| RESULTS FOR FEBRUARY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 90 |
| Net $P/L: | 3061 |
| Wins: | 16 |
| Losses: | 20 |
| Win%: | 44 |
| $Commissions: | 464 |
| Avg$Win: | 530 |
| Avg$Loss: | -271 |
Thursday, February 28, 2013
February Trading Summary
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Body Destruction
No trades today and likely none until next week for me. In the meantime, enjoy this article about how we are all going to die prematurely!! Or perhaps I will live forever as really only 4 or 5 of the 18 factors apply to me. For sure 1, 2, and 9 (sitting all day, slouching, endless computer staring). But 11 (boredom) only sometimes and 12 (dirty keyboard) doesn't really count if they are all my germs does it?
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tues. 2/26
2:15pm CST - ZS remains very spurty with periods of no tape movement and zero volume then surges of orders spiking things around for a bit. But both systems eeked out wins with 2 ZS2 trades and 1 ZS1.
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 6 |
| Net $P/L: | 769 |
| Wins: | 2 |
| Losses: | 1 |
| Win%: | 67 |
| Avg$Win: | 515 |
| Avg$Loss: | -260 |
Monday, February 25, 2013
Mon. 2/25
2:45pm CST - ZS2 draws down today. The first trade was the only good one on the day, then chop...
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 8 |
| Net $P/L: | -327 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 4 |
| Win%: | 20 |
| Avg$Win: | 365 |
| Avg$Loss: | -173 |
Friday, February 22, 2013
Fri. 2/22
2:00pm CST - I guess ZS1 system is taking a long weekend. No signals there again today. ZS2 did marginally okay with my poor execution of exits but had potential to do amazing. There is some discretion involved with this new system, mostly on the exits, so I am bound to be critical of my performance going forward. For the week, net gain +$1691.
This news of a trader tax from Europe is concerning. I don't know if it will really happen but if it does, I can't imagine it not affecting USA traders because there will be less volume and liquidity in the markets. "A trade of a derivative would face a tax of one-hundredth of 1 percent. But that tax would be applied to the notional value, which can be very large relative to the cost of the derivative." This means a trade of 1 contract of ES would have a tax of $7.50 (per side or round-trip I'm not sure?). NQ would be $5.40, ZS $7.30! It's hard enough to cover commissions. This tax would change the game entirely.
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 8 |
| Net $P/L: | 209 |
| Wins: | 2 |
| Losses: | 2 |
| Win%: | 50 |
| Avg$Win: | 227 |
| Avg$Loss: | -123 |
This news of a trader tax from Europe is concerning. I don't know if it will really happen but if it does, I can't imagine it not affecting USA traders because there will be less volume and liquidity in the markets. "A trade of a derivative would face a tax of one-hundredth of 1 percent. But that tax would be applied to the notional value, which can be very large relative to the cost of the derivative." This means a trade of 1 contract of ES would have a tax of $7.50 (per side or round-trip I'm not sure?). NQ would be $5.40, ZS $7.30! It's hard enough to cover commissions. This tax would change the game entirely.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thurs. 2/21
2:00pm CST - Spurty jerky rollover day in beans. Traded new ZS system today, we'll call it ZS2, that I have been working on. No signals in original ZS system, we'll call that ZS1 going forward.
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 4 |
| Net $P/L: | 204 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 1 |
| Win%: | 50 |
| Avg$Win: | 215 |
| Avg$Loss: | -10 |
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wed. 2/20
2:45pm CST -
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 8 |
| Net $P/L: | 509 |
| Wins: | 2 |
| Losses: | 1 |
| Win%: | 67 |
| Avg$Win: | 397 |
| Avg$Loss: | -285 |
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tues. 2/19
2:05pm CST - 30 cent move up in pit session ($1500/contract) in ZS today thanks to Argentina drought reports and news they are delaying export sales because of expectations the peso will further depreciate against the dollar. The world is all interconnected isn't it?
In more Debbie Downer news on our occupation, "If you look around the poker table and you don’t know who the sucker is, you’re the sucker. Wall Street knows who the suckers are: naïve, at-home day traders." I don't know about you, but these "news reports" just motivate me more!
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 6 |
| Net $P/L: | 769 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 1 |
| Win%: | 50 |
| Avg$Win: | 1029 |
| Avg$Loss: | -260 |
In more Debbie Downer news on our occupation, "If you look around the poker table and you don’t know who the sucker is, you’re the sucker. Wall Street knows who the suckers are: naïve, at-home day traders." I don't know about you, but these "news reports" just motivate me more!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Next
No trades today but finished backtesting a new ZS system. I was very optimistic (the curse of being an optimist) initially. But then, not so much. The chart on left is past 1.5 months and on right is about 6 months. For anyone who thinks 100 trades is plenty enough to look at to determine if a strategy is worthy of trading, think again. This happens all the time...
On to the next system!
Is Daytrading going mainstream? There's a board game in development apparently. It doesn't have much to do with actual trading it seems to me but the name caught my eye.
Is Daytrading going mainstream? There's a board game in development apparently. It doesn't have much to do with actual trading it seems to me but the name caught my eye.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thurs. 2/14
2:15pm CST - As close as I can get to turning a +$400 day into a loser. Happy Valentine's Day Mr. Market - love you too!
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 6 |
| Net $P/L: | -556 |
| Wins: | 0 |
| Losses: | 2 |
| Win%: | 0 |
| Avg$Win: | 0 |
| Avg$Loss: | -278 |
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Wed. 2/13
2:00pm CST -
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 6 |
| Net $P/L: | 769 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 1 |
| Win%: | 50 |
| Avg$Win: | 1229 |
| Avg$Loss: | -460 |
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tues. 2/12
2:00pm CST -
FCMs face tough times? Until FCMs share all of their financial details (income statements, balance sheets, etc.), I have a hard time sympathizing. And I'm talking a lot more than what's available at CFTC.
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 6 |
| Net $P/L: | 519 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 1 |
| Win%: | 50 |
| Avg$Win: | 779 |
| Avg$Loss: | -260 |
FCMs face tough times? Until FCMs share all of their financial details (income statements, balance sheets, etc.), I have a hard time sympathizing. And I'm talking a lot more than what's available at CFTC.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Mon. 2/11
2:00pm CST -
So easy a 16 year old Desperate Housewives can day trade!
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 2 |
| Net $P/L: | 390 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 0 |
| Win%: | 100 |
| Avg$Win: | 390 |
| Avg$Loss: | 0 |
So easy a 16 year old Desperate Housewives can day trade!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Fri. 2/08
2:15pm CST - Took an early exit on last trade today just after crop report. System exit later hit but I can't say I would have been able to stomach sitting on my hands on this one. Sure, if I was a robot maybe but I am not! For the week, net loss -$194.
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 6 |
| Net $P/L: | 519 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 1 |
| Win%: | 50 |
| Avg$Win: | 1229 |
| Avg$Loss: | -710 |
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Thurs. 2/07
2:00pm CST - 1 signal today.
In random earth-shattering news on the Internet:
Don't spend a single day in day-trading
February 01, 2013
DAY-TRADING may seem like a good way to make money, but it's really gambling, not investing - and often just as effective as buying an armload of Powerball tickets.
Successful long-term investors study businesses, carefully select stocks and aim to hold on for years. They consider themselves, rightly, as part-owners of real businesses. Day-traders, meanwhile, tend to spend hours glued to monitors, watching stock-price graphs and placing orders. They'll typically place scores of orders each day and hold each stock for a few minutes or hours. Many ignore company fundamentals and may not even know what various companies do.
While investors pay long-term capital-gains rates on stocks held for more than a year, day-traders are stuck paying generally higher short-term rates.
A study by the North American Securities Administrators Association suggested that only about 12 percent of day-traders might trade profitably, and that about 70 percent "will almost certainly lose everything they invest." (Trading "profitably" does not necessarily mean beating the S&P500, available via inexpensive index funds.)
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 2 |
| Net $P/L: | 390 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 0 |
| Win%: | 100 |
| Avg$Win: | 390 |
| Avg$Loss: | 0 |
Don't spend a single day in day-trading
February 01, 2013
DAY-TRADING may seem like a good way to make money, but it's really gambling, not investing - and often just as effective as buying an armload of Powerball tickets.
Successful long-term investors study businesses, carefully select stocks and aim to hold on for years. They consider themselves, rightly, as part-owners of real businesses. Day-traders, meanwhile, tend to spend hours glued to monitors, watching stock-price graphs and placing orders. They'll typically place scores of orders each day and hold each stock for a few minutes or hours. Many ignore company fundamentals and may not even know what various companies do.
While investors pay long-term capital-gains rates on stocks held for more than a year, day-traders are stuck paying generally higher short-term rates.
A study by the North American Securities Administrators Association suggested that only about 12 percent of day-traders might trade profitably, and that about 70 percent "will almost certainly lose everything they invest." (Trading "profitably" does not necessarily mean beating the S&P500, available via inexpensive index funds.)
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Wed. 2/06
2:20pm CST - 1st trade winner, followed by 2 losers. Was 3 ticks from an $800 day but price stalled and then stopped me out. Perhaps Ask size of 1970 contracts just above my sell limit order scared the buyers away? Bid and ask size on the DOM is normally in the double digits on ZS.
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 8 |
| Net $P/L: | 34 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 2 |
| Win%: | 33 |
| Avg$Win: | 390 |
| Avg$Loss: | -178 |
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Tues. 2/05
2:10pm CST - Final trade of day was only winner which was cut short due to the close.
| RESULTS FOR DAY | |
|---|---|
| ZS Contracts: | 12 |
| Net $P/L: | -1137 |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Losses: | 3 |
| Win%: | 25 |
| Avg$Win: | 179 |
| Avg$Loss: | -439 |
Monday, February 4, 2013
No Trades
1:50pm CST - Suffice it to say, in case it's not obvious by now, that any days I don't post results I had no trades. ZS has had some decent ranges lately but I have had no signals 3 days in a row now in my ZS system. This makes for some boring chart watching but it does allow time to research and work on other systems. I need to get more productive in that regard.