March was truly a month full of madnesses and emotional rollercoasters, as it was the single greatest month I have ever had as a trader, yet it also carried one of the most painful weekends I ever had to endure.
March / February
P&L Before Commissions: 17980 / 13847
P&L After Commissions: 12011 / 4294
Shooting %: 55.58% / 47.2%
Cent Per Share: 0.059 / 0.038
Volume Each Way: 303900 / 361200
W/L: 19-1 / 14-6
Where do I begin? This is my second best month ever as far as net P&L is concerned (in March 2001 I scored 17K, but that was a record month for almost everyone as it had days you can make 15K and still miss the top 30 list), my third five digit month ever, but it is simply amazing that it came in a month that literally broke the spirit of other team leaders I have been tracking.
Team Leader / 2001 P&L / March 2002 / YTD 2002
A / 80K / -2K / +2K
B / 201K / -40K / -22K
C / 400K / -1.5K / +50K
D / 1.4 million / +20K / +110K
At the end of last month I talked about the need to increase my shooting % to 55%, and I did just that. I also talked about the need to cut down the number of losing days, and I was able to put together what was almost a flawless record.
This is the kind of performance that defines leadership, as guys on my team can look up to someone who is still making money every single day regardless of the market condition. This is the first time I felt that aura of respect after a "how the hell did he become a team leader" January. I gave out my real time position / P&L tracker password to everyone on my team at the end of January, when I was still struggling, and it feels good to finally put on something that is worth looking at during the day.
Even Mrs F, who is still up substantially more than me YTD despite of me playing major catch-up this past month, admired my effort for being the brave lab rat of new strategies and share it with her (and with the exception of my team, a few very close friends at work) as soon as it is complete. Now that she is experimenting it with 200 shares, STOCKKBROKER doing it everyday, I feel like a hero
There were many many reasons behind this month's success, for starters I was able to see her a total of 7 times this entire month, versus the average of 2 times a month, it was a +250% in happiness level at least until that dreadful Friday. The awesome 20% reduction in commissions which I received at the end of February as my only financial imbursement since
I became the team leader, from 1 cent to 0.8 cents per share also made a huge difference. Don's open strategy, which I modified
and taught to others on my team this past week, was also a huge lift, not in that it made a huge amount of money in itself, but that it behaves best in choppy markets where gaps are more likely to be filled than broken away, giving me a cushion on really bad days which is invaluable. Since my sector trading and daily chart stuff all behave extremely well in trending markets, a strategy that can deal with choppiness is a marriage made in heaven. I liked it so much that I named it "Love has no regret" (as once you put in those orders you have to put all the regrets aside and just deal with whatever cards the house gives you). Of course, I will never be able to talk with a straight face that I could have figured this out by myself without Don's thread providing the basic concept in the first place, so I will always be giving credit to Don and his strategy anytime I teach this to a new guy, the same way I talk about Tony Oz bottompicker set-ups (which I named, "Bittersweet", as basically the stocks has to be "bitter" and tank for many days before the "sweet" reversal).
Last, but not least, my psychology as a trader was literally, flawless. I was up $2 first game of the month, then $2000, then $150, and I pretty much executed regardless of what the P&L was showing. I wasn't disappointed about small potato numbers after big days, I just kept on locking away profits whether it is two dollars or two thousand dollars, as when you are not giving back any, it adds up fast. On days when I feel the market is choppy and light I just stopped for good, reserved my capital perhaps even more importantly, confidence for cleaner shots.
That said, all is not well, as I must increase my intraday sizes (start more positions with at least 700-1000 shares), as right now I am starting the "Love Has No Regret" open strategy with 1000 shares and if I ever take a substantial loss in that (and I will, one day), I could have some serious regrets rest of the way (imagine if one of my stocks behaved like MMM did on the last day of March)?
There is also a lack of aggression after solid open's. I have to understand that to be a top tier trader, I have to aggressively attack the market regardless of whether I am up $50 or $800 after the first 10 minutes. I must be able to shift from the open strategy SEAMLESSLY into my normal play book.
Also, it is very easy to keep a flawless mentality when you are playing flawless, or when your open strategy is at least breaking even everyday. My only loss of the month came when I lost $300 off the open strategy, and that was with 600 shares. While I have made many tweaks to Don's basic formula, on the last game of the month I was filled 5000 shares long and futures tanked and my P&L dipped to -$400 before I could blink (and I had to dump a lot of the shares), now what if the futures tanked for good and I have to start the day with a $700 loss? That will truly test my resolve.
And including myself, I now have 10 traders on my team, a mile stone, recruiting process definitely slowed over the last a few weeks, but with me finally putting up respectable numbers, assuming I can keep it up, I believe I will attract even more talents.
Unfortunately, in the end, no amount of financial successes will do anything for me, without her heart, for the kind of pain she broughts upon me that strikes me to the core of my bones, there is still a level of peace, comfort, and happiness that comes from the bottom of my heart, when I am with her.
I must prepare myself for second quarter and strive for even bigger days ahead, as I will never ever give up pursuing the princess of my dreams, regardless of the result.
Because love has no regret.
March / February
P&L Before Commissions: 17980 / 13847
P&L After Commissions: 12011 / 4294
Shooting %: 55.58% / 47.2%
Cent Per Share: 0.059 / 0.038
Volume Each Way: 303900 / 361200
W/L: 19-1 / 14-6
Where do I begin? This is my second best month ever as far as net P&L is concerned (in March 2001 I scored 17K, but that was a record month for almost everyone as it had days you can make 15K and still miss the top 30 list), my third five digit month ever, but it is simply amazing that it came in a month that literally broke the spirit of other team leaders I have been tracking.
Team Leader / 2001 P&L / March 2002 / YTD 2002
A / 80K / -2K / +2K
B / 201K / -40K / -22K
C / 400K / -1.5K / +50K
D / 1.4 million / +20K / +110K
At the end of last month I talked about the need to increase my shooting % to 55%, and I did just that. I also talked about the need to cut down the number of losing days, and I was able to put together what was almost a flawless record.
This is the kind of performance that defines leadership, as guys on my team can look up to someone who is still making money every single day regardless of the market condition. This is the first time I felt that aura of respect after a "how the hell did he become a team leader" January. I gave out my real time position / P&L tracker password to everyone on my team at the end of January, when I was still struggling, and it feels good to finally put on something that is worth looking at during the day.
Even Mrs F, who is still up substantially more than me YTD despite of me playing major catch-up this past month, admired my effort for being the brave lab rat of new strategies and share it with her (and with the exception of my team, a few very close friends at work) as soon as it is complete. Now that she is experimenting it with 200 shares, STOCKKBROKER doing it everyday, I feel like a hero
There were many many reasons behind this month's success, for starters I was able to see her a total of 7 times this entire month, versus the average of 2 times a month, it was a +250% in happiness level at least until that dreadful Friday. The awesome 20% reduction in commissions which I received at the end of February as my only financial imbursement since
I became the team leader, from 1 cent to 0.8 cents per share also made a huge difference. Don's open strategy, which I modified
and taught to others on my team this past week, was also a huge lift, not in that it made a huge amount of money in itself, but that it behaves best in choppy markets where gaps are more likely to be filled than broken away, giving me a cushion on really bad days which is invaluable. Since my sector trading and daily chart stuff all behave extremely well in trending markets, a strategy that can deal with choppiness is a marriage made in heaven. I liked it so much that I named it "Love has no regret" (as once you put in those orders you have to put all the regrets aside and just deal with whatever cards the house gives you). Of course, I will never be able to talk with a straight face that I could have figured this out by myself without Don's thread providing the basic concept in the first place, so I will always be giving credit to Don and his strategy anytime I teach this to a new guy, the same way I talk about Tony Oz bottompicker set-ups (which I named, "Bittersweet", as basically the stocks has to be "bitter" and tank for many days before the "sweet" reversal).
Last, but not least, my psychology as a trader was literally, flawless. I was up $2 first game of the month, then $2000, then $150, and I pretty much executed regardless of what the P&L was showing. I wasn't disappointed about small potato numbers after big days, I just kept on locking away profits whether it is two dollars or two thousand dollars, as when you are not giving back any, it adds up fast. On days when I feel the market is choppy and light I just stopped for good, reserved my capital perhaps even more importantly, confidence for cleaner shots.
That said, all is not well, as I must increase my intraday sizes (start more positions with at least 700-1000 shares), as right now I am starting the "Love Has No Regret" open strategy with 1000 shares and if I ever take a substantial loss in that (and I will, one day), I could have some serious regrets rest of the way (imagine if one of my stocks behaved like MMM did on the last day of March)?
There is also a lack of aggression after solid open's. I have to understand that to be a top tier trader, I have to aggressively attack the market regardless of whether I am up $50 or $800 after the first 10 minutes. I must be able to shift from the open strategy SEAMLESSLY into my normal play book.
Also, it is very easy to keep a flawless mentality when you are playing flawless, or when your open strategy is at least breaking even everyday. My only loss of the month came when I lost $300 off the open strategy, and that was with 600 shares. While I have made many tweaks to Don's basic formula, on the last game of the month I was filled 5000 shares long and futures tanked and my P&L dipped to -$400 before I could blink (and I had to dump a lot of the shares), now what if the futures tanked for good and I have to start the day with a $700 loss? That will truly test my resolve.
And including myself, I now have 10 traders on my team, a mile stone, recruiting process definitely slowed over the last a few weeks, but with me finally putting up respectable numbers, assuming I can keep it up, I believe I will attract even more talents.
Unfortunately, in the end, no amount of financial successes will do anything for me, without her heart, for the kind of pain she broughts upon me that strikes me to the core of my bones, there is still a level of peace, comfort, and happiness that comes from the bottom of my heart, when I am with her.
I must prepare myself for second quarter and strive for even bigger days ahead, as I will never ever give up pursuing the princess of my dreams, regardless of the result.
Because love has no regret.
