Account Destruction.

1. Walk away from your house and move into a small apartment on the southside of town.

2. Pay off all of your unsecured debt immediately.

3. Hit up Mickey D's, Wendy's, and Hardee's for potential job opportunities.

4. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP TRADING!!!!

Follow the above advice and you will be unstoppable.
 
Thanks for input guys. I think my biggest problem was getting PM account and not respecting it's power. Was making money for over year selling spreads with relative ease and feel like I became somewhat intoxicated in hindsight. Going to take advice and stop trading now have to figure what direction to move. Thanks for advice and kind words.
 
Where you using bull put credit spreads?
Did you sold options on stocks, indexes, futures? What was your time frame? Can you post an example of your most damaging trade?
I sell call credit spreads (never puts because of the risk of sudden drops in the markets) on NDX and RUT (so I don't worry about early exercise), my time exposure is 2 days. In the current volatile market I'm having much better returns than in jan-july 2011, so I'm having trouble imagining how comes you blow up using such a conservative strategy.
 
Quote from Teycir:

...so I'm having trouble imagining how comes you blow up using such a conservative strategy.
More...

If you overleverage then you can blow up even with the most conservative strategy in the universe.
 
Was trading equity options and a bit of index options as well. My main issue looking back was over leverage and not being astute position size relative to account size. When my short strike was hit I would close but the size was large enough to produce sizable damage to account; then roll to lower strike and often get hit again.
 
I'd preserve capital and live to trade another day.
You need to adapt your trading strategies or you will die.
What ever edge you once had is not working. Sit on the side line or play conservatively until the next light bulb goes off.

Many in your state of mind will swing for the fences... don't do it.
 
Quote from PurpleOne:

Hi all wanted to post and see if I can garner any advice from traders with more experience and skill than myself. I'm really in a bad state of mind and feel hopeless. I was trading credit spreads for last few years with relative success. In the last four months I've taken account from about 300k to about 75k. Brutal I know. My position size was much to large and made lots of stupid mistakes.
My question is should I just stop trading or continue to try and refine my skills. Was using money to live so you can imagine I'm in quite a state of fear and misery.
Thanks for input.
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Why ask when you will not listen or learn anyway... that is the typical scenario.

Be honest with yourself. IF you did not learn from the first 100K draw down, then I predict you will blow up the account. Why do you think you kept at it after the first 33 1/3% draw down??? Ask yourself that? What is the answer?! (I will tell you the answer: you CAN'T take a loss')

Do you have a plan or Rule when to stop??!!

In my view you should not even be in the market right now; you should be on sidelines evaluating how the H you lost 225K in such a short time frame and why you did not make the necessary adjustments to the market conditions and vola.

Good Luck... come back when you are down to 25K.
 
Quote from PurpleOne:

Was making money for over year selling spreads with relative ease and feel like I became somewhat intoxicated in hindsight.
More...

To quote Wall Street and the Gordon Gekko character:

A FOOL and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place."

(to paraphrase)

Next time don't mistake LUCK for SKILL.

Skill would be (have been) that you learned how to take a loss on short side and/or convert spreads (repair) accordingly to the underlying movement.
 
it really depends on whether u know where u gone wrong and how to correct, if u have to ask for advice likely mean u don't or not sure, best course of action, stop digging
 
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