Watch a Newbie Blow his account

F

flipflopper

I started trading futures full time on April 2, 2007 but it might as well been April fools day. I though I knew how to trade. I had tripled in the previous 6 months trading stocks.

Futures is a different ball game. I started trading obviously with too big of size. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention I was bearish. At this time I have lost about 25K over the past 7 weeks. I have about 18K left and we'll see how long that lasts. I am keeping this journal as entertainment.

I really feel I have lost any and all ability to read any market action whatsoever. I have been trading the YM. Everything has been a buy for the past 7 weeks. This hurts my brain and makes it very hard for me to trade.

20 minutes ago the market spit in my face again. Making my stop the highest tick of latest swing up before the drop. My stops are nothing more then heat seeking missiles for bulls and sell signals for bears... vice versa when I'm long.

I can single handedly stop the strongest bull market of the past 100 years by simply buying and holding. Since I don't want to put the country through a recession I'll continue trading until the market quietly takes me out.
 
SLD 6 YM 13582 USD 20070522 7:11:02
BOT 6 YM 13585 USD 20070522 7:14:23
SLD 6 YM 13576 USD 20070522 7:25:40
BOT 6 YM 13611 USD 20070522 10:50:19
SLD 6 YM 13609 USD 20070522 11:02:26
BOT 6 YM 13605 USD 20070522 12:07:45
BOT 6 YM 13600 USD 20070522 12:11:01
SLD 6 YM 13585 USD 20070522 12:18:12
BOT 6 YM 13582 USD 20070522 12:22:31

Summary of day's trades:

Market looked a little weak in the morning. Shorted under the pivot got spooked after 1000 plus Ticks and covered for a 3 point loss watched my target that woulda been hit. After the bounce off the lows reshorted at a worse price and sat in the trade for much longer then I wanted. My stop was above the high of the day. Going for 20 points. After the pivot rejected every move to 85 I felt slightly comfortable about the trade. When it went in my direction I trailed my stop of course when the market started creeping up I removed my stop altogether because I know that that always works out well!?!? When the market exploded up I put my stop 5 points above R1. When that got taken out and things settled down I shorted again since the TRIN was very weak and stocks seemed mixed and the runup seemed like a possible top. Reshorted going for 30 points. Woulda had 20 trailed my stop watched it get taken out revenge traded a long only to get stopped out 2 minutes later. Then bought at end of day for no good reason but a guess is as good as my analysis any day. As I'm typing my stop was filled.

Net for day: -1920
Account total: 17,309
 
You obviously have no idea what you are doing. Why not just buy and hold or refrain from investing entirely? Please just send the remaining $17,000 to me if you do not want it.
 
wow man, you really got some guts trading like that. Reduce your positions to 2 contracts if not one, trading like this will empty ur account soon enough.
 
Maybe you should try doing the exact opposite of what your instincts tell you.

Seriously though, I would stop right now and build up your chops on a simulator before you risk another dime. Or better yet, if you were doing so well in equities, why not go back to that? Stick with what you know.
 
Quote from tomahawk:

Maybe you should try doing the exact opposite of what your instincts tell you.

Seriously though, I would stop right now and build up your chops on a simulator before you risk another dime. Or better yet, if you were doing so well in equities, why not go back to that? Stick with what you know.
More...

Doing the opposite of my gut... I've tried that... doesn't work either?!!? I took my stock account from 12K t0 37K in 6 months doing about 15 trades a week. Now blew the f'n load on futures in 6 weeks. I started off trading 10 - 25 cars per trade. Thats how I lost most of it. I still have about 40K in my 401K... no daytrading in that beast.

I have been working on an autotrader using Ninja Trader and also have set many rules to help keep me in line.

I use a general risk reward of 15 point stop and 20 point target. which I feel is somewhat reasonable. I have always made money on both the long and short side but this market has really thrown me for a loop. I would feel like an idiot if I woke up every day for the past 30 days and thought... Gee it looks like its a good time to buy!?!? Groundhog day shite. But I would be a rich idiot if I did.

Without 2 way trading my brain doesn't know how to look for buying ops and buying ops only every day.

It looks like I'm not gonna last too long full time trading but I have learned a hell of a lot and whatever happens happens.

We'll see if I end up being the comeback kid or just another cliche... odds favor the latter.
 
I've been doing this part time for a year in between classes and due to a couple big mistakes, I'm still a little under my starting capital. I've been asked "If you spend all this time on it and haven't made anything why the hell do you do it?"... My reply is that no matter what happens, I had to give it a shot. I'd be much happier losing 25% of my money (which isn't a ton right now as a college student) then dreaming what "could" have happened if I did trade. Thats my point of view on things.
 
We all know what you're going through. Please take the rest of the week off, just to gain some perspective. It's almost June, go to the beach, have a ball, remember why you want to do this to begin with. Don't come back until you can't remember what your last trade was. Then...very slowly.....begin the beguine.
 
Bro, why the hell are you not going back to what made your money in the first place. You trippled your money in 6 months trading stocks, so it sounds like you have ABSOLUTELY NO reason to trade futures.

It makes no sense to walk away from what you were doing very successfully. It's like Tiger Woods quiting golf and trying to box. What's the point?
 
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