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Consistency is my goal
- Thread starter mastacoli71
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Quote from sneakoner:
how did you find your mentor?
how long did it take you before you decided to leave corporate america?
Dumb luck on the mentor. I was at an event put on by the prop shop I trade with. He was there and talked about what he does and was looking to do. One thing lead to another. Honestly, really fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.
Took me about one year to get everything lined up before I jumped ship. Very nerve racking but worth it in the end. I was fortunate to hit the market when I did along with trading strategies that worked well in high volatility.
Week ending 10/14/11
-6800
What a difference a week makes. Psychology and discipline can not only hurt on a drawdown but also when on a run.
Pairs once again performed quite well. Stayed very disciplined and followed all my rules there. Getting excited about a weekly basket strategy that I am trading on paper right now. I should probably be doing it with some small capital just to have skin in the game, always better to do it that way versus paper trading imo.
ES was a disaster. I broke my rules in trading and fought the tape all week long. My actual drawdown for my ES account mixed with some other stupid volatility trades cost me 14,500 in that account. Let the emotion of the run I have been on get in the way along with not wanting to admit I was wrong. That is not trading a system, that is just pure stupidity.
I am taking a few positive things out of this week. Instead of staying stubborn over the weekend on the trades that cost me big, I puked them to get back to reality and reset. It sucks because they will probably come in next week but I can always get back in according to a plan and appropriate risk. I know way to many people that have blown up because they can't let go and admit they were wrong. That is not going to be me.
Prop account now at equity highs which I can continue building if I stay disciplined and unemotional about the trades. Retail account still lagging by about 35k, really pisses me now that I have had a chance to digest what happened.
Focus this week will be on risk and not fighting the tape in ES.
-6800
What a difference a week makes. Psychology and discipline can not only hurt on a drawdown but also when on a run.
Pairs once again performed quite well. Stayed very disciplined and followed all my rules there. Getting excited about a weekly basket strategy that I am trading on paper right now. I should probably be doing it with some small capital just to have skin in the game, always better to do it that way versus paper trading imo.
ES was a disaster. I broke my rules in trading and fought the tape all week long. My actual drawdown for my ES account mixed with some other stupid volatility trades cost me 14,500 in that account. Let the emotion of the run I have been on get in the way along with not wanting to admit I was wrong. That is not trading a system, that is just pure stupidity.
I am taking a few positive things out of this week. Instead of staying stubborn over the weekend on the trades that cost me big, I puked them to get back to reality and reset. It sucks because they will probably come in next week but I can always get back in according to a plan and appropriate risk. I know way to many people that have blown up because they can't let go and admit they were wrong. That is not going to be me.
Prop account now at equity highs which I can continue building if I stay disciplined and unemotional about the trades. Retail account still lagging by about 35k, really pisses me now that I have had a chance to digest what happened.
Focus this week will be on risk and not fighting the tape in ES.
Week ending 10/21/11
-10400
Week ending 10/28/11
-1900
Did not post last week so I included those results above.
Still up 10500 for the month but after the first week I really blew it, plain and simple. Instead of being cautious and going with the tape, I was too aggressive with ES and fought it once again. Of course, I picked the wrong time for that given the market run the last 2.5 weeks. How many times can I call myself a dumb a**! I am my own worst enemy.
Pairs trading saved me from this becoming a terrible month and a blow to my confidence once again. I also went live the basket trade with half size. Glad I did cause it also helped.
Next week should still provide some good trading but with volatility coming off fighting the tape will only get worse. Focus again this week will be on risk and not fighting the tape in ES.
-10400
Week ending 10/28/11
-1900
Did not post last week so I included those results above.
Still up 10500 for the month but after the first week I really blew it, plain and simple. Instead of being cautious and going with the tape, I was too aggressive with ES and fought it once again. Of course, I picked the wrong time for that given the market run the last 2.5 weeks. How many times can I call myself a dumb a**! I am my own worst enemy.
Pairs trading saved me from this becoming a terrible month and a blow to my confidence once again. I also went live the basket trade with half size. Glad I did cause it also helped.
Next week should still provide some good trading but with volatility coming off fighting the tape will only get worse. Focus again this week will be on risk and not fighting the tape in ES.
Mas no matter whether the vol or what have you, glad to see that you're back on track. I'm curious how much mental toughness/strength/discipline had to do with your resurgence? My guess is quite a bit.
Quote from ElecEquity:
Mas no matter whether the vol or what have you, glad to see that you're back on track. I'm curious how much mental toughness/strength/discipline had to do with your resurgence? My guess is quite a bit.
Psychology is a huge huge part. Just last night I was telling a fellow trader how disciplined I have been with pairs as of late and how that has allowed me to remain somewhat steady the last 2 weeks without blowing up.
Lack of discipline leads to a breakdown in mental toughness. When you become emotional about trading it eventually leads to bad things (ie my ES trading results as of late).
How are things going for you? Btw, I miss reading your journal. It is one of the few that had something to offer.
Quote from mastacoli71:
Psychology is a huge huge part. Just last night I was telling a fellow trader how disciplined I have been with pairs as of late and how that has allowed me to remain somewhat steady the last 2 weeks without blowing up.
Lack of discipline leads to a breakdown in mental toughness. When you become emotional about trading it eventually leads to bad things (ie my ES trading results as of late).
How are things going for you? Btw, I miss reading your journal. It is one of the few that had something to offer.
Things are going great for me. Thanks for asking. My main focus ever since late August has been on being more efficient with my shares/trade and I would have to say that has been HUGE for me. I've been much more selective, making a bit more, and spending a lot less in commissions. August was a wake up call after I ended up spending over $10k in commissions...even though I had a great month, I focused on trimming my activity and being more selective.
The journal was fun. Maybe I'll resume it at some point. I just don't find much value added on ET -- especially after connecting with so many great traders on twitter/stocktwits that actually ADD value to my trading and my learning (post-market & real-time). There are only a handful of guys here that actually trade for a living and create substantive posts IMO -- you probably know who most of those guys are.
I think you hit the nail on the head in regards to lack of discipline leading to a breakdown in mental toughness. It's definitely a reflexive process. I asked about mental toughness b/c it has been the underpinning of things going so well for me. I highly recommend developing daily pre-market & post-market routines that strengthen your mind and keep you in a positive place. If you PM me, I'd be happy to share some of the things that I do daily. I just wish that I wouldn't have waited until almost my 5th year of full-time trading to focus on this stuff. I guess some things only present themselves when you're ready to accept them.
Month ending 10/31/11
+19,800
Week ending 11/4/11
+6100
Ended the month nicely, no complaints about that. Still a bit hot under the collar with my ES performance. Last 2 days of this week I switched from swing trading ES to pure intraday 1 min chart scalps with the tape instead of against it. So much less stressful. Sure the market is great for this type of trading right now. The true test for large production out of intraday will be an ultra low VIX (below 20). Until then I will milk it for what its worth.
Again next week should be good trading. Greece is at the plate with a 3-2 count and Congress is on deck. Sick to think this way but as a trader, volatility is your best friend. Focus will continue to be on risk and going with the ES tape.
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh batter batter batter, swiiiiiiiiing batter! LOL.
+19,800
Week ending 11/4/11
+6100
Ended the month nicely, no complaints about that. Still a bit hot under the collar with my ES performance. Last 2 days of this week I switched from swing trading ES to pure intraday 1 min chart scalps with the tape instead of against it. So much less stressful. Sure the market is great for this type of trading right now. The true test for large production out of intraday will be an ultra low VIX (below 20). Until then I will milk it for what its worth.
Again next week should be good trading. Greece is at the plate with a 3-2 count and Congress is on deck. Sick to think this way but as a trader, volatility is your best friend. Focus will continue to be on risk and going with the ES tape.
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh batter batter batter, swiiiiiiiiing batter! LOL.
Daily Equity Curve for 2011 as of Nov 3rd. Sniffing highs not seen since April. Goal for end of this year is to crack $400k. If I get there, I will be elated. Please note that this curve will adjust down 10k each month (I draw this every month regardless).
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