Are you winning?

This post was prompted by something I read today. elite trader asked myptofvu if he was a profitable trader. myptofvu apparently gave an honest answer. No details, but quite frank. Well, this is something I would dearly like to know about all residents and visitors here. Are you winning or losing?

Many posts here have alluded to successes. Several contributors are revealing their basic strategies. PT is posting daily logs of his trades, both wins and losses. I think that's awesome and want to thank you all for sharing. But let's take it further.

We all keep pretty tight about our overall profits/losses. I've visited several trading rooms and it's the same. Not many traders will reveal their real performance. Over and over, we put these vendors under pressure to supply broker-verified statements. Well, without going to that extent, how about a general summation of your successes/failures? We'll take it on the honor system.

Now I realize that it may be considered extremely rude to ask a guy how much money he makes. It's kind of like asking a couple how often they have sex. Not only is it personal, but you will probably get a different answer from each participant! And of course, no one wants to appear a braggart, nor a loser.

But I'm curious. If 90% of traders lose money, does that statistic transfer into this forum? Or could it be that we are actually blessed with a high percentage of substantially profitable traders? I see a lot of intelligence here (beyond my level) but how about a dollar value? In the words of elite trader: "Are you a profitable trader?" That's what I want to know.

I propose a thread whereby anyone willing can brag about individual victories, cry about heavy losses, or simply reveal their long term performance. Bare your soul for the benefit of those who follow.

I will personally kick off the discussion with my own experience to date. If anyone else would care to contribute, here's to ya!

quote:

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Originally posted by day trading

That's a great return felix. Good trading! Why was it such a profitable month? Anything in particular you can attribute it to?

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A couple things.
And yes, the weakness here is that it's paper, but it does give me freedom to experiment.

1) When the planets align, I bet big. That is, when several of my favorite setups agree, I put on more contracts than would be acceptable by common money management standards. The returns have been big.

2) When the trade first goes against me, I double down. Of course, this only applies if I have confidence in my setup. In the past I would trade out and look for re-entry, but often miss out because of no confirmation of my initial signal. I am learning to be more patient, not panic, accept some draw-down, and understand the nature of some of these quick bounces that occur after my entry. If I liked the chart enough to invest, I take the opportunity to re-invest at a better price. No, I have no statistics on risk/reward yet.

Again, I understand the limitations of sim trading. But it gives me the chance to try things that I wouldn't try with real money - yet!

quote:

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Originally posted by myptofvu

I like your idea about individuals posting their results. I was up for it. Can you explain the ground rules? Is it only a monthly posting?

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Rules:
No cussin' (unless you really mean it)
No spittin'
No stealin' another guy's drink

Other than that, post your monthly, yearly, daily, even individual trade results. It's all good.

quote:

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Originally posted by day trading

That's a great return felix. Good trading! Why was it such a profitable month? Anything in particular you can attribute it to?

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I second that.

Well I will start something! here is a one days trading results maybe someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong or wright?



.

Here is another

Well I could make the comment that "what you are doing wrong" is overtrading and attempting to make lots small profits - i.e. scalping. However, that's not neccessarily "wrong" if that trading style best suits you and you have a strategy that in the long term gives you profits.

B 1450.25
S 1450.00
-.25

B 1448.50
S 1450.50
+2.00

B 1451.00
S 1450.50
-.50

B 1450.75
S 1450.75
+-0.00

B 1451.00
S 1453.00
+2.00

P/L +3.25 per contract

myptofvu we were trading at the same time I was S 1-1450.75+1/.50+1/.25 and cover all 3 at 1450.00 and that's when I went to lunch I knowtist you got stump out at 1450.00 going long and the question I have is, what made you go long at 1448.00 did you see the revers anywhere? The B 1451.00 and S 1453.00 I see the trend but I don't see the indication for the revers at 1448.00

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Inventor,

That was due to an ugly looking inverted H&S setup.

Inventor,

I think your comissions are a little high for 1 tick trading. Who is your broker? Have you looked into an ECM?

Sure, I have no problem commenting. Sorry to hear you had a bad week and thanks for the kind words. I hope you are getting some value from these posts and glad to see you take responsibility for your trades and it sure sounds like you learn from others after investigating a methods effectiveness which is fantastic. That's what it's all about...

Anyway I have been "successful" since about the year 2000 but I define success as being able to follow a discipline, adapt to market conditions and make money while keeping my sanity. I started day trading in late 1997 and took a beating the firs 1.5 years or so...then I got better...for a while...lol. In late 2001 I had my worst period as I had a new born at home and just didn't have my head in the game...my own fault. Since then I keep evolving and have done well. I have a long way to go as the market is forever changing it's colors so I realize the need to be flexible and keep the market in it's proper context. What turned my trading around was having multiple contracts on and averaging into trades, this solved the fear and greed factor for me. I like daytrading a lot but lately ( last two years)I seem to be trying to hold positions longer as volitilty is lower and I can stomach that. I'm a fairly simple guy and I am conservative. I beleive slow and steady wins the race so I strive for consistency and make sure I follow rules that are comfortable for me. I don't beleive you have to make a certain amount of money to be considered a success as a trader. That's ridiculous as we all have different circumstances. Just because you think I have more knowledge or experience doesn't mean I am a better trader. This is why I try to encourage anyone to "make the setups your own" and do research.

As a side note I beleive it would be a greater value for me to post the ideas instead of my specific trades. I wouldn't want this to turn into a "posting and bosting " thing. I also beleve based on your comments that this isn't the thread for it. So I apologize for getting side tracked myself and taking this off of your original topic. I hope that helps and if you have specific questions I will be more than happy to answer them.

Bruce

quote:

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Originally posted by felix

[quote]One question, Bruce, if I may. When this thread was started, I was curious as to which contributors here were day-trading successfully. I have seen you put on some good trades. Of course you acknowledge that you have bad days too. But I'm curious if you are long-term successful.

Naturally, you have the right to remain silent, and I don't want to pry or put you on the spot publicly. But you have been at this a lot longer than I, and you have a lot more knowledge and experience with the markets. I'm wondering if your efforts have paid off for you. Care to comment?

To everyone: Have a great long weekend!

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