surviving the first weeks

[pterodacytl]

This makes sense, given the larger trend, even intraday. I see so many smooth, diagonal chart patterns that, had I better understood why they were trending, I could have taken advantage of, if I were willing to test the validity of my thesis/analysis with actual money. The losses from trying to make a good entry add up. Might as well concentrate those losses in a single intraday trade.

On second thought, an intraday trade with 5% risk seems a bad idea. 10% intraday gain? Not likely enough.

 

[murray t turtle]

On second thought, an intraday trade with 5% risk seems a bad idea. 10% intraday gain? Not likely enough.

%%
QQQ has done 10% in a day , but that is in bear markets+ not very often LOL...................................................................................................................

 

[pterodacytl]

It's finally starting to look profitable.


Ignore the cumulative p/l before December. It looks like there's a glitch in the trading journal.

 

[caroy]

It's finally starting to look profitable.


Ignore the cumulative p/l before December. It looks like there's a glitch in the trading journal.

Curious what are your theories on why you are now looking to average being pretty profitable compared to the DEC / JAN. What were your key adjustments in strategy and risk management?

 

[pterodacytl]

Honestly, a lot of the trading in Dec. / Jan. was better than more recent trading, despite appearances.

On days when profit was on the low end, I kept to my plan of only trading mostly 5 or 10 share positions, so I could keep learning and practicing.

More recently, I've been scalping 100 and 500 share positions, but this strategy definitely is not sustainable. The r:r is ridiculous, but I lucked out. I know one day it's not going to work, so right now I'm trying to go back to more reasonable risk management.

The most significant change began in Dec. when I got a PDT account. It's not only that I can enter short trades regularly now, but I'm seeing the charts differently. After the earlier fiasco, I was trading with a cash settled account and two margin accounts. With a cash settled account, it's hard not to look at charts and only see long opportunities. I could also scalp now without worrying about using up all my settled cash (but again that's not something I'm going to keep doing).


By the way, the Cum. PNL graph is correct, I realized. The "2020 Oct" at the bottom shouldn't be there.

 

[caroy]

Honestly, a lot of the trading in Dec. / Jan. was better than more recent trading, despite appearances.

On days where profit was on the low end, I kept to my plan of only trading mostly 5 or 10 share positions, so I could keep learning and practicing.

More recently, I've been scalping 100 and 500 share positions, but this strategy definitely is not sustainable. The r:r is ridiculous, but I lucked out. I know one day it's not going to work, so right now I'm trying to go back to more reasonable risk management.

The most significant change began in Dec. when I got a PDT account. It's not only that I can enter short trades regularly now, but I'm seeing the charts differently. After the earlier fiasco, I was trading with a cash settled account and two margin accounts. With a cash settled account, it's hard not to look at charts and only see long opportunities. I could also scalp now without worrying about using up all my settled cash (but again that's not something I'm going to keep doing).


By the way, the Cum. PNL graph is correct, I realized. The "2020 Oct" at the bottom shouldn't be there.

Thanks for the reply. Interesting stuff. I don't day trade myself I play more positional moves in options over a weekly period. But I'm always intrigued by the different systems and rules day traders come up with.