Surviving Daytrader Hell

uptik2000

uptik2000

Friends and fellow traders,

Are you like me? Wondering why the P/L is not as high as it should be lately.

Geez, this volatility and tight ranges are getting boring. I am so behind on my goal for the year.

However, this is not a post or a thread to bitch and complain. There is no use in feeling sorry for yourself and focusing on the negatives.

The good things are:

I have reduced my trading size and frequency dramatically, thereby reducing risk and preserving $ for when these tiny range days go away.

I am going over strategy. Re-reading good trading books.

How are you surviving these slower times?

Let's take a look at the range in this chart...and look in anticipation of the bigger ranges to come. And let's hope they come soon.
 

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August is not the best time to be extracting big bucks from the market. I'm trading more to keep my hand in than anything else (a lot of people are just taking the time off), and the infrequency is taken care of by the system I use.

The P/L continues to be good because my system keeps me out of nearly all losing trades. But the degree of "P" is not what it has been. Which is to be expected.

In the meantime, I continue to play with range-trading systems but still haven't found anything that suits. At least I'm not throwing money into the incinerator :p
 
that i've had the restraint, and patience, NOT to jump in with stuff.

i also know that periods of decreased volatility will lead to increased volatility, and vice versa. i had an absolutely super duper may, and figured there'd be some time where i'd have almost no opportunities.

that's august. (fortunately, i was able to make good coin off WAVX, so my P is fine). and i'm confident that september or october will offer a fair number of opportunities.

so, what am i doing? playing with my daughter, stopping work at noon-ish and doing work around the house, watching some DVDs, calling friends, etc.

i figure i'll miss the first day that action happens in the afternoon...which is fine. i worked hard to make my money - i don't want to give it back when there's no edge.
 
Quote from gaj:

that i've had the restraint, and patience, NOT to jump in with stuff.
More...

Exactly. Twenty days of discipline won't be wasted when ranges expand.
 
On the real-time simulator, working on position sizing. With a discretionary method, it's a tough thing to back test, so i'm forward testing it. I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense to add contracts on repeat signals.
 
All this talk really makes me wonder how I'm going to do when the range picks up, as I have learned to trade in this tight range market.
 
Quote from gaj:



so, what am i doing? playing with my daughter, stopping work at noon-ish and doing work around the house, watching some DVDs, calling friends, etc.

.
More...

I don't have any children yet...but I just got a 9wk old Black Lab who is keeping me very busy.
And getting work done around the house too.:)
 
Yeah, this month has been slow. I've been trading less frequently and have also been using more counter-trend strategies.

I wouldn't say it's hell...just perhaps a good excuse to take some time off :)
 
Quote from baggerlord:

All this talk really makes me wonder how I'm going to do when the range picks up, as I have learned to trade in this tight range market.
More...

You'll adapt and you'll kick some butt
 
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