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!

Didn't take any trades in the morning although I had the setups...I know..Iknow everyone has tons of excuses why they didn't take a trade...SO TWO MORE OF MINE AREN'T GONNA HURT.. I don't like trading the first half hour (I've been killed by locals too many times)so I missed a good one, also I don't like trading before news announcements, so I missed another good one.

Then the market went dead. I finally took a short:

S 1454.00
B 1452.00 (tried to move my target to 51.00 but got filled in the process)

P/L +2.00 PC

That was it for the day

I'm with MB Trading and is 2.25 per side and I have both Futures and Equities the C plan. BTW what is 1 tick trading what ECM stands for I tried to do search..(:(:(:(:)


https://www.mbtrading.com/ratesStocks.asp

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Originally posted by inventor

I'm with MB Trading and is 2.25 per side and I have both Futures and Equities the C plan. BTW what is 1 tick trading what ECM stands for I tried to do search..(:(:(:(:)


https://www.mbtrading.com/ratesStocks.asp

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A tick is the smallest increment that can be traded for a particular market, like a pip is for currencies. I noticed from your statement that you took profit at 1 tick then 2 ticks then 3 ticks.

In the E-Mini ES a tick is 12.50...so if your comission is 4.50 your net is $8.00 on your first target $20.50 on your second and $33.00 on your third.

I pay 3.88 comission round turn, close to a dollar less than that. I was considering an ECM myself to pay even less comissions. I think ECM stands for Electronic Corporate Manager, but anyway it costs a $1000.00 a year but you save a $1.00 per contract per trade.

myptofvu,

Are those simm trades or real money? Can you post your statements to add confirmation like inventor?

You're getting a very good rate on commission. Who is your broker and how many contracts (round turn) per month do you need to get that rate?

Thanks.

No not per tick it is simple comisione 2.25 per side total no meter how many contracts I trade.

inventor,

Who is Mike G.?

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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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How about posting your daily statements instead of a summary? Of course, you can black out personal info you don't want revealed.

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Originally posted by mahavishnu

inventor,

Who is Mike G.?

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Mike G. is me

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Originally posted by mahavishnu

myptofvu,

Are those simm trades or real money? Can you post your statements to add confirmation like inventor?

You're getting a very good rate on commission. Who is your broker and how many contracts (round turn) per month do you need to get that rate?

Thanks.

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Real money.

I'll look into that.(more on this later)

I'm checking to see how to get that rate.

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Originally posted by felix

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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!

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Do you have a specific stratagey for doubling down, that is do you add to your position when it goes 1 point against you or an area of support?

Do you take the added contracts off as it moves in your favor or do you keep them until your original target is hit?

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

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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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