SP E-mini trading diary

M

Melz500

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I have been trading for the last 4 years and the SP500 e-mini contract for the last year. Having tried many strategies I have found this one to be less stressful and reasonably profitable for the last few months. I have included my total profits each month for the last 3 months and for those who are interested I have included some back testing.

My trading system is very simple and there is no real magic formula to its success but sound risk management strategies and discipline are the reasons for its success. Details of my entry and exit points will not be disclosed but I will post trading profits and losses at the end of each trading day. Here are some points:

1. No more than three trades per day and some days there are no trades at all.
2. All trades are entered in the morning and exited with a maximum 10 point profit or maximum 4 point loss.
3. All trades are closed out before 4.15 pm EST
4. Trailing stops are used
5. Entry and exit points use daily price action. No indicators are used.
6. Percentage of winning trades is just under 50%.
7. Number of contracts traded depends on risk management rules but almost any amount can be used in reality because of the high liquidity of the contract.

Here are some past monthly trading results.

April 2003: Win = 93 points Loss=45 points Total = 48 points
March 2003: Win = 107 points Loss = 51 points Total = 51 points
Feb 2003: Win = 69 points Loss = 39 points Total = 30 points
Jan 2003: No trade
*Dec 2002 (first half): Win = 38 points Loss = 28 points Total = 10 points
*Nov 2002: Win = 117 points loss = 36 points Total = 81 points
*Oct 2002: Win: 138 points Loss = 42 points Total = 96 points
*Sept 2002: Win = 68 Loss = 66 Total = 2 points

*Note: back tested only.

I have back tested this method for the last 18 months where results are indicative of those above, however, losses occurred in Jan 02 (-18 points) and Dec 01 (-4 points)

I will be posting daily trading results from today onward detailing profit and loss for each trade. Exit and entry points (price and time) will not be disclosed.


Happy trading.

P.S. I am doing this to prove a point to a few cynical traders (not from elite trader or any other message board) and acquaintances that I am not full of @#$%. Hopefully this will censor a few of those critics.
 
Just curious... What program did you use for backtesting?

Seems like there is an equal following between TradeStation and WealthLab... Wondering what you have used...

-Eric
 
Quote from Melz500:

...Details of my entry and exit points will not be disclosed but I will post trading profits and losses at the end of each trading day...

I will be posting daily trading results from today onward detailing profit and loss for each trade. Exit and entry points (price and time) will not be disclosed...

...I am doing this to prove a point to a few cynical traders (not from elite trader or any other message board) and acquaintances that I am not full of @#$%.

Hopefully this will censor a few of those critics.
More...

Melz500,

No offense...

I think your posting a trade journal for the wrong reasons...

to silence critics?

Are you serious.

If anything...your going to create more critics.

You don't need to reveal anything to silence critics.

If you want to prove something to someone.

Invite them to a live-realtime chat room...most are free...

tell them your user name so that they know who you are...

then post your trades in realtime.

You will silence your critics without revealing anything.

Think about it carefully...

how can you prove something to another trader via the following?

1. Not posting exit times and exit entries.

2. Not revealing your system.

3. Not posting realtime trades.

4. Only posting end of the day results.

Of the above I listed...only one is needed...

realtime posted trades and let your critics spend 5 minutes of their own time tallying up your numbers at the end of the trading day...if their interested.

Also...EliteTrader.com has a live realtime chat room here. Invite your critics to it so they can watch you post your trades.

If ET is not suitable...there's the following:

#IndexFutures (FinancialChat server),
#sp (Othernet server),
#FuturesTrades...password needed (Othernet server),
#es-traders (Othernet server),
#e-minisp500 (Othernet server)...

all free and many traders (some from ET) posting their Emini Futures trades, QQQ trades and SPY trades in realtime for all to see.

(Note: #sp room has become lurkville lately but will be a useful tool to silence your critics if you post your trades in there.)

Heck...you can form your own room in less than 1 minute. Send your critics the direct link into the room.

If your critics have any balls...they will show up. If they don't show up...you'll know without a doubt they were just letting off some steam via using you as a scapegoat.

Take my advice seriously because I've seen a lot of traders do what your trying to do...in that way...only to create more critics and more debates.

In addition...I myself post my trades in realtime on mIRC and post a summary Trade Journal of those trades at a snail-mail discussion forum (not here)...

(journal is not to silence critics)

I will say this...if your trading via multiple contracts (I do)...post in your journal the basic info on the average size you were using.

Thus, for example...simply saying ES +45 points or ES -101 points is useless info if you don't say how many contracts on average were being used during your end-of-day, weekly or monthly results.

Just my opinion.

P.S. If your a discretionary trader with specific rules...don't tell them what chart interval your using...and you won't have to worry about them timestamping your realtime trades in hopes of trying to figure out what your doing.

If your a mechanical system trader...its impossible for them to figure out your system if you posting price and entry/exit times.

NihabaAshi
 
Due to the Globex melt down:

Open ES03M position was hedged against SP03M position for a 0.45 point loss.

These things cannot be helped....there is always tomorrow!!
 
Only one long trade today:

trade: long es03m profit/loss: +4.75 points/contract.






NihabaAshi: Thanks for your concern but i cannot do two things at once. I personally cannot trade and run a chat room. This is one method I use to trade the contract on a daily basis and find it the least stressful method. It amazes me how people who run these rooms can actually concentrate on their trade entry and possible quick exit while running a chat room. This requires my 100% concentration and therefore your suggestion is not feasible for me.

EricP: Trades from February to April are actual trades. The other back tested trades were completed manually. I do not use any of the above programs to do systems tests as I find them unreliable. Even though my testing has its flaws, I am comfortable with its time consuming nature.
 
For the reasons which were eloquently delineated by NihabaAshi, I find this thread pointless, since this thread cannot feasibly fulfil the posited objectives of the thread initiator...
 
The purpose of the thread is for my own personal use as mentioned in my original post. It was suggested to me by a colleague and it gives me a medium in which i can post my trades daily. After all it is a journal and not a "how to do" thread. So if traders or onlookers out there are interested in following my progress that is well and good but for those who disapprove, well you have the choice not to enter it.

Happy trading
 
Quote from Melz500:

The purpose of the thread is for my own personal use as mentioned in my original post. It was suggested to me by a colleague and it gives me a medium in which i can post my trades daily. After all it is a journal and not a "how to do" thread. So if traders or onlookers out there are interested in following my progress that is well and good but for those who disapprove, well you have the choice not to enter it.

Happy trading
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Carry on with your joural/diary Mel, I'm looking forward to reading it.

However, there is nothing like a BIG FATTY trading account to silence critics. Of course, it still might not silence all of them, but the more cash grows in your account, the more you might not give a damn about critics. :D
 
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