... a) "twice in one session"... or b) "three times in one session"

[fxThunder 10]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have decided to withdraw from The Race, with my current time limitations I need to focus on trading my main account and sadly had to make a choice of where to focus my efforts.

 

I wish the remaining racers well and will certainly keep an eye on this thread, when time allows.

 

Cheers,

fxT

[thalestrader 14]

The Race - Week 7 Summary

 

 

... and then there were three ...

 

Here is the current active field as I have it as of today, 6/13/2010, with Attila holding a slight edge over fxCowboy. But all three remaining have battled back from significant peak to trough draw downs, and I for one am enjoying the nightly horse race when I check in at the end of the day.

 

 

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Attila 10]

Small account traders really have to focus on the risk side of things which doesn't preclude nice gains.. i.e. develop a system that generate little to no heat entries. You simply must enter trades as close to defense lines as possible. I have been using a 3.5 stop and I find it is less relevant than where I trade. This is the problem I see with the document which could have been one paragraph and a spreadsheet table. It doesn't focus on what criteria will allow the dream to work.. i.e. the trading system.

 

In a was the training gained with a small account is the best there is. The flames of blowout are so nearby, trying to get you.. Need to achieve escape velocity, which for NQ I see as 5k.

 

Currencies I simply have no clue as far as day-trading.. the 12.5 tick move seems so dangerous for an under 5k account.. I've seen 25 pips in 5 minutes.. Risk=Reward I suppose.

[thalestrader 14]

... Things turned around though, as I won, my next trade yesterday, and two this morning that will be on the next statement. Now sitting at $1,650.25. Ready to get this out of first gear. Good Luck to all this next week.

 

Hi Sicko,

 

We need you to post your latest statements here in the thread.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[sicktrader 10]

Will do in the am when I get to the office. Will be using a different computer later in the week when on vacation, so I may be late on some statements. Will try to make a few more live calls.

[sicktrader 10]

Here is my statement from Friday. No trades today, so no statement until Wed at the earliest. Based on the lack of news this week, it projects to be a very slow week for me.

[MightyMouse 12]

Thought I'd post this for fellow dreamers.. Key question is how many units considering current volatility you should use and whether to keep the risk constant or decrease it as you progress. To me no reason other than psychological and instrument liquidity to curve down the risk over time. In this case he has.

 

A plain plan for failure.

 

I love the part where he says the less you attempt new trades, the less risk you expose yourself to. Brilliant! Don't trade and you can't lose.

[Attila 10]

Statement for 06/14...........