Trend Following - Starting with $30,000

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AnimatedTrades

I am starting the journal with $30,000 that I have saved up. Now I will either multiply it or lose it!

I am a long time lurker to this board. Decided it is time to start a personal trading journal here. It will help keep me accountable, and I can get beneficial feedback from others.

A little about me:

I am 24 years old and was first introduced to the stock market when I was around 7. There was a board game I used to play called “Stock Market Game”. I have been interested ever since.

When I got a job out of high school I began saving to start trading my own account. I continued throughout college and have been trading for around 4 years. Recently, I graduated with a finance degree and quit my job. I am going to attempt to trade full time.

My strategy:

I am using a trend following strategy. Buying breakouts and selling breakdowns. I trade off of daily charts and hold until stopped out. This can last days to months.

Because I cannot show live trading over these time periods I will try to animate as many trades as possible so you can see what I did.

Here are two trade I already animated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg68XoanxsQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISCEDrTdXKo

Here is a spreadsheet I will keep updated with all my trades:

http://bit.ly/k5BLmI

*Keep in mind these are only closed trades, and I close my losers a lot faster than my winners. So this spreadsheet will be skewed a little at first until more time passes.

I will post every trade I close and open, plus things I learn along the way.

I look forward to being an active part of these community! Please hit me up with any questions or criticisms.
 
Take your 30k and open up a prop account where you can learn edges working now in the market plus get serious leverage. Trend following g is a flawed idea, you will likely be wiped out trying to do it. Look up don bright on this board for info on prop trading among other firms. Good luck! Surf

Ps. If you insist on going at it alone--- read "short term trading strategies that work" by larryconnors and "trade like a hedge fund" by James altucher.
 
Has any backtesting gone into this method and if so what were the results? Even if the method is sound the results are surely too volatile to make a living from.
 
"This p!ssed me off"... "Sensation that rises up in you"... "Clench your fist when this happens"... "More than just anger"...

Yeesh, this is because of a $100-odd dollar loss? You have a tough financial and emotional road ahead of you.
 
Quote from falconview:

Wow! You are losing more than I am. That makes me feel better! :)
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Haha, your welcome.

In reality though I am only down about $500. I have open profits of $3500. I'm only down around 1.7% right now.

Like I said, only closed trades go into that spreadsheet.
 
Quote from marketsurfer:

Take your 30k and open up a prop account where you can learn edges working now in the market plus get serious leverage. Trend following g is a flawed idea, you will likely be wiped out trying to do it. Look up don bright on this board for info on prop trading among other firms. Good luck! Surf

Ps. If you insist on going at it alone--- read "short term trading strategies that work" by larryconnors and "trade like a hedge fund" by James altucher.
More...

I have looked into prop firms. I still keep the idea open, but those firms that only give you leverage don't really appeal to me. I will continue to research and look around though.

I will read those books. Thank you for the suggestions.
 
Quote from Zr1Trader:

Is this really a journal to trade or to promote animatedtrades.com?
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No. I tried not linking to my site, I didn't want to look like a whore. That is why I linked to YouTube and a Google Spreadsheet.

It is only my personal site I just started. I have always been interested in webdesign and graphic design.

I apologize if it looks like I was trying to overly promote it. I want to keep the discussion in this thread, and be part of this community.
 
Quote from Rodney King:

"This p!ssed me off"... "Sensation that rises up in you"... "Clench your fist when this happens"... "More than just anger"...

Yeesh, this is because of a $100-odd dollar loss? You have a tough financial and emotional road ahead of you.
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Well, I have no issue with taking losses. I have been trading for a while. Gaps still irritate me though when they blow past my stops.

I think a lot of people hear they should be zen like when trading. So then they pretend like they don't feel anything, and put on a false stoic face. Maybe they really do not let anything effect them. I do feel sometimes though, and I am not going to pretend like I don't.

I think emotions can help you as long as you don't let them take over and make decisions for you.
 
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