$2,000 to $200,000 in 2020 at 2.00% per day.
- Thread starter sstheo
- Start date
To @PoopyDeek and others who are asking for additional verification of my stated results.
I have a very fast style and I take a lot of trades. Because of this I have been aggregating most days and just updating my spreadsheet. But I do show the updated AMP statement account balance and even the trade blotter from time to time.
The interest in my journal is surprising to me, and answering the questions from others has helped me refine my plan and remind me to stay disciplined. But I guess with the success I am having, it follows that some would be wildly curious. $2000 to $3500 in 4 weeks??? 75% return in one month? I get it. I'd be curious too.
But what I don't understand is the suspicion. Seriously, what do I have to gain by posting fictitious data?
Here is my current balance. It just happens to perfectly match what I posted on my spreadsheet yesterday...
On my honor, I have not deposited any more funds into the account than the original $2000. I haven't traded with more than 4, 5, or 6 concurrent micros according to my stated margin of $500 per micro. I have not yet traded with even one full E-mini. I did admit that I did not honor my stops a few days back, but I am back on track, and everything else is according to plan.
Please stay along for the ride and see if I can pull this off another week, another month, a full quarter, and ultimately 12 months at at least 2% average per day. I promise to be even more transparent, and hopefully I can mitigate your suspicions.
Good points @Overnight. I see that the "bulls" have had their challenges too. I guess the summary is that the big boys' whole objective is to make as many traders as possible be on the wrong side of the market.
Great post!
What is all-in/all out vs scaling in/scaling out? Am I scaling when I open a trade on a different instrument that has a high positive correlation coefficient? Maybe so.
In one of my first posts I showed 4 charts with one trade open on each. So I have been transparent about my method from the beginning. I have actually traded on previous accounts this same way, but only with YM and NQ in simultaneous parallel fashion.
So why the combos? Because I know that sometimes I can get movement out of one instrument and the other just sits there looking back with a wry smile refusing to budge. There have been times when I have gotten 3 scalps out of one in the time the other gives me just one trade.
And not having all my eggs in one basket does provide a bit of comfort in case of spikes on one index.
My stated goal is not to get to 1 mini, but it is much bigger: 2% per day following my posted rules until I get to $200k. The micro vs E-mini question is just a matter of timing and margin. I should be trading 100% E-minis when/if I get to $10k balance. I have a long way to go.
This being said, the real question I think you are wanting me to ask myself is "Would I be better off trading on just one instrument one trade at a time with the full micro load (6 for now)?" Answer: I don't know! LOL. Should I try it? Maybe. I am at an average of 2.8% per day right now and slightly ahead of my goal. So is my current method working? Yes it is, and my motivation to change is quite low.
Most people think I am nuts for not scaling in and scaling out and letting a runner fly (up or down). Perhaps I am scaling in my own way by trading different instruments like this.
See my previous post with a time-stamped balance screen shot. Come on man, join me, don't try to shoot me down. This business is tough enough as it is.
@sstheo
- Keep up the good work.
- Forget about @PoopyDeek - he means well but he is a Drama Queen, and craves attention.
- IMO .... the only way to trade $2,000 into $200,000 within a year is with long OTM equity options - GOOGL, AMZN, NFLX, QQQ, etc.
- But perhaps I'm wrong.
Great reply to PoopyDeek @sstheo . I have to admit that I have my own fair share of skepticism. Not that I don't believe what you're showing, but that it will be difficult to scale to the full contract, and doing multiple contracts. The math is after all the same, and if you can do 75% return in one month on a micro, then its the same on the mini, but with 10 times more actual profit in dollar value. But since most people don't get to this level, it must be the psychology that hits them at some point. Would you agree with this?
I wish that you showed more breakdowns of your trades because there is really juicy info contained in there. Its one thing to have 95% profitable days, which is unlikely for most, but if many days you have 30% losers and it still ends up a winning day, then this seems more plausible in the long run. Not plausible in the sense that you're making it up, but plausible in terms of being sustainable over many months. By only showing the total for the day, it makes it seem like you have too many consecutive winners, but the breakdown of the actual trades might show that you're getting it wrong 1/3 of the time on many days.
Last question. Since you're trading multiple instruments, are you trading them all in the same direction? For example, could you be long YM and short NQ at the same time? I use multiple instruments, but only to look for entries because of the huge correlation between them. (ie. ES hits the previous day low and starts to bounce, NQ will 95% of the time join the rally even if it isn't at some key level itself)
I wish that you showed more breakdowns of your trades because there is really juicy info contained in there. Its one thing to have 95% profitable days, which is unlikely for most, but if many days you have 30% losers and it still ends up a winning day, then this seems more plausible in the long run. Not plausible in the sense that you're making it up, but plausible in terms of being sustainable over many months. By only showing the total for the day, it makes it seem like you have too many consecutive winners, but the breakdown of the actual trades might show that you're getting it wrong 1/3 of the time on many days.
Last question. Since you're trading multiple instruments, are you trading them all in the same direction? For example, could you be long YM and short NQ at the same time? I use multiple instruments, but only to look for entries because of the huge correlation between them. (ie. ES hits the previous day low and starts to bounce, NQ will 95% of the time join the rally even if it isn't at some key level itself)
You are nowhere near approaching scaling problems. You can trade tons of ES without slippage. It's no issue at all unless you depend on being filled only on the bid and ask without price moving 1 tick against you (ie a market maker)
But there is almost no benefit of trading so many different instruments that are so highly correlated with each other. Try executing manually and getting out of 4 markets at the same time when it's moving fast.
But there is almost no benefit of trading so many different instruments that are so highly correlated with each other. Try executing manually and getting out of 4 markets at the same time when it's moving fast.
Options are great. I used to trade options, but for whatever reason I prefer the shorter time frame of the day trades. And I prefer the tax treatment of index futures vs the reporting requirements of stock and option transactions. But I can see what you are saying about Out of The Money long calls. All the call buyers of the last 4 years are still unloading their golden wheelbarrows in their private vaults. I may yet diversify a bit into options, but later this year if at all. I love Peter Reznicek's work on index futures, but he also has an options advisory too, and that is probably where I would start.
But I tend to spread myself to thin, and I need to really focus on this AMP account challenge.
Regarding the reaching of $200k at 2% per day, I have proven the math several times. The only real issue is the psychological aspect; this is the unknown here. Everything else is fully scalable, and with discipline is fully within my grasp. ... Or is it????
Now, just wait for the response that your pictures/statements are photoshopped or that you've just been lucky so far, @sstheo.
You don't owe anyone here anything, so don't let the critics and skeptics throw you off balance. On the other hand, that's just how it goes when running a public journal, particularly on ET.
Just make sure that keeping this (public) journal does not start to get in the way of your actual trading.
You don't owe anyone here anything, so don't let the critics and skeptics throw you off balance. On the other hand, that's just how it goes when running a public journal, particularly on ET.
Just make sure that keeping this (public) journal does not start to get in the way of your actual trading.